Places we have been - things we have seen .. and ones we'd like to [Archive]

View Full Version : Places we have been - things we have seen .. and ones we'd like to

kharub

January 14th, 2007, 03:29 PM

(something on a lighter note from me - Surprise Surprise ... I am not always serious and stuck up my bum :D )

I love travelling and most of us do I am sure ... everytime you visit a new place there is a story, an experience in the making ...... some places, people and events leave a lasting impression on our minds and some just fade away ... nonethe less each one of our journeys teaches us something ...

I have been lucky and have had the pleasue of travelling quite a bit in the last three years after I finished my graduation in Sydney... saw a whole range of different places and things ... Places & Cultures which from far afield seem the same but are so very different when you experience them in real and then there are places which seem so different and distant yet have a certail familiarity to them ....

So lets share our travelling tales ..............

I travelled most on North, North-West, Central & South India .....

Went on an all India tour with my parents and family friends when i was about 10 i think .. dont remember much of it other than climbing the endless steps of Meenakshi Devi Temple, The beach in Bombay, The stink of fish everywhere ... driving through dense forests with Kathal Trees, drinking Coconut Water, a dead cat with its eyes gourged out lying in the park of the Hotel we were staying one time ........ taking the ferry to see the Ajanta & Ellora Caves ... standing at the rock of Kanyakumari and being told about Swami Vivekanand .......

Havent seen much of India lately I must admit ...... but have visited the tourist destinations in HP, Rajasthan & Uttaranchal on multiple occassions in the last decade ...

Outside of India I have travelled to:
Australia
Malasia
China
Turkey
Germany
UK
Finland
Latvia
Estonia
Spain
Sweden
Lithuania

(going to the US & Denmark tomorrow night)

If I have to list the most memorable and best travelling expeience I have ever had ...... It has to be China ........ Its an absolutely amazing place .... just sensational .......... and so different from every other place

(will post the details of China Trip in the next post)

VPannu

January 14th, 2007, 04:27 PM

(going to the US & Denmark tomorrow night)

Dear VJ, you and your posts will be missed.:( I hope you can still find some way out to keep in touch with us through Jatland.com.
All the best for your trip ahead and look after yourself :)
(and your luggage too:p )

dahiyarules

January 14th, 2007, 04:47 PM

Kharub bhai! seems like you took my comments to the heart ;) :)

How long are you going to be in the US. I will be in San Diego at the end of March.

About the post, I think my most memorable visit has been to Kashmir. That place is the most beautiful place on earth. I have seen europe and North America. But jo baat Kashmir mein hai, wo kahin nahin.

I think our film-makers have glorified the European Alps too much by making Govinda and Raveena dance around. I recommend people to watch the old movies and visit Kashmir whenever time and resources permit.

What a co-incidence, I am writing an article on Kashmir just as I am rplying to this post. It will be ready in a day. Visit my website if interested.

vinaychaudhary

January 14th, 2007, 05:27 PM

your logo is good. i liked it.

kharub

January 15th, 2007, 01:26 AM

Dear VJ, you and your posts will be missed.:( I hope you can still find some way out to keep in touch with us through Jatland.com.
All the best for your trip ahead and look after yourself :)
(and your luggage too:p )

Cheers mate ........ I will be gone only for 10 days so see you folks back soon ... :) :)

I have heard travelling to the US can be quite something especially the procedures at their airports ....... cant wait to experience all that in real ...

kharub

January 15th, 2007, 01:28 AM

kharub

January 15th, 2007, 02:11 AM

China is an amazing place ....... absolutely massive .. clean ... big swank skyscrapers .... but the people have disgusting habits .. they spit everywhere and they will charge you double if you are a foreigner .. even in public buses ...

I got offered a job in China after my Bachelors and decided to go and see the place before I making up my mind ...... so I flew into Beijing it was mid September 2004 ... I flew out from Delhi so it was quite a short flight ... Beijing International Airport is a swank new building ... at par with top international aiports .... very different from the dingy ... fenyl smelling IGI

The language problem was obvious from the very minute I landed ... hardly anybody spoke Chinese and the ones that supposedly did ... it was almost impossible to comprehend them ... because it was not English but Chinglish

I was supposed to stay with a Canadian family (my friend's uncle) ... Ricky (50+) & his Thai Wife Rose (42) (absolutely lovely people) ...
I was in touch with Ricky via e-mail before I went there and he explained to me how to get to his place using public transport

It was quite a challenge trying to read bus numbers and asking for help from pedestrians (almost everything is in Chinese) .. I struggled but made it there

Ricky was teaching english at a private school for the Chinese elite & Rose was a housewife & learning Chinese in her free time ... they also had a small little white dog called Pooka

Ricky is a real traveller, he has travelled all his life never staying at one place more than an year since he was 16 ...... he has travelled the whole world twice and many countries at least a dozen times ....... Rose was his second wife (they have divorced since) ... He has a daughter from his first Korean Wife ... his daughter is a world Judo Champion and currently a member of Australian Olympic Squard for the 2008 Olympics

Ricky is a very simple .. he is a monk .. he does not believe much in worldly posessions and has wild spirit ....... His only daughter is the most precious thing for him in this whole world and his eyes always light up wheneve he talks about her ...... you can feel the joy & pride in his voice .....
The only thing he own is a house in Canada .. he lives on an island on the west coast of Canada ..... i think its Vancouver Island ...

