Vietnam, spreading my wings.

Preface

In the month of April, my niece came to Kolkata. She suggested me to visit Vietnam because she heard that the travel cost of Vietnam is cheaper than other countries. One of my friends in a travel group also informed that the cost of traveling to Vietnam is same as to travel in Kerala while I was planning to travel Western Coastal area of India. So I started searching on You Tube about Vietnam travel vlogs. Two vloggers’ information seemed very useful to me. First one is a Bengali vlog named Ghoshbabu Adventure, another is of a girl named Khushboo.

I compared the price of flights in skyscanner website, but bought flight tickets from Indigo because they have direct flights to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh city from Kolkata, though the timings were little odd. I found that prices were affordable for me, in the month of September, on 18th for departure and on 30th for arrival. It was cheaper earlier, in July/August, but it was off season. Before September it rains a lot. September second half was my convenient period too. So I bought flight tickets. I also bought a travel insurance of 1500 Rupees from policybazar.com comparing the policies of different company.

I learnt that Vietnam provide e-visa through their own website https://evisa.gov.vn/. One passport size photo is needed. One has to fill up the form with correct information. First and last destination should be mentioned with duration and also the first stay address. Passport validity should be more than 6 months and 25 dollars is required as Visa fee. One can pay through Indian Visa Debit cards. So I applied and within a week I got it through email.

Next step was booking accommodation. I booked hostels or hotels through Booking.com after reading all the reviews. My itinerary was Hanoi – Hoi An – Danang – Ho Chi Minh city. I planned to reach Hoi An from Hanoi by bus. and from Danang to Ho Chi Minh city by flight. I booked the flight of Vietravel (Vietjet has better and frequent service)Airlines through Agoda app. I felt a little confused because SBI charged some tax for buying that ticket, though the amount was around 250 rupees. I did not book my local trip before hand because I wanted to do it reaching there and Klook app did respond, neither to my Visa Debit Cards nor to my Axis Multi-currency Forex Card.

I learnt that carrying dollars is an easy method for Vietnam as it is the most accepted currency. I bought dollars from Orient Exchange(Kolkata Branch) as they charge minimum exchange fee. I also got a Forex Card from Axis bank. I carried some Indian cash and my Debit Cards too for security as I was traveling alone. One dollar is approximately 26,395 Vietnamese Dong(VND) and one rupee is approximately 297 VND when I went there. There are 1K, 2K, 5K, 10K, 20K, 50K, 100K, 200K and 500K notes of VND. 500ml water is 10K/15K. One can not buy anything with 1K, 2K, 5K notes. 3% transaction fee/exchange rate is charged normally everywhere.

I downloaded Grab app, which is a very necessary app in Vietnam to get taxi or bike to move from here to there within the city, before I left my city, I also downloaded off-line Google translator from English to Vietnamese. In Vietnam very few people can understand English.

The travel starts( Hanoi)

I reached Hanoi in the mid-night, local time 2AM, I was a little worried because the airport was 30 km away from the city. I bought a Viettel Sim Card from the Airport Counter at the price of 14 dollars. I exchanged 50 dollars at airport to meet urgent payments like taxi fare. There I met a helpful Bengali couple. We together got a taxi. It dropped them first, then dropped me at my hotel Hanoi Traveler House, at old quarter. This hotel was suggested by the vlogger whom I followed for this trip. I paid them through Forex Card. They also arranged my Halong Bay Day trip and Nin Binh (Mua cave, Hoa Lu and Trang An) trip.

There were quite a few places to visit in Hanoi. I visited Ho Chi Min’s Mausoleum, Hoan Kiem Lake, Tran Quoc Pagoda, Vietnam Military History Museum and Train Street taking Grab bikes. On the first day I exchanged 100 dollars at a currency exchange shop. On the fourth day again I exchanged another 100 dollar note from a jewellery shop. Complimentary breakfast was good in the hostel. I took local food. Hanoi street food was good, hygienic and affordable for me. I am not fussy about food.

Halong Bay day trip cruise was unique and beautiful. Lunch was included in the trip. It was a sumptuous lunch. We visited Luon cave, Titop Island and Sung Sot Cave, after sun set we came back. Nin Binh trip was also very beautiful. In this trip we visited Mua Cave, Trang An, Hoa Lu. Trang An is famous for King Kong movie. The shooting of the movie was done here. I must mention that both trips need physical ability. There were several natural caves. Those Karst caves were huge and there were different formation of stalactite and stalagmite. The area had been created by volcanic rocks and erosion of rocks by sea water made the formations since early ages.

Hoi An.

On the fourth day at 5 o’clock in the evening I left for Hoi An, a small town near Da Nang. This part was the worst experience of my whole trip. The bus started an hour late, though the bus was good and had clean toilet. The driver kept on stopping time to time and was talking continuously to someone over phone. He halted in a substandard restaurant for dinner where food and toilet, both were very poor. It stopped again at Hue to pick up more tourists. In the morning at 7 o’clock it reached at a place where we were transferred to another bus which was inferior. From there we reached Hoi An at 12 pm.

Taking a Grab Taxi I reached Hoi An Ancient Town Hostel. This hostel was really good according to price. Complimentary breakfast was nice though there were not many option. Their tea was awesome. The receptionist was very congenial and helpful. Its location was very near to the night market beside Hoai River. I met two Moroccan girls in my room who were very friendly. In Hanoi also I met one Polish and one Vietnamese girl. The Vietnamese girl gifted me some local biscuits which I liked very much and later bought for myself.

In the evening I went to the market, took photographs of lanterns, boats and floating candles. Hoi An is a small town and a peaceful place. There were many lanterns on the road. After sun down gradually people start coming, the market opens at 6 0’clock. There were food courts, souvenir shops and restaurants on both side of the Thu Bon River. There were hand made candles sold by local women for floating in the river making a wish, which was a custom of the town. I bought a candle at 5K VND after bargaining and put it in the water.

Next day I went to a package trip which started at 8 AM. We went to My Son( pronounced Mee Son), ancient ruins of Shyam Kingdom( they pronounced Cham). It was a Hindu kingdom, which was established in 2nd /3rd century during the rules of the Chola, Chera and Pandya dynasties of India, who were very much competent in maritime activities and spread their kingdom in South East Asia. I felt very proud to see that our country was so advanced in those days and how it has been preserved by the Vietnamese, though major parts were destroyed by the Americans during Vietnam war.

We covered the huge area and had lunch in a restaurant in that area. After that we visited a local village and learnt how they make rice noodles and preserve them for the whole year. Then we went to the ancient town of Hoi An and came back to hostel in the afternoon. At 3 o’clock pick up bus took me to Danang from the hostel and dropped me on the main road beside the sea beach.

Danang

Danang is a beautiful city and the biggest city of Vietnam beside South China Sea or East Sea. I stayed in Leaf Sustainable Hostel near My An Beach. This hostel has a very good vegan restaurant on its ground and 1st floor. They do not have help desk for local trips. I tried Klook app but it didn’t work for me, so I booked two trips through Booking.com. One for Bana Hills Sun World and the other for Marble Mountain, Am Phu Cave and Monkey mountain.

Lady Buddha/ Quan Am, at Monkey Mountain

I was picked up from the hostel on both the days. The guide Thuong was a very good tour conductor. Bana Hills had cable car to reach the top. There was the famous Golden Bridge. Then we went to the French village. It was an amusement park where they preserved old heritage buildings of the French colonizers. We went into a huge restaurant. There were so many types of food that I felt confused. We came back to the city in the afternoon.

Next day we went to Monkey Mountain to visit 67 meter tall statue of Lady Buddha or Quan Am (Protector of Da Nang), made of a single marble. Then we visited the 5 Marble mountains that symbolized the five elements of earth. We went into the largest mountain to visit Am Phu cave. It was a long walk with difficult stone steps. We came back after lunch.

In the evening I went to the sea beach. It started raining then. Taking a grab bike I went to Dragon Bridge. I took pictures of the bridge and the lighting of the river bank. From Friday to Sunday in the evening, 9 o’clock to 9-30, fire emits from Dragon’s mouth.

Ho Chi Minh City.

Next day I took flight for Ho chi Minh City. I reached Ho Chi Minh City at around 5 o’clock in the evening because the flight was 45 minutes late. Taking a grab taxi I reached City Back Packers’ Hostel at District 1. The receptionists were very good and helpful. I booked Mekong Delta Trip for next day and Cu Chi Tunnel trip for the last day. At Mekong Delta we went to few farms. At one farm they showed us how they make coconut candy. At another farm we saw local vegetables and fish farming. There were crocodiles, snakes and frogs too. There we went for boating in Mekong river.

Coming back in the evening, I went to the famous Ben Than Market. I really felt confused about price of everything. I realized that it was impossible for me to buy anything from there, because one needs a lot of bargaining skill, at the same time the knowledge of real price of those goods. I took out 1,500,000 dong(58 dollars/ 5000 Rupees app) from an ATM. After taking a glass of coconut smoothie I came back to hostel.

Next day I went to Cu Chi Tunnel trip. It was approximately 50Km away from the city. On the way we also visited the museum where the war victims make and sell their hand made paintings as their livelihood. Cu Chi Trip was really overwhelming. it was a unique story and evidences of the freedom struggle of the Vietnamese during 1955 to 1975. How intriguingly they fought against their powerful and rich American enemies with poor resources. It took a long time to cover the whole area. Some people participated in gun or rifle shooting while others rested.

