We Nomads

Delhi - Mussoorie - Dhanaulti - Lansdowne - Delhi

2009-09-15T18:49:00.006+05:30

Guys, meet –

Anand Swami – An Andhraite by lineage, Bihari by heart!! Equally Loves “Thekuan” and Hyderabadi biryani...though he never admits but I have a feeling that he secretly loves his “Dudhauri” most when served with Original Hyderabadi Biryani. Anand’s favorite timepass is playing psychoanalyst and understanding the actions that resulted in reactions!! He has invented a language, which has an unmistakable stamp of his own (primarily a mixture of typical bihari words like uhan, ehan, garda etc, laced with bengauli accented grammatical mistakes and somewhat slightly-hard-to-be-noticed Telgu touch). Those of you who have read my Rally blog will recall Anand as my navigator in Desert Storm around Rajasthan. Well, other than that he has been my traveling companion for most of my trips.

Nitin Sabarwal – the most eligible bachelor in town, a hunk from outside, soft as a teddy bear from inside!! Stretches his caring nature to an extent that you feel like putting up a bill board proclaiming – Keep in touch but please don’t keep touching ;)

Shipra Dutta – A childhood friend... warm, intelligent and witty are the words that best describe her!! Shipra can talk nonstop, except when she is not puking or singing… and both she did in enormous quantities during the trip. Shipra also has lovely hair, they are so curly and fluffy that many a times I got tempted (but somehow resisted!!) into picking up a fight with her for a sole intention of having the pleasure of pulling it all apart. I am sure every sparrow in the world will die for to call it its home!! Among Shipra’s many talents probably her singing is one of the most outstanding. She has an awesome voice and no inhibitions!! Unlike others, you do not need to cajole her into showcasing her talent. And this is possible only with people who do not need any external endorsements but understand and equally appreciate how good they actually are!! In short, Shipra is her favorite…

With the introduction over, let me share one of the most memorable trips I recently had.

With me on the driving seat and rest of them scattered all around the Innova we started our journey towards Mussoorie on 5th of Sept 2009 around 9:30 AM. The plan was to visit Dhanaulti, stay the night in Mussoorie and leave for Valley of Flowers and/or Badrinath. Within five minutes of the start we were sure how fun this whole trip was going to be. Although Anand, Shipra and Nitin were meeting for the first time, the clumsiness of unfamiliarity was somehow absent and everyone got along equally well with everyone. Shipra, being the only lady in the group was obviously centre of attraction and the butt of every joke, which ofcourse she took very sportingly and did not complain once.

En route, we halted once in Cheetal Grand to have our breakfast. Cheetal is a great joint, almost midway between Delhi and Haridwar at a place called Khatauli, to have a break and get fresh. I have stopped at this place many times between my Delhi – Mussoorie trips. It’s a beautifully maintained property surrounded by lush garden full of exotic flowers and birds. Moresoever it offers a vast choice of food including regular and junk items. Food, as expected, was good. Atleast Tandoori chicken and Naan were good. Anand, in a fit of something that only he can explain, ordered Muglai Parantha for himself and then kept moaning about some missing eggs from the recipe. Meanwhile Shipra Dutta gorged on a multicourse breakfast of Tandoori Chicken, Naan and Muglai Parantha. We watched like orphaned refugees while she plumped her cheeks with food and enlightened us as to our short-comings with regard to diet, road trips, English pronunciations and general mannerism.

Then we moved on.

We were running right on schedule and almost reached Rishikesh when suddenly my inner voice suggested and compelled me to take a road to the left instead of the much obvious tried and tested straight road. No doubt it was a pleasant drive, with the sun low, cool air and very less traffic. Tall thick woods pressed in on the road from both the sides. Everything was perfect except we were travelling in the wrong direction. And this I realized after cruising for 15 odd minutes. Shipra surprised us all by proving to be smart enough to sense that within next 1 hour.

“Are you sure this is the road” said she.

“Well… this could also be…” I answered meekly.

“If you are not so sure why don’t you ask someone?”

Now how do I explain her that like any other self-respecting man I cannot stop to ask for directions!! even when I am certain we are lost. Girls simply do not think where we would be today if Christopher Columbus had stopped and asked for directions? This instinct of exploring has been honed ever since evolution and it further gets compounded with the modern knowledge that the mother earth is round and it doesn’t matter what route you take!!

But since it has been scientifically proven and well established that extended exposures to constant nagging and whining destroys the cilia in the cochlea of your ear, which in short is responsible for hearing, we decided to pay attention to what Shipra was saying.

A boorish looking road side slob confirmed our worst fear.

Still we had our pride and we three of men unanimously decided NOT to take a U Turn, come what may. We were even ready to change our destination but not to compromise on our instincts… However after a lot of discussion and persuasion Anand suggested that we take two “L” turns instead of a “U”. This was a brilliant idea which, technically speaking, forbade us from taking a “U” turn and at the same time was capable enough of putting us back on the track.

However, we did not need to take two “L” turns, as someone else suggested that if we keep on going straight for next 5 kilometers we can take a right turn which in effect will put us back on the course. This we did and were finally able to be on the road destined to take us to Dhanaulti. Only trouble was… we were late by almost an hour and a half!!

(to be contd..)

Ranthambhore - The Tiger Reserve

2008-03-31T15:45:00.021+05:30

“There are only two kind of birds that I know – the red one and the brown one. Red one being
Bar-Be-Que and brown one Tandoori chicken” chuckled Mr. Smith only to be slapped on his shoulder by his pretty Anglo-Indian wife. Mr. Smith must be a very brave man to utter this. For Mrs. Smith self described herself as a “Birder”. My bewildered blank look must have given me in for I was immediately lectured for next 30 minutes on the differences between a “Birder” and a “Birdwatcher”. For all you morons, “Birders” are more focused on finding and studying birds than on general observation, and they tend to be more versed in such minutiae as migration timing, routes, reproductive aspects etc etc etc..

However I can only partially agree to Mr. Smith. There are two kinds of birds – I agree. But are Bar-Be-Que and Tandoori not the same thing? Now if you ask me, don’t we call those pretty looking creatures in short skirts, beautiful smiles, angelic faces found roaming in any of Delhi’s malls, Birds!!! This is how I realized for the first time ever that I am a Birder.