I somehow got to their place and knocked on the door ... Rose opened the door ... I first though I was at the wrong place .. she is Thai so i thought she was a Chinese and I had knocked at the wrong place ... becasue before I only knew that it was a Canadian Family and did not expect to see an Asian person .......

But she spoke to me in English ...... and greeted me by name .. So i was relieved to know that I was at the right place .. as it was quite late at night, dark and cold at I was too tired to undertake a new search ...

She told me that Ricky had gone out to look for me and also taken the dog for a walk ...... she showed me my room and fixed up a dinner while I unpacked and freshened up ...

Ricky came back after 30 minutes and we finally met in person ... from the every begining they made me feel just at home and very absolutely welcoming & friendly ......

We have a get to know talk ...... and shared info about our families and past lifes ... Ricky showed me his photo albums & everytime there was a photo of his daughter he had a story to tell ........ He is a very proud dad

I was tired and totally taken by the things i had seen ..... and really needed a sleep .... so i excused my self and went to bed ......

Ricky gave me his old lonely planet guide for China to have a look at and plan my travels ..

(to be continued)

kharub

January 15th, 2007, 12:54 PM

Well if I go on in the same manner as my last post I think i will be 60 when i will finally be able to finish my China Story ....... so I will keep it brief ..

I was in China for about 2 months ... most of that time in Beijing ... traveling out to other places and then coming back to base for resting a few days

I had heard a lot about the TIANMEN SQUARE so the first morning I went to see the place ...... and its the biggest open square in the middle of a city that I have ever seen ...... and almost full of people , natives & tourists

You could easly fit half a million people there in one time ........

opposite the North end of the square is the forbidden city (the Royal Quarters & Palaces) ............ and there hangs a huge portrait of Mao Zedong .. you feel like he is watching you all the time ...

One thing that made me feel suffocated in China was the presence of Army Troops everywhere .... Everywhere you go on the streets you will see marching army Units ...... army guards in groups patrolling and keeping an eye on you ...... It makes you feel a bit worried .... (but I never saw then troubling anybody - I think China being a communist state they are just there to warn people not to attempt anything stupid)

It tool me 3 whole days to see the Forbidden City (trust me its massive) ... I also went to see the preserved body of Mao in his Mausoleum ..... he lay there peaceful dressed in an communist army outfit (i think so)

We generally think that the Chinese are small and skinny .... but infact a lot of Chinese are quite tall and chubby ....... I am 5'11 and quite broad shouldered and weigh about 85-88 .. but still sometimes in the Metro or the bus I would encounter Chinese .. much more bigger than me ....

I generally travel alone so was I this time .... I like to experience the true essence of the place and for that I believe you must be alone or in a small group ..... when you travel with too many people .. I am sure its fun but you cannot have the real experience in my opinion ......

After the first week visiting the various sites in Beijing ....... I decided to and see the Great Wall of China C:\Documents and Settings\VJ the DJ\My Documents\My Pictures\china wall

There are alot of different places near Beijing that one can visit the Great Wall ... most of them are tourist spots .... so I decided to go to this one location about 5 hours from Beijing which was one of the best spots to see the wall and had hardly any tourists ... just crazy people like me ....

Got there after changing 5 buses .. and in China that’s a feat itself .... When I got there I met a group of Russians who were in Beijing to attend a medical conference (I don’t remember their names anymore) .... so we teamed up together to explore the wall ........

It was a bit run down and a very steep climb to get to the top of the wall ... and with my 10 Kg backpack it was really a challenge ......

There were local women standing at every 200 m or so and were asking us to pay them a dollar to go through ...... we did not in the beginning but then we came across an old women who would just let us pass through ...... so we decided to get off the wall and follow a small run down track along the wall and then climb back further up ........ She premeditated our plan ... I guess a million people before us must have tried the same .... so she threw a big log at us from the top of the wall .....
It hit me on the shoulder and it did really hurt ......... I was screaming at her .. and then she started crying .... thinking that I was badly injured ... but everything was okay ........

But if i would have lost my balance I would have fallen deep into the valley and possibly would have died ..

We walked a lot and got too far away from where we started and really tired .... the sun started to go down and it was getting freezing ... so we decided to head back .......... and God was it a challenge ....... we were already physically drained out and had a lot of uphill climb to do ....

We also forgot to ask the time for the last bus ..... which was 1600 and it was 1730 already .....

so we made it to the end and then discovered that there was no more bus to go back ...... there was no hotel and only a roadside shack .... that was the local cafe ....... the nearest village was 5 km and I had no warn jacket (in the end of Sept it gets -5*C there at night)

So all four of us were sitting there like fools .. not knowing what to do next

Lucky for us after about an hour some locals who had come from a small town nearby in their own car .... saw us and realised we needed help .. they offered to drive is to the town and suggested we could possibly find a bus there to get back to Beijing

So the 7 of us somehow managed to fit in their small car (a Hyundai Accent sized car) ..... after 2 hours drive we made i there and were lucky enough to find a bus back to Beijing ......

I was so so so so tired ....... hadn’t eaten all day ... too much physical exercise ... and the mental challenge the day presented ....

Hugged and said goodbye to my Russian mates and headed straight home and slept ..... Rose woke me up for dinner ..... and boy did I gulp it all down at once ... I was starving ....