Hiding place of Freedom fighters, Cu Chi Tunnel

I visited War Remnants Museum of Ho Chi Minh City on the way back. It was a big museum and to visit it thoroughly would take a half day. I had a cursory look of all the floors as I did not have much time and energy left. From there I went to a departmental store which my hotel help desk suggested to buy some gifts like candies, T-shirt, biscuits, Tea leaves etc. Then I came back to the hostel and packed my bag.

Guide demonstrating how traps were set for enemies.

I went for dinner after that. Coming back to hostel, I took shower. My flight was at 2-40 Am. I wanted to take a little rest but as I was afraid of falling asleep, so I decided to reach airport taking a grab taxi. In this trip I met few people who were really helpful and good to me. Some were Indians and few foreigners. They will remain in my memory.

Total Expenditure

Total Tour Expense for 11 days tour 1000 dollar/86000 INR

Visa 25 USD/ 2220INR+ transaction fee. Flight Tickets from Kolkata to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Kolkata 25000 INR, Airport to hotel 450,000VND/1515 INR(I shared half), 4 nights bed charge 901,000VND/3050 INR, Halong Bay one day trip 50$/1,300,000VND/ 3366INR, Nin Binh and Trang An one day trip 40$/1,056,000VND/ 3554 INR, Transportation to Hoi An from Hanoi 800,000VND/2692 INR, Hoi An Hostel bed charge for 1 night 120,000VND/403 INR, My Son and Ancient City tour 450,000VND/1515 INR, Transportation to Danang fron Hoi An 130,000VND/437 INR, Danang Hostel 3 nights bed charge 504,000VND/1695 INR, Ba Na hills Tour 64$/1,680,000VND/5681 INR, Marbel mountain 26$/ 685,905VND/ 2307 INR, Da Nang to Ho chi Minh City Flight through Agoda 4500 INR, Ho Chi Minh City Hostel bed charge for 3 nights 810,000VND/2724 INR, Mekong Delta Trip 600,000VND/2017 INR, Cu Chi Tunnel Trip 500,000VND/1681 INR.

I ate local food like Bun Mi( 20,000 – 40,000 VND) and Pho(60,000 – 95,000VND), took Grab bike or taxi for local transportation. As it was hot and humid, I consumed coconut milk, coconut smoothie or ice-cream daily twice or thrice, the cost of which was 20,000VND to 40,000VND for per glass or candy, that was the only extravaganza I did in the whole tour. I bought mostly 5 liter or 2 liter water bottles for convenience. 5 liter water bottle is 30,000 to 35,000VND, while half liter bottle is 20,000-10,000 VND. Vietnam is famous for coffee. I am not a coffee person. I tried cold coconut coffee once but it was very strong and cost 40,000VND.

Over all impression about Vietnam.

Vietnam is not a rich country. They suffered very much till 1975. Still they survived and developed to some extent. People are mostly hard working. I did not face any scam. The cities of Vietnam wake up after sundown, but I could not see the night life much because I prefer taking sufficient rest at night while traveling. There was no street dog. Hotel and hostels were very clean.Toilets were clean in all tourist places. Cars did not honk unnecessarily. Streets were clean in most of the parts. There were lots of greenery everywhere. Flowers and fruits of the trees at the public places were intact. People were tourist friendly.

Rajasthan & Varanasi

Forts and Desert, Ghats and Temples

I love to travel, mostly in Himalayas, but I had a long desire since youth for traveling to desert, specially after watching Sonar Kella movie of Satyajit Ray. Last year I made up my mind to make a plan for visiting Rajasthan. One of my cousins lives in Udaipur. I find it easy to reach there and start my journey. I did not want to make my journey hectic, so I didn’t make my itinerary complex. It was just Udaipur, Jaisalmer and Jaipur. Coming back to Kolkata from Jaipur was another long journey. I planned to break the journey at Varanasi and come back taking a day break there.

I booked an A/C two tier berth in Shalimar-Udaipur Weekly super-fast express. It started 2 hours late. The train reached Udaipur at 9-30 AM instead of 5-35 AM. My cousin and his wife came to receive me at the station. 1st day we chatted a lot and also planned for my next day local sight seeing. My cousin in law arranged an auto for me. Driver’s name was Rashid. He was a nice person. After early lunch I went out with him. He took me to Fateh Sagar, Saheliyon ki bari, Wax Museum, Maha Rana Pratap Statue, Handicraft Museum, City Palace, Gulab Bag(without Gulab) etc 12 places.

I took a boat ride at Fateh sagar. The most interesting place was City Palace that I went at the end. I took a ticket from the counter for visiting the whole palace. It is a huge palace beside Pichola Lake. It takes a long time to visit the whole palace. There was a small toy train service to reach the palace from main gate. The ticket costs 50 rupees per person for one side.

Views were amazing from the top of the palace. The palaces of Rajasthan show how luxurious were the lives of the kings. There were amazing, huge, hand painted photographs. “Battle of Haldighati” was famous among them. I lost my cap which I had borrowed from my cousin. I was so engrossed going through the narrow high staircases that I did not notice where and when it fell from my head. Lake palace hotel can be seen from here.

I came back home in the evening. Next day in the evening we went to Fateh Sagar for sunset photograph. When we were going through a one way road. Suddenly a motorcyclist came from the wrong side and broke the side glass and scratched the car. We were a little upset. After taking photographs we went to eat chaat. Chaat of Udaipur is quite famous. It was really tasty. We took two plates of chaat.

I booked night coach bus ticket for Jaisalmer for next evening through Red Bus. Next day when I woke up from my afternoon nap, I found that my cousin in law kept a bandhni chunni ( stole ) on my bed as gift. After dinner my cousin and his wife dropped me at the bus stand.

In the bus, I came cross a lady who introduced herself and had a conversation with me for a while. She was married to a rich family and they had seven deep tube-wells to irrigate their land. She said, she came to her parents’ place to put mehendi (hena) on her hand. She showed me pictures of her family that she took before leaving her home. She also showed me her new chunni which she was wearing. She informed that it is a custom there that a new chunni is given to the daughter of the family at the time of leaving.

In the morning, when the bus was about to reach Jaisalmer, a man came to me and asked me if I had booked any package for desert safari or any hotel in Jaisalmer. I told him that I have talked previously to a couple of local travel agents before coming with whom I would contact after getting down from the bus. He requested me to check in to his hotel and put a glance to their package. I agreed and went with him. I liked their package as it seemed cheaper and convenient to me. He added me with a Gujrati group of five people. The package included: stay in the hotel till 3 o’clock, transportation from Jaisalmer to Sam desert and back, jeep safari, camel safari, night stay, dinner and breakfast.

After taking breakfast and tea, I went to explore the famous Golden Fort of Jaisalmer. People still live in this fort. Its a kind of huge building complex. There were shops, hotels, restaurants, market etc inside the fort premises. I went into the palace taking a ticket. It was though not as large as city palace, but still very high and big castle. There were rooms and balconies and high, narrow stair cases and terrace. It spoke about the tough but grand life of the royal family. There was an open space with a large decorative chair like structure where the queens would sit when any of them was angry, the king would come to compose her bringing gifts.

At 3 o’clock in the afternoon we started for Sam, on the way we visited Kuldhara village. That village was abandoned and called haunted. Though I did not feel anything eerie, I learned from a car driver that the village people shifted suddenly on one night, being threatened by one local land lord due to some inter-caste love affair issue.

We reached a place near desert just before dusk, where we were shifted to an open jeep. We enjoyed the ride through the uneven path of sand dunes. There were many people at that time who were enjoying desert bike ride, some were taking photographs or enjoying camel ride. There was pollution and haze, so photographs did not come out satisfactory. We also took a ride on camels. It was scary when a camel stands up taking someone on its back.

After a lot of enjoyment we were taken back to the place where we had to stay. There were two types of tents. One was completely made of canvas, and the other was semi-permanent with canopy over the brick wall, with attached bath. We stayed in the second type.

They welcomed us in traditional Rajasthani manner. Then snacks and tea was served. There was a cultural program of songs and Rajasthani folk dance. I enjoyed the dance program very much. Dinner was served which was typical local cuisine of daal-bati-churma, and roti rice etc. I felt a little worried thinking about my weak Bengali stomach.

Next morning they served early breakfast with poha and upma. On the way back we visited a Jain Temple and Bada Bagh. Bada Bagh was a place where the cenotaphs of the royal family were made. A few cenotaphs have stone images of the kings with several queens who became “sati” with them. The grandsons of the royal family have the right to make their grand parents’ cenotaph. There was a prince who did not have grandson. He had no cenotaph but only a dais, with a metal vase containing his ash.

In the evening I went to the sunset point of the Golden fort to take sunset picture, going through a narrow lane beside the Jain temple of Parsvanath. Jaisalmer Fort has a large complex of seven Jain temples. These group of Jain temples consist of Parsvanatha temple, Sambhavanatha temple, Shitalanatha temple, Shantinatha and Kunthunatha temple, Chandraprabha temple and Rishabhanatha temple. Next morning I went too Gadisar Lake.

In the evening I took another night sleeper coach for Jaipur. Next early morning I reached Jaipur and took an auto to reach Zostel, Jaipur. I booked it previously through Booking.com. Jaipur Zostel is good for solo travelers. After settling there I went to Jal Mahal taking a shared auto. The rent was only fifteen rupees. Jal Mahal lake was full with the migratory birds, specially cormorants. I took many photographs.

From there I went to City Palace taking another auto. Its a huge palace. There were two types of tickets. One was to enter into the palace’s outer area, another was to enter into the residential area. As my legs were tired, so I took the ordinary one. There I watched a small puppet show paying hundred rupees. Coming out from the palace, I walked a little to reach Hawa Mahal. Hawa Mahal seemed nothing but a wall to me.