We were idling out in one of the three beautifully landscaped gardens of Ranthambhore Bagh, with many full grown trees, which, I must add, is not a common sight in most of the hotels anywhere anymore. It was a hectic yet fruitful day for us. Me and my colleague, Pankaj Singh, reached Ranthambhore Bagh in the afternoon around 2 PM after driving 150 kms on a rough broken road from Jaipur via Tonk and had immediately left for jungle safari in an open “Canter”.

There are two safari’s a day in Ranthambhore, one starting in the morning and the other late in the afternoon, generally speaking about half an hour after sunrise and a couple of hours before sunset. We were lucky enough to find place in one of the canters at a very short notice for the last safari of the day.

There are two modes of transport for Safaris in Ranthambhore – the Gypsy’s (which seats upto 6 people, excluding driver and guide) and 20 seater open safari buses called “Canters”. Our guide, a humble soft spoken person named “Jogi” informed us that in a day a maximum of 40 vehicles, 20 Gypsy’s and 20 canters, are allowed in the park at any given point of time. All these vehicles are attached to the forest department but are owned and run by the locals. Private vehicles are strictly not allowed in the park.

There are 5 different zones, each one numbered from one to five, inside the park and each vehicle is allotted a zone at the time of entry by lucky draw. We are told that vehicles are not allowed to stray from their allotted zones but frankly speaking we saw a couple of Gypsies bearing some other zone number loitering into our zone.

I and Pankaj were lucky enough to get the front passenger seats in the Canter. Not only they provide best of the visuals, we were all ears to the general gossip taking place between the driver and the guide as well. Now these gossips can be real helpful if you believe me. Other than knowing the minutest details of under table settlement that tourist guides have with the forest officials to allot the best zone, they also saved us from getting over excited after discreetly spotting a big four legged creature camouflaged comfortably in the bushes. How else could we have known that what everyone else was so excited about spotting a Bison or a wild Boar, was actually a normal cow idling after having her evening meal?

Our Canter safari started from the foothills of great Ranthambhore palace and gradually we ventured deep in the zone 5 of the jungle. Canter safari turned out to be quite interesting in a lot of unexpected ways. What really made it entertaining was not only the vehicle or the open clear view of the jungle that we got but the star attraction was the group that surrounded us. Most of the people in the group were blissfully dumb in their own unique way. At the last row of the bus, we had a group of five people, probably a family comprising a middle aged couple and three youngsters, who had this wonderful idea of eating oranges and bananas and every damn fruit available, right at the place were population of monkeys clearly outnumbered us. Now being attacked by a whole bunch of monkeys from all sides, jumping on your shoulders and trying to drag you to their group, may sound funny to imagine but believe me – this is not something that you will want to experience frequently.

Then there was that young newly married couple sitting 3-4 rows away from us. The husband was romantically lost talking to her in a hushed voice peacefully oblivious to all the chaos around them. I did try to hear his conversation by really straining my ears but finally comforted myself with the thought that if I did manage to hear the monologue I would know what he was talking about and then I will be as bored as his wife clearly was. She was looking with undisguised interest at all the men in the Canter (including driver and Mr. Jogi). Her companion didn’t notice this. He was probably too busy telling her how he could get down the stars from heaven if she desired so.

We also had an intelligent looking couple (Mrs. and Mr. Umang Singh, who we later came to know were staying in the same hotel as ours), oddly not at all interested into watching the animals and birds into wilderness with their naked eyes, but much more engrossed into trying to locate the spotted animals and birds in a very thick encyclopedia that they were carrying along. As soon as they spotted any animal they used to give a muffed cry of joy and dash right into their encyclopedia. “Hey Darling!!!! See here it is…on page no. 873… the bottom image… ohh hoo not that BIG one you silly…That’s a Brachiosaurus….. And don’t you know they are extinct now…. Hummm…This little fella is called….ummmm….let me check….. Ummm…. a rabbit!!!. Ohh Sweetheart… We spotted a rabbit today…. Ohh how lucky we are…. Love you darling!!! Pooch!!! Pooch!!!”

I recommend all of you to try this Canter Safari at least once a lifetime. No where else you can get a perfect feeling of “Unity in diversity”.

Ranthambhore is beautiful and unique. First and foremost, it doesn’t feel like a Jungle at all. We normally tend to associate a jungle with a very dense area covered with big full grown trees, and a sense of being at risk always. Ranthambhore is opposite. It is not at all dense as there are hardly any huge trees to be spotted and it doesn’t scare you. Rather it is an “ecological island surrounded by farmlands and overgrazed pastures”. You will be surprised to know that Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve is the single largest expanse of dry deciduous Anogeissus Pendula forest left intact in India. It is also the only dry deciduous tiger habitat in the world. Ranthambhore National Park is considered as the best place in the world to see wild tigers (probably because the tigers here are used to being stared at). Ranthambhore is also one of the most filmed wildlife reserves in the world.

The Ranthambhore National Park lies in the Sawai Madhopur district of eastern Rajasthan. It is right now the only forest reserve in Rajasthan state and in the entire Aravali hill ranges where wild Bengal tigers still exist. As we were soon to find out, the dry deciduous habitat of the reserve makes it much easier to find and observe tigers in their natural wild habitat. Out of 1334 Sq. Km of area of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve Project, Ranthambhore National Park covers 282 Sq. Km.

The history of the park goes like this: During the 19th century when there was excellent forest cover almost all over India, the population density was very low and exploitation of forests to fulfill local needs was negligible. During this period the forests of Ranthambhore were the private and exclusive hunting reserves of the Jaipur and Karauli royal family. These forests were managed by the Shikar Khana Department (Hunting Department) of the state. The local villagers were allowed to take many kinds of forest produces in unlimited quantities for their private use, after payment of an annual tax (called Babs). Due to the low population density, there was hardly any damage to these dry deciduous forests.

However by the end of the first quarter of the 20th century, the need for conservation of forests and wildlife was being felt all over India. The population was growing rapidly and the forests were coming under pressure. In Ranthambhore, the system of "royalty permits" for commercial felling (mainly for firewood and charcoal) of entire blocks of forests was taking its toll. In 1955, these forests were declared as "Sawai Madhopur sanctuary" and the practice of sale of forest produce through "royalty permits" came to an end. This was when the forests received their first "real" protection. However, legal hunting continued unabated till 1973 and by then the tiger population was almost totally decimated.

