Final Transit: Priyank's notes from the road

Photo Friday 03.14: Snowmobile highways

Priyank — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

‘Photo Friday‘ is a weekly series showcasing pictures from around the world.

↑ Distance markers on the snow mobile highways. The signs are miniature versions of those seen on regular roads.

Until few years ago, I had no clue that one could traverse through major cities in Northern Ontario (and all over Canada, in general) during peak winter thanks to a comprehensive network of snow mobile trails. Ontario alone has about 39,000 km of snow mobile highways! I drove briefly on one of these trails when I went to Timmins couple of winters back.

↑ Suspension bridge. I love the geometry and crisp angles of steel suspension cords that make this bridge.

This Snowmobile bridge, located at French River, northern Ontario, is the largest in the world. The snowmobile highway network is extensive in the north and there is a whole different set of signage on these highways for use exclusively during the snowy winters.

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Photo Friday 03.13: Memorial Chorten

Priyank — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

‘Photo Friday‘ is a weekly series showcasing pictures from around the world.

↑ Thimphu’s memorial chorten, built in 1974 to honour the 3rd King of Bhutan, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (1928–1972), is a prominent landmark in the city with its golden spires and bells.

The best time to visit here is in the morning when devotees arrive to offer respects and pray. Read more in my Bhutan travelogue and photo gallery.

Hiking through Andean hills

Priyank — Sat, 12 May 2012 12:07:00 +0000

Hiking on the Quilotoa loop

Ecuador travelogue: Chapter 27 | Read other chapters – See photo gallery

↑ Spectacular hiking route on the Quilotoa loop.

Trekking on scenic Andean trails

One can never get tired of seeing soaring snowcapped peaks at the horizon under deep blue sky with wisps of white clouds and noisy streams of water flowing through a lush green mountain valley next to the hiking trail. That pretty much summarises the scenic four to six hour trek between the villages Isinlivi and Chugchilan.

I meet three other random travellers in my hostel and we decide to hike together. Our strength in numbers would be required to shoo away barking dogs who are quite aggressive in this area. However, I’m sortof a self-taught expert in the matter of Ecuadorean dogs after successfully avoiding any confrontation with them in Baños, Latacunga and Otavalo. We have a lavish breakfast and assemble outside an open-air church on a hillock.

↑ Sheep and open air church.

The Quilotoa loop is a circular trail offering truly spectacular views of the Andes in central Ecuador, and it connects numerous indigenous villages on the way to the star attraction – the Quilotoa Lake. Travellers can do this entire stretch in a day of non-stop driving, or split it into a minimum of three days of hiking-trekking-driving itinerary which is what I did. The loop can be visited in clockwise or an anti-clockwise manner, stopping on the way in little indescript villages that dot the landscape. This region is not a tourism hotspot however one shouldn’t fantasize an off-the-beaten-path illusion either because there is no such thing.

The scenery is spectacular, especially on a clear day, with plenty of sunshine and a gentle breeze. Walking on an irregular path that hops through streams and meanders around grasslands, there are no buildings, roads or factories in sight. I see unspoilt natural beauty for as long as my eyes could look, and such a setting automatically calls for a joyful session of introspection and reflection. We walk, for hours at stretch enjoying the scenery, without talking. It was a great group to hang out with.

↑ Terrain.

Five hours later, we are on the outskirts of this village of Chugchilan which had few huts and buildings alongside a single dirt road that ran further south and up the next mountain. Some of us want to continue to Quilotoa, while others want to stay here and acclimatize. Ultimately, while having a beer in front of the village church drawing much curiosity from the locals, we arrive at a consensus to either leave if we could get a pickup truck for under $25 or stay in the village otherwise.

I volunteer to negotiate with the two pickup truck drivers. One of them is loading stuff in his van and I imagine he’d be more willing to take few extra passengers. Within ten minutes the price is negotiated from $40 to $24 (since that’s divisible by 4) and we jump into the back of the pickup truck.

