Amazing weekend I had this 3 days of leave(23rd, 24th and 25th). We toured the Konkan and travelled around 1000 km. Lotsa fun and a new world.
So let me start at the beginning. First lemme describe the partners in crime:
Shailendra "Bawa" Kumbhar
Ajay "Schumacher" Vaidya (King of the road)
and of course ME.
So lets be chronological cuz I cant write for shitys :)
23rd December(Saturday):
Bawa called me up at 6:30 pm or so. So got up and left to pick up Bawa. Ine the Baner region I got a bit confused. Bawa called me in the middle and said to come to his place for Tea and Bread. So went there. Uncle came and gv the direction to Ganpatu Pule. It was a new route so new experience.
Anyways, left Bawa place and headed towards Katraj to pick Aj. Got lost again in the Pune Bangalore highway. They had made a new route so we got a bit confused. Neways. followed the right track and reached katraj. Filled the fuel tank and picked Aj.
Then our odyssey began.
We took the Pune - Kolhapur highway and began our journey. Stopped at eatery or joint for breakfast. Had some amazing omlettes. Then we headed towards Umbraj and took a left for chiplun. THe road was pretty gud and the view was amazing. Stopped a couple of times for snaps and pics. Reached Chiplun at 1:30 or so. Had some shitty food at a hotel though there Sol Kadhi was gr8.
Left from Chiplun around 3 pm and took NH 17. We reached Ratnagiri with my amazing driving at around 4 pm. From there we took the left for Ganpati Pule. ANd we reached Ganpati PUle around 5 pm. There was an amazing view of the sunlight on sea. We stopped there for sometime for pics.
Ganpati Pule was so fuckin crowded when all the pilgrims and tourists. No place was empty. But finally Bawa found a Decent place with A/C rooms (wasnt needed) and a bit pricey. Neways, we thankled our luck and proceeded to camp.
We took our baths and headed for the beach. On the ways we ordered our food at Malavani Park(The joint has gone to the dogs, not worth it). We headed for MTDC for beer and prawn and fish. I got drunk and we headed for the beach. We sat doun at a dark place cuz there was so much light due to MTDC and some local functions.
In sometime between we called our parents. We headed for our dinner which wasnt satisfying. Then we headed to our room and went to sleep after some chitchat.
24th December. Sunday.
We all woke up and got dressed by 9 after a refreshing sleep.. We went to the Mandir for darshan and the pradakshin. There was a pretty long line but we did it. After the darshan we went to MTDC for a breakfast of omlettes and So kadhi for me and chai for the others.
We took our car, and I went to my favorite spot and others were amazed by the view of the ocean and started their photoshoot. After sometime a chica in bikini came by on the beach and we had a nice time to our good selves :).
It was around 11 whem we left. Bawa took the wheels and we headed for NH17. But drove pretty leisurely and we enjoyed the road, the lush green foreests and the cool air.
After crossing the kumbharli ghat, we took a break after which Aj took the wheel. Well, for him the road was Monte Carlo and my car a Lambhorghini and ofcourse he drove like crazy. After Kasal, we took SH118 and headed towards Malvan. We reached Tarkarli by 3 pm and started looking for a place to stay. Default choice was MTDC but those bastard dint give us a room even when they had empty saying they were booked. AFter searching 2 or 3 places we went for this PG sort of thing. IT was 2 rooms whith common Bathroom, so we booked both for 600 bucks. The owner was a gracious fellow and he asked what orders we had for dionner. Well we ordereed prawns, surmai and promfret.
AFter bath and stuff we headed for the beach. An old lady showed us the way. She showed us her home first. Nice house it was, very clean. We headed for the beach. It was an amazing beach and we just chilled out.
After sometime it was time for beers. So we took my car and headed for MTDC. But again those bsatards dint gv us beer as we didnt stay in the hotel. So we went to Malwan and got 6 bottles. We headed for the beach asgain and at down. It was night and we could see the reflection of the moon on the sea and we got drunk and talked and enjoyed. AFter 1 and a half hours we headed back for dinner. Now, lemme tell u we never hogged so much. Surmais, prawns, pomfrets was flowing and we washed it down with Sol Kadhi. After hogging we took chatais and stuff and headed for teh beach feeling very peaceful and satisfied.
We lay down and talked shop. Shailu and I took a walk on the beach as he had to pee and I was getting bored lying down. Some dumbfucks came and started lighting crackers and stuff. After they went we watched the ocean and the stars for an hour and headed to our rooms for a much needed sleep.
25th December:
I woke up shivering due to cold at 5:30 after having a deep sleep. I dozed off while Bawa and Aj went off to the beach. We cleaned up and had our breakfast of Kanda Pohe and hit the road. A driver told us to take the Phonda Ghat as it lees distance. We went to Sindhudurg qila. We had to go 2 Kms by boat and off we went. Lemme tell u that the Qila was a total let down. The Indian or rather the Maharashtrian govt doesnt do nething to maintain the heritage except tagging it. Anyways we came back by 12 got our water and kaju and hit off for Kolhapur thru phonda ghat.
THe while road was fuck all and all my dreams of havving mutton and tamra rassa and pandra rassa was dashed. I was hungry and really pissed.
In the meantime while driving one dumbfuck cow herd started beating his buffaloes to cross thge road. ONe of the buffaloes crossed the road while the other got confused and totally fell on the road. Even after my desperate ways to avoid the buffaloe one of the tyres went over one of his legs. Thankfully I had slowed down the car and I could see the buffalo getting up and walking tho a bit lame on one of the legs. So went again. I saw my a crack in my front bumper. It was a small one.
SO we reached KOlkapur at around 5 and started looking for an eatery. We found this place and I hogged food. Aj took over the wheels with a promise of reaching PUne in 3 hours. True to his word we reached Pune by 9. AFter dropping Aj, Bawa and me went to Sadanad where we had a beer. I dropped Bawa off at his place and went homke by 1 and went off to sleep.
