Top Spots for Summer Vacation

Matheran 

A popular getaway for people from Mumbai and Pune, Matheran is a quiet hill station located on the Sahyadri range, at an altitude of 800 mts. Meaning 'forest on top', Matheran was discovered in 1850, by a district collector of Thane, Hugh Poyntz Malet, and the foundations for its development was laid down by Lord Elphinstone, the then Governor of Mumbai. 

Shimla

A magnificent hang-over of the British Raj, Shimla's cool environs still remain the biggest magnet for Indian tourists. Shimla has taken the best of what the British created, and mixed it with the quintessentially Indian - and every summer thousands of people from the plains enjoy themselves to the hilt in this popular summer retreat. 

Goa 

Goa is one of the most idyllic holiday destinations in India. This evergreen destination is a holidaymaker's paradise. A diverse tourist locale, Goa is celebrated the world over for its laidback culture, sun kissed beaches, gothic churches and rocking nightlife. Despite the fact that it gets really hot in Goa during the summer, it remains one of the most sought-after destinations in India thanks to some exciting hotel packages on offer for the tourist during this period. 

Srinagar 

What better summer destination to recommend than the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir! Srinagar is set around the beautiful Dal Lake, where picturesque houseboats or shikharas, carry tourists on boat rides around the placid lake. This scintillating hill resort set in the Kashmir valley is an ideal summer getaway. Srinagar basically has an alpine weather, as the summers are mild and winters are cold. 

Munnar 

Munnar offers summer tourists a mix of relaxation and adventure amidst beautiful landscapes. Munnar is a beautiful getaway landscaped with tea plantations, hills, lakes, forests and winding walks. Located at an altitude of 1,829 m, it is home to South India's highest peak called Anamudi, standing 2,695 m tall. 

Mahabaleshwar

Mahabaleshwar Hills

Today, Mahabaleshwar is a popular holiday resort and honeymoon spot, and an important pilgrimage site for Hindus. It is the site of Mahabaleshwar Temple. Many tourists visit nearby Panchgani. After the construction of a new highway, it is only a five-hour drive from Mumbai. Mahabaleshwar is also known for the honey and strawberries produced here. One can visit strawberry farms to enjoy the real flavour of the fruit. It is said that the climate of Mahabaleshwar is ideal for Strawberries and Mulberries. One can also get a taste of "Strawberries with Cream" (season:Jan -Feb) or "Mulberries with Cream" (season: April–May).

Boats on the Venna lake in Mahabaleshwar.

The Venna lake is one of the major tourist attractions of Mahabaleshwar. The lake is surrounded by trees on all sides. A late winter evening boat ride through the slight fog is well appreciated. Tourists can enjoy a boat ride over the lake or a horse ride next to the lake. A number of small eateries line the banks of the lake. The Mahabaleshwar city market and the S.T. bus stand is about 2KM from the lake and makes for a nice walk during the day. Most tour operators include the Venna lake in their tours. Most buses, private vehicles will stop at the Venna lake on their way to Mahabaleshwar on request.

With another popular and scenic hill resort Panchgani in close vicinity (about 20KM), most tourists often visit both places together. The 'Table-Land' phenomenon of nature at Panchgani is breath-taking. (Wikis)

Points to be visited 

• Arthur's Seat
• Kate's Point
• Needle Hole Point
• Monkey Point
• Wilson Point

Experience GIR

Want to experience the Jungle village life, Experience Gir!

Asiatic Lion Home - GIR

GIR falls under Kathiyawad which is one of region of Gujarat.  There are so many villages round the GIR and having a lot to explore; food, attributes, houses, streets, temples, festivals, living style, shops, language etc. People of GIR live in tribes and by profession most of farmers and generally male persons work in the farms and female members manages house hold this, they also manage and milk animals like buffalo & cows and take the milk to village dairies though sometimes female members also join them in field work as well. Few people are having small shops or they do vendor work.

Food is the specialty of this area. People of village are used to have Kathiyawadi and Gujarati traditional food in their meals. Their breakfast is tasty, in Gujarati they say, Thepla, Khakhra, Rotli/Bhakhri (Wheat baked Bread), Danhi (Curd) Gud-Ghee (Farm made Jaggery), Athanu (Seasonal Pickles) Murraba (Homemade fruit Jam) Khaman, Fafda, Jalebi (sweet) & Tea. They take Dal (Gram Pulse Dal), Chawal (Steamed or Jeera Rice), Shaak/Subji (Vegetable main curry), Sambhara (Cooked Salad), Kathol Subji (Pulse curry) Papad (Black gram baked starter) in lunch and in dinner they take Bajrano Rotlo (Millet Bread), Kadhi-Khichadi, Subji like Sev-Tomato, Ringna no Oro (Crushed Brinjal traditional recipe).

