Opulent Elegance: A Journey through Ornate India (Part-4)

TravellingCamera always loved clicking Architecture Photographs and interestingly most of the published photographs so far are Architecture Photographs. Recently we received some queries about Architecture Photography and that made us write about it today. We will talk about all possible aspects of Architecture Photography & will try to address following questions :


Many of you may know that Jama Masjid is largest mosque of India (which is controversial and you will few details below) and situated in hustle bustle of Old Delhi. You may have seen those large Eid gathering photographs of Jama Masjid and those delicious street food shops of Chandi-Chowk or Chawri Bazar but may not really know some of the lesser known facts about this mosque which is very important for religious standpoint as well as heritage & architecture. On internet, there are also claims that Jama Masjid in Delhi is largest mosque in India, and at some places the largest mosque in India is Taj-ul-Masjid in Bhopal.

- Zoom lenses make it easier to capture close views of some architectural features that would otherwise be hard to reach.

3. Which are best camera lenses for Architecture Photography? When we talk about Architecture, it can be represented through a wide-angle view of a building, specific elements of the building (like windows, doors, stairs, roofs etc) or interiors. And by now you may have figured out that different kind of lenses would be needed for Architecture Photography. Apart from capturing the view, right perspective is equally important and choice of lens defines perspective as well as ability to capture a view with appropriate quality.

- Prime lenses offer sharp images with less distortion. Prime lenses are helpful when you may not want to click wide view of the building.

- Wide angle lenses are also useful for structure photography. (or fish eye - although they create distortions, which needs to be handled in post-processing.) Above photograph is example of Architecture photograph clicked with Wide angle. They can be a big help when you’re trying to fit a huge structure like Qutub minar into the frame. You need to be careful when click photographs with wide angle - leave some space around the subject so that perspective can be corrected later & photograph can be cropped. This Blogpost takes care of basic questions about Architecture Photography and in next one we will cover Art aspect of Architecture Photography.

The very first step of practicing Architecture Photography is - Identify the location or place which you want to shoot : If you deliberately want to focus on Architecture Photography, practice is only way to learn basic things & continuously learn from good as well as not so good results you produce. Above photograph is clicked inside Gaiety Theatre in Shimla, India. Some of the buildings, bridges, parks, structures around you can offer great opportunities to practice Architecture Photography. Some of the heritage buildings, museums, & government buildings can be fantastic places to explore Architecture Photograph. You get plenty of opportunities to play with exteriors, interiors, finer details, colours, shapes, texture, shadows etc. I have been fortunate to be around Delhi where I get access to some of the most beautiful British, Mughal and modern architecture with huge variety, scale, shapes & colours.


Prepare well before you start shooting : Know more about the building, it's history and why it's popular. Look at sample photographs to get inspiration and try different ideas, before you start generating your own ideas. Spend good amount of time exploring the space well. Creating impactful photograph needs lot of home-work before you press that trigger on your camera. And in case of Architecture photography, you have various things which can help in doing effective home-work. When you have identified a place you want to click, do some research about the place - when was it built, what was the need which made someone build it, who architected/built & what kind of material used, architecture style, any special features etc. This would help you know some special feature of the building you may want to shoot when you go there. For example - before going to Red Fort in Delhi, it's important to know what are different parts of this huge fort and which one is special and why. What exactly is Diwan-e-Aam and how it's different than Diwan-e-khas - conceptually as well architecture wise. And in 1600s, how architect thought of taking care of weather conditions etc. Then you will be able to click meaningful photographs with more relevant stories associated with them.

Cloudy skies, snowfall or fog can add different punch to the mood of the photograph. These elements can be make a simple view more interesting. Above photograph is clicked in Spiti Valley of Himalayan State of India.


Another aspect if including humans or important aspects of an architecture. Above photograph is clicked around Badami Caves in Karnataka State of India. There are so many monkeys around this place. If you wish, you can avoid monkeys in your frame but adding some interesting actions by them in photograph can make it interesting. So you may want to include people about how they use the building and its surroundings.

Be Creative with Perspective when clicking Architecture Photographs : When it comes to Architecture Photography, by default we get attracted to most important parts of the building or a compound. With that you lose the chances of creating unusual photographs. So it's important to look around and in unusual directions. Apart from walking around the usual routes, take different paths by being respectful about the rules of the space. If you are not supposed to climb up anywhere, please don't do that and be responsible. Above photograph is clicked by placing the camera in a hole and tried multiple shots. Alignment is corrected later in post processing. This photograph is clicked in Belur Temples in Karnataka State of India.

At times you can try getting close shots showing some specific elements and focusing on particular details.


All common rules of Compositions apply to Architecture Photography as well, so be ware of that to make best use. For example, above photograph shows tree as framing elements fo the temples in the photograph. Above photograph is clicked from entry gate of Pattadakal Temples in South India.

And last but not the least, keep changing camera directions b keeping a sharp eye on the view and you will find some great photographs. Above photograph shows a photograph clicked by pointing camera towards sky. This photograph is clicked in streets of Churu in Rajasthan State of India, which is famous for it's Havelis and Frescos.

Another challenging situation is photographing interiors of a building but also want to capture some of the details you can see outside through a window. The interior lighting contrasting with conditions outside might make it difficult. In this case as well, clicking multiple shots of same frame for HDR processing can help you take care of lighting difference.

TravellingCamera always loved clicking Architecture Photographs and interestingly most of the published photographs so far are Architecture Photographs. Recently we received some queries about Architecture Photography and that made us write about it today. In Continuation to Part-1 , we will talk about all possible aspects of Architecture Photography & will try to address relevant questions. In this part of the series, we will mainly focus on subject - identifying a subject, observing it well from all directions, know about it & figure out any information of interest, trying different composition rules and perspectives etc.

Taj Mahal is one of the most visited tourist place in India and popular amongst local as well as international travelers. I have been to the Taj Mahal a few times and came back with mixed feelings, but some of the memories from Taj are still fresh because of certain exceptional experiences around this grand monument built in 1600s. We will get to know more about Taj Mahal in this post, along with details like how to reach Agra, along with other tips to make your experience most enjoyable by avoiding unnecessary hassles & by taking safety measures.

Let's talk about best time of the day to see Taj Mahal. I was checking few reports and it seems that approximately 8 million visitors come to Taj Mahal every year. With simple mathematics, thousands of visitors come to Taj Mahal every day. So my first recommendation is get to ticket counter as soon as possible and try to enter the Taj Mahal campus in very first lot. That's the only way to appreciate this beauty in best possible way when lot of people are not in. It brings lot of difference. Other related aspect of getting their early is - in winters early mornings are foggy and that adds extra punch to the view. And then you can roam inside the campus till fog goes away and appreciate the beauty of Taj Mahal in clear light as well.

Above photograph shows a view from one of the gates to enter into Taj Mahal compound. Certainly this doesn't cover everything but gives a view of front part. The Taj Mahal complex is set around a large 980 feet square charbagh or Mughal garden. The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four-quarters of the garden into 16 flowerbeds. Halfway between the tomb and gateway in the centre of the garden is a raised marble water tank with a reflecting pool positioned to reflect the image of the mausoleum. The elevated marble water tank is called al Hawd al-Kawthar. You can't see that tank in above photograph as that's too far from where this photograph is clicked. Look closely at the photograph above and notice lot of people walking just below the Taj Mahal. That would give you a sense about it's size and grandness.

The construction of Taj Mahal employed approximately 20000 artisans under the guidance of Ustad Ahmad Lahauri who has architected many other monuments in India. Red Fort is one of the others deigned/architected by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among the finest in Mughal architecture. As the surface area changes, the decorations are refined proportionally. In line with the Islamic prohibition against the use of anthropomorphic forms, the decorative elements can be grouped into either calligraphy, abstract forms or vegetative motifs. Throughout the complex are passages from the Qur'an that comprise some of the decorative elements.

Above photograph is very special for me which was clicked from my first helicopter ride, when I was going to Morena for an Aerial photo-shoot. It's not a sharp image because of lot of vibrations in a helicopter and I had no option but to click with hand-hold camera on a not so clear day. Irrespective of all that, I love this aerial view of Taj Mahal, huge green patch in front of it and Yamuna flowing behind it. And notice that Yamuna is looking blue in this aerial shot of Taj Mahal. Certainly this photograph is edited but you see the colors which were present, may be a little more saturated.

Are you wondering what this non-Taj photograph is doing in this post? Above photograph shows Humayun's Tomb which is in Delhi and a smaller version of Taj Mahal & in red stone. The Taj Mahal is inspired by design traditions of Persian and earlier Mughal architecture. Some of the key examples were Gur-e-Amir (the tomb of Timur in Samarkand), Humayun's Tomb in Delhi which inspired the Charbagh gardens and hasht-behesht (architecture) plan of the site, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb (sometimes called the Baby Taj), and Shah Jahan's own Jama Masjid in Delhi. While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble and this monument looks stunning during full-moon night. Thousands people coming every day to see this Magnificent architectural piece and the trend is increasing with time. During your visit, if you wish you know about it's history and stories associated, we recommend that you take an official guide because right information during explorations make your visit more memorable.

Red Fort is one of the 3 World Heritage sites in Delhi and the other 2 important world heritage sites in capital city of India are - Qutub Minar & Humayun's Tomb. I remember my first visit to Delhi with my maternal grandfather. The first place he showed me in Delhi was Red Fort. There are multiple reasons why Red Fort is so special. It has very interesting historical stories associated and one of the most important national events takes place at Red Fort & country's Prime Minister addresses the nation from top of it through all media channels across of the country relaying it. I can imagine some India don't know about other important World Heritage sites in Delhi but there is very less probability of that happening in case of Red Fort.

Above is the view of Red Fort entry from the side along with long queue of people want to visit Red Fort. There is an entry ticket to go inside. After getting entry ticket, one needs to queue up to enter into this huge monument in Delhi. And typically Red Fort is open from Sunrise till sunset, like many other monuments in Delhi. Above photograph shows Lahori gate of Red Fort. The Lahori Gate is the main gate to the Red Fort, which is named for its orientation towards the city of Lahore. Every year on India's Independence Day, the prime minister hoists the Indian flag at Red Fort's main gate and delivers a nationally broadcast speech. During older times, The Lahori and Delhi Gates were used by the public, and the Khizrabad Gate was for the emperor.

