Scuba diving in the Maldives

My article in the DNA newspaper  

For the complete story see my journey from learning the basics of scuba diving in Mumbai to becoming a certified Open Water Diver in Maldives. 

Touristy in London

London Bridge 2012 Olympics 

In the summer of 2012, just as the Olympics were drawing to a close I set off for a backpacking trip to the United Kingdom. With London, Lake District and Ireland on the itinerary I was on to quite an eclectic adventure.

I have always had a fascination for London, its double decked buses and phone booths firmly etched in my mind through countless encounters via cinema and various art forms. In contrast to this while browsing through the map, the northern most parts of Britain seemed like unexplored territory which attracted the vagabond in me. That’s why I chose the Lake District, changing three trains in all a day long journey but totally worth it. 

A part of me played the perfect tourist i.e bringing back a bag full of sightseeing brochures, catalogs and superbly random photographs of what a normal Londoner would call mundane city life, oh but that's the fun of playing touristy!

Getting There:

We chose Turkish Airlines due to its decent fares and a variety of early morning arrivals so as to save a day. 

So here's what I recommend you must do when visiting London for the very first time.

After landing at Gatwick Airport we proceeded to London city center (where the hostel was located) via a quick ride on the tube, accessible directly from the airport.   

Hostel Recommendations

I enjoyed my stay at Travel Joy Hostel Chelsea the most. This was largely because I met my first London crush - Sven, a tall, blue eyed German gentleman (who happened to be sleeping on the bunk bed above mine (innocent pleasures)! Don't think further, I assure you nothing happened! Just some fabulous conversations in double decked buses, a few laughs shared in the hostel lobby, but amazing memories non the less!

Of course the hostel was nice, not as cramped as some of the others I have stayed in. A friendly staff not to mention great location. We had a balcony with a gorgeous view of the river too.  On day one after sharing a few drinks, we set off on a tourist trail around the city.

I took at least a dozen of these back home, memories!

Tourist Trail

I am not much of a tourist trail-er, but I have to give it to them for the organised nature of these routes. I started with the Original London Sight Seeing Tour, one of London's many Hop on hop off options. You name a spot and it has that on its many blue, yellow, red, green routes! It is just like a local bus with set stops across the city, the colour representing the route it takes, the only difference was the hilariously funny guide extolling the virtues (or not) of every spot we passed by. How I wish we could introduce this concept in Bombay, my home city! 

From Hyde Park to Piccadilly, from Oxford Street to Trafalgar Square, with Covent Garden, Buckingham Palace, Baker Street, Camden market and more, it was like a joy ride I was on! If you are in London for a 48 hours and have a tourist checklist, the Hop on Hop off ride is your first stop.

Wander

Once done with ticking off the checklist, I decided to wander around the streets of London just taking in the vibe of the city with no set route, plan or itinerary for the day. Why you ask? Well that's because I feel my feet will take me to fascinating parts of the city, all I have to do is look! So I set out.

The first thing I noticed - men and women on their bikes or in their running gear  peddling away at 7 am. When I ask ask around I am told it is a common practice to run or ride a bike to work. I find that fascinating. Also work begins at 8 am and ends at 4.30 or 5 pm post which I saw quite a few runners and bicycle riders on the street once again. What a healthy way to live whereby you have a social life post work hours instead of slogging it out late in the evening like most people I know. No wonder Great Britian took 7 Olympic medals at the cycling event alone that summer!

London Eye as seen from the Thames Cruise

London Eye

Yes its a part of the tourist trail. But I chose to visit London Eye separately. That's because I could spend the entire day there and not tire! No I dint do that, but I sure would have loved to. 

There is just so much to absorb in an eclectic city like London, I just had to pause for a moment and take it all in. So I sat by a cafe near the eye and browsed through my memories. 

http://www.mylondonmap.com/
  

Valley of Flowers

The Valley of Flowers

At 10,500 feet, I bring to you glimpses of the elusive Valley of Flowers. A solid reason I have to use the term elusive. You'll see why.

Trudging through tough terrain for 6 hours on a 14km hike from Govind Ghat, our motley group reaches the destination, Gangaria. Gangaria is the base camp for hikes to the Valley of Flowers and Hemkund.

like the tips of icebergs

All we could see was something like the tips of icebergs. This was the rock face surrounding the valley. With fog and rain playing relays of hide and seek, we were mere onlookers to the magic unfolding.

On the other hand, it felt as if a series of mesmerising episodes has been shot, cropped and loaded on to wide hd screens for us. Trudging past the oh so high rock face with an uncanny resemblance to the movie Avatar where in the main leads swoop over magical lands with their flying steeds. Fighting for our attention was a glimpse of this lush valley; not to forget the shy smiles of tiny flowers along our path.

paths through flora

They say the valley changes colours every few weeks i.e various species of flowers have their unique phases to bloom and therefore if you so happen to visit in June, you will see the pinks and reds of precious rhododendrons. A visit in July as yours truly did, a greeting with blues and purples with take your breath away, you will truly ‘forget me(them) not.’

