Why is Ladakh so popular?

Ladakh is undoubtedly one of the most popular and beloved places in India. From the time you enter college and have your kids, I bet you would have heard the Ladakhi stories. I and Priya have always wanted to visit this arid place. A couple of times we ended up making the bookings. But could not make it to this rugged place until recently. This time everything seemed to be perfect and my brother Abhijeet, and my brother in law Gopi too were eager to join us. Although flying is one of the most preferred and popular choices we wanted to take a very long drive and Gopi wanted to ride an Enfield solo. Everything was set, the bike was rented, the car was geared up and we were all very excited to start the trip. Google maps are handy and very helpful for navigation and we followed this route from Gurgaon.

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Getting bit by the monsoons in Meghalaya

Getting bit by the monsoons in Meghalaya

Meghalaya is a Sanskrit word that means ‘clouds abode’ and is undoubtedly the wettest place I have ever seen. I chose to visit Meghalaya in June during the monsoons because it is when the mountains come alive. Most of the days I spent here was either raining or misty and the mist was not merely fog but little particles of water flying. This means if you are riding a bike in the mist you will be wet to your underwear. This was the first time I was riding solo and even visiting an unknown place without Priya and this time I had no plans either.

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Pack up your bags and visit Goa like never before

Visit Goa like never before

I and Priya have visited Goa a couple of times but this time it was a mixed bag. And in this bag you will find a beautiful sleepy Portuguese town, a bustling ride me the happy road and some mouth-watering authentic Goan cuisines. Goa is like a fridge where everyone comes to chill. But it wasn’t like this until the nineties when the state saw a surge of tourists. In Goa, there are three distinctive ethnicities; Christians, Hindus, and Muslims.

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Why do we keep visiting Kerala?

I guess this is why Kerala is God's own country

This is one of the questions that we keep hearing from a lot of people we know. But I got a counter question to respond to it, Why not? Kerala is one state that I am proud to have experienced. I love their culture and is very different from the rest of the country. Where the rest of the country is more bent towards capitalism, Kerala, on the other hand, fights to protect its natural resources.

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Riding a bike into God’s own country, Kerala

Wayanad, Kerala

I could not think of anything better than a bike to go around God’s country, Kerala. Why bike of all? was what all the people except Priya asked. It’s quite simple I work, save, travel and repeat. I work in a cubicle and a car feels nothing better than a cubicle with visual screens on all sides. Whereas a bike is a thing which tests me, feels me and gets me to the edge. Its the whole package which includes:

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Reasons why Kerala is an ultimate destination to explore

Sunrise on the vembanad lake

Treks are not just limited to hiking in the mountains or climbing big rocks, it is to find the adventure where ever you travel to. We never found a reason to not to travel to Kerala. We don’t need a reason to experience the sun come up from the rice fields of Kumarakom and go down in the Vembanad lake which can be just a few hours of walk or half an hour ride on a bike (bicycle). There is no perfect season to visit God’s own country.

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Hiking in Kashmir in bad winter weather

Betrayed by weather in Lidderwat, Kashmir

Lidderwat in the valley of Kashmir is amazingly colourful and beautiful in the summers but becomes a different terrain in the winters. I am continuing this story from my previous story: Winter whiteout in Lidderwat, Kashmir. When I, RiyazSafeen and others got here after 10 hours of hike in 6-7 ft of snow, we were dehydrated and exhausted. The weather had already got worse from bad and it had started to rain. Continue reading