The countryside where I went to in see the Great Wall was absolutely gorgeous ... Lush green hill ....... beautiful rivers .... tiny villages ... waterfalls ... almost pristine nature ..... That place will stay in my memory forever and ever and ever

kharub

January 15th, 2007, 01:04 PM

I uploaded my photo @ the Great Wall of China ...... why does it not show in my post ??

kharub

January 18th, 2007, 12:24 PM

Hi there Folks .... well finally got to LA ... been here one day .. and from what I have seen so far .. I am not very impressed ...

I am staying in Beverly Hills .... but its still a bit dodgy feel to it .. when you walk outside ....

But as I am here for next 8 days .. I will not pass a judgement as yet .. wait and see

sunitahooda

January 18th, 2007, 01:06 PM

VJ....will it be possible for you to attach thumbnails of the places/monuments you have mentioned in your posts....as after seeing we can relate to these place in a more comfortable manner or else cant even imagine myself there or dream about
Well if I go on in the same manner as my last post I think i will be 60 when i will finally be able to finish my China Story ....... so I will keep it brief ..

I was in China for about 2 months ... most of that time in Beijing ... traveling out to other places and then coming back to base for resting a few days

I had heard a lot about the TIANMEN SQUARE so the first morning I went to see the place ...... and its the biggest open square in the middle of a city that I have ever seen ...... and almost full of people , natives & tourists

You could easly fit half a million people there in one time ........

opposite the North end of the square is the forbidden city (the Royal Quarters & Palaces) ............ and there hangs a huge portrait of Mao Zedong .. you feel like he is watching you all the time ...

One thing that made me feel suffocated in China was the presence of Army Troops everywhere .... Everywhere you go on the streets you will see marching army Units ...... army guards in groups patrolling and keeping an eye on you ...... It makes you feel a bit worried .... (but I never saw then troubling anybody - I think China being a communist state they are just there to warn people not to attempt anything stupid)

It tool me 3 whole days to see the Forbidden City (trust me its massive) ... I also went to see the preserved body of Mao in his Mausoleum ..... he lay there peaceful dressed in an communist army outfit (i think so)

We generally think that the Chinese are small and skinny .... but infact a lot of Chinese are quite tall and chubby ....... I am 5'11 and quite broad shouldered and weigh about 85-88 .. but still sometimes in the Metro or the bus I would encounter Chinese .. much more bigger than me ....

I generally travel alone so was I this time .... I like to experience the true essence of the place and for that I believe you must be alone or in a small group ..... when you travel with too many people .. I am sure its fun but you cannot have the real experience in my opinion ......

After the first week visiting the various sites in Beijing ....... I decided to and see the Great Wall of China C:\Documents and Settings\VJ the DJ\My Documents\My Pictures\china wall

There are alot of different places near Beijing that one can visit the Great Wall ... most of them are tourist spots .... so I decided to go to this one location about 5 hours from Beijing which was one of the best spots to see the wall and had hardly any tourists ... just crazy people like me ....

Got there after changing 5 buses .. and in China thatâ€™s a feat itself .... When I got there I met a group of Russians who were in Beijing to attend a medical conference (I donâ€™t remember their names anymore) .... so we teamed up together to explore the wall ........

It was a bit run down and a very steep climb to get to the top of the wall ... and with my 10 Kg backpack it was really a challenge ......

There were local women standing at every 200 m or so and were asking us to pay them a dollar to go through ...... we did not in the beginning but then we came across an old women who would just let us pass through ...... so we decided to get off the wall and follow a small run down track along the wall and then climb back further up ........ She premeditated our plan ... I guess a million people before us must have tried the same .... so she threw a big log at us from the top of the wall .....
It hit me on the shoulder and it did really hurt ......... I was screaming at her .. and then she started crying .... thinking that I was badly injured ... but everything was okay ........

But if i would have lost my balance I would have fallen deep into the valley and possibly would have died ..

We walked a lot and got too far away from where we started and really tired .... the sun started to go down and it was getting freezing ... so we decided to head back .......... and God was it a challenge ....... we were already physically drained out and had a lot of uphill climb to do ....

We also forgot to ask the time for the last bus ..... which was 1600 and it was 1730 already .....

so we made it to the end and then discovered that there was no more bus to go back ...... there was no hotel and only a roadside shack .... that was the local cafe ....... the nearest village was 5 km and I had no warn jacket (in the end of Sept it gets -5*C there at night)

So all four of us were sitting there like fools .. not knowing what to do next

Lucky for us after about an hour some locals who had come from a small town nearby in their own car .... saw us and realised we needed help .. they offered to drive is to the town and suggested we could possibly find a bus there to get back to Beijing

So the 7 of us somehow managed to fit in their small car (a Hyundai Accent sized car) ..... after 2 hours drive we made i there and were lucky enough to find a bus back to Beijing ......

I was so so so so tired ....... hadnâ€™t eaten all day ... too much physical exercise ... and the mental challenge the day presented ....

Hugged and said goodbye to my Russian mates and headed straight home and slept ..... Rose woke me up for dinner ..... and boy did I gulp it all down at once ... I was starving ....

The countryside where I went to in see the Great Wall was absolutely gorgeous ... Lush green hill ....... beautiful rivers .... tiny villages ... waterfalls ... almost pristine nature ..... That place will stay in my memory forever and ever and ever

kharub

January 21st, 2007, 07:51 AM

Though a bit unsafe at times and inconvinient ........ LA is an interesting place ........

