The Wandering Soul's Wander Tales..

A World of Colorful Tents and Incredible Sceneries

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:33:00 +0000

How would we ever have been able to go to such beautifully inaccessible places without the super invention called tents?

For the past four years, I have been actively hiking in the many different terrains of India. While in the tropics, we rarely used tents. Tents, in the tropics, only seemed to be a hindrance getting in my way of a clear view of the night sky. For the cold, a sleeping bag sufficed and when it rained a tarpaulin did. But it was only in the Himalayas I fell in love with camping and was awed by the sturdiness of these tents. It didn't matter if it was a hailstorm or if it was snowing or if it was heavy rain with heavy winds, these wonderful tents protected us from all. It used to get scary when the howling winds sounded as if they were threatening to uproot the pitched tents or when raindrops/hailstorms hit the surface of the tents with such force that it felt like all hell was breaking lose outside, but they tents hardly gave in. They stood their ground, and we could happily hike from mountain to mountain reaching the most inaccessible places on foot.

Keeping that in mind, here's my ode to the lovely tents that helped me reach places!

While getting up early in the morning is tough, beautiful sunny days like this are a welcome change from the cold chilly early mornings. On such mornings, I usually get up and quickly survey my surroundings for views like this. Taken on the second day of the trek to reach Stok Kangri Summit in Ladakh.

On the many occasions where we set up camp by sunset, no points for guessing what's my favorite thing to do. I find a vantage point and enjoy the changing colors in the sky! Taken while returning from a trek in Kashmir.

While trying to cross the 5000m Kugti Pass that separates the green Chamba from the barren Lahaul Valley, we were ascending quite rapidly. In 3 days we reached from an altitude of 8000ft to 14000ft and the next day would see us crossing the 16000+ft high pass. In order to acclimatize better and because of the rain in the morning, we took rest in this beautiful glacial valley for a day. As you can see, we were the only occupants around and till date it is only of my most memorable camping experiences Taken in Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh.

Another benefit of camping is it let's you get you far away from the pollution and light pollution. Saw the milkyway for the first time when I was also camping for the first time, since then I have been always waiting outside the tents in the cold, just to witness the stars and the galaxy! Shot while camping on the way to Stok Kangri Summit, Ladakh.

It was in Kashmir that I encountered so much snow on almost all days. We had to cross this snow ridden pass twice and walk on steep slippery snow slopes of the mountains. Camping with so much snow around was another memorable experience, snow sure makes the surroundings look good. This was taken when we were camping on the second day in Kashmir.

During my first trek in the Himalayas, after about 3-4 days we were camping at a high altitude of 14500+ ft. The afternoon brought a storm of hails covering everything around us in little snow balls of white. And as always, we were crouched safe inside the tents watching the hail storm and listening to the scary noise of tents and metal plates being hit by the hail. This was taken during my trek to Roopkund in the Gharwal Himalayas.

Light Painting in the darkness can be a lot of fun. In Kashmir, after darkness fell, we came out with a powerful flashlight and light painted the entire campsite while the milkyway was slowly rising to create this image. With the faint glow from within the tents, photographing night scenes around campsites is one of favorite things to do now-a-days. Taken while trekking in Kashmir.

This is the base camp for Stok Kangri Summit. The number of tents pitched in that small flat land surrounded by high peaks shows a small glimpse of how crowded the Everest Base Camp could be. Tents of all shapes and colors can be seen pitched here along with people of many nationalities attempting 6000+m Stok Kangri Climb.

Well you'll hardly find images of tents set up in the day light from me. That is because usually in the mornings, we are in a hurry to pack up and start the days's trek. And by afternoon or evening, we are so tired from the day's trek that all we want to do is to rest more. Only by evening, after some tea and snacks does the energy is regained. Hence all the night shots of camping. :) Image taken near Sonmarg, Kashmir.

Because there's no such thing as too much of milkyway, so here's one more celebrating the awesomeness of tents, camping, mountains and the milkyway! Image taken in Kashmir.

Have you ever camped in tents? How has your experience been?

Also I have updated the Advertise and Work with me pages, do have a look and share with those who you think might be interested. :)

Notes from Nagaland : The beginning of an Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 22:28:00 +0000

"It was 5PM. It was pitch dark. And I was all alone."

I knew the airport was 17kms far from the city of Dibrugarh, Assam. As I landed I was apprehensive about finding my way to the city, I hadn’t arranged for transport. But luckily I found share autos waiting outside and I promptly got into one. In front of me were green fields and in the far distance were faint traces of mountains and clouds.

We drove alongside the famous tea plantations, they grew on flat plains. It was new to me; I had only ever seen tea plantations growing on mountain slopes of Munnar, Ooty, Coorg and such. It was almost evening and young boys and girls in school uniforms flooded the streets and railway stations. We passed by a surprisingly high number of railway stations between the airport and Dibrugarh. I guess the local trains were quite popular, the road ran parallel to the tracks for most parts.

The tea plantations growing on plains around Diburgarh, Assam

Once we entered the city of Dibrugarh, the green countryside transformed into a dusty town that seemed to be in a strange flux. I stopped in front of the only hotel I knew, Hotel Raj Palace and I got myself a room for 600Rs. I was relieved; I thought fun times lay ahead. The hotel was situated on the banks of Brahmaputra, between the hotel and the river, was a slum. I walked down to the river, through their houses despite strange glances and children screaming me at me “Bhoot” (meaning ghost in hindi). It was strange to see the mighty river flow gently knowing what ravages it had wrought upon whatever came in its way. One thing that didn’t occur to me was the time zone disparity that far in the east. It was barely 4.30PM and it was already getting dark! I had to rush back to my hotel because by 5PM it was pitch dark.

If you are wondering why I chose to fly into Dibrugarh in Assam than Dimapur in Nagaland, you’d find your answer if you look at the map. Dibrugarh is very close to north of Nagaland. And I wanted to visit north Nagaland for that is where the Konyak tribes reside. So the next morning I changed two shared vehicles to reach a shady looking town called Sonari, very close to the Nagaland border. This journey took me through the remote border villages of Assam, where houses were built on stilts and water flooded almost everywhere. The road was always lined with green fields or tea plantations on either side. People kept getting into the mini bus to Sonari, so much so that the bus was tilting to one side. A little girl sat in my lap and the lady in front of me had live birds in hidden in her bag. I knew because they were making noises and moving constantly. Almost all of the people were chewing tobacco.

Very luckily, after confusing quite a few locals around and getting confused, someone directed me to the Nagaland State bus stand in Sonari. It was 1 in the afternoon and the conductor was quite puzzled looking at me with the backpack asking for a ticket to Mon. I asked him for a window seat and he gave me one. The bus to Mon had to be one of the dirtiest buses I have ever been on, but at that point I had no choice and frankly I didn’t think the ride would last long.

This is the busstand at Sonari, Assam and there is only bus per day to Mon, Nagaland.

The bus was almost empty save for few men in few seats, it was worrying. Few women boarded the bus soon and that comforted me a little. After 15kms, we crossed the border at Tizit and I officially entered Nagaland. The bus was relatively empty until then and at the border, it was packed to full. Sonari to Mon, Nagaland is just 54kms on the map, but the roads were so bad and through such mountainous terrain that it would take almost 4 hours to reach Mon. The bus passed by remote villages and I got to see the famous Konyak elders, who were headhunters of the previous days.

After few stops, a Konyak man with a tattooed face and traditional attire complete with strange skeleton jewelry got into the bus and sat near the driver. I couldn’t take my eyes off him! I wondered how many heads we might have claimed and what stories of terror he might have known. The gentleman sitting next to me wasn’t looking like someone from Nagaland, he talked good Hindi too. Sometime later he tells me, he is a Rajasthani businessman who migrated to Nagaland 16 years ago! I was surprised to see how people migrate to such far away unknown lands for better opportunities. Later in Mon, I observed more than half the shops in the market were run by people from Rajasthan and Bihar! For now, the bus was still traveling at snail pace negotiating the steep slopes and broken roads.

Mon town plunged into darkness, from the roof of my hotel, I could see the milkyway!

It was almost dark by the time bus arrived at Mon. Situated along the mountain slopes, Mon was a town only for namesake. I walked towards Paramount Guesthouse, one of the only two hotels in Mon. I stood in front of a huge seven storied building, of which two floors were of Paramount Guesthouse and the rest were office spaces and empty portions. The building was locked and there was no one around. Luckily my phone caught signal and I called up the lady who owned the guesthouse. She asked me to wait while she’d send someone to open the hotel for me. While I waited, the one thought running in my head was that the whole damn building was empty and that I’d be the only occupant that night! Again! Nope, not even a receptionist at front desk. With this, it would be three times I landed in a place where I was the only tourist around and the only occupant of a hotel. A young girl opened the lock and showed me my room but the light wasn’t switching on. She informs me, recent rains had caused damage to power lines and whole of North Nagaland has been living without electricity for the past two days and also that it is highly unlikely that power would be restored tonight. It was 5PM. It was pitch dark. And I was all alone.

Welcome to Nagaland.

Riding on the trails of Kodachadri

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 16:25:00 +0000

It probably isn’t going to be an adventure if this thought doesn’t come to your mind.

“Why the hell am I doing this?”

That's me riding on a trail through the grasslands atop Kodachadri. Image courtesy - Rajesh Nayak

Exactly this thought was going through my mind on that beautiful Saturday night. Even before we started assembling the bikes, people gathered around to tell us there’s no way we could cycle 8 kms uphill through the jeep track to reach the mountain top. We told them we’d get there somehow. It was 6.30 in the evening.

After few kilometers of rocky, slippery and uneven trail, the route evened up a bit.

9 of us together must've brought back kilograms of this red mud. Most of the route was covered in this soft red mud which made the trail very slippery.

8 friends and I were assembling our bikes at the base of this 1300m high peak called Kodachadri in the Western Ghats. By the time we had our cycles ready with our helmets and head torches on, it was pitch dark. The trail steadily climbs through thick forest to open into vast grasslands just before we reach the peak. It is a very uneven rocky trail with lots of stones and soft red mud. In the darkness we started pedaling uphill and within minutes almost everyone had their first fall. After few futile attempts of trying to cycle on the trail, five of us resorted to pushing our bikes uphill.

It was pitch dark, a silent night with a starry sky. And there I was, pushing my bike through the forest, along the twisting turns with not a soul in sight apart from me my friends. At times like this, it is only one’s sense of humour that can help. We couldn’t help but laugh at our situation, stranded in the night with nothing but our bikes, some water and a sleeping bag. Few hours later we managed to reach the top where we camped under the open skies. And as luck would have it, dinner was just a water melon.

That's part of the team making their way down the trail. Image courtesy - Rajesh Nayak

While I wasn't really comfortable on these trails, my friends were having the time of their life. Image courtesy - Rajesh Nayak

The real fun started the next morning. After all of the previous night’s trouble, today we would ride downhill. I wasn’t particularly fond of riding downhill on those crazy trails. Even in the city I have never driven any vehicle and when it comes to riding, the only experience I have is the few routes I cycled over the past two years. But this wasn’t going to be an easy ride and I had half a mind to hire a jeep to take me down. And my off-roading skills are so awesome, only a new born baby can do worse than me. This was when the thought crossed my mind again.

“Why in the world am I doing this?”

In the end, the lure of starring in an awesome video got to me and I decided to ride downhill. I would ride few meters only to be thrown off balance very soon. I walked my bike at a whole lot twists and turns but slowly I got the hang of it. After the initial few kilometers, the trail evened out considerably and at some point I was even having fun riding through the forest. But all the while, I could never let go of the fear of crashing and held onto the brakes with all I had. My grip on the brakes was so firm that my arms were hurting bad but I couldn’t let go.

We came across this stream at the end of the trail where we had a lot of fun crossing the stream on our bikes.

I was afraid to try this out in the beginning but it looked like a lot of fun and the photos and videos of the stream crossing looked awesome too. So I had to try it and it wasn't as scary as I thought it'd be.

After 8kms and 2 hours of riding downhill, I found my answer. I was doing this because variety is the spice of life. Because we should never stop learning and there’s always a first time; because of the joy of learning, overcoming fear and the excitement of doing something new and adding more crazy experiences to my list.

Here is a video of the downhill ride -

The Amazing Forests of Andaman in Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 16:19:00 +0000

Andaman and Nicobar are a spectacular group of tropical islands in the Bay of Bengal. With about 86% of the land area covered by forest, A&N is surprisingly known only for its beaches and marine life. Islands are fascinating places and so is the ecosystem. For thousands of years, the forests here have grown undisturbed until the past hundred years where rampant logging and increased settlements have caused damage. Nevertheless, the forests of Andaman are still pretty amazing and old growth for most parts. Many of the species found here are endemic and I can only assume Nicobar is just as spectacular as well. Here are some photos of my experience wandering in the forests of Andaman. It is safe to say I was wowed and how!

The forests of Andaman are primarily tropical rainforest which constantly reminded me of Western Ghats closer to home. The canopy was just as green as the dense forest floor. The greenery was soothing and at times overwhelming. It was easy to get claustrophobic as you can see here. If we had to shoot Jurassic Park in India, this could be a prime location, the forest looked pre-historic.

Image taken while trekking towards Saddle Peak, Kalipur, North Andaman.

The forest extends all the way till the beach as you can see here. With zero light pollution, we could see stars clearly as expected with any wild place. The tide was slowly rising and after few minutes, the water was just a meter away from the forest. There are hardly any palm fringed beaches, instead dense forests stretch towards the sea. At many places, the water meets the forest and there isn't a beach to walk along during high tide. Seen here is a Mahua tree among others.

Image taken at Niel Island, Ritchie's Archipelago.

Sunset brought out the colors of forest alive. I walked few meters away from the beach and I found this path which almost looked paradisaical. Birds were chirping and the eerie silence was occasionally interrupted by a screeching insect. The sun sets very early in the Andaman islands and I ran back to the shore before it turned dark. Later we drove back on a scooty on this path to reach our resort.

Image taken close to sunset point, south of Niel Island, Ritchie's Archipelago.

There are no rivers in Andaman except for one small Kalpong River in North Andaman. There are several streams and crocodile infested creeks running across the islands though. This being a tropical forest, the water isn't refreshing cool like a glacial stream however it tastes refreshingly fresh. On my way to Saddle Peak, this was the only major stream we crossed where I could fill my water bottle. Few more meters ahead, the fresh water stream opens into the ocean.

Image shot in Saddle Peak National Park, North Andaman.

During the 2004 earthquake, the pressure of the water actually tilted some of the islands, letting salt-water flow into the tree roots. That’s why you see eerie-looking stretches of dead forest along some seashores and flooded areas. These trees were dead and really huge along the shoreline. I saw similar dead and uprooted trees across Little Andaman and Long Island.

Image taken at Lallaji Bay, Long Island, Middle Andaman.

Looking at the tall trees everywhere, it is easy to see the reason why there were upto 4 timber factories of the islands of Andaman. Mahua, Gurjan, the termite resistant Padauk and other such trees constitute the 200+ varieties of timber found in these islands. Logging has been banned to protect the ecosystem of Andaman & Nicobar and the timber factories have been closed since.