In 1973 a part of this sanctuary came under Project tiger scheme. At that time there were 16 villages inside the sanctuary but between 1976 and 1979, 12 of these villages were shifted outside the sanctuary. In 1980, in order to give greater protection to the forests, an area of 282.03 sq. k.m. of the inner part of Sawai Madhopur sanctuary was declared as national park. Since then the state Govt. stopped collection of any forest produce from sanctuary and national parks.

During the 1970s, tiger sightings were extremely rare in Ranthambhore but by the mid and late 1980s, as a result of the decade long protection given to the forests, Ranthambhore became the best place in the world to see wild tigers.

However again in the year 2002 Ranthambhore tiger reserve attained notoriety for illegal poaching of tigers. Since then the forest authorities became very strict and it was generally felt that poaching was not a serious threat in these forests. By year 2002 the Park boasted of nearly 40 tigers, a density of nearly 10 tigers per 100 square k.m. - which was one of the highest in the world.

But again everyone was taken for a surprise when in 2003 and 2004, a census conducted by a high powered committee showed that there were only 26 tigers in entire reserve and all of them were with in the national park. The other areas of the reserve were totally devoid of tigers. To quote from the report of the Tiger Task Force - "in Ranthambhore, which is now known to have lost a large number of its tigers......the threat of poaching remains...".

In 2005, the Rajasthan and the Indian government set up a series of committees to look into the state of Ranthambhore and to suggest measures to improve the situation. This put the spotlight back on Ranthambhore and the tiger crisis in India (what is now being called the "third tiger crisis") and since then the forest and the police department intensified the protection around the tiger reserve. The good news is that there have been no reports of tiger poaching from around Ranthambhore from the beginning of 2005 and a large number of tiger cubs were born between the summer of 2005 and the summer of 2006. A very detailed census that was carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India using camera traps between 2006 and 2007 showed that there were 31 tigers in Ranthambhore national park.

Ranthambhore is not known only for tigers - it is home to over 40 species of mammals, 320 species of birds, over 35 species of reptiles and over 300 species of plants. (Ref: Dr. Dharmendra Khandal - Bio-diversity of Ranthambhore 2004). Though the park is great for birding but the restrictions that are placed inside the Ranthambhore National park may not appeal to very serious birders, primarily because you are not allowed to walk inside the park.

Not long after we started our journey into jungle we sighted a group of male Sambar deer, identified by the antlers on their head. As soon as we approached them they become intently alert, and stood motionless. Sambar’s are a frightened lot, and they have every reason to be. After all they are the favorite prey species of the tiger. A large Sambar can feed a tiger upto 4 days. Unlike the spotted deer, which shouts an alarm and darts away at the first sight of a tiger, the sambar tends to alertly watch and keep giving alarms until the danger has passed. Jogi told us that Sambar’s alarm call is taken very seriously by anyone interested in knowing the whereabouts of a tiger. A repeated call is accepted as a definite indicator.

We stopped there for a minute or so admiring its beauty and clicking a couple of snaps. Meanwhile Umang and his wife got frantically busy turning pages of their book trying to locate Sambar inside it. The family at the back seat was busy munching a new pack of chips and a seat ahead, after giving a bored look to the mammal, newly wed wife turned towards other male species around. In return Jogi gave her righteously deserved full attention.

We moved ahead.

The driver of the bus, who in due course of time became very friendly with me and Pankaj, started telling us some of the anecdotes and his experiences as a driver for last 10 years in Ranthambhore National Park. Among many other things he also told us about his father who has spent his whole life working at some clerical position in the National park and the respect he commands in the fraternity. I and Pankaj were both enjoying the conversation and the environment in general, except that small little problem. The driver kept turning around to rearrange things on the back seat to give us more space. At the same time he was driving with one hand (although not at a high speed) in a very narrow bumpy road with trees on one side and a deep lake on the other. Every few seconds, Jogi, our guide would shriek as one big branch of a tree or a Neelgai or a Sambar loomed up and filled the windscreen, and he would attend to the road for perhaps two and a half seconds before returning his attention to our comfort.

We were enjoying our ride and had seen a variety of animals including Sambar Deer, Chital, Nilgai, Langurs, Jackals, Wild Boar, Chinkara, A big owl sitting on top of a tree and a group of lethargic crocodiles idling at the banks of a lake, when we all heard a distant yet clear shrieking sound. Jogi’s swift motion of hand indicated us to maintain silence. Everyone obeyed. People stopped eating, turning pages of their encyclopedia, even the bored wife was in all attention. We sat motionless for a couple of seconds and just when we were thinking of start breathing again, came the second shriek. Suddenly all hell broke loose. Without warning our driver took a U turn and started driving at a break-neck speed of 70 kmph in one particular direction. Many other Canter and Gypsies whose existence we were unaware of till now were all visible and rushing from any of the thirteen directions to one spot at once.

(To be Contd...)

Rally Desert Storm 2007

2007-05-29T11:57:00.000+05:30

If looked from a distance it gave an appearance of flat road. Even the road book rated it as a single caution. However as looks can be deceiving, it was quite easy to misjudge the two relatively minor jumps spaced less than 20 meters apart. As images show, the effect was electrifying…on one hand it made some of the cars go flying, on the other some went nose diving and ended up kissing the tarmac. Day 2 claimed most of its victims….Anil Sharma taking the maximum hit on his Gypsy. Those who were lucky continued after some roadside makeshift repairs, others retired. This was Leg 2 on 16th February 2007 between Bikaner and Jaisalmer on Rally Desert Storm 2007.

Desert Storm is an annual event running on the Cross Country Regulations of the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, the governing body of motor racing events). It is one of the toughest (probably next to Raid events) motor sports events in India and is inscribed on the Cross Country Calendar of the FIA and is sanctioned by the Motorsports Association of India (MAI) and the Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India. The Rally is open for participation to all 4 & 2 wheeler vehicles conforming to the FIM and the FIA T1 & T2 regulations. The rally runs through good tarmac, broken tarmac, hills, dirt and sand dunes and thoroughly tests the skills of the drivers and ruggedness of the car and bikes. Such is the grueling legs in this rally that this year only 48 cars (out of total 63 cars) and 6 bikes (out of 16 bikes) were able to finish the rally.