I have to choose between driving to Las Vegas or going to Disneyland tomorrow .... well i have the whole night to make up my mind ....

Its almost impossible to find a cab or an ATM in this city ........ so if you do not have a car .. you are basically screwed ...

Gotta go .. will keep you posted and will write in detail when i get back home (to Europe) ...

cooljat

January 22nd, 2007, 09:06 PM

pnauhwar21

January 24th, 2007, 05:22 AM

One of my favorite places is Mount Abu in Rajasthan - its memories are still etched in my mind even though I was just around 3-4 year old when we visited it..I still remember one beautiful morning - I had just woken up, was seeing outside the window, it was drizzling lightly and a group of 4-5 armyman were doing jogging with their heavy boots in that rain..I still remember the sound of their footsteps in that serene morning..

Later we saw Dilawara temples which were really good..and the clouds were all in the valley..we could not see our bus within 50 feet..all was covered in white clouds...and then the ride on the marvellous hills up and down..all so mesmerising till today..Never got a chance to go there again..but will definitely do that..

Even Darjeeling seems to be beautiful place which I saw from pics of my dad in 70's...the Tea gardens, its steam train and wonderful waterfalls..have so much to explore in our India

In US, Niagara falls was one of the best..that gushing water when you go virtually in the middle of the falls from both US and Canada side on the ferry and going dangerously close to bridal veil falls on Cave of the winds trail is fabulous experience..must see place

Las Vegas is a man-made wonderland in the middle of the desert..again definitely worth a visit and satisfying your cravings for gambling..

rakeshdahiya

January 25th, 2007, 03:14 PM

Dear Vj,

nice to read ur post abt China....in fact i live in singapore and here most of the ppl are of chinese origin......but they dont like chinese nationals as such and feel proud in calling themselves as Singaporeans, whic they definately should be afterall we all love our country, and Singapore is their country....but what am bit surprised is that that despite themselves being ppl. of chinese origin why they sometimes behave like that ....well, one reason could be that Singapore is a developed country and China is a developing one....so singaporeans naturally feel themselves superior........but other wise Singapore is a nice place but too good to live in.

If i have to describe Singapore in one line then i would say that " Its too systematic and clinical ...when u need not take care of the system.....the system will take care of you.

manuraj

January 25th, 2007, 06:14 PM

chhillar

January 25th, 2007, 09:04 PM

Nothing is like New York City, those who have lived in the city (not just visited) would know what I am talking about...

Dahiya Saab, Singapore...very clean, safe place but Little India and the area around sucks...

rakeshdahiya

January 26th, 2007, 10:31 AM

Chillar saab,

You are right to some extent......... but its not that bad.......also the Singapore government wants it to be like the way its is so that the place can retain its cultural and historical flavour....am sure you must be aware that Little India has always been promoted as major tourist spot by the govt here......

satyeshwar

January 26th, 2007, 02:00 PM

chhillar

January 27th, 2007, 12:54 AM

[quote=satyeshwar;129810]As for cars, yes you are right, having a car is a necessity in US, not just in LA. quote]

It is useless rather a burden to have car if you live in New York City as the city transport system is too good and you don't hit the traffic either but that applies only if you live in the city not NJ, Queens, Brooklyn or LI.

choudharysaaab

January 27th, 2007, 05:29 AM

Alas, I have not been to many places outside India, but london and cambridge.
if this comes to the matter of locations abroad, i would like to visit Melbourne Australia, and would like to explore the london city more. no only do i want to visit these but also do want to rule them and the people leaving there...i dont know how my this wish will come true...hahaha,......i have heard a lot about these cities...a want to know how people leave there, what their life-style is...the level of education and standard...and on course their understanding...what special things are there which make people choosy about their life being at Melbourne and London...

In India, i loved Udaipur, Jaipur, Delhi, Shamli, Safidon, Jind, Kharagpur...and of course I dont like whole Bihar and eastern UP...

kharub

January 27th, 2007, 04:29 PM

countries I wanna travel n explore atlease once in my life --

1) New Zealand
2) Australia
3) Mauritius
4) Germany
5) South Korea

In India the states I luv --
1) Sikkim
2) Himachal Pardesh
3) Kashmir
4) Rajasthan
5) Kerala

Well, Traveling is always been my first hobby & I've only one fantasy that is to exlpore whole world...wish me guys so it comes tru one day!

Rock on!
Jit

Jit Bhai you seem like you are still a young man, so dont worry you have a lot of time on your hand .... God willing you will see much more than you even dream of ....

Never been to Sikkim too ..... but its on cards when I visit India next ..........

kharub

January 27th, 2007, 04:31 PM

Dear Vj,

If i have to describe Singapore in one line then i would say that " Its too systematic and clinical ...when u need not take care of the system.....the system will take care of you.

Dahiya Bhai sahab,

I have flown through Singapore airport a number of times and I must admit it is one of the best I have ever come across and I have seen a lot of aiports ...

kharub

January 27th, 2007, 04:35 PM

Hii VJ..
Will write laterz about the places I had been to..

, first I would like to know about the tour u described in ur very first post... in which u travelled all the south india with ur parents. I did the same sort of tour when I was a kid only... till Kanyakumari.. on a bus.. with all the college staff families... started from Narwana(Haryana).