It is hundreds time better to stay at village homes than the hotels to experience GIR life very closely... come and experience the GIR Village life...

Fly @ 2013-SpiceJet

Fly at slashed air fare:

India's second biggest budget airline SpiceJet Ltd Friday slashed fares for one-way tickets across the country to a consolidated price of Rs 2,013, inclusive of all taxes, available till Sunday.

Indigo, in response to SpiceJet's price cuts, also reduced its fares to Rs 2,000 per one-way ticket to key destinations like Mumbai-Delhi, Mumbai-Banglore for February.

Read Full News: http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/spicejet-slashes-fares-one-way-095907257.html

Courtesy: Yahoo! Finance

Happy Journey

Best Stays @ GIR Jungle

This is the best time to visit GIR forest in Junagadh district of Gujarat in pink winter! The first thought comes in mind is about where to stay while visiting? I belong to GIR and let me suggest few best hotels and resort for your comfortable stay.

STAYS:

• If your budget is between 6500-10,000 INR/Day, I will suggest go to Hotel Vanvaso at Chitrod-Sangodra road, Sansan Gir. Second option is Hotel Fern at Sasan Gir highway and Gateway Hotel Gir Forest.
• Budget between 4000-5000 INR/Day; SukhSagar Gir Resort, Amidhara Resort,Sinh Sadan Guest House.
• If having low budget then you may have hotel green park near Bhalchhel Gir village though very attractive stay as well as there is hotel Leo and other guest houses in middle of Sasan Gir. There are lot of farm house stays near Jungle are choose wisely form various option!

ATTRACTIONS:

• Sinh Sadan -Sasan Gir
• GIR interpretation zone - Devaliya 25 Kms from Sasan
• GIR Jungle and hills tracking
• Village life

Happy trip!

Explore Kerala

If you travel in Kerala, you are in second heaven of India after Kashmir. Kerala is God’s own country where nature rules over all! Kerala is land of elephants and tigers. It’s also land of rich cultures and traditions. It’s favorite choice of travelers around the globe. Kerala is also known as Keralam, one of Indian state situated in south west. The most popular tourist attractions in the state are beaches, backwaters and hill stations.

Must visit if you are in Kerala… 

• Munnar-The Kashmir of the South 
• Thekkady-Showcase of the Wildlife of Kerala 
• Kumarakom-Haven of Serenity 
• Wayanad-Nature at her most beautiful self 
• Vagamon-Enchanted Meadows 
• Kollam-The land of Cashews 
• Anathapuri-The land of the Kings (Tiruvananthpuram) 
• Cochin-The Queen of Arabia (Gateway of South India) 
• Thrissur-The cultural capital of Kerala 
• Agastyakoodam-the abode of biodiversity 

Popular beaches

• Kovalam 
• Varkala 
• Kappad 
• Muzhappilangad 
• Bekal 

Popular hill stations at:

• Munnar 
• Wayanad 
• Wagamon 
• Peermade 
• Nelliampathi 
• Ponmudi

Kerala's ecotourism destinations include 12 wildlife sanctuaries and two national parks: Periyar Tiger Reserve, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary, and Eravikulam National Park are the most popular among them. (Wikipedia)

Blank Paper Ticket

Hello friends,

Today, I am sharing Indian Railway’s one of the best facility in term of train reservation booking. Indian Railways has a scheme named BPT – Blank Paper Ticket, Lets know what that is???

BPT

Blank Paper Ticket is a type of railway journey ticket. Blank Paper Ticket is a ticket issued by India Railways to break your journey at a station and then you can travel to your destination station in any train' s reserved compartment. In other words blank paper ticket is when a person wants to travel any destination and the direct train is not available then break journey is the last option for this type of journey. when the person approach to the ticket counter and demand the blank paper ticket, the ticket is provided to him with some concession in fare.

