The route how Google Maps shows it and how we did not do it

Trek Day 1 Lamayuru to Wan La

This was an awesome trek and it also is my favorite day of trekking, why because the sun was shining, it had both ups and downs and I was my 100% today. It doesn't matter if I was one of the last few to make it to the camp, the day was glorious. Also I caught cold today and that had a lot to do with labored breathing in the coming days..
I also tore my down jacket today, don't ask me how it happened; I have no clue. It is resting peacefully in my room all patched up with bandages. I'll talk to the store and let you know if there's hope for it.

That red bundle is me walking up to the pass, wearing bright colors in places like Ladakh is a great way to be found.

Trek Day 2 Wan la to FangiLa (Phonjila)

The small pools of river which were yet to be frozen.

Today we walked on Chadar, the frozen sheet of ice on the river. Though I am not sure of the name it is either WanLa river or Yapola river, you can't miss it the river is right next to the road and today it was frozen ice. A few of us got our feet in the water but nothing major. What waited for us was a cold night at Phonjila; me being the scared cold ridden person that I am slept in the Dining area with most of our group.

Trek Day 3 FangiLa to Hanupata

The mountains shined golden when sun fell on them. On a side note I have never loved sun so much.

This was a change of plans and I am still not sure how I feel about the day. even before we had started I was a bit skeptical about how I will fare. I had bad cough and every few steps I had to stop and catch my breath. Still I survived the first half, and after lunch things promised to look up till I broke two layers of ice and my foot was stuck.
Thankfully help was near and I regained use of both my legs in a few minutes. But by them my let was paining from the bruise and my breath was hitched. The result I took a car to the base camp with just 5 km left of the day's trek, what i am really sad about is that Ajay had to come with me. It was a beautiful day but the fact that I couldn't complete the trek was a big downer.

Pangong Lake and Back

Third Highest motorable road and VERY cold, I guess I was out there for just 30 seconds, and none of us wanted to get out on our way back. Yes it was VERY cold.

After being driven back to Leh and sleeping in a warm real bed I was still debating if I should join the group to Pangong or not, I had no desire to feel breathless or catch fever and become an even bigger burden. Thankfully I decided to go for it, even though I spent most parts of the two days trying to keep myself warm the lake was worth driving for even if I spent just a few hours on it.
Most people visit Pangong in summers and they are right, accommodation options are closed, the lake is no more turquoise and temperatures are beyond cold. The frozen lake however is a sight in itself, perfect sheets of salty ice coupled with mountains in the backdrop are definitely the best backdrop for clicking stupid pictures and playing football.

Bangalore is one of the most active cities I have ever seen, and both of us like Bangalore a lot. one of the reasons we like it is because there is just so much to do in and around Bangalore. Just Like I said with Hyderabad it would have been so easy to just do a quick list but this has to be easy and no brainer, like Chennai and Mysore, because I know of friends who have not yet visited these two even though they have been living in Bangalore for ages.The list below has everything from forest to Beaches.

If you would like to add to the list and we have quite a few we would have added too, just put it down in the comments. Also let us know how many of these places have you been to.

A great destination, Hampi is 370 kms fromBangalore and is reachable by daily buses and trains. Recommended for long weekends, you’ll love the slow pace of the historic boulder city. Best time to visit is winters. Don’t forget to pack huge loads of sunscreen and umbrella if you plan to go in summers and you may miss the coracle ride during rains. With heritage temples, village life and awesome restaurants Hampi would be your best pick. You can easily find accommodation in the range of 400-500 a night and food can be as cheap as you want. There are no designated camping grounds but we have heard a few camping stories as well.

Read more about the city here

Some 220 km from the city are the forests of Nagarhole with its varied wildlife and lush green forests. Like most of the tropical forests you should be planning a visit during the cooler months from October to March. With easy bird sightings and nature walks the National Park is a dream destination for any nature enthusiasts. To add to this there are quite a few resorts which have come up and promise to provide you with responsible tourism options. Though these can be very expensive during the peak season you can definitely look around and get some cheaper options. The best part is that there is no fee for the national park, at least that is what Wiki Travel says.

This is almost a default choice for anyone who lives near enough, with the sea, French buildings and delicious food it is a must visit. If you have not been to Pondicherry yet, even after living in Bangalore pack your bags right away.  we have been to the Union territory multiple times now and I would go back in a heart beat, if only for the quirky shops and good food for all tastes. If you are a meat eater you would be a happy person sitting down at one of the many French places or sampling some parotha at any one of the shops.

It might not be the default choice in terms of weekend destinations but Chennai is a great city to spend a eating weekend in. Everyone agrees that the best sambhar is to be had in the city and I second them. Not only that the city has good beaches and heritage monuments which will not just keep you busy but also satisfied. To add to that the city is barely 350 Km from Bangalore and definitely deserving of a road trip. If you opt for the road trip take your time at places like Vellore and Kanchipuram.

