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Goecha La: An unforgettable journey (Concluding Part)
On the way back: From Kokchurang to Tsokha“Often the best guys are just those that can suffer longer, who don’t give up. And it’s so easy to give up, when you’re on a mountain and it’s really hurting”...
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Uncle Sam’s cappuccino: 10 notable experiences in the US
My US trip in 2011 happened by chance, when a childhood friend who stays in Massachusetts invited me and I said ‘Yes’ on a sudden impulse. Otherwise, the US was nowhere on my priority list of ‘places...
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Chandraketugarh: A missing piece in the Bengal puzzle
This road is not merely a road. It's 2,500-year-old history. Underneath lie the ramparts of a fort The unmetalled track makes its way through grassy mounds of earth, sometimes winding past rows of tall...
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Paragliding in Sikkim
Paragliding in Ranka, East SikkimWhen I had settled on the Goecha La trek, I had decided almost at once that I would spend a few days in Gangtok after that. Apart from the Nathu La-Tsangu Lake...
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Rafting on the Beas: An edge-of-the-seat experience
The Beas in Kullu. Looks placid, doesn't it? Wait till you hit the rapidsWhen I told my editor that I was on my way to Himachal Pradesh for my second Himalayan trek and an accompanying trip, she asked...
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Hampta Pass: On a Himalayan High (Part I)
The Beas. Taken somewhere on the way to Manali from Kalka“I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight...
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Hampta Pass: On a Himalayan High (Part II)
On way to Chika from Jobra“Occasionally I have come across a last patch of snow on top of a mountain in late May or June. There’s something very powerful about finding snow in summer” — Andy...
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Hampta Pass: On a Himalayan High (Part III)
On way to Balu Ka Gera from Chika“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books”...
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Hampta Pass: On a Himalayan High (Part IV)
Team on its way to Hampta Pass. Looming straight ahead is the Indrasan peak“I love to sit on a mountain top and gaze. I don’t think of anything but the people I care about and the view” — Julian...
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Hampta Pass: On a Himalayan High (Concluding Part)
Down in the meadows on way to Jobra, the last campsiteGetting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory — Ed Viesturs===================================================Continued from previous...
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An evening in Manali
The Beas at ManaliWhat do you do if you have only half a day to spend in Manali? You are spoilt for choice actually, because the hill town in Himachal, which is a popular tourist destination as well as...
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Of Naga Babas and Chillum-waale Babas
The Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad in 2013The festival that attracts the second-largest congregation of Hindus ended last week. Gangasagar Mela is the annual ‘fair’ held on the sankranti (last day) of...
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Ladakh: A Photo Story (Part I)
The Ladakh trip happened almost on a sudden impulse in 2012. I did not own my beloved Canon SX50 then. So all these pictures were taken on the Canon A580, a very basic digicam. But Ladakh is such an...
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Ladakh: A Photo Story (Part II)
Here's the second part of the Ladakh journey in pictures (click here for Part I). One of the most breathtaking and photogenic places in India.Confluence of the Indus and ZanskarLadakhi dancersHimalayan...
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China Diaries 1: A Hanging Temple And A Walk On Water
Xiankong temple, popularly known as China's hanging temple“It’s shaking,” I heard ‘U’ say as he walked gingerly up a narrow bridge that joined two sections of the structure. At least three/four other...
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China Diaries 2: Date With The 17-Metre Buddha
Rows of 13 pillars on each side welcome visitors to the cavesIt was late afternoon when our bus rolled into the parking lot outside the Yungang Grottoes complex. The sun was already casting long...
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China Diaries 3: 24 Hours in an Ancient City
Pingyao Ancient City: A shopper's paradiseSomething that had disappointed me immensely about Shanghai was the fact that it was difficult to find anything really ‘Chinese’ about it. If you ignore the...
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China Diaries 4: Five-Plateau Mountain
The Wutai Shan (Wutai Mountain) temple complex. The snow-clad peak on the horizon is the North peak of Wutai. It's the highest point in north China. The white stupa, symbolic of the complex, belongs to...
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Shanghai Noon
The famous Shanghai skyline, which has cropped up only in the last 26 years, seen from the Bund across the HuangpuThe pride of Shanghai — the Jin Mao Tower (basting syringe), the Shanghai World...
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Shanghai Nights
Nanjing (pronounced Nanking) Road “You’ll lose your way,” was the first thing we heard when I and fellow journalist ‘U’ said we wanted to return to the hotel and explore Shanghai on our own. We were at...
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