Since long I wanted to participate into motorsport events (read: rallying) but was not getting an opportunity to – primarily because of heavy cost involved. Other than a high participation fee there is a huge cost involved in modifying your vehicle i.e. fine tuning it to get the best of performance, fuel consumption (which can be calculated based on the average a vehicle is giving. During rally it gives only 50 percent of that) and then finally getting your vehicle repaired. Rallying is a hobby in which you spend a good amount of time, energy and fortune preparing your car and then you end up breaking it in record time. A single rally has a capability to destroy your car for ever.

However this year I finally got lucky and took the first BIG step with Pravek Kalp (an ayurvedic products manufacturing company) backing me up with the sponsorship. I will be ever thankful to Pravek for making my dream come true. Me and Anand, my navi, were all set to go…

The rally was flagged off from the National Stadium on 14th of Feb. After the flag-off the rally proceeded to Rajasthan to take on the hot sands in multiple sections traversing gravel and dry wilderness for the next four days. This year, the rally was tougher, with more competitive sections added. Covering a distance of approx 2500 km, the rally ran through various sectors in Rajasthan such as Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Pushkar, Sambhar etc. There were both competitive and transport sections. Competitive sections included tough off road terrain that has gravel, sand and rocks. The transport section included national and state highways.

The 1st leg started on 15th of February 2007 and consisted of short competitive stages just off the main highway between Fatehpur to Bikaner. After driving few miles on the tarmac soon the roadmap led us into more treacherous terrain which was a mix of gravel, sand and rocks. Although we were driving along the scenic dunes of Rajasthan with few villages springing to life every now and then, it soon became apparent that driving on soft sand is miles away from anything that you encounter on a regular basis, quite different even than driving on regular dirt. The car slides around a lot more than usual and the initial grip levels seem extremely low – it’s only once the car digs into the sand that it finds grip. The trick is to stay within the tracks formed primarily by Camel driven bullock carts ferrying villagers from one place to another. Whenever we slide outside the tracks, trying to regain the line was always tricky as the immediate change in grip levels throws the car around quite a bit – clearly a delicate, yet enjoyable, balance to maintain.

We traversed almost the same kind of terrain for most of the day and finally reached the end of first leg at Hotel Laxmi Niwas, Bikaner.

Leg 1 could have been better, we realized, but this being our first rally we were caught completely off guard with no idea on how to formulate our strategy. There were two important things that we learnt on day one – contrary to the general belief Rallying is not only a pedal to metal game; a rally driver also have to factor in the terrain, and the car’s ability to take the strain. It’s a sport of the mind too; Strategy too plays a major part. It also became quite evident why this category is called “NAV”. NAV category is not only about speed, its more about strategy and requires strong navigational skills and that’s when the navi takes its credit. They have to perform the most tedious of the job – calculating speed every minute and every kilometer. However that’s not the end of woes for navi’s. Whenever you lose your track (which believe me is more often than you think) even by a km or so the synchronization between odometer and road book goes for a toss. Other than frantic swearing it takes a lot of recalculation and change of strategy. In comparison my role as driver was simply to keep my hands firmly planted on the steering wheel, foot on the accelerator, one eye on the road, one eye on my odometer, and one eye on the route instructions, grinding my teeth in anguish and wondering when (Oh, When!!) my Navi will finish calculations and announce the next minute's reading. But seriously speaking, at least we got a sense of the terrain and still had three days to make up for the time lost on the first leg.

Day 2, between Bikaner and Jaisalmer, was mostly fast tarmac section which consisted of long straights that led ominously into sharp and sudden dips. This was the section were most of the cars headed straight for the moon until gravity brought them back to ground. Luckily there were no serious injuries, just bruised egos and damaged cars… The best thing was we were fast learning the tricks of the game and for the first time felt confident. The scores as of now were not bad and we were quite determined to make up our lost time. Our total penalty till date was coming up to 30 odd mins which is not bad and can easily be compensated with better strategically driving.

There is something called racing luck which any ralliest will be more than eager to explain you – this has more to do with the success and failure of a car and its crew than any other factor. But there is also something called stupidity for which there is no match and that is exactly what we did on the 3rd day between Jaisalmer and Pushkar. Simply put we miss-calculated one of the last minute changes done by the organizers in the dead-time zone area and rightly ended up earning a huge penalty of 1 Hr. 28 mins for our misery. It was this blunder that sealed our fate and dashed any hopes of succeeding in the recovery that we had well and truly begun.

Resulting from the penalty, we started close to last on the 4th and final day of the event. It started off from Pushkar and was to end at Jaipur. The final day of the rally was something special – It always is somehow. It was a sandy terrain for most of the leg. The road book was fairly confusing and every now and then you end up moving in the wrong direction only to realize after you lose your few precious minutes. However we managed to maneuver it brilliantly and made up most of the lost time we accumulated on Day 3. Sambhar section, a breath taking beautiful salt lake, was cancelled at the last moment and we were asked to head straight for the last destination - Clark Amer Hotel, Jaipur.

In the end, our position in the NAV category was 6th. It didn’t really matter as this was our first rally and we took it as a learning ground. However we did get the “Best upcoming Talent” award.

Right now me and my Navi – Anand are busy preparing for forth coming Raid-de-himalaya rally. Wish us best of luck.

To Lakshadweep on Star Cruise - Part Two

2007-02-01T17:52:00.000+05:30

Star Cruise Libra is a BIG ship with 10 decks. Facilities like Restaurants and Bars, Sports and Fitness, Entertainment lounges and others like shopping arcades, photo gallery etc are all spread on these decks.

Deck 1 on the bottom has a medical centre and few cabins and rooms. Although I never visited it but someone told me it has all the necessary medical facilities that you may ever require on a ship. However, I was also warned it is damn costly. Believe me, I won't have enjoyed making a decision if ever confronted with something like either bleed-to-death or get a tetanus injection from a smartly dressed Star Cruise Medical Officer who in all probabilities might have looked more of an Hollywood actor and less of a medicine man and who would have looted my entire lifetime earnings for that one injection which normally would have cost me not more than a hundred rupee note outside. Either of the options would have killed me. And that was how I decided not to fall ill.