As you go inside the Red Fort, you see lot of Mughal architecture along with British architecture. Above photograph shows some of the structures built during British era in India. These are British Army Barracks and that's how they look very different than other structures inside Red Fort. These institutional buildings are all quite pleasant with varied and with modest but quite attractive decorative touches, large cooling archways and brilliant stone work. William Dalrymple calls them - "some of the most crushingly ugly buildings ever thrown up by the British Empire"

Above photograph shows Diwan-e-khas - Hall of Private Audience with main dignitaries. Diwan-e-khas is constructed of white marble as you can see in this photograph and surrounded by beautiful & lush lawns visible in the photograph. When you go close to it you will be able to appreciate some of the artistic and technical marvels of Red Fort. This space used to have water streams running under the structure to keep the space cool. It's open from 3 sides with netted wall on fourth side that makes the space airy. If you look at the walls and pillars of this space, you would see some beautiful carvings. It seems some of these designs had silver which is not visible now, but it gives great exposure of art-forms of Mughal times.

The Red Fort has an area of 250+ acres which is enclosed by 2.4+ kilometres of outer walls of Red Fort in Delhi. The Red fort is octagonal with beautiful marble, floral decorations and the fort's double domes exemplifying Mughal architecture. Whole architecture is built by keeping Delhi's weather conditions in mind. Look at the bottom part of above photograph which shows path created for continuous water flow through these structure to maintain temprature.


Above photograph shows a tunnel like structure located past the Lahore Gate and there is a market. This market is known as the Chatta Chowk. Supposedly there used to be market during Mughal time as well to fulfil needs of women of Mughal family living in Red Fort at that point of time. Chhatta Chowk (or Meena Bazaar) used to the place to sell silk, jewellery and other items for the imperial household during the Mughal period. This market was earlier known as Bazaar-i-Musaqqaf or Chatta-bazaar. As of today this market sells stuff to tourists - souvenirs, jewellery and specific kinds of fabric. If you wish to buy anything from this market, you have to be good negotiator.


The Red Fort in Capital city of India used to be main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan built Red Fort in 1630s, when he wanted to move his capital from Agra to Delhi. Red Fort was architected by Ustad Ahmad Lahori who also constructed the Taj Mahal - one of the 7 wonders of the world.


Red Fort showcases a high level of ornamentation and the Kohinoor diamond was reportedly part of the furnishings. Artworks at Red Fort includes Persian, European and Indian arts. All that leaves richness in terms of form, expression and colours. Red Fort is huge space to explore and one can easily spend half a day inside the fort & even more if interested in finer details of the heritage & history associated with Red Fort in Delhi. All these photographs are clicked 10 years and I would love to visit the place again & click better photographs in next visit.


Above photograph is clicked while we were walking away from Jama Masjid towards Chandani Chowk metro station. Let's talk about how to reach Jama Masjid from different parts of Delhi. Metro is best way to reach here and there is big no from my side to think about driving here. You can drive to Cannought Place, park your car and take metro ride from Rajiv Chowk metro station to Chawri Bazar metro station. After taking an exit from Chawri Bazar metro station, either you can walk to Jama Masjid or take a cycle-rickshaw. Most likely walk and rickshaw ride will take same time, so it's only a choice about putting some physical effort or taking a comparatively comfortable ride on cycle-rickshaw.

7. Why limit to still photography? Create interesting slow-mo or time-lapse videos. Phone cameras have some great features to capture motion. Like making time-lapse of clouds during monsoons, or slow motion while playing cricket. But be more creative with perspectives, and other rules of composition. Related Blogpost - Photography Composition Rules - Change your 'Point of View' in Photography

Chauntra is a quiet town of Himachal Pradesh where there is this beautiful monastery surrounded by beautiful mountains and there are other places of interest in this part of Himachal - Bir Billing, Barot, Baijnath, Dharmshala, Mcleodganj, Palampur etc.

Baijnath is a quiet place and easily reachable from Palampur through wonderful drive through tea gardens. Baijnath has a shiva temple on a hill facing a water stream on one side and green landscape on other. There are many beautiful drives around Baijnath. Check this link to know more about Baijnath and interesting places around it.

Hatu peak is phenomenal place around Narkanda in Shimla region of Himachal Pradesh. There is a beautiful temple on the top and this place offers great panoramic views of surrounding hills & valleys. Hatu peak is quite popular amongst bikers and hikers. This peak is one of the eary receivers of snowfall. Check out more about Hatu Peak in link above photograph to plan your trip. There is a HPPWD guest house at the top if you can get booking in that one.

Does Subject reflect your belief, vision or how you look at the world? Photography is a way to express how you look world — people and objects that matter to you always make a great subject. Some photographers love shooting flowers, others birds or chairs etc. Find what inspires you and then you have found your photography subject. But above all it's not about genre you want to follow but keep creating photographs which touches you and can express something meaningful for viewers. Like above photograph expresses colors in it's best form along with showcasing the sense of travel to a place which can blue sky and windy environment. Having a great subject in your photograph or a boring subject presented in an unusual way is the art of creating outstanding photographs.

Dhanachuli is a small village in Kumaon region of Uttarakhand state in North India. It's not as popular as Nainitaal, Bhimtal, Mukteshwar in Kumaon but offer very peaceful environment and offer great walk into the history with some of these abandoned houses. Not only that village is full of life with flowers, birds, butterflies and stars during night. There are few homestays in the village as well as a handful hotels including a boutique hotel called Te Aroha. During our visit to this part of the country, we also drove to another village called Sonapani.

In this series on Photography Composition Rules, today we will be talking about another very interesting and one of my favourites - Frames. No, we are not talking about frames you put around your printed photographs but frames you can find while clicking photographs. These frames can be made up of natural elements like trees, leaves, flower or things like bridges, doors, pillars, arches, monuments, people and so on. We will try to share advantages of having farming in your photographs through some examples from my own photographs. These may not be some of the best examples of frames but I assure that you would be able to understand the purpose of this composition rule and how to make your photographs more beautiful through this Photography Composition Rule.

In this series on Photography Composition Rules, today we will be talking about another very interesting and one of my favourites - Frames. No, we are not talking about frames you put around your printed photographs but frames you can find while clicking photographs. These frames can be made up of natural elements like trees, leaves, flower or things like bridges, doors, pillars, arches, monuments, people and so on. We will try to share advantages of having farming in your photographs through some examples from my own photographs. These may not be some of the best examples of frames but I assure that you would be able to understand the purpose of this composition rule and how to make your photographs more beautiful through this Photography Composition Rule.


Sometimes finding that perfect point of view may mean you doing crazy things. Above photograph is clicked in a stepwell when it was raining. To get this shot with rain-drops visible in the photograph I had to stand in rain for some time to get right photograph. Related Blogpost - Quick-Tips to click Great Selfies with your Phone Camera

Shapes can also be used in a similar way. Imagine a triangle and position three points of focus at the end of each point where the lines of the shape meet. By doing so you create balance in your shot as well as subtly guiding the eye.

We visited North Kerala in January 2015, and today when I think back at that time, all I remember is great hospitality, greenery, and a beautiful Bamboo Village. In this Time-Turner post, let me turn back time to that exciting trip to the Bamboo Village of Thrikkapatta in Wayanad region of Kerala. The Time-Turner series is my opportunity to pen down the lingering memories and impressions of a place I have visited. It helps me relive the experience a bit and also reflect upon the aspects of the place that stood out the most to me. For more Time-Turner posts, follow this link: The Time-Turner Series. I remember when we met Suneesh, our host at the Bamboo Village. Our first impression was that of a simple, yet sophisticated, well-educated man. And he turned out to be a journalist and a social activist. He was a great host. During our stay at his place, he ensured that we make best of our time and explore things which are worth spending time. He took us on walks around the village and showed us vegetation, villagers busy in various activities, eco-tourism initiatives in the village and how Uruva is ensuring that young folks spend more time on their health instead of drugs. Suneesh stayed alone in his house and his wife worked abroad. All through our stay, his sister helped him with food and other preparations. Throughout our stay, we saw them smiling all the time. Especially his sister keeps the place cheerful. She was a great cook and an excellent singer. One of the major highlights of our stay in the Bamboo Village was the food that Suneesh's sister cooked for us. We got to taste most of the local dishes in this stya. Suneesh's sister made it a point to cook something new for us in breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks with tea. Most of the things served during our stay were cooked fresh with stuff grown in their own farms. She cooked several kinds of fish in different styles. Cooking style was very different but we enjoyed eating most of the meals served. Although we had to put efforts in eating the fish, but it was worth :). She even cooked chicken and biryani for us on our last night there. Our room was simple and neat though I did find a lizard in the bathroom. Suneesh had a hearty laugh when he found out that I was afraid of lizards. He had thought that I had called him because of a spider. According to him, it was more acceptable to be afraid of spiders. This homestay was in middle of a village and there was lot to explore in the village - Bamboo industry, agriculture, rubber /coffee plantations, coconut & areca nut trees etc. I especially remember when he took us to explore a bamboo cottage that was still being built. It smelled so wonderfully of Bamboo and looked so plush. It was a two-storey house and I wished I could settle down there forever. There was full freedom at the homestay. Most of the time was spent in the drawing room. Lot of discussions and knowledge sharing sessions. Suneesh wanted to know some basics of creating pages on Facebook and managing them. They even performed one of their church songs for us. The village also runs a small industry of bamboo products and spices. We bought some interesting things from there. However, right when we were in the shop, I received a call from my sister that my father had suffered a feinting episode and was admitted to the hospital. Though we were supposed to checkout, Suneesh's sister stayed longer while we decided the next steps. They were very kind and supportive. In fact I remember that Suneesh called up later and checked on me as well. I carry some really fond memories of this village. The misty mornings, the rubber plantations, the great food and above all, the patience, kindness, and hospitality we experienced there. The village is a model of sustainable tourism and is a model worth emulating.