How bout ur tour.. maybe different... or by co-incidence..cud be same. cuz with every word of urz describing that tour... having the same feel as we felt.

--Manu.

Yes it can very well be the same tour ....... I dont know where the tour started but I do know that there were a few people from Bahadurgarh also in the group ... it was a long time ago ..... and yes it was in a bus with a few college staff families .......... what year did you do the tour in ??

I will PM you with the names of my parents ........ maybe we did indeed go on the same trip ..

kharub

January 27th, 2007, 04:52 PM

Bhai VJ, You have done somewhat injustice to LA! I have lived there for ~ 3 years and I can tell you from my experience, it is one of the best places to live in the entire world. The weather over there is superb all year round, not too cold in the winters and quite pleasant in the summers. There are plenty of banks and ATMs are on almost every corner. Cabs come and go so frequently that you won't really miss them. Perhaps, they are not as frequent in the upclass Beverly Hills area as most people are driving their Bentleys! :)
LA is one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world. You can find every type of food and clothing in the city. Just the sheer amount of Indians that live in LA make you feel close to India. I have gone to several jat parties and thoroughly enjoyed them.
As for cars, yes you are right, having a car is a necessity in US, not just in LA. You should try to see different parts of the city like Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Malibu, Pamona, Pasadena, Huntington Beach etc. Each area has so much to offer, I guarantee you that you will leave with an altogether different viewpoint than what you came with.

Well Bhai Sahab I have finally gotten back home ....... LA is a great place , but trust me really hard to find a cab ...... i remember one day i had to wait on Broadway and 5th St. for over an hour before I got hold of a taxi .... I thought the Taxi situation was so bad that I had to rent a car in the end ...

downtown LA is really dodgy ....... lot of Lations .. its dirty dingy and ghetto like ..... reminded me of Indian Streer markets ........... specially downtown around Broadway .....

Beverly Hills, Hollywood & Sunset Strip are really posh and impressive localities ... and for ATM's I think in Europe it is much easier to locate an ATM ....... (especially in the UK)
Santa Monica ...... Venice Beach too are really safe and clean spots ... good fun and great food (especially if you love seafood - I reccomend "The Lobster" on Santa Monica Pier)

The goods bits of LA are really outstanding ...... and the bad ones stick out really ugly ......

Did not get a chance to go to Malibu ..... or maybe i passed by it and did not realise it was Malibu ........

Even though it was winter in LA the weather was great nice sunshine and warm days (compare this to -15*C North Europe I came back home to)

Did not see many Indians or maybe I just confused them for Latinos ..... LA is a massive city

And yes I saw Ben Affleck in real ..... he was like 1 metre away from me .... on Red Carpet outside the Chinese Theatere for a film premier ......

It was a great trip ...... was my first time to the US and a truly memorable experience

rohittewatia

January 31st, 2007, 03:44 AM

priti

January 31st, 2007, 08:27 PM

Hello VJ, thought I'll contribute a little to your very nice thread.......I love traveling...but not flying...thats the worst part of traveling!

The places I have been:

In the UK: London, Coventry, Oxford, Cotswold, Edinburgh, Inverness, Cardiff, Tenby, Lancaster, Portsmouth (and some other places down south which i cant remember at the moment). Some of these places were momentous as my parents were with me and it was a great feeling to finally me driving them around instead of them :-))) My favorite ones are highlighted.

In Switzerland: Geneva, Lausanne, Interlaken, Lugano, Zurich, Zermatt...All these places are absolutely heaven but Interlaken was probably the best because I had the ariel view...its a place where two lakes meet and they have different colors...one is emerald green and the other is turqoise blue! (photo enclosed)

Other European places include Paris, Soreze, Annecy and Milan. Among all of these Paris stands our for its big city and soooooo european appeal and soreze for its rustic south of france hospitality...the food was absolutely amazing...you have two bites and you are full..its that rich (yeah even for a ghee eating me!)

Coming to Canada, where I have settled my feet for the last one year, the Maritime provinces are a delight...especially in fall...the colors everywhere, all trees in their red, yellow, orange hues are a delight...Halifax and Charlottown have historic importance to the short Canadian history....the red earth of Prince Edward Island and the dainty communities....very very friendly people too....will trust you with their dogs without asking your name...:)

Montreal, despite being the culture capital of canada was not that appealing...maybe one need to live there to understand what its all about.

the Niagra winery region probably has the most beautiful palatial houses, the ones you see and think of old american ways of living, Niagra on the lake is a small old town, from the lake you can actually see toronto skyline!!

Banff national park is the home of mountain sport...it has beautiful lakes but not as majestic as the himalayas...

In the carribean, Kingston in Jamaica is a mess! But places a little away from Montego bay have beautiful beaches....people are very chilled but one always needs to be and should be on guard there (well, just like everywhere else...Jamaica has its fair share of goons).

And now the most beautiful place in the whole world (a little biased here because of special occasion)...Turks and Caicos Island...went to North Caicos and Provo....For people who like some peace of mind on the beach without having as much as an umbrella plugged anywhere till the sight can go on the white sand and sparkling turqoise water...North Caicos is the place to go.......

Provo having the capital has more civilization and human life....still very nice...

India, have been to many places but Jaipur stands out in the memory...also Srinagar and Gulmarg which was a great family trip!