And So end our amazing Konkan Trip which we had planned for long. We covered around 1000 Kms and had a blast. :)
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Wasted
The day has gone,
Here comes the new dawn,
All alone in my room,
Wallowed in self pity
Where art thou, Mary Jane
Come to me,
Fry my mind,and
set me free
See the smoke,
in your face,
like a snake, crawling
trying to touch the sky
Follow it,
isnt it what you want?
To touch the sky,
And be free
Why can I hear more?
Why the world turns slow?
Why can I hear the beats
Of my heart, lifes so slow
Noway outta here,
Boredom is my greatest fear,
Better dead than lifeless,
Can you feel me wasted
Here comes the new dawn,
All alone in my room,
Wallowed in self pity
Where art thou, Mary Jane
Come to me,
Fry my mind,and
set me free
See the smoke,
in your face,
like a snake, crawling
trying to touch the sky
Follow it,
isnt it what you want?
To touch the sky,
And be free
Why can I hear more?
Why the world turns slow?
Why can I hear the beats
Of my heart, lifes so slow
Noway outta here,
Boredom is my greatest fear,
Better dead than lifeless,
Can you feel me wasted
Comme Ci Comme Ca
When the darkness faals,
And the world turns to grey,
Thru the mist of eternity,
U see what u prey,
The sliver of light,
Falling in ur face,
Glowing with mystic,
Lies ur fate
Love turned to hatred,Peace to war,
FOr u r killing me with ur purity
Back in my own hell, my hatred sweeled,
Asphyxiated by my boredom,
And the world turns to grey,
Thru the mist of eternity,
U see what u prey,
The sliver of light,
Falling in ur face,
Glowing with mystic,
Lies ur fate
Love turned to hatred,Peace to war,
FOr u r killing me with ur purity
Back in my own hell, my hatred sweeled,
Asphyxiated by my boredom,
Fly Away and So Lost
Once on a lonely voyage,
Thru the spaces of time,
Trapped by social chains,
I tried to fly
The world stopped me,
Tripped by their anger,
Cut of my wings,
Blown beyond recognition
I tried to reach it,
The place they call heaven,
I tried to fly,
To fly without wings
Here I am, in eye of tornado,
Feeling the chaos inside,
I am calm inside,
I am flying without wings
Oh...........
Let them fly, to stretch their minds,
Stop the fatalistic education,
Go inside urself,deep within,
The more u delve,
The more you fly.......
Without wings
Fly without wings...
Fly without wings,
Let them..... Fly without wings
Let me fly,
Without wings
Thru the spaces of time,
Trapped by social chains,
I tried to fly
The world stopped me,
Tripped by their anger,
Cut of my wings,
Blown beyond recognition
I tried to reach it,
The place they call heaven,
I tried to fly,
To fly without wings
Here I am, in eye of tornado,
Feeling the chaos inside,
I am calm inside,
I am flying without wings
Oh...........
Let them fly, to stretch their minds,
Stop the fatalistic education,
Go inside urself,deep within,
The more u delve,
The more you fly.......
Without wings
Fly without wings...
Fly without wings,
Let them..... Fly without wings
Let me fly,
Without wings
Boy Who Lived
There once lived a happy family,
Pure and joyful,
The two sweet girlchilds, and
The Man and wife
Oneday , the man goes way,
Comes back after a few days,
Embarassed and ashamed,
To bring the boy,
His wife asked about him,
He dint say, and asked hom to be fed,
Tired and lone,
The boy mourned,
The man love child,
who lost his mother,
All alone in this world,
With noone to take care
Hated and pitied by all,
He grew up and tall,
Lonely and ill fated,
FOr who would give his name
Spited by the father,
Lost in his own,
Abused by the mother,
For a fault no his own.
Loved by the sisters,
He grew up in pity,
Loathed himself and the world,
For what else could befall.
Twist of destiny,
Fated by fate,
To live out his life,
Just being hated.
I met him once, somewhere,
In my dreams or in life,
Such a innocent face,
Such light, in all glory might,
Oh world, whats his fault, I ask,
So that man has tro see such a heinous sight
Pure and joyful,
The two sweet girlchilds, and
The Man and wife
Oneday , the man goes way,
Comes back after a few days,
Embarassed and ashamed,
To bring the boy,
His wife asked about him,
He dint say, and asked hom to be fed,
Tired and lone,
The boy mourned,
The man love child,
who lost his mother,
All alone in this world,
With noone to take care
Hated and pitied by all,
He grew up and tall,
Lonely and ill fated,
FOr who would give his name
Spited by the father,
Lost in his own,
Abused by the mother,
For a fault no his own.
Loved by the sisters,
He grew up in pity,
Loathed himself and the world,
For what else could befall.
Twist of destiny,
Fated by fate,
To live out his life,
Just being hated.
