London Travel Diaries

I got chance to visit London in September 2011 for 2 weeks as part of training tour from my office. I had only 1 weekend and evenings to explore its beauty.

I explored the streets and famous landmarks on weekday evenings :-

Central London

River Thames Bridge

To be Continued...

Rajastan :- Jaipur, Udaipur, Mount Abu

Rajastan Trip (March 2010)

I was in 3rd year of my college when my classmates planned this trip. It was very special for all of us as I know that it is hard that we will be all together ever.

DAY 1 (Kurukshetra, Haryana)

We took the train from Kurukshetra (12984 CDG AII G RATH) which started at around 10 PM and reached Jaipur the following day at around 7 AM.

DAY 2 (Jaipur, Rajastan)

We checked in to hotel which was nearby to railway station. Then , we started our day tour on a hired taxi. Here is the entry gate of lovely pink city :-

Pink City Entrance

We first saw the Jal Mahal from road only which is a palace located in the middle of the ManSagar Lake in Jaipur City

Jal Mahal

Out of 3 famous forts in Jaipur, we started with Jaigarh Fort which was built in 1726 by Raja Jai Singh II. It was a self sufficient in its time. It has a cannon named 'Jaivana' which was then the world's largest cannon on wheels.

Jaivana Cannon

Then, we went to see Nahargarh fort which was also built by Raja Jai Singh II. It offers a great view of the Pink City.

Nahargarh Fort Pic

At last, we saw one of the most famous forts i.e. Amer Fort which is a piece of great architecture of its time and was the residence of Rajput royals at one point of time.

Amer Fort

Inside Amer Fort (1)

So, here we are all 8 class mates together( me as standing 2nd from right)

Inside Amer Fort (2)

Splendid View from Amer Fort

Finally we visited the famous Birla Mandir in Jaipur which was built by Birla group of Industries.It is one of the major attractions of the city.

DAY 3 (Jaipur, Rajastan)

We went to see Albert Hall Museum first thing in the morning. It is named after Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales who visited Jaipur in 1876. It showcases the arts and handicrafts from all over the World

Albert Hall Museum

One can spend the entire day here but we left this museum after spending 2-3 hours and went to see movie at the famous Raj Mandir Cinema theatre. It is known for its spectacular interiors and beautiful lightning.

Inside Raj Mandir Cinema

Then after having dinner, we boarded a train by which we reached another great city of Rajasthan i.e. Udaipur .

DAY 4 (Udaipur, Rajastan)

We took a nearby hotel and then started our day tour of Udaipur which is also called Venice of the East. It was the capital  of the Kingdom of Mewar. Maharaja Udai Singh founded the city in 1553 and it remained as a Capital till 1818.

Near Cable Car Ride

Here is the spectacular view of Udaipur from the hill top of Cable Car Ride.

The, we went to see Udaipur City palace which was a great experience. Our guide gave such a tour that we felt the taste of  royal living of that time.Then, we visited city zoo which is one of its kind and home to various animals. It even has a rail ride in it.

Udaipur Zoo

As of now, this zoo is transferred to what is known as Sajjangarh Biological Park opened in 2015.

Finally, we ended the day by spending the evening at Fatehsagar lake.

Lake Fatehsagar

DAY 5 (Mount Abu Rajastan)

We took a bus from Udaipur to Abu Road , then we hired a Jeep for the Mount Abu day tour.

It seems that I have lost the pictures but we visited various places there :-

1. Dilwara temple

2. Nakki Lake

3. Guru Shikhar (highest peak)

4. Sunset Point etc.

In short, Rajasthan is a beautiful place to visit and explore. It was a great time and I would love to visit other places like Jodhpur and Jaisalmer in future.

Himachal Pradesh

Kangra-Dharamshala-Dalhousie Trip(3 - 8 March 2011)

It was a memorable trip of my college life. I was in 4th year when me and my 4 friends planned this trip. Himachal is really a paradise on earth.

Day 1 ( Kuruskshetra = > Jwala Ji Temple)

We started from college in evening and took a bus to Chandigarh which is a starting point for all Himachal travel from there. Then, we took a bus to Jwala Ji from Sec-43 Bus stand and reached there at around 2 AM, and rested in hotel for night.

Day 2( Jwala Ji - Chintpurni- Kangra- Dharamshala)

The morning was beautiful and very calm there as you can see in this picture.The famous Jwala Ji shrine is located in Jawalamukhi town of the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.

Jwala Ji Town

We took a walk from hotel to Jwala Ji temple which is one of the most ancient temple in India. There is the natural cave where flames continue to burn from indefinite time.

Jwala Mata Temple

So , here we are 5 friends at the entrance of temple(myself in middle) 

Jwala Ji Temple Entrance

After visiting the temple, we left towards the Chintpurni Temple which was around 30 km from there but it took almost 1 hour and we reached there by noon. Then, we went to Kangra after offering our prayers here.

Chintpurni Temple

Kangra is 70 km from this temple but it took almost 2 hours and we reached by 5 PM there.
we visited ancient Mata Brajeshwari temple here as shown below. It is a white coloured temple and one of the 51 Shakti peeths in India. It is said that it used to contain tonnes of gold and silver in past and looted several times by the Invaders.

Mata Brajeshwari Temple

Then, we took a bus to Dharamshala which is around 30 km from there and it took almost an hour to reach there. Then we stayed there and rested in hotel at night.

Day 3 (Mcleodganj, Dharamshala)

Dharamshala has recently being declared as the winter capital of the state, It is a beautiful city and is the centre of Tibetan exile world in India. Mcleodganj is the suburb and known for the residence of his holyness Dalai Lama. The most famous site is Dalai Lama Temple also known as Tsuglag Khang.

Dalai Lama Temple

We walked to see the famous Bhagsunath Temple there which has a beautiful waterfall.

Water Fall near Bhagsunath Temple

Then we took an Auto to Naddi which is an adjoining village famous for panoramic views and is a famous sunset point there. It is around 3 km from Mcleodganj. It is at 2000 m above sea level in the upper reaches of Kangra valley.

Himalyan View, Naddi

Sunset Point, Naddi

Then, we headed back to Dharamshala and took an overnight bus to Dalhousie which is around 200 km from there. We reached Banikhet around 2 am and stayed there over night.

Day 4 (Dalhousie)

In the morning, we took a bus to Dalhousie which is around 7 km from Banikhet. The view of Chamba valley was mesmerizing from there.

Chanba Valley

Here, we took a Taxi to reach the snow point which costed around 1000 INR at that time. we were highly excited to see the snow at the very first time in life. It is recommended that you take local taxi only to see this as its difficult to drive in snow.

There, we all became small children and played with snow. We threw snow balls at each other till we got tired and started feeling hurt. :)

Snow Point, Dalhousie

Then, after coming back to town, we roamed the city and visited various landmarks :-

1. Ajit Singh Memorial : It is a place where Sardar Ajit Singh, a great freedom fighter, breathed his last on the day India gained independence

Ajit Singh Memorial

2. St John Church : It is the oldest church of the town established in 1863 during British rule in India

3. Panch pulla :- It is a beautiful spot which consists of natural springs of water and hence supplies water to the whole town. It is considered to have medicinal properties.

Panch Pulla

In the evening, we headed back to Banikhet and took a bus to Delhi and then reached Kurukshetra the following day. It was a great trip. I would love to visit Himachal in future.