Creative Ceilings are one of the favourites of Travellingcamera and we have been sharing some posts specially dedicated to such creativity. In this blogpost we are sharing about carved Ceilings we saw at Badami Cave temples in Karnataka state of India. Most of these are influenced by religious faith and beliefs. We loved the Brahma on Hamsa in cave-3 on the ceiling but not just that.

  
Badamai Cave Temples are most popular places to explore in this region. There are 4 cave temples here and 3 are dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu, while the 4th one is dedicated to Jainism. Each temple has brilliant carvings and intricate art-forms. It's hard to imagine how people would have carved temples & god forms to depict stories. Wondering if there are artists in India who can create such things today and if government or other organizations are supporting these initiatives. Note the dancing shiva in the first photograph which is clicked near cave-1 in Badami. Time needed to explore Cave Temples : 2-3 hrs Entry Ticket Fee : 5 Rs for Indians and 100 Rs for Foriegners ($1.5)


Badami Fort was built by Tipu Sultan in 18th century and it has few watchtowers and 2 shiavalayas. Few other essential things include Durga Temple, Lad Khan Temple, Ravanaphadi Cave Temples, Huchimalli Temple, Meganagudi group of temples, Gowda Temple & lot others. Timings - 6am to 6pm Bhuthanatha Temples is located around the beautiful Agstya lake in Badami and it's mainly dedicated lord Shiva. This temple is made up of sandstone, which is locally available in Badami.


The ceilings show Vedic deities such as Agni and Indra, along with Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Other deities displayed include love god and goddess Kama and Rati respectively, as well as Nayikas with various emotional expressions. The carvings show the same vahana for the various gods and goddesses that are found in contemporary Hinduism. Evidence of pigment remains have survived and are visible in the ceiling. It is likely that the ceiling was elaborately painted like those in Ajanta Caves of Maharashtra. Open Air Museum is another interesting place in Badami which has 4 separate section and 2 of them are open air. This museum has plenty of things from mythological & prehistoric era. This part of South India has certainly lot to explore & impress. Aihole in this region is a store of temples & heritage. Aihole has plenty of temples and ruins spread over the town and that makes it very special. It's also advisable to accompany a guide who can share about Aihole it's history and how it transformed over a period of time.


In above photograph, Vishu is sitting on Adisheesha. This is clicked at Cave temples of Badami. Bhanshankari Temple is also located in Bagalkot district of Karnataka. This is considered as one of the important shrines in Karnataka state of India.


Cave 3 also shows fresco paintings on the ceiling, some of which are faded and broken. These are among the earliest known surviving evidence of fresco painting in Indian art. The Hindu god Brahma is seen on Hamsa vahana in one of the murals. The wedding of Shiva and Parvati, attended by various Hindu deities is the theme of another. Vellamma temple in Badami is another place to visit in this area. After exploring Badami, I am most impressed by Cave Temples. You can notice a mosque between these 2 rocky mountains. It's called Mosque of Badami in Karnataka state of India. This is close to the entry gate of Cave temples and the bus stand.


Agstya Lake is considered as a holy lake of Badami which faces famous cave temples of Badami. Apart from caves, this lake is surrounded by redstone temples & the mosque of Badami. While we were walking around the caves, this lake was clearly visible from cave-2 and beyond. It was certainly a good place for many of the co-travellers to get a photograph clicked.

4. SHIMLA Shimla is one of the most popular tourist destinations in North India and that's why we also receive lot of queries through form on our blog. Most of the folks commonly ask - Shimla Weather, Shimla Hotels, How to reach Shimla from Chandigarh, main places to visit in Shimla, Shimla mall road etc. In past, we have shared some of these details on our blog, but here is an attempt to write a comprehensive post which helps you with details like - ways to reach Shimla by bus, car, train or by air, main places to see, how to find hotel/resort which fits your budget, how to plan your time well in the town or around etc.

7. MANALI-KULLU The famous hill station where lot of bollywood movies are shot or one of the top honeymoon destinations in North India or the place to easily see snow capped mountains and even reach places to touch snow. That's Kullu and Manali. Manali is main touristy town and Kullu is close-by and district headquarter with so many other things of interest to expplore.

Sardar Sarovar Dam is very close to the famous Statue of Unity in Gujrat state of India. This whole area developed so well and now dam like Sardar Sarovar can also be seen from close-by building. This blogpost shares more about Sardar Sarovar Dam, it's scale and how Gujrat Tourism has transformed this place to make it accessible to tourists.

Above photograph shows the grand view of Sardar Sarovar Dam. This view reminded me of Bhakhra Dam which is Himachal Pradesh state of India. But there is a major difference. No one is allowed to stop near the Dam. There is a good stretch of road which is monitored by security personnel. We were wondering why there is no security concern at Sardar Sarovar Dam and why so many tourists are allowed to go close to the dam view-point.

Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Sidi Sayyed Mosque - A small structure located at an ignorable location in Ahmedabad Bhadra Fort used to have royal palaces and the beautiful Nagina Baugh and the royal Ahmed Shah's Mosque on the west side and an open area known as Maidan-Shah on one of the other sides of the sort. During royal era fort complex was used as a royal court. Teen Darwaza is very close by and stands in the middle of the market area of Old Ahmedabad, although Teen Darwaza is in pretty bad shape and spaces under it was quite stinky. The road beyond Teen Darwaza leads to Manek Chowk, which is popular for Jewellery shops and night food market. Jama Masjid of Ahmedabad is also pretty close to this place. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Law Ground Night Market - A colourful sight in Ahmedabad city of Gujrat Old walled city of Ahmedabad has lot of such gems to explore and its a place which must be explored on foot. So just walk around and make best of your time around Old Ahmedabad.

Recently I visited The Westin Resorts in Sohna for a Business offsite. It was a 2 days/1 night event with very packed agenda/schedule. This blog shares some of the experiences about the property by keeping business related stuff aside and how the experience was to stay in this property in National Capital Region of India. In this blogpost you will figure out why this place can be a great place for quick weekend break with kids and why it's not ideal for families who want to spend some extended time with family along with exploring something new. Let's get started.

Above photograph shows one of the cottage with 4 rooms. These were 2 story structures with 2 huge rooms in each with pretty good facilities inside. Unfortunately I don't have photographs of the rooms but should be available on resort website. Related Blogpost - A Memorable Trip to Udaipur to Celebrate the special day || A Photo Journey by Smriti Mehra

Whole resort is spread over 40+ acres of land and there are golf-carts available for guests to move between one point to another including rooms, restaurants, spa, gym etc. Related Blogpost - Sheetalvan Resort surrounded by colorful orchards of Apples, Pears, Kiwis, Almonds & Cherries @ Kotgarh, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

If there is one place in India that appears to be straight out of fairytales, it is Yuksom in Sikkim. And when I think of that place, I remember peace, serenity, greenery, birds, flowers, fish, and all things pretty and beautiful. And that is why it is the ideal candidate for the Time-Turner Series. The Time-Turner series is my opportunity to pen down the lingering memories and impressions of a place I have visited. It helps me relive the experience a bit and also reflect upon the aspects of the place that stood out the most to me. We had planned a couple of days’ stay in Pelling but only half a day in Yuksom. If there was any regret during our Sikkim tour, it was that we didn't spend enough time at Yuksom. We should have at least stayed a night. Waking up in this wonderful town would have been some experience. Because it looked like a place where pastel-colored musicals are filmed. A place where nothing bad can ever happen. One memory that stands out in particular is that of two ducks walking side-by-side along the road against a backdrop of lush green on the sidewalk. I think I may have built the scene up a little in my memory, but then it was such a scene. And then we chanced upon the most ethereal lake possible. Lake Kathog (also known as Karthok) revealed itself to us suddenly as we crossed a grassy trail after purchasing a trivially priced ticket. It was silent except the rush of winds through the trees and on the grasses. There were a few birds putting up their most melodious performance. Countless goldfish swam around peacefully. Can anything be more pristine? The next memory that stands out is that of the long trek to Dubdi Monastery. While the Monastery lies at the top of a hill, with a steep, paved walk leading up to it through the forest, the destination is completely worth the arduous journey. I remember lush lawns, classic dampness of a place high up in the mountains, amid clouds. I also remember colourful flowers. There was also another couple enjoying the same sight. We also remember a visit to the Coronation Throne. The Coronation Throne is placed in a compound made of stone. There is a temple and a large prayer wheel too in the compound. The place is quiet and serene and has a few benches here and there where you can sit and just be. It was heaven if there is one. We reached the Yuksom Bazaar and occupied a table at the Traditional Inn restaurant. We ordered food and watched a swallow dart in and out of the neighboring restaurant. Neither the swallow nor the restaurant owner were perturbed by each other's presence. If I talk about my most favorite places in the world, Yuksom is definitely somewhere on the top of the list. To my mind it is a slice of Scottish Highlands right here in India. It is also one of the places right out of the Enid Blyton fairytales. It is a place I would love to go back to and just walk around day after day after day.