↑ Views of surrounding volcanoes from Quilotoa.

A wild thirty minute ride on bumpy and twisty dirt road ensues. The driver takes no efforts to avoid the potholes, neither did he brake on sharp curves. We land in Quilotoa with our bodies visibly shaken and dusty, minds charged up and thrilled.

Photo Friday 03.12: Detroit, reloaded

Priyank — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

‘Photo Friday‘ is a weekly series showcasing pictures from around the world.

↑ A building in downtown Detroit

Downtown area of Detroit is quite interesting, with well kept buildings right next to a lot that’s empty or being torn down. Back in the day, this automobile capital of USA had a bustling downtown. The city is slowly emerging from decay and I hope it regains its charm in the next decade or so.

There is enough in the downtown Detroit to keep one busy for a day. See the photo gallery to get a look.

There is always a bus in Ecuador

Priyank — Sat, 05 May 2012 12:06:00 +0000

There are more buses in Ecuador than what the hotels and travel agents tell you.

Ecuador travelogue: Chapter 26 | Read other chapters – See photo gallery

↑ Early mornings in rural areas ares are quite dramatic!

Waking up at the crack of dawn I stepped out of my room to a bright silver fog that had surrounded the Luna Runtun resort high up in the mountains. Baños town is a five kilometers downhill drive from here and I was told that the only way to get to the town was by taxi. Ofcourse that isn’t true.

The asphalt road spiralling down to the base of the mountain was drenched in morning dew and appeared like a dark black snake slithering somewhere far away. Thin patches of fog breezed through the mountain pass, filling little flowers with dew and making them droop from the acquired weight. Birds were chirping excitedly as they usually do early in the morning and I was singing to myself because there was nobody listening.

I never give up opportunities to hitchhike and each time I heard a vehicle approaching, I stuck the thumb of my outstretched hand upward. Five or six vehicles glanced at me thoroughly but showed no interest in picking me up. Thirty minutes later a jeep carrying folks from the resort stopped and they held up the power chord of my macbook which I must have forgotten in my room. I thanked them profusely as I got off at the bus station and finished my breakfast of cheese rolls and milk cake.

A bus from Baños to Quito was about to depart and this bus would be dropping me off in Latacunga, but I was being aggressively tempted by some other attractions; sugarcane juice for example. I told the driver it will take five minutes to grab a glass of jugo de caña and since nobody is paranoid about punctuality, he helped himself to a glass of the drink and held the bus. For me. I thought I was special but then he did this for several other passengers on the way, much to my annoyance and delay.

↑ Entrance to Latacunga town.

Latacunga is a quiet little town and I had nothing to do but kill time until boarding supposedly the only bus going to Isinlivi, my first stop in the Quilotoa loop. Again a lie told by tourist people. There are numerous buses going to that village, so don’t be fooled.

I got into the dusty and fragile bus and grabbed a seat behind two prominently German girls and began snacking on a bag of cream cheese filled pastries I had purchased for $1. I am realising it just now that bakeries are aplenty in Ecuador and I my sweet tooth had a very satisfying time.

After four (five?) hours of rattling, shaking and zooming through dusty dirt roads chased by barking dogs, my bus made it to Sigchos village and then to Isinlivi. By now I had become good friends with the German girls and we made plans to spend the next two days together. Deviating from my itinerary and spending three days in Baños had kinda made me anxious to get back on the Quilotoa loop. Now I was back, and happy about it although I would only get three days in the Quilotoa loop.

Moral of the story? There is always a bus going from somewhere to somewhere and one shouldn’t worry too much about these things. Hitchhiking is pretty safe and common too!

Photo Friday 03.11: Samovar

Priyank — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

More than vodka, I felt that Russia was obsessed with tea

‘Photo Friday‘ is a weekly series showcasing pictures from around the world.