I came back, and after lunch I took a little rest to prepare myself for Nahargarh fort visit. A Zostel person, named Mr Sultan, took few of the Zostel boarders to Nahargarh Fort. Nahargarh fort was a little distant from the city and situated on the top of a hill. On the way we saw quite a number of peacocks and parrots. Sunset was beautiful there. After sun down we entered into the palace. We saw the night view of Jaipur city from the fort’s roof top. There were many monkeys.

Next morning after breakfast, I went to visit Amber Fort. I took an auto to reach Amber Fort. It was a huge fort. Some people were climbing the fort on elephant back. There were several ways to enter the fort in ancient days, on foot as well as on horse back, and on elephants. I came back by a local bus in a hurry because I had to catch the train

Coming back to Zostel, I collected my luggage, and started for Jaipur station. Entering the station, I searched for lunch. It was a good and sumptuous buffet lunch that was served in the executive class waiting room. As soon I finished my lunch, I saw Marudhar Express arrived at the platform. I boarded the train. This train goes to Varanasi from Jodhpur everyday.

Next morning I reached Varanasi. Here I had booked an accommodation at Wander Station near Chausatti Ghat. It was also a hostel but a costlier one. The position of this place was not only a little confusing, but also difficult to reach. They help their customers if they inform earlier after reaching at the pick up point. They have a cafe at their roof top.

Ganga river at Varanasi was full of migratory birds like Siberian cranes and Sea Gulls. I took a boat ride in the evening to witness Ganga Aarti and the ghats. Next morning I visited the temple. The temple premises was completely changed from what I had seen more than forty years ago. There were huge buildings in the temple premises, old temple was demolished and a new one has been built. I spent three hours to see the deity.

Coming back from the temple I took breakfast of puri-vaji, gulabjamun. As no other vehicle could reach near Wander Station, so one of their managers Mr Sagar suggested me to take a rapido ride for Sarnath. The motorcyclist was an expert to traverse the traffic clogged roads. He dropped me in front of Sarnath Temple. It was a large park where there was a temple and several statues of Lord Buddha. After visiting the park I visited Dhamek Stupa.

When I came back from Sarnath, it was 2-30 PM. As I was going down the ghat to reach my hostel, I found that a big ferry boat was leaving. I got up into the boat to take photographs of the birds. After boat ride when I came back it was a little late. So I took two cups of Lassi from nearby Baba Lassi Shop. That fellow makes different kinds of lassi, like kiwi, banana, chocolate, pomegranate, orange, coconut, apple, papaya etc. Many foreigners were having lassi there.

In the evening I took an early dinner from the roof top restaurant with a cheese nun and an omelette. Next morning I woke up late and went out to have puri vaji and jalebi. I also had malaiyo. Malaiyo is frothy milk cream mixed with saffron. I wished to visit Ramnagar fort for sunset hue of Ganga but I had to catch the train. I regretted missing it because I had to wait at the station for two and half hours as Vibhuti Express was late. It reached Howrah almost 6 hours late.

Manali to Srinagar by road and Kashmir off beat.

Everyone says that the road route from Manali to Srinagar or vice versa is spectacular. I visited Ladakh in 2013 but by flight, I visited Kashmir thrice too but not solo. It was a long desired and planned trip to visit this route and visit Gurez Valley, Bangus Valley and Wular/Wolar lake.

I started my journey from Delhi on 1st of September 2024. It was not a very smooth beginning. I booked Delhi- Manali HRTC volvo, Himsuta. As September is not tourist season for Manali, and there were very less passengers, so the bus, scheduled at 5-30 pm, was canceled and the passengers were to board into another bus, scheduled at 7 pm. As I was not aware of the fact and booked ticket through Red Bus, so I waited at ISBT Kashmiri gate for 3 hours. The bus started on time but one tire was punctured near Sonipath. It was repaired on the way. After dinner I slept deeply as I was very tired. When I woke up in the morning at 7, I found that there was road jam due to land slide. I came to know that the bus had been standing there since 4 am.

At 8 o’clock, the traffic gradually started moving. We reached Manali bus stand at 1-30 pm instead of 7-30 am in the morning. I took a taxi from the bus stand and with the help of the driver got an accommodation in the market. In the afternoon I visited Hadimba Devi temple which I visited long ago, then I booked my ticket for Leh. As it was not tourist season so there was no direct bus service from Manali to Leh. Only HRTC Manali-Keylong service was available. A night halt at Keylong was needed to catch another Keylong- Leh HRTC Roadways bus. Though it was a little expensive for me but I booked a seat in a shared Innova taxi (3000/-) from the taxi stand office at mall in the evening. It was scheduled at 7-30 next morning.

Next morning I reached taxi- stand. It was a new Toyota Innova car. But when I reached, a heated argument was going on between the owner and two Israeli girls. None of them wanted to sit in the back seat. As we were getting late and it was quite a long distance to cover, we all became anxious and ultimately a compromise was made that one would sit at the back and other in the front and they would exchange their places time to time. All along the journey they disturbed us by stopping the car for smoking and peeing. We reached Leh at night 9 o’clock. In the car there was a French girl who was decent and congenial. She caught cold and had fever. I helped her giving anti allergic and paracetamol. Other two people were BRO employees and one was a trekking guide.

The road was really spectacular with different hues of the mountain and topography. On the way I saw Suraj Tal. We crossed four mountain passes, Baralacha La, Nakee La, Lachung La, Tanglang La. Actually there are five but we avoided Rhotang Pass going through Atal tunnel. In places, there were shepherds with their innumerable sheep. The name of the bridges we came across were funny like Twing Twing, Brandy, Whisky etc. We talked about the creativity and intriguing nature of BRO people. There were army posts in several places. We had our lunch at Pang.

When we reached Leh it was already late. The car dropped us near the market. As it was a tiring journey in the thin air, I felt exhausted. I took a taxi to get a hotel at market but the taxi driver cheated on me taking in a near by hotel infested by small house mouse. Apparently it looked clean and habitable. So I settled there.

Next morning, I found some of my biscuits were scattered in the floor. I thought may be few fell from the packet which I could not notice. I went out for breakfast and after breakfast I went to the market to get a SIM card from Airtel Store. Btw, prepaid SIM cards do not work in Ladakh and Jammu Kashmir. After getting the SIM card, I went to the bus stand at Polo Ground to get bus ticket for Kargil. Then I bought few medicines from a medicine shop too. I came back after lunch.

Getting back into the hotel I took shower and then took a nap. When I woke up I called the manager to tell him that next early morning I would leave. He talked to the driver of the bus and arranged my pick up from the front of the hotel. At that time I found two small mouse peeping through the door. I got scared. Then I realized who messed up with my biscuits. I told the manager to do something. He said that killing rat was prohibited there, I don’t know how much true it was, but it was too late to change the hotel. I could not sleep well whole night.

Next early morning at 6-30, the bus picked me up for Kargil. It was an enjoyable journey. We crossed Shyam Valley. There were another two mountain Passes on the way, Namika La and Fotu La. Our bus stopped at Khalsi for breakfast. I ate rice and mutton curry there. There were lots of apricot trees with ripe apricot. I bought a packet of dry apricot from there, though the price was same as Leh market. The bus reached Kargil at 1-30 pm. In front of the bus stand there were few hotels. I entered into one of them. It was clean but the room was on the 3rd floor. There was a good restaurant in the neighboring hotel. I had a tasty lunch with rice, keema daal and rista.

Kargil only reminds us about the war but now I found it a serene town at the bank of Suru river. In the evening I roamed around the market. I talked to the drivers at the taxi stand about local sight seeing rate. I wish if I were informed that local buses go to the village from where Nun-kun glacier could be seen and it was also the starting point for Mt Nun-kun summit. I bought some fresh apricot. After having dinner I came back to hotel. I did not want to see war memorial because it would only make my heart gloomy.

Next day after breakfast, I booked bus ticket for Srinagar. Then taking a taxi I went to Apati village to see Maitreya Buddha rock carving. The driver did not know the exact location, Google map also misled us a little but we reached the place with the help of local people. As it was not a popular tourist destination, there were only an Italian couple with their guide. It was really surprising that in those ancient days when there was no transport facilities, people came and carved on the high mountain wall in such interior part of Himalayas to show their respect to Lord Buddha. I took few snaps and came back. On the way back I took some snaps of Kargil. In the evening I took photos of Mt Nun Kun.

Next early morning at 5-30, I boarded the bus to go to Srinagar. There was a family of three and two girls from an Islamic Institution of Kargil, were in the cabin. They did not allow the driver playing songs as it is forbidden to them. I bought ticket for front seat, because in the previous bus I did not get much opportunity to take good snaps.

We had our breakfast at Dras. I got acquainted with a South Indian boy who was also a traveler like me. We crossed Zoji La Pass. From Zojii La pass Indian army vigil became very strong. Gradually we crossed Baltal, and Sonmarg. They reminded me of my Amarnath Yatra. Sonmarg looked crowded with hotels, ponies and taxis. A fly over was being made to make Amarnath Pilgrimage easier to access to avoid Sonmarg crowd.

We reached Srinagar at noon. I took an auto for Lal Chawk to spend the night. Next early morning, as per suggestion of the hotel manager, I went to Parimpur (Mandi) bus stand to get shared jeep for Bandipura. Bandipura is a transit town and is only 2hours away from Srinagar. On the way I saw Manasbal Lake. From Bandipura I took another shared jeep for Gurez Valley.