There is a very beautifully and elegantly designed Crystal court on Deck 4 which has a reception and a travel desk strategically equipped with ultra pretty looking creatures in short blue skirts ever pleasant to help you with your queries. Like others, I was immediately hooked up and took a little time to realize that like everybody else I was frequenting them every four minutes with one stupid query or the other. Finally I retired with a sigh.

Star Cruise has many Restaurants and Bars to prevent its passengers from dying of hunger or even thirst for that matter. Deck 4 has two of the restaurants – “Taj by the bay” which is essentially an Indian family style restaurant and “Four Seasons” which is a continental dining restaurant. Other than these there is a “Blue Lagoon” – a 24 hours open refreshments and snacks outlet, “Two Trees” – an exclusive lounge and restaurant, my all time favorite “Coconut Willy’s” and “Pool Bar” which are basically a poolside bar, “The Saffron” – an Indian restaurant serving only vegetarian food, and “Lickety Splits” – a superb Ice-cream bar. All these serve an array of exotic cuisine expertly prepared to indulge you into gastronomic delights. However I have a feeling that it’s a cunningly designed Star Cruise strategy to make you overeat so that you get forced to visit the medical centre at Deck 1 and eventually end up loosing all your belongings.

Ironically Star Cruise also provides you a whole range of sports and fitness facilities to keep you in good health and shape of your own. It has a sports deck (on Deck 6) with a jogging track running across the deck and a basketball court at the end. It also has an ill-maintained table tennis set. The Outdoor Golf driving range was too small to appeal and I never saw anyone practicing there. However the outdoor swimming pool and twin hot tub Jacuzzi’s was everyone’s favorites.

On the entertainment side it has an Open-style karaoke lounge aptly named – “The Bollywood”, a discotheque called “Boomer’s”, a cocktail and pre-dinner lounge – “Galaxy of the Stars” and everyone’s including mine topmost favourite area on the cruise (second favorite being the Coconut Willy’s and Pool Bar) Show-lounge called “Star Dust”. Star Dust was not only my favorite late night joint but it was equally popular with every stratum of travelers. Not because it use to host a series of dance shows featuring most beautiful girls in vibrant colors – red, blue, green with further enhanced effect by the ultimate fusion of light and sound. It was entertaining to a certain extent. However it was made real engrossing after 12:30 PM when the same girls performed the same kind of shows but topless. Now how a small piece of cloth can make all this difference I wonder. But this was the actual reason of Star dust’s popularity. You could find people of all ages right from 15 to 70, sitting mouth wide open, peacefully lost gaping at the best found assets on cruise. It never pinched to pay the outrageously high priced entry fee (Rs. 900 for the top 2 front rows where you could get the best of views – all clear and prominent, Rs. 500 for middle rows which offered acceptable view, and Rs. 200 which was useless as you will be sitting so far that the centre-of-attractions looked more like mosquito bites and eventually you end up day dreaming and imagining how they might have looked).

To name a few other facilities Star Cruise Libra has to offer are a small shopping area called “Ports O’Call” selling cruise souvenirs (from where I bought a coffee mug, a ball pen and a pack of playing cards all with Star Cruise photo embedded on them), an outrageously priced photo gallery selling your photographs clicked while boarding, an Internet café (again outrageously priced), a beauty saloon I never went inside but the demeanor suggested - again to be outrageously priced, a children’s playroom called “Porthole”, and a very elegantly designed (in all red) casino. I would have enjoyed going to Casino and trying my luck but Star Dust lounge offered a better alternative to waste my money.

(To be Contd. In Part III)

To lakshadweep on Star Cruise - Part One

2006-12-26T21:10:00.000+05:30

Recently I got an opportunity to sail on Star Cruise.

I was invited for the 4^th “Technology Senate” – which is a by-invitation-only annual forum for India’s selected CIO’s and IT decision makers. Other than offering an excellent platform for knowledge sharing, peer networking, and showcasing new technologies and trends in IT business, TS offers a good excuse (for free) to be away from the pressures of life. It is an all-paid-for event – where the organizers take care of traveling and stay arrangements. So when you get a call for Technology Senate, there is nothing much you do…you simply pack your bags way in advance and start counting days.

Unlike previous senates which were in Kochi, Colombo and Bangkok, the organizers decided to do something different and some intelligent guy among them must have came up with this brilliant idea of hosting it abroad the luxury liner – Super Star Libra. Now let me confess something - I am highly fascinated by sea. No matter how many times I have been mesmerized by its sheer vastness, or strolled its romantic beaches, a look at it still takes my breath away. My mind, unable to deal with something on this scale, just shuts down in an inexpressible awe that anything on this earth could be so vast, so beautiful, so silent. More-so-ever it was free.

Who’s ever idea it was…believe me, it was brilliant and deserves a big round of applause. I am sure most participants will agree that TS destinations are getting sexier with every passing year. (Excuse me for I have a small prayer to make... O Lord! Let the TS organizers have the wisdom of organizing the next year event to Bora Bora Islands. Last Friday I saw it on Discovery under Best Holiday Destinations of the world and now I want to give it a visit. I do not know any better alternative than TS. Do you?)

Star Cruise is world’s third largest cruise liner and Super Star Libra is their latest addition to the Asia Fleet. Their web site says – “SuperStar Libra is designed to meet the changing needs of today’s passengers, challenging the conventional model of cruising by providing a more relaxed, resort-style cruise, complete with flexibility and non-intrusive services of the highest standard”. It further says – “Escape the stress of everyday life, as SuperStar Libra brings you to a world-class exclusive floating resort in the high seas offering you an impressive array of facilities, entertainment, recreational activities and services coupled with warm Asian hospitality, which have become the hallmarks of Star Cruises”. And I completely endorse it.

Star Cruise’s fleets are named after star signs – Superstar Virgo, Superstar Gemini, Superstar Libra, Star Pisces, Megastar Aries and Megastar Taurus.