↑ Samovar in train

It seems that in Russian train there are these industrial water heating units called Samovar (Самовар / समोवर) in each compartment. As soon as my train departed Moscow, everyone, young and old, grabbed their mugs and lined up at the samovar for some hot water. It was very interesting to watch this!

Read all my travel stories from Russia and checkout the photo gallery

Ruta de las Cascadas

Priyank — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:05:00 +0000

Route of the waterfalls

Ecuador travelogue: Chapter 25 | Read other chapters – See photo gallery

↑ The Pastaza River meandering east towards the Amazon basin which is beyond the visible mountain range.

Baños, located in a valley that is surrounded by volcanic mountains on all sides, is Ecuador’s adventure tourism capital. These huge mountains, located right next to the upper Amazon basin, are thickly covered in vegetation all year around. There is plenty of rainfall and condensation in the area which means all that water has to go somewhere. Therefore, the area around Baños is laden with waterfalls, small and large, and if you travel on the road that runs along the Pastaza River, these waterfalls emptying into the river look spectacular.

↑ Unfaithful bike. Pedal breaks after 6km, chain breaks after 21k…

Ruta de las Cascadas

Like most travellers typically do, I check a few adventure sport agencies to choose what activity I would prefer to do. Without much deliberations, I rent a bicycle for $5 a day from one of the bike stores and decide to embark upon an ambitious journey beginning in hills of Baños ending all the way to the Amazon basin some 62km east. Well, not quite ambitious, since this is a standard bicycling route called “Ruta de las Cascadas,” or route of the waterfalls.

After a hearty glass of fresh sugarcane juice, I jump on my bike and hit the highway to Puyo. I think I am on a sugar rush because I am trying to compete with car and truck drivers, obviously in vain, for supremacy of the road. Driving challenges for cyclists in Ecuador (or South America) are not that different than what cyclists face on Indian roads, i.e. intimidation and bullying by bigger and bulkier motorised vehicles.

↑ Dam on the ferocious river

My first stop is at a hydroelectric dam about 4km from the town. It had rained quite a lot during the last few days I was here, and the river was soaring. Water gushed out on the downstream side, spraying the entire stretch of road that crossed over the stream. Few more minutes of pedaling and I reach a sexy curved road that offers a beautiful view of dual waterfalls.

Out of nowhere it starts raining and before I can pull my rain gear out, the clouds clear and the sun winks at me from behind. I remind myself that weather in a mountainous region is unpredictable. By the next few kilometers, my shirt is wet again, but this time it’s the sweat and spray from a waterfall. I understand why this route is called Ruta de las cascadas. There are waterfalls everywhere I look.

↑ Crossing the river in a trolley car.

About 18km later, a journey that took me two hours due to numerous stops on the way, I reach Pailon del Diablo (the Devil’s Cauldron), the most ferocious waterfall I have seen from a close proximity. It is raining hard by now and I am unable to distinguish between the rain and the spray from the waterfall. I strip to my shorts and checkout approach the devil’s closet, reading the signs advising folks to not be too adventurous.

↑ View from a trail that goes somewhere deeper in the mountains. I turned around after 30 minutes.

Getting drenched in a cold waterfall stream is a fantastic experience; what’s awful is when your bike chain breaks and you have to try flagging down a vehicle. Not fun.

I realize there are no waterfall pictures in this post on the highway of waterfalls. Alas it was raining incessantly and I am too chicken to pull my dslr out. I take a few pictures just to relive the memories… If you find yourself in Baños, be sure to check this route out.

More pictures

Finding the perfect glass of sugarcane juice

Priyank — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Jugo de caña (Sugarcane juice)

Ecuador travelogue: Chapter 24 | Read other chapters – See photo gallery

↑ Sugarcane juicery.

Baños, Ecuador. I liked this town instantly; probably because the bus stand is flanked by a row of atleast a dozen sugarcane juice stalls. It had been three years since I had sugarcane juice in India, and it’s my absolute favourite. So when I noticed sugarcane juiceries, I ran towards one of the stores with childlike enthusiasm. I excitedly asked for a glass of juice. As I held up the glass, my eyes got a bit moist, it reminded me of my hometown and my childhood.