Gurez is a border area. So my entry receipts were made at different places, identity cards had to be shown at check posts. Foreigners are not allowed in this area. Gurez remains closed to the world for six months because Razdan Pass, the gate of Gurez, remains closed due to snow. Scenic beauty of Gurez valley is still pristine with Kisenganga and Habba Khatun Peak. Habba Khatun was the queen of Kashmir, wife of Yusuf Shah Chak. When Yusuf Shah Chak was exiled to Bihar and died there, Habba Khatun would sing in his memory.

Peer Baba temple on the way to Razdan Pass

I stayed in Gurez Valley for two nights. Dawar is a little costly place. As it was end season, I somehow managed an economic accommodation. From Dawar one can go to Tulail Valley and the border village Chakwali. I visited the chasmah( natural fountain) at Habba Khatun hill.

I wanted to go to Wular Lake and planned to stay there inspired by the movie Notebook(2019) which was based on a primary school of Wular region. For that purpose I reached Bandipura and took a bus for Wular Lake Park. I was informed that there was an accommodation inside the park. After reaching the park, I wanted to talk to the care-taker of the park. He seemed very busy because few government high officials came there and a meeting was going on there with the DC of Bandipura and CEO of the park, with other officials. The care taker in the mean time informed me that though there was accommodation but it was not habitable. A canteen boy of the park was impressed by my enthusiasm and insisted me to go and talk directly to the DC and CEO.

I went to the meeting area and approached them directly. They were though surprised, but helped me wholeheartedly giving permission to stay there. There were 4 very beautiful rooms with balcony on Wular Lake but as they were kept absolutely unused for 10 years after they were made, so got worn out to some extent. I stayed peacefully there two nights. I felt overwhelmed with the attention and care of the park employees. In the morning my eyes opened with the quacking of uncountable ducks. Sunset was beautiful there. Mt Harmukh can be seen from the park.

My next destination was Kupwara. I knew a Kashmiri through Facebook for quite a few years. He often told me to come to Kupwara. When I planned for this trip, I informed him. He told me to stay at his place. I asked him if his family members would object if I stayed at his place, he gave me assurance. When I reached Kupwara, I met him, he insisted me to visit Lolab Valley and arranged a car at 1500/-. Lolab Valley consisted of several villages and harvesting was going on there. I took a number of snaps and came back in the evening. That person took me to his home in the evening, at a village 10 Km away from the town. I stayed in his house that night. He provided me a room, he and his son served food. Next morning he arranged me another car for Bangus Valley.

The car picked me up and a photographer boy was there to accompany me. He was very decent and sensitive person. We visited Chhota and Bada Bangus. Bangus Valley has a huge beautiful meadow, full with sheep. There were Lavender flowers.

We came back to Kupwara in the evening. I decided not to go back to the FB friend’s house because it was quite away from the town, it would be difficult for me to catch vehicle for Srinagar next morning. Secondly it was little weird and uneasy feeling for me to stay in a house where female members were not introduced. So I stayed in a hotel at the bus stand that night.

Next morning I came back to Parimpura Bus stand again and tried to go to Doodhpathri. But there was no shared transport, so I decided to go to Gulmarg. I visited Gulmarg in 1983 June and 1985 April. I felt to revisit it. I went to Gulmarg changing vehicle at Tangmarg. Getting down from the vehicle at taxi stand, I found a hotel. So I entered into it. It was an old hotel. Though the position of the hotel was very strategic but it was ill maintained. On top of all inconveniences, the stuff were not good. My phone network was not working so I asked for WiFi pass word. One person came and asked me why I need WiFi password, I told my problem. He asked for my phone. Instead of putting password, he desperately tapped the screen so hard that the phone became completely out of order.

I took an auto for local sight seeing. I visited Maharaj Hari Singh’s palace and other places. Gulmarg is a very costly place. So tourists come from Srinagar in the morning, visit the place and go back by afternoon. Next morning after breakfast I started for Srinagar and reached there. I had a booking in a house boat, I took a shikara and reached there. The house boat owner and his family welcomed me. I enjoyed the company of his grand daughter who was two years old. In the evening I went to Nehru Park to take sunset photos. I spent idle time next morning taking photographs of birds. The lunch and the dinner provided in the house boat were homely and tasty. I left Kashmir in the evening by direct flight from Srinagar.

This trip gave me a different perspective about Kashmir and Ladakh. I found people of those interior part are as simple and raw as their lifestyle. Mostly people are protective about women even for an unknown one. Most of them are helpful and frank. Army was helpful, at some places local police was rude, though most of them are polite. During these 16 days trip, I came across few good hearted people unexpectedly. They will remain evergreen in my memory.

Sikkim Silk Route.

A long desired tour.

Sikkim is a beautiful state and a frequently traveled destination. Since a long time I had a desire to visit East Sikkim, specially Silk Route. Its a common itineray for Bengali travelers. Normally I travel alone, but covering this area needs personal vehicle for some part of the route which is costly for a single person. I had been waiting for an opportunity to get a suitable group. Suddenly I found an advertisement on What’s App, put up by my long time Facebook friend cum brother Rana Mukherjee who runs a small travel agency, called Parijayi Paribar, with another partner. It was a 4 nights 5 days’ package. Their offer was very much affordable. I requested him to add me in their group. Rana met an accident and got injured two days before the journey, but still he accompanied us even with so much pain and inconvenience.

We reached Howrah station and boarded Kamrup Express on 26th November 2023 and reached New Jalpaiguri Station next early morning. Two jeeps were waiting for us at the station. We were a group of 15 adults and 2 kids including Rana. There was a group of 7 with a child who took one jeep and 3 couples with one 3 years old child and I boarded another with Rana.

There was road jam at two places on the way. One was for an accident and another was for road repair work. On the way we had breakfast before Kalimpong. We reached Sileri Gaon in the afternoon. Sileri Gaon is a small hamlet at the border of Sikkim and Darjiling. Mt Kanchenjunga Range is visible from the village. Our home-stay was good. There was a view point called Ramitey View point as there was haze I did not go there. In the early morning I woke up to see sunrise. As there were several obstacle of trees for a clear view of the mountain range from our home-stay, I went a little downwards and took photographs from the balcony of another home-stay. After breakfast with puri sabji we started for Padamchen.

At Rangoli we made our permit for Sikkim Silk Route. We visited Vinayak temple at Rhenock. We reached Padamchen at around 4 PM. We were delayed time to time because the jeep with the family of 7 people were facing problem as the child was vomiting time to time. It was their first trip to mountain, probably first time in a long trip. After settling there in the home-stay we had lunch.

The home-stay at Padamchen was very good, though situated in an interior area of the village, quite away from the main road. Though Padamchen is very scenic but hardly any snow peak can be seen from there. There is a monastery, but I could not visit it as we did not have much time to spend there and due to the position of the home-stay.

Third day was a tough and hectic day. We could not start early in the morning as breakfast could not be served before 8-30 AM. We started after 9-30. There were several points to visit, that include Silk Route. They were Zuluk village, Thambi view point, Nathang Valley, Kupup Lake, Old Baba Mandir. Those places were situated above treeline, so our organizer did not plan to stay at Zuluk as we had two kids and few novice travelers in our group. Weather was mostly good and we enjoyed the beauty of the places.

As we were already late and it was impossible to reach our next destination on time for lunch, so on the way back we took a break at Keukhola falls to have some food. I ate a small pizza at Old Baba mandir in the Indian Army run restaurant, so I took some dry fruits from my own stock.

It took quite long time to reach our next destination Lungchok. The road was terrible after Rangoli. Nothing could be seen after sun down. It seemed an endless journey to reach Lunchok. At around 6-30 we reached there. The home-stay was not as per our expectation. There was geyser in the bathroom and everything was clean but the rooms were smelly due to lack of ventilation.

I never had heard about that place Lungchok, nor could not see anything in the dark. After tea and pakoda I took rest for a while and searched information about the place through net. I came to know that sunrise is spectacular there on Mt Kanchenjunga. Next morning I woke up and went out of the room and found that the information was true indeed and I witnessed a colorful sunrise. I have a desire to go there again and spend few days.

Next morning after breakfast we started for Aaritar Lake. It is a medium size lake with greenery all around. There is a monastery at a little higher altitude. I had momos and a cup of tea there, after walking around the lake. Then we reached Reshikhola. We stayed at Banalata Homestay No.1. We had to went down into the gorge of Reshi river from the main road. The home-stay was situated at the bank of Reshi river. It was a serene place. The service of Banalata Home-stay No 1 was good, though a family (whom we met at Padamchen )who stayed at Banalata Home-stay No.2 complained about their service.

The whole tour went well except few incidents. On the first day at Sileri Gaon our jeep reached first. So rooms were allotted to us earlier. Later the jeep with the family of 7 reached, they complained that we were provided better rooms. So from the next day onward we allowed them to choose their rooms first. They neither appreciated nor even realized that fact.

There were several places where entry fees were needed. It was given by the organizer with the expectation that it would be repaid at the end of the tour, it was there already in the terms and condition. The family of 7 denied to pay the sum at the end.

When we were coming back to New Jalpaiguri we had to stop at a road side restaurant for lunch. There was a fresh pomelo tree ( Batabi lebu/ Jambura) at the opposite side of the highway, laden with fruits. The head of the family of 7 went suddenly crossing the highway and plucked 3/4 fruits very fast. The restaurant owner demanded price for the fruit and they refused to pay. It caused a hot argument between them. They did not have any idea that it was an offense to pluck fruits or flowers without the permission of the authority. It was resolved by the interference of another local.

In the evening we reached New Jalpaiguri. I waited at the AC waiting room and had dinner in IRCTC catering service. After that I boarded Darjiling Mail. I got a few good friends in this trip who accompanied me in the jeep. We shared our thoughts and views all along the journey and entertained each other.