Image was taken at Niel Island, Ritchie'e Archipelago, Andman

This is what you see from the coast of Long Island. During high tide, water rises till the forest leaving no beach to walk along and the forest looks so dense that one might not want to enter forcing him/her to walk in the crocodile infested waters. The forests of Niel Island were relatively well cleared owing to its small size and abundant population. Long Island was much bigger with just about 1500 people living and forests here looked dangerously wild and creepy with huge trees and a lot of creepers and shrubs covering every inch of forest floor available.

Image was taken on the way to Lallaji Bay, Long Island, Middle Andaman

Like I said earlier, several streams run through the forest to meet the ocean in the end. Seen here is one such stream surrounded by lush greenery. During low tide, the water is barely ankle deep and easy to cross but by high tide i.e late mornings and late evening, the water level rises to waist deep or chest deep making it difficult to cross. Also increasing the chance encounter with the salt water crocodile thriving in these waters.

Image taken along the beach of Kalipur, North Andaman.

Little Andaman is a huge island between Andaman and the Nicobar group. Flat leveled, the dense forest was the prime target for severe logging and thousands of people from mainland and other islands have now settled in this island affecting the forest. A large area of the island is under the control of red oil palm plantation. However, the greenery of the island still remains. I saw the biggest creeks in this island, like the one seen in this image. There have been several cases of people getting killed by saltwater crocodiles and every creek has a signboard warning people to stay away.

Image taken close to Butler Bay, Little Andaman.

Creepy looking climbers and branches hang from the many trees on my way to Lamiya Bay. Between the pristine stretches of forests, several settlers have illegally set up small villages and cleared the forest illegally to use the land for cultivation. I am told towards North Andaman, the forests are evergreen and characterized by wood climbers. This must be it.

Image taken at Lamiya Bay, Kalipur, North Andaman.

As we travel towards North Andaman, the mangrove forests increase in density like anything. Traveling by the ferry from Long Island towards Erratta, we passed by several such entire islands of just mangroves, really tall and dense mangroves that could provide protection against waves in case of a tsunami. Later when we arrived at the jetty at Errata, it was surrounded by dense mangroves and a prime crocodile area with sign boards declaring the same everywhere. The total area of mangrove vegetation in Andamans is around 966 Sq.kms.

Image taken from the ferry going towards Errata from Long Island, Middle Andaman.

Seen here is the Padanus fruit. A visit to the Anthropological Museum in Port Blair informs me that this fruit is eaten by tribes of Nicobar. In Niel Island, when I inquired the locals brushed it off saying it is some inedible fruit.

Image taken on the shore of Niel Island, Ritchie's Archipelago.

Seen here is my guide Indro, standing in front of the very huge trees of the evergreen rainforest. I've barely seen any tree tops once I reached North Andaman. The trees were all very tall, the buttress spread wide. This is still one of the smaller ones that I have photographed.

Image taken in Saddle Peak National Park, North Andaman

This is the view through the foliage along the road in Little Andaman, at the far end one can the blue greens of the sea. It was in rare cases that I could see through the dense greenery to get an ocean view. Most of the times, it was just trees and such.

Image taken in Little Andaman.

A Tall Gurjan tree stands in the middle of the fields of an illegal settlement at Lamiya Bay. The thick wood is used to make furniture and is one of the several timber species found on the island. My guide, Indro standing next to the tree can give you a perspective of how huge the trees were.

Image taken in Lamiya Bay, North Andaman

Seen here is a Ficus Tree claiming all that is left of this British Building. The forests of Andaman and so alive and so aggressive, nothing can remain forever, the forests will take back all that belongs to it, sooner or later. And here ends my journey with the Forests of Andaman.

Image taken in Ross Island, Andaman.

So what do you think of Forests of Andaman?

I personally was mesmerized by the tropical evergreen forests, the mangroves, the huge trees and things green. It was the first time I ever felt I should've been here with a naturalist who could've told me the secrets of these forests. I hope this post can reinforce the thought that Andaman is a wild paradise and not just a beach destination. Also If you find any inaccuracies in what I've written please do inform me.

In the next post on Andaman I will talk about the indigenous tribes of these islands.

Do I really prefer travelling solo?

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:43:00 +0000

“Traveling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller"- Ibn Battuta

That’s the story of my life. When I am traveling, I prefer to be silent, to be quiet and to be calm enough to observe what is happening around me. In fact my travel days are one of those rare days where I let the other person speak and I listen, I listen intently. I am intrigued by new cultures, new destinations and new stories! Of course, once I am back I won’t rest until I have recounted each and every experience to my often reluctant audience. But how did I ever discover I liked all these?

In the very beginning, like everyone else, I used to look for company to travel. There wasn’t a travel plan which didn’t include a whole a lot of begging/convincing a friend(s) to come along. My travel plans revolved around others’ availability and others’ plans. When I met more people who were interested in travel, it didn’t take long before I made friends with them and went on several trips together. The trips were full of laughter, poking fun at each other and a whole lot of talking because all of us were new to each other and we there because of our common love of travel. What these trips were not was enriching. In the sense that while meeting new people was fun I didn’t learn anything about the place that we were visiting because we were so busy with each other. We were confined in this familiar protective bubble with little chance of interaction with the others. Conversations bounced between the closed contexts of our group, there was little that felt alien.

On some unsuspecting trip, clichéd as it may seem, I happened to discover the joy of discovery. I started traveling with few and actively avoided all such trips that included a huge group. After all, all that joking and talking and laughing got in the way of me experiencing the place. When I look back at such trips, neither do I remember the conversations nor do I remember the place. At this point I must be coming off as an increasingly anti-social person. I will be lying if I say I have nothing against such vacations, well, I hate them. Please don’t judge me. But what I do love is to travel in a way where me or my friends are not taking over a place, where I am not intruding. I want to be able to blend in, observe, learn and not seem intimidating.

To tell you the truth, I didn’t take to solo travel for a really long time. My first solo trip was only in 2011 to Sikkim. I have gone alone to join groups where I didn’t know anyone before but never traveled all alone until that point. And I traveled solo because I didn’t find anyone to come along and also because I didn’t want to wait for someone to come along. That was a small 5 day trip in the foothills of Himalayas and that one trip changed my life and how! Since then I have daringly set out travel to the remote islands of Andaman and to stay with the headhunting tribes of Nagaland alone and had some pretty remarkable experiences – both terrifying and breathtaking.

In India, especially, we are not accustomed to the idea of doing things alone. Be it, going to the movies or going shopping or god forbid, eat alone! Here, doing things alone will only attract pitiful glances and sympathetic enquiries. I have been asked several times if I didn’t have a family. If I did, how they allowed me to travel alone was invariably the next question. Always. The good thing about traveling alone in India is that everybody wants to know your story. They come to you, they are curious and let you immerse in their world. I have had some really long and interesting conversations with the locals wherever I traveled alone or with just a friend. The bad thing about traveling alone is that everybody wants to know your story. As a woman traveling alone, I do attract a lot of attention. Sometimes I just want to be left alone but that doesn’t always work in my favor.

Half the times, I am at my wit’s end with all the things going wrong around me, like the snakeskin in my room or landslides or falling sick or the lack of public transport or landing in a remote village where the hotel’s locked down and there’s no power for 2 days. Half the times I am also scared to death. But the confidence that comes from the knowledge that I survived all these and lived to tell the story leaves me in a far better state than I earlier was in. We all know that magic happens outside of our comfort zone. I am now willing to take on challenges and enjoy the freedom that I am given. By trusting myself and being forced to trust strangers, I now know that I can work my way around chaotic situations and that people elsewhere in general are quite nice and friendly. I have taken some stupid decisions too but I’ve learnt my lessons.

Solo travel opens a whole new world that has been shielded by none other than our own presumptions. In the process I also do have better and insightful travel experiences. There are loads of posts on the internet advocating solo travel, but I decided to share these thoughts anyway because to hear something from someone you know or relate to can make a bigger difference. I know that once a friend hiked all alone thinking “If Neelima can go solo, I can too” and I know I drew strength from my other friend who hiked alone.

I do not want to paint a rosy picture of solo travel though. It is not going to be easy but is the reward going to be worth the effort? Yes! Words like safety, loneliness etc get thrown around generously whenever solo travel talk comes up, we’ll discuss that in a later post. Solo travel is difficult only to begin with but it is an incredibly enriching experience. I won’t say take a huge leap of faith and take that month long overseas trip just yet, but try. Time is too precious to spend it waiting for something to happen or for someone to come along. Pick up your bag and go. Don’t pin all your hopes on waiting for the perfect time or finding that perfect travel partner to begin your journey. In fact everyone should take a solo trip - to discover courage, confidence, freedom and to grow as a person!

Today it feels amazing to say “Yes, I am going alone!” I can and I will.

What are your thoughts on solo travel in India?

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2012 Women's Day post - My Little Secret (on How to get started with Travel)

5 Images of the view from High Above

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 05:40:00 +0000

Even after countless flights, till date, I am just as eager to get the window seat. I am even okay with the middle seat but rarely the aisle. I strain my neck, put up with the glare and if there were a window, I'd be hanging out of it like a dog but unfortunately that is not the case! Anyway, most of my flights are to usually to Delhi and then I head towards the mountains by road. But occasionally when flying to places like Diburgarh in Assam or Port Blair in Andaman or Leh in Ladakh, we do get to some amazing views. And a change of perspective surely helps us discover more beauty! So here's five images of my view from the plane.

Flying to Leh is almost as exciting as driving to Leh, if not completely. Seeing the brown mountains slowly being covered by ice, the excitement in the flight is palpable. Soon you are flying over white mountains and glaciers and if you are lucky you can spot the Tso-Moriri Lake too! Taken on the flight from Delhi - Leh.

The first time I saw clouds, I almost cried. I still love clouds and flying through them is nothing short of a magical ride for me, a bumpy and a scary one at that. This was taken on the flight from Srinagar - Delhi.

Needless to say, flying over oceans isn't as exciting if there's nothing apart from ocean below. But if there is a reef or island below, it is a completely different story. And if you are flying over an island as famous as North Sentinel, that still has uncontacted tribes and there is a rainbow in the sky, what more of a view can you ask for? Taken on the flight from Port Blair - Chennai.

Flying into Leh, seeing this green patch and the hovering clouds was worrying me. Many say that the inclusion of greenery in the high altitude desert has been ruining the natural balance in Ladakh. There has been a very unusual cloud burst, unlikely rainy weather over the past few years. This was taken on the flight from Delhi - Leh.

The mightiest and possibly the scariest river that creates catastrophic flood every year, I eyed the braided Brahmaputra River from a distance while flying out of Dibrugarh in Assam. This was taken on the flight from Dibrugarh - Kolkata.

Also in my mind, I always talk to the land I am leaving behind and bid goodbye. Do you do that too? :)
So these were some of my most memorable views out of a place. Do you have some views that have been etched in your mind? Did you capture any such views from plane? Do share with me.

The Most Chilled out place on a Monday Morning!

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 20:02:00 +0000

Sitting on the porch of a small yet comfortable cafe, I was sipping deliciously hot black tea on a rainy morning. The cafe was almost empty if not for very few travellers. The waitresses were huddled in one corner talking among themselves. All signs suggested it was a lazy morning. We were travelling in the Himalayas during the most unlikely time, when it pours cats and dogs because of which we were treated to lush greenery, overflowing rivers and streams, misty days, thundering waterfalls and all things beautiful.

Earlier that day when I woke up in the morning, through the curtains draped on the windows, I could see mountains playing hide and seek with the clouds. Sun was barely shining through the dense cloud cover and there was slight nip in the air. It was drizzling yet it seemed that heavens were ready to open flood gates anytime soon. As it happens to many while traveling, we were also clueless about the time and day of the week. MG Road was clean and sparkling thanks to the cleansing rains. Even as we first arrived in this pretty town few days ago, the first thing that struck me was the all pervading cleanliness. For an Indian town to be this clean, even more so in the rains was nothing short of a miracle. Traffic is not allowed on this stretch of MG Road, also known as MG Marg(Marg translates to road, in Hindi). Pretty benches and lampposts cut the road through the center, posh shops lined either side of the road. The low hanging mist only added charm to this already beautiful setting.

One Friday, I was just noticing how many different groups sat on the benches opposite the cafe while I was there.

Elderly women dressed in traditional attire were walking in groups and greeting each other. Everyone seemed to carry one of those huge umbrellas, they came in all colors. The benches that lined the road were hardly empty. Students, youngsters, old people - someone or the other always took time to sit on these benches, they either sat silently or talked, laughed and left. No one seemed to be in any sort of hurry and everyone seemed to know everyone. Several greetings were exchanged between passers by. Things moved at an almost negligible pace, just like the clouds over the mountains. The clouds keep moving but you wouldn't notice but look after few minutes and you'd know something has changed.

As travellers, it wasn't anything significant to note that we were chilling out. But to see everyone else in the town chilling out was certainly not something I was used to. On Monday mornings like this, when I am struggling to get up in the morning, running after a bus, sitting with strangers yet talking to myself in my head, unbearable advertisements blaring in my ear on the radio, it is on days like today that I am taken back to the Monday mornings spent on the hill station. I long for the music of the mountains, noise of strangers talking to each other, dance of the clouds and wrath of the rain!

Turns out Monday mornings are that awesome in Gangtok, Sikkim. So are Friday evenings and the rest of the week.

A Trek through the Thar Desert

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 18:31:00 +0000

This story appeared in the January 2013 issue of National Geographic Traveller India

On the second day of the trek, we rode on camels for a while.

It was a strange place to be. The breeze was too cold to make me want to stay in the shade, and the sun was too hot to make me want to step out from under the canopy of the huge khejri tree that I was leaning against. I was in the Thar Desert, on the first day of a five-day trek that had started that morning in a village called Khaba, near Jaisalmer, and would end 40 km away at Bharna.

Every day had brought a range of discoveries: stark landscapes, pristine dunes, rosy sunsets, starry nights, and the realisation that an amazing variety of life could flourish in an unforgiving environment. Each new morning had also brought intriguing stories. On the very first day, our group of three found ourselves in Kuldhara, an abandoned village 17 km from Jaisalmer. No one has been able to explain why its inhabitants fled, but it has been suggested that the Paliwal Brahmins who lived there migrated elsewhere in the 19th century either to escape the atrocities of the ruler or because their water sources ran dry. They left behind crumbling walls, a temple, and a curse that the village would never be inhabited again. Seen through the arches of the derelict Khaba Fort, the ruins of the village were bathed eerily in the colours of sunset while the plains beyond were carpeted with green fields.

The ghost town of Kuldhara seen from the ruins of the Khaba fort

Khaba seems to blend effortlessly into the barren landscape. It seldom sees tourists. We set up camp in the village school for the night. Village girls came to the well to fill up water while the smaller children played in the sand. Their smiles were genuine and their eyes curious. They had questions about life in the city. Why did I wear my hair loose instead of having a dupatta wrapped around my head? Would I choose my own husband? How was I allowed to travel so far without a man to accompany me? I took photographs that I promised to send them soon.

