As I sip Chinese tea sitting in my balcony, I try to look back at the time spent in this country.
I live in an urbanized village of Siem Reap, Cambodia. There is no electricity in the area for last 3 hours and I am told that around 6 years back they had electricity for only 3-4 hours a day. It’s quite an improvement, they say. The morning is not very hot … a cloudy day again.

Awesome Sun emerging, overpowering the dark night.
The tea is prepared on a small gas camp …

The Year That Was 2011
Another year. Another set of to-dos. And a time to look back and take stock …
Yes, I know I am late to do this post but by only a few days and since I am travelling, I can be excused.
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 …

A day in camel fair ground
As I walk towards the camel fair ground, I have a preconceived image of the fair in the back of my mind. From what I have seen in the photos till now, visit to Pushkar is a very colorful atmosphere with decorated camels on sand dunes, tourists galore, stalls and so on.
The shops are open on both sides of this narrow road. It is around eleven in the morning and there is no rush to lure the tourists. Also, there is no sign of sand …

You must be wondering where have I disappeared to.
Well, there is always a new set of challenges in travel and I like to set new bars for myself.
Recently I visited Pushkar International camel fair. It was an impulsive decision.
While people booked their hotel rooms and train tickets at least three months in advance to attend this annual event, here I was without a confirmed berth on train and without knowing where I was going to stay.

A decorated camel in Pushkar.
The challenge was to budget travel without any advance reservation and …

MTDC toilet at Lonar
This is the state of the common toilet in MTDC resort at Lonar.
Does it look okay to you? Is there something missing?

Such a clean and lovely toilet !
No water or flush tank, forget about the tissues, clean pot or floor.
Worst or best thing that is missing here is a door! When there is no door, you’d be a fool to expect a hook to hang your bag or scarf etc. Right ?
And man, I had to use it more than once! When you have to pee, you …

Hello !
You must be wondering what am I upto?
As some of you know, I have returned back from my trip to Uttarakhand a few days ago. To be honest, it did not end the way I had expected it to be.
I was looking forward to this trip with great enthusiasm. Everything was perfect for us. Looking at the weather conditions, we had packed quick-dry clothes, raincoats & other rain related items but contrary to our expectations, the weather was hot. Besides a few drizzles here & there, it did …

Warning: This is a colorful post.
Before I start writing about my recent trip of Philippines and Malaysia, I thought it better to recollect how was the year 2010 for me in terms of travel.
I think I will skip some of domestic travels since a few of them happened in a jiffy and I do not remember the details now. Also, I am not counting the local exploration of lesser known places of my town such as watching Flamingos at Sewri fort.

Flamingos enjoying their meals.
The year started with a …