I met him once, somewhere,
In my dreams or in life,
Such a innocent face,
Such light, in all glory might,
Oh world, whats his fault, I ask,
So that man has tro see such a heinous sight
Baker
Trusted in heaven, the door opened
To the memories of the distant past,
I turned to see and meet my maker,
Something is baking but its not the baker,
No no no nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Its not the baker,
Meet thy maaker,
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Something is baking but its not the baker
Sweet child, twisted minds, sweet tooth
and the wise
Old and aged and the melted, surreal
Something is stnking but, but who is the stinker
World is broken and turned to black,
U defy gravity, and I hit the sacks,
Batons and pains and lullaby u sing,
Death Song,
Someone is singing, but I am not the singer
Last views on my life past,
Going to the next,
Meet u in the other side,
Maybe I wd meet my maker
To the memories of the distant past,
I turned to see and meet my maker,
Something is baking but its not the baker,
No no no nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Its not the baker,
Meet thy maaker,
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Something is baking but its not the baker
Sweet child, twisted minds, sweet tooth
and the wise
Old and aged and the melted, surreal
Something is stnking but, but who is the stinker
World is broken and turned to black,
U defy gravity, and I hit the sacks,
Batons and pains and lullaby u sing,
Death Song,
Someone is singing, but I am not the singer
Last views on my life past,
Going to the next,
Meet u in the other side,
Maybe I wd meet my maker
A Blind Man
Fated to regret, for all the things u said,
The blackness in my mind, for I cant see
U must have gone, for I cant feel u
The days turned to dark, lost
I can feel the warmth, but its the sun,
Cant feel u near, and feel u dear,
R u lost,
In the blackness
There was once when world was
Bright and beautiful,
When the flowers bloomed,
And birds flew in the azure sky
Now, there is only emptiness,
Darkness surrounding me,
All alone in my surreal world,
Cant die, I cant fly
PLease please oh God,
If you exist at all,
Let me go, and search the sun, again,
Take me in ur arms, So I can live again
The blackness in my mind, for I cant see
U must have gone, for I cant feel u
The days turned to dark, lost
I can feel the warmth, but its the sun,
Cant feel u near, and feel u dear,
R u lost,
In the blackness
There was once when world was
Bright and beautiful,
When the flowers bloomed,
And birds flew in the azure sky
Now, there is only emptiness,
Darkness surrounding me,
All alone in my surreal world,
Cant die, I cant fly
PLease please oh God,
If you exist at all,
Let me go, and search the sun, again,
Take me in ur arms, So I can live again
Friday, September 08, 2006
Thoughts in Trance
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. … I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise [sic] resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner…"
----Henry Thoreau
----Henry Thoreau
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Trip to Heaven and back!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Just came from Heaven on Earth. Thot everyone might want to know about it.
Will make it chronological for me to write easily.
11th August:
Me, Sameer and Swapnil left Pune in midst of various rumours about flashfloods and landslides from Pune to Delhi by Spicejet. The journey was pretty uneventful except for the pretty airhostesses on the plane. I felt as bit sick during takeoff but over all it was ok.
Reached Delhi around 2:30 pm. The climate is pretty fcukall. Very very humid and gloomy. Our HRTC deluxe(thats wht they call the ST's there)was for around 8:30 pm. So with nothing to do we 3 got into a McD's in ISBT and kept hogging for 3 hrs. After that we roamed around nearby watching and commenting on various personalities coming out from the nearby Metro station, esp. ofcourse the fairer sex.
So the "Deluxe" bus with no A/c and shit seats starts at 9pm from Delhi. With nothing to do and pretty excited we try to fall into sleep but this bummer of an old man with a racking chest and cough kept ofcourse coughing like a man just saved from drowning. To aid to his coughing he was smoking charminars, I think.
12th August:
We reach Manali finally around 1 pm. The journey left us exhausted and sweaty esp my lower area, so much so I had to walk bandylegged. Anyways, forget my hygienic faux pas, Swapnil booked tickets for return trip from Manali. Then with Sam gurading our bags, Swaps and I went to talk to the local Taxi union to get the rates. Finally, I finally called up Rama who came on his Alto. We asked him to put up first into a hotel for a bath and food. After reaching the hotel, I bargained with Rama for taxi fare from Manali to Leh. It came down to Rs 10k. I told him we would leave at 3 pm after. After Rama went I took my bath and we had our lunch. Rama came and we left for Manali in a Qualis with a driver called Sanjeev.
The jouney was amazing with rocky mountains, landslides,and ofcourse snowcapped mountains. We reached Rohtang Pass on the same day. It was awesome and amazing and breathtaking and fcuking cold. The night we put up at Keylong which is a small village and me being me, had 2 pegs of whiskey from Sanjeev's bottle. Next we knew we were in deep sleep.
13th August: We woke up pretty early around 4:30 am. Did the usual things ppl do in the morning. And then we started of for Leh. Somewhere I have heard that it is the journey which is more beautiful than the destination. In this case tho we didnt reach our destination yet it rang very true. Amazing, valleys and springs and mountains and vast plains. Carving made by nature in the mountains. There were huige rainfall this year and sometimes we lietrally had to go over springs. The roads were pretty bad but the nature made up for it. We stopped at Sarchu for a photography sessions. I used my Kodak while Sammer used his Canon digital. He had bought a Tripod for better picture and started working on taht. Swapnil with his S1 IS went mental. Neways, we started after half an hour and next stopped at Pang for our lunch. I needed to dump but had to hold it. So on we went though vales and mountains and snow capped peaks till we reached Tanglangla pass(at 5350 mtrs). Its the second highest pass in the world. It was pretty sunny and so we got out. But otside was so chilly so chilly that it was as if we had frozen. We took aour snaps as soon as possible and started off. The most important thing to notice is that the roads are so narrow to allow one way traffic. But it was a 2 ways and vehicles including Trucks crossed it. There were a couple of jams and we saw a truck getting stuck while taking a shortcut. Anyways, we reached this huge vast plains, so huge so as to be infinite. We couldn't believe plains can be so huge. So we went on and on and reached this small village where we found a bus stuck in the mud and got its axle broken. We gave lift to a Canadian family and went off. We reached Leh around 8:30-9 pm. We enquired at the lodge where the canadians were putting up about rooms but dint get any. There was a guest in front of that. Luckoly we got 2 rooms and single and a double with common bathroom for very cheap. We went to a nearby restaurant and had dinner and went of too sound sleep.
14th August:
After a night of very deep sleep, Mr Landge woke us up at 6 am or something. We got dressed by 7 am and went to chk the town of Leh. Nice people and ofcourse very very beautiful ladies. God has made them look like fairies. The sad thing is there were very few almost 0 indians there. We felt like foreigners in a native land.