Our route had been designed to seek out maximum shade under the region’s sparse foliage. Even though the mercury rose mercilessly, the winter winds made the sun more bearable. On the very first day of the trek, resting under one of the trees mid-afternoon, we saw women in the far distance walking with vessels to collect water. Later, at the campsite, porters brought us barrels of water. Though it was murky, we added purification tablets to the liquid and gulped it down. It was a hard lesson in how judiciously we needed to use water in the desert.

Though the days were hot, the nights would get bitterly cold. We would spend the evenings huddled in our shelters. One night, while camping in a hut in the Desert National Park at Sudasari, three of us came out to make a wish upon shooting stars. The hut was situated just on the fringes of the National Park and on one side, the endless grasslands extended all the way to the horizon. It was a moonless night and the sky was so clear that I probably saw more stars in that one evening than I’d seen in the city all of the previous year.

Desert National Park

The Desert National Park in Sudasari is one of the country’s biggest nature reserves and supports a variety of species ranging from the endangered Great Indian Bustard to the abundant chinkara. We saw little gazelles everywhere we went.

Having done most of my previous treks in the Himalayas and Western Ghats, the desert landscape was unfamiliar to me. In the mountains, something always blocked the view. But here, the landscapes stretched on unimpeded. Watching the sunrise and sunset became a ritual for me. I made it a point to wake up every morning to see the red ball of fire come up over the horizon and settled down every evening to watch the scorching sun rest for the day. Though the desert appeared barren, it wasn’t lifeless—the chirping birds, the swaying leaves, and the footprints of sneaky animals made that clear.

One of the beautiful sunsets during the trek

On the last day of the trek, we trudged up several sand dunes, but none were as perfectly shaped as the ones I had in my mind. Then, just an hour before sunset, when we were completely worn out, we were confronted with another dune. Everyone else walked to the right of the sand bar but I decided to head left. This, it turned out, was the pristine dune I had in mind all through the trip—it had dramatic, wind-sculpted patterns, unspoilt by footsteps. The setting sun cast an ochre light as well as dark shadows on the sand. I walked carefully to avoid trampling the beautiful patterns. There was no one else around.

At last, pristine sand dunes. If you have been to Rajasthan, you'd know how difficult it is to find one untrampled.

In my tent that night, my dreams were filled with chinkaras running towards the distant horizon. I dreamt of wishing upon shooting stars and riding a camel. I also dreamt of spectacular sunsets and solitary trees. When I woke up, I realised I had actually lived that precious dream.

Postcards of a different kind from Rajasthan

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 19:35:00 +0000

I spent two weeks in Rajasthan. As expected it was very commercialized and crowded but I managed to find some quiet and quaint corners for myself. I trekked through the Thar desert, spent few days deconstructing the paintings of Shekhawati Havelis and had dinner with royalty to name a few. Here's what I saw. :)

Start of the five day trek through the Thar Desert. Our guide on his camel.

A Lady offering prayers in the beautiful Jain Temple of Ranakpur

Frescoes of many a kind adorning the domes of tombs in Shekhawati.

This is where we stayed in Desert National Park, Sudasari

Beautiful pristine sand dunes of neither Sam nor Khuri

A glorious painted Haveli of Shekhawati, now in ruins and neglect

A French artist bought a haveli and restored the frescoes to bring to its former glory, Fatehpur

Businessman around Jodhpur

Beautifully lit Jal Mahal of Jaipur

Pesky kids running after us for money, after a while they just smiled and left.

Gadisar Lake, Jaisalmer

Mustard fields in South Rajasthan

A beautiful sunrise and a solitary tree

Vellagavi - Where there is no road and no footwear

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 07:55:00 +0000

Woman standing in front of her house and the colorful Kolam

The gravel was hurting my feet. After all, I was walking on the streets without footwear. I was walking in the village that doesn't wear footwear. The logic was simple — everywhere you turned, you would tumble into a temple. When we reached the place after a four-hour hike the previous night, a board that read ‘Please remove the foot wears' welcomed us. We obliged.

Vellagavi is a small hamlet located on a hill top, home to 99 families and 300-odd people. Along with the houses, there are 24 temples of all kinds located within the village. The houses were packed so close that you could count the number of lanes on your fingers. And, every lane ended up around a temple. The devotion in the people was quite obvious — the village was holy, the temples were holy, and they firmly believed in the gods above. The day we visited was the last day of a week-long of prayers held for rain; It did rain the previous day!

Road-less travel

On a higher ground, next to a grassy patch was a Muruga Temple with a brilliant view of the forests below and the mountains above. As we walked back from the temple, a retired headmaster of the primary school, Shanmugham, greeted us. I was shocked to know this village had a school and even a post office — although there is no road connectivity to this village.

One can reach the place only on foot on a steep trail — either through the jungle up from Kumbakarai or down the hill from Kodaikanal. The village has been in existence before the pre-Independence days, and it's a surprise that such an old settlement, so close to Kodaikanal, never got a road.

The headmaster was kind enough to invite us for a cup of coffee, and told us many more stories of his village. He said no one was spared from the ‘no footwear' rule. He went on to say that 15 years ago when a certain forest ranger refused to remove his footwear and entered the village, he was ‘duly punished' on his way down — he was attacked by a bison and lost his legs.

The lady of the house handed us hot cups of coffee. It was strong and black — with no cattle around, milk was a rare commodity there. All the essentials had to be bought from Kodaikanal. They live off the earnings from the estates and the produce, which mainly consists of fruits and coffee.

Tremendous hospitality

Later another family invited us for a scrumptious breakfast. Based on the tremendous hospitality they'd shown us, I assumed this village didn't see much tourist traffic. But I couldn't have been more wrong. Vellagavi is part of a village tourism circuit where, and gets frequent visitors from Kodaikanal, mostly foreigners. And, the incredible generosity is just part of their culture. I have found that people who live in trying terrains have been the most kind.

Hours later we said farewell, walked barefoot to the village boundary, put on our shoes and started the three-hour climb. As I walked towards Kodaikanal, I wondered when the last time was that I got invited for a cup of coffee by a stranger.

Far across the distance I saw mountains with dark clouds looming. Soon, the village and its charms were buried deep in my thoughts. But Vellagavi could do with a road.

This story originally appeared in The Hindu

6 Inspiring Adventure Documentaries to watch

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:07:00 +0000

Last year I had come up with this list of 7 Travel Videos and it was quite well received. Because lists are so much fun and adventure is always awesome, here's a list of 6 documentaries on crazy adventures from around the world.

Source - http://ourhouseonamountain.tumblr.com/

1. The Trail of Gengis Khan

The moment I started watching the video, the only thing that was going through my mind was from where did he get the courage to do something like that? This is an incredible story of a young adventurer from Australia, Tim Cope, who set out in 2004 to cross 10000 kms from Mongolia to Hungary by horse, alone and unassisted. The catch is he could barely ride a horse. Learning everything he could from the nomads who inhabited these unforgiving desolate lands, he traced the trail of Gengis Khan in three and a half grueling years! From camping with the wolves to dealing with horses that abandoned him, from terrifying lonely days to the incredibly welcoming nomads, this is one adventure that will not let you rest until you have seen all the 6 parts of this mind-blowing documentary! Central Asia has captured my imagination for ages this amazing adventure is the first crossing of the steppes in the modern times. He filmed the entire journey which is now available as a documentary and he is also writing a book on the same.

http://timcopejourneys.com/

Watch the entire series on youtube - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

2. Walking the Amazon

This is yet another never-before-done adventure of epic proportions! Ed Stafford walked the entire length of Amazon continuously for over two years to become the first person to do so. From dealing with drug mafia to a botfly living in his head, this journey has all kinds of extreme situations that Ed and his guide deal with. If Tim Cope’s journey had me wondering about courage, this made me wonder about his determination and commitment. It is not easy to get up every morning and walk non-stop in a jungle along 6530 kms of Amazon River for 860 days. Even if the whole world said it isn’t possible, to have the single minded dedication to commit to a goal as challenging as walking the Amazon just goes to show what humans are capable of. While intense cold or heat can kill within a short span, jungles are like slow poison. Of all the adventures I have known of, I’d say this would be one of the toughest ever! Ed Stafford also filmed the entire journey now available as a documentary and there is a book too.

http://www.edstafford.org/

Watch the two part documentary on youtube - Part 1, Part 2

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3. Long Way Round

Ever since I saw Ewan McGregor singing as the adorable Christian in the movie Moulin Rouge, I had fallen in love with him! You can only imagine my surprise when I found out he can rough it out and have an adventure. Actors and friends, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman rode around the world on motorcycles starting from London going towards east through central Asia, reaching Russia after which they flew to Anchorage in Alaska and rode till New York. After you get over the initial pangs of jealousy at all the support they were getting, it is a really well made 7 part documentary because they also had a cameraman riding with them alongside. While the initial parts of riding in Europe is boring, all the fun starts once they enter Kazakhstan and it continues till they reach Russia. Beautiful landscapes, funny situations, good adventures, motorcycle breakdowns aside, what makes this fun to watch is the wonderful camaraderie between the two bikers. They will remind of you of your rides with your friends, of the ups and downs and all the crazy moments in between.

http://www.longwayround.com/

4. Long Way Down

After the success of their first journey around the world, the same team of Long Way Around gets back together for another entertaining documentary covering Ewan and Charley’s journey from the northernmost tip of Scotland to Cape Town in Africa. With the same production team and cameraman, the quality of the filming is top notch again. If long way around was about crazy places and adventure, Africa was all about people and children and problems. It is very difficult not to be affected by the plight of the war torn continent. Even though it is sad to watch at times, the journey does bring into light a lot of issues about Africa. Meanwhile the crazy adventures continue as Ewan’s wife also rides with them for a while, they drill holes in shoes, have signboards inviting them for coffee. It gets funny when Ewan expected to be mobbed at a stars wars location in Tunisia but nothing happens. This journey also turns out to be as entertaining as the previous one, if not more.

http://longwayround.com/

5. Riding Solo to the top of the world

While I haven’t seen this yet, I imagine it must be a good watch. About the only Indian adventure documentary I could find, Gaurav Jani films his journey from Mumbai to the remote deserts of Ladakh. Just the fact that this documentary is filmed in Ladakh is enough to convince me watch the movie, which I will be doing very soon.

http://www.dirttrackproductions.com/

6. Running the Sahara

Again another movie that I haven’t watched yet, but the trailer looks promising and the idea, crazy! Three ultra runners, Charlie Engle, Ray Zahab and Kevin Li ran 6920 kms across the Sahara in 111 days covering about 80kms per day. What I really liked about this adventure was that the team had decided they would abort the expedition if one of the runners went down, which meant they had to support and encourage each other all the while. The desert run is yet another glowing example of what the human body and mind is capable of. I will be placing the order for this movie soon.

http://www.runningthesahara.com/

These are my recommendations of films that showed us impossible journeys undertaken by people pushing their mental and physical limits. All these were filmed during the adventure and not later re-enactments. We'll make another list of those kind of movies too.

So, how many of these have you watched? Any other suggestions to add to this list?

2012 - A Year of Adventure!

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 12:49:00 +0000

2012 has been a year of lot of firsts and adventures, things I never thought I’d do. Looking back at the 12 months I realize I’ve had a bit of everything in it, from little joys to major milestones. I certainly spent some quality time refining my travel, writing and photography. Small changes and a conscious decision to find something new helped me immensely. I didn’t realize the impact of this until the very end of the year. As I look back at all I did in 2012, every experience and every trip has been different in more ways than one. And I say this at the risk of sounding clichéd, but each one of those moments has changed me in more ways than one. What more can a traveler ask for?

If you like what you see here, you might want to consider following my travels on twitter or facebook or RSS or subscribe to the Wandering Soul's very new Newsletter!

Surfing in the sea

Wave after wave was crashing on my face and I couldn’t get enough time to even recover from each blow. With the surf board under one arm and the other hand tightly clutching Dhruv, my teenage instructor’s arm, I was going farther away from the shore. Lying flat on my stomach on the floating surf board, I would wait for the wave to come. Meanwhile, for one small moment, the sea would calm down. I couldn’t see the shore, neither could I see Dhruv. All I could see was the blue sky and a wave forming slowly, gracefully and silently. The blissful silence was ephemeral when another wave rose from behind and swept the board ahead. I tried standing up but within seconds I found myself tossed and tumbling underwater as if I was inside a washing machine. The ordeal continued for long that morning. If anything, I can only say I, very very briefly, managed to stand on the board and surf. I am not a beach person at all, I am a mountain person. But that was the first time I experienced the power of the sea, up close and personal.

Scaling a 6000m Himalayan Peak

It was exceedingly cold and it was midnight in the high Himalayas. The flickering light from head torches of trekkers on the trail seemed almost sinister. Tonight I was attempting to summit the 6153 m high Stok Kangri Peak in Ladakh. I was in the mountains entirely for the past week, climbing up three high passes and hauling my heavy backpack full of camera gear which was increasingly turning into a back breaking experience. Almost six hours after setting out in the dark on the trail, with numbed down feet and fingers, I saw the most beautiful sunrise of my life. It was almost as if the sun was below me, I was at an altitude of 19000ft already. At that height oxygen is as scarce as clean air in the cities! To say I reached the summit would be an understatement. I almost crawled up the ridge and to the summit. To put things in perspective, I climbed to a height of about 70% of Mt. Everest!

Camping in Kashmir, otherwise called “Heaven on Earth”

I have seen Himalayas of Himachal, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Ladakh but Kashmir was in a different league altogether. Once in the unknown valleys of Kashmir, it was very easy to see why it is called “Heaven on Earth”! Beautiful alpine scenery, glacial lakes, crystal clear streams, wild flowers, green meadows, silver birches and everything else made it such a special place. For a week, the agenda was to sit by the stream every afternoon and just watch the show, of clouds, of mountains and of nature. I have travelled extensively in India and I can say that Kashmir is the most beautiful place I have seen yet.

Introducing outdoors to the next generation

In the summer of 2012 my cousins came to visit me. They were 10, 10 and 11 years old, all boys. They grew up hearing my travel escapades and watching the translated Bear Grylls shows on TV. Thankfully their interest in nature survived all these years. I have taken them on small day hikes earlier to waterfalls which they thoroughly enjoyed. But this summer, I took them on a major trek over a weekend to climb Chembra Peak, at 2100 meters, one of the highest in Wayanad, Kerala. One of the 10 yr olds freaked out before he started the trek but once he got on the trail he was in his element. The climb is easy but the gradient can be tough at times, all three of them climbed the peak effortlessly and were one of the first few to reach the top. And I am so incredibly proud of the three kiddos for never giving up and enjoying being in the mountains! It was a special moment for me, introducing outdoors to the next generation in my family.