Revisiting Childhood Memories.

Bengaluru, Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari

This year during Durgapuja I planned to visit my cousins’ house in Bengaluru. I thought to cover Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari too as I felt to revisit those places. I visited all three places with my father in the year 1977 when I was a school student. That was a long trip of 30 days covering several places of South India. In those days getting reservation in train was not a problem. My father got a circular ticket for the places that had railway station. It was a memorable journey and experience.

My cousins live in Bengaluru for livelihood and they have a semi Kannad son who is also my godson. I gave him his name after his birth. He demanded me to visit their place and stay for few days with him. So I thought it would be the best occasion to visit Bengaluru to escape the hustle bustle of Kolkata Durga Puja.

I started on 18th October by Howrah-SMVT Duranta Express. The service of Duranta Express was good. Food was fresh and on time. At least I did not feel any inconvenience during the journey except a group of co-passengers who were too talkative and ate a lot, from time to time, brought from their home. The train reached Bengaluru punctually.

Getting Prepaid taxi was problematic at SMVT, so I booked an Uber Taxi. I reached my cousins’ house in the evening. Next day was Sasthi. So we did not plan to eat out and stayed at home gossiping and watching cricket. In the evening we went to R T Nagar Community Durga Puja Pandel at Palace Ground. A cultural programme and a fair were being organized there. There my nephew had Qebab from the food stall and we ate sweet paan.

Next day after breakfast my nephew and I set out to explore Bengaluru. We went to Bengaluru Jama Masjid, Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace, and a temple behind the Palace. Then we took Metro to reach Kaban Park. There we visited Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum. My nephew was excited to show me the scientific gazettes and tried many switches and equipment. We had our lunch there, in the cafe at the roof top of the Museum. Bengaluru looked beautiful from there.

After that we visited Bengaluru Palace. It is a private property. We took tickets of Rs 240 per person to enter the palace. They provided audio guide. Camera is not allowed inside. It was a wonderful experience to learn about the grandeur and luxurious lifestyle in the 18th and 19th century, of the Wadiyars, the royal family of the Kingdom of Mysore. We were dead tired after that and came back by an auto.

Next day my cousins hired a car to visit Shivanasamudra falls and Talakadu river beach. We had boat ride in the river. The whole day was enjoyable and exhausting too. Next day I left Bengaluru in the evening by AC sleeper coach which started from Magestic bus stand. It was a strenuous bus journey of 14 hours. I reached Rameshwar at 9-30 in the morning. To my great disappointment, I found there was no bridge on the sea. It was just a barrage like structure on which the road was made.

It was a terrible problem to get accommodation in Rameswar. No hotel was ready to give room to a single traveler. After approaching to quite a few hotels one agreed to give accommodation taking pity on me that I have none at home, neither any close relative to take responsibility of my staying alone in Rameswaram. The room was not good as it had no window. I felt claustrophobic but I had no choice.

I visited the famous temple in the afternoon. I could not take any photo because I surrendered my mobiles to a mobile locker in front of the temple gate as they informed photography is strictly prohibited. Later I found that taking photo of the shrine and the surrounding area only is punishable. I felt overwhelmed with the magnitude of the deity and the grand architecture of the huge temple.

Next day after breakfast I went to visit Dhanuscodi. I did not see the jetty from where ships would ply to Srilanka in 1970-80. It was a ruin of an once populous town. I visited several temples. In the afternoon I went to the main temple again. Taking permission from the security person and a priest, I took few photos of corridors of the temple. In the evening I left Rameswaram by Tamilnadu Transport Corporation AC bus for Kanyakumari. Ticket was arranged by the hotel help desk taking extra service charge.

Next morning at 3 AM the bus reached Kanyakumari. From my previous experience I tried to take a lesson about lodging. So I had booked a home-stay from Rameswaram, run by an old couple there, reading review from booking.com. I tried to call them but the lady said she would call me later, but she did not and I got a confirmation email. After reaching there by an auto at around 3-15 AM, none responded. Again a search for shelter started, awaking people in the hotel receptions.

At last one agreed to give accommodation taking a contact number and address of one relative. Room was a bit costly but good, with Vivekanada Rock view from the window and balcony. The room was specious too. I agreed and slept again peacefully keeping my luggage. Next morning I got a regret letter from the home stay that they don’t allow single boarder.

In the afternoon I went to visit Vivekanada rock. There was a boat jetty. I stood in the long queue. Ticket was 70 rupees per head. Next afternoon I went to the temple and strolled in the sea side. I feel surprised that whenever I go to any crowded temple, there are always few people who take unfair way to reach the deity a little faster. One should take straight path to reach to the God, if they really think God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and just to all.

Though there was no specific part as Sangam of three oceans ( Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Bay Of Bengal) which had been there previously, people were taking bath at the western part of the temple. I bought a sand stone necklace and took photograph. Next early morning I caught Cape Howrah Weekly Express.

Adi Kailash, Om Parvat and Panchachulli Base Camp.

A Joint Venture

In the year 2021 I tried to plan this trip on my own. My trekker friend Angshu Dutta provided me a local contact to undertake this trip. Unfortunately for several reasons that plan did not work. First time I fell sick due to COVID and then train service was stopped due to 2nd phase of lock down, after that there was a huge land slide. My effort for this trip did not materialize and I went to Rupkund trek instead. Later I realized that it is not possible for me to do it solo.

My Rupkund trek friend Rinku Basu took initiative this time to assemble six people to undertake this trip. As soon as the group was formed, a rendezvous was arranged at Rabindra Sadan. The journey date was fixed there and we got acquainted with each other.

Where we had a road jam due to land slide

Our journey started on 1st October 2023 by Akal Takht Express. We reached Bereily at 6 AM next day and an SUV car was arranged by our local travel agent Mr. Mahesh Jung (I had his contact number since 2021) by which we reached Dharchula. As per the instruction of our team leader Bishwanath Da, I had previously booked two rooms at KMVN TRH in Dharchula where we spent the night. We had a plan to stay at Dharchula one day but due to our Prime Minister Modi’s visit to this region including Adi Kailash, we had to prepone that plan and started for Gunji next morning. Our local travel agent had already made our permit as we had sent our relevant documents, like one passport size photo, Adhar Card Xerox, vaccination certificate and medical fitness certificate.

The beginning of the journey was not quite smooth. There was a huge land slide near Tawaghat and we had to wait 5 hours on the road. Our driver Ganeshji was a leisure loving person. He was very casual in such situation. He called up a mechanic to check up the car’s engine and also provided us local guava. We could not have lunch that day except few tit-bits, brought by our friends. There was a hanging bridge at that point on Kali River. As we had ample time on hand, we ventured through the bridge and went to a small village of Nepal, getting permission from the check-post.

The road was absolutely uneven and maintenance was going on in different places for PM’s arrival. We reached Gunji at 8 o’clock at night. There were several check posts on the way where we had to show our permit. The whole area is very near to Nepal and Tibet border and full with army camps.

The Home stay at Gunji was good and we got more than we expected. The rooms were cozy. There was western toilet in the lavatory with water supply. Food was good and the home stay owner was congenial. The charge was 1500/- per person per night including food. Gunji is a beautiful village surrounded by mountain.

Next morning after breakfast we started for Jolingkong. It is the place from where holy Mt Adi Kailsh can be seen. On the way we saw Brahma Peak and Pandava peak(a series of five peaks). There are two lakes, Parvati Sarovar and Gaurikund. Pravati Sarovar is more distant than Gaurikund, the path is easier for its gradient slope but Gaurikund, though closer distance-wise, is difficult to climb with stiff and uneven stony path.

I took a pony at the cost of Rs 3K which is a fixed rate. My syce was more chatty than careful and practical. Altitude of the place is very high(15000ft) with no green at all. I was a bit reluctant to go to Gaurikund due to its difficulty level, and altitude. Specially the last 500 meters has to be covered by trekking, but the pony owner kept on insisting, even the passers by too supported him. I visited Gauri Kund. While coming down I fell from the pony and got injured severely, though thankfully none of the injuries was fatal. For this, in the rest of the tour I moved as least as possible.

The beauty of the place was wonderful and heavenly. All members completed the parikrama by 2 PM. Then we started for Gunji. On the way we visited local temple named Manokamna. We had our lunch at Gunji.

Next day early morning we started for Navidhang to witness Om Parvat. It was quite dark. Our driver Ganesh ji stopped the car at the check point but none was there. As it is a border area, security clearance is quite important there. Otherwise it may cause problem later. So we took initiative to wake up the army camp to give us permission. After crossing the first check post we reached another at Kalapani.

When we reached Navidhang, sun was rising. Om parvat was visible, though due to late season most of the snow melted, but still, “🕉” image was almost perfectly recognizable. There was Nag Parvat at the opposite which was completely bare with neither white nor green.

On our way back we spent some time at Kalapani. There is a Kalimata Temple, beside a small stream, maintained by the army. It is the source of Kali River. There is a natural cave too, called Vyas Guha.

After having breakfast at the home-stay we started for Narayan Ashram which was just before Tawaghat. As usual our driver Ganesh ji was late to provide us a place for lunch. Lunch was awful. We reached Narayan Ashram just before sunset. We were provided two rooms at the extreme back end of the Ashram, each room consisted of 4 beds with attached bathroom. The total area of the ashram was quite big with few guest houses and for other activities.

Just after settling with luggage and having a shower, our leader informed that we must join the evening prayer which is mandatory there. It was a homely atmosphere. After evening prayer, the chief of the ashram introduced himself and we introduced ourselves. He told us about the tradition, activities and purpose of the Ashram. Accommodation was good and the charge for stay, including food, was 700/- per person per day.

