My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
I began this blog almost a year and a half ago – to be precise, on the 17th of November, 2007. Over the years, I have traveled quite a lot, and during the last year and a half, have written about my experiences too. It has been a wonderful journey, meeting like minded people and learning about new places too, discovering much about myself too. Thanks, Sandhya, for encouraging me to blog!
As a celebration, here is a post about two places I have visited recently, or rather, to be accurate, a trailer of what is to come soon, within the next week.
….and Two Travelogues Coming Up!!!!
Travel, they say, broadens the mind – be it a short trip just to a place you haven’t been before, or to a place you have visited a number of times. So it has been with me too. Over the last two weeks, I have visited two places – one right in my backyard, so to speak, and the other more than a thousand kilometers away, to a city I have visited often, and where I went to the same places I have been to, many times before. The two trips couldn’t have been more dissimilar, yet, there was much I enjoyed, as well as learnt, on both.
The first trip we took was an overnight family camp organized by BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society). This was held at their conservation Education Centre attached to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park just off the more popular Film City. Of course, we never expected to see any animals, and none surprised us, but we did see a lot of insects and lizards, and learnt a lot about nature as a whole, and the flora and fauna of the area. We also realized what peril the national park was in, and felt rather sad about the whole thing. All in all, I returned rather dispirited after the camp, wondering about the future of the wildlife in the environs of Mumbai.
The second trip was something more personal, a quick visit to Chennai for attending the 60th birthday of my uncle. Shankar was, of course, too busy, so again this trip was only for me and Samhith. We enjoyed ourselves, meeting up with all my uncles and aunts, and many of my cousins. While the function was, of course, the raison d’être of my trip, an unexpected pleasure was a visit to a few temples, most of which I had visited before, when I was a kid, a little older than Samhith is, today. I enjoyed re-visiting them, for I found my memories sketchy, and especially enjoyed taking photographs. While my personal experiences on the trip will probably feature sometime soon in a personal blog, you can soon look forward to reading about the temples I visited right here.
While I write up my experiences about both these trips, take a look at my photographs.
As a celebration, here is a post about two places I have visited recently, or rather, to be accurate, a trailer of what is to come soon, within the next week.
….and Two Travelogues Coming Up!!!!
Travel, they say, broadens the mind – be it a short trip just to a place you haven’t been before, or to a place you have visited a number of times. So it has been with me too. Over the last two weeks, I have visited two places – one right in my backyard, so to speak, and the other more than a thousand kilometers away, to a city I have visited often, and where I went to the same places I have been to, many times before. The two trips couldn’t have been more dissimilar, yet, there was much I enjoyed, as well as learnt, on both.
The first trip we took was an overnight family camp organized by BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society). This was held at their conservation Education Centre attached to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park just off the more popular Film City. Of course, we never expected to see any animals, and none surprised us, but we did see a lot of insects and lizards, and learnt a lot about nature as a whole, and the flora and fauna of the area. We also realized what peril the national park was in, and felt rather sad about the whole thing. All in all, I returned rather dispirited after the camp, wondering about the future of the wildlife in the environs of Mumbai.
The second trip was something more personal, a quick visit to Chennai for attending the 60th birthday of my uncle. Shankar was, of course, too busy, so again this trip was only for me and Samhith. We enjoyed ourselves, meeting up with all my uncles and aunts, and many of my cousins. While the function was, of course, the raison d’être of my trip, an unexpected pleasure was a visit to a few temples, most of which I had visited before, when I was a kid, a little older than Samhith is, today. I enjoyed re-visiting them, for I found my memories sketchy, and especially enjoyed taking photographs. While my personal experiences on the trip will probably feature sometime soon in a personal blog, you can soon look forward to reading about the temples I visited right here.
While I write up my experiences about both these trips, take a look at my photographs.
Oh... Anu!! I love your blog.. and love reading all your travel posts!! I'm amazed by the fact that you utilise your time and surroundings and go off to venture them. Often (some of us.. .like me)... dont have the option of having such nice surrounding areas!!
ReplyDeleteLoved all the photos... seems like you had a great time.
Needs some tips on travel outskirts of Delhi in July / Aug... Please share some information. Thanks as usual!
More than meeting like minded people, when we meet people who have ideas different from us but have the tenacity to listen and argue with us..... now thats real relationship.
ReplyDeleteloved your snaps.....
and congrats on your 100 th post....
cheers..... :)
Hi Anu,
ReplyDeleteDid you mean the paragraph starting "Travel, they say, broadens the mind" to be metaphoric? Either way, it is beautifully expressed. There are always so many wonderful and interesting places to visit; both inside and out
Happy travels,
Dale
http://alpinebirds.blogspot.com
Anu, congrats on your 100th post! Looking forward to your travelogues!
ReplyDeleteCongratulatons, and looking forward to many more!
ReplyDeletethanks!
ReplyDelete