How many of you recognise this plant? Those who frequent the hills, chances are they know this is the bicchu jari (rough translation: scorpion plant, I do not know its real name). It stings if you touch it. Now this time at Shringi, I realized that they make a soup out of it (a different…
Dreams!
I got tagged by my sis, Alka and I need to share three of my dreams. When I thought more about it, it seems I get mild nightmares more than pleasant dreams! But how can I ignore a tag by my sis, so here I go. 1.This is probably the worst of the lot. Sometimes,…
The Journey to Shringi Vatika, Himanchal Pradesh
The Stream at Shringi Vatika, Himanchal Pradesh We spent two and a half days at Shringi Vatika in Himanchal Pradesh. Reaching there itself was a task. Both of us are not fond of driving and the motion sickness complicates the issue further. So, we reached ISBT (bus station in New Delhi) to take a bus…
Jobs Some People Stumble Upon
Lucky Nicolai. First he gets a hotel job like this: The staff would smoke throughout the day, around the prepared food, and even while preparing food. And when you’ve worked for hours without a break, while the majority of the staff are sitting around smoking and talking, it gets on one’s nerves. But it wasn’t…
Three Cheers for the Comments Too
I have said it before and I am saying it again, one of the biggest reward of blogging are the comments. Raman (unfortunately he doesn’t seem to blog as of now) left a comment on my Jeep Skidding post which is as good as a post in itself. I am quoting it below. Drivers. We…
A Small Incident From the Road to Yumthang Valley, North Sikkim
Getting Back on Track after the Tata Sumo Skidded about Half a Meter: Yumthang Valley, North Sikkim The picture above was the most popular picture with the folks I met on the Yumthang Valley trip in North Sikkim. We were returning from Zero Point to the Yumthang Valley. Pankaj, our driver for this trip told…
Patak (I threw it) and Gir Gaya (I dropped it)
Patak and Gir Gaya are the Favorite Words of my Niece. My brother-in-law Amrit has this to say about my niece who loves to throw their cell phones on the ground and then tell us innocently gir gaya or patak whatever catches her fancy: Sometimes she doesn’t throw, as in, she doesn’t hurl the object as…
F1 Driving on the Indian Hills
Tata Sumo at Zero Point, Near Yumthang Valley, North Sikkim Himalayas draw both of us like a magnet. It is the roads leading to the Himalayas that are a different story. The serpentine roads induce motion sickness in us and Avomine is a must. However, we are pretty used to the medicine by now. But…
Spurious Avomine?
Sesha and I just love traveling to the hills in India. But the thing is both of us have motion sickness and rely heavily on Avomine (anti-nausea medicine) to have a smooth road journey. In December 2006 I went to Khurpatal, near Nanital in Uttranchal. So, I bought a strip of Avomine in Gurgaon and…
Pre-booking with Tour Operators in India
Yumthang Valley: Sikkim, We Booked the Tour at Gangtok I sometimes get email queries for information on Ladakh or Sikkim. The most frequently asked question is: “Can you recommend a good travel agent to book the tour through?” The problem is we travel almost like backpackers in India (my blog posts are a testimony to…