Take Me Anywhere

Hey all Discussion is onnn............ We should take her to "Amboli", said Aunt . It's "Monsoon", probably little risky to drive there, said Uncle. "Nah"....it will be fine, said Aunt. Ok, but we can avoid going to the highest peak, said Uncle.   And there I was sitting clueless, Amboli??? Never heard about such a place. But hill-station near Goa, Aaaa!!! S omehow, I was little dubious, having belong from North India; I already have many mountain states under my sleeve like J & K, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. So, a tiny hill station near Goa, not sure !!!  "Amboli" is a quaint hill station at Goa-Maharashtra border!! It lies in Satara Distt. of Maharashtra. 2 hours drive from Goa, that makes it a perfect day trip for Goans.  From the early morning, it was raining "Cats and Dogs"; July being the peak monsoon season in Goa and around.  One thing was for sure!! From the time

Hey all Varanasi!!! September 13, 2017 Picture source-Google It was our last day in Kashi!! As we sat down for breakfast at Granny's Inn(our homestay); as usual I was looking forward to meet the sisters, the Granny's Ashaji and Arunaji. It was the routine, that they usually sit with us over breakfast.  Also Read-  My first homestay experience at Granny's Inn-Varanasi But that day Arunaji not showed up. I was later told by Ashaji that today Arunaji is fasting; as it was Jivitpurika Vrat(Jitiya Vrat). Jitiya Vrat is a 3 day fast, a very strict fast. It's a no water fast(Nirjala Vrat).  Jitiya Vrat is one of the main festival celebrated mainly in Nepal and in states of Bihar, Jharkhand and U.P. In further conversation with  Ashaji she told me; it's an auspicious day for motherhood, women's  from far states comes to Varanasi on this day, to take a dip in Holy Ganga river and pray for the longevity of their sons. Arunaji too fasted for her bel

Hey  all Year 2017!!! Time was running out of my hands; October already half passed. New year was right around the corner.  With just f ew leaves in hand; I was in constant struggle, where to head next!! It has to be Mountains, I was for so sure!!  The urge to reach the heights was high and so was my spirits.  It's being a while, I visited ridge of hills. Chakrata-Uttarakhand Mountains, that too in limited days???  Hmmm??? The best possible option came to my mind was "Chakrata" .  3 hrs ride from Dehradun, this peaceful hill station is nestled at 7000 ft height.  It's an army cantonment area, foreigners are totally restricted to this area; even Indian to some part of Chakrata. You should know,  Chakrata is less traveled and is not that popular and preferred as compared to other hill stations in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand.  With thin crowd, no happening "Mall Road"; Chakrata is definitely not a "Fancy" take, it's yet

Hey all Guy's you should have seen by Dad's face, when I proposed him with an idea of staying at a homestay!!! I am not gonna stay at somebody's place!!! I want my comfort, he replied. I laughed off and explained him with the budding concept of homestays in India. Still today when we start planning for a vacation, the first thing comes in our mind is "Hotel reservations"; HOTEL=COMFORT LEVEL!! But with change in time, homestays are picking up it's pace and popularity; specially with avid travellers. In September 2017, w e took a short trip to Varanasi;  and I decided to ditch Hotels over Homestays.  With few points in mind, I searched around a while to book a perfect homestay.  Granny's Inn, was our home for next 3 days.  Here are my reasons to pick Granny's Inn- LOCATION Perfectooo!!! In the heart of Varanasi; just 10 mins walking distance to D ashaswamedh Ghat (main ghat). PRICE Booked through MMT, jus