Apologies for my long write-ups habit...its great to write such things though...brings out all the nice memories...thanks for starting this thread Vishwajeet...

Now the future, places I would like to go......

The trans-Siberia train trip, would be great to be on the top of the world in a train:)

the whole himalayan range, Tibet, Kerala, Srilanka, the grand canyons, Peru, The African countries...

priti

January 31st, 2007, 08:37 PM

I wanted to attach some pictures...how do I do it? I tried the insert image option but it asks for a URL!!

dndeswal

January 31st, 2007, 10:08 PM

I wanted to attach some pictures...how do I do it? I tried the insert image option but it asks for a URL!!

First, press the clip sign on the top of post. A window will appear. There are two options - you have to choose the first one :"Upload File from your computer" - press "browse" first and then then choose the path of the saved image. Then, press 'upload' button.

kharub

January 31st, 2007, 10:09 PM

Vj, i must admit that u have seen quite a lot of countries. It is not so normal to have an indian passport n travel so widely. Keep going.

I have been able to see only scandinavia so far.
Germany
Denmark
Finland
Sweden
Norway

Hope to see whole europe in couple of years of come.

Mate you have seen the best bits of Europe ........ so dont worry ... I LOVE THE NORDIC COUNTRIES THEY HAVE A REALLY NICE FEEL TO THEM SMALL CITIES .. CLEAN PLACES AND NICE PEOPLE & GOODLOOKING TOO :D ...........

I do agree it can be a bit tough to travel on an Indian Passport .. but now I have no problem ....... its easy as .... initially it was a lot of why and for what at the embassies .. ....... But lately I have been getting really long visas really easy ..... so its not a problem at all

kharub

January 31st, 2007, 10:15 PM

[QUOTE=priti;130381]

The places I have been:

In the UK: London, Coventry, Oxford, Cotswold, Edinburgh, Inverness, Cardiff, Tenby, Lancaster, Portsmouth (and some other places down south which i cant remember at the moment).

I love the British Countryside ..... especially Scotland & Wales ......... I have never been top the South Coast ...... but God willing soon

In Switzerland: Geneva, Lausanne, Interlaken, Lugano, Zurich, Zermatt...

This is one place I really want to go .... My cousin lives in Lurzen .... But I have never gotten around to visiting him ......... But I guess Switzerland is a really expensive place ...

Other European places include Paris, Soreze, Annecy and Milan. Among all of these Paris stands our for its big city and soooooo european appeal and soreze for its rustic south of france hospitality...

Going to Paris next month ........ so will fill you in about what I think ...

Apologies for my long write-ups habit...its great to write such things though...brings out all the nice memories...thanks for starting this thread Vishwajeet...

Cmmon did you see my initial posts ........ yours was a good read at least ... :)

......................

priti

February 1st, 2007, 02:17 AM

Thanks Deswalji, you are the best troubleshooter on jatland!

Enclosed are some of my best pictures taken while traveling...I have extra-ordinary ones which are of the era when I did not have a digi cam especially of swit. .....need to get those scanned....in the meantime i hope you enjoy these....

ok, i could not upload again because the file sizes exceed 100kb...could not even upload in the gallery!! think will make the files smaller in size somehow...sorry :o

First, press the clip sign on the top of post. A window will appear. There are two options - you have to choose the first one :"Upload File from your computer" - press "browse" first and then then choose the path of the saved image. Then, press 'upload' button.

dndeswal

February 1st, 2007, 02:37 AM

In Switzerland: Geneva, Lausanne, Interlaken, Lugano, Zurich, Zermatt...

This is one place I really want to go .... My cousin lives in Lurzen .... But I have never gotten around to visiting him ......... But I guess Switzerland is a really expensive place ...

When did you visit Geneva and Lausanne, Viswajeet? I am placed in Geneva -You should have met me here.

Yes, Switzerland is expensive but there are some tips to avoid some such expenses.
.

priti

February 1st, 2007, 02:45 AM

ok finally!!

priti

February 1st, 2007, 02:53 AM

................

priti

February 1st, 2007, 02:55 AM

...........

priti

February 1st, 2007, 03:00 AM

Hello Deswalji, Vishwajeet was just replying to my post....I was working in Geneva in a UN agency in 2001........

switzerland can be expensive but it depends on where you stay, how you travel etc. Backpacking is good option especially in summer, that way you get be closest to nature as well.....it is a safe country and also has good facilities for backpackers...and something you should definitely go for till you're still young!!

When did you visit Geneva and Lausanne, Viswajeet? I am placed in Geneva -You should have met me here.

Yes, Switzerland is expensive but there are some tips to avoid some such expenses.
.

kharub

February 1st, 2007, 03:17 AM

When did you visit Geneva and Lausanne, Viswajeet? I am placed in Geneva -You should have met me here.

Yes, Switzerland is expensive but there are some tips to avoid some such expenses.
.

Deswal Ji what I said was I really want to visit Switzerland but have not done it as yet ..... My cousin used to study in Lausanne, he now lives in Zurich ... But I have not been there as yet ... The flights to Switzerland from Finland, Latvia & UK are quite expensive and everybody told me that it is a really expensive place ..... so I have stayed away so far ...