Traveling alone to the remote corners of the country

Islands are special places. They have their own secrets and can be incredibly scary at times. Times like when I was in an island which was at least 6 hours by ship and another 1200kms away from mainland. I stayed in alone in bamboo huts amidst forest, scared to catch a wink but equally excited to be in such beautiful places. From the remote islands of Andaman I went searching for the headhunting tribes of Nagaland on the other end of the country. I stayed with the tribes in the frontier village at Indo-Burmese border. Entire northern Nagaland was plunged in darkness when I reached due to recent rainfall. The sun sets by 4.30 which meant a lot of darkness had to be endured. I was incredibly scared but felt incredibly alive. I was having the kind of adventures I have dreamed of since childhood. It was monumental that I took and survived these solo trips!

Rejoicing the rain

The rain was lashing at me and my oversized windcheater was acting like a sail, playing along with the raging winds. Meanwhile I was trying to cycle up the mountain to reach the peak. I bought my MTB (Mountain Terrain Bike) in early 2011, rode like crazy all through the summer and was eagerly waiting to take the rides in monsoon. But thanks to a failed Himalayan Cycling trip and lots of other travels, I couldn’t ride in the rain. However this year I did ride in the rain and how! It was refreshing to say the least, to feel the rain amidst nature. For two day we cycled in the rain, by the rivers, by the lakes, through fields and mountains. For me, life is in the outdoors!

Obsessing with the night skies

It didn’t matter if I was in the Himalayas or in the tropical islands, this year I went out of my way to get out in the night and capture the galaxy and beautiful night skies. Since I bought the wonderful Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 Ultra Wide Angle lens, low light photography has really taken off for me. Luckily for me, this year all my trips have been to places with zero light pollution which meant brilliant views of milkyway galaxy. At this rate, in the coming years I will have an enviable collection of nightskies and I am extremely psyched about it!

Apart from these significant adventures, there have been many other things that made 2012 a good year. I won an award for photography, was invited to speak about my travels, learnt some lessons, made a list, spent time above the clouds and officially entered the world of travel writing and photography. My images and writings were published in national and international publications. But above all, I travelled much and I travelled well.

Here’s hoping 2013 will bring in more adventures. Hope you had a good year too!

When a Leopard crossed our path in Kumbhalgarh!

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:26:00 +0000

It was a long day! We drove from Udaipur to the beautiful Jain Temples of Ranakpur situated in dense forest. The grand temple is built out of marble and supported by 1444 pillars, no two of them alike. The carvings on the marble were exquisite. But what interested me more was the forest surrounding the temple. I never imagined Rajasthan to have anything apart from desert, let alone a forest! But as one travels from north to south of the state, the difference is visible, the dusty surroundings slowly give way to greenery. There wasn't a settlement nearby. It was perfect - mysterious, beautiful and historic!

The afternoon was spent without realizing the day was coming to an end. Winters in Rajasthan meant sun would set much before 6pm. We still had a very long journey through surprisingly green and wonderful plains to the Mewar fortress at Kumbhalgarh. Situated on a hill top, this fort too is surrounded by thick forest. We arrived just in time to see the last rays touch the fort walls. Kumbhalgarh has a 36km long perimeter wall, broken but standing still. A walk along the wall could be interesting but that is for another day. Today we barely had time to see the fort, in fact we didn't, we just got to hang around the fort wall which looked splendid by the way!

If you like what you see here, you might want to consider following my travels on twitter or facebook or RSS or subscribe to the Wandering Soul's very new Newsletter!

Night fell by the time we started back to Udaipur. It was pitch dark, sitting in the front seat next to the driver my eyes were fixed on the night sky. Rarely, if at all, we would pass by small villages. About an hour later, we were passing by a group of 2-3 houses by the roadside. The streetlights were very dim and far apart. Between two such street lights and darkness, something suddenly sprung into the middle of the road. The driver applied the brake and the vehicle came to a screeching halt. It certainly looked like a cat, but in the darkness it was hard to tell. The cat lunged forward to briefly look straight into our eyes and the light from the vehicle reflected in its jewel green eyes! One more jump and it disappeared into the darkness on the other side of the road. Only when it jumped, we saw its huge tail and that confirmed it wasn't any ordinary cat, it was a leopard!

Well, this is not the leopard we saw on the road. This was a cute leopard cub from the previous day's safari at Bera with a flamboyant Thakur, but that story is for another day. Because I am talking of a leopard, I thought you might want to see one!

What was more shocking than an encounter with a leopard on the road was the fact that this was a road by a village. There were houses by the road side right next to us and few men were walking just meters in front of our vehicle. The Leopard went into the village in front of our eyes! I imagined all the man - animal conflicts to be happening somewhere deep in the wild but this was shocking and very real. I wonder if the leopard managed to prey on cattle that night or if it was caught and killed like many other animals venturing too far into human territory or maybe it is the other way round. I'll never know but the glint in the green eyes will stay with me.

Did you say you need to see more photos?

Jain Temple at Ranakpur

Mustard fields in Rajasthan

Kumbhalgarh Fort

Beautiful country side of south Rajasthan

Have you ever had a chance encounter with a wild animal?

Guide to Island Hopping in Andaman, India

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 02:31:00 +0000

If untouched stretches of white sand beaches, gigantic forests that look straight out of Jurassic era and exquisite marine life is your thing, then Andaman might be the destination for you! Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a group of 572 islands in the waters of Bay of Bengal closer to Thailand than to Indian mainland. The islands are at a distance of approximately 1200kms from mainland. Blessed with immense natural beauty, friendly people and relatively low cost of travel makes Andaman a backpackers’ paradise! Of the 572 islands, only about 38 are inhabited and out of them very few are accessible in Andaman while Nicobar is completely out of bounds for everyone other than locals of Nicobar and govt. servants posted in these islands.

This list doesn't cover all the islands, for instance there is no mention of Havelock here. Most of the information is available online but for remote islands and logistics for backpacking. This post covers those aspects.

Complete Itinerary : Andaman, India
2 Weeks in Andaman - Photos of Tropical Paradise

Right Click open to see the map large.

Let’s get to the details then

1. Port Blair

The largest town in Andaman, this would be the entry point to the islands. Apart from few museums, water sport complex, cellular jail etc there isn’t really a beach here. All the ferries would leave early in the morning so if you get here by afternoon, you need to spend the night in Port Blair and head for the other islands the next morning.

If you like what you see here, you might want to consider following my travels on twitter or facebook or RSS or subscribe to the Wandering Soul's very new Newsletter!

Where did I stay?

Coorg Niwas Home Stay

H. No. 106/1 J.N. Road | Opp. Delanipur Petrol Pump, Port Blair 744102, India

http://hotel-coorg-niwas-home-stay-port-blair.hotelsgds.com/contactus.php

This is a clean, simple homestay close to the jetty and the harbor. The market is a bit further away and there isn’t much to see close by but if you are in Port Blair just for the night, makes for a good place to stay. Room costs INR 1000 and above.

2. Neil Island

The lesser known island compared to Havelock, Neil is a 2 hour ferry ride away from Port Blair. Neil is a place that still has retained the charms of an unspoilt island yet manages to give enough comfort for the traveler. Explore the fields, the rock bridge, Sitapur Beach, Ramnagar Beach and Bharatpur beach.

Getting there and getting out:

The speed boat (something between a ship and a boat) leaves from Pheonix Bay jetty every morning at 6.30am. During the peak season, book your ticket in advance as the same jetty goes to Neil, then Haelock, proceed to State Island and Long Island. There is no ticket counter at Neil, to get out, board the ferry in the morning and take the ticket once aboard.
Ship Ticket price from Port Blair to Neil - INR 195

Facilities available:

Bikes can be hired for as little as 250 INR a day to ride around the island.

For those who wish to snorkel with assistance, Niel has options at Bharatpur Beach for about 300INR.

Boating and Fishing can be done too, ask at the resort.

Where did I stay?

Tango Beach Resort, Laxmanpur

Phone No - +91 9434270454 / +91-9474212842

A lovely beach front resort, Tango is a perfect place to relax. The beach is just a minute away from the bamboo huts and the sunset point, the southernmost point of the island is just about 20 mins walk from the resort. Bamboo huts are available for 1000INR and cottages are available at a higher price. I would say this is the best property on the island so far.

3. Long Island

Far away from the tourist crowd, Long Island is as remote as an island can get. Apart from two tempos for carrying goods and 5-6 motorbikes, there are no other vehicles. You have to walk around the island through narrow roads and forest paths. It has no tourist infrastructure and visit this island only if you want to experience life in a remote island, dense forests and one good beach. Lallaji Bay is a beautiful unspoilt beach on the other end of the island and you could either walk through the jungle or by the beach for 2-3 hours or hire a boat to get there. Chances are high that you could be the only tourist on the island.
Ship Ticket price to Long Island - INR 195

Getting there and getting out:

I boarded the ferry at about 8 in the morning and reached by 1 pm. It takes a long 4-5 hour ferry ride from Neil, Havelock and Port Blair to Long Island only on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday (not from Neil) and Saturday. The boat to Port Blair leaves on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Every morning a ferry leaves to Errata Jetty, if you wish to proceed towards North Andaman, to Mayabunder or Diglipur.

Facilities available:

Blue Planet does offer snorkeling, boating trips and Scuba diving at Long Island and nearby uninhabited islands too, but you might have to pay more because it will be organized exclusively for you, unless you find more travelers to form a group.

Where did I stay?

Blue Planet Resort

http://www.blueplanetandamans.com/

Phone No - +913192215923 / +919474212180

Don’t be fooled by the word resort, Blue Planet is an eco friendly property built around a tree using bamboo the traditional way. The rooms are very basic and separated by bamboo walls, even the flooring is bamboo. Book in advance during peak season as this place is famous with foreigners for its remoteness and Blue Planet is the only accommodation available here apart from forest resthouse. Rooms are available at 1000 INR which can be reserved online and 350INR which are for people who drop by without reservations.

4. Kalipur, North Andaman

Kalipur, is a small village 25kms from the largest town in North Andaman, Diglipur. Come here if you want to trek to Saddle Peak(732m) , the highest peak in Andaman, watch the turtle nesting, experience unhurried village life, visiting Ross, Smith and Interview Islands. Again, this place doesn’t feature high on the tourist grid owing to the taxing journey to reach here, but it is a nice place to explore for those willing to take the journey.

Getting there and getting out:

From Long Island, ferry reaches Eratta Jetty. Buses/autos ply from Errata to Rangat, 30 mins journey. From Rangat, you can get buses to Diglipur. Kalipur is 25kms away from Diglipur, buses ply every 30 minutes and drops you right in front of the resort.

From Port Blair, buses ply every day to Diglipur. No overnight buses are available as the Andaman Trunk Road passes through the Jarawa Reserve.

To get out of Diglipur, there are buses which ply everyday no later than 7.30am and overnight ferry service also exists few times a week. The road journey takes about 12 hours.

Ship Ticket price from Long Island to Erratta - INR 40 (I think)
Bus ticket from Erratta to Rangat - INR 9
Bus Ticket from Rangat to Diglipur - INR 200 (approx)
Auto from Diglipur to Kalipur - INR 250

Bus ticket from Diglipur to Port Blair - INR 300 (approx)

Facilities available:

Snorkeling, Scuba diving, trekking guide to Saddle Peak, fishing, guided night walks to witness Turtle Nesting

Where did I stay?

Andaman Pristine Resorts, Kalipur

http://www.andamanpristineresorts.com/pristine.html

Phone no - +913192272532 / +913192272532 / +919474286787

Run by the very friendly folks of Alex and his family, Andaman Pristine Resorts is located right by the beach in Kalipur and has all deluxe cottages and comfortable bamboo huts. The cottages can be booked before hand, the bamboo huts ranging from 1000INR, 600INR and 300INR can be availed after landing at the resort.

5. Little Andaman

If unexplored islands, really long stretches of beaches, pristine unspoilt beauty, breathtaking blues of the ocean, waterfalls and lagoons are your thing, then look no further than Little Andaman. There is practically no tourist infrastructure and very few make it this far but it is completely worth the effort. Devastated in the 2004 Tsunami, the island has returned back to normalcy and hides some of the most spectacular scenery in all of Andaman. This is a huge island, with a lot of people residing here. It even has two SBI atms and airtel, bsnl work like a charm. It is far but in no way undeveloped. This place is still famous for the swell and lot of foreigners visit here with the intent of riding the waves. Beware of crocodiles in several of the creeks joining the sea. The jetty is located in Hutbay.

Getting there and getting out:

Samsun, a cruseliner leaves from Haddo Wharf in Port Blair everyday at 7am. Tickets have to be booked earlier because locals do travel a lot to and from Port Blair to Hutbay. Another ship Campbell Bay runs between Hutbay and Port Blair, starting in the afternoon at 2pm which doubles up as a sunset cruise too. It takes about 5-6 hours. Speed boats are available too. Ships get cancelled frequently, so do plan on leaving two days before from Hutbay to avoid missing your flight from Port Blair.
Ship ticket - INR 260, cheaper for smaller boats

Facilities available:

Bikes can be hired for about 250INR a day, thanks to the foreigners who have made it here much before us.

Muthu, a local rents surfboards and teaches surfing at times.

Share autos to travel in the island.

Where did I stay?

Sea and Sand Hotel, 1km from Hutbay Jetty.

Blue View Resort, 8kms from the Jetty. Phone No - +91 9734480840

Sea and Sand Hotel is a very simple and basic lodge mostly for locals who visit on business. Room rates start from 300INR upto 700INR. Very close to the jetty but far from Butler Bay beach and Kala Pathar Lagoon.

Blue View Resort is nothing more than few shacks and a common toilet for all built across the road near the beach. Room rates are at 300INR and 500INR. Right across the

General Details

Who lives in the Islands?

Most of us might have conjured up images of aborigines with spears and arrows inhabiting the remote islands but the reality is far from that. Sad truth is the aborigines have been pushed to the very far corners and migrants from mainland are the ones living in most of the Andaman Islands currently. There is large number of Bengali, Tamil and Telugu population living here.

Can I meet the tribes?

It is fortunate for the tribes and unfortunate for the tourist, but as of now no one can visit the tribes. They tribal areas are off limits and human safaris illegal. So if anyone tries to sell you such a trip, decline.

What language do the people speak?

Hindi is spoken and understood largely, in the remote areas, one of Bengali, Tamil or Telugu languages will work. English will work with some difficulty in most of the islands where tourists are allowed.

Can I use my hammock instead of staying in resorts?

I haven’t tried it but I have heard that for a very nominal amount such as 60 -100INR, resorts will let you sleep in your hammock within the resort property and let you use the restrooms. If that is true,

Can I visit Nicobar?

Unfortunately no! Nicobar still being inhabited only by tribes, entry is restricted. However, entry to Nicobar can be obtained by applying for a tribal pass with valid reasons. But the tribes are not weapons yielding naked hunters or something like that, they are developed.

Can I camp on the beach?
Officially it is not allowed unless the registered hotel or resort arranges for camping with permission.