E.g. If you likely to travel Hyderabad-Deccan from Ahmedabad and you are not getting reservation in direct train or if you want to lay over in Mumbai for some hours for work, most probably you will book your ticket via Mumbai and search reservation in two different trains i) Ahmedabad-Mumbai ii) Mumbai- Hyderabad-Deccan. In this case you have to book two tickets but it will cost you more than direct train! As per the rule you can request a BPT on reservation counter and your ticket will be booked as Ahmedabad-Hyderabad-Deccan via Mumbai in two different trains. No extra charge will be made and you will save extra ticketing cost. Just you have to give two train names through which you want to travel. See the guidelines to fill up the reservation form below:

________________________________________________________

Train Name: Gujarat Mail  |  Date: 23/12/2011  | Class: 2AC  |  Berth: 01  

From Ahmedabad Jn. To Hyderabad-Deccan
Boarding at: Ahmedabad Jn.  |  Reservation up to: Dadar

________________________________________________________________

Onward Journey

________________________________________________________________

Train Name: Hyderabad Exp  |  Date: 24/12/2011  | Class: 2AC  |  Berth: 01
Boarding at: Dadar.  |  Reservation up to: Hyderabad-Deccan

________________________________________________________________

You will have two tickets with two different PNR nos. Second ticket will cost you RS. 0 that is why it is called Blank Paper Ticket. This facilty is not available in Rajdhani Exp and Shatabdi Exp.

Surat Outing!

Travelling for Surat (South Gujarat) to attend an occasion in in-laws! I had been last in Surat earlier in March. I have not shared anything about Surat with you, Let me tell you few fact about city which I am likely to visit!

Surat:

According to Wikis, previously known as Suryapur, is a well-developed commercial city of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities of the world. The city proper is the third cleanest city in India. Surat is Gujarat's second largest city and India's 8th most populated city.

Known for:

The city is located 306 km south of state capital Gandhinagar, and is situated on the left bank of the Tapi River the center being around 22 kms from its mouth.A moat divides the older parts of the city, with its narrow streets and handsome houses, and the newer suburbs. The city is largely recognized for its textile and diamond businesses. It is also known as the diamond capital of the world and the textile capital/Manchester textile city of India, a distinction it took over from Ahmedabad. It is also known as the "Embroidery capital of India" with the highest number of embroidery machines than any other city. 

History:

Surat is mentioned in the Sanskrit epic, the Mahābhārata, when Lord Krishna stopped there en route from Mathura to Dwarka. According to other later Sanskrit records, the area was ruled by the Western Chālukyas in 610 CE, and continued to be ruled by Hindu kings until it was captured by one of the generals of Quṭbuddīn Aibak. The Parsis started to settle there in the 12th century, and added greatly to its prosperity. In the early centuries during the reign of a Maratha King, the port of Surat was used as the gateway to Mecca for pilgrims of the Hajj from India's interior regions. Both the Makkai Pul and the Mughal Sarai guest house for hajjis (pilgrims) are indicators of this historical function. 

Local traditions state that the city as we know it today was founded in the last years of the fifteenth century by a Brahman named Gopi, who called it Suryapūr (City of the Sun). 

Today's Surat:

Surat is now India's second cleanest city. Surat was ranked the No.1 city in India to earn, invest and live. Surat has the highest No. of flyovers in Gujarat. Surat has a very good shopping area. Surat is also called "Mall City" now the days. Surat has numbers of mall and super markets like Escone Mall, Big Bazaar, Vishal Mega Mart, Sahaj Super Stoer, Diraj Sons, City Mall, House Full, etc., Surat has three multiplexes Fame - Raj Empire, Cityplus Multiplex- Adlabs, Valentine and numbers of Cimace all around the citi. Surat is famous for tasty and delicious foods, especially surti khamam, locho, surti undhayu etc.

Will back with more updates... C Yu

Patna

Hello friends,

I am here once again with new sharing from my last travel! I had been to Patna to conduct ConnectIT workshop for NASSCOM Foundation. Patna is the capital city of the north Indian state of Bihar. Let me discuss few interesting things what I came across.

Map of Patna, Bihar

I planned my journey and booked my tickets a week prior and by grace of the God I’d got confirmed train tickets. I planned to travel via Ahmedabad-Delhi as this is best route to travel Bihar and having so many train connections although Ahmedabad station is having train direct to Patna but it takes too much time to reach there. If you travel by Delhi route, you get fast trains as well as you save your time too.

Experienced Getting Appropriate Trains!

Train @ H. Nizamuddin Station

I preferred to travel through (12957) Suvarna Jayanti Raj Exp. train from Ahmedabad to New Delhi which takes 12 hours to reach New Delhi and (12424) Dibrugadh Raj Exp. From New Delhi to Patna which also reaches Patna in 12 hours. I had thoughts in my mind about return journey as I didn’t get availability in Delhi-Ahmedabad train so I planned my journey Patna-Delhi-Baroda-Veraval.