The Valley of Flowers trek is an easy to medium grade one from our base camp Gangaria.  Within the first 800 meters you will reach the official entrance to the valley. Mountaineers will tell you about the valley's association with the Nanda Devi Reserve ecosystem, botanists will rave about the uniqueness of a multitude of flowering species in one spot, but for a city dweller, what I am engrossed in is the stillness. The silence.

My group members will tell you, "oh, Dii found the first rock she could fit on and dozed off to sleep!" but I tell you this, even dozing off to sleep in such a place is something!

Of course I was kicked in the behind by my sister to explore..and of course do justice to the heavy bit of imaging equipment (read hi-tech digital SLR) the results of which are here for you to see.

 'forget me not', indeed

I don't want to describe the trek up to the valley simply because its one of those magical places were you make up your own memories and moments. Mine is of lying on my rock and looking out to the best view in the world: to my right a sparkling silver freefalling waterfall, to my left imaginary Avatars weaving through the mist and in front of me framed with snow capped mountains lies a carpet of purple flowers, of every hue and shade, as far as my eyes can see.

Cobra Lily

Himalayan Bell flower

Wild Purple Orchids

Go ahead, bring home your memories.

101 Reasons to Travel

1. Travel to explore

2. Travel to change

3. Travel to experience

4. Travel to let go

5. Travel to get lost

6. Travel to be found 

7. Travel to find

8. Travel to step out of your comfort zone

9. Travel for perspective 

10.Travel for conversations

11. Travel for photographs

12. Travel to complete

13. Travel to compete

14. Travel to the past

15. Travel for the future

16. Travel in the present

17. Travel for romance

18. Travel to dare

19. Travel to lend a helping hand

20. Travel to teach

21. Travel to learn

22. Travel to dream

23. Travel to achieve

24. Travel to express

25. Travel to conserve

26. Travel to share

27. Travel to discover

28. Travel for friends

29. Travel for reasons

30. Travel for seasons

31. Travel to witness

32. Travel to laugh

33. Travel to cry

34. Travel to shock

35. Travel to surprise

36. Travel to the unknown

37. Travel to invent

38. Travel for music

39. Travel for festivals

40. Travel to drive

41. Travel for that heady feeling

42. Travel to help

43. Travel to guide

44. Travel to meet

45. Travel to leave

46. Travel to reach out

47. Travel to reach within

48. Travel to write

49. Travel to work

50. Travel for adventure

51. Travel to play

52. Travel to pray

53. Travel for the memories

54. Travel for the stories

55. Travel to confuse

56. Travel to amuse

57. Travel to lose

58. Travel to loose

59. Travel to hear

60. Travel to see

61. Travel to touch

62. Travel to feel

63. Travel to taste

64. Travel to smell

65. Travel to spend

66. Travel for time

67. Travel in time

68. Travel before it gets too late

69. Travel to gift

70. Travel to give

71. Travel to receive

72. Travel to believe

73. Travel to hope

74. Travel to sleep

75. Travel to awaken

76. Travel to introspect

77. Travel to respect

78. Travel for the mountains

79. Travel for the sea

80. Travel for the colours

81. Travel for the rain

82. Travel for harvest

83. Travel for spring

84. Travel for winter

85. Travel for summer

86. Travel to hide

87. Travel to simply be

88. Travel to imagine

89. Travel to wish

90. Travel to create

91. Travel to picture

92. Travel to paint

93. Travel to speak

94. Travel to listen

95. Travel to observe

96. Travel to seek

97. Travel to understand

98. Travel for your kids

99. Travel for patience

   100. Travel for wisdom

   101. Travel for the Love of Travel.

Will Travel for Food

Lush hills of Ooty greet me as I switched on the telly this bright birthday morning. I was surprised to see the cocktail sipping, celebrity socialite byteing Aneesha Beig surrounded by Ooty’s lush greens.

NDTV’s ‘Will Travel for Food’ was a lovely way to begin my Sunday morning; following a sumptuous trail through sludgy fudges and nutty chocolates and through tea plantations sipping hot coffee. 

I enjoyed catching up with Aneesha chatting up with celebs as they let their hair down at after hour parties. But this was a refreshing change as a comeback from her entertainment beat days. Food Travel is by all means the cherry on the cake of travel reportage and she creates a pretty picture of it.

While one is amazed by her capacity to demolish a five foot long dosa, her quirky humour and matter of fact analysis is as refreshing as the hills of this episode.

Ooty by itself is a simple maiden with all her sweet rose gardens and chocolates beckoning you. Also since it is one of those places you remember from a childhood holiday, it holds a special place in my heart.

A special place in my heart and a special taste on our palette, I couldn't put it any better than Aneesha’s words: This is it-isn’t it!  

Dare to (day) Dream

You've entered the boss's durbar awaiting his precious digits on a mundane draft, your eyes dare to go where your feet don't..towards the big fat not so flat globe sitting smug on that grand oak desk. "Its been a while we met really, come on, give it a swish," your imagination kicks in and ha! The world swirls and says Sawasdee..Applause, clap, tap, cheer, poping champagne, "you just won a trip to your most favorite destination,"says the boss handing you a premier ticket to your dream destination."tap, tap, Smack!

That was boss waking you up from a midday drea...dataentry.