Useful Links
http://www.go2andaman.com/
http://www.and.nic.in/transport/index.php
http://www.and.nic.in/tourism/howtoreach.php

2 Weeks in Andaman - Photos of Tropical Paradise

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 20:47:00 +0000

We all know beaches of Andaman are awesome, but that is not all. The history of the tribes, the settlers who migrated years ago, the Jurassic era kind of forests and not to forget the clear blue waters, Andaman is a backpacker's paradise. Seen here is one such brilliant blue beach of Little Andaman.

Far far away from my beloved mountains and Himalayas, I took a chance by visiting the tropical islands of Andaman this October. I am not a big beach person, neither do I know how to swim so I went there with mixed feelings. Don't be surprised if I tell you I never got into the water beyond my knees, did not snorkel and didn't Scuba dive either! But I had the most rocking time ever! No kidding, here's what I saw during 14 days. However, before that, let me gloat about the bragging rights I acquired after visiting some of the most exotic and remote islands of Andaman! :)

Neil Island :

This was my first stop. Landed in Port Blair and headed straight here the next day with my friend. A quaint little island which still has managed to retain it's charms yet offering enough comforts to the traveller, it was a good place to start getting used to the island culture before I headed to the more remote parts. I fell sick right on day one, went to the hospital, got myself a small heart attack when the doctor checked for malaria, thankfully which was a negative. But the temperature was still running high, which is why I didn't snorkel. But that didn't stop me from shooting the stars though. The resorts are located right off the beaches, making star gazing and sunset viewing very very convenient!

Milkyway seen through the tall Mahua trees in Neil Island, Andaman. The nights are clear and there is practically no light pollution. A 2 minute walk from my room to the beach showed me this view. It was pitch dark and I was alone with the camera. I fought the terrible temptation to run back to the room, the scuttling noises of the hermit crab wasn't soothing, it only scared me more. But when my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I saw the stars above, all of that dread didn't vanish but the struggle to stay put seemed worth trying and the rest as they say is history! ;)

We stayed at Tango Resort almost at the southern tip of the island. It was a lovely property and 20 minutes walk on the white sandy shore would take us to the sunset point at the southernmost tip. But the sad thing is, sun sets so early it hardly gives one enough time to enjoy the scenery. It gets pitch dark by 5.30pm but while I was there, the moon used to give us good company.

If you like what you see here, you might want to consider following my travels on twitter or facebook or RSS or subscribe to the Wandering Soul's very new Newsletter!

Long Island:

Two days later my friend and I went separate ways, she took the ship to Havelock and I, further to Long Island. It was a long journey and I was the only tourist in the boat apart from locals. We went past many small islands scattered here and there. Finally when I landed I knew this would be wild but it was much more wild than I expected. I spent three days in the island with no other traveler in sight, walked to the farthest beach, drank fresh coconut water straight from the tree and wandered alone in the ruins of the island.

That is the way to the resort, I call it a resort but it is nothing more than basic accommodation surrounded by a lot of trees and bushes. The jungle in this island looked straight out of Jurassic Park era. Huge trees, dense canopy, thick undergrowth characterized the forests of Long Island. I woke up with a snake skin in my bamboo hut and it was after I woke elated that I survived a night alone in a remote island. Was a colossal FML moment! With the only ship having left for the day, I had no choice but to ignore the fact that a snake might have crawled into my room and left.

The only saving grace of the 3 hour long walk along the beach was the beautiful Lallaji Bay. Far from the settlement in the island, this is one pristine stretch of clear blue waters. As of now coconut plantations dot the beach side and there isn't any provision to stay overnight. Eventually a resort is being planned here which might make this beach private. But for now I enjoyed the views, drank fresh coconut water straight off the trees and sat there doing nothing, nothing at all.

Kalipur, North Andaman:

Three days after I landed in Long Island, I took the ferry to Yerrata Jetty. The boat went through mangroves and several densely forested islands with no beach. It looked very wild and very beautiful. The jetty was constructed right in between dense mangroves, so much so that I felt I was in the movie Anaconda or something. Several hours later I landed in the desolate Kalipur, quite close to Saddle Peak. The remoteness of Long Island got to me and here I did not want to be in the budget bamboo hut far away. Instead I convinced myself that I earned some luxury, stayed in a beautiful cottage. Thankfully there was one other French couple in the huge property. I spent three days here as well.

On the way to Saddle Peak, this is how we crossed streams, if there is a fallen tree that is. Otherwise depending on the time of the day and the tide, we would wade through waist deep crocodile infested waters or just walk across ankle deep waters.

The ginormous trees were extremely intriguing. These forests haven't been disturbed for a very long time and it shows in the size of everything. Very tall, very huge, very green, very dense was all I could think. The forests around here are just as amazing.

Little Andaman:

After Long Island, Kalipur and the ridiculously tiring journey from Diglipur to Port Blair through the Jarawa Reserve, I was in double minds about visiting Little Andaman. Practically no one could give me useful information on how this island would be. Several phone calls later I finally summoned some courage to visit this very less known island and what an island it was! I can even claim that this was the best beach I had seen so far in all of Andaman. Three days later I had no intention of leaving but forced myself to return back.

Apart from spectacular beaches, Little Andaman has a beautiful lagoon at Kala Pathhar Beach. The water slowly collects in the pool here as the waves hit the black rocks. By evening the pool is full and it meets the ocean out of a corner. I sat here all day watching the pool fill up. Did nothing, absolutely nothing! Just watched the tide rise. Awesome day.

The ship journey to and from Little Andaman was an amazing experience. I went to the other islands on a boat, but since Little Andaman was across open waters, ships run between Port Blair and Hutbay. Watching the sun set in the middle of the ocean was magical to say the least. I stood on the deck till the wind threatened to throw me off the ship.

Ross Island:

Between the island hopping, I took a day to visit the popular tourist spots, one of them being the Ghost town of Ross Island. The once thriving settlement was abandoned after repeated earthquakes and water depletion. Today all that remains is the red bricks and the growing forest around it.

It was a rainy afternoon and I walked alone through ruins imagining the days they would've seen. It was just as eerie as it was beautiful. There was a cemetery with some old spectacular graves but obviously I wouldn't go. It drizzled all the time, the tourists left much earlier and I took the last ferry to Port Blair.

After two weeks, I heard a lot of stories and saw a lot of rainbows. But the icing on the cake was the one last rainbow seen above the North Sentinel Island. This island is home to the Sentinelese, one of the world's last uncontacted tribes! For now, I will have to make do with an aerial view of the mystery tribe. But two week, totally well spent!

So, how does Andaman look and which Island do you like best?

Answering your Questions - Ask me Anything : Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 21:19:00 +0000

**UPDATE**
Answered few more new questions. Check them out in the new section

So turns out in the last post I missed out few questions because of some goof up in email forwarding. Here are the answers to more questions.

For the uninitiated, few weeks ago I asked my readers to Ask me Anything and I would answer.

**NEW Questions**

Vamsi Krishna asks
Why don't you share your photos?
Well, this is one question many have asked me and many have been wondering for a long time too. In the beginning I didn't think my photos were good enough to be shared. Then I figured they were fine but trip after trip was keeping me busy enough not to find time for processing the pictures at all. And this continues to happen till date. I find little time to work on pictures and so it takes forever for me to publish them. But to be honest, at the back of my mind I also feel like my best work should only be seen when published elsewhere. I also understand that art of any kind flourishes when allowed to be seen freely, which is what I try to do these days. Publish few, but good photos. I am not there yet, but I am trying to get there! I do have a photography website where I upload my work regularly, but for some reason I haven't been able to get myself to share it. But I think about time, you can follow my latest work here - neelimav.photoshelter.com

I do not come from a school of thought where I think all the images from a trip should be released. I like to showcase only the best from a collection even if that means very few, but I will make sure these are the very best ones. So you can never expect an entire picasa or flickr album from me! :)

Adarsh J Raju asks
How are you managing these leaves so often!
Most of it is explained here - How in the hell do I manage to get so many leaves?
But beyond that I can only say sometimes I do tend to get lucky! For instance the latest Nagaland trip happened because Monday and Tuesday were public holidays and Wednesday and Thursday were optional. I saved up these optional leaves since the beginning of the year and took all four at once in November for Diwali, Balipadyami and Moharram all together giving me 6 days of leave in a row. Come to think of it, it all comes to down to planning in the end and maybe a little luck! ;)

Thennarasu asks

When do get to see your travel videos like the ones in your previous post - 7 Travel Videos : Inspiration From Around The World?
While I am big fan of such awesome travel videos, I have to admit I am not any good at it at the moment. And it is going to take considerable effort from my side to come up with something like that. Given the fact that I am currently occupied with traveling, blogging, photography and writing, I do not think I should take on any new interests right now. I am barely managing to keep up with these things. So the answer is, not in the near future, the thought stays though.

Vinay asks
How much of editing goes into your photos and what tools do you use?
I am a strong advocate of editing and processing pictures to get the best out of the images. I predominantly work with adjustments in Shadows/Highlights and and I am a big fan of burning and dodging. Also I do like colors to pop considering I shoot landscapes the most. So I have changed the contrast/sharpness/saturation settings drastically in my camera to produce high contrast high saturation images straight out of the camera.

****

Vijay Kulkarni asks

How do you manage the work and photography ? Right now I work for xyz(name changed) and don't find time to go around.

Here's how - How in the hell do I manage to get so many leaves?

Beyond this, I can only say if you really want to do something, you will find a way, else you will find an excuse. For instance leaving for a trek on a Friday night and coming back to office on Monday leaves one with no spare time but that is a price most weekend travelers are willing to pay in exchange for some brilliant travel moments. You have to work with what you have got!

Do you plan to arrange a basic photography session in Bangalore ?

At this point, no. If I ever do that, I will announce it here.

Where should I start with photography ? Any recommendations ?

I would say Digital Photography School is a good place to start with. The older articles are especially good to gain an understanding of the technical aspects of photography. I would also suggest looking through images on flickr/500px to gain an understanding of different kinds of photography. In this process you might also realize which genre interests you, such as Landscapes or Night Photography or Macro or Portraits. Then practice and more practice.

Can I join with you for travel photography sessions ?

I do not conduct any travel photography sessions. Photography is just part of my travels at this point. Like I said, if anything, I would announce here.

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Jinu John asks

Let's say there is some place which is on top of your wishlist, a place that you have been trying really hard to go to. Finally you do get a chance to visit that place but exactly at the same time some other important engagement comes up such as a friend's/relative's marriage or project delivery. What will you do - stay back or go ahead?

Hmm, so far I have always chosen travel. :)

My definition of important engagement and the generally accepted definition doesn't really match. But if I am really needed I will stay back.

I leave for another trip next week and a very good friend of mine is getting married at the same time which I am missing. So maybe that answers the question.

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Chethan asks

I haven't been to Leh-Ladakh . Is it okay if I go and do a winter trek straight away. What do you suggest? I always thought i should go there in summer and then try this sometime later?

Well Ladakh is beautiful no matter which season. If you can take the cold, go for the winter trek. But also visit in the summers, the colors are unbelievable and you will get to cover more ground in this season. So I suggest, visit both in summers and winters, which one you visit first doesn't matter.

When are you planning to do a winter visit to Ladakh and capture its frozen beauty ?

I have been wanting to do that since forever. Even more so since I saw this - Epic Adventures - Frozen Winter in the High Mountains. Hopefully soon, very soon. No plans at the moment though.

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Girish N asks

What filters does your photography kit usually carry?

Two Cokin Graduated Neutral Density Filter

77mm Hoya Circular Polarizer

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Abhishek Kurasala asks

What camera and lens do you use ?

Canon EOS 500D and Tokina 11-16mm.

With this, I hope I have answered all the questions that were sent to me.

Let me know if you liked the Ask me Anything posts. :)

Answering your Questions - Ask me Anything : Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 23:47:00 +0000

Few days ago I posted here that you could Ask me Anything and I'll answer. As promised here are your answers. Thank you all for participating! :)

Renuka asks “I want to know about your most challenging travel experience in terms of photography.”

I have to say photographing in the outdoors during monsoons was the second toughest, first being taking portraits of strangers, which is why I started The 100 Strangers Project. Coming back to the monsoons, with the incessant rain, cloudy overcast weather, patchy light conditions, setting up the tripod in the rain, trying to protect the camera from getting wet, dealing with the water droplets on the lens, adjusting the graduated ND filter with one hand and holding the umbrella in the other, I had the toughest times in Sikkim. But thankfully all the effort paid off and I learned the camera can take much abuse! ;)

After that trip, I took the decision to photograph in the rains no matter what, because monsoons bring out the best in the nature. Looking at Sikkim and Madikeri pictures, I think I am getting the hang of it.

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Vignesh Krish asks

Is there any place that you wished you had NOT visited?

Yes, I wished I hadn’t visited Manali in 2008. I had nothing against the place, except that after a bone breaking epic 20hr journey from Leh to Manali, the hawkers who surrounded our vehicle as soon as we reached Manali, refused to leave until we took a room and fought around us was a stark contrast from the peaceful times in Ladakh and that irritated me a lot. Over the next few visits I quite enjoyed Manali though.

Have you encountered any dangers, during your travel? If so, how did you overcome it?

All the dangers that I have managed to survive are now referred to as adventures. ;)

Jokes apart, the one time that a group of us encountered a lone wild elephant while trekking in Western Ghats freaked me out completely. Even cats and dogs scare me, so you can imagine my plight. There wasn’t much that we could do. The elephant was on the hill below us and we had to get down, we stood there looking at each other and wondering what to do. After a while we realized we have to get down somehow, so we walked straight and got down the hill further ahead, away from the elephant. But all the time my heart was racing like a maniac and it didn’t calm down until we reached the village nearby. Only to have another heart attack when the villagers told us quite recently an elephant had turned rogue and was found wandering alone in the ghats!

Ever been to a jungle safari? Or do you have one such plan in your wish book?

Yes, I have been on few safaris in Corbett National Park but I am not a big fan of safaris. I prefer a more intimate way of exploring the place on foot if possible.

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Vipin asks

I know some people travelling full time (after resigning their job). Do you plan to do that sometime in future?

I would love to do that but maybe not immediately.

Which was the most hardcore trek you have ever done?

The first step is the hardest, they say. My first tough trek was the toughest. To trek without a trail, getting lost in the forest known to have gotten people killed, walking in the night in a place full of vipers, crossing waist deep streams after dark, camping in the middle of the forest with nothing but a tarpaulin over my head kept me in a constant state of fear for the two days. But after that experience I learned forests were not as scary as I had imagined. I went on many difficult treks that tested me in many ways but I think that first step in realizing these things can be done and getting past that mental block was the hardest. So I consider my trek to Ombattu Gudda in my early days of trekking as the hardest trek I did.

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Sandeep, Anusha and Pavithra ask “Can I join you on your travels?”

Well, I already answered this question in this post here – My Little Secret (on How to get started with Travel)

It is practically not possible for me to take people with me on treks, because I don’t organize treks or trips. I do not have a group either. What I do have is a lot of friends and connections through the adventure clubs listed above. I suggest go on treks with these clubs, you will meet enough like minded people. That’s how I got started.

