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The Vaishnodevi Experience 2023

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.
3 comments

Memories of 2012 - Kashmir

Kashmir had been on my wishlist for years and years, but it was this year that the wish came true. Yes, we had less time than I would have liked, but simply setting foot in the state was enough for this trip, especially since Shankar wasn't able to join us. So it was just me, Samhith, my in-laws and my sister-in law. The 12 hour journey from Jammu to Srinagar was tiring, to say the least, but the views more than made up for it!




Srinagar was all we expected... and more.... Staying in a houseboat on the Dal lake was an experience we shall never forget...



Samhith went water-boarding on his birthday..


And nephew and aunt had the time of their lives in the many gardens...



And then there was Gulmarg, covered with ice in peak summer....


Needless to say, we had a blast!!


I have yet to write about any of my experiences... the problem is, there are too many, and I have loads yet to write!!

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Location: Srinagar

Comments

  1. SANDEEP PANWARDecember 23, 2012 at 2:54 PM

    कश्मीर व हिमालय बार बार बुलाता है।

    ReplyDelete
  2. HaddockDecember 23, 2012 at 6:13 PM

    Sigh .... you have ticked off "one of the places to see" and I have yet to go there.
    Well one day :-)
    Like those pictures especially the one of Gulmarg.

    ReplyDelete
  3. DietmutDecember 23, 2012 at 9:08 PM

    beautiful landscape. Warmm greetings and a Very Happy Christmas

    http://dith-plukeenogenblikvandedag.blogspot.nl/2012/12/blog-post_22.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. R Niranjan DasDecember 23, 2012 at 11:35 PM

    Beautiful photos. Waiting fo your detailed posts.

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

    ReplyDelete

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