This small town in Hassan district is even served by the KTDC tours from Bangalore, so all you have to do is hop on a bus. The town on the banks of Yagchi river is a treasure trove for any history enthusiasts and the forests nearby are equally inviting. The city is just 3 hours drive from bangalore but that doesnot man you make it a day trip. Take at least three days and include Chikmanglur and Shravanabelagola, both of them quite different but defintley worth a visit; Chikmanglur with it's coffee plantations and Shravanabelagola with the world's largest monolithic statue of Jain deity.

Thanks to the cheap flights going to Kochi from Bangalore is very easy and once you are that near to backwaters a weekend cna only get better. Though Kochi is a good place to visit at any time still you would do good to avoid the Monsoons, instead in the cooler months of the year the city can be one of the best destinations to visit. The main city of Kochi is not where you want o spend your time. take a bus from the airport and get to fort Kochi and spend the day and evening there to soak in it's Portuguese Heritage. It is pretty small and we cold walk around on foot easily. If you are interested in spendign a night in a houseboat (as you should be) head to Alleppy. Local buses are good and punctual and you should have no problem reaching any where.

Really you have not been to Mysore and you are in Bangalore! Well never mind this year go and see the lighting on Tipu Sultan's palace and be amazed. the wealth held inside the palace is amazing but photography is strictly prohibited. Apart form the palace do go and visit the Rail museum, or if you are feeling adventurous or religious climb up the Chamundi hill. 1000 or so steps will take you to a temple and get you some of the most beautiful vies of the surroundings. Just 150 Km from Bangalore Mysore cna be an easy day trip for those weekends when you still want to sleep in your bed.

Called as the cradle of Indian temple architecture Pattadakal is more like a laboratory where in one enclosure you will find various temple styles. The village is very small and while visiting we did not find a single lodge but then again we did not ask. We were busy roaming around the campus and then looking for food. Badami is the place where you will find options to stay and it is where you will get in if you take the train route. Badami caves are beautiful though not as widely spread as those of Ajanta and Ellora but beautiful none the less with sculptures to rival any one of the famous caves. If you are there for a long weekend take a trip to Aihole too.

ou might want to check out this post The practicals of Badami and Pattadakal

You might want to check out this post The practicals of Badami and Pattadakal

We put together a guide for the caves, click here to sign up and download it.

What is #JustOneRhino

Photo courtesy of Great Plains Foundation

#JustOneRhino is a campaign to support  Rhinos Without Borders a project which is working to translocate 100 rhinos from South Africa to Botswana to protect them from the tragic rise in poaching. Botswana has one of the best policies and anti poaching laws in Africa. Moving these animals who can weigh up to 3 tonnes is not an easy task or cheap for that matter. Every step requires security and precision or else you would lead Rhinos to their certain death.

More about the prizes

Now for the gifts we were talking about well they are awesome and not just that you can win one by pitching in as little as 20$(1200 INR) that's less than what you spent on drinks this New Year and definitely less than the flights you will be taking to go on those tours. Here's a sneak peak of those prizes.

And the people who made this possible

There are some awesome agencies who have helped the campaign to reach so many people with their contribution.

Over past few weeks I have received a lot of requests for good stay options at various locations from friends and family. Form houseboat rentals to beach villa and I have been looking for the best deal possible fro them. Yes I know I am the best friend ever, and they are awesome people so I love doing something special for them.

To make it easier for all of you to find and book hotels in a way that would help you save some good money, I decided to do this post which will cover two of my favorite sites to book hotels on. There are a few affiliate links in the post below, which means if you do book anything from here I will get a small percentage of your transaction. Be clear, you will definitely not be charged extra, more often than not you will get a free credits.

These days we are not booking our stays beforehand because we love couch surfing and also because we don't mind walking around looking for a cheaper accommodation, or a place that will suit our requirements. We also do not have to take care of a kid and usually stay in a backpacker to low budget accommodations which usually do not require bookings. It might sound cool to arrive at a new place with out bookings and just roughing it out, believe me it can turn on you as it did for us  in Bijapur. We recommend that you book your accommodation for first night at least.

Hotels.com

Hotels.com is an international site which offers a great incentive to book. If you book 10 nights with them you get one free night. This is not the only benefit of the site, let me tell you more about it. This is one of the transactions we were looking at but the plans fell through we are now working these days and travelling later.

The Start Page

We were looking for a place to stay in Goa for 4 days and 3 nights along with two other couples. Logging on to the site I fill in the form telling them where I want to stay and for how long. On the next page with search results I get an option to select the amenities I want and the search results are them filtered to suit my preference.

Search Results

Quite a few search results

Once satisfied with my choice on hotel I juts go one and pay the amount and voila I got myself a booking. Now this is almost similar to most of the other booking sites but In terms of filters I have found Hotels.com to be the most accurate.

Selecting my filters

Filtered Results

A property we liked (we do not endorse them)

Room options and Details.

Payment Page

You need to take care that as far as possible you book the hotels with the purple moon next to it and the room you are booking should show collect. Once I go through the booking and my hotel stay is complete these nights will be credited to my account, contributing to the 10 night quota for my free night stay.

This is where my friends come into play since i need to book 3 nights each for each couple, I can collect a total of 9 nights simply buy booking the hotel in 3 transactions, which will be credited the same way. If you are a frequent traveler or you travel with your family or friends you should have no problem racking up those nights and then you can use them to stay at a place you choose.

