Travel Tips

Tel Baila is an old watch tower which makes for a good 1-day trekking option. It consists of 2 sheer walls of rock separated by a column in the center. Climbing the walls would require a technical climb, but the climb to the column in the center also makes for a great experience.  We took the Lonavala exit from the Mumbai-Pune Express way and proceeded along the road towards INS Shivaji. Because of earlier trek to Korigad, we were familiar with road. We stopped at the Lion's point for some photos and refreshments and made our way ahead. Telbaila is very well covered by GPS. We had enabled Google Navigation at the start of our journey to guide us to the fort. From Telbaila phata, the road started to worsen gradually. By the time we reached the Telbaila village we were worried if the i10 would be able to make its way back.  We parked the car under the shade of a tree in the farm and started on our way up. We had some difficulty finding the way and almost gave up. ...

Just discovered another birding spot in Mumbai. Got my first spoonbill sighting in Mumbai here. It has a vast area through which you can walk around. Saw a number of birds and butterflies here.

Day 3,4,5 - Nubra Valley Day 6: Leh - Pangong Tso And here we were ready at 8 AM for the 170 km drive to Spangmik, a village on the banks of Pangong Tso. Apart from the final destination, crossing of Chang La, second highest motorable road, was another attraction which kept us excited. First 50 kms of journey towards south east of Leh is fast paced but then a steep ascent for Chang La starts. Road to Chang La Unlike the journey of Khardung La, the ascent is more steep and road is zig-zag crossing one mountain by another. At the top of Chang La, there are couple of army posts and a restaurant and you can take a comfortable break. May be we were well acclimatized to high altitude by now, we didn’t face any trouble due to oxygen deficiency. After Chang La, a descent starts crossing beautiful sceneries around till you reach the village of Tangste, a comparatively big town having shops and hotels. One can stop here for short tea break. First Glimpse of Pangong Tso From...

Day 1 & 2 - Leh Day 3:  Leh – Khardung La - Sumur After 2 days of rest, we were all set for Nubra Valley expedition and were thrilled for crossing Khardung La.  Started at around 8 AM for Sumur, the village in Nubra Valley, about 120 kms from Leh. Right after you leave Leh, the uphill journey starts, just going up and up. Mountains of Karakoram range in the front, deep valley on one side and stunning landscapes of Leh behind, the 40 Kms stretch of the journey till Khardung La (also known as K Top) is experience in itself. And when you are nearing Khardung La, you will feel the altitude of 18380 ft. seeing everything beneath you. The magnificient view on the way  We were advised not to stop at the top of the pass while going and instead do so on the return journey, the rational behind it being, in case you seriously suffer due to oxygen deficiency, you cant go ahead to Nubra valley  and have to return to Leh.  But we did stop with moral support...

Ladakh - Background Information Day 1: Leh  Reached early morning in Leh at around 7.00 AM. Last half hour stretch of the flight was very exciting journey, flying very low over the dramatic regions of the Great Himalayas. This magnificent top view and the one while landing gives the glimpse of what we were going to enjoy. It was a fantastic welcome. Checked in into the hotel and had complete rest (sleeping/watching TV etc.). Tried roaming around near the hotel but was feeling very tiring even for a walk of 10 meters. Hotel Manager warned of AMS as such cases do happen on arrival in Leh. August being peak tourist season, Leh was flooded with tourist. At 4 p.m., we started for local tour of Leh Palace and Shanti Stupa. The places are nearby for a car drive and not much walking in those places, so it was safe adventure ! Leh Palace , once a royal abode, is on Namagyal hill and considered to be a miniature version of Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. The nine storey, ...

Not seeing a thing is not the same as seeing its non-existence.... H.H. The 14th Dalai Lama Ladakh…a roof of the world that exhibits magnificent landscapes,.. diverse and extreme. Blue skies and blue lakes, burning sun and extreme cold, greenery and grayish decaying mountains, glaciers and sand dunes, high altitude dwellings and spiritual atmosphere, passes and snow and freezing winds …as diverse as this, is the land of Ladakh. No surprise one gets stunned by this spectacular vistas the land offers, as if He has manifested himself so that we can see His non-existence. Prayer wheel in Diskit Gompa Visited Ladakh in the month of August which is a summer time. Though Ladakh is popular known amongst tourist as adventure holiday, even for a leisure tourist bit of planning and preparation is required. As I spent considerable time planning for duration, places to see, things to carry, medical precaution etc. would like to share some highlights before starting the travelogue. ...