Neways, I bought a set of sunglasses and off we went to the taxi union to hire a taxi. The rates a re pretty OK and if u hire the whole taxi u get a 10% discount. So we hired this Tata Safari. The driver Dorjay, a very decent fellow and we all immediately bonded. Safari is a very very spacious SUV and on top of that this guy had put Denon speakers. So u can imagine the sound.
SO off we went o Hemis monastery. Its huge and one of the oldest monasteries in Leh. We roamed around the monsatery for around an hour. JUst beside after 2 km there was a Gompa. I tookj a walk there and beyond it.
On the way to Hemis, we say the cradle for Aryan Civilization in India. The Indus or Sindh river. IT was beautiful. ON the last was huge barren plains. Sameer as usual went mental with his photography.
From Hemis we went to Thiksey monastery. It absolutely beautiful at the top of a cliff. I sadly missed the statue of Buddha which at 23m is the tallest in Leh.
From THiskey we went to have our lunch of thukpa and then we hit Shey. Shey used to be a summer resort for the royal family. But sadly, its in a sad state and was being renovated.
From,Shey we went to Stok which is were Royal Family is supposed to reside(except they are having fun in Delhi). Its a small place, and we saw Hindu and Buddhism reside in the same place. We saw Budhdha and we saw Kali. First time I saw Kali ma outside the domain of Bengalis.
FOr 10 buck or something we got a tour of the museum and royal artifacts. Swapnil, kept on pinging the old tour guide(he wanted this 10 bucks worth, desperately).
So with touring done, we went to this agent to get our permits for lamayuru and Pangong.
After that we hit home where we chilled out a bit and then we had dinner of some nice continental dish. BTW, all restaurants serve Italian, Israeli, Tibetan and Tandoori.
Time for some deep sleep.
15th August:
After much asking and R&D we found the place and time the flag hoisting would take place. We reached there on time in our Taxi. All of them went except me. I slept in the hope of curing the stupid headache I had the night before. Anyways, these guys finally comes and tells me that flag hoisting happened 2 hrs earlier and wht they only heard was lectures. So after Dorjay comes we hit for Khardung-la. La means pass in TIbet. Khardunga is the highest pass in the world at 5359 meter.
It was the first time I saw snow. It was awesome. I went mental snapping and looking at the snow. We got souveniers for friends from there. After around 1 hrs we returned. Dorjay said that we are the only Indians he has taken who stayed there for an hour. Rest came back after 5 mins cuz of the cold. I saw Israelins in just shorts and 3/4ths. These guys and gals are like boosted man.
Neways while coming back we saw this crazy Austrian Xtreme biking down the side of the mountain. Man think 17000 ft and think xtreeme. Neways he was recording it for their group and we also recorded some.
On reaching leh we refreshed and headed for Leh Bazaar. ROamed around for 2 hrs and then had our dinner and came back to sleep.
Sated and happy we went to sleep. I had a bit of breathing problem late at night due to a blocked nose. But no major issues.
Sleep becomes me.
16th August:
This day we woke up at 4:30 am to head towards Pangong lake. The lake is around 200 km from Leh with a size of 134 km. Its situated at 4500 m. Around 70% of the lake falls in People's Republic of CHina.
The journey:
We went of CHangla Pass 5270 m is the third highest pass in the world. All we could see was virgin snow. Even the army people asked us abt the road as we were the first car to cross that day. Amazing. White white white all around. Our car got stuck for sometime. We went out moved the snow out and went ahead. The journey thru the hills and valleys was mind blowing. It cannot be expressed. When we reached Pangong it was late afternoon. The water was blue and green. It hypnotises you the gentles swishing of water on the shore. Lulls u and takes away ur problems.
Anyways, on coming back we got some amazing pictures of beavers on the ways. Furry, fat and gentle creatures. Lotsa hard work went into taking those snaps.
We came homeand had our dinner and went to sleep with sweet dreams.
17th August:
THis day we got to Lamayuru monastery which is around 200 KM from Leh. The best part is the journey again. We saw the delta of Indus and Zanskar. It was an amazing view. The way the 2 rivers with their different flows and colors coming together and mixing. THe other was the jouney within the mountains and viewing the moonscape(tho wht is moonscape I hv no idea abt). Lamayuru was an ok monastery. We spent some nice time there and came back.
Night was spent saying DOrjay good bye. We also booked our return tickets for journey back to Manali next day. Our hearts was getting heavier and heavier.
18th August:
THis day we spent watching the locale and people. There was this Tibetan place where we ordered so much tibetan food that the whole table was filled. Sadly we could not finish it off. The owner was a little pissed off. Anyways, I went shopping for family. ANd we found this amazing shop with amazing Tees. I promptly went merry and bought 5 Tees for myself, one tibetan shirt for Sister.
Bought a Tara's mask for parents.
THen came the final time to leave Heaven and back to Hell. The night was dark and the dogs were howling as we went to out taxi. The seat was cramped and we felt like shit. A cute Israeli couple was sitting in the front. The driver thoda satkela public tha started to drive. He stopped after 5 mins. Call for tea and promptly did his houdini act while we all sat inside the car.
Next, he went to sleep at 5 for an hour. Me in tht cramped place with the bag containing my stuff was getting pissed. Neways he started to drive and it was a boring pathetic journey. We stopped at this place in the evening for the foreigners passes and stuff.
The hills were filled with poppy and grass. It was awesome.
In the evening the driver went for a peg methinks. Then started for Rohtang Pass. What journey. Fog all around. With visibility of only 2 ft. Everyone was so dark. Trucks and vehicles coming from the opp direction.
Anyways, we reached Manali safely. Got a hotel cheap. Took bath in hot water. Hogged water and went to sleep.