Superstar Libra is a huge ship. It is 216 meters long, 28 meters wide and weights 42,000 tons. Its average cruising speed is 19 knots which can go as high as 21 knots (that is 21.85 and 24.15 miles per hour OR 35.16 and 38.86 kilometer per hour respectively). The number of cabins onboard are 740 and total passenger capacity is of 1480. SuperStar Libra was built in Finland in year 1988 and christened the Seaward. It was later renamed Norwegian Sea under the NCL and cruised mainly in the waters of Caribbean, before joining Star Cruise fleet in August 2005.

Day One – 3^rd December’ 2006

We must have landed at Mumbai airport at around 12:30 PM and after waiting for almost an hour at the airport, we were taken for Lunch to one of restaurants. I found the restaurant to be friendly with a good ambience, but the food was possibly the worst I have ever had in recent days. Being a north Indian probably I will never be able to understand the fetish people in these parts of the country have for Coconuts. Agreed it is found in abundance in this part of the world, but so is sand. Now you don’t end up putting sand in every edible. Do you? So by the same logic having coconut in each and every dish is unjust. Nowhere else in upper part of India could a place serve food this bad and stay in business, and yet people were queuing at the door here. However, I ate it all because I was hungry and I did not know when, where and in what forms the next food is going to be presented.

We were then taken to Mumbai port for boarding Superstar Libra.

We were flocked to an area marked “Reception” which was already over crowded. The process of check in was to start in one hour’s time. Soon the whole area became too crowded and I decided to venture into one of the corners which still looked better. I was sharing it with two more people, a grim looking older woman all in white who looked as if she hadn’t smiled since 1959 and who spend the entire time watching me as if she has seen my face on a wanted poster, and by a fastidious older man who I guessed to be her husband and who looked like a retired Bureaucrat and to whom I took an instant dislike. Not only the bureaucrat made me move to a more uncomfortable position thus creating more space for them in process, but also instructed me to transfer all my personal belongings on the other side. The bureaucrat then spend next 45 minutes fussily sorting out his things – extracting a folded newspaper and a small bottle of water from his case, examining his suitcase cover minutely for any unpleasant scratches, arranging and then re-arranging the luggage on the trolley, folding his jacket and half sleeve sweater with ritualistic care, re-adjusting the complete luggage to the other side and in process forcing me to shift my position again (…in consultation with the lady but without reference to me of course), getting his suitcase down again from the trolley for some forgotten item, checking his hankie, readjusting his luggage. How I longed for a Shotgun. And every time I looked round there would be that old duck watching me like the Daughter of Death.

And so an hour and a half passed.

The process of registration had begun and we were required to fill in a form. Promptly the bureaucrat took out pen from his shirt’s front pocket and started completing the formalities. And as usual I had no pen or pencil with me so meekly I asked him if I can borrow the pen when he is finished, but the lady in white found a look of even deeper contempt for me. As everyone was queuing for check in I too decided to be a part of it but not before fixing the old lady with a hard stare that I hoped somehow conveyed to her what pleasure, what deep and lasting pleasure, it would give me to haul her and her arrogant husband off their cabins and push them off the board deep in sea. At least the Sharks would have thanked me for my noble thinking.

After waiting in queue for more than 45 minutes, I was told to show my boarding pass which I didn’t have (but naturally!!). So I went out of the queue to enquire about it with the organizers and I found them to be mugged by more than 200 senates, most of them snatching off the boarding passes from organizers hands. More decent ones begged for it. Thankfully I belong to the majority of the community and I managed to have my boarding pass in flat five minutes time.

Checking in was simple. On submission of my boarding pass I was given a plastic access card with my name and cabin number on it. This multi utility card, as I was explained, was to be used as an access key to the cabin, for making any purchases onboard, to enter any of the restaurants, to purchase Beer and/or to have any of the lively pretty things in small skirts. OK. I made the last one.

One particular think that I liked about Star Cruise is that they have a No-Currency-On-Board policy. You use your access card to make all purchases on board and at the end of the journey while checking out, you clear all your dues. It was pleasure to see an efficient use of technology which is actually being used to make life easier and not otherwise.

I entered the lobby and found it to be awesome. It was…gosh….beautiful and had all the grandeur of a 5 star hotel. I didn’t have any difficulty finding my way to my cabin (3199 on Deck 3, in case if any of you are interested) as it was well directed by placards at every logical steps.

There are 6 kinds of rooms/cabins available on Libra – Executive suite, Junior Suite, Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom, Oceanview Stateroom, Oceanview Stateroom with porthole and Inside Stateroom. I was booked into Inside Stateroom and guess what!!! - It is the only cabin of all six which do not offer a sea-view. I enquired about upgrading my room to Oceanview Stateroom with porthole, but retreated when found it would make me even poorer by Rs. 4490.

The cabin was actually not as small as it looked. Rather it proved to be quite cozy and I must say that the designer has done a beautiful job squeezing all the comforts one may seek on a cruise without wasting an inch of precious space. It had two beds side by side, like the one you have in a slipper class in a train. It had a small toilet equipped with a washbasin, shower area, a soap/shampoo dispenser and even a hair-dryer that actually worked.

Immediately I set off to explore the ship further.

(To be Contd. In Part II)

My Leh Trip By Road - Part II (SriNagar to Kargil)

2006-11-20T12:24:00.000+05:30

June 27, 2005

We got up at 7 O’clock in the morning and after light breakfast took the “Shikara” to the land. None of us felt like going but our destination was Leh. With a silent promise of returning again in near future we bid adieu to our beloved Dal Lake with a heavy heart.

We had to reach Kargil by the evening. The route was via Sonamarg, Zojila Pass, Drass and then Kargil.

The drive to Sonamarg presents yet another spectacular facet of countryside in Kashmir.

We watched, breathlessly, as nature spread itself on a giant canvas. We were totally submerged in its beauty, purity and sanctity. Buddhists say, the ultimate goal is to achieve the state of Nirvana, which represents total enlightenment and liberation. Surrendering myself to nature, not as an observer or just as an admirer, but by becoming a part of that holiness and purity, I felt nothing less than attaining Nirvana.

Sonamarg is the takeoff destination for the drive to Ladakh across the Zojila. It is also one of the bases for undertaking the yatra to holy “Amarnath cave”.

After capturing some of the best picturesque landscapes in my camera, we moved on.

