Hitchhiking from Leh to Manali : A Story for the Ages
Spending a few days in Leh in August. Hitchhiking experience on the Leh to Manali road to return home in Kullu Valley.
Offbeat
Musings from the new Home : Winter in Kullu Valley
Living like a local in the new home in Kullu Valley : Experiences, the good and the bad, the joys of simple life and spending the cold winter.
Spending the ‘Lockdown’ Summer of 2021 at Yuthok Homestay, Kullu Valley
Experiences of living at Yuthok Homestay in Kullu Valley for five months.
Wisdom of Tradition : Food in Indian Baltistan
As a region, Baltistan refers to the area after the end of Nubra Valley in Ladakh. Before the partition of undivided India in 1947, Baltistan was a part of Ladakh. Presently, most of the region comprising Baltistan comes under Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and only a small part of Baltistan lies in India. Baltistan was once …
Attending a Kumaoni Wedding in Kumaon
After a monumental day that began in Kasar Devi, with not-so-pleasant visits to Nainital & Haldwani that somehow ended in Bageshwar, things could only get better from here. After all, when you are down in the dumps the only way is up! And I was going to get lucky in the end; there was a …
Failures on the Road : Running in circles, in Kumaon
It was a difficult time. I was battling my inner demons with regards to travel in the state of Uttarakhand. After a narrow escape with disaster in Garhwal that happened in the month of February/March 2015, I did not have the heart to be on the road for a month or two. And when I finally …
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Temple of ‘Divine Madman’ in Bhutan : Chimi Lhakhang
It had been a balmy evening in Punakha. Somewhere along the way, our guide Sangay had pointed out that next morning our walk to ‘The Fertility Temple’ would begin from a particular place. He also mentioned that the temple was made in memory of ‘The Divine Madman’. It had sure aroused my curiosity; for a …
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A Mixed Experience – Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh
It was my first trip to the Northeast in February 2017, and immediately someone had thrown up the name Mechuka at me (Also called Menchuka). I was told by my acquaintances in Guwahati to reach Dibrugarh and then make my way to Aalo (Along) and then Mechuka. As regular readers of Travelshoebum might know, planned …
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First Tryst with Pangi Valley : Sural Bhatori
Folklores and legends state that Pangi valley was so remote that the Raja of Chamba paid ‘funeral expenses’ to the officials proceeding on their way for duties here. The reason for the same was that there was no surety of their return, whether they will return dead or alive. It is also said that criminals …
Cloud Watching at Bairagarh enroute Sach Pass
Normally the weather gets milder once you are in the region of 1500m to 2000m in the Himalayas, even if it is summer. That was not to be on that particular day, the morning that had began with a sharp drizzle in Pathankot progressed to a balmy day in Churah valley at Bhanjraru. When I …