20th August:
We woke up pretty late and got refreshed. The we went for lunch of chhole bathures and dosas. After that we took an Auto to Old Manali to Manu's Temple. THat donr we went to this Botanical Garden. With tall trees and stuff. We saw a foreigner looking for mushrooms. From there we went to see Hidimba's and Ghatotkach's temple where we took our snaps on Yaks. That was fun man. We came down for lunch where I had a kiwi wine which immediately gave me a kick. That being done we packed and left to get on our semi sleeper. Now this semi sleeper is awesome with Videos and nice couches. Very very comfy. We saw a couple of movies and went to sleep.
21st August:
We reached humid, hot Delhi. We called up some friends as the flight was at night. GOt a cab and toured Delhi. We say Qutub Minar and INdia Gate. Connaught Place and Pallika Bazaar. Then we went to airport for our flight. REached Bombay at 8:30. Left from Bombay at 10 and reached home at 1:30. Did some timepass and went to sleep.
SO end our trip to Heaven and Back.
The most beautiful thing about Leh are the amzaing people who stay there.
Also my hats off to our brave jawans who are defending this country in that cold hostile climate. 3 cheers for them.
Will make it chronological for me to write easily.
11th August:
Me, Sameer and Swapnil left Pune in midst of various rumours about flashfloods and landslides from Pune to Delhi by Spicejet. The journey was pretty uneventful except for the pretty airhostesses on the plane. I felt as bit sick during takeoff but over all it was ok.
Reached Delhi around 2:30 pm. The climate is pretty fcukall. Very very humid and gloomy. Our HRTC deluxe(thats wht they call the ST's there)was for around 8:30 pm. So with nothing to do we 3 got into a McD's in ISBT and kept hogging for 3 hrs. After that we roamed around nearby watching and commenting on various personalities coming out from the nearby Metro station, esp. ofcourse the fairer sex.
So the "Deluxe" bus with no A/c and shit seats starts at 9pm from Delhi. With nothing to do and pretty excited we try to fall into sleep but this bummer of an old man with a racking chest and cough kept ofcourse coughing like a man just saved from drowning. To aid to his coughing he was smoking charminars, I think.
12th August:
We reach Manali finally around 1 pm. The journey left us exhausted and sweaty esp my lower area, so much so I had to walk bandylegged. Anyways, forget my hygienic faux pas, Swapnil booked tickets for return trip from Manali. Then with Sam gurading our bags, Swaps and I went to talk to the local Taxi union to get the rates. Finally, I finally called up Rama who came on his Alto. We asked him to put up first into a hotel for a bath and food. After reaching the hotel, I bargained with Rama for taxi fare from Manali to Leh. It came down to Rs 10k. I told him we would leave at 3 pm after. After Rama went I took my bath and we had our lunch. Rama came and we left for Manali in a Qualis with a driver called Sanjeev.
The jouney was amazing with rocky mountains, landslides,and ofcourse snowcapped mountains. We reached Rohtang Pass on the same day. It was awesome and amazing and breathtaking and fcuking cold. The night we put up at Keylong which is a small village and me being me, had 2 pegs of whiskey from Sanjeev's bottle. Next we knew we were in deep sleep.
13th August: We woke up pretty early around 4:30 am. Did the usual things ppl do in the morning. And then we started of for Leh. Somewhere I have heard that it is the journey which is more beautiful than the destination. In this case tho we didnt reach our destination yet it rang very true. Amazing, valleys and springs and mountains and vast plains. Carving made by nature in the mountains. There were huige rainfall this year and sometimes we lietrally had to go over springs. The roads were pretty bad but the nature made up for it. We stopped at Sarchu for a photography sessions. I used my Kodak while Sammer used his Canon digital. He had bought a Tripod for better picture and started working on taht. Swapnil with his S1 IS went mental. Neways, we started after half an hour and next stopped at Pang for our lunch. I needed to dump but had to hold it. So on we went though vales and mountains and snow capped peaks till we reached Tanglangla pass(at 5350 mtrs). Its the second highest pass in the world. It was pretty sunny and so we got out. But otside was so chilly so chilly that it was as if we had frozen. We took aour snaps as soon as possible and started off. The most important thing to notice is that the roads are so narrow to allow one way traffic. But it was a 2 ways and vehicles including Trucks crossed it. There were a couple of jams and we saw a truck getting stuck while taking a shortcut. Anyways, we reached this huge vast plains, so huge so as to be infinite. We couldn't believe plains can be so huge. So we went on and on and reached this small village where we found a bus stuck in the mud and got its axle broken. We gave lift to a Canadian family and went off. We reached Leh around 8:30-9 pm. We enquired at the lodge where the canadians were putting up about rooms but dint get any. There was a guest in front of that. Luckoly we got 2 rooms and single and a double with common bathroom for very cheap. We went to a nearby restaurant and had dinner and went of too sound sleep.
14th August:
After a night of very deep sleep, Mr Landge woke us up at 6 am or something. We got dressed by 7 am and went to chk the town of Leh. Nice people and ofcourse very very beautiful ladies. God has made them look like fairies. The sad thing is there were very few almost 0 indians there. We felt like foreigners in a native land.
Neways, I bought a set of sunglasses and off we went to the taxi union to hire a taxi. The rates a re pretty OK and if u hire the whole taxi u get a 10% discount. So we hired this Tata Safari. The driver Dorjay, a very decent fellow and we all immediately bonded. Safari is a very very spacious SUV and on top of that this guy had put Denon speakers. So u can imagine the sound.
SO off we went o Hemis monastery. Its huge and one of the oldest monasteries in Leh. We roamed around the monsatery for around an hour. JUst beside after 2 km there was a Gompa. I tookj a walk there and beyond it.