We must have traveled 2km from Sonamarg towards Zojila when we were stopped at an Army barrier. We had no entry permit and we were not informed anywhere that we need one. But as is the case, in order to cross Zojila, we required an entry ticket, which was issued by the concerned department at Sonamarg. We went back and had a tough time finding the place where the permit is issued from. It was a small office, with a total strength of three people, nestled in a tent on one of the mountain slopes, somewhere around 300m away from the main road. It took us less than five minutes in getting our permit. It is more of a formality where you have to give your driving license number and get a pink color stamped paper. However, I am certain that it must not be as easy for a foreigner as it was for us.

Showing sentry our permit we moved towards the mighty Zojila pass. It is a very narrow pass and at most places it is impossible for two vehicles to pass each other. So it is opened for one-way traffic for half a day and then for the other side of vehicles. We were lucky to be among the last few vehicles that were allowed to cross towards Kargil for that day.

Gradually the steepness increased and the road conditions started deteriorating. Very soon we were driving on a road made of small boulders (small sharp rocks) and full of dirt. We were a group of 20 to 25 vehicles, out of which more than 80% belonged to Army. Roads were very narrow with huge mountain on one side and a very deep rift on the other. It was actually scary to look down. Extreme serpentine road compounded the risk and made driving more cautious yet exciting.

Because we were driving in a small car, at many places we had to get down of the car and plan a strategy to navigate through the numerous potholes, big and ugly enough to break our car. However most problematic was when any of the vehicles in front of us used to stop in middle while climbing. It was fairly easy for those big monstrous 4-wheel drive army trucks to resume their climb. For us, it was a Herculean task. We had to roll back to the nearest low climb area and then come back fully charged, with a vengeance. Believe me, it was more irritating, rather embarrassing, than being difficult as we had to request all the vehicles behind us to roll back.

After a three hours of strenuous driving we were finally successful in crossing Zojila. Munish’s prediction was proven wrong. We had made it. Now we were in Drass region.

Although our car was completely covered with dust, looking at it, gave us a sense of achievement. It was a visual proof of our efforts and achievement.

Contrary to the perceived image of a war-ridden town, Drass was full of scenic beauty and greenery. However, the traces of “Kargil war” was evident on some of the roadside buildings as well. We saw a signboard pointing towards “Kargil Battle School.” I would have loved to find out more about it, but as there was no one around, we moved on.

Drass is a small town situated in a flat and open space in the center of a valley. It is, as we were informed in Kargil, the second coldest inhabited place in the world. Winter temperature dips as low as -40ºF. However, while we crossed Drass, we found it to be extremely beautiful with lush green pastures splashed across.

Road from Drass to Kargil was not difficult to navigate, as it was mostly plain and road was in fairly acceptable conditions. Kargil is approx. 60km from Drass and it took us one and half hours to traverse the journey. On our way we passed through some of the most beautiful upland villages with flower sprinkled meadows on sides of the road.

By 8 O’clock in the evening we were checking in the “Kargil Continental Hotel”, one of the best hotels available in Kargil. It was a huge hotel with numerous rooms across its corridors and is highly recommended for a pleasurable stay. Its location is fantastic—it is in the main market area near taxi stand and at the back of it there is a canal flowing with dangerously high water current.

Kargil is a mountainous district, which is surrounded by mountains from all the sides and is accessible only by road. It is the second largest area in Ladakh. We found the town to be very sparsely populated.

When we reached Kargil, it was already dark and there was no electricity. Hotel people informed us that there has been no power supply for last 3 days. Some major failure in one of the grids resulted in complete power breakdown in the region. We were now fully dependent on candles. After taking refreshing hot water bath we decided to go out for dinner. A small restaurant, some 100m away from Kargil Continental, was recommend to us by our Hotel staff. I highly recommend the delicious dinner comprising Butter Chicken and Nan to all of you who plan to visit Leh via Kargil. The owner (whose name I forgot..), is a well known singer of that area.

It was around 11 O’clock when we decided to retire to bed. Yet another strenuous journey was awaited next day. Not only we had to cross “Namika la” and “Fotu la top” – which was at the height of 13,479 feet and was the highest point on Srinagar - Leh road, we had to traverse narrowing gorges before reaching Leh – our destination and dreamland.

My Leh Trip By Road - Part 1 (Delhi to SriNagar)

2006-11-19T15:24:00.000+05:30

Last year, in the months of June and July, we decided to go to Leh and ladakh. It took us 14 days to complete this trip, which was full of adventures and an experience of its kind, which cannot be described in words but can only be felt. However I am trying to express it through my first travelogue. I do not know how successful I will be in doing so. I have decided to write my experiences in parts as writing the whole trip in one go is not easy for me. Here is the first part…

24th June 2005:

Our appetite for adventure won and we unanimously decided to make the “overdue” trip to Leh in my Car. We were a group of three—my wife “Sanjeeta”, my cousin “Abhinav”,, who came especially from Bangalore to Delhi to join us on our trip, and myself.

Which way to take was one of the toughest questions initially. We had two choices – via Srinagar or via Manali. Both had their own advantages and disadvantages. Manali route sounded more adventurous kind, whereas Srinagar had its incomparable scenic beauty to offer. As the reports of bad weather kept pouring in we were little skeptical about taking Manali road. However we did not want to miss the adventure part. Finally greed won and we decided to go via Srinagar and return via Manali.

We gave the car for final checkup and under the able guidance of Mr. Jayesh Desai, the car was specially prepared and checked to take this trip.

“Beware of the treacherous terrains and do not overexert yourself” were the parting wisdom bestowed on us by Jayesh. Thank you Jayesh, without your help this trip would have been a distant dream.

25th June 2005:

We left at 6:30 in the morning with a lot of excitement in our belly, Fuel tank at its full and Speedometer reading at 42864. We had a luggage carrier mounted at the top (which was not very sleek, but as looks can be deceiving, it proved to be an absolutely necessary item).

Our first destination Jammu was 583 km away. National highway from Delhi to Jammu is in its best of conditions and driving on it was a pleasant experience. By stopping only twice, once to refill our empty stomach and second to refill the fuel tank, we were able to reach Jammu by 7 O’clock in the evening. We found it to be as hot and humid as Delhi with temperature reading of 46 degree centigrade.

