Rewinding my Travel Memories while Staying at Home..!! #TravelThrowback

Due to the global pandemic disease outbreak, the world stays at home, also working from home, as well. In this period, let's go back to our old travel memories and cherish those moments to avoid such boredom and laziness at home!

HAPPIEST TRAVEL MEMORY!

On the Day One of the Travel Throwback series by Tripoto Community, I am here to share my happiest travel moments, which had bring me joy, while capturing them and perfectly timed moment to remember! These captures are from my last 4 major trips in India, featuring the states - Sikkim (2013), Kerala (2015), Andaman (2017) & Himachal Pradesh (2019). Whether it would be the tallest statue in the mountains, watching the sun at a beach or snow-capped peaks seen through road trips, I tipped through every moment and digged my old memories during such times!

FIRST TRIP OUTSIDE INDIA!

Seven years ago, back in 2013, I went to tour north-east India with my family. This was just our second major trip across India. It accompanies the state of Sikkim and West Bengal. The bordered country Nepal wasn't in our mind but yeah, we had a happy short visit to the country!

After touring Gangtok and Darjeeling, we decided to have a short 2-3 day trip to Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. We started from Darjeeling, by road, and our driver dropped us on the border of India and Nepal, where there was a big market called Pashupati market. Here, we exchanged our currencies, did some market tour, cleared our customs checking and then got across the border to book a bus to Kathmandu. It's an overnight journey by bus of almost 12-14 hours. We reached Kathmandu by morning eight o' clock.

We stayed at a hotel in Thamel. We went for sightseeing the capital and toured it's nearby cities, the next day. After touring Kathmandu, we returned to India by road only, to Kakkarvita near Siliguri in West Bengal.

TRAVEL SOUVENIRS!

There are not much things I picked on my travel visits. I am not that kind of shopping friendly, instead I can roam with my camera everywhere! But here are few things, which literally craved me to take those things home! So those things belongs to my travel souvenirs.

BEACH GETAWAY!

In April 2017, finishing up with board exams, I went to a perfect place to relax and chill out with my family. After the hectic pressure of exams, it was a time to drive yourself with calm and peace. A trip to Andaman Islands was the one to remember down the memory lane! An exclusive getaway, where the cool sea breeze to tranquil your mind with calmness was the perfect summer for me!

After arriving at Port Blair from Chennai with our connecting flight from Mumbai, we did our sightseeing & toured to nearby islands in 2 days before boarding to cruise to Havelock Island. On reaching Havelock, after 3 hour journey from Port Blair in the afternoon, we got off to our beach resort and took rest for the remaining day.

On the next day, we set off to Radhanagar Beach, the most renowned beach in Asia, included in top 10. For the first time in my life, I was experiencing such real joy at the beach. What a life, man! I am visiting such a great, great place! I never saw such beach in my life, neither in Mumbai nor in Goa or Kerala. Those moments gave me goosebumps which I never felt on any of the beaches, I visited ever. I have rated this #1 in my travel diaries. Two years ago, I went to Kovalam in Kerala but nothing can beat this one. It's truly a nature's paradise here! If you want to experience the beauty of the seas, those magic sands and shores, a trip to Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a must!

After the immense pleasure at Radhanagar Beach, we came back to our resort in the afternoon. As it is a beach resort, there is a small beach in front of it. We just spent our remaining time on that small isolated beach, clicking memories. It was really very good time! On the next morning, we did some beach walk and enjoyed the morning sunrise on that same beach and then we set off to Elephanta Islands, where I did a ride on speed boat!

And the next day, we returned back to Port Blair. The last spot to be seen before leaving, The North Bay Islands, where we saw the beautiful coral reefs along the coast with glass boat. It was actually a speed boat having a huge fabricated glass beneath! The another importance of North Bay Island is that this island is printed on the backside of 20 rupee old note of our currency. And yeah those were the days of my memorable beach getaways!

AN ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAINS!

Through the southern coastline, in the last couple of years, there comes a time to revisit the old mountain ranges of the north. I remember the last time, I visited the mountains and that was in 2013. This time it's the land of apples and queen of hills in Himachal Pradesh. And the same old schedule continues, firstly, a trip after my semester exams and second, it's the odd year!