On the way to Hemis, we say the cradle for Aryan Civilization in India. The Indus or Sindh river. IT was beautiful. ON the last was huge barren plains. Sameer as usual went mental with his photography.
From Hemis we went to Thiksey monastery. It absolutely beautiful at the top of a cliff. I sadly missed the statue of Buddha which at 23m is the tallest in Leh.
From THiskey we went to have our lunch of thukpa and then we hit Shey. Shey used to be a summer resort for the royal family. But sadly, its in a sad state and was being renovated.
From,Shey we went to Stok which is were Royal Family is supposed to reside(except they are having fun in Delhi). Its a small place, and we saw Hindu and Buddhism reside in the same place. We saw Budhdha and we saw Kali. First time I saw Kali ma outside the domain of Bengalis.
FOr 10 buck or something we got a tour of the museum and royal artifacts. Swapnil, kept on pinging the old tour guide(he wanted this 10 bucks worth, desperately).
So with touring done, we went to this agent to get our permits for lamayuru and Pangong.
After that we hit home where we chilled out a bit and then we had dinner of some nice continental dish. BTW, all restaurants serve Italian, Israeli, Tibetan and Tandoori.
Time for some deep sleep.
15th August:
After much asking and R&D we found the place and time the flag hoisting would take place. We reached there on time in our Taxi. All of them went except me. I slept in the hope of curing the stupid headache I had the night before. Anyways, these guys finally comes and tells me that flag hoisting happened 2 hrs earlier and wht they only heard was lectures. So after Dorjay comes we hit for Khardung-la. La means pass in TIbet. Khardunga is the highest pass in the world at 5359 meter.
It was the first time I saw snow. It was awesome. I went mental snapping and looking at the snow. We got souveniers for friends from there. After around 1 hrs we returned. Dorjay said that we are the only Indians he has taken who stayed there for an hour. Rest came back after 5 mins cuz of the cold. I saw Israelins in just shorts and 3/4ths. These guys and gals are like boosted man.
Neways while coming back we saw this crazy Austrian Xtreme biking down the side of the mountain. Man think 17000 ft and think xtreeme. Neways he was recording it for their group and we also recorded some.
On reaching leh we refreshed and headed for Leh Bazaar. ROamed around for 2 hrs and then had our dinner and came back to sleep.
Sated and happy we went to sleep. I had a bit of breathing problem late at night due to a blocked nose. But no major issues.
Sleep becomes me.
16th August:
This day we woke up at 4:30 am to head towards Pangong lake. The lake is around 200 km from Leh with a size of 134 km. Its situated at 4500 m. Around 70% of the lake falls in People's Republic of CHina.
The journey:
We went of CHangla Pass 5270 m is the third highest pass in the world. All we could see was virgin snow. Even the army people asked us abt the road as we were the first car to cross that day. Amazing. White white white all around. Our car got stuck for sometime. We went out moved the snow out and went ahead. The journey thru the hills and valleys was mind blowing. It cannot be expressed. When we reached Pangong it was late afternoon. The water was blue and green. It hypnotises you the gentles swishing of water on the shore. Lulls u and takes away ur problems.
Anyways, on coming back we got some amazing pictures of beavers on the ways. Furry, fat and gentle creatures. Lotsa hard work went into taking those snaps.
We came homeand had our dinner and went to sleep with sweet dreams.
17th August:
THis day we got to Lamayuru monastery which is around 200 KM from Leh. The best part is the journey again. We saw the delta of Indus and Zanskar. It was an amazing view. The way the 2 rivers with their different flows and colors coming together and mixing. THe other was the jouney within the mountains and viewing the moonscape(tho wht is moonscape I hv no idea abt). Lamayuru was an ok monastery. We spent some nice time there and came back.
Night was spent saying DOrjay good bye. We also booked our return tickets for journey back to Manali next day. Our hearts was getting heavier and heavier.
18th August:
THis day we spent watching the locale and people. There was this Tibetan place where we ordered so much tibetan food that the whole table was filled. Sadly we could not finish it off. The owner was a little pissed off. Anyways, I went shopping for family. ANd we found this amazing shop with amazing Tees. I promptly went merry and bought 5 Tees for myself, one tibetan shirt for Sister.
Bought a Tara's mask for parents.
THen came the final time to leave Heaven and back to Hell. The night was dark and the dogs were howling as we went to out taxi. The seat was cramped and we felt like shit. A cute Israeli couple was sitting in the front. The driver thoda satkela public tha started to drive. He stopped after 5 mins. Call for tea and promptly did his houdini act while we all sat inside the car.
Next, he went to sleep at 5 for an hour. Me in tht cramped place with the bag containing my stuff was getting pissed. Neways he started to drive and it was a boring pathetic journey. We stopped at this place in the evening for the foreigners passes and stuff.
The hills were filled with poppy and grass. It was awesome.
In the evening the driver went for a peg methinks. Then started for Rohtang Pass. What journey. Fog all around. With visibility of only 2 ft. Everyone was so dark. Trucks and vehicles coming from the opp direction.
Anyways, we reached Manali safely. Got a hotel cheap. Took bath in hot water. Hogged water and went to sleep.
20th August:
We woke up pretty late and got refreshed. The we went for lunch of chhole bathures and dosas. After that we took an Auto to Old Manali to Manu's Temple. THat donr we went to this Botanical Garden. With tall trees and stuff. We saw a foreigner looking for mushrooms. From there we went to see Hidimba's and Ghatotkach's temple where we took our snaps on Yaks. That was fun man. We came down for lunch where I had a kiwi wine which immediately gave me a kick. That being done we packed and left to get on our semi sleeper. Now this semi sleeper is awesome with Videos and nice couches. Very very comfy. We saw a couple of movies and went to sleep.