This is an easy 1-day trekking option from Mumbai. This was a fort of strategic importance and was used by various rulers to control the surrounding areas. To get to this fort you can take the Mumbai-Pune expressway and take the Kusgaon exit. From there you can ask around to reach the fort. GPS navigation for the fort was working quite nicely. The climb is fairly easy, except the last stretch which has some were steep stairs. The climb takes around 1.5 hours.  More photos below...

This was the second last day of our tour. For me, this was the highlight of our tour here. Ngong Ping is located on the Lantau Island. To get to Ngong Ping, you can take cable car (Ngong Ping 360). This covers a distance of more than 5 km and takes you to the Ngong Ping plateau at the top. The cable car ride is an experience in itself. You get great views of the mountains and the forest. One can get a bird's eye view of the Hong Kong airport as well. When buying tickets for Ngong Ping 360 present your Ocean Park tickets. We got a 10% discount on the ticket price. The things to see at Ngong Ping are the Po Lin monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha. You can also see the 'Walking with Buddha' and 'Monkey's Tale' shows there. Combination ticket can be bought while buying the cable car tickets. The Tian Tan Buddha is one of the tallest outdoor Buddha statues. A series of 240 steps takes one to the base of the statue. There are a number of restaurants in Ngong Ping...

Other than the Disneyland, this is another location in Hong Kong that kids would love for sure. The Ocean Park has been built at 2 levels. To move between the levels you can either choose the Ocean Express or take the cable car. Try both. The ocean express gives you the feeling of travelling through water. It is the faster of the 2 options as well.  The cable car give you great views of the mountains and the seas. There are a number of shows that are held daily at the Ocean Park. Hence plan your visit for the attractions in advance. At the upper level, you have the dolphin show. At the lower level there is a bird show and the light and sound show late in the evening which marks the close of activities at the Ocean Park. There are a number of restaurants at the Ocean Park. We had researched the restaurants at Ocean Park and had planned to have our lunch Bayview as that was the only restaurant advertising Indian meals. The Indian meal consisted of rice and curry. Th...

Next on our itinerary was The Peak. We started off the day with a visit to the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Park. This is supposed to be one of the oldest zoological and botanical centers in the world. This is a nice patch of green among the tall sky scrapers of Hong Kong and one can spend some relaxing time over here. There are a number of plant, animal and birds species on view here.  The peak is the tallest mountain on the island and offers great views of the city skyline and the harbor. The peak tram is the most popular option for reaching the top. The gradient of the route is so high that you actually feel the trees and buildings are inclined. Once at the top, there are a number of shops and restaurants. Make sure to visit the Sky Terrace 428, which is the highest 360 degree viewing gallery in Hong Kong. Tickets to the Sky Terrace can be bought as a combo ticket when buying your Peak Tram tickets. Madam Tussauds is another attraction at...

Before travelling to Hong Kong we had read that June is one of the wettest months in Hong Kong. So we were a bit worried on how things would pan out during the stay. Disneyland was the one place that we all were looking forward to. When we saw that the weather forecast for the day was sunny, we changed our itinerary for the day and decided to do Disneyland. To go to Disneyland, we went to Sunny Bay by Tung Chung line and caught the Disney train from there. We were staying near Tin Hau station on the Island line. We had to change at Central for the Tung Chung line. Once you get off at Central, its a big distance to get to Tung Chung line. For us a better option was to change at Admiralty for the Tsuen Wan line. Then change at Lai King for the Tung Chung line to Sunny Bay. Though it may take slightly longer time, it reduces a lot of walking. Change of lines is achieved by walking across the platform. Check MTR map We bought the Disneyland tickets by paying with VISA card. This...

Prior to our trip to Hong Kong, the first thing that came to mind when one thought of Hong Kong, was tall sky scrapers. So Day 1 of the itinerary was planned to get a taste of the same. Overnight flight into Hong Kong meant that the kids were tired and they slept out the entire morning. We had anyways planned a late start to the day as we knew that the Symphony of Lights show starts at 8:00 p.m. First stop for the day was the sky100 observatory. This is an observatory on the 100th floor from where you get fantastic views of Hong Kong. If you are travelling by the MTR trains, then get off at Kowloon station. From there follow the signs to ICC building. We got ticket discount on showing our Cathay Pacific boarding passes. English audio guides are available for free in the observatory. From here we went to the Avenue of Stars at Tsim Sha Sui to catch the Symphony of Lights show. The Symphony of Lights is said to be the biggest permanent light and sound show. The sound (narration) can ...