We started around 2 AM, and headed to Moradabad. The highway is pretty good till about 10 km before Garh Mukhteshwar, where road work is going on. The going became slow and rough, and we stopped altogether as we hit the mother of all traffic jams a kilometer before the bridge over the Ganges. We were stuck there for 4-5 hours, and during that frustrating time, the feeling was that the trip was doomed. Anyway, this post is not about the frustrations, but about the awesomeness later on. So suffice to say, that come morning, the traffic gods smiled and we crossed the river, and hit a beautiful piece of tarmac, that goes on till Moradabad. It had been more than 6 hrs since we left, and we had covered just 100 km.

Tired and hungry, we spotted the perennial Mecca of all road travellers, the golden arches, McDonald’s!! Quick pitstop while we polished away most of their food and we were off again. Since we had lost so much time, and had not slept for over 24 hrs, we decided we would stopover in Nainital and then head to Binsar. Post Moradabad, we came across two options. The road signs said to head to Nainital via haldwani, while google maps offered a route that skirted Corbett Park and went via Bazpur. No prizes for guessing, we took the road less travelled and headed to Bazpur. Twenty minutes into the trip and we were regretting the decision. The road was AWFUL, especially around Tonda. To be honest, there wasn’t much of a road at all. It was a single lane highway, going thru populated towns and villages. It took us 2 hrs to complete the 50 KM stretch to Bazpur.

Bazpur lies at the border of UP and Uttaranchal, and as soon as we entered Uttaranchal, the tarmac became friendly, and more importantly, smooth as a baby’s bottom. The road twisted and turned through the beautifully wooded Corbett Reserve. As we reached Kaladhungi, just before it, we could see a small road heading off into the reserve and towards the town of Kotabagh. For no reason, we decided to head there and take a look see. Couple of miles into the road, we saw a dirt track heading into the jungle. It looked just about big enough to accomodate the beast and again, no surprises, we headed into the jungle. It was beautiful, the entire forest floor covered in yellow orange leaves, a testament Autumn left behind. The trees themselves were dressed in that brilliant green of new leaves. We headed deeper into the forest where we met a couple of folks who told us about this old temple, alongside a fresh water stream, a couple of miles further along, which was also frequented by the local wildlife. As we headed deeper, the road became a dirt path will some serious off roading capabilities. I would not recommend coming here in a sedan.

We reached the temple, which wasn’t much more than a hut, but the surrounding are with the stream and the dense forest was worth the trip. After some pictures we headed back to the main road and towards Nainital via Kaladhungi. The great north Indian plain extends till Kaladhungi, and from here the mountains start. Its almost a surprise because one moment you are on the flat straight roads of the plains, then you take a left and strat ascending a hill. Its quite brilliant. The drive upto Nainital is very nice, what with the thrill of finally reaching the mountains coupled with the smooth and intensely curvy road. The air also gets cooler exponentially and soon our overworked AC got a break. Nainital (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nainital, lies at an elevation of 1,938 metres (6,358 feet) and is a beautiful part of the world. It seems less crowded than other hill stations like Shimla and Mussoorie and much much cleaner. The central attraction is the Naini lake, which shines a brilliant emerald green. we descended down the slopes and toewards the centre of town, the Mall Rd. Soon, we had people trying to sell us everything from strawberries to boat rides. It wasn’t hard to find a hotel, and soon we were all settled in Hotel Prashant. The hotel was just a couple of hundred feet above The Mall, on the zoo road. A pretty comfortable place, reasonable too, with a super friendly staff (ask for Ganesh). The hotel also has some parking spots and provided free shuttles to and from the Mall (brilliant!!)

We whiled away time walking around the Mall, boating, eating, going up the ropeway etc etc, generally relaxing. Which is quite a novelty for me since most of my vacays are hectic do-this, see-that kinda affairs. Good food and a couple of drinks later I was ready to hit the sack. In the morning, we head towards Almora, and eventually Binsar. The drive to Almora is fine till the town of “Garam Pani”. This is where road forks, and one heads to Almora while the other heads to Ranikhet. By now we were at the bottom of the valley, and being accompanied by this gorgeous river. Needless to say, we found a good spot on the road, parked and headed down to the cool waters. Sitting there, my feet in the water, a bright sun making me squint, and the gorgeous gurgling sounds of the water over the smooth rocks, was surreal.

Twenty minutes and ten km down the road I realized I had left my camera by the river. We turned around, and my buddy drove back like a maniac. It was some of the best driving I have seen, even including the driving I have seen him do in car rallies. I rushed down to see that the camera was not there. There were some guys hanging by the river side, and as I approached them, one asked me if I was missing something. You can’t imagine the relief, when he handed over my camera (bless the blokes). To be honest, if I hadn’t gotten it back, the trip was probably over. I would have been most upset about the loss of the amazing pictures I had taken so far. The camera could have been replaced (I just had to rob a bank), but not the pictures. Well, all’s well that ends well.