21st August:
We reached humid, hot Delhi. We called up some friends as the flight was at night. GOt a cab and toured Delhi. We say Qutub Minar and INdia Gate. Connaught Place and Pallika Bazaar. Then we went to airport for our flight. REached Bombay at 8:30. Left from Bombay at 10 and reached home at 1:30. Did some timepass and went to sleep.
SO end our trip to Heaven and Back.
The most beautiful thing about Leh are the amzaing people who stay there.
Also my hats off to our brave jawans who are defending this country in that cold hostile climate. 3 cheers for them.
Monday, June 05, 2006
A Tale of Tattoes and Piercings

My Tattoo

Finally after a lot of searching, delaying and looking and pricings, I got my tattoo. I always wanted a dragon but it seems everyone wants it. SO had to look and look and look for it.
Neways, so last Saturday, a friend and I went to get a tattoo. So, it was to Malaka Spice we headed for 2 pints and dimsums. Then we headed for our tattoo. WIth 2 more beers inside and 1 hr on getting the tattoo and spending 3 k, I thot why not get a piercing also. SO there went the gun and I got shot a percing in my ear cartilage.
The a couple of more beers in Kiwas.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Non
Long time no post. So an update. I am the only QA in my projuect now. SO have become a village bicycle.
On the happy side, might be going to Ladakh in Aug. Tickets are bought. Only thing left is leave approval from Uncle.
Mom coming today, so gr8 food for a couple of days. Yuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Thts abt it.
On the happy side, might be going to Ladakh in Aug. Tickets are bought. Only thing left is leave approval from Uncle.
Mom coming today, so gr8 food for a couple of days. Yuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Thts abt it.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Just like marionnettes......
Goa was awesome but I cant write nemore on it.
Saw an amazing movie yesterday. Mulholland Drive. Funny how we move in the dreamscape. Sometimes I just wonder if the present is all just a dream happening to my future. It seems so painted sometimes.
Forget future, lets come to the present. No current half the time and potholes. Life in Pune sucks nowadays, man. Hv to buy a invertor.
Why ppl leave this country forever like an empty basket? Teach the politicians some gud :)
Saw an amazing movie yesterday. Mulholland Drive. Funny how we move in the dreamscape. Sometimes I just wonder if the present is all just a dream happening to my future. It seems so painted sometimes.
Forget future, lets come to the present. No current half the time and potholes. Life in Pune sucks nowadays, man. Hv to buy a invertor.
Why ppl leave this country forever like an empty basket? Teach the politicians some gud :)
Monday, February 20, 2006
GOA
Finally after year of procastination and delay and planning I finally went to Goa and what trip.
So here it goes .................................
Finally on Friday, I go to Sadhu Vaswani chowk and buy 2 Bus Tickets for Goa on Sleeper Volvo.
And we head to Goa. We reach Goa on Saturday at 6 and have a chai and stuff. We head towards the Panjim Petrol Pump and hire a kinetic put some petrol and head towards a cashpoint to get some dough.
THen we head ti Baga and get a hotel and put up. After brushing and stuff we head to Shiva Cafe for some heavy duty Spanish Breakfast which is basically and huge omleetre with cheese and mushrooms and some potatoes boiled with toasted Bread with Jam and butter over a glass of ornage juice.
After that heavy duty Breakfast we went back to hotel and cleaned ourselves and headed for the beach. Finding a nice beach bunk we lied down wioth some beer and watched the waves and the fatassed foreigners wearing their bikins with rolls of fat :).
That was shit so we came back and had a nice thing and had a nap. We headed to Anjuna for food. We had a nice fish curry and rice over beer and sunset.
So here it goes .................................
Finally on Friday, I go to Sadhu Vaswani chowk and buy 2 Bus Tickets for Goa on Sleeper Volvo.
And we head to Goa. We reach Goa on Saturday at 6 and have a chai and stuff. We head towards the Panjim Petrol Pump and hire a kinetic put some petrol and head towards a cashpoint to get some dough.
THen we head ti Baga and get a hotel and put up. After brushing and stuff we head to Shiva Cafe for some heavy duty Spanish Breakfast which is basically and huge omleetre with cheese and mushrooms and some potatoes boiled with toasted Bread with Jam and butter over a glass of ornage juice.
After that heavy duty Breakfast we went back to hotel and cleaned ourselves and headed for the beach. Finding a nice beach bunk we lied down wioth some beer and watched the waves and the fatassed foreigners wearing their bikins with rolls of fat :).
That was shit so we came back and had a nice thing and had a nap. We headed to Anjuna for food. We had a nice fish curry and rice over beer and sunset.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
This weekend
Ok, saw Rang De Basanti on FridaY. Very gud movie with a totally different theme. The big thing was it was not centered on Aamir Khan but insted totally distributed. The theme songs and the story were all gr8.
So after movie we hit Symphony for dinner. Went home at 1 and slept at 3.
Morning comes with an SMS from Sameer to head towards Swaps house. I pick hiim up at Symphony again and go to Office and then to Swaps house. Spent the till 3 there and had an awesome dinner. Bhar Ke Khaya.
Then coming back and reading a book till 1 and then picked up Frodo and headed towards Neha Farms 44 km from Pune. Awesome locations and great trance till 5. The headed back home and went top sleep at 7.
Spent almost the wh0le day sleeping and watched Nanny McPhee and Underworld 2.
Nanny Macphee is a nice movie with gr8 acting by the kidsd and all. Underworld is OK types.
Thats abt covers it all.
I still remeber Frodo making loud comments and us getting paranoid there thru the haze. Pretty Dark Trance or was it us.
So after movie we hit Symphony for dinner. Went home at 1 and slept at 3.
Morning comes with an SMS from Sameer to head towards Swaps house. I pick hiim up at Symphony again and go to Office and then to Swaps house. Spent the till 3 there and had an awesome dinner. Bhar Ke Khaya.