Next morning after breakfast we started for Dantu Village. On the way Mr. Mahesh Jung was waiting to rescue us and helped us to reach there. There was a huge land slide on the way near Baling for which we had to change our vehicle and walk through the broken road. We reached Dantu late afternoon.

Dantu is a beautiful small village with the view of Panchachulli peaks. We spent two nights there at the home stay of Mr Mahesh Jung. His brother Manoj ji was a great cook. First morning was a little cloudy. All the peaks were not visible. We felt a little disheartened. Everyone of our team went to the base camp and zero point after puri vaji breakfast, while I stayed back sitting idle, baking myself under pleasant heat of sun, watching nature. Dhauli Ganga river initiated from the glacier of Panchachulli.

Next morning was very clear. Sunrise was spectacular on the peaks of Panchachulli. It looked like melted gold on the four fully visible peaks and one partly hidden peak. We all were overwhelmed as our mission was fully accomplished. After roti aloo vaji breakfast we bade good bye to all and started towards Dharchula. This time also Mahesh ji and his team helped us to cross the landslide part and to change our vehicles.

As two of our senior members decided that we should not waste time at Dharchula, instead we would proceed for Pithoragarh. They wished to visit Mayavati Ashram and Shyamlatal Ashram. Mr. Mahesh Jung arranged another car for us for three days to carry us up to Kathgodam at the cost of rupees 15K. We stayed at Nagar Kothi Hotel. The rooms were a bit shabby but their food was good. Next morning we visited Mayavati Ashram. I had visited Mayavati Ashram previously in March 2017 and stayed there for 3 days, so I worked as a guide for my company.

As our driver did not want to go back to Lohaghat for lunch and stay, so we proceeded towards Champavat. After lunch we stayed in a hotel at the outskirt of Champavat. The accommodation was good as well as their food. Champavat is a district town and has an old temple to visit. One of our team members visited the temple early in the morning. Next morning after breakfast with aloo paratha we started for Shyamlatal. Our friend Rinku denied to go there, as she found the journey very hectic. We dropped her on the road side to wait till we came back.

Baleshwar Temple, Champawat (P.C. Devjani Bose)

Shyamlatal and Vivekand Ashram was very serene and scenic. We had prasad there. On the way back we picked up Rinku and proceeded for Kathgodam. At Khatima we had our lunch. We reached Kathgodam at 4-30 PM. Our train Ranikhet Express to Delhi was at 8-30 in the evening.

The train reached Old Delhi station early in the morning at 4 AM. Rinku was always in a hurry, so she was standing in front of the door despite the warning of two GRPF stuff. Suddenly a mugger snatched her sling bag and ran away. She had her two mobiles and camera in it. A little hassle had to be faced by all for this incident. Later her bank accounts were blocked. On 11th Oct, from Delhi we took Rajdhani Express for reaching Kolkata. The trip went overall fruitful for myself.

Nepal, a comforting tour.

Nepal is a small bordering country of India where Indians don’t need passport or visa, even Aadhar Card works to go through land and Voter ID Card is enough to reach there by flight. Its a beautiful country with several spectacular travel and trekking destinations specially on Himalayas.

I went to Nepal last year in the month of May, but that tour did not give satisfaction to me. It was an incomplete feeling not to witness the magnificent peaks of Mt Annapurna, Mt Machapuchhare or Mt Everest going to Nepal.

I thought it would be better to keep Mt Everest for the next time while covering the tourist destinations centering Kathmandu but this time I planned to visit places centering Pokhara and view Mt Annapurna and Mt Machapuchhare. In my previous trip I could not visit local tourist spots of Pokhara as my companion was not interested just because she visited them before. I planned an itinerary for 13 days trip. It included Ghandruk, Dhampus and Begnas lake.

According to my plan I boarded Mithila Express from Howrah Station for Raxaul on 30th March. Elite Guest House owner Purna, in Pokhara, suggested me to come during the month of March but I could not manage earlier.

I reached Pokhara taking a bus from Birgunj. I exchanged 5000 Indian currency at border. Hundred Indian rupees is equal to hundred and sixty Nepali Rupees. They take 2% commission which is an affordable rate. Indian currency works in Nepal but not in the interior villages and small shops.

There were quite a few buses and this time my tongawala tried to mislead me to take another bus that would leave at 11-30 or later but I went to the previous bus counter and the bus left at 10-40. I reached Pokhara in the evening at 8 oclock and I took a taxi from Prithwi Chawk at 400NC (Nepali Currency) to reach Hallan Chawk, Lake side.

Purna welcomed me and this time he gave me a lake side room with balcony. I took dinner from Annapurna Bhanchha( Kitchen in Nepali). Annapurna Bhanchha at Hallan Chwak serves lunch and dinner at a quite reasonable rate. The food is good and fresh as well.

Next early morning I was very happy watching first sun rays on Himalayan Range from my hotel balcony. I went for local sight seeing package after breakfast by bus arranged by Purna at the cost of 750NC. I visited Gupteswar temple, Bindhabasini Temple, Shanti Stupa, Seti river gorge, Mahendra Gufa etc. I liked Gupteswar temple as it was situated in a unique natural cave. There was a natural water falls at the end of the cave which was Davis falls.

Next day early morning I went to Sarangkot to witness Sunrise. I missed the bus for Annapurna cable car so I took a taxi and later realized that it was a better option for me to visit the view point otherwise I would have to walk longer way and might miss the sunrise. Wide range of Mt Dhaulagiri, Mt Annapurna ( there are few peaks of Mt Annapurna range), Mt Machapuchhare, Mt Manaslu etc. was spectacular with sun-rays.

After breakfast I went to Nepal Tourist office to make my permit. Though I did not trek but Ghandruk and Dhampus were restricted area and it was safer to make permit in case I faced any natural calamity. It is the responsibility of Nepal Government to rescue a person if the person is a registered traveler.

In the evening I roamed around Phewa Lake and watched evening Aarti at the west bank of the lake. It started drizzling. I came back and had dinner.

Next morning I went to the bus stand for Ghandruk bus at 7-30 in the morning. Bus started at 8AM. It reached Ghandruk bus stand at around 11 o’clock. The village was 2/3 kilometer distant from the bus stand. I started walking with my luggage. First one kilometer was a wide soiled road with gradient slope. It was 12 noon and sun was scorching. I walked in slow pace. I realized that I had to stay at the bus stand for a while and should have taken light lunch and go to toilet instead of start walking immediately getting down from the bus. On the way I met few shepherds who were taking their donkeys and sheep. I requested one of them to carry my luggage. He agreed instead of 500NC.

After that stone staircases started. When I reached the gate of the village I felt quite uneasy due to several reasons. I sat on a stone beside the path. Someone offered me water and I washed my face with it, drank too. I was sweating profusely and feeling dizzy. The porter boy waited patiently and informed that there was a home stay very near run by one of his acquaintances. I carried my body there and decided to stay there.

The owner woman and her daughter in law both were sympathetic and congenial but the homestay had very basic amenities. After reaching there I fell asleep immediately for a while. When I woke up I felt better. I had khichri as lunch. In the afternoon I went for a walk to find how distant was the main village.

Next early morning I went to see sunrise walking a kilometer within the village. I requested a girl in a hotel named Royal View Inn to allow me to go to their roof top to take few photos. It was a good hotel at a very strategic point to witness Mt Annapurna range from a very close distance and Mt Machapuchhare too. Sunrise was extraordinarily spectacular.

I came back buying 4 bananas at 120NC from a small departmental store for my next two breakfasts. In the interior parts of Nepal food is quite costly. I had to pay 2000NC for four very simple khichri meals( lentil, rice, potato, green chilly, salt and little butter) at the homestay. If I would stay in the main village, food would be costlier. From my previous experience I carried some sugar and roasted gram flour for breakfast.

Next day early morning Sangeeta, the daughter in law of the homestay owner carried my luggage to the bus stand at 1000NC. She was a hardworking girl.

I came across many foreigners’ group at the bus stand who came back from Annapurna base camp trek. I felt envious and sad watching them. I shall never be able to go for such trek. I am too crippled for such missions now. I had a cup of tea at the bus stand. The bus started at 8AM. I had my early lunch on the way back to Pokhara.

The bus dropped me at Hari- Chwak in Pokhara from where I could get bus for Dhampus. I got a shared jeep there and reached Dhampus at around 2 PM. I found a hotel nearby “Hotel Panorama”. I got a room there at 1000NC. The hotel was clean and decent with a nice view from the window. Mt Machapuchhare seemed very close from here. Dhampus seemed a little desolate to me. Later I came to know that mostly tourists stay at Australian camp now a days. The hotel owner was a nice person, gardening was his hobby. We talked about plants and flowers.

Next early morning after breakfast with roti sabji I went to Australian camp. It was about 3 kilometer walk from my hotel. It was two kilometer from where the motorable road ended. The path had stone staircases. There were chirping of different birds, rhododendron trees and innumerable butterflies all through.

I found quite a number of foreigners and met one Korean man who was going for Mardi Himal trek. We exchanged a few words. He gave me a Japanese milk toffee which was uniquely tasty. When I reached Australian camp, haze started spreading over the mountain due to heat. I could not get very clear photos. I came down to the village. I came across a French boy who was interested in visiting Muktinath. I shared my knowledge and experience of Muktinath trip.

When I reached hotel, it was time for lunch. I enjoyed roaming around in the afternoon. There was a tasty tit-bit mixture shop, I felt tempted but could not take risk of tasting it for my weak stomach. Next day after breakfast I came back to Pokhara.

