tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11874984873110950552012-01-17T20:15:07.697+05:30Day trips,road trips,mind tricks and moreY Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.comBlogger251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-47349122693925531242010-10-28T00:13:00.001+05:302010-10-28T00:16:19.318+05:30

Madrid… not just a load of bull..When you think of visiting London, the Big Ben and Buckingham Palace come to mind. Paris, brings images of the Eiffel tower and cafes along the Seine. Rome comes with gladiators and the Coliseum. However,  Madrid was one of those places where nothing really stands out. And that is quite a shame. There is lot to do in Madrid and it seems to me that Spain has not

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-73631896657833222782010-10-16T11:16:00.001+05:302010-10-16T11:28:03.990+05:30

  The Great Wall at Ba Da Ling The Great Wall as you may have heard is a series of walls built over centuries to defend China from Mongol invaders. The great earth wall stands sentinel over the hills and silently glares down at all who dare to trespass. In this day and age, it stands just as silent, but far from defending, is meekly trodden upon by the millions who visit it from all over the

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-58189186223007181092010-07-23T21:34:00.000+05:302010-07-23T21:34:11.933+05:30

 The Blue Mosque – Sultanahmet CamiiIt’s pretty easy to imagine Aladdin flying his magic carpet around the minarets of the Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque in an attempt to get away from the evil Sultan. The mixture of Byzantine and Ottoman architecture and history that is almost 1500 years old makes this place and this city a  must do on your bucket list. Having been at the crossroads of culture

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-39634400147509510642010-06-01T12:39:00.001+05:302010-06-01T12:41:42.009+05:30

I bought my first digital camera in June 2004 at Fry's store somewhere near Palo Alto, CA. Since then I’m pretty sure that I have taken over 10,000 photographs. There have been numerous occasions where I have needed to choose the  best pictures of a particular set, either categorised by event (birthdays) or by location (Great Wall). In either circumstance, it has been pretty easy since there

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-52183259606406497222010-05-28T14:28:00.001+05:302010-05-28T14:29:55.816+05:30

I know it now. I will never, ever be a shrewd, ice-cold businessman displaying the sharpest of acumen.  No, I am not talking about bottom fishing during a recession and selling out when the market hits the top. Nor am I talking about trading currency futures which was out there for everyone to see. I missed out on a very very lucrative opportunity of selling  Nazar Suraksha Kawach  that keeps

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-2595296654007432972010-05-21T12:52:00.001+05:302010-05-21T12:58:39.774+05:30

Looking at @vaitor's timeline on Twitter and reading his blog took me back to the brief visit to Bangkok in early 2007. The country had just come off a coup d'état a few months and the military were still showing off their might with tanks in the main area near the Palace and armed guards. I thought of making this post to quickly write about the few things that I saw and experienced. From the

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-15792441224564957402010-05-06T14:06:00.026+05:302010-05-21T12:59:54.447+05:30

"Eat anything with four legs except tables and eat anything that flies except airplanes"-Ancient Confucian saying, circa 2009 A.D Typical restaurant table - you will note that my plate is empty Shanghai is not an easy place to be a foodie. If you eat meat, you have the problem of excess and choices to the heavens. If you are a veggie-foodie, things start getting a little dicey. But you can still

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-27011002047414980252010-04-18T15:19:00.000+05:302010-05-21T13:03:46.764+05:30

Ancient kingdoms fought wars over trade routes, gambled massive fortunes and bartered away women and pillaged foreign lands just to get the right trade paths and exotic spices to European consumers.Travelers from the west, our man Marco Polo included, must have wondered and gaped at the sacks of spices, bundles of gold and beautiful women of the East. They would also have seen opportunity to

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-10925822860689979202010-04-11T11:20:00.018+05:302010-05-21T13:04:34.126+05:30

Legend has it, once upon a time, a lovelorn young man was sitting outside the Hagia Sophia looking quite glum. He was the veritable picture of sorrow since, he had been just turned down by the girl he was courting. He had taken a tulip to give to her and after the rejection had stuck it in his turban and completely forgotten about it. After a while, a traveler from Austria, walked up to him

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-12168876589251741032010-03-22T20:14:00.019+05:302010-05-21T13:05:24.177+05:30

Quick! What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of China and Beijing? The Great Wall, right ? There's a lot more than just that. You have the Forbidden City, the hutongs, the 'pants building', the Olympic area, numerous palaces, temples and structures that trace the lineage of a city that by some claims has been inhabited for three thousand odd years. Getting into

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-45280137470858969272010-03-17T15:21:00.003+05:302010-05-21T13:06:12.566+05:30

Every now and then, there are moments when you push back the veils of the past and dig into your memories to try to relive those happy occasions again and again. It might be the taste of the payasam made by your grandma during your vacation, fighting with a favorite cousin over a tri-cycle and ultimately breaking it, or it might be learning how to cheat at bluff, donkey, rummy, carom or even

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-28283143484971718012010-03-16T14:43:00.028+05:302010-05-21T13:06:56.915+05:30

High in the mountains of Anhui Province When one thinks of Chinese scroll paintings, one thinks of mountains in the background, breaking through cloud cover again and again. It forms a mystical illusion and gives a sense of the mountains having no beginning and no end. You might think that such paintings are just the offspring of an artists fertile imaginations and no such place can exist on

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-40105010899216159822010-03-13T10:04:00.005+05:302010-05-21T13:07:23.559+05:30

