Wandering and Wondering

Wikitravel suggest blue dragon pool of Lijiang as China's finest view and it goes on to add Tiger Leaping Gorge as China's finest trek. It was hard to imagine what could be so great about a gorge! guess its time to experience.  A 2 days walk marked with villages with Yulong mountain always in front and Yantze river continuously deepening the gorge deep below.  "Be like water, making its way through crack" Yulong mountain in Back drop A guest house on the way, but way to early to stop Numbers have always fascinated me and here is another one. The owner of one guest house told me that almost 50 trekker visit the tiger leaping gorge everyday but the lower reaches of gorge accessible by bus is visited by 5000 people. These numbers speak volume about the tourism industry these days.  I continued the trek with the help on some sign boards but the path is normally well marked.  And I wish i could know what they want me to The above sign boa

It is always special to travel first time to a country. It is the only time when imagination meets reality. How much did China surprise me? It cannot be told in numbers. What can be told in numbers is only the number of days I spent, 12 days. These twelve days had a strong analogy with Vipassana meditation! A Vipassana meditation is designed to detach one from daily life distractions and outside world. The mediation is designed for 10 days sometimes. One goes through the hardest time for first 3-4 days. Its only then one realizes the presence of self being. The sound of heart beat, the focus of imagination, the force of air gushing in and out of nose.  I was in a land totally unfamiliar with an absolutely unknown language and off the road. What more was an existence of an individual in Singapore like never before. I could barely keep my thoughts off! Initial few days were frustrating because of no proper conversation, getting lost, ending up in wrong places, ordering food think

Jama Masjid and Qutub Minar: two building from different era, symbols of different empires but united by their architectural marvel. The Delhi of today is very different from those era yet when we stroll around these magnificent monuments, it reminds us of our glorious past and rich heritage.  Jama Masjib is one of the biggest mosque in India, built by mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 17th century. Located among the congested streets of Chandni Chowk and Chawri Bazar, it is easily accessible on foot or rickshaw from metro station. As it true for any monument in India, best time to visit the mosque is in morning when the air is still cold.  Jama masjid is home to many pigeons too. 

"Failure teaches a man how to succeed"  This was a quote hanging on a tree in Wat Phra Singh, Chiang Mai. Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai offered me peace when I really needed it. It gave me opportunity to break away and clear my thoughts. I chose to spend time in temples, visiting the karen tribe, observing the life of monks and making new friends.   Wat Rong Khun : The journey started from Wat Rong Khun, the white coloured temple. As I understand, the concept of temple is walk from hell to heaven. There is a beautiful but scary representation of hell at the beginning of temple. But as one walks, the fairy tale representation of heaven starts to appear. Each and every corner of this temple is beautifully done. It is an amazing feeling to be there.  Reflection of the blessings

 "We shape our buildings thereafter they shape us" Humayun tomb, the monument that inspired the construction of Taj Mahal a century later!! It was constructed in 1572 by Bega Begum in memory of her husband, Humayun, the great emperor of Mughal era.It is fascinating to see the contrast from Taj Mahal, which was constructed by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife.   This magnificent piece of architecture is made from contrasting red sandstone and marble. The whole architecture of Humayun tomb is inspired by Quranic description of paradise, the beautiful garden beneath which a river flows at the final resting place. Humayun tombs has more than 100 graves from mughal era. It was also one of the refugee camp at the time of partition of India.  Early morning at Humayun tomb

"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is ideal life" There are very few who would appreciate our definition of bachelor party. It was no hangover, no strippers, no wild party. It was all chitchat and things we haven't managed to talk, four of us knowing each other for more than four years, two of whom getting married to love of their life.     We decided to head to Langkawi with close to no expectation. It is an island off the west coast of Malaysia bordering Thailand. But guess what! enough was there in store to surprise us. The beaches are serene, unspoilt and the roads are so less crowded that one can really enjoy driving. This is one of the first few pics we took, somehow it gave me the memory of Ranchi.  Yaroon dosti badi hi haseen hai - Photo credits: Outline of Photography