In Pokhara, I had a plan to visit Begnas Lake. I heard and read a lot about Begnas Lake and its fish. So after breakfast taking bus from lakeside bus stand I reached there. Unfortunately I did not like the smell of fish all over the area. A couple was having their pre-wedding photo shoot. I took few pictures, had a cup of tea and came back to Prithiwi Chawk where I bought a lungi at 800NC. Nepalese village women wear nice printed cotton lungi.

I took a bus next day and came back to Birganj to catch train which I found later was a wrong decision taken by me. Birganj is just a transit town and has very dull atmosphere. I wish instead of visiting Begnas Lake and coming to Birganj one day earlier I would have visited Baglung or spent a day in Chitwan. But I consoled myself thinking I have kept a reason to comeback to Nepal again.

A short trip to Pelling

Pelling is situated in South Sikkim at a strategic location on Himalayas that Kanchenjunga can be seen very close if the weather is good. It is easy but not so easy to go there by public transport. Only one bus leaves from Shiliguri SNT bus stand at 10:30 in the morning.

I felt a little stressed with my duties and responsibilities at home. So to release the stress I planned a 4/5 days short trip to Sikkim on December 2022 . When I bought tickets for 9th and 14th of December in Padatik Express and Darjiling Mail respectively, they were on waiting list that time. I thought if they would get confirmed only then I should start. At this age I can’t take much risk to go in unreserved compartment. Ultimately at the last moment the tickets were confirmed. So the journey began.

After reaching New Jalpaiguri I took a shared auto and reached Shiligulri bus stand. I was late so there was hardly any seat left. I had to sit at the end in the middle seat of the bus, but my co passengers were quite supportive and they accommodated me so that I can sit properly.

There was a person “know all” type who kept on misleading us. We had a good lunch in a road side restaurant. After that bus kept on going. After Gyalshing I got a window seat. I had no idea where to stay. So I got down at the SNT bus stand at Upper Pelling.

There was quite a number of hotels but mostly were full booked. I entered into a less crowded one, “Hotel Greenland”. It was almost empty, and workable for me. Geyser was active and the bed was clean. It was owned by a doctor couple. So I entered there. Their kitchen was not functional so I took my dinner from the restaurant just in front of the hotel.

The room had a balcony from where sunrise could be seen. So in the early morning I got up and followed through the window. As soon as the sun rays fell on the peaks I captured Kanchenjunga in my camera.

The hotel manager arranged a cab for a short local trip for me at Rs 2200. After breakfast I went to Sky-walk, Rimbik falls, Orange garden, Khechiperi Lake etc. I liked the Orange garden beside Rimbik river. It was a private enterprise. I liked Khechiperi lake too. It was full of fish. People call it wishing lake too, but I did not wish anything.

In the evening I had Bengali Chicken thali in a meal corner. Next day I wanted to spend time in a leisurely manner so I after breakfast I walked to the famous Pemayangtse Monestery and bird sanctuary, I could not find birds because it was full of tourists and their hustle bustle. When I came back it was quite late so I laid on bed for the rest of the day. In the evening I thought to have a good dinner so I entered in an apparently good looking restaurant and ordered food. Chicken curry was not good there and very spicy.

Next morning I went to Gangtok by a shared jeep arranged by the hotel. Morning was full of haze. There was overcast all day long. I boarded in a small hotel on Tibet Road with the hope to see Kanchenjunga in the morning. There I realized I forgot to take back my Adhar Card from the previous hotel. With the help of the manager of hotel Kabur Inn of Gangtok I was able to contact the owner and they later sent my Adhar Card to my address by speed post.

In the evening I strolled around the Mall and ate momo in a Tibetan Restaurant. Next morning I could not see sunrise and left Gangtok.

Pelling in December is quite cold but not unbearable cold, at least the way it seem to me. it does not snow in the winter. The place is nice for a couple of day’s stay. One can go to Yuksom, Ravangla etc with Pelling.

My First Abroad Tour.

USA Diary

My son went to USA for his higher studies in 2017. This year he invited me to visit his place as he is now capable of accommodating me for sometime. Visa appointment is a difficult issue after Covid – 19. I got appointment in June 2022 for B1 type visa. As my son and my would be daughter in law sent official invitation to attend their marriage and they sponsored my trip, so I did not face much difficulty to get the visa. Then he bought tickets for me. As it was the beginning of August, there was a huge rush of students and their parents who were going to join in different universities. It was the time for the beginning of new session. So price of the ticket was quite high. I planned to come back after Durga puja because then the price of the ticket was comparatively low. If I would come before Durga Puja the price would be too high again as the emigrants visit India in this festive season.

I went by Emirates’ flight as my son thought it would be comfortable for me as its time schedule is convenient, though there are several other air services like Qatar Airlines or Air India etc. My flight was from Kolkata to Dubai and from Dubai to Washington. The duration of the journey was divided in 2 segments, 4.5 hours and 16 hours. There was a 2 hours break at Dubai Airport. From Washington airport my son took me to Charlottesville where he stays.

I shall divide this trip into four segments: Charlottesville, North Carolina Outer banks, New York and Shenandoah National park.

Charlottesville is a small university town and a very peaceful and scenic place, surrounded by Blue Ridge mountain, which is an extended part of Appalachian Mountain. After reaching there, for a few days I found myself very drowsy and lazy. Initially my son thought it was jet lag but as it persisted for 4/5 days he became a little worried and found that my blood pressure was noticeably low. So I stopped my daily sedative and few other medicines for high blood pressure. Gradually when I got accustomed with their system of life, I started going out in the evening for a walk after early dinner. Evenings are very colorful and picturesque there. The area is sparsely populated with nice houses and lots of greenery. I tasted few new and tasty food like bagels (kind of steamed bread with different stuffings), Mezza Mediterranean bowl ( combination of salad, rice, pita bread, sauce, meat etc), Japanese food in a restaurant, Sakura.

Moon rise behind Blue Ridge mountain at Charlottesville

One day we went to Ivy creek. There were several such creeks. It is nice to walk in a sunny autumn afternoon. One afternoon we went to down town and had Dönar Kebab from a Turkish restaurant, which is a kind of flat bread with various stuffings. That day we also visited the University of Virginia and saw the famous Rotunda Building which is a UNESCO world heritage site. I learnt to go to local market gradually to buy small household requirement and I felt a little pride while doing so.

North Carolina Outer Banks

After their marriage, my son and daughter in law took leave on a week end and arranged a trip to North Carolina Outer Banks. We went there by car. We started after breakfast. We had our lunch on the way in an Italian Restaurant. My Daughter in law booked an accommodation for us through Airbnb. It was an apartment with one master bedroom with Jakuzzi bathtub in the attached bath and another bedroom with two single bed and an attached bath, a decent living room with modular kitchen and two balconies at Kill Devil Hills. It was very near to the beach. We bathed in the sea. Sunrise was spectacular in the Atlantic. There were lots of birds including sea gulls and pelicans.

We visited Wright brother’s memorial from where Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright flew their first aeroplane, Bodie Island light house, Jennette’s Pier etc. The unique thing I experienced there, was to watch baby turtles coming out from their eggs under the supervision of volunteers. Volunteers were there to protect the baby turtles. They would come at the time of sunset and would stay there till late night for the safety of baby turtles. I watched till it got absolutely dark. Any kind of light or electronic device was forbidden there, because that might distract the baby turtles and they could lose their track.

New York

Initially when my son planned for New York trip in a weekend before my return to India I was a little skeptic whether I could be able to enjoy the place as I am a nature lover and don’t like buildings, crowd, hustle bustle of the city. But after reaching New York my opinion changed. It is a huge city, perhaps I should say it is an ultimate city, after visiting it no city may seem more magnificent. Unfortunately during this time one of the deadliest hurricane Ian struck Florida. Due to it’s side effect it rained the whole week end in the Eastern coast of USA.

We went New York by train from Charlottesville. We boarded the train in the evening at 6 o’clock as the train was late and reached New York at 11 PM. My daughter-in law Annie informed that New York city does not sleep. We got down at Pennsylvania Station. From there we took a cab, the name of the Uber driver was Gurpreet who talked to us in American English and did not seem to know Hindi or Punjabi. We stayed in a small Japanese run hotel named Hotel Madison. It had a very small room with two tokonoma double bed. Normally American double beds are too huge with lots pillows and thick mattress. But in New York city everything is costly so we had to compromise with the situation.

Next day we went out in the morning with a plan for breakfast and then to roam around Time Square. It started raining heavily as we came out. I was disappointed. After waiting for an hour, when rain subsided a little we went to the nearby metro station( they call it Subway) to reach Time Square. After reaching there, my daughter in law stood in the long queue to buy tickets for Broadway Theater and by that time my son and I roamed around the nearby areas. During lunch time we went to a restaurant at the Rockefeller building. We had New York’s famous and tasty pizza. In the afternoon, we went to the Central Park. Its a huge park with lots of amusement items. Though it was not raining heavily but it was cloudy and some times drizzling.

We had early dinner in a Korean Restaurant. Then we walked towards the Broadway theater. The name of the hall was New Amsterdam Theatre where Aladdin was being played . I went there willy-nilly only because my daughter in law insisted, but I must admit that I felt flabbergasted when the show started. It was an extraordinarily amazing experience to watch such a show which was a mixture of live song, dance, magic, acting and what not, a complete entertainment, I could dare to blink my eyes so that anything I might miss. I shall advise not to miss it if one can afford to visit New York.

