Sometimes we travel to too many places and at times we don’t have enough.
The year 2011 started in the Philippines. We celebrated our Christmas & new year in that country. Besides the capital Manila, we could explore some part of it but Batad was a place which left mark on my life. However, as I always say, any place on this earth can never be counted as ‘done’.

The year 2011 was not very good in terms of travel. There were always some issues cropping up and I had to cut short or cancel many trips either midway or before the start irrespective of the locale, foreign or Indian.
This time when I was about to leave India, my doctor, instead of telling, asked me “Are you fit to travel?”. So, that’s about it.

Anyway, I’ll let the pictures speak of the places I visited in the year 2011. I think I did more than this. If anyone of you recall, please let me know. I always think I have more memories than photos of a place.

Batad.

Looks easy? It is world’s one of the most difficult places for hiking and any other rice terraces of any country are no match to it. Yes, I hiked & survived Batad ! That too during monsoons when the paths as wide as a few inches become very slippery. One slip and you are assured of a fall of at least 12 feet if not in the valleys. And yeah, I loved the younger generation of this small village..

Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur is my base for travelling to South east Asian countries. I always travel Air-Asia for this sector and the airlines has a base at Kuala Lumpur. I always take a day or two off before embarking to another country. Now I am very familiar with this city, so much so that I can be treated as an unofficial guide. Ask me anything about Kuala Lumpur and I’ll be happy to help you out.

Nighoj.

Natural wonder Nighoj potholes. This place needs to be seen to believe, a must see if you are in the vicinity. These beautifully shaped natural potholes are some of the largest in Asia according to geologists, but very few of us have even heard of them.

Kaas Plateau.

Vast expanse of flowers

If by any reason you can not visit the valley of flowers, visit this plateau instead. Will save you some physical effort and the effect is the same with vast expanse of flowers treating you with a sense of heaven.

Lavasa.

I was invited to attend ‘Lavasa Women’s Drive’ event and review the Lavasa experience. The all expense paid two day trip to this ‘European’ town Lavasa was an opportunity to celebrate the spirit of modern woman in true sense.

Mysterious place.

Golden Pagoda. Can you tell me where it is?

Dubai.
Visit to Dubai is not only visits to shopping malls. There is much more to see.

At times we had some fun and adventures ….

… And some relaxation too.
This was again an invitation.

Rishikesh and Rudraprayag.

In spite of my high fever I loved the positive vibes of these two places. Later I was diagnosed with Pneumonia.

Morachi Chincholi.
A village of dancing peacocks.

Delhi.
Delhi trip is inevitable.

Ajmer.
Visiting Dargah Sharif was a soothing experience.

Matheran.
Hiking and the toy trains made our days in Matheran.

Udaipur.
Udaipur got just a half day from my adventurous run to Mumbai.

Let me know if I missed some places here.

And here’s to a 2012 filled with more travels, adventures, and lots of fond memories for everyone!

Posts related to this entry which might interest you :-

• Year 2010 in travel (38)
• Of my absence … (12)
• Return…. (15)
• Random travel related rants – II (34)
• Random travel related rants – I (9)
• The year that was.. 2009 (25)

If the entrance is this inviting, who would not like to go in ?
Is not it a good way to invite to a museum?

Welcome to the museum.

The 18th-century stone edifice housing the museum is quite small. It once served as a hospital, but today it is a National Heritage building. The Postal Museum is located near the Post Office of Mauritius.
The Postal Museum’s mission is to develop philately on the island and to preserve locally made stamps, which are valued highly around the world.
———
P.S.-This article belongs to Le Monde-A Poetic Travail. If you are viewing this on a website instead of your RSS feed reader, then that website is guilty of stealing my content. Kindly do me a favour. Please visit my site and help me taking action by letting me know against this theft. Thank you.
If you like this blog, I suggest you to connect with me through Facebook fan page and Twitter.

Posts related to this entry which might interest you :-

• Haunting History (4)
• Street food in Siem Reap (5)
• Nietzsche and Charles Darwin (4)
• Fruit seller in Thailand (5)
• Cottage in Koh Lanta (9)
• Skiing in a shopping mall ! (6)

Flamingos enjoying their meals.

The year started with a trip to city of gardens, Bangalore in January.

Lal Baugh, Bangalore.

Next came Mauritius. V happened to go there several times and I accompanied him once. I have written very little about this beautiful country.

Who would not want to live here?

Then came my 48 days solo backpacking trip to Malaysia and Thailand which started in late February and ended sometime in April. Physically I was not at my best. It was tough and sometimes daunting being a woman and travelling alone in a new alien country. Wandering on roads with a backpack with no fixed destination or agenda was both fun and challenging.
Those readers who were following my posts at that time would definitely agree with me.