If there is one place in India that appears to be straight out of fairytales, it is Yuksom in Sikkim. And when I think of that place, I remember peace, serenity, greenery, birds, flowers, fish, and all things pretty and beautiful. And that is why it is the ideal candidate for the Time-Turner Series. The Time-Turner series is my opportunity to pen down the lingering memories and impressions of a place I have visited. It helps me relive the experience a bit and also reflect upon the aspects of the place that stood out the most to me. We had planned a couple of days’ stay in Pelling but only half a day in Yuksom. If there was any regret during our Sikkim tour, it was that we didn't spend enough time at Yuksom. We should have at least stayed a night. Waking up in this wonderful town would have been some experience. Because it looked like a place where pastel-colored musicals are filmed. A place where nothing bad can ever happen. One memory that stands out in particular is that of two ducks walking side-by-side along the road against a backdrop of lush green on the sidewalk. I think I may have built the scene up a little in my memory, but then it was such a scene. And then we chanced upon the most ethereal lake possible. Lake Kathog (also known as Karthok) revealed itself to us suddenly as we crossed a grassy trail after purchasing a trivially priced ticket. It was silent except the rush of winds through the trees and on the grasses. There were a few birds putting up their most melodious performance. Countless goldfish swam around peacefully. Can anything be more pristine? The next memory that stands out is that of the long trek to Dubdi Monastery. While the Monastery lies at the top of a hill, with a steep, paved walk leading up to it through the forest, the destination is completely worth the arduous journey. I remember lush lawns, classic dampness of a place high up in the mountains, amid clouds. I also remember colourful flowers. There was also another couple enjoying the same sight. We also remember a visit to the Coronation Throne. The Coronation Throne is placed in a compound made of stone. There is a temple and a large prayer wheel too in the compound. The place is quiet and serene and has a few benches here and there where you can sit and just be. It was heaven if there is one. We reached the Yuksom Bazaar and occupied a table at the Traditional Inn restaurant. We ordered food and watched a swallow dart in and out of the neighboring restaurant. Neither the swallow nor the restaurant owner were perturbed by each other's presence. If I talk about my most favorite places in the world, Yuksom is definitely somewhere on the top of the list. To my mind it is a slice of Scottish Highlands right here in India. It is also one of the places right out of the Enid Blyton fairytales. It is a place I would love to go back to and just walk around day after day after day.

If there is one place in India that appears to be straight out of fairytales, it is Yuksom in Sikkim. And when I think of that place, I remember peace, serenity, greenery, birds, flowers, fish, and all things pretty and beautiful. And that is why it is the ideal candidate for the Time-Turner Series. The Time-Turner series is my opportunity to pen down the lingering memories and impressions of a place I have visited. It helps me relive the experience a bit and also reflect upon the aspects of the place that stood out the most to me. We had planned a couple of days’ stay in Pelling but only half a day in Yuksom. If there was any regret during our Sikkim tour, it was that we didn't spend enough time at Yuksom. We should have at least stayed a night. Waking up in this wonderful town would have been some experience. Because it looked like a place where pastel-colored musicals are filmed. A place where nothing bad can ever happen. One memory that stands out in particular is that of two ducks walking side-by-side along the road against a backdrop of lush green on the sidewalk. I think I may have built the scene up a little in my memory, but then it was such a scene. And then we chanced upon the most ethereal lake possible. Lake Kathog (also known as Karthok) revealed itself to us suddenly as we crossed a grassy trail after purchasing a trivially priced ticket. It was silent except the rush of winds through the trees and on the grasses. There were a few birds putting up their most melodious performance. Countless goldfish swam around peacefully. Can anything be more pristine? The next memory that stands out is that of the long trek to Dubdi Monastery. While the Monastery lies at the top of a hill, with a steep, paved walk leading up to it through the forest, the destination is completely worth the arduous journey. I remember lush lawns, classic dampness of a place high up in the mountains, amid clouds. I also remember colourful flowers. There was also another couple enjoying the same sight. We also remember a visit to the Coronation Throne. The Coronation Throne is placed in a compound made of stone. There is a temple and a large prayer wheel too in the compound. The place is quiet and serene and has a few benches here and there where you can sit and just be. It was heaven if there is one. We reached the Yuksom Bazaar and occupied a table at the Traditional Inn restaurant. We ordered food and watched a swallow dart in and out of the neighboring restaurant. Neither the swallow nor the restaurant owner were perturbed by each other's presence. If I talk about my most favorite places in the world, Yuksom is definitely somewhere on the top of the list. To my mind it is a slice of Scottish Highlands right here in India. It is also one of the places right out of the Enid Blyton fairytales. It is a place I would love to go back to and just walk around day after day after day.

If there is one place in India that appears to be straight out of fairytales, it is Yuksom in Sikkim. And when I think of that place, I remember peace, serenity, greenery, birds, flowers, fish, and all things pretty and beautiful. And that is why it is the ideal candidate for the Time-Turner Series. The Time-Turner series is my opportunity to pen down the lingering memories and impressions of a place I have visited. It helps me relive the experience a bit and also reflect upon the aspects of the place that stood out the most to me. We had planned a couple of days’ stay in Pelling but only half a day in Yuksom. If there was any regret during our Sikkim tour, it was that we didn't spend enough time at Yuksom. We should have at least stayed a night. Waking up in this wonderful town would have been some experience. Because it looked like a place where pastel-colored musicals are filmed. A place where nothing bad can ever happen. One memory that stands out in particular is that of two ducks walking side-by-side along the road against a backdrop of lush green on the sidewalk. I think I may have built the scene up a little in my memory, but then it was such a scene. And then we chanced upon the most ethereal lake possible. Lake Kathog (also known as Karthok) revealed itself to us suddenly as we crossed a grassy trail after purchasing a trivially priced ticket. It was silent except the rush of winds through the trees and on the grasses. There were a few birds putting up their most melodious performance. Countless goldfish swam around peacefully. Can anything be more pristine? The next memory that stands out is that of the long trek to Dubdi Monastery. While the Monastery lies at the top of a hill, with a steep, paved walk leading up to it through the forest, the destination is completely worth the arduous journey. I remember lush lawns, classic dampness of a place high up in the mountains, amid clouds. I also remember colourful flowers. There was also another couple enjoying the same sight. We also remember a visit to the Coronation Throne. The Coronation Throne is placed in a compound made of stone. There is a temple and a large prayer wheel too in the compound. The place is quiet and serene and has a few benches here and there where you can sit and just be. It was heaven if there is one. We reached the Yuksom Bazaar and occupied a table at the Traditional Inn restaurant. We ordered food and watched a swallow dart in and out of the neighboring restaurant. Neither the swallow nor the restaurant owner were perturbed by each other's presence. If I talk about my most favorite places in the world, Yuksom is definitely somewhere on the top of the list. To my mind it is a slice of Scottish Highlands right here in India. It is also one of the places right out of the Enid Blyton fairytales. It is a place I would love to go back to and just walk around day after day after day.

Most of us city dwellers dream of owning a piece of land somewhere away from the concrete jungles we live in. One way to get a taste of that kind of life is to travel. With the latest Coronavirus outbreak and how both Delhi and Kerala have been in news, has brought January 2015 back to us. This was the time when we visited Kerala. So let us turn time back to that trip and relive some of it. The Time-Turner series is my opportunity to pen down the lingering memories and impressions of a place I have visited. It helps me relive the experience a bit and also reflect upon the aspects of the place that stood out the most to me. For more Time-Turner posts, follow this link: The Time-Turner Series. The Treasure Trove is a pretty little homestay in the midst of a coffee plantation. I remember reaching here after a bus ride from Bengaluru. We reached an area known as the Sultan Battery late in the evening and we received ample guidance from locals and on phone from Sunil (our host). We took an autorickshaw from there to Meenangadi. I remember having a hot meal with Sunil and Reena, our hosts, while his children stayed in their rooms. At that point in time I did not know that I will become quite fond of their daughter and that she would become my student for the next one year or so. The next day, we planned a whole-day excursion and Sunil and Reena helped us plan things. Right from arranging the auto to identifying the right itinerary, they were very helpful and forthcoming with their suggestions. Language was an issue in this region, but the much-needed help was always available for us there. Reena suggested that we book an auto for the whole day for sightseeing because that would cost less as compared to hiring autos for different places. We planned for Edakkal Caves and Curuva Island. Auto for the whole day costed us 1200 Rs, which was quite reasonable. I remember that the walk to the caves was quite arduous and there was a long queue. However, it was well-managed and we also observed a unique way to manage plastic bottles. If you want to carry a water bottle, get a sticker pasted on it for 20 rs and money is refundable by the showing the bottle on you back journey. I liked this model implemented by Kerala Tourism and it worked. The Curuva Island too was very beautiful but noisy and touristy. Anyway, more about Treasure Trove. The cottage we were staying in was made of Bamboo and hay and mud, and was very pretty. It was fitted with all the basic amenities and had a balcony that overlooked the coffee plantation, which was lively with songs from various types of birds. Our mornings started on a very good note because of this. This garden around Treasure Trove huts had various plants/trees including black pepper, coffee, coconut, rubber trees, banana trees, and jackfruit trees etc. These were the coffee beans growing on the coffee trees around Treasure Trove. These bunches of coffee fruits look awesome around green plantations. We tried to taste these beans and found that they were quite bitter. Sunil also had a small rubber production unit in the farm house. Some workers come to collect raw material and create rubber sheets. All around Treasure Trove, there were several walks that we undertook. It was quite an experience. Treasure Trove had well-maintained lawns around the huts and we spent good time sitting there. After our morning walks, we used to sit here for sometime. Wi-Fi was also available at Treasure Trove but it could only be used around the dining region and not in the huts. 3G connection was also not working well inside the huts, but that was not a big deal for anyone who is on vacation. However, all this was 5 years back and I am sure things have changed since then. Before leaving for Bamboo village, we took a round of Treasure Trove and realized that most of the veggies are grown in kitchen garden except potatoes and onion, which come from Karnataka. They also have a waste management unit that is very well utilized by the homestay. In this climate, when travel is prohibited and we are almost forced to stay in and avoid socializing, all these memories help cheer you up. You know that once this Coronavirus scare is behind us, we can start planning our travels once again.

During my Spiti trip, one of my travel buddies introduced me to this beautiful temple on our way. Not only it's located at a beautiful place on National Highway 5, but there is a very interesting tail associated with this temple or Taranda Maa. In this blogpost we will take you through the journey of Taranda Devi temple, some interesting places to explore around, what not to miss when you take a halt here along with interesting stories around the temple & National Highway-5.

Above is a photograph clicked somewhere around Kinnaur/Shimla Boarder and Taranda Maa Temple. Notice if you can see people walking over the bridge. Even if you can't, try to guess the length of this bridge and then think of water flow in the river below. It's hard to express some of these things through photographs and even videos fail to create that impact unless someone does a dedicated project on some of these things. That makes travel more essential to experience some of the magical things in the world - be it natural grandness or human created infrastructure to make lives easy for other humans. Related Post - How to reach Spiti Valley from Delhi and things to do around Kinnaur/Spiti in Himachal Pradesh

Of the ten longest and deepest caves in India, the first nine are in Meghalaya, while the tenth is in Mizoram. Isn't that a very interesting fact to know about. I have been to Borra Caves this year which is in south and certainly these are not as long as Mawsmai caves are.