Another thing I like and the reason why I prefer the site over likes of Goibibo is because the prices are quite competitive. Recently the discount being offered on other sites have been dwindling. Most of the discounts now come with a minimum qualifying expense and put a cap on how much discount you might get. I used to think that the prices would be way higher but since this has not much to do with money and a lot to do with no. of nights rewards remains equal if I book a 600 Rs night or 6000 Rs night.




These make most sense if you are traveling in Europe or any of the other expensive countries since you will spend a good amount which will help you get a good place to stay when you come back to India. They also have this last minute deal which we have never tried. So if you are looking for a place to stay today or tomorrow look it up. In case you do let us know how it went.


I know what you are thinking, I stay cheap now and then  stay expensive on my free night. That is not how it works your free night is the average of all the nights you have bought. So in case your office lets book you stays you might want to route them all through Hotels.com.

Do not forget to sign up for loyalty points of your hotel group be it SPG or Hyatt or any other, everything from your stay to food will help you get another free night from the loyalty points.

This is what they say about the free night.

Our loyalty program, Welcome Rewards, is for guests aged 18+ who signed up with a valid email address. When you book and stay 10 nights at eligible hotels, you’ll get 1 night free to redeem at another. We work out the average value of all the 10 nights you’ve collected and give it back to you as a free night. You just pay taxes and fees. And if you choose a room that costs more, you pay the difference. You can’t collect or redeem nights when you pay using a discount coupon or if you’re making a package booking. 

Links above are affiliate links which means if you book after clicking through we will get a small percentage of the amount without you being charged any extra.

Next Up: Agoda.com

We are still recovering from our road trip as well as the tasty goodness of Pondicherry. Both of us feel like all we did was eat at Pondicherry. It is not like we went on a rampage, we ate three meals but those were much more lavish and expansive than our regular one dosa each fare.

Our foodie friends might find the pictures lacking but believe me for some reason the SLR around our necks does not get clicking on a table with food. Infact these are some of the rare pictures of food you would find here, because we forget clicking as soon as we see food. We had no inclination to click filling breakfasts we had at Chitoor and Vellore while riding, the truth is posting the food here was the last thought on our mind.

Dhaba food

So as you would know we started off on our bike at 11:40 am (too late) lunch on the highway was our first pit stop and the food was great. Dal, chapati and egg bhurji made for a hot and satisfying meal in the rainy afternoon and we spent close to an hour just resting our vibrating selves and letting our bike cool down while we gobbled up all the food.

Tea at Kadapa

This is the tea which marked our entry in the city of Kadapa and what a ride it was. Dripping from rain and shivering this came as a welcome relief even though it was probably the most expensive tea we had.

Filter Coffee (I am in love with the brassware)

You know the feeling when you can just taste victory, this filter coffee was exactly that. Some 40 Km from Pondicherry after crossing Thindivanam. Ajay saw this place which had a toilet. We were again wet from the rain and hassled from crossing one city after another; bursting bladder didn't help much either. As I used the facilities Ajay ordered this awesome cup of coffee and it was heavenly. Don't ask me how it compares to the famous coffee houses because right then it was the best coffee ever.

 After sleeping for a while at our host's place we decided it was time for dinner as our lunch hadn't really been filling. TripAdvisor said Villa Shanti was the place to be and it was Ajay's birthday so that is where we went and food was great.

Breakfast spread at Kasha Ki Asha

Next day we woke up a bit late and headed to Kasha Ki Asha which is definitely a place we both liked and enjoyed. Our food was as colorful as the place itself and I love the way they serve lemon soda.

Lunch at Dune

Moving on we were off to keep our date with Dune, where Subhajit waited for us to give us a  property tour as well as feed us some good food. Ajay loved the watermelon gazpacho while I favor my stuffed spinach ravioli. If I could have finished it I would have ordered their Ayurvedic fare but that platter was so much food that it took and entire paragraph in the menu.

Pizza at La Teresse

This brought us to the dinner which was pizza in one of the famous restaurants of Pondicherry- La Terrasse. Though I like the pizza it was a bit bland for us (I know Indian taste buds) surprisingly so because we had asked for a spicy version. Last year we had one near Auroville and that is still my favorite.

Dahaba Food Again

I just have this one pic of our lunch next day which is a surprise because we were famished. I guess blogging is catching up with me, otherwise it is difficult for me to stop and take a picture when food is on the table. This is at Sher-E-Punjab Dhaba at Nandayal; there are quite a few of them. This one was next to a petrol pump and also has toilets.

We feel we ate too much, but I am not complaining. Food was good, though we did eat expensive fare than our usual meals. Before I sign off there is nothing like hot parotha and Kurma to make you feel satisfied. Pondicherry is one of the places I have had some of the best parothas, Try it at any shop they they usually cost you 10 a piece and Kurma is kind of complimentary. If you are a vegetarian like me you will struggle to total 30 for a meal of Parotha Kurma.

Hold on let us know what are your favorite places to eat in Pondicherry and the best highway meal you have ever had. Feel free to share pics.