Finding a hotel was little difficult in Jammu, as being a first time visitor (though I had passed Jammu a number to times on my way to Vaishnao Devi, this was my first time when I was actually exploring it), I found the city to be bit confusing and getting lost in Jammu is easy for first timers. Finally a cop came to our help and guided us to “Hotel Savoy”, a comfortable hotel at Residency Road. We had our dinner and straightaway went off to bed. Tiredness was not the only reason; we were warned that finding a descent hotel in Srinagar is going to be more difficult, as June being a tourist season coupled with high influx of tourists this year, if we do not reach there before dusk. Need not mention categorically, we were also worried about Srinagar’s politically disturbed atmosphere.

26th June 2005:

We left Jammu at 7 O’clock in the morning and headed to Srinagar. The road is curvaceous but is in good condition. Crossing the famous “Jawahar tunnel” which connects Jammu with Kashmir valley was an experience in itself. Abhinav tried clicking a snap of Jawahar Tunnel and almost lost his camera to the security guard posted there. “Photographs not allowed” was his stern warning and we were in no mood to challenge that.

Gradually the change became apparent in everything – on one hand weather became pleasant, on the other the enormous presence of army men on Jammu Srinagar highway made us tense. There were fully armed soldiers at every 20 meters on both sides of road. However, the view around the road was incredible.

We stopped the car to click few snaps of “First view of Kashmir Valley”, a roadside mountain cliff designed to give the look of a bow of a ship. We got some stunning pictures of Kashmir valley from there. When you go there and see the landscapes, it will soon became apparent that why Srinagar is called a paradise on earth.

We reached Srinagar by 5 O’clock in the evening. Going by the media, we were little reluctant in entering the town, as frequent ambush reports between army and militants kept pouring in. We thought of spending the night at any good hotel on the outskirts. But the guilt of being in Srinagar and missing the splendor beauty of “Dal Lake” was too heavy to bear. To hell with militancy!!! We headed straight for Dal Lake.

Instantly the decision was taken. The calm serenity of Dal Lake had left us spell bound. We were hooked to the charm of staying on a houseboat, which provided the unique experience of living on the water in a cedar-panelled elegant bedroom with all the conveniences (like well carpeted drawing cum dining room, western styled toilets with bath tubs etc. and fine furniture) of a luxury hotel. Srinagar’s thousand or so houseboats are moored along the section of Dal Lake. Each one of them are decorated fancifully and named romantically and even whimsically.

Houseboats, as we experienced, have highly personalized service and staying there was a peaceful experience. We stayed at “Pride of India” – a romantically decorated, yellow colored houseboat owned by “Ramzaan” and his family. It was not expensive, just Rs. 1200 for 2 rooms per night. Ramzaan says there are 1300 houseboats on the lake and lake itself is spread in an area of 35 km.

Dal lake has a life in itself on water. You have STD booths, general stores, garment shops everything…. but on water. You have to take a “Shikara” to go there. They are all located on different houseboats.

We had Kashmiri food - Gushtaba (meatballs cooked in thick gravy of fresh curd base), Roganjosh (which owes its rich red color to the generous use of Kashmiri chillies) and rice for dinner. Kashmiri food is delicious but very rich (you cannot eat much).

In night, around 9 O’clock we decided to explore the Dal Lake and took a “Shikara” from the houseboat for a late evening stroll. It was a unique experience in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. Highly recommended for you all who are planning to go there.

In simple words as it is said - Kashmir is a poem written by nature.

By 12 O’clock we were back to our houseboat. We decided to retire to bed as next day was expected to be a tough one. We had to cross “Zogila pass”, the toughest pass en route to Kargil. Last thing I was thinking before plunging into deep sleep was Munesh Thusoo’s warning. Munesh Thusoo, one of my Kashmiri friends, when first heard about our planned trip to Leh via Srinagar in our 800 CC engine car, declared us mad and predicted that we will never be able to cross “Zogila” in our car.

Leh - A gateway to heaven

2006-11-19T15:10:00.000+05:30

Brief Description:

Leh is beautiful. It is dominated by strange dry and barren, yet mind-blowingly beautiful, mountains, which, in their signature style, vary with each other in textures and shades. It is a place where nature has expressed herself in myriad moods.

Most Memorable Moments:

Driving on the world's highest drivable road provides the closest feeling of attaining Nirvana on the shores of serene Pangong Lake. I enjoyed the simplicity of mystical monastery and finally navigating through one of the most difficult terrains on one of season's worst day.

Best Campgrounds or RV Parks:

The Tsokar lake, Pang region, and Sarchu area offer great camping with descent facilities.

Best Sights and Activities:

I enjoyed navigating through the world’s highest roads - Khardung la (World's Highest: 18,380 feet), Taglang la (World's Second Highest: 17,800 feet), and Chang La (World's Third Highest: 17,580 feet). There is Leh's barren, yet strangely enigmatic, mountains and Pangong lake's too-good-to-be-true, breathtaking views. There are also mystic monasteries, friendly llamas, and their unbelievable, yet true, religious customs and related stories.

Best Dining and Entertainment:

A rooftop restaurant situated in the market place of Leh.

Most Scenic Route(s):

Leh and its neighboring areas are full of scenic routes. You go towards Lamayuru Monastery and will be spellbound by the different textures each mountain has of its own. Visit Khardung La and experience how it feels to be on the world's highest drivable road or how much nerve it takes to cross one of the world's most treacherous routes while passing Chang La. However, nothing could be as serene as sitting on the shores of the Pangong lake, watching its crystal-clear blue water glimmering with the reflection of snow-clad mountains.

Favorite Cities and Towns Along the Way:

Srinagar, Kargil, Leh, Keylong, and Manali.

Helpful Resources, Directories, Maps, and Guides for This Trip:

Although websites act as the most important depository of information available on Leh and the Ladakh region, contacting SECMOL (Student's Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh) for specific queries isn't be a bad idea at all. SECMOL serves the noble clause of funding education in Leh and Ladakh by offering tour programs to all in the most cost-efficient, friendly, and genuine manner (email: info@secmol.org/website: www.secmol.org). If you plan to drive from Delhi to Leh, “Lonely Planet Roadmap: India and Bangladesh” is a bible.

Quick Tips/Suggestions:

Do not exert yourself. Avoid booze and keep Leh clean. After all, you are fortunate enough to be at God's own resort.