Majestic Petronas. You can’t visit it if you don’t plan a day ahead.

Everything about Thailand is amazing.

Month of May saw me in Delhi for a short trip and I could visit the Red fort. I had a great time there. I have noticed, when you are alone, your observation skills shoot up.

Majestic Red fort at Delhi.

Come June and July and I was in Bangalore and after that again a solo trip to interiors of Tamilnadu. Started from Chennai in sleeper class I travelled in local buses, rickshaws and on foot. The most common question I was asked by the locals (whenever they could speak English) was which country I belonged to. People even requested me to have a photo with them !!
Surprising enough, I do not look like a foreigner from any angle. Perhaps my cargoes, cap with a Kangaroo on it, a camera hanging from my neck and my solo status spoke otherwise.
BTW, this happened in Thailand as well.

Entrance of Bragatheeswara or Big temple, Thanjavur.

Towards the end of this trip, mosquito bites in Kumbakonam gifted me Dengue which I thought was a normal fever and kept suppressing it with Paracetamol pills.
Sriperambadur was my last stop before I flew back home from Chennai. Once home, tests revealed it was indeed Dengue and I was advised immediate hospitalization because of my condition. It took more than a month to recover with V taking full care of me.

But I could not restrict myself for long. August end, and I was at Aurangabad exploring the world famous caves and later at Lonar lake.

Sculptures at Ellora attract people of all ages.

Again travelled in local buses, had to stay in a dingy room in a very small place by compulsion … thanks to heavy rains which had washed away all roads of onward journey.
But at the end of it, this was what waiting for me.

The emerald green was so inviting that I couldn’t resist myself from hiking down to it.

In the month of October I flew down to Sikkim on an invitation by Club Mahindra. One of the major achievements of this trip was visiting Nathu La Pass and first meeting with eight hitherto virtual people.

Near Kyongnosla, one of the check points at around 10000 ft.

In November it was again a Delhi trip to attend some family functions spread over 8 days but I made it a point to take a day off to visit Khurja, a small but well known place for its pottery industry. Again, I met another friend in Delhi who was virtual for me till then.

Bahai’s temple, Delhi.

In Khurja it was quite difficult to convince somebody to show me a factory and how things are made from scratch to finish. Here is a small video that I captured while coming back from one such factory.

In one of the factories in Khurja.

Come December and on 20th I flew down to Kuala Lumpur on way to Philippines to celebrate Christmas and new year in a new country.

View from my window at Batad, Philippines.

Sunset at Port Dickson beach, Malaysia.

And I bade farewell to year 2010….
This year I intend to do a different kind of travel, a kind of introspection. For doing that first I need to enhance my endurance level. Just one reason is good enough…. I am a traveller and not a tourist.

Lastly,
Dear Year 2010,
Goodbye. You gave me a lot of opportunities to travel and I am quite satisfied.
May I wish for more this year.

Greedy,
Me.
———
If you like this blog, I suggest you recommend it to your friends. If you wish to stay tuned to the latest happenings on this site,
1. You can subscribe to this website by e-mail or on your reader.
2. For those small stories and tit-bits that don’t always make it to this place check out my Twitter or
3. Facebook fan page accounts.
4. For my travel related videos subscribe to Youtube.

Posts related to this entry which might interest you :-

• The Year That Was 2011 (8)
• Of my absence … (12)
• Return…. (15)
• Random travel related rants – II (34)
• Random travel related rants – I (9)
• The year that was.. 2009 (25)

Outside India, the festival is celebrated mainly by the Tamil speaking community settled in Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka and many more countries around the world. But I never knew this festival is popular in Mauritius as well !

Thai pusam is dedicated to the Hindu god Murugan, the son of Shiva and Parvati and is a celebration of the victory of good over evil. It usually takes place in a temple.

On the Thaipusam day, most devotees of Lord Murugan adorn dresses of yellow or orange colour and offer him fruits and flowers of the same colour. It is said to be Lord’s favorite color.

I am not telling you the whole story about it because I myself do not know.

In short, the devotees vow to dedicate a Kavadi to the Lord in return for a favour. They perform various acts of devotion such as walking over burning coals.

Many fanatical ones go to an extent to torture their bodies to appease the Lord. So, a major feature of Thaipusam celebrations is body piercing with hooks, skewers and small lances called ‘vel’. Many of these devotees even pull chariots and heavy objects with hooks attached to their bodies.

Posts related to this entry which might interest you :-

• Happy Deepawali (7)
• Intoxication of a different kind (30)
• Banganga Music Festival (20)
• A day in camel fair ground (7)
• Ganapati Visarjan (11)
• Souvenir Key Chains (21)