DAY ONE -
Mumbai - Delhi (by air)
Delhi - Chandigarh (by train)
Overnight stay at hotel in Chandigarh

DAY TWO -
Chandigarh - Shimla (by road)
Rest and stay at hotel in Shimla

DAY THREE -
Shimla sightseeing, Visit to Kufri Adventure Park, Kufri Horse Riding, ICAR CPRI, Kufri

DAY FOUR -
Shimla - Manali (by road)
Rest and stay at hotel in Manali

DAY FIVE -
Manali - Rohtang Pass via Manali - Leh Highway (As Rohtang Pass was closed, Marhi was the last spot to be seen)
Return to Manali from Marhi

DAY SIX -
Manali sightseeing
Visiting The Naggar Castle
Rest and stay at hotel

DAY SEVEN -
Manali - Dharamshala (by road)
Rest and stay at hotel in Dharamshala

DAY EIGHT -
Dharamshala - Dalhousie
Visit to Beeji's Park and Khajjiar Valley
Return to Dharamshala
Dharamshala sightseeing

DAY NINE
Dharamshala - Mumbai (by air)

The trip yet another had a longer impact as down lane memory with so many journeys and photographs. It was the most photographed trip I had ever! I was with my camera everywhere, whether to take a long shot of the mountains or to capture a delicious bowl of Maggi, I was present everywhere!

A STAY IN HOUSEBOAT!

Yes, it's like a floating house. At the backwaters of Vembanad lake in Kerala, there are many such houseboats, which itself feels like an unique destination. Similar, to Dal lake in Kashmir, one can find such stay here in Kerala. Backwaters forms a chain of brackish lagoons or lakes, running parallel to the Arabian Sea, which acts like an interconnected canals meeting the sea. Vembanad lake in Kerala is famous for houseboat stay.

I went to a place called Kumarakom, which is situated just on the borders of backwater, where I boarded on the wooden boat with a big lobby, just like deck, 2 AC rooms and a kitchen. Such type of boats with all such living amenities are termed to be houseboats, in a modern way! I had a stay of two days and one night. There were three people who look after the houseboat. They served me with welcome drinks and some fruits. There was a dining table on the deck and a shelf with a TV. They asked me what you want to eat for the lunch and dinner. They had their own kitchen at the back. The food tastes great! During the day time, they will take you on tour of the backwaters and at evening, they would halt on some place until next morning.

One must surely should have to stay here for a night. You will never forget such place!

TRAVELING WITHOUT INTERNET? THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE...!!

Going on a holiday where there has been no internet access would be one of the worst things ever one can experience. But I don't think that I had such bad experience during my travel times. There are some experiences of lost connectivity, while in flight or while traveling to higher altitude. At times, switching to best possible network have worked for me. I always carry a portable WiFi with me. Although, lost connectivity would gave me such irritations so zero internet access would be a hell lot difficult for me!

I would like to throw some light on the lost connectivity during my travel. I was traveling by sea to Havelock Island from Port Blair on cruise. That three hour journey didn't had any internet connectivity! Also when you have long flights in India and there's nothing for your entertainment. Then, you just simply sit and enjoy your playlists! Without the internet, you can take time off from the phone and simply fall into the nature or enjoy clicking the pictures and listening to the music!

TRAVEL BREAKDOWN!

If you travel so much, one must had some bad experiences or that one saddest part of the journey, you want to forget. It may be some unfortunate situation or moment which can ruin your whole travel planning or journey!

I was with my family touring the north east part of India and a sudden short trip to Kathmandu, Nepal from Sikkim in May 2013. The trip went very well but at the end, we had some rough times. We went to Nepal by road. It was a bus journey from Sikkim to Kathmandu. Due to sudden planning, we didn't able to book air journey to Nepal. So, to save some money and for taking a quick trip, we chose to have road journey. While returning, there was a curfew on the highway on the same day, we left and we didn't got any idea about that. Although bus driver was knowing that but he didn't informed us. He drove the bus overnight but suddenly on the next day in the early morning, there was a long 10km traffic! We had a flight to Kolkata on the same day in the afternoon and a train to Mumbai on the next day.

Things went pretty bad! We were struck by that curfew or some traffic thing for more than 15 long bad hours eating nothing than just breakfast we had in our luggage! The only grief we had that we missed our flight in the afternoon and we're worried about missing our train the next day from Kolkata. After the traffic was cleared, the driver routed to another route to Kakkarvita instead of Pashupati Market, where we boarded. Kakkarvita is a small town on the border of India and Nepal near Siliguri.