↑ Sugarcane juice and candies being sold next to the bus stand (photo by Dogymho).

I had a sip and it kinda made me puke.

“This is not sugarcane juice!”, I declared with disapproval.

The Argentinean couchsurfer I was with was convinced that I had gone crazy. I insisted on asking for a clarification, in Spanish. Apparently it’s uncommon to drink sugarcane juice by itself, so folks mix it with something else like orange juice, add sugar and who knows what. Or maybe that’s what they serve to gringos.

“Por favor, uno más… pura, fresca y sin azúcar!” (One more please, pure, freshly squeezed and no sugar.)

I drank three glasses that evening. And six more over the next two days. I guess I was on a sugar high all my time in Baños. Finally, some proper natural sugarcane juice.

Photo Friday 03.09: Inca agricultural laboratory

Priyank — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Sophisticated terraces built by Inca scientists

‘Photo Friday‘ is a weekly series showcasing pictures from around the world.

↑ Moray, an agricultural laboratory?

Moray is located in the Sacred valley region north of Cusco, Peru. The place consists of several enormous terraced circular depressions, the largest of which is about 30 m (98 ft) deep. The purpose of these depressions is uncertain, but their depth and orientation with respect to wind and sun creates a temperature difference of as much as 15 °C (27 °F) between the top and bottom. This large temperature difference was possibly used by the Inca to study the effects of different climatic conditions on crops.

In other words, Moray was perhaps an Inca agricultural experiment station. As with many other Inca sites, it also has a sophisticated irrigation system.

↑ Moray, terraced hill slopes forming a microclimate.

Checkout my backpacking stories and pictures from Peru.

Back on the road: Turkey and India

Priyank — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Merhaba Turkey, Namaste India!

Work
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Travel. Yea, it’s time to see new places!

For the past few months I have been anxiously looking forward to this upcoming travel expedition. I’m very excited because I am going to visit India after 3.5 years and I’ll be spending over a month there. It’s a very special feeling to go back to the place where you grew up, isn’t it? I’m also going to Turkey on the way.

Journey to India from Toronto usually necessitates a change of flight and it can be done anywhere between New York and Dubai. The last time I flew to India via Moscow, I stopped in Russia for few weeks. This time I was looking for some similar travel opportunity, but to a country that would have simple visa rules. Thus my options narrowed down to a few countries in the middle east and the USA. Since US is not really “foreign” and I can’t travel to Arab countries due to an Israeli stamp in my passport, the decision was simple.

Turkey

My first stop will be in Turkey (since I am flying Turkish airlines) and I have been researching about this country a lot. With rudimentary knowledge of conversational Turkish, I am hoping to get the most out of these two weeks of couch-surfing-and-backpacking trip. I’m going to do the standard on-the-beaten-path circuit of Istanbul, Cappadocia and Aegean ruins. Not yet decided if I should travel clockwise or anti-clockwise, it will depend on the weather when I get there.

Visa requirement for Indian nationals for travel to Turkey reduces to a visa-on-arrival if you have a valid visa for US, UK or the Schengen zone.

India

↑ Sunset from Dombivli, my hometown and a suburb of Mumbai

After a couple of weeks in Turkey I arrive in Mumbai during possibly the worst weather conditions. May is the hottest month in India and schools are closed for summer vacations. This results in a deadly combination of heat, humidity and crowd. Oh whatever, I’m really excited to see friends and loved ones, not to mention eat delicious food. I’m going to spend time on the west (Konkan) beaches of Maharashtra and then travel north to the Himalayas.

↑ Hiking in the Himalayas, 2005.

It’s been almost six months since my last trip to Ecuador. And while I was able to get away to Detroit, Philadelphia, New York city and Calgary in between, none of these were more than a few days.

Travelling is the best way to spend money, isn’t it?