Beyond ticket counter you climb a bit and reach entry point of Mawsmai Caves of Cherrapunji. Beyond entry of the cave, it starts getting narrower and that's one of the reasons that you are recommended to take off your bags & keep them at the entry gate only. Narrow path inside the caves makes id more adventurous.

There are lights installed inside the cave, especially around some special places/corners of the Mawsmai caves. These lights help visitors navigate through the cave as well as looking around & enjoying some of the beautiful patterns of stones. In above photograph, some fungus is adding colorful punch to these sepia rocks of Mawsmai Caves in Meghalaya.

Though Mawsmai caves are long but only 150 meters stretch is open for tourists while the other section is closed. Mawsmai caves have innumerable forms, shapes and sizes inside leaving every visitor wonder how there can be so much in such small space & with huge diversity. This magnificent natural wonder is created over the years due to natural abrasion and underground water carving various shapes through rocks of the caves.

All of the photographs in this blogpost are clicked with my phone camera and the place is so awesome that probably I clicked more than hundred photographs of Mawsmai Caves in Cherrapunji.

Meghlaya has plenty of caves in general and some of them list their names in are world's largest caves on various parameters. More about Meghalaya caves can be checked on tourism website and I am sure some of you may want to plan your visit in a way that you can explore more of these.

While exploring Mawsmai Caves, we took lot of stops on our way through the caves to click these photographs. There are certain places where lighting is beautiful for clicking creative portraits. Some of us could get some good clicks which I chose not to share here, as I didn't take permissions for the same.

Mawsmai cave has a spacious opening but it soon squeezed into a narrow path & there are spots where you need help from others to cross safely.

Mawsmai cave is home to various flora and fauna and makes a good home for bats and insects, for obvious reasons. It is one of the best places for history lovers and experience seekers but may not be recommended for old age people and kids. That also tells me that dress you wear may play a role in navigating through the cave. E.g. - Indian sari can make things difficult and saying this as one of the visitors had been facing this issue & after a while she was little scared to go further.

There are places inside the Mawsmai cave where visitors need to bend and squeeze themselves out. While getting inside the cave, one can see constant dripping of water from the roof of the cave and the innumerable forms of stalactites and stalagmites. Further, visitor can also observe how the roof and the floor of the cave are joined together to form the iconic pillars.

We visited Mawsmai caves in the month of november and lot of folks recommend that monsoons is a better time given that caves are filled with water as well. Personally that doesn't sound like an exciting idea to me and even if that has to be done, be prepared with right kinds of footwear & raincoats etc.

Above pattern looked like a folded hand downwards pointing with a finger. There are so many objects to observe in these patterns. At times it's fun and sometimes it becomes intolerable - depends upon creative observations we make :). There is second cave which I missed but some of my friends went inside and it seems it was pretty narrow & difficult in comparison to the main cave at Mawsmai.

Enjoyed this visit to Mawsmai Caves and hope to visit other caves in Meghalaya soon.

Meghalaya is one of the popular states amongst seven sisters when it comes to tourism activities in North Eastern states of India. And Mawlynnong village certainly stands at the top of the list of main places to explore in Meghalaya state of India. This blogpost shares why Mawlynnong village is known as one of the cleanest villages in the country, along with other things of interest around Mawlynnong in Meghalaya state of India.

Living root bridges are a form of tree shaping common in the southern part of the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya. They are handmade from the aerial roots of rubber fig trees by the Khasi and Jaintia peoples of the mountain terrain along the southern part of the Shillong Plateau. Root bridges have also been observed in the Indian state of Nagaland, which is also located in north east part of the country.

Above photograph shows living root bridge of Mawlynnong village of Meghalaya state in India. Mawlynnong village is also considered as one of the cleaner villagers in the country although I could not appreciate that aspect given I have seen even more beautiful villages in Sikkim but I am sure I must be missing someone on this front and probably I don't understand the criterion well. Certainly the village was not dirty given it's a popular touristy place and there are lot of shops all around. There are lot of shops around the path you take from parking area to the place where Living root bridge is located. There is a ticket of 20 rupees per person to go beyond a point and this is managed by village community group.

There is a small water stream flowing under this living root bridge in Mawlynnong of Meghalaya state of India. Many of the photographs you see in blogpost are clicked around the living root bridge of Mawlynnong and with mobile phone camera.

Shillong to Mawlynnong is approximately 80 kilometers distance and because of hilly terrains it takes 2.5 to 3 hours to reach. So even if you plan one place in a day, it would eat up your 6 hrs in travel and don't forget to add lunch time, assuming you would start after breakfast would want to enjoy dinner after you are back. If your tea intake in more than usual, keep some time for that as well :). I couldn't do much research, but I am sure there would be resorts or places to stay nearby so that you spend one night around the place and don't rush through the day. Anyways, our plan to visit Living root bridge as well as Dauki.

Most of the times, Rani no Hajiro is closed but don't be disappointed by looking at the lock. Ask around and you will be able to find care-taker of the place. He is a sweet old-man, who would also show the place around you. If you want to know more about the place, it's history - do ask relevant questions. If you like the experience, tip him well so that he would be happy to show around the place to other tourists/travellers visiting this place. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Travelling Camera in Gujarat || Exploring the Remains of Harappan Culture in Lothal

Rani no Hajiro is also known as Mughalai Bibi's Tomb. The main tomb belongs to Mughalai Bibi, the wife of Muhammad Shah II and mother of Mahmud Begada. It is richly carved in white marble and girt with a Persian inscription in minute relief. It's not really visible because of so many cloths on top of it and we didn't really ask the care-taker to show us by removing. Many such asks can be inappropriate from religion standpoint, so didn't want to enter that territory. Related Blogpot from Gujrat - Rani Ki Vav - The monument which is used in 100 Rupees note

It's almost a square space from inside and there are lot of graves of family members of Ahmed Shah, it's chefs and even pigeons. The structures above ground level with colourful pieces of cloth are graves. Height, length and space signifies who these members were. Above photograph shows some of the pillar inside Rani no Hajiro along with view of the old stock exchange of Ahmedabad which is not operational now. Related blogpost from Gujrat - Panoramic Views of Modhera Sun Temple, Gujrat (India)

This enclosure of Rani no Hajiro is high above the ground and the courtyard surrounded by these open areas made up on galleries with designer pillars all around. The walls of cloister inside Rani no Hajiro are fitted with carved stone screens. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Modhera Sun Temple - A Brilliant Place to see in Gujrat, India

The area surrounding the complex is now a market for women's clothing, jewellery and accessories. Best Traditional Garba clothes are also sold there. Many types of mouth fresheners, Mukhwas, stalls are nearby. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Travelling Camera in Gujarat || Interesting tour of Hutheesing Jain Temple

There are multiple tombs inside Rani no Hajiro. These tombs are covered with rich brocade works which is textile style developed during reign of Ahmed Shah. The intricate stone tracery and carving is an amalgamation of Hindu, Jain and Islamic architectural styles. Some Muslim families live around the complex which take care of the tombs. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Travelling Camera in Gujarat || Exploring old Ahmedabad on foot

Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Rani no Hajiro - An interesting place to explore in Old Ahmedabad, Gujrat One of the exits of this Jama Masjid opens towards the market road and other connects on the back side to the tombs of Ahmed Shah, his son and his grandson's tomb. Nearby are the graves of the queens and the other wives of the king, Rani no Hajiro. Related Blogpot from Gujrat - Rani Ki Vav - The monument which is used in 100 Rupees note

From there we headed to the CNI Church, which turned out to be a pretty pink building. However, luck wasn't really on our side and the Church was closed too. While we were heading outside, someone walked over to us and informed us of the service the next day. We didn't know then whether we would be in town for that or not. So we clicked the church from the outside and walked on.

After taking the auto out of old Ahmedabad on our first day in Ahmedabad, we headed straight to a Jain Temple that was on the way towards the Sabarmati Ashram. This temple is known as the Hutheesing Jain Temple, and its Manastambha is visible from the road outside. It took us about 10 minutes to reach here in an auto. The temple was built in the year 1848 and till date stands almost intact and as beautiful. The courtyard is spacious and clean and when we visited the place, it wasn't too crowded. There were a couple of groups of college students who were quite disciplined and respectful of other people. So the place was quite peaceful as well.

The temple itself is quite a beautiful building dedicated to Lord Dharmanatha, the fifteenth Jain Tirthankar. Photography is allowed outside the temple but not inside it, which is unfortunate, because it is really beautiful on the inside. Around a central courtyard, there's a corridor along which various Jain deities have their own spaces. The college students who had also entered the complex while we were there, were inside too silently admiring the architecture and offering prayers. This was quite beautiful to see indeed.

Now for some history. Shet Hathisinh Kesarisinh, a wealthy Ahmedabad trader who died at the young age of 49, initiated the construction of the temple, but did not live to see it completed. His wide Shethani Harkunvar saw it to completion. The total cost came out to be about Rs. 8 Lakh, which meant quite a lot at that time. Today it would amount to several hundred crores of Rupees. The period when the temple was built coincided with a severe famine in Gujarat. The construction of the temple supported the 100s of skilled artisans that were employed here through the period of the drought, which spanned across almost two years. Today the temple is still managed by the Hutheesing family trust. What a legacy to leave behind!

Anyways, from here we decided to head to the Sabarmati Ashram. It was right on the banks of the Sabarmati river and we were looking forward to it. Being near a river sounded really good considering the weather. So we hailed an auto for our onward journey.