The next thing we had to figure out was how to reach Howrah, Kolkata. We got on to some train in general coach from the nearest station to Kakkarvita, which is New Jalpaiguri. We were in a hope to catch our train to Mumbai from Howrah. Unfortunately, we ended up arriving late at Kolkata and missed the train. We had to book tatkal train tickets to Mumbai. The tickets got confirmed till Nagpur, which is my native. We spent some days at Nagpur till our confirmed tickets to Mumbai were booked.

The travel didn't seem too harsh if that stupid thing there wouldn't have happened. Although, we got 50% refund on our missed train and flight. But we didn't chose to travel in much safer way.

INTERACTION WITH A LOCAL!

I remember, we were on tour to Jammu & Kashmir in 2009, where we met our driver who drove us to every popular attractions, even the smaller ones in and around the city of Jammu and Srinagar. He gave us an every bit of a detail of every tourist attraction. Even he mentioned about every famous hotels and restaurants. He suggested to taste the famous sweet dish in Jammu - Desi Ghee Pateesa, similar to Soan Papdi. It is a very delicious dessert. He had taken us to local woolen and handicrafts store, where we purchased some good blankets and carpets. It was of good quality and they are still in good condition. We got a good guide and we were very happy during our travel at that time. I don't have the pictures because it was a long ago. Digital films were used in  cameras at that time and they were not very advanced. I don't know whether we have retained any pictures or videos. So, I have to keep such travel memories without any photographs.

EXPLORE. EAT. TRAVEL!

Exploring some places for food is one of the most enjoyable moment of one's travel history! I had a lot of experience in doing such food trips that I am going share. I am not that foodie-type but I like to explore such places just to taste a bit and the most important part, i.e. my food photography! Wherever I travel, I leave my captures behind!

Starting from my first trip in 2009 to J&K as I have told earlier, there is a famous local sweet dish - pure ghee Pateesa known as 'Kud ka Pateesa'. It was a very special dessert to have on that trip! The next one I remember was at Kerala in 2015, when I got to taste famous South Indian delicacy - Black Halwa! I tasted some special South Indian breakfast Puttu, Idli, Sambhar, a glass of special masala tea and a sweet, creamy banana (mainly Robusta) during our homestay in Thekkady. Our guide drove us to one of the famous restaurant in Tirunelveli, TN, where I had a special Puri Bhaji served in banana leaf for the lunch. It was the best I ever tasted!

Next, I visited Himachal, earlier in summer 2019. In Manali, there is a famous sweet shop known as Manali sweets, where I tasted some pure & delicious sweets. And the last but none other than experiencing the taste of Maggi in the Himachal, with the addition of Veg. Momos! I can't forget that moment! Such are my food experiences while exploring!

ALL ABOUT SKIES!

I got over dozens of pics from morning to night featuring every scenes in the skies!

FURRY FRIENDS!

TRAVEL PARTNER!

I mostly roam with my family or did solo travelling on many occasions. But for instance, but some of my college mates urges me to come and travel with them to nearby hill station and places and also to share some of my travel experiences! Here are some of my pictures with my travel buddy where we were on a trek to Fort Rangana in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.

TRAVEL FIRSTS!

First time travels creates an unique experience and opportunity to explore. It's a beginning phase of your travelling life and a start for never ending memories in those new journeys!

THE LAST TRIP!

The world is in complete distress due to pandemic outbreak. Before complete lockdown, I decided to go for a short bike solo ride to a nearby beach from Kudal in Maharashtra. Colleges were completely shutdown. So, to tackle my boredom, before the situation get worsen, I pulled out a short trip to Nivati beach in Vengurla. Obviously, it is Konkan region and there are a lot of places to visit nearby and refresh your mind!

As I live in Kudal temporarily for studies. I need to head home before the nation-wide lockdown. So, I booked my train ticket and travelled home, a day before the curfew. It was my last chance to travel before the complete shutdown of train services. Railways have taken every bit of precautions so do I! I was never worried about the travelling. It was a last minute travel and planning, and I executed it properly! Here are some of my last travel moments at the beach!