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Anonymous asks

How do you remain safe travelling alone as a woman? I'd love to go all over India and any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Hmm, I do not have a specific answer but in general I’d suggest not to think in terms of what is safe for a woman, just think what is safe and what is not. Keep in touch with someone back home and listen to your gut feeling, most probably your instincts are right. Get out of any situation that worries you and remember that people in general are friendly. I suggest using public transport for both financial and safety reasons. Begin with solo-travel-friendly destinations such as Ladakh or Spiti or Rajasthan and get familiar with the idea of traveling alone. Do your homework before leaving for the destination, coming across as a woman who knows the place already will reduce the risks of being conned. You can also consider joining a group or an organized trip. As you gain more experience and get comfortable traveling alone, you will trust in your capabilities that much more. The internet is full of advice but I believe you can be your best teacher in this case.

What's your favourite place in India so far?

If you would’ve asked me this question 2 years ago, I would have answered Himalayas in the split of a second. But after traveling to all corners of our country I can’t answer this question with one place. I loved all the places that were serene, pristine and beautiful. On second thoughts, I think I would still say Himalayas. :)

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Manu Ponnappa asks

How do you prepare your itinerary when you decide a location? I mean when you finalize a place, how do you find unexplored places over there. I know you use Google (Read in your blog), but how exactly do you search for such places?

I do a lot of reading before I go on any trip. More than mainstream travel articles, local blogs contain information about off beat places. Googling helps in this matter. I don’t click on the well known web addresses. Instead I click on the .blogspot or .wordpress search results. I believe there is one google blog search too. I only book my flight tickets and keep the rest of the itinerary flexible. Once you reach a place, locals can help you plan your itinerary. Ask them, talk to them, they are the best guides around. Like in Rajasthan, I wanted to see ruins of havelis. So I told my guide exactly and specifically what I wanted to see and I also told him I don’t mind going away from the touristy destinations. Knowledgeable that he was, he directed me to some spectacular ruins where very few had gone before. Sometimes not finding any information online about some place suggests that it is offbeat. You may take a chance and find out yourself if it is worth visiting or not. For instance there wasn’t much information available about Little Andaman, so by default very few visit that place. I took a chance and landed there a few weeks ago and it was one of the best places I’ve been to.

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Senthil asks me about my camera gear.

Currently I shoot with a Canon EOS 500D and a Tokina 11-16mm Wide Angle Lens.

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Santhosh Krishnan asks

Is there any place which you are dying to visit in India? If any, what is the reason?

I really want to spend a winter in Spiti. The ease of access and the spectacular beauty of this Himalayan kingdom make Spiti an easy favorite. I have also heard from the locals that Mudh, the last village in Pin Valley National Park is cut off from the rest of the world during winters. The only way out is by walking on the frozen river for 40kms. I want to see how they survive the harsh winters.

Which is your favourite Western Ghats destination and why? (I know whole WG is beautiful, is there any particular fav place?)

As you said, the entire stretch of Western Ghats is enchanting. However, if I have to pick one, I’d say Kodachadri or Narasimha Parvatha, for the sole reason that these places showed me clouds beneath my feet!

Please add more details in your blog as to how to reach, where to stay and other travel tips. It would be helpful for us to plan trips along with some eco - friendly tips and suggestions.

Yes, I want to do this but it has been crazy of late and I am not able to write as much as I would’ve wanted to. I will try to add more help sections, guides and my two cents on eco friendly travel.

Ask me Anything?

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 03:59:00 +0000

First to give a short update, I just came back from an amazing trip to Andaman and I have lots of stories to tell and lots of photos to show. But have been really busy at work so that'll have to wait a bit. On another note, 5 of my images have been published in National Geographic Traveller October Issue. To be associated with NatGeo in any small way has always been the dream and I hope to take it forward more in the coming months.

That said, I have been seeing a lot of bloggers doing Ask me Anything posts, so I thought you might have some questions for me too? Ask me about my travels or photography or solo travel or adventures or whatever you want to know. I promise to answer all appropriate questions.

You can send me your questions in the following ways -

Mail them to me at i.thewanderingsoul@gmail.com
Post them in the comments below
Send me a message or post on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TravelWithNeelima)
Send me a DM or tweet on twitter (https://twitter.com/I_wanderingSoul)

Along with the question, send me a link to your blog/flickr/twitter etc if you'd like a link and also if you do not want your full name to appear on the post.

Looking forward to your questions and I will do the post with the answers in about 2-3 weeks from now.

Monsoons of Sikkim - Photos of Nature Extraordinaire

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 19:13:00 +0000

Following the monsoon photo essay series, today I bring you a photo essay on the incredible monsoons of Sikkim. The earlier posts are here - Monsoons of Maharashtra and Monsoons of Karnataka. Little was known about travel to Sikkim in monsoons, I was discouraged by almost everyone to head there in the rain but with no where else to go, on an impulse I booked my tickets in July and a week later I was there witnessing something so exquisite it will take a lot of effort to put down in words. I am not going to use superlatives or adjectives here. But just know that the two weeks spent in Sikkim were beyond belief and incredibly beautiful.

The road to Gangtok was closed due to massive landslides. So we spent a day in Darjeeling. Although the pretty hill station itself looks very dirty, the location and the area surrounding Darjeeling is out of this world. This view was right next to HMI Darjeeling. Thick forests, incredible greenery and mist everywhere characterized the scenery for the next few days.

The next day when the road opened, we took a taxi to Gangtok. It has to be one of the cleanest hill stations I have ever seen in India so far. Monsoons meant no tourists, so there wasn't any buzz in town either. The locals were going about their business as usual, I was sitting in a cafe sipping coffee and enjoying this view!

No sooner we entered the realms of North Sikkim, the charm of monsoons became evident in the form of delightful waterfalls just by the road. Not to mention the greenery and complete lack of another tourist vehicle in the vicinity.

I have always loved visiting waterfalls in monsoons to witness their true beauty, seen here is the gorgeous Seven Sisters waterfall raging amidst thick greenery. There are seven levels of drop on this waterfall, 3- 4 of them can be clearly seen. We were headed to Lachen, to visit Gurudonngmar, but we got a call here saying there has been a massive landslide near Chaten blocking the road. So we changed plans to go to Lachung instead. Keeping buffer days and a very flexible plan is absolutely necessary to visit Sikkim in monsoons!

As we moved further up North, villages were seen few and far between. The roads got scarier and slushier. But the views never ceased to amaze. We were deep inside mountains now, climbing up and down, driving through valleys and the giants played hide and seek with the clouds. The idea of North Sikkim might sound very remote, but in reality that is not the case. The beautiful mountains are scarred with signs of civilization and nature's wrath. But the monsoon clouds covered all the nasty marks, keeping the magic alive. Of pristine mountains and remote valleys.

Early next morning, we started from Lachung to visit Yumthang and Yumesamdong. Needless to say the morning brought dense mist as its companion. Yellow wildflowers made their appearance and never left side, for a long time. The valley was resplendent and the rain created a magical atmosphere. One where waterfalls can heard but not seen and one where mountains cannot be seen but felt. Visibility was as low as 3-4 meters.

Surrounding the Zero Point are high peaks and vast mountains. But today we see nothing more than mist and the stream. It was surreal setting, bearing the bone chilling cold, wandering alone by the stream, the constant drizzle and the mysterious mist. We reached here with much apprehension and had to head back before more stones fell onto the road. In the rain we drove back to Yumthang and headed to Chungthung.

Once at Chungthung, we convinced our reluctant driver to take us until Chaten to see if the landslide was cleared. This route was even better than the previous day's. The waterfalls took a more beautiful form in these mountains and this side was much more wilder and remote.

Lucky for us the landslide was cleared within minutes after our arrival. The clouds kissed the mountain tops and I watched with mouth wide open!

The next morning, the views kept getting better. The scale of the scenery is not easy to comprehend in the photos but everything was huge and we were a small speck in the big picture. The waterfalls were huge, so were the mountains and the river.

Beating the sound of the engine, I heard a huge roar. We stopped the vehicle to check what it was and to my surprise it was this huge stream tumbling down with a thundering roar. We thought we wouldn't stop anymore to take picture so we have enough time at Gurudongmar but with views like this, it was hard not to.

After crossing Thangu, on the way to Giagong, we drove above the treeline and the scenery changed accordingly. It also marked the return of the wildflowers!

For the two weeks that I spent in Sikkim, never saw sunshine, except for this one hour, near Gurudongmar! The army deemed us extremely lucky, they hadn't seen sunshine in ages apparently. But today was a glorious day to spend by the glorious Holy Gurudongmar @ 17000ft! The green grass was a monsoon special of course.

We enjoyed the sunshine for few more hours in the barren land before the clouds took over. The journey back to Gangtok had its own share of adventures in the rain, on the road and in the night. But the incredible journey to North Sikkim came to a good end at Gangtok.

The next morning I left for a small hill town called Ravangla. The route had many more pretty waterfalls by the road side and once I reached the town, these were the views that welcomed me! I spent two days in this otherwise busy town which was completely calm because it was off season.

Two days later I moved to another hill town called Pelling. Had my share of adventures here again while I visited some places near by. By now I was so used to greenery and the rains, it almost felt impossible to live in a different world. But two days later I found myself sitting in the airport reliving the dream through the LCD of my camera. That's how I spent two weeks last year, soaking in the monsoons of Sikkim and having the time of my life!

Monsoons of Maharashtra - Another Photo Essay!

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 03:59:00 +0000

The weekend before last weekend I was riding in rain. But do you know what I did last weekend?

I literally lived up to the saying "Journey is the Destination".

Bangalore - Satara - Mahabaleshwar - Mahad - Poladpur - Mangaon - Nizampur - Mulshi - Paud - Pirangut - Pune - Bangalore.

Brief stay at Mangaon, otherwise I was on the move for most parts. :)

I traveled about 1800+ kms over a weekend. Traveled for 24 hours, met my friends and chilled out for 24 hours and then started another journey of 24 hours to reach Bangalore! With such numbers, very easily it could've gone down as one of the worst trips in my list but the exact opposite happened. I rate this journey as one of the best in my books!

At one point, sitting in the ordinary bus I wondered why the hell I was doing what I was doing, killing myself by undertaking such a long journey over a weekend, but soon the answer was clear to me. The route I was going through was so exquisite I didn't really mind traveling so much. I almost reached Mumbai you know! When the scenery is that good, staring out of the window is good fun too. That and I really love freaking people out, you should've seen the look on the driver's and a co-passenger's face when I said I was going to Mangaon and that I came all the way from Bangalore and to answer their why, I said "bas aise hi!". Sahyadris kept me in constant awe and I was traveling not to reach anywhere, I was traveling just to travel. Like they say, the great affair was to move.

With finds such as these, I am all the more convinced about Why I have never traveled out of India! So here's what happened.

I reached Satara only by 6.40 which meant I missed my connecting bus to Mangaon already. Waited till 8.30 to catch this red bus that goes to Mangaon. To give you some context, I was trying to reach Bombay - Goa highway from Bangalore - Pune highway and Sahyadris form a huge divide between these two. On map, the distance is just as much as 120kms but it easily takes about 4-5 hours to traverse in reality. The route passes through dense forests, climbs up amazing ghats and goes along rivers. Definitely one of the beautiful routes I have been on. The constant rain and mist was all good until it caused a landslide just after Mahabaleshwar. Now it was Bear Gryll's turn to keep me company, I mean his book, "The Kid who Climbed Everest".

It was 4.30pm when I finally reached Mangaon and met my friends. The farmhouse where we stayed had this small waterfall in its backyard. At last, it was time to chill. Nothing like a good dip in the water to cure the tired! Oh btw, this is where I saw another spectacular rainbow but missed capturing it when I left my gear in favor of enjoying the moment.

The next morning we found our way to Kaal River close by. The river was swelling with all the recent rains and these kids were fishing. It was quite a morning, watching them fish, talking about our other treks and what not! Come to think of it, I do not remember what we talked, I just remember it was insanely relaxing to be by the riverside with no agenda whatsoever!

Sometime close to afternoon our gracious host mentioned of another waterfall nearby, close to a tribal settlement. Goes without saying we jumped at the opportunity and left the riverside in search of that place. We walked through country trails lined with dense greenery and a whole lot of pink flowers! Then we negotiated through much slush to get to the tribal village. The small mountains in the far distance that you see, is actually Raigad it seems. Mist playing hide and seek with the mountains, the sound of river nearby and the most beautiful weather. This was also one of the dreams, to wander in pretty hamlets, finding waterfalls, chasing rivers, doing nothing but just enjoying unspoilt nature.

Finally after finding some trails of our own here and there, following the river on a slippery slope we got a glimpse of the waterfall. Oh, did I mention the pink flowers everywhere? I must have. :)

This river or a tributary it might be, was also full thanks to the rains. Few villagers was washing clothes on one far end and the clouds were slowly sneaking upon us. We got down to rocks nearby and spent some more time doing nothing! All this chilling out was making up for all the tiring journey the previous day.

While returning back, we passed by the tribal settlement again. The place looked very sad and left out. The village had no more than 20 houses and kids were huddled in one corner playing. The young men were huddled too playing cards or the likes of it. The women were staring at us. But what surprised me was the dish tv antennae on almost every small household there!

It was barely evening and I had to start another big journey, to reach Pune by night, for I was catching the bus to Bangalore from there. My friend who rode from Pune to Mangaon warned me that it was an extremely beautiful ride and I might wanna start early if I want to enjoy the views.

He was so right! As we entered Tamhini ghat, I was just blown away by the greenery and the scenery around. Mangaon to Pune was another 120 kms but since it passes through this huge section of ghats and forest it is going to take a long time to reach. Not that I was complaining, hum to scenery ke liye kuch bhi kar sakte hain! ;)

The Shining!

It was close to sunset and it was time for the golden hour magic. There was lovely light and beautiful mountains around. No points for guessing the photographer in me went berserk!

Numerous waterfalls lined the roadside, almost reminded me of my monsoon trip to Sikkim! Only difference being in Sikkim, I was the only one enjoying the view, here, almost every waterfall I saw had a couple before it trying to take pictures of each other. With great difficulty I found this one with no people around.

It was almost difficult to take in so much green! Somewhere far down below you can see the road that got us here. I could never get used to views like this. What an amazing place this was.

Oh how much I love Pink Flowers! Last year around the same time I made a trip to Kaas and missed the pink flowers so dearly. I guess the flowers were making it up to me this year!

As the light faded slowly, I heard of many of my friend's escapades in the Sahyadris. The urge to return back was growing exponentially for I knew in a while darkness would engulf us and the view will be gone. We stopped at this abandoned building to take the last of the shots. The entire stretch from Mangaon to Pune goes through a route that shows very few signs of civilization. Pune is so lucky to have such beauty so close!

And that was the last light for the day when the heaven's flood gates opened up and how! We drove towards Pune in the heavy rain through wilderness I could feel but couldn't see. I have seen so much of monsoons in Western Ghats of Karnataka, but just a state away the landscape and geographical features of Sahyadris was so different! We drove amidst something like a plateau between high rocky mountains. Sometime soon, I would like to capture this part of the world too.