Here is what we planned during the day - Adalaj Ni Vav Modera Sun Temple Rani Ni Vav, Patan Akshardham, Gandhi Nagar Mahatma Temple, Gandhi Nagar Sunset drive around beautiful Capital of Gujrat I want to highlight one thing that we went to other places in Patan but didn't find them worth spending time given you are out on one day trip. And later in the post I will also share details what could we have done during the time we wasted at those places. I would say waste is wrong word because that's what is called experience and that's how we are able to share more efficient day itinerary with you today. When we froze on this itinerary, we started figuring out the commute options and certainly booking a taxi was the best option to have a comfortable and time efficient journey. When we inquired through hotel about the cab we were offered following rates - 300 kilometres minimum in a day (this itinerary was approx 250 km), 10Rs/Km + 200 driver allowance. This makes it minimum 3200 Rs even when we couldn't have made good use to kilometre capacity during the day. There was no such possibility unless we rushed through some of the places.

Entry fees for Modhera Sun Temple is 20 rs per person. There are no extra charges for camera. Modhera Sun Temple is maintained by Archeological Survey of India and as usual they do a pretty good job in maintaining the place. Ticket counter is manned by ASI employees, who are usually pretty knowledgeable, so feel free to talk to them and ask if you have any questions. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Travelling Camera in Gujarat || Interesting tour of Hutheesing Jain Temple

Sunlight plays various games with these beautifully carved walls of Modhera Sun Temple. This light & shadow pattern looks different at various times of the day & influenced a lot by sun, it's direction and power of the light on a particular day.

Travellingcamera loved clicking these shadows of Modhera Sun Temple in Gujrat. All photograph shown in this Photo Journey are clicked with mobile phone camera.

Modhera Sun Temple is a millennium old temple dedicated to Surya in Gujrat state of India. Modhera is around a two hour drive from Ahmedabad. There is no active worship occurring in the temple at present, although there are two shrines to Shiva besides the temple that do see worship.

Modhera Sun Temple is very well maintained, with a short walk through gardens leading to the stepwell behind which lies the main temple. Being an ASI site, official guides are available and you can chose to have a guide with you who help understanding history & how this space evolved over the centuries.

Sabhamandapa is the one which you see on the right side of the photograph above. It's assembly hall or dancing hall is parallelogram with rows of pillars opening entrance on each side diagonally.

If you are planning to visit Modhera Sun Temple, plan to go earlier in the morning to beat the worst of the sun. This is the 2nd temple which is devoted to Lord Sun after Konark Temple at Orissa state of India. Modhera Sun Temple is 30-40km from Mehsana which is 70-80km from Capital Ahmadabad.

Modhera Sun Temple is a must visit place around Ahmedabad. Architecturally rich, and it's not just the temple, but also has a structurally fantastic step-well, with 108 shrines in it. Pleasant landscaping around the complex adds to the heritage look. Above photograph shows the first view of the temple you get while walking into the temple complex from ticket counter.

The Sun temple complex in Modhera is built in Chaulukya style. The temple complex has three components - the shrine garbhagriha in a hall called gudhamandapa, the outer assembly hall sabhamandapa and a sacred reservoir with water in it. We sat around this water reservoir for a long time, before we saw the main temple on the top. I walked around all four walls of this stepwell at Modhera Sun Temple. It was pretty hot in the month of October, so we took some small breaks around shade.

Rani Ki Vav in Patan town of Gujrat is a finest and one of the largest example of its kind and designed as an inverted temple has seven levels of stairs with sculptural panels, more than 500 principle sculptures and over a thousand minor ones combine religious, mythological and secular imagery. Related blogpost from Gujrat - Panoramic Views of Modhera Sun Temple, Gujrat (India)

Rani ki Vav is a stepwell situated in the town of Patan in Gujarat state of India, which is located on the banks of Saraswati river. This stepwell was rediscovered in 1940s and restored in 1980s by the Archaeological Survey of India. It has been listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites since 2014. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Modhera Sun Temple - A Brilliant Place to see in Gujrat, India

Adalaj Ni Vav is a stepwell located in the village of Adalaj, close to Ahmedabad city and in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat state in India. Adalaj ni Vav was built in 1498 in the memory of Rana Veer Singh by his wife Queen Rudadevi. It is a fine example of Indian architecture work and a fantastic attraction for tourists visiting this part of Gujrat. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Travelling Camera in Gujarat || Exploring old Ahmedabad on foot

Adalaj village has a temple which is just in front of main road and there is a small road going in parallel to the temple. One needs to take that road as the entry gate is on back side of this temple in Adalaj. There is decent parking place for 5-6 vehicles in front of entry gate of Adalaj ni Vav. If you don't find enough parking space, there is huge space around the road and in front of the temple to park your vehicle. Parking is free. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Travelling Camera in Gujarat || Interesting tour of Hutheesing Jain Temple

Above photograph shows the view from bottom of the stepwell at it's core. You can see circular structure which is exactly at the core where water body used to be there. It's dry as of today, but this is the spot where water used to be there. You can make out that Adalaj Stepwell has 5 levels. The architecture is beautiful at each level and there are plenty of things worth observing and debating. We didn't have any guide at Adalaj ni Vav and we sort of missed that. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Modhera Sun Temple - A Brilliant Place to see in Gujrat, India

The Adalaj step-well is a popular tourist attraction of the Gandhinagar city and is situated approximately 18 kilometres from Ahmedabad city of Gujrat. Adalaj ni Vav is 5 kilometres from Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat. Related blogpost from Gujrat - Panoramic Views of Modhera Sun Temple, Gujrat (India)

Here is a photograph clicked from 3rd level of Adalaj ni Vav. This is a photograph of roof which you see after getting down to 3rd level of the stepwell. Each level has some beautiful structures around pillar, roof & floor. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Travelling Camera in Gujarat || Visiting Bapu in Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad

Above photograph shows a small carving design on a wall, which is looking like a jharokha which has lost some of it's elements. Although ASI is maintaining this beautiful Stepwell but it seems some damage is still happening at this space. Related blogpost from Gujrat - Vadodara - One of the best places to visit during Navratris to enjoy Garba The motifs of flowers and graphics of Islamic architecture blend very well with the symbols of Hindu and Jain gods carved at various levels of the well. The dominant carvings on the upper floors are of elephants. The Islamic architectural style could be attributed to the Muslim king Begda who built it. The walls are carved with women performing daily chores such as churning of buttermilk, adorning themselves, scenes of performance of dancers and musicians, and the King overlooking all these activities.

Above photograph shows blue sky of Gujrat through roof-top of 2nd level at Adalaj ni Vav. I loved clicking some of these photographs with my phone camera at Adalaj ni Vav. The whole structure looks awesome and every level of the stepwell is unique. The deep you go, better you appreciate the architecture and the grandness of these stepwells. A tribute paid to the rich underground structures, which are intricately decorated with sculptures, is that they are said to resemble palaces.

Our initial plan for our trip to Gujarat was very different from what it turned out to be at the end. For some reason, Google Maps decided to tell us (incorrectly) that Gir National Park is just half an hour drive from Ahmedabad. We definitely wanted to go to Gir, so booked the flight tickets to Ahmedabad. Don't judge us. This trip was literally planned just one day before the date of journey. After that, a friend enlightened us to the fact that Gir is actually a day-long drive from Ahmedabad. It was too late to change the flights, so we decided to make the most of our trip and plan for Gir some other time.

We went to Statue of Unity on our last day in Gujarat. We had hired an Ola Outstation for two days. It was to take us to some sites around Ahmedabad and then to Vadodara, from there to statue of Unity on the last day and then back to Ahmedabad airport. We started at about 9 o'clock from our hotel in Vadodara and were soon on a smooth, beautiful highway. With music keeping us company, it was a beautiful and serene drive compared to the rough one of the previous day.

Our initial plan for our trip to Gujarat was very different from what it turned out to be at the end. For some reason, Google Maps decided to tell us (incorrectly) that Gir National Park is just half an hour drive from Ahmedabad. We definitely wanted to go to Gir, so booked the flight tickets to Ahmedabad. Don't judge us. This trip was literally planned just one day before the date of journey. After that, a friend enlightened us to the fact that Gir is actually a day-long drive from Ahmedabad. It was too late to change the flights, so we decided to make the most of our trip and plan for Gir some other time.

Our initial plan for our trip to Gujarat was very different from what it turned out to be at the end. For some reason, Google Maps decided to tell us (incorrectly) that Gir National Park is just half an hour drive from Ahmedabad. We definitely wanted to go to Gir, so booked the flight tickets to Ahmedabad. Don't judge us. This trip was literally planned just one day before the date of journey. After that, a friend enlightened us to the fact that Gir is actually a day-long drive from Ahmedabad. It was too late to change the flights, so we decided to make the most of our trip and plan for Gir some other time.

Timings of Rani ki Vav are from 8:30am till 7pm everyday with some holidays which should be checked on official website before planning your visit. The place is maintained by Archeological Survey of India and their website would list latest details around timings and ticket pricing. There is an entry ticket for Rani ki Vav in Patan town of Gujrat. Entry fee is 40 INR for indians and 600 INR for foreigners. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - One day Trip around Ahmedabad - Adalaj ni Vav, Modhera Sun Temple, Patan's Rani ni Vav & Gandhinagar

The stepwell is divided into seven levels of stairs which lead down to deep circular well. A stepped corridor is compartmentalized at regular intervals with pillared multistory pavilions. The walls, pillars, columns, brackets and beams are ornamented with carvings and scroll work. The niches in the side walls are ornamented with beautiful and delicate figures and sculptures. There are 212 pillars in the stepwell. Related Blogpost from Gujrat - Travelling Camera in Gujarat || Interesting tour of Hutheesing Jain Temple

When you go search main places to visit & see in Ahemdabad, you would also see Sidi Sayyed Mosque in the lists. And then you plan you day according to the locations of these places. As you reach around the location, it's not as easy to locate Sidi Sayyed Mosque. This is located aroun very busy roads and it's small size makes a little hidden in all the hustle-bustle. The first glance at Sidi Sayyed Mosque was a little disappointing but because we had read a little more about Sidi Sayyed Mosque, it's architecture and famous art-work in terms of Jali-work you see in above photograph, we could appreciate the place, it's surroundings and people walking by. This Blog-post shares more Sidi Sayyed Mosque & some tips around what else to explore around this part of Ahmedabad City in Gujrat.