There is a common misconception that ALL people of Chinese origin look alike. That is simply not true. Have you seen Yao Ming .. the guy is ginormous ?? But once in a while, it does so happen that confusion arises, often with consequences that are hilarious in retrospect, but at that particular moment is a humongous #facepalm moment. Take this instance.... The missus and I are walking

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-24427499435825282402009-10-15T21:04:00.001+05:302010-05-21T13:07:55.755+05:30

Ok.... so I spent some time in the Middle Country. And yes, it IS a big deal. Especially when you are Indian and a veggie. Especially when you don't speak the language. Especially when its a new job. But the time I spent there exploring the country to the extent which I could, meeting people, seeing things, eating (or atleast trying to) stuff, understanding the culture and getting by through it

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-24987405116300597112009-06-20T11:17:00.001+05:302009-08-03T10:03:04.266+05:30

My memory of the next few days on the trek consists of a mix of breathless climbs up endless inclines, beautiful vistas and deftly avoiding mule/donkey dung. I'll try my best to recount the rest of the trip as concisely as possible, since I too wish to just get done with this series of postings and hopefully write about the other trips that I have done.Day Two with a surprise. After some

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-65190522301196883162009-03-28T15:16:00.017+05:302009-03-30T13:30:50.230+05:30

We broke camp really early, budled up our sleeping bags , changed inside the tent and packed our ruck sacks. The arrangement we had was quite convenient to novice trekkers suck as ourselves : Our ruck sacks, sleepingbags, tents, vessels and equipment would be carried by mules/donkeys from one campsite to another. The support staff will clear the campsite, fold the tents, pack the equipment and

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-1657257557043033602009-03-28T12:57:00.007+05:302009-03-28T15:15:31.742+05:30

The morning ride took us through mountain side beautiful not despite its barrenness, but because of it. The various hues of greys ,browns, blacks and even purples made up the dramatic scenery all around us. A couple of hours out, we came upon the confluence of the Indus and the Zanskar close to Nimoo. The difference in colours was really apparent as the Zanskar brought down a lot silt and mud as

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-36455061594143210442008-09-07T12:12:00.013+05:302008-09-07T15:20:22.538+05:30

A good night's rest followed our arduous journey and we decided to do our rounds of the city of Leh. Tibetan cultural icons surrounded us and it was like a different country altogether. like most tourst places, Leh's economy is entirely on the short tourist season from late May to early September. During the rest of the year, it is too uncomfortable for touristy activities cut off from the

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-38755172678081819632008-09-06T13:20:00.020+05:302008-09-07T15:24:32.344+05:30

Ok.. now that I've confessed, let me get back to LehEarly in the morning, the trooop bundles out of bed and into two Sumos which looked like they had atleast 150,000 Km on. When I checked later, it was actually 225k. The morning took us past beatilful Alpine sceneries, glaciers melting into rivulets, tall stony crags , cavernous pot-holes and a weird growling noise from Rajesh ( It was

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-5180747236070410472008-09-06T12:21:00.002+05:302008-09-06T12:30:05.334+05:30

I admit it...I am lazy.Very often, I get these awesome mind blowing ideas from time to time. Ideas which will change the world. The best thing since sliced bread. Brings world peace. Solves the problems brought on by the sub-prime crisis.Then I push it off for the next day ..and the next.. and the next. It never gets done. This blog is one of those things. A year or so ago, when I got back from

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-25538964086154411142008-02-27T11:43:00.008+05:302008-09-07T12:01:50.166+05:30

Manali - 32°17'8"N 77°9'44"E, Alt. 8612 feet“Why do you look so sad and foresaken ?When one door is closed,Don’t you know that another is open ?”-Bob Marley The morning light brought us to some of the lower lying hills of the Himalayas where we quickly stopped for tea and a bio-break. Theglorious sunrise over the hills raises ones spirits and washes away any exhaustion from the long bus journey.

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-14921307429613345762008-02-27T11:38:00.004+05:302008-09-07T12:00:35.666+05:30

At this point the group split with some of us doing the checking in and a few others going out to get food for everyone. The dorms were orderly, for the lack of a better word. The room had 12 beds, with 3 double bunk beds on either side of the room. Everybody wound down and started on the food that had just been brought. Excellent paneer (scrumptilicious) , wonderful daal (Delecioutable) and

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-27303453795399697562008-02-27T11:37:00.001+05:302008-09-07T12:00:05.494+05:30

After months of planning, the group (barring Vivek) braves the monsoon rains and the insane Bangalore traffic and reaches the airport and check in the bags. After what seemed to be an eternity, we are finally onboard the IndiGo flight. The beginnings are ominous as the captain announces that we were in for a pretty choppy flight.The group was in reasonably high spirits and we did our best to

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-79342209569111135872007-10-26T00:17:00.002+05:302010-03-16T12:57:09.789+05:30

It's taken me three months to get down to this. Over the next few posts, I'm going to try to document the trials and tribulations that I went through over the months to embark on the trip of a lifetime..no..make that two lifetimes.It all started sometime in the early days of January 2007 when I got a bug into my head that I need to get off my behind and do some travelling. And so, a few weeks

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187498487311095055.post-76696764832525451972007-10-25T22:03:00.001+05:302010-03-16T12:55:50.084+05:30

Sometimes the light's all shining on meOther times I can barely seeLately it occurs to meWhat a long strange trip it's been I dont claim to be an articulate writer , a prolific one or even a particulary funny one. This blog is a statement of the facts as I've seen them in my various travels, journeys and vacations. After all perception is reality. And this is my reality. So welcome. Have a

Y Triphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543041381403714053noreply@blogger.com2