I booked my ticket in (02393) Patna-AVNT (Delhi) Exp. which starts from Patna at 20:00 IST and reaches Anand Vihar (Delhi) next day 12:00 IST as scheduled time. From Delhi I booked my ticket in (12248) H. Nizamuddin-BDTS Yuva Exp. for Baroda which runs from H. Nizamuddin (Delhi) on Saturday at 15:40 IST. I had 3 hours in spare to travel H. Nizamuddin station from New Delhi as I was reaching New Delhi from Patna at 12:00 O’clock. My mind insist me to track Patna-AVNT (Delhi) Exp. Train’s last running records and when I searched I amazed as the train was running 7-10 hours late each day. I change my mind quickly to travel in different train from Patna and I got availability in (12393) S Kranti Sup Exp. which runs 18:00 IST from Patna and reaches New Delhi in 14 hours on time. I preferred that train to get my connection from Delhi to Baroda. Thank God as this plan executed as per plan. I advise those who travel Delhi to Patna or Patna to Delhi to make train choices after studying train running past status as this route generally gets late.

Station Codes: VRL (Veraval) ADI (Ahmedabad) NDLS (New Delhi) PNBE (Patna) NZM (H. Nizamuddin) BRC (Baroda / Vadodara)

In Patna:

Participants @ ConnectIT Workshop

It was nice time in Patna with all participants, had good curricular interaction all 3 days. This time Miss Sneha Sahasrabudhe accompanied me to execute the workshop, she is from NASSCOM Foundation. I was staying in Hotel Republic at exhibition road and had workshop at Admerit College near Loyola School, Kurji road. It is almost at 15-20 minutes distance though it takes almost an hour to travel in traffic. Hotel was ok in term of facilities, not at great level but good at level of area. Hotel has no restaurant but having facility to serve food in your room! I didn’t taste the food of Hotel Republic as we went outside to have dinner both the days. We tried Biryani near the Hotel Republic but it was in local style, too mild! We tried to find other restaurant at Exhibition road but unfortunately not get decent and best one! We taste the Dominos’, it is good to dine.

For travelling within the city you may find Direct Auto, Shuttle Auto and Cycle Rickshaws. Choose as per your timings. Well, will back with few more things soon! Stay Tuned!

Travelling Patna

Friends,

Once again travelling Bihar tomorrow, Delivering sessions to NGO professionals of Patna in NASSCOM Foundation's ConnectIT workshop.

I had missed previous workshops in Patna as engrossed with other commitments. This would be second IT workshop of mine in Bihar state. Last time I had been in Muzaffarpur with the same purpose.

I will get back to you with more sharing of Bihar and travelling soon...

Do come again! Good Night!!

Ankleshwar

I travelled Ankleshwar (Gujarat) last weekend for back to back two sessions with youth in LEHER. I preferred to travel by train and worked out to find the appropriate train, unfortunately I didn’t find any direct train from Veraval although there is a train – Saurashtra Mail but it doesn’t have stoppage at Ankleshwar station!

Finally, I decided to travel via Rajkot junction which is almost 200 kms from my house and road transport, local trains are available to travel. I booked my upward ticket in 12998 Hapa-Ten SUP Exp. This runs from Hapa (Gujarat) to Tirunelveli (Tamilnadu). The train was scheduled to depart at 22:23 from Rajkot and I planned to catch the train by travelling in Veraval-Rajkot Intercity train from Veraval Junction at 17:45. I reached Veraval and inquired does the train reach Rajkot before Hapa-Ten SF Exp? In reply, I come to know that the Veraval-Rajkot Intercity reaches at destination around at 22:15 and chances to miss the next train if train gets late or signal problem! It was yet 16:30 on clock and I had 6 hours in spare, I changed my mind and rushed to ST bus station to catch an express bus for Rajkot! Generally, it takes 4 hours to reach Rajkot from Veraval. Fortunately, Una-Rajkot express bus was lasted by an hour and I got seat in it. Initially Bus speed was too slow and I was wondering how I will catch the train! But by the grace of God from Junagadh bus got speed and I reached Rajkot at 21:30 though bus had taken longer time than usual. I had a good company of Jaspal Solanki an 11th Science student in my Rajkot bus travelling, had words with him and chatted for long time. I had dinner at Dhaba and waited for train on Station at platform no. 3.

Train was little late by 10 minutes but journey time was not affected with it! I got into the train and slept well. What a train speed it was! Less stoppages, Fast speed in short a very good travelling. This train is suggested by me if you are travelling Mumbai from Rajkot or travelling Tamilnadu.

I had good time with Ankleshwar youth, had wonderful sessions and interactions. I thank all supporters who assisted and cooperated me for this trip! I back home by same night train. In between I enjoyed India Pakistan T20 WC match in Hotel. I stayed at Hotel Sha-Inn near to railway station Ankleshwar, at GIDC end. The hotel is good and very economical, Food quality is good and I liked their hospitality!

Thank U