During our Gujrat trip, we did day trip from Ahmedabad to Vadodara via Lothal. We reached early and there were some challenges with our hotel booking done through booking.com , so we came to Sayaji Park to sort out things. We had plenty of time after doing another hotel booking. On our very first day in Vadodara, we spent significant time around Sayaji Park and we loved the place because of various reasons which are well explained in this blogpost.

Area outside Sayaji Baug is pretty busy and there are main roads surrounding Sayaji Baug, so there is a pretty heavy traffic all around. Parking can be a little challenge, so if you are driving, be sure that that you have right parking space otherwise, there is no harm at parking at a little distance and walk to save time in finding parking slot. Related blogpost from Gujrat - Panoramic Views of Modhera Sun Temple, Gujrat (India)

It was drizzling when we were at Dada Harir Vav in Ahmedabad and my phone did fantastic job at clicking this beautiful effect. Please have a look at above photograph with rain drops around Dada Harir Vav. Thanks to the lighting condition which made shutter speed go slow to capture the scene well and also capture these rain-drops beautifully.

Above photograph is closed from bottom of the stepwell, and from the place closer to water tank. As you can make out, it's circular at the core and looks wonderful from bottom of the stepwell. This certainly covers 2nd floor and above and not the complete view what human eyes can see & enjoy.


Above photograph is probably clicked from 2nd level of the stepwell from bottom. Each floor is spacious and at times it's hard to guess how many floors you need to go down to see water-body.


These stepwells are deep to access ground water at that level and the architecture signifies how to preserve rainwater for longer period of time and that's why you would find different styles of stepwells in different parts of the country. All levels of the stepwell have enough light and air. That's the beauty of the architecture. Imagine that someone has to take out water at any point of the day from 5th level and natural light is only source to see water & pick it. Above photograph is showing roof-top of the core of the stepwell with light coming in.

Dada Harir Vav is a sandstone structure in Solanki architectural style and this beautiful stepwell has five levels or stories. I personally prefer to call them levels, not sure why :). The actual waterbody of the stepwell is octagonal in plan at the top, built on intricately carved large number of pillars.

A cow photograph can be very auspicious for this blogpost so I thought of including this one here :). Related Post - Dhankar to Kalpa - Back journey from Spiti to Kinnaur region of Himachal Pradesh

As we entered into Dhankar Village after seeing some spectacular views of Spiti river surrounded by huge mountains covered with snow and with thick shadows of the clouds around the valley. We saw a Monastery which is almost at the entrance of the village and it's comparatively new. We walked down to check if there are rooms available but then found that space was not that great and the manager was expecting more than what usually the charges should have been for that kind of space. We moved on.

You must have seen multiple monasteries across the world but the one in Tabo town of Spiti Valley if very different, although the newer part is similar to the common patterns. While in Spiti valley of Himachal Pradesh, we noticed many different kinds of Monasteries but this one in Tabo was very different. This post would take you through a quick tour of Tabo Monastery, although there are no photographs of the interiors as that was not allowed.

The Tabo monastery, especially the oldest structure is in need of refurbishing as the wooden structures are aging and the thanka scroll paintings are fading. The photograph below shows the main area of old Tabo Monasteries and it's beautiful from inside, but photography is not allowed inside so I don't have any photograph to share. Related Post - Road Journey through Kaza, Key Monastery, Kibber, Langza, Koumik & Dhankhar in Spiti Valley

As you move towards the Monastery from Tabo bus stand, you encounter these modern structures first but you need to cross these and move towards the old part of the monastery which is pretty old and it's in mud color, with flat roof on the top and it's as high as the modern monasteries are. Related Post - 500 years old Mummy of Sangha Tenzin with teeth & hair at Gue Monastery

Tabo is noted for being the oldest continuously operating Buddhist enclave in both India and the Himalayas. Isn't that amazing. So far I have seen different kinds of monasteries in size, shape and importance in buddhism, but this one is certainly very special. It may not look as fancy as other colorful monasteries are but this one is certainly very special for followers of Buddhism.

The Tabo monastery is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as a national historic treasure of India and I loved this fact. ASI has been one of the successful organization when it comes to save our heritage in best possible way. There are different NGOs have come up to collaborate with ASI to make a bigger impact. Related Post - Basmati Dhaba at Badhal, on the way to Spiti Valley & Kinnaur from Shimla

There are many priceless collections of thankas (scroll paintings), manuscripts, well-preserved statues, frescos and extensive murals which cover almost every wall of Tabo Monastery in Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh. A large number of frescoes displayed on its walls depict tales from the Buddhist pantheon. Unfortunately we couldn't click photographs of those because of the restrictions. Related Post - Dhankar to Kalpa - Back journey from Spiti to Kinnaur region of Himachal Pradesh

After the earthquake of 1975, the monastery was rebuilt, and in 1983 a new Du-kang or Assembly Hall was constructed. It is here that the 14th Dalai Lama held the Kalachakra ceremonies in 1983 and 1996.

If I have to think about most talked and popular monastery in Spiti Valley, it would be Geu Monastery where one can see 500 years old mummy. More than that I loved it's location and third photograph of this post would give you better sense why do I say that. I don't know how I missed doing this series on Monasteries of Spiti valley when I was sharing about my week long trip to Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh. But it's not too late, so let's know more about Gue Monastery in Spiti and some interesting facts/tips.

Activity starts on the Mall Road early in the morning. It seems that the residents of Darjeeling are fitness freaks. Even if you go out when it has just started getting light, you will notice that the residents of of Darjeeling are out in their exercise clothes walking briskly or jogging around the loop that goes around the Observatory Hill.

You will also find many locals walking their little dogs. Most of these dogs are extremely well-behaved. They do not bark unnecessarily and in general keep to themselves. Breeds like the Lhasa Apso are popular among the Darjeeling folk.

When we were in Darjeeling, it was raining quite often even though it was still summer. Even though the crowd thinned out a bit when it was raining, as soon as the rain turned into a drizzle, hundreds of people materialized almost at once. Mall Road is definitely the center of activities in Darjeeling.

The view from the mall is also quite enticing. Especially when it is partly cloudy, you can spend hours just sitting on one of the many benches lining the iron grill and just enjoy the sight of the clouds drifting in and out of view. You can bask in the sunlight that often reflects off the wet cement ground while having dum aaloo or Puchkas from one of the many hawkers from on the Mall. And while you are at it, you can also shop from the Tibetan Market that comes up every day on the Loop.

The Tangyud Monastery is also known as Sa-skya-gong-mig Gompa at Komic village of Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh. Like some of the other Monasteries in Spiti and Lahaul district of Himachal Pradesh, this one is also little different from modern monasteries, which are very colorful and high. Above photograph shows the Komic Monastery from outside and if you don't know there is a monastery in the village it looks like a big house or some institution/school within the village. Related Post - Road-Trip from Shimla to Nako through Kinnaur : Spiti Diaries

Recently I was in Dalhousie to visit my niece and during one of the days we planned to walk around the mall road in Dalhousie town This Photo Journey shares about some of the interesting places on mall road and few tips for folks planning to visit Dalhousie.Gandhi Chowk is probably the most happening place in Dalhousie town. Dalhousie town is comparatively a smaller town as compared to other popular hill stations and that's why it's a peaceful place. Although don't expect this peaceful enviornment during summers :), which lot of folks from Punjab come here with their kids to spend vacations. Gandhi Chowk is a good place for shopping in Dalhousie. Check out Apple products and some fruit wines produced in Himachal. We also bough few packs of apple pickle, which is yet to be tasted :)These beautiful snow covered mountains of Pir Panjal can be seen from Gandhi Chowk. First two photographs are clicked at Gandhi Chowk. The popular St John's church is situated on Gandhi Chowk and the very first photograph in this Photo Journey shows the same.Mall road connects Gandhi Chowk with Subhash chowk on other side of the town. This whole road overlooks at the beautiful Pir Panjal mountain ranges covered with snow. These hills had got fresh snowfall few days back and they were looking awesome. In above photograph, the bottom part shows cantt area of Dalhousie which is next to Banikhet. The clouds around these snow capped hills were continuously changing the hues and every shade was looking brilliant. Throughout the mall road, various seating arrangement are done. All these places are quite cleaner. These places are so beautifully designed that you feel like taking a pause and sit there to enjoy the brilliant of nature around Dalhousie. Above is one of the views from Mall road. This is Ravi river which keeps changing her views during the day. Many times, it's not even visible because of dense clouds all around Dalhousie town. During 3 days stay, we saw Ravi 2 times for short span of time.Mall road in Dalhousie has some of the exceptional private properties, which are quite expensive as well. Above is not a house but a school near church. I intentionally avoided clicking any personal property there.Clouds keep playing around the town and within minutes you see very contrasting enviornment. Completely hazy view at one moment and bright/clear view after a few minutes. Imagine clouds passing by you and indicating that be ready for showers in a while, so plan accordingly :).After walking through the Mall road we finally hit Subhash Chowk which exposes you to the green valley on the opposite side of snow covered Pir Panjal mountain ranges. St. Francis church is located on Subhash chowk, which is much bigger than the one on Gandhi Chowk. There is a small space in this campus, which is dedicated to colorful birds, rabits, ducks. We had a quick round of this church and got down to the Mall road for tea. Urvi, my niece, was sleeping by that time and we wanted to head back now. We called our taxi guy and headed to the home which is 4 kilometers from Dalhousie town.Apart from the Mall road, there is another smaller and beautiful pathway which connected Subhash Chowk with Gandhi Chowk. This is supposedly the preferred route for local folks who want to same time and energy :), but tourists love the Mall road walk because it exposes you to brilliant views of Himalayas. The whole Mall road is surrounded by Deodar trees which add more to the beauty of this town. Dalhousie has been one of my favorite towns and I like the fact that it's not becoming concrete jungle like other hills stations (Shimla, Mussourie etc.)Do drop us a comment, if you want know more about the place or have some specific queries.