Then coming back and reading a book till 1 and then picked up Frodo and headed towards Neha Farms 44 km from Pune. Awesome locations and great trance till 5. The headed back home and went top sleep at 7.
Spent almost the wh0le day sleeping and watched Nanny McPhee and Underworld 2.
Nanny Macphee is a nice movie with gr8 acting by the kidsd and all. Underworld is OK types.
Thats abt covers it all.
I still remeber Frodo making loud comments and us getting paranoid there thru the haze. Pretty Dark Trance or was it us.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Some good shit
My attempt at a song. The melody and progression is same as that of 99 LuftBallons by Nena Hagin.
99 -------------------------------------------> Thats the name of the song
99 ways to die
99 ways I got fried
99 ways ppl cry
99 ways the missiles strike
99 ways I when heavens strike
Thunders come and flowers try
to divide wht u r
maybe I hv gone one too far
99 ways love blooms
from the womb to the tomb
ppl just kill it with a boom
when u hear tht, its ur doom
99 red ballons
as the song goes
hope u listen,
hope u know
99 -------------------------------------------> Thats the name of the song
99 ways to die
99 ways I got fried
99 ways ppl cry
99 ways the missiles strike
99 ways I when heavens strike
Thunders come and flowers try
to divide wht u r
maybe I hv gone one too far
99 ways love blooms
from the womb to the tomb
ppl just kill it with a boom
when u hear tht, its ur doom
99 red ballons
as the song goes
hope u listen,
hope u know
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Slide Guitar
Well last weekend, I suddenly go got boosted enough to understand slide guitar. So I spend 50 bucks on a slide. But try as I might I cant get the hang of the whole damn thing.
Life is looking gr8 nowadays. Planning a trip to Goa/Gokarna if with nobody else then alone. Lets c wht happens. Plus the appraisal got be boosted. I might get a promotion laso. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
As usual I am too good.
My mom was here for the past month. So I got mota mota. Dresses r gettting tighter.
My car is moving like melted better after the fuel tank got cleaned up.
Enjoiing a gud drive.
Neways, chillout and hv some fun.
Life is looking gr8 nowadays. Planning a trip to Goa/Gokarna if with nobody else then alone. Lets c wht happens. Plus the appraisal got be boosted. I might get a promotion laso. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
As usual I am too good.
My mom was here for the past month. So I got mota mota. Dresses r gettting tighter.
My car is moving like melted better after the fuel tank got cleaned up.
Enjoiing a gud drive.
Neways, chillout and hv some fun.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Movies
Last weekend I saw 2 pretty good movies with a different view. One was Hindi and one was english
They were -------->> no not rang de basanti.
but Zinda and Narnia. Lovely concepts and gud ones. Worth the watch.
In this context, appraisal period is over, results are out. I am too good man. Seriously :)
They were -------->> no not rang de basanti.
but Zinda and Narnia. Lovely concepts and gud ones. Worth the watch.
In this context, appraisal period is over, results are out. I am too good man. Seriously :)
Monday, January 16, 2006
Bala's Party
Went to this awesome B'Day party of this friend of mine. It happened at Symphony lounge. I got freakin drunk with Gangs. Had around 5 large Smirnoff. Great party and lotsa dancing.
Total fun. Cant write nemore still under the effects :)
Total fun. Cant write nemore still under the effects :)
DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Talk about things like cosmic connection or watever. But a very watever is called thing happened on last friday.
So, here was I recording and playing guitar in my room. My mom knocked and said I need to come out and talk to someone. I was a bit shocked like what the hell.
SO I came out to c a very stout(on the fatter side), balding man with spects in his 60's sitting down. So, I asked Mom who is it? She said just go and talk to him. So he sat, eating my malpoas and stuff and talking about his family. He was in education ministry or something. His family was all very well qualijfied. And he kept talking. In the meantime, the current zonked and so did my recording as I dint save it. Stupid me.
So after sometime and eating those MALPOAS (Grrrrrrrrrr) he went talking my cell no. and giving his no.s and address.
I asked Mom whts the scene. Here is wht hbappened:
She was getting inside our society thru the gate when this fellow calls her and gives her tilgul and then asks here if he can have a cuppa with her. SO my Mom brings him to our flat as we were there and its a better option.
WHat this guy says is that he likes friends and he keeps on making them.
Very fuuny way and I like it if he is genuine.
Neways, on another note saw "15, Park Avenue" and u might say I m prejudiced but Konkona Sen cha gaya. Awesome actor who did some mindblowing acting.
Ofcourse, credit goes to her Mom, Aparna Sen also.
A worth watch.
So, here was I recording and playing guitar in my room. My mom knocked and said I need to come out and talk to someone. I was a bit shocked like what the hell.
SO I came out to c a very stout(on the fatter side), balding man with spects in his 60's sitting down. So, I asked Mom who is it? She said just go and talk to him. So he sat, eating my malpoas and stuff and talking about his family. He was in education ministry or something. His family was all very well qualijfied. And he kept talking. In the meantime, the current zonked and so did my recording as I dint save it. Stupid me.
So after sometime and eating those MALPOAS (Grrrrrrrrrr) he went talking my cell no. and giving his no.s and address.
I asked Mom whts the scene. Here is wht hbappened:
She was getting inside our society thru the gate when this fellow calls her and gives her tilgul and then asks here if he can have a cuppa with her. SO my Mom brings him to our flat as we were there and its a better option.
WHat this guy says is that he likes friends and he keeps on making them.
Very fuuny way and I like it if he is genuine.
Neways, on another note saw "15, Park Avenue" and u might say I m prejudiced but Konkona Sen cha gaya. Awesome actor who did some mindblowing acting.
Ofcourse, credit goes to her Mom, Aparna Sen also.
A worth watch.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Yo People Of The World!!!!
A Happy And Prosperous New Year To All The People in The World!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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