We reached Almora (the road’s bad…. BAD), and after getting some lunch and buying the local speciality, “Bal Mithai”, headed to Binsar. Now there’s a main highway that heads that way, but we took the more scenic (and steep) route via the Kasar Devi temple. With each mile we rose into the clouds, the air became colder and the scenery breathtaking. Soon though, the heavens opened and it started pouring. Though we were very comfortable and dry inside the beast, we decided that cup of tea, at a roadside shop, with barely a roof capable enough to keep the water out, was a great idea. And it was!!! The most awesomes setting to have some hot tea, if I say so myself. Hot being the operative word, since, you see, I in my infinite wisdom had forgotten to carry a single piece of warm clothing with me (not even a full sleeved shirt/tee), and it was freezing. We drove on and reached the Binsar reserve forest, which is marked my a forest check post. I think the entry to the reserve was Rs 400. The distance from the check post to the KMVN guest house on top is 11 km, and the road is just brilliant, just bloody brilliant. Now everyone may not agree with my opinion here, since the road was barely wide enough to accomodate my beast. Everytime a car approached from the opposite direction, one of us had to back up to the nearest possible passover point. On top of that, the road turned and weaved like a bronco on acid. See… brilliant.

Now there are a couple of places to stay in Binsar, but the KMVN guest house is at the most elevtion and the cheapest. That said, it has its eccentricities. There is no electricity, well, only two hours a day. Thats because they use solar power and generate just enough. You get hot water only in the mornings, at 6 AM. All meals are communal affairs, where a fixed menu is served in the dining hall, and there’s no TV. Nature is the entertainment. Its government sponsored eco tourism. I, for one, liked it. I wouldn’t recommend it if you were trying to go all out and pamper your girlfriend/spouse, but if you want a real travel experience, this is it. We reached the guesthouse at 4 Pm, checked into our room, and sat down to do …. nothing. Now I have been on a lot of vacations, but this one had a lot of firsts. For the first time, I actually relaxed and did nothing. I mean nothing. Lying on a chair by the window, seeing the clouds drift by, and some of them come into the room. For the first time on a vacation, I slept at 9 PM. For the first time on a vacation, I woke up at 5 AM.

So post dinner, I braved the cold and went out to see the stars. Millions of them, lit up the sky like a south delhi house hosting a marriage. I took some pictures and decided to hit the hay, before the crown jewels froze and fell off. Next morning saw us waking up in a hurry, to go catch the sunrise. The sunrise was all you expect it to be beautiful, peaceful, ethereal and simply fantastic. Not even the little kids jumping around and nosey housewives discussing the gastrnomical delights of the previous evening could dampen the experience.

Next we decided to trek up to the peak of the mountain, a moderate trek of around 5 km, to a place called ‘zero point’. This presents a majestic view of the Himalayas – a 300 km stretch on famous peaks which includes Kedarnath, Chaukhamba, Trishul, Nanda Devi, nanda Kot and Panchchuli. On a clear day you can see the entire kumaon range, and even into Tibet. Unfortunately for us, the day wasn’t so clear, but we still got a glimpse of Trishul (22970 ft) and Nanda devi (25643 ft) peaks. Words fail to describe the sheer awesomeness of the view. The peaks reaching for ths skies while the lower valleys hidden from the view by a bed of clouds. After recovering from a bout of snap-happiness and maxxing out my camera’s memory card, we headed down to the resthouse, and out of Binsar

If you’re looking for a place to relax, unwind, get some physical activity and simply enjoy some of the best scenery India has to offer, you should try Binsar. I cant wait to head back!

With the scrutiny and drivers briefing done, we headed off to the hotel to get some rest. Though i must say, I was too excited to sleep much and spent the night watching TV with M and chatting about the rally. 3 AM, and 2 cups of tea each, quick shower and shave and we were ready to race. The scenes at Parc Ferma was one of restrained excitement, coupled with drooping eyelids from lack of sleep. It was before dawn and the lake around Jal Mahal gave the whole place a very serene feeling. Soon, the night would shatter with the sounds of free flow exhausts.

We had barely gone a 100 yards when the thing came loose again. We tied the plate again and started, but heard this loud screeching from the front left tyre, and even after checking everything, we couldn’t find what was wrong. Tempers were flaring, disappointment was in the air. So much anticipation and we were going to be out of the rally in the first leg! We decided to try one more time and we found that the plate was scraping against the back of the brake shoe. We fixed it, but by this time we were 15 minutes behind schedule, a huge deficit when it comes to rallies. many participants had crossed us while we were bent over fixing the car. The next 30 minutes saw the best driving I have seen in a while. Racing along at 130 kmph, on traffic laden roads, overtaking everything from rally cars to bullock carts, we made up the time, minute by minute. By the time the next TC came along, and the end of the first leg, we were on track again and had a penalty of only 11 seconds. An amazing feat, all things considered.

Thanks to Pooja and Sonali for organizing a farewell bash for me. It felt very special, and seeing all my close friends one last time was great.

It takes a minute to say hello and forever to say goodbye. I don’t especially care for goodbyes, never was any good at them, so I prefer “Till we meet again”.  Life’s not as short as we think and the world’s smaller than we imagine, so hopefully our paths will cross again. So till that time, I thank you all for being my family away from home, and wish you love, peace, happiness and prosperity.

Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes – Henry David Thoreau

This is the start of something new, and hopefully, exciting and revitalizing. So I am determined (ignore the crossed fingers behind my back) to record the thoughts and events in my life from now on, in this, the most humble of blogs.

First up, Moving to the USA was so much easier!!! I had 3 pieces of luggage, a plane ticket and a mind buzzing with anticipation. Now, I have a plethora of “belongings” that hurt too much to leave behind. So every day is a constant struggle, trying to decide what to take back and what to dispose off. Obviously the monster TV, XBox and PS3 are on the top of the “take back” list, but what about the hundreds of books, collected over the past 5 years, languishing in my umpteen Ikea bookcases, that beckon to me with wistful glances and ruffling paper noises every time I walk past?

Then again, I can’t explain the constant craving to buy every gadget I can possibly get my hands on, before I leave the shores of the new world (of course, I blame Amazon for this, for the ridiculous ease of shopping).

Between all of this constant back and forth, there is the small matter of actually arranging the shipment of all this “important” stuff across the seven seas. If you’ve ever navigated the world of Air/ocean freight, I imagine you have an amused expression right now and almost feel sorry for me.

The next few days here will be a melange of dinner and coffee dates with friends, last minute raids on Ikea, Walmart and Macy’s, and a mad dash to eat at all of my favorite places before I leave.

Now, all that said and done, I am more excited about getting back than I thought I would (surprisingly). I guess coming home is always this way. I am looking forward to this and if you’re reading this in India, lets plan to meet up when I get there

Blue ridge parkway

Images . Burnt in the mind
Memories . A part of the soul
Days. Eternity …. Void . Deep
Life . An abyss .. a black hole

How long is enough? When shall it pass? Is time really the great healer its made out to be?

Purge the mind, burn the store
throw out the unanswered questions, the distrust, the deceit
coz only when is done and gone
will I be at peace ….. I hope.

No one wants to see your tears
no one wants to hear your sorrows
laugh and the world laughs with you,
cry, and you’re alone tommorow.

So chin-up dude, go wear your mask,
check the sadness and put on the facade,
Life’s unfair, agreed. But there are smiles to spread,
If you can’t even do that , you’re better off dead.

It seems to me that the Royal Challengers Owner, Vijay Mallaya, has put all his eggs in Kevin Pieterson’s basket. History has shown us that any cricket team dependent on one or two players, has rarely done consistently well. Seriously, tell me who else besides KP, Kallis and Rahul seems like the batting mainstay of the team. The challengers will need Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli to fire on all cylinders, but most importantly, they will need Robin Utthappa to get his head right and realize that he is what he is because of the game, not because of his wannabe rock star antics

If I have any sympathy for this team, its becuase it contains two of my favorite players, who are also two of India’s most underrated, simple, hard working and ethical human beings. Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble

Dude 1 : Whatup?

Dude 2 : Whatup?

Dude 1 : So … whatcha wanna do man?

Dude 2 : dunno … u say

Dude 1 : damned if i know

Dude 2 : bitch !!

7:30 PM (still on the phone)

Dude 1 : See you in 30?

Dude 2 : get some smokes

8:15 PM (at a local hang out)

Dude 2 : bitch, I told you to get some smokes, din’t I?

Dude 1 : You are smoking, aren’t you

Dude 2 : yeah, but we had to come all the way here, whereas if you had gotten some, like I asked you too, we wouldn’t have had to come so far

Dude 1 : yeah (extends middle finger) …. So, whats the plan?

Dude 2 : dunno

8:45 PM (still at the local hang out)

Dude 1 : you wanna fuckin stand here all night … lets do something!!!

Dude 2 : like what pissbreath … lets hear the master-fun-fuckin-plan

Dude 1 : lets pick up some chics and party !!!

Dude 2 : name 3 chics who would go out with you?

Dude 1 : ummm… yes, there is this chic … no …. DAMN!!! (kicks nearest stone, realizes it wasn’t as small or light as he thought … profanity overload)

9:00 PM (STILL … at the local hang out)

Dude 1 : who was that?

Dude 2 : that was P, gotta go pick her up.

Dude 1 : and pray what are we doing after that

Dude 2 : prolly go party somewhere

Dude 1 : I dont wanna go with P

Dude 2 : dammit man, do you always have to be a prick. Now come on.

9:15 PM (where else … still at the same place)

Dude 1 : what did she say?

Dude 2 : Im not gonna get any … and all because of you. Asshole!!!

Dude 1 : *grinning* wanna drink?

Dude 2 : might as well

10:00 PM (driving around)

Dude 2 : man, aren’t you tired of this shit … lets go somewhere.

Dude 1 : Relax man …. here, lets put on some Metallica. That’ll make u feel better.

11:00 PM (at the local pig-out spot)

Dude 2 : *buurrrrrrpppp*

Dude 1 : you pig !!!

00:00 AM (no idea where we are)

Dude 2 : rockin …. friggin rockin

Dude 1 : I told ya man … I told ya ……………………….

NEXT DAY

Dude 1 : so…. whaddya wanna do man ….