Recently I was in Dalhousie to visit my niece and during one of the days we planned to walk around the mall road in Dalhousie town This Photo Journey shares about some of the interesting places on mall road and few tips for folks planning to visit Dalhousie.Gandhi Chowk is probably the most happening place in Dalhousie town. Dalhousie town is comparatively a smaller town as compared to other popular hill stations and that's why it's a peaceful place. Although don't expect this peaceful enviornment during summers :), which lot of folks from Punjab come here with their kids to spend vacations. Gandhi Chowk is a good place for shopping in Dalhousie. Check out Apple products and some fruit wines produced in Himachal. We also bough few packs of apple pickle, which is yet to be tasted :)These beautiful snow covered mountains of Pir Panjal can be seen from Gandhi Chowk. First two photographs are clicked at Gandhi Chowk. The popular St John's church is situated on Gandhi Chowk and the very first photograph in this Photo Journey shows the same.Mall road connects Gandhi Chowk with Subhash chowk on other side of the town. This whole road overlooks at the beautiful Pir Panjal mountain ranges covered with snow. These hills had got fresh snowfall few days back and they were looking awesome. In above photograph, the bottom part shows cantt area of Dalhousie which is next to Banikhet. The clouds around these snow capped hills were continuously changing the hues and every shade was looking brilliant. Throughout the mall road, various seating arrangement are done. All these places are quite cleaner. These places are so beautifully designed that you feel like taking a pause and sit there to enjoy the brilliant of nature around Dalhousie. Above is one of the views from Mall road. This is Ravi river which keeps changing her views during the day. Many times, it's not even visible because of dense clouds all around Dalhousie town. During 3 days stay, we saw Ravi 2 times for short span of time.Mall road in Dalhousie has some of the exceptional private properties, which are quite expensive as well. Above is not a house but a school near church. I intentionally avoided clicking any personal property there.Clouds keep playing around the town and within minutes you see very contrasting enviornment. Completely hazy view at one moment and bright/clear view after a few minutes. Imagine clouds passing by you and indicating that be ready for showers in a while, so plan accordingly :).After walking through the Mall road we finally hit Subhash Chowk which exposes you to the green valley on the opposite side of snow covered Pir Panjal mountain ranges. St. Francis church is located on Subhash chowk, which is much bigger than the one on Gandhi Chowk. There is a small space in this campus, which is dedicated to colorful birds, rabits, ducks. We had a quick round of this church and got down to the Mall road for tea. Urvi, my niece, was sleeping by that time and we wanted to head back now. We called our taxi guy and headed to the home which is 4 kilometers from Dalhousie town.Apart from the Mall road, there is another smaller and beautiful pathway which connected Subhash Chowk with Gandhi Chowk. This is supposedly the preferred route for local folks who want to same time and energy :), but tourists love the Mall road walk because it exposes you to brilliant views of Himalayas. The whole Mall road is surrounded by Deodar trees which add more to the beauty of this town. Dalhousie has been one of my favorite towns and I like the fact that it's not becoming concrete jungle like other hills stations (Shimla, Mussourie etc.)Do drop us a comment, if you want know more about the place or have some specific queries.

The wooden blocks of the temple have beautiful carving which you would find in most of the wooden temple in Himachal Pradesh, but this one is little special because of it's size and shape.

And it's not only the temple which impressed us with the architecture, houses in this village are beautifully built. Above photograph shows one of the houses on the street which connects the market with Chandika Devi Temple.

After Darjeeling Mall Road and Dalhousie Mall Road, we will be revisiting Shimla Mall Road in this post. VJ spent two years of his graduation in Shimla and some of his fondest memories are that of the time he spent at the Shimla Mall road with his college friends. They were a naughty lot and often up to some mischief or the other. Some of their stories are hilarious. If you want to know, you are most welcome to join us for a couple of drinks.

However, the point of this post is different. Here we will talk about the overall experience of the Shimla Mall Road and why it is such a special place for us. Unlike the Dalhousie Mall Road, vehicles are not allowed on this road. This makes walking on this road very easy. On most evenings, the mall road is crowded, but on weekends it is bustling with college students, honeymooning couples, groups of boys and girls, tourists, and localites. You will also be able to see considerable presence of police here. They are there to maintain law and order. Related Post : Places to skip when travelling to Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

Other points of interest are the Kali Bari Temple and the Scandal Point, which is the point where the Mall Road meets the Ridge. A statue of the great freedom fighter, Lala Lajpat Rai stands here. If you are visiting the Mall Road, also climb up to the Ridge from where you can enjoy the views of high mountains and valleys and lose yourself in the clouds rolling around. Related Post - This is Shimla everyone forgets to explore - Part1

One of the very important aspects of a trip is the place you are staying at. Irrespective of whether you are staying at a 5-star hotel or at a cozy homestay, if you have a comfortable room to go back to at the end of each tiring day, it makes your stay and vacation even more memorable. A good and comfortable room is like having a happy home - it never stands out enough to overshadow the other exciting adventures of a trip and yet it gives you the luxury to enjoy these adventures without stress. Hotel Sunbird was one such place.

Recently when we planned a short road-trip to Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary from Noida, we also planned to quickly visit Fatehpur Sikri and we learned a big lesson during this trip. Travel has this beauty of exposing you to different situations and it leads to different kinds of learnings/experiences. Which certainly make us better travellers and our ability to judge situations/people becomes better. Please don't pick me on 'judging people' because it's important aspect when you make decisions which can impact your time and money, which are precious when you are travelling. So here goes the story and at the end we have learnings in 2 sections : learnings when you visit Fatehpur Sikri and second section is more about how generics tips while going to new places for exploration.

Experience at Fatehpur Sikri : So as we got down from the highway which connects Bharatpur with Fatehpur Sikri, after a short drive, few well dressed folks with some sort of badges around the neck indicated to stop the car. These folks were standing close to a parking area just close to the old gate of Fatehpur Sikri Palace. We thought of these guys as authority people who want to help us park the car. As we stopped, we were told that Petrol/Diesel cars can't go beyond the gate so we need to park the car outside and walk or take CNG auto-rickshaw to go ahead. CNG vehicles close to Palace sounded pretty reasonable and then the guy explained us about different costs for the visit : 50 Rs entry ticket for each person, 100 Rs parking fees, 10 rs for shoes when we visit the place with Dargah and 200 Rs for pick & drop in an auto-rickshaw. And he would accompany us a guide is needed. He sold whole package to us in 650 Rs for 2 (me and my wife). We parked the car, and sat in the auto-rickshaw. We met another guide recommended by this person who took us to Jama Mosque where we had to take off the shoes. It's a huge campus with Jama Masjid, Buland Darwaza, Tomb of Salim Chishti etc. He showed us these places pretty well and along with that took us to different shops inside this campus where he wanted us to explore and buy stuff. That behaviour didn't sound right to me while Vibha was little interested in to knowing what these shops are selling and certainly they had some nice creations of marble. We didn't buy anything because of unreasonable pricing. Then he took us to a man selling sheets which are presented at Dargah and the man started telling us weird stories around how this shop helps poor etc. The costs ranged from 1100 to 11000. Certainly I didn't buy his stories and denied to buy anything. At the end he was selling me flowers which I would have bought but that personality repelled me to talk to him any further.

That was the point when I started facing suffocated with our guide. He was also in a rush but in a very polite way. I love photography places well and it takes time. He was not letting me do that well. Our guide concluded our tour and now asked for 650 Rs. Various events during those 1.5 hrs make me uncomfortable paying full amount to him, because I was not sure if the Auto guys would come to pick us or not. After few telephonic conversations with his boss, I paid him 300 Rs. As we went back to the place where we had parked the car, I talked to the person and asked why did he lie about he being the guide for us and about entry tickets. Because our guide didn't buy any ticket. Then we realised that our guide didn't even take us to the Palace where entry ticket is 50 rs. Let me not go ahead and share the next part but also share some of the other observations through this time :

Learnings and Tips while visiting to Fatehpur Sikri in Uttar Pradesh state of India : If you are driving, chose to park your car in public parking where nobody would stop you at the road side or anything like that. Whole area is easily walkable if you want to explore Jama Masjid, Buland Darwaza, Chishti Dargah and the Palace with various other structures at same place. There are ADA buses running between these touristy places which can be used by anybody who wants to explore the city and its gems. (At a very nominal ticket fee of 10 rs) Do certainly read before hand and have a clear list of things you want to do and also consult map to figure how you want to sequence these places. Always recommend govt approved guides over others who catch you on the streets. Even then, be very clear about their fees and is that time dependent or not etc. Avoid buying stuff from Hawkers inside and on the gate of these monuments, unless you seriously liked something. (This is more for avoiding the feel of cheating later on)

Learnings and Tips for visiting a new place in the world : At tourist places, don't make immediate plans with folks who come on your way and suggest something proactively. At times, these folks present themselves as Tourism employees or Tourism dept recognised agents etc. Read well before visiting a place - Must know things are transportation system, places to visit, things to be careful about etc. Better preparedness is always helpful in avoiding such unwanted situations. Be careful about making advanced payments before figuring out the credibility and one must be more cautious when cost is higher for sure. Be clear about priorities. E.g. - We messed up by hiring a guide when I wanted to spend more time photographing in a relaxed way. Be aware of timings when you are outside and be watchful of your surroundings, especially in odd hours. And that's true for any new place you go to.



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  Dalhousie is one of the most popular Hill Stations in Himachal  and there is lot to explore around Dalhousie. This is small and very well maintained town in Chamba region of Himachal Pradesh . This Photo Journey shares some of the exciting places around Chamba and how to plan a good one day tour through Khajjiar, Chamba & Chamera etc. CHAMERA HYDROLIC PROJECT Chamera Hydroelectric Project is located in Banikhet, 7 kms from Dalhousie. The water body near the lake is very scenic and is a popular boating spot. Chamera Dam is around 40 kilometers from Chamba Town. It takes approximately 1.5 hrs to reach the place is road condition is good. Overall it’s a little dry terrain as compared to Dalhousie and Khajjiar. And temperature also goes up as we go towards Chamera Dam.  As you move out from Chamba town, you follow Ravi river for some time and then take right. After 45 minutes of drive, you get a glimpse of Chemera Dam.