Next day I had branch with delicious blue berry cream cheese bagel. As my son was busy with his work, he stayed at hotel and my daughter in law escorted me to visit Grand Central Station, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty. On our way to visit them we come to know that there was a road show on the occasion of Polish Day. We watched it for sometime at 5th Avenue. I came across an Indian boy Deepak from Delhi in the sub way who was also going to take the ferry to watch Statue of Liberty. I came to know that he had come to visit New York alone as his visa was going to expire.

My son was interested to eat Pecking duck, so we went to an authentic Chinese restaurant for dinner. Probably it was not according to my Indian taste buds so, I did not like it at all. There were other few items too like shrimp fried rice,, shrimp curry, salad, meat etc. I filled my stomach with them because I was very hungry after the day’s long walk. Their tea was really good.

As I was too tired I decided to take rest while my son and daughter in law went for a evening walk. Next morning after breakfast we went to the famous Brooklyn Bridge. As it was near our hotel, so we went by walking. It is a suspension bridge on East river and surroundings are beautiful. This long and high bridge was made in the beginning of 19th century. It connects New York and Brooklyn cities.

After coming back from Brooklyn Bridge we got ready to depart packing our bags. We reached Moynihan Hall Amtrack Lounge to catch the train for Charlottesville. My son got some food for lunch. Train was on time, we reached Charlottesville at 8 o’clock at night. An Uber Cab was called. It’s driver was Mr Muhammad Rafi, who was an Afghanistani and lived in our neighborhood at Charlottesville. He informed he could understand Hindi and speak to some extent, he learnt it by watching Hindi movies.

Shenandoah National Park

Before my return home to Kolkata there was a full moon day, so I planned to go to Shenandoah National Park to take photographs of sunset, moon rise, fall colors etc. As per our plan my son and I went to the park in the afternoon. On the way we came across few deer that were standing beside the road fearlessly. People stopped their cars to take their photos, so did I. Then we went into the center of the forest.

Trees were looking beautiful with the yellow hue of afternoon sun rays. There was a restaurant where I wanted to have a blueberry ice cream but due to the long queue I abandoned the idea and went to the sunset point. The sun gradually went down behind the Blue Ridge Mountain keeping the sky crimson colored. Then we rushed to the moon rise point but moon rose by that time above the horizon. I hurriedly clicked few photographs of the full moon. Then we came back home through the moonlit forest.

After two days I left USA and came back home. This trip not only enriched my experience but also increased my confidence. Probably I should start planning another trip to abroad by my own, may be a solo one.

Baby Turtles coming out breaking their shells

My first Nepal trip.

A bittersweet experience.

I had been planning to go to Nepal for a long time. My wish was to witness Mt. Everest and Mt. Machchhapuchhare (Mt. Fishtail ). After a long study and getting information from several sources, I made an itinerary. I wanted to start in the month of March. However, this year, due to Corona, the board exams started in late April and I had to delay my trip.

I planned it to start on 7th of May. It was a 16 days trip. I booked tickets from Howrah to Raxaul in Mithila express. I decided to return by flight from Kathmandu because I thought it would be a hassle to come back again by bus from Kathmandu to Raxaul. I also had a secret hope that the flight would go over the Himalayas, which it did not. May is the end season for Nepal tourism. After that monsoon starts. But unfortunately I found out at the last moment that there were predictions for rain and thunderstorms all over my trip. I felt a little disheartened.

I included Muktinath in my itinerary, and according to the suggestion of my friend I also kept Manang in the plan. I had a plan to go to Nagarkot and Chandragiri from Kathmandu as Mt. Everest could be seen from those places. I hoped I could see a glimpse of Mt. Machapuchhare from Sarangkot. But man proposes God disposes.

The journey started on the schedule date. From Birganj bus stand few buses ply at regular intervals in the morning for Pokhara. Our bus was at 10:30AM. I eventually met a gold merchant in the bus who was full of negativity. He informed us that there was a traffic jam and we might have to spend the whole night on the road. Thankfully it was not such a serious situation and we reached Pokhara only 5 hours late, at 10 o’clock at night. I had previously booked the hotel.

Taking a taxi from Prithwi Chawk I reached the New Elite Guest House at Hallan Chawk,. It was beside Phewa Lake. The owner Purna was a very congenial person. Due to the upcoming election there were few restrictions in Pokhara. Restaurants, shops and pubs were to be closed by 10 o’clock at night. So Purna asked me to go to any restaurant to have dinner, as their establishment was already closed.

Next morning taking a taxi we went to Sarangkot view point, to witness the sunrise. The peaks could not be seen properly as it was partly cloudy. I took snaps of Pokhara. As I had a plan to go to Muktinath and Manang for which we had to get a permit from the Nepal Tourist Board. The first half of the day was spent in doing that. I wanted to go Manokamna temple, but it ended up into a fiasco. My companion was not interested in visiting Devis Falls, and other local sight seeing because she had already visited them. So we did not go anywhere except the lake at Pokhara. I consoled myself traveling Sarangkot by cable car arranged by our hotel owner. There we also made our permit for Muktinath and Manang.

Normally I travel alone. This time on request of an acquaintance, I took her with me. I had met her previously at Pathornachuni on my Rupkund (Uttarakhand, Garhwal) trek. She also did a short Uttarakhand trip with another of my acquaintances in the month of February. She told me that she traveled and trekked quite a few places in the Himalayas, and she was an ex-employee of Indian Railway, and she had got the job through sports quota. I thought she could be a good companion. I felt completely duped when I started traveling with her. She was neither a passionate traveler nor was she physically and mentally fit for taking the strain of traveling through a self organized tour. Realizing my mistake, I decided to keep patience and enjoy as much as possible in that situation.

After spending two days at Pokhara we caught a bus at 7 in the morning for Jomsom. On the bus I was delighted to meet a French lady who had been staying in Nepal for 14 years and adopted Buddhism. She spoke Nepali fluently and knew every nook and corner of Nepal’s trekking destinations. I felt envious of her. We reached Jomsom in the afternoon. We met a German trekker who also wished to reach to Muktinath that day. So he took initiative to arrange a jeep, which we shared. We reached Muktinath when the sun was setting behind Mt. Dhaulagiri and Mt. Tukuche.

Gangapurna Peak, glacier and lake. Manang.

Muktinath was quite cold. The name of the hotel at Muktinath where we lodged was Norling. Food was tasty and good. It was near the bus stand. We slept early. Next day after 7 o’clock in the morning we started for Muktinath. My travel companion bathed in the twin kunds and 64 dharas and offered puja. It was actually her prime objective to come to Nepal with me. I offered puja and witnessed the holy deity. I felt blessed to visit there.

Next day was election day. No vehicles would be available. So after coming down from the temple I went to the bus stand to know the bus time to reach Jomsom. I wanted to spend one day at Jomsom and visit Dumba Lake there. But when I went there I came to know that no bus was plying on that day for Jomsom. I had to hire a taxi in a hurry, otherwise we could get stuck at Muktinath for the next day also. Going to Pokhara from Muktinath would take two/three hours longer than Jomsom. And also I was interested in spending one day at Jomsom.

We stayed in a hotel near Jomsom bus stand called the Muktinath Hotel. Jomsom is a scenic place with the view of Mt Nilgiri and Mt Dhaulagiri, Kaligandaki river and apple orchards. Next day being the election day most shops remained closed. Nepal armed forces were patrolling on the roads. We visited the serene Dumba lake after lunch. It was hardly 3/4 kilometer from the center of the small town. The lake is considered sacred by the Buddhists. I lost my camera lens cap while coming back from Dumba lake.

Next day we caught a bus in the morning and reached Pokhara in the afternoon. It started raining after we arrived. Our hotel owner Purna had booked our bus ticket for Besishahar. Spending one night in Pokhara we started for Besishahar at 7 o’clock in the morning and reached at 11 am. There we had our lunch and started for Manang.

Bagmati river, Pashupati nath Temple, Kathmandu.

Many treks start from Manang. It is a district of Nepal. There are small villages like Dharapani, Chame, Pisang, Braga, Tanki Manang, Khangsar, etc. Every village has its own beauty with snow peaks, Marsyangdi river, and innumerable water falls. Thorang La pass trek, Tilicho lake trek, Khangsar kang peak expedition etc. start from here. Mt. Gangapuna, Mt. Annapurna, Mt. Tilicho, Mt. Khangsar Kang, Mt. Manaslu peaks can be seen from here.

We reached Manang at 10 o’clock at night. Here I want to mention that going to Manang needs a lot of physical and mental strength, and traveling to Manang is quite expensive. It is not a cup of tea for an amateur traveler who travels for comfort and leisure. My Manang traveling experience is another story. *****

Spending two nights at Manang we came down to Besishahar. Here I realized that most Indian ATM cards do not work in Nepal and Bhutan. It was a disaster for me. Next day with the help of our driver and hotel owner we got two seats in the micro-bus for Kathmandu. After reaching Kathmandu we boarded in a hotel at Gangabu, where the bus dropped us. Gangabu is a convenient place and there are many budget hotels for locals, though not for tourists. Tourist area is Thamel.

Knowing my problem of lack of funds, the hotel owner helped me. My son sent him money through IME and he delivered me the cash. I shall remain ever grateful to him. I abandoned my plan for Chandragiri and Nagarkot due to my travel companion’s disinterest. We visited Pashupatinath temple, Swayambhunath temple, Patan (Darbar square), Bhaironath and Bhaktapur Darbar square in three days. We caught our flight for Kolkata from Kathmandu. My hopes to witness Mt. Everest and Mt. Machapuchhare remained unfulfilled this time. Maybe I shall visit Nepal again. But that will surely be a solo trip.

*****

Manang, an experience.