But this summer if I have any money left (which I am very good at spending & terrible at keeping) I will come there God willing ...... I hope you are still there at that time ....

raj_rathee

February 1st, 2007, 09:25 PM

Nice thread Kharub. Its very obvious you are quite fond of travelling. Wonder
how you keep the enthu once you've "been there and done that" for the
most part.

I've been to a few places myself, but have mostly lived there for prolonged
periods of time rather than short tours: several years each in England; Tanzania; Canada; and now US. As a tourist I've been to Hong Kong,
and most recently to Prague in Czech Republic.

I definitely enjoyed being a part of these very different cultures and
being immersed in them for prolonged periods of time. However, I find
that once you've sort of been there and done that (and sampled the
cultures, people, architectures, landscapes, weathers and so on) it
becomes hard to really get excited about new places anymore. It now
feels like I "know" North America, Asia, Africa and Europe.

And, worse, now with the internet and easy access to everything from
the laptop, its so easy to get to know everything in and out even before
you go there...in some ways losing out on that sense of adventure and
"you don't know what you gonna get". The experience sort of has
become sterilised.

So its great that you continue being so excited about new places despite
being so well travelled.

Well, anyways, last week I travelled to Prague...my first trip to Europe
since having left England long time back. It was quite interesting
to be roaming around in this very historic city (which was perhaps
the only major European city to survive the Nazi onslaught): castles,
churches, cobbled roads, statues, bridges,...the whole historic
European feel to it...and of course the pick-pockets on its metro (I caught
a guy with his hand in my pocket...hopefully he was looking for the
wallet!)...and an amazingly efficient metro system and an amazingly compact
and pedestrian friendly city!

Won't bore anyone with all the pictures I took (the web is full of
pictures of all tourist destinations)...but I came across one "deju vu"
experience. I came across this view (see picture) that I swear I had very
vivedly seen in a dream...right down the minutest detail. I am still
trying to figure it out...trying to find a possible explanation that perhaps
I had seen the picture somewhere or something. But I am damn sure
it was a dream since I remember thinking about it the next morning.

Perhaps I have a connection to that place. Perhaps I was royalty there
once upon a time...as I travelled down historic Charles bridge for
my coronation! :D ...perhaps...just perhaps...I had my own
har...ahhhhem!...Dreams can come trueeee...it CAn happen to youuuuu!

deepakchoudhry

February 2nd, 2007, 03:18 AM

deepakchoudhry

February 2nd, 2007, 03:21 AM

................

Hi Priti,

Lovely Picts...You will have to e-mail me a few now. :)

One of my dreams is to visit Galapagos Islands.

Hopefully one day !!!

Deepak

PS: My Fav Pict is the Autumn One. I just love that colour.

rakeshdahiya

February 2nd, 2007, 11:09 AM

Dear Raj Bhai,

This is regarding the "deju vu" experience u came across. In fact after reading your post I cant stop myself from sharing this similar "deju vu" that I have been thru. VJ bhia I am sorry for digressing from the main topic......

In fact about 4-5 years back i had a dream when i saw myself roaming on a big and nice Airport, very vast and well lit. I also saw a few Chinese ppl. roaming around. Then in a couple of days I forget that dream.

Then last year when I landed in Singapore....(I never wanted or expected to be working abroad).....after looking at the airport the same vivid images which i have dreamt about 5 yrs back flashed in my mind....and i started getting this feeling that I have seen this place before...i dont know why....but it has happened with me.....and i am still trying to find an explanation to this.......is dÃ©jÃ* vu real???....:confused: :confused:

Nice thread Kharub. Its very obvious you are quite fond of travelling. Wonder
how you keep the enthu once you've "been there and done that" for the
most part.

I've been to a few places myself, but have mostly lived there for prolonged
periods of time rather than short tours: several years each in England; Tanzania; Canada; and now US. As a tourist I've been to Hong Kong,
and most recently to Prague in Czech Republic.

I definitely enjoyed being a part of these very different cultures and
being immersed in them for prolonged periods of time. However, I find
that once you've sort of been there and done that (and sampled the
cultures, people, architectures, landscapes, weathers and so on) it
becomes hard to really get excited about new places anymore. It now
feels like I "know" North America, Asia, Africa and Europe.

And, worse, now with the internet and easy access to everything from
the laptop, its so easy to get to know everything in and out even before
you go there...in some ways losing out on that sense of adventure and
"you don't know what you gonna get". The experience sort of has
become sterilised.

So its great that you continue being so excited about new places despite
being so well travelled.

Well, anyways, last week I travelled to Prague...my first trip to Europe
since having left England long time back. It was quite interesting
to be roaming around in this very historic city (which was perhaps
the only major European city to survive the Nazi onslaught): castles,
churches, cobbled roads, statues, bridges,...the whole historic
European feel to it...and of course the pick-pockets on its metro (I caught
a guy with his hand in my pocket...hopefully he was looking for the
wallet!)...and an amazingly efficient metro system and an amazingly compact
and pedestrian friendly city!

Won't bore anyone with all the pictures I took (the web is full of
pictures of all tourist destinations)...but I came across one "deju vu"
experience. I came across this view (see picture) that I swear I had very
vivedly seen in a dream...right down the minutest detail. I am still
trying to figure it out...trying to find a possible explanation that perhaps
I had seen the picture somewhere or something. But I am damn sure
it was a dream since I remember thinking about it the next morning.

