My general policy with people is to trust until that trust is broken. But as i was sitting in the van, i started wondering what his game could be. "nobody's that nice", i thought. Especially since he was tout for a hotel and has nothing to gain by giving me this free ride. With my suspicions gradually growing, i suddenly jumped out of the van, grabbed my backpack and went back to the pre-paid taxi counter. 
I got a taxi and as i was entering it i realized that i did not have my camera bag with me!!. Calmly, I thought i must've dropped it at the taxi counter but it wasn't there. Then the realization dawned on me that i must've left it in the hotel van that i abruptly jumped out of. PANIC !!, the prospect of losing my camera and lens collection was a little too much for me to digest. I didn't know the name of the guy i was talking to nor the name of the hotel he worked for. As i wandered around, slowly resigning to the fact that i've lost all my photographic equipment, i spotted him by the edge of the parking lot chatting with his buddies.  Hope trickled in. I told him what had happened, and he immediately offered to help...

Growing up, I had never given eclipses much thought. I remember a few happen around Chennai when i was growing up. The Surya Grahanam was not an auspicious sign and we were usually told to stay indoors when it happened. You were not allowed to take a bath or eat anything during the eclipse. And once it was over, the family would do a small prayer, offer food to the gods and the crows and only then you can get back to your regular routine. Superstition or a ritual with some practical meaning behind it.. I'm not so sure.

Anyway, that was then. Now, i didn't have any such misgivings and the moment i heard about the eclipse from one my friends i made up my mind to go see it.

On the days leading up to the Chinese new year, the whole of China shuts down. I was caught unawares at KangDing and was stuck there for a couple of days before deciding to turn back to ChengDu and go on north towards Songpan and JiuZhaiGou. It was two days before the buses started running towards Songpan and i was on it along with a bunch of other people eager to experience the beauty of JiuZhaiGou first hand. I was also looking forward to JiuZhaiGou as the highlight of my trip and considered Songpan as just a stop over point to kill a cpl of days. I was going to be pleasantly surprised.

The Pushkar Mela was the reason i decided to go on the Rajasthan trip during my 'extended' Diwali holidays. Once i knew that the camel fair will happen in the first week of November, there was no looking back and i wasn't disappointed. Read on..

This is THE dream... To travel, to be free, to be Rich on Time and not on Money !!

 

Dont you agree ??

Usually people transport their bikes in cardboard boxes, but i felt that having a dedicated bike bag would be better as it is more compact, has more room for accessories and most of all because of the reason that the bag can be stowed away easily at a left luggage counter or in a hotel and can be used for the return trip as well. That last item was the major selling point for me as i didn't want to run around looking for cardboard boxes especially on the return leg of my journeys. The Btwin bike bag being sold in Decathlon looked perfect for my needs so i went ahead and bought it. And here is its review..

Har-ki-Pauri (meaning the "Steps of Lord Shiva") is a famous ghat located on the banks of the Ganges river near Haridwar. It is here that the Ganges finally leaves the mountains and enters the plains of North India.

Every evening, the local priests perform a Ganga Aarti ceremony to welcome the revered river to the plains of India. It is a spectacular ceremony of fire and songs, participated and performed by thousands of people who gather here from all over the country..

Tigers always fascinated me and its been a long dream of mine to see them in the wild. However i never ever dreamed that i could get close to one and touch it. Ever since i saw the documentary on the Tiger temple in the Discovery channel i've wanted to go there. And it should be no surprise that when i decided to go to Thailand the tiger temple was on the top of my list of places to visit.

My Agra trip happened as an afterthought, i didn't even consider it initially. Then someone asked me if i'll be going to Agra and i thought to myself "why not ??... if im going all the way to Delhi i might as well visit Agra and get it off the list". It is like the great wall, i didn't visit it when i went to China the first time and i had to endure the constant "Did you go to the great wall ?? Did you go to the great wall ???" questions for a whole year. I didn't want the same to happen with the Taj Mahal, and anyway i wanted to see what the fuss was all about and i was excited about visiting it..

Ladakh was the reason why i decided to take my bicycle with me to the Himalayas. The lure of cycling in the mountains with its crisp blue skies and snow capped peaks was too enticing to ignore. I had traveled Ladakh by motorcycle back in 2008, but this time i decided that a bicycle would be a better option. Going by cycle meant going slowly.. a 200km trip from, say, Leh to Pangong lake which can be done in a single day on a motor cycle would take 3 to 4 days on a bicycle. Which means stops in the smaller villages, seeing more sunrises & sunsets, more photo opportunities and more interaction with the local people. I had the one thing which i did not have in my other trips, the luxury of time.
 

Then i thought that if i was going to be cycling in Ladakh then i might as well cycle TO Ladakh. I knew that i was in no shape to tackle the road but i had a get fit plan. It was brilliant, so i thought. First spend a month in Rishikesh learning yoga, then spend the next month slowly making my way to Manali on my bicycle visiting all the interesting places in Himachal Pradesh. Then by september 1'st i'll be in Manali fit and ready to tackle the road to Leh.

Back in 2006 i visited the Ranthambore national park with the hopes of sighting a tiger in the wild. I was lucky enough to see two. During that trip i also saw something which remained with me till date.

A group of canvas tents pitched in the jungle and a bunch of people milling about. I've always wondered what those people were doing in the jungle and how exciting it would be to live in the jungle like that.

Four years and six months later, i got answers to both my questions.

I had modest goals for my first day. Cycle the 35 odd kms from Manali to Marhi, spend the night there, acclimatize and then push towards Rothang pass and beyond. 

Sounds simple enough but the 35km ride does involve climbing from 1900m to 3300m. I've never cycled at any of these altitudes before, so i was a bit anxious and wanted to take it slow.

So, it was my last weekend in Beijing before my short trip to India. I was having drinks with a friend and i remarked to her about how i had always wanted to go see the flag hoisting ceremony at Tian'anmen square but never did. She hadn't see it herself but then she proceeded to tell me about all these people who make it their pilgrimage to come to the capital, witness the flag hoisting ceremony and then go pay respects to chairman Mao's memorial. Thousands, she told... thousands of them can be found waiting out the night, out on the streets around Tian'anmen square.

I was amazed, not surprised, but just amazed and impressed with the nationalistic zeal the government here has imbibed into its people. Piety has been substituted by nationalism and i'am not sure if that is such a bad thing. Mass nationalistics, i like to call them.

Back in 2007 I traveled across Bhutan on my motorbike. I had kept those memories locked away for almost 4 years but here they are now. My most memorable moments in Bhutan.

The floating markets of Bangkok are a photographers delight. As well as being colorful, they offer a wonderful glimpse into the traditional market practices of the river dwelling Thai.

Yes, the markets are commercialized for the benefit of the tourists. But in doing so, they have not lost their original charm, they remain quintessentially Thai, as the below photos will show.