We reached Pune quite late in the night, just in time to catch my bus to Bangalore. Reached Bangalore by 12 and was in office by 2pm monday. But my mind was left wandering in the amazing Sahyadris. Over a period of two days I had traveled through Pasarani, Ambenali and Tamhini ghats, gems each one of them! It was a good journey in all ways, if I had made a trip to one place and stayed there, granted I would've chilled out more but this way I got to experience a lot more of Sahyadris. And with the wonderful company of friends and myself for most parts, it was an epic weekend!

Of course the highlight of the trip has to be watching Ek Tha Tiger in the bus both the times! *straight face*

Monsoons of Karnataka - Photos of a Ride in the Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 05:26:00 +0000

Since I bought the cycle last year, maybe even much before that, I had a dream. To ride in the rains. But never got around to doing so. When the opportunity came this year I wasn't about to let go of the chance to fulfill my dream and how!

Words will fall short to explain the joy of riding in the rain. Only those who have experienced it will know. I was adamant this time, not to take the easy way out, to shoot even when it rains and so I did. And that my friends, is why I present to you a photo-essay on the awesome monsoon experience in 20 images.

Route followed -

Madikeri - Mandalpatti - Madikeri - Basavanahalli - Kushalnagar

Morning in Madikeri. Before breakfast, I wandered onto the highway to capture some scenery. The road looked lovely, since it was a Saturday, there was a lot of activity of school going kids. I just watched people pass by, sometimes I took a shot.

Then we started the ride after a heavy breakfast at East End Hotel. But two of us managed to get lost in the town while the rest proceeded towards the destination. With great difficulty both of us got rid of the traffic and the town to reach this beautiful road. From now the ride was nothing but awesome. Oh btw, it was raining already. :)

Biking through the back country roads was so much fun! The roads had no traffic, winding through estates, villages and unending greenery. I kept singing to myself "This is the Life!".

Riding along the green fields, it was THE DREAM!
By now, we caught with Girish. So now it was me, him and Nitin on the lovely trail.

With views like this, I couldn't care less about the long ride ahead to the Mandalpatti Peak. We stopped and took photos, in the Rain!

We climbed to reach half way to the peak. CAM guys were also riding along the same route that day. They finished the ride and we had just started, we were about to have an adventure as I knew it.

From the previous point, the road took a turn for worse according to most but it was awesome according to us. For it was in such bad shape, the MTB was used to its full potential. After the dense misty forest, came the open misty mountain tops. Riding here too was the Dream! Actually most of the ride was dreamlike. :)

It rained like crazy while we were cycling up. The winds were throwing me off balance and the visibility was as low as 2-3 meters. I could hear voices as I cycled up. Only much later I could make out the faint silhouette of the other riders in the distance. Mandalpatti was a kilometer more from here.

I was walking alone in the mist. I didn't know if my friends had gone ahead on cycles or if they were even headed this way. I just kept walking in the drizzle. I could see a faint figure of giant branches through the mist. As I got closer it was this magnificent tree that took my breath away. I met my friends there too. We took lots of photos as you can see.

As the rain increased, the drama didn't stop still. It was 4.30pm and we had a long ride down an back to Madikeri. But we kept taking more photos. :)
Off-roading in the rain on our way back was surely one of the highlights of the ride. The rain was lashing and the gradient was crazy. I kept using my front brake instead of the back brake but my guardian angels were looking over me and nothing happened. Only next day I came to know of my great folly! Once we reached the base of the mountain at around 6.30pm we had more to cycle to reach Madikeri. In the night, with no torches, few of us scrambled our way up through the uphills and downhills to reach Madikeri. The day was well spent.

The next morning three of us visited the Royal Tombs at Madikeri and started the ride towards Kushalnagar via Arangi Backwaters.

Now this one's a thinker. Is it a T- junction or a Y-junction or a Y-junction? Go figure!

Soon after Madikeri, we joined the highway to Kushalnagar and the roads were so awesome I can't tell you! It was a comfortable gradient, enough for you not to pedal and also enough for you not to worry about going too fast. The smooth ride lasted for more than an hour. Somewhere along the way we realized we took the wrong route and that we missed the backwaters. Knowing that the rest of the team would've visited backwaters, we thought "aaj kuch toofani karte hain!". We pestered the shopkeeper en route until he gave us a viable alternative to the backwaters.

The shopkeeper told us about a village called Basavahalli, 6 kms into the deviation from the highway that would lead us to backwaters. 5 kms before Kushalnagar we took left to find the most beautiful route. Not knowing what lay ahead added to the excitement. We took a random trail to reach this small pond.

Again back in the country trails, the monsoon greenery was strikingly beautiful. Small roads, no traffic and pretty sights was what we saw for the next few hours.

So who wants to camp here?

We entered a Wildlife Reserve too. The wet bark of the trees and the fresh color of the leaves was extremely picturesque. We stopped to take more photos but still didn't know if there was a lake or backwaters at all around. We kept cycling anyway.

Have Camera! Will Shoot! That's me btw. :)

And then out of nowhere, we spotted this huge expanse of backwaters far from the road. We couldn't contain our excitement as we got closer. The monsoons had the water level rising. If you see, the telephone wires are half under water! The mountains were in the far distance and the lake seemed to be everywhere. The joy of following the unknown is that you will be ecstatic anyway, since you didn't you know what to expect to begin with.

The ride back was nothing short of legendary either. It started pouring heavily as we rode towards Kushalnagar. Riding in heavy rains, in the forest, water splashing all over, brilliant downhills, I mean that is the dream! Drenched in the rains to the core, bones were shaken to the core,( thanks to the offroading) I had the most awesomest ride yet!

Why I have never traveled out of India!

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 05:13:00 +0000

When will you travel out of India?

It is one of the most frequent questions I get asked. How long will you keep wandering here (in India)? Seems the entire existence of my blog has been a lost cause! I started this blog when I started (re)discovering India. I wanted everyone to know there was so much to see here. I have ranted here before and there's a very good chance I might get into that mood by the end of this post. :) Let me warn you dear reader, this post addresses those who keep insinuating that I should travel out of India to really “travel”. If you are just curious, by all means do read the post but don’t get offended because I am not really addressing you when I say “you”, it is the insinuators!

Is this really in India?

As I grew up, I had dreams like most. Seeing the snow capped peaks of Switzerland topped the list, deserts, pyramids, Eiffel Tower and what not! In fact so much so that, I thought India had no marvels so to speak. Even up till three years ago, I was still dreaming of that Phoren Trip! Then I started traveling within India. Then I met the Mountains!

In the very early days, when I was just posting travel stuff on the internet from my treks, I was asked many times if this was in India. Such great confidence we have in our country or perhaps it was plain ignorance that no place so beautiful can be in India. I still see this question being asked on many photos from many people. Of course it is India, if you ever cared you would know!

There is a thing called A-G-E-N-D-A!

My first and last love will always be the Mountains. It started with Western Ghats and ended at Himalayas. The world's mightiest peaks are right here, almost like next door. Why in the world would I want to go anywhere else? There's a thing called agenda! Different people have different agenda. While many travel to just go out and have a good time, there are few like me who always have a specific agenda in mind. Few travelers might be on a cultural quest, few on a heritage trail, few on a culinary trail, and few on an adventure trail or more. If you are looking for birds-of-paradise, damn right you are, in saying what are you doing in India, you have to be in some exotic rainforest of New Guinea. And if you love mountains, there couldn't have been a better place! My love of the mountains is indescribable. Just for starters, look at the amazing collection of Indian Himalayas. There are so many treks that I want to do and so many mountains to climb here! Remember? My agenda is not to have a million postcard pictures in front of the Empire State building or Windsor Castle or St. Peter's Basilica or London Eye! I want to climb mountains and they are right here, right next to me. So, sorry to disappoint you but I am not going anywhere outside in near future! Maybe Afghanistan or Pakistan, for its amazing Himalayas again, but that isn’t fancy enough for you I suppose!

I see no purpose in telling the same old stories. I want to tell new stories!

For starters, just google for Nagaland, Manipur, Nicobar or Chhattisgarh and tell me if you found any good information on places there. Now, then google for Rajasthan, Kerala, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and tell me what you found. It is our own folly that we have stereotyped India to be those few states and comfortably forgotten the rest of the states. These famous destinations have been written about over and over again by many publications so far. And it amazes me that such less documentation is available on the other states. I do not want to have a conversation where I say “Taj Mahal was beautiful” and you say “Oh yeah! It is very beautiful.” Both of us know it is beautiful and end of conversation.

Instead, I want to tell you how amazing the lakes of Kashmir were and I want you to tell me how that poacher in Arunachal Pradesh turned into an active conservationist. I want to tell new stories and there are so many of them, untold.

I am not infinitely rich!

I know the world is a beautiful place and there are many many countries that I do want to visit! Trust me! But my priorities are totally different, I admire nature alright. But I do not have infinite resources backing me to take infinite trips to any place I fancy. I don't travel to take a vacation. I travel to learn, to be inspired, to witness nature's glory. So, traveling to New York or Paris or Rome or Singapore or any other fancy location is practically useless for me. I really don't consider going to any of these places travel (in my dictionary). People travel for different reasons. Mine simply doesn't include any cities in the itinerary. If India was all about culture and temples and religion, I would’ve been first to travel outside the country.

Yes, on the other hand I would like to climb some mountain or glacier in Alaska or Chile, if you would sponsor the trip. But otherwise I am not all that rich to spend all my money to just fly down to Alaska, climb one mountain and come back. I could do so many trips to Himalayas with that money. Simple logic, really!

It is an amazing Country. Oh wait a minute, it is your country too, remember?

And it is really not just about mountains. It is about exploring my immediate surroundings, my country. Even a year won’t be enough to see India entirely. Ask any outsider who has visited India and they will all say the same thing. Many have come back and stayed here for years together. Such is the charm of our country. I am just a weekend traveler taking few travel breaks in a year and all my travel days put together won’t be more than 150 days. It’s like just 5 months and how much would I be able to see in such a short time? I haven’t even seen a quarter of India’s glory. I haven’t even stepped into 19 of 35 states and Union Territories of India! The more I have traveled, the more I understood how much more there is to be seen. India is an exquisite country geographically speaking, so much variety it has to offer apart from the incredible people, history and culture. Before I knew any better, Phoren trip was all I ever wanted, but now, all I want is to explore the unseen beauty of our country.

No! Once and for all, no, it isn't all the same!

If "when will you travel out of India" is the most irritating question, another stupid question that comes quite close is why do you keep going back to Himalayas? Why do you keep trekking in Western Ghats? Isn't it all the same? No! Once and for all, no it isn't all the same! Western Ghats is a 1600km long stretch running from Gujarat to Kerala and you think it is all the same? I won't even begin to talk about the diversity of the Himalayas. It is as sad as saying siblings are all same, they all look same anyway to an outsider. Does that mean they are not different persons with totally different individual traits? Only those close to them would know how different the two siblings are. Only those who keep going back would know how different these mountains are.

Isn’t it strange enough that foreigners have been the first to arrive to most of the spectacular places in India? They were first to arrive at Ladakh as travelers, same with Spiti. You will see more foreigners there than Indians. Kutch always featured in the foreigner’s “India trip” while we ourselves were quite late in even realizing there is something to see in those barren lands. Very recently when a group of Indian Trekkers entered the remote valleys of Kashmir, the army there was surprised to see domestic visitors. Apparently foreigners have been trekking that route regularly but not Indians, and here I was thinking we are exploring unknown lands. India is way too big to be contained in a Lonely Planet guide book or two. I’ve had it enough. I want to discover my own secret destinations, call them our country’s best kept secrets if you will. If not us, who will write about our wonderful Country?

At the end of it, it might seem to you that this could be a case of the sour grapes! But let me assure you, it is not. I want to travel outside of India too, but exploring my home ground would be of a higher priority any day. Imagine sitting with a group of travelers and while everybody is telling great things about their country, I’d be talking about great things of other countries! Something doesn’t feel quite right about that picture. And even if I do travel out of India, it would be to a country whose name you haven’t heard of. Try Kyrgyzstan or Eritrea for instance.

Maybe that is why I am not traveling out of India yet. To answer your question, to tell you that there is so much to see here!

Remembering the monsoons!

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 04:12:00 +0000

The other day I was running late from work to home. I had to run in the rain to catch the bus and as I ran, the raindrops falling on my head reminded of something. I stopped at the bus, waited for the thought to settle down, smiled and got home.I've had some amazing trips in the monsoons, did crazy things, went to awesome places, got drenched to the core and had the time of my life.

Here's remembering five monsoon experiences that I have written about.

1. Sikkim, of incessant rains, landslides and awesomeness

"Taking chances everywhere, we moved from place to place and were never disappointed. The misty mountain tops, the wild flowers, the raging streams, the screaming cascades, the greener than the green forest canopy, the damp forest floor and monsoon magic in all its glory was all mine to enjoy. I totally loved the idea of such exclusivity."

Read more about this eventful trip here - The Extremely Eventful Month of July 2011.

2. Stranded in rain atop a peak, all night long at Kumara Parvatha

"We crossed the waterfalls, to make our lives miserable, it started to rain – heavily! We had two raincoats and a jacket with us. So we were like big deal! Nothing can dampen our spirits and off we go towards the peak which included more slippery rocks at a slant angle. Finally around 4.30 PM we reached the peak.

It was raining and we were soaking wet.

Ecstatic I felt mostly but also there was a doubt lurking somewhere at the back of my mind about our descent the same day. When it rains it pours and so it did! Mist covered everything around and visibility reduced badly."

Read more about being stranded on the peak, in the rain for a whole night here - Mission Kumara Parvatha!

3. A Legendary monsoon trip to the Legendary place called Goa

"Momentary lapse of judgment is what I call, the thing which happens to you when you travel. You put your trust in complete strangers hoping everything will work out fine. The bikes didn’t even have proper brakes and the route was something that would do for a good action chase sequence. After all, who in their right mind would go drive on the gravel next to the railway tracks? When I say next to railway tracks all we had for the tire to tread is about 30cms of gravel in water. Next to it, the land sloped down. Needless to say the fall will be fatal. There was no road. We were offroading in the rain, sitting behind riders whom we knew nothing about and bikes which seemed like were from another century."

Read more about the "Legendary" trip here - The Legendary Monsoon Pilots of Goa!

4. Getting drenched in rain and blood around awesome Kodaikanal

"We went hysteric watching such beauty and then it rained. Then it rained more. Then it rained more and more. It was dark and we were drenched to the core and then lightning struck! A loud thunder and a second of light in the dark night and then more lightning while we wandered in the open grounds! We rushed back to the nearby village to take shelter at the village school."

"It was pouring and as soon we entered the forest, the slimy black creatures got to work with an intensity that left only five out of the sixteen trekkers on the trail within the first 10 minutes. The leeches there were blood thirsty as if they were starving for ages and they attacked us with a rigor that could only be matched by the fiercest warrior! Blood was shed, I tell no lies."