Perhaps I have a connection to that place. Perhaps I was royalty there
once upon a time...as I travelled down historic Charles bridge for
my coronation! :D ...perhaps...just perhaps...I had my own
har...ahhhhem!...Dreams can come trueeee...it CAn happen to youuuuu!

priti

February 2nd, 2007, 07:32 PM

Hi Deepak

Thanks! I have loads that I can email...

Where on earth is Galapagos islands!! :)

Hi Priti,

Lovely Picts...You will have to e-mail me a few now. :)

One of my dreams is to visit Galapagos Islands.

Hopefully one day !!!

Deepak

PS: My Fav Pict is the Autumn One. I just love that colour.

kharub

February 3rd, 2007, 12:23 AM

Nice thread Kharub. Its very obvious you are quite fond of travelling. Wonder
how you keep the enthu once you've "been there and done that" for the
most part.

However, I findthat once you've sort of been there and done that (and sampled thecultures, people, architectures, landscapes, weathers and so on) it becomes hard to really get excited about new places anymore. It now
feels like I "know" North America, Asia, Africa and Europe.

And, worse, now with the internet and easy access to everything from
the laptop, its so easy to get to know everything in and out even before
you go there...in some ways losing out on that sense of adventure and
"you don't know what you gonna get". The experience sort of has
become sterilised.

So its great that you continue being so excited about new places despite
being so well travelled.

I know what you mean Rathee Bhai Sahab, but you know when you get to a place it has its own feel and you cannot get it via internet or Travel Shows ... there is something unique and different about every place ....

I think teh reaosn why China is still one of the most memorable experiences I ever had is that there was not so much available on the internet in terms of Chinese countryside and it was so very different form ever other place ..

of all the places I would have to say I feel most comfortable in the UK followed by Australia .... maybe something to do with the commonwealth connection ..

I also think that i know about Europe now but everytime I go to a new country, there is a surprise in store for me ... like Finland is so very different from the UK and even Sweden .. the sister country next door

And I am still young .. no strings attached as yet ... so I think I can afford to do a bit of travelling now

kharub

February 3rd, 2007, 12:26 AM

Hi Raj,
I know what you mean..We travel a bit as well and at times they all feel like the same.

Our last trip was to Athens which was really nice.

Also with young kids we avoid long flights...so restricted in and around europe only.

I'm doing my research at the moment and the next trip either in Estonia or Coatia (my choice) and Mrs. is pushing for Egypt.

Not decided yet.

Deepak

I dont know about Croatia .. but Deepak bhai I would for sure reccomend Tallinn .. its a really nice city ...... but its a tiny tiny place ... anything more than a weekend is way too much for Tallinn ...

But if you do get a chance visit it for sure .... or drop by Riga ... Ryanair fies here from London & Liverpool .... its nice place too .. But Tallinn is a bit better (i think)

kharub

February 4th, 2007, 04:22 PM

Well I got to visit Disneyland as well when I was in LA ... I had a busy schedule and just managed to find some time for Disneyland .. I was not very keen on visiting but my friends insisted that we have to visit Disneyland .... We had rented a car and decided to drive to Disneyland .... we got on to the 5 freeway .. from Santa Monica and drove straight for Disneyland ... I was really tired and was napping in the car and Arturs somehow got off the 5 and on to the 10 ... when i opened my eyes and realised that we were headed in the wrong way .. we were already like 30 miles off track .... and it was a big challenge to get back on to the 5 freeway ...

But we somehow managed ......... what I loved about LA is that the streets and highway are straight in a logical order and very clear ......

We got to Disneyland at about 6 pm and had four hours for the whole park ... wihich was far from adequate ......

I think they have three different theme parks there .... and you have to buy seperate entry for each .. so seeing that we did not have enough timeon hand we opted for the Disney Theme Park ..... we paid about $65 for entry .. all the rides are included in this cost ....

Inside it was surreal .. reallly a dream world .... we tried the different rides .... I personally reccomend the Spaceship & Indiana Jones one ... but I was a bit disappointed ... I thought the rides would be much more thrilling or maybe I am a bit old now and have a different definition for thrill ...

But it was great ...... 4 hours just flew by ... we hung around in the Disney Downtown for a while and then went back to the parking ........

We were both so tired that none of wanted to drive back to LA .. so we decided to sleep in the car for a bit .... We were woken up by the Security guards bangigng on our window @ 0030 in the morning .. telling us that we cannot sleep in the car and we need to get out as the car park was being closed for the day ......

We were more tired when we woke up .. but had no choice and had to drive back to the city ....... when we got to the hotel and finally jumped in the bed ... it was the best feeling ever ..

deepakchoudhry

February 5th, 2007, 03:00 PM

I dont know about Croatia .. but Deepak bhai I would for sure reccomend Tallinn .. its a really nice city ...... but its a tiny tiny place ... anything more than a weekend is way too much for Tallinn ...

But if you do get a chance visit it for sure .... or drop by Riga ... Ryanair fies here from London & Liverpool .... its nice place too .. But Tallinn is a bit better (i think)

Thanks for the Info. :)

deepakchoudhry

February 5th, 2007, 03:05 PM

Hi Deepak

Thanks! I have loads that I can email...

Where on earth is Galapagos islands!! :)

Hi Priti,

Here is the Info about Galapagos. They are near Equcador. I think it should be easier for you to get there.

http://www.galapagos.org/

Deepak