Read more about the monsoon magic around Kodaikanal here - How to salvage a ruined weekend or Awesome Kodaikanal

5. Seeing the splendor of waterfalls, seeing Chikmagalur in rains

"You see the thing with waterfalls is you won’t be fully delighted until you get up close and personal with it! Awesome feeling it is, experiencing the full force of the thundering cascades, the feeling of being completely dwarfed by the towering cascades, the feeling of being justly rewarded after hours of walk in the dirt and leech infested trails at the first sight of the white cascades! Waterfalls.. it’s all about waterfalls!"

Read more about my first experience with the awesome waterfalls and monsoon here - Monsoon drive to Jog Falls, Kalhatti and Hebbe Falls

What was your favorite monsoon trip? Tell me in the comments below.

Epic Adventures - Frozen Winter in the High Mountains

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 04:51:00 +0000

Epic Adventures!

Today I start a new series on my blog, one that I am really excited about. I choose to call them "Epic Adventures", for they are Epic! I have met/heard of many people over the course of the past four years since I started traveling and quite often I was surprised and inspired by what others have been doing. They have been pushing their limits, testing the waters, heading into the unknown, in whatever way possible, big or small. Mountains and adventure is something I can never get enough of and honestly, I feel all of us should know of others' adventures as well. For that is the only way we can know for sure that we are not alone in this madness. Next time you find yourself wondering if you can probably walk across the entire coast in a year, you might find some inspiration here. Just do it I say! :)

Frozen Winter in the High Mountains

So for the first from the series, I present a winter adventure from my favorite place in the world, my home, Ladakh! Nitin and his friends headed to this enchanting land in frosting winter to have the time of their lives and bring back some stunning images of the frozen wonderland. First I will let you stare at the pictures for as long as you want, then get over it to read further to know more about the literally bone chilling trip.

Who was the mastermind behind this plan?

In September 2011, I was at Pangong Tso when the season’s first snowfall arrived. The tourist season was almost over. My wife and I had been camping at the lake’s shore. It rained and snowed throughout our last night there. We woke up to snowflakes gliding all around. We met a boat-patrol party who shared their winter experiences. I think it was this conversation which rekindled a long standing wish of experiencing Ladakh in winters. Upon returning to Delhi some friends also mentioned the idea, one got his trip booked for December. Me and my friend, Rajiv, who had also done road trips to Ladakh decided to go in January, along with my wife and cousin.

What were your first thoughts when you heard/thought about the winter expedition to Ladakh?

There was a lot of anticipation! Even though I had been all around Ladakh multiple times the winter trip meant a lot of unknowns.

How many times have you been to Ladakh before this and what inspired you to do the winter expedition?

Thrice – twice on motorcycle and once in SUV. Like I said, the idea took shape over multiple trips – it could’ve been while camping in Changthang, or through a freak snowfall in More Plains, or may be while crossing passes with 10-12 feet high walls of snow on either side.

How long was the trip and can you tell us the places you covered during your visit?

It was a nine day long trp. We went around Leh – to Basgo and Alchi – and did as much of the Changthang loop as was possible, through Mahe, Tso Moriri, Loma, Hanle, Tsaga La, Chushul, then through settlements along Pangong – Man, Merak, Spangmik, to Tangtse and back to Leh via Chang La.

Was it self driven trip? In that case how did you prepare your vehicle and yourself for the drive?

Self-drive is not possible as the passes on the approach to Ladakh are closed. The only option is to reach Ladakh before the winters set in and return in next summers. The vehicles often need snow-chains and the diesel ones need special care to keep the fuel from freezing.

I’ve seen one image where the ripples of the river were frozen and clearly visible, I am sure that would’ve been some experience.Can you tell us something about how it felt to see the frozen river and the frozen lake?

Can you freeze time? Or, existence itself? If such a feeling could be experienced and expressed then what I felt must be similar. The mighty Indus frozen as if by some cosmic watcher pressing pause on an inconceivably powerful remote control!

What was the most challenging aspect of the trip?

The ordeal of high altitude sickness raised to the power of a severe cold. The combination is something which we plain dwellers can barely imagine. Unlike elsewhere in the developed world Ladakh doesn’t have the amenities to provide comfortable lifestyle even in such severe weather. The real challenge was to build enough mental strength to deal with all this and still relish the indescribable beauty.

What was the most memorable moment of the trip?

It has to be at the frozen Pangong Tso, even though almost all the water bodies had astonishingly frozen, yet the effect that Pangong creates is unmatched. Through all my trips I had been circumambulating this lake to photograph its varied views. Now there it was, like a frozen sea and I had to start all over again. And, all over it I was, quite literally! We went crazy running, skating, even driving on the lake!

Were there any scary moments on the trip where things got out of control?

On day one of the trip my friend got hit severely by AMS so badly that he wanted to return by the next flight possible. Thankfully his health got better after medical treatment and he decided to continue the journey.

Photographing the winters, how did that feel? Any particular difficulties you faced photographically speaking?

It was a task handling the camera with gloves. The toughest was when I was out in the night at Hanle capturing the starry sky. At -17 degrees C my intervalometer froze!

The timing of your trip seemed perfect, when the river and lake was frozen. Did you plan it that way or was it a sweet coincidence? If it was planned, how did you make sure to find the right time?

It was planned based on the inputs from the locals. I had booked leaves from my office several months in advance.

What were the temperatures you had to deal with during the trip?

Day temperature used to be between -7 to -10. Once Sun goes out there used to be a sharp dip and it was almost impossible to go out with the mercury going below 20. Our coldest stay was in Tangtse at -25degrees C.

How difficult or easy was it to find accommodation options during peak winter?

You’ve to do your homework because very few accommodation options are available in Leh and they are usually overbooked by Chaddar Trek parties. Stay outside leh have to be even more carefully planned as the options are almost non-existing.

What advice would you give to our readers who might wanna undertake such a winter expedition?

Think it through, and then think again! Well, it’s a question I am often asked and many friends have asked me to do this trip again with them. I am planning to organize couple of such trips in coming winters.

Are you planning for any other epic adventures in the coming months?

Another winter trip, may be two. I am always on the lookout for possibility of jeepable tracks in the most inaccessible mountains. Last year I did Foti La, a pass higher than the much popularized Khardungla, it would be somewhere else this summer, once the tourist season subsides.

About Nitin:

A chip designer by profession, he pursues photography as a part-time occupation as well as a means of creative expression. Coming from a defence background (son of an air force officer), traveling has been a part of life always says Nitin.

Website - http://nitingera.com/about.html

Follow his adventures on Facebook -
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Deft-Scapes-photography-by-Nitin-Gera/339099736130331

So what do you think of the series? Any suggestions?
And if you have any other Epic Adventures/Adventurers in mind that you think I should know about, shoot me a mail at i.thewanderingsoul@gmail.com

Kashmir - The Paradise that we hardly know of.

noreply@blogger.com (Neelima Vallangi) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 16:07:00 +0000

“Gar firdaus, ruhe zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin ast”

The famous Persian couplet declares “If there ever be a paradise, it is here, it is here, it is here!” Way back in 2008 when I made my first visit to this enchanted land, I think I understood what they meant by paradise. But I also thought I had seen better places. Until it hit me in the face, I didn’t realize my ignorance. There cannot be another paradise and there cannot be another place that can compare to the beauty of Kashmir.

Watching the photos from this amazing photographer from Pakistan called M Atif Saeed (http://www.flickr.com/photos/atifsaeed/) and obsessing over places shared by this facebook page called Explore the Beauty of Pakistan (https://www.facebook.com/ExplorePakistan), I was almost killing myself trying to find a way to visit these places. Little did I know that I could visit places of such beauty in our own country until this trek happened.

Writing a blog is good in more ways than one, before you think I am digressing, allow me to explain. I have put it down many times on my blog that plans seldom work as they should, accept the change and look for the good in whatever happened to you. So the trek was close to a disaster, of the supposed seven heavenly lakes, I got to see only two, one completely frozen, barely recognizable as a lake. The other lake, Vishnusar was the only saving grace of the trek. It was beautiful beyond description and trying to put its beauty in words could be a futile attempt at best. But I am going to find something good out of this trek by the end of this post.

Yet here I am raving about the Kashmir trek, for apt reasons as you would find out soon. The first day was glorious, so was the night. The galaxy that our dear earth is part made its grand appearance that night and every night after that. Watching the stars and shooting stars is something I could do forever, I love the dark nights that much. (Of course I am still scared of the nights ;)).

Snowy Surprise!

The second day started with a good promise, green meadows, snow capped peaks, grazing horses, pleasant sun and an exhilarating feeling of trekking in Kashmir. As we reached the silver birch forest along with thousands of sheep, the spirits were only soaring high until they came down crashing down that is. As we reached the next valley, a whole lot of snow welcomed us! Walking on snow was fun for the slightest moment until it became clear that so much snow can only spell doom to the trek in the coming days. But the optimist in me was still hoping against hope, after all I had so many instances where not giving up hope paid so well!

Heaven on Earth, really?

But not this time, the views were still splendid, so were the campsites but snow is not half as beautiful as greenery, wild flowers and colorful lakes. After two long days on snow, when we reached the third day campsite, the greenery brought such respite from the monotony of monochrome that the heart knew no bounds. This is when I realized why Kashmir was called paradise on earth! The idyllic setting of vast green meadows, the crystal clear stream reflecting the blue of the sky and huge snow capped mountains surrounding in all directions would put the best camping grounds to shame. What could also put us to shame was the amount of garbage lying around the place, plastic, beer cans and more such signs of civilization making their way into the heart of wilderness.

Paradise unknown? Rather, Us - The Ignorant!

This was the also time to get the shock of my life. Turns out we Indians are the only ones unaware of the beauty of Kashmir so far. This route has been tread by foreigners for years. There have been Italians, Israelis, French and more of their kind, who have trekked across this entire supposedly forbidden area. Frankly to tell you the truth, at this point I am tired of trying to beat the foreigners in discovering places in our own country. They reached Ladakh much before we did. They reached Spiti, Goa, Shekhawati, Kutch, Gokarna and everywhere else before we did! Not that there is anything wrong with them discovering new places, just that I am so tired of not knowing places in our own backyard.

The half frozen Vishnusar Lake, the saving grace!

That evening brought more disappointment as we found that the snow hasn’t cleared on the critical Gadsar Pass yet and that we would have to return back from here retracing the same path we came through. Just like that, from dreaming of visiting seven lakes, we came down to visiting one lake and that marked the end of the trek as I knew it. The next day we stayed put at the lovely campsite, visited the gorgeous Vishnusar, which otherwise would have been a nondescript lake, but thanks to the abundance of snow, we got to see some striking patterns. Few of us spent a whole lot of time lurking around the lake, talking to our guide who told of many more trekking routes in Kashmir, of his many experiences guiding foreigners on this route. That day I realized the true essence of a trek lies not in rushing from campsite to campsite, but instead staying back and being in the place. Apart from Vishnusar, the realization of how my further treks should be could be the other saving grace of the trek.

Time for Kashmiri Kahwa!

That afternoon we got ourselves invited into a Kashmiri makeshift home by the stream. The lovely lady of the house (tent?) offered us the Kashmiri specialty, kahwa, a tea made with saffron, tea leaves and some spices. The tent was extremely cozy blocking the cold winds from outside. We also got to see the so called “Winter wife/husband” a small basket filled with burnt charcoal, that keeps the Kashmiris warm during cold days. They carry this basket inside their long robes. Another saving grace, if I may call the encounter so.

That evening was spent strolling around the idyllic campsite as the sun was feeling generous. The lovely evening light lasted a long time for these were the longest days of the year. The night was brilliant again with the galaxy coming up in all its glory. I had a real good time shooting the night skies and the glowing tents. The joy was short-lived as tomorrow we start back to the same place we started from.

Finally, the enlightenment!

The trek back was nothing worth mentioning, left to myself I would’ve brought down the spirit of entire group, that’s how disappointed I was. But thankfully I always manage to find myself in the company of cheerful people who lift my spirits. I did have good fun being in the place, enjoying the moment, but the thought always was lurking at the back of my mind, of the trek that could’ve been, of the seven lakes that I could’ve seen!

But all is not lost, like I said many times on my blog and because I said so many times, I am forced to follow my own advice and find the bright side. Even though the trek didn’t go ahead as expected, I did meet a lot of wonderful locals and trekkers alike, I came to know a lot about Kashmir and the possibility of many trek routes, got to see a different and lesser seen avatar of the lake, shot some exquisite night skies, got some great shots. In hindsight the trek doesn’t look so bad doesn’t it? Well, if I hadn’t known what could’ve been, it wouldn't have been that disappointing. But now I am ready to go back again. And if anything, the trek has been enlightening! I never knew of this paradise of ours, until now!

Now that I’ve ranted or whatever that was, let’s answer your questions, shall we?

So why was the trek ruined?

Because I went in the completely wrong season. The locals made it very clear that July is the best time to visit the lakes in all its glory. July is the time when the snow melts and makes way for the green grass and wildflowers of variety! Of course the official season is till September, but I reckon by that time the mountains would have no snow left on them. July should be the good time.

What is the trek called anyway?

This is popularly called the Gangabal trek in Kashmir. The route goes something like this – Sonmarg – Nichnai – Vishanasar – Kishansar – Gadsar – Gangabal Lakes – Naranag. It is not a beginner trek. It is moderately difficult, not because of the altitude, but because you need to cross mountain passes everyday to get down to the lakes and climb up again the next day. Is it worth it you ask? Totally!

What are the other options to trek in Kashmir?

As I found out, there are many more options to trek here. There are many heavenly alpine lakes tucked deep inside the pristine valleys. There’s Tarsar-Marsar trek close to Aru, Pehlgam. It is a 5 day trek apparently. There’s also one Lake Tulyan around 20kms from Pehlagam. Apart from this there are routes from Sonmarg to Wular Lake, one of Asia’s largest fresh water lake, to Bandipore in Baramulla district, treks to Gurez and much more. Googling for treks in Kashmir does give a lot of links to locals organizing these excursions, call them up and ask for more options.

How safe is it to trek in Kashmir?

As I see it, the chances of something happening to you are much higher in Srinagar than anywhere else in Kashmir, for that is where you would usually fly into/fly out of. The treks are fine but when a situation builds up, it is mostly in the towns or villages and not in the mountains. Many foreigners have been trekking on these routes for long, so it is not entirely unexplored territory. You should be fine. But then again, take your call. Just FIY, I went there twice so far.

Anything else?

Many of these treks routes go through army check posts, for obvious reasons. If you are stopped by army at any place, cooperate! In the guise of friendly banter, they will interrogate you in every possible way. They are merely doing their job, answer all their questions patiently.

Also as it turns out, Kashmir is famous for trouts and is also known as angler's paradise. All these lakes and streams are full of trout and you can fish with a permit, issued by the Department of Fisheries, J & K Government against a fixed tariff.

Lastly, let’s protect our paradise!

I am writing all this information in good faith. Let’s not litter, let’s not over crowd and let’s be responsible. Kashmir could be the last piece of paradise we haven’t inundated yet. Let’s keep it that way. I will come up with another post soon on this matter. Till then just enjoy the discovery!