Monday, January 1, 2007

2006: Year of Travel

This was a year of travel for me. I visited 22new cities let alone in 2006. Here is an account for ppl who want to trudge my path or share my experience. In total, I visited 27 cities this year including revisiting 5 cities.

Delhi-Ahmedabad-Surat-Silvassa-Kolhapur-Delhi (9th March-6th April)
It was an official trip but there was much time to spend around. Surat is a commerical centre and a bad city for travellers. Kolhapur had something to offer in Mahalaxmi mandir. Its said that she is the wife of Balaji whose temple is located in Tirupati and left her husband's abode after a small altercation.

Delhi-Bangalore-Tiruppur-Salem-Chennai-Delhi (14th-23 April)
Again this was an official trip with lots of unofficial twists. I will remember the Banglore visit for the bravery that Varun showed to meet me while the city was under alert over the death of Rajkumar. I will also remember the small reunion with Kishore, Manish, Aditya, Tushar and Nidhi. I was meeting them after 5 years. Tiruppur was a bustling town with polite inhabitants. Salem was a picturesque sight. Its pleasent to watch the hill bound city as you arrive from the straight highway. Spencer's in Chennai with almost double the size of Delhi's Ansal's Plaza was a revelation.

Delhi-Goa-Delhi (5th-8th July)
The outbound trip, sponsored by the company was full of fun. We were lucky to find the drizzles all the time we stayed in the lush confines of The Leela. The hotel itself offered much to explore. We made planned visits to various locations and the 200 strong team had sweet memories. An estimated Rs 35000 was spent by the company on each employee.

Delhi-Mukteshwar-Nainital-Delhi (4th-7th August)
Spectacular. The best trip ever. The seven of us made a great team. Surprisingly, I knew only two of them before we started. I will remember the 7 km long trek to the Mukteshwar temple. I will also remember the kaliedoscopic weather while we were in Nainital. But the time spent among us was something that made this trip memorable. We just clicked as a team. The M Team.

Delhi-Chennai-Pondicherry-Delhi (9th-12th September)
The busy coastal city of Pondicherry was beautiful and Ankur, one of my oldest friends studying in Pondicherry University, helped me visiting some of the locales. The university itself remarkable as we had to travel 2 km on a straight road from the main gate to reach the hostels.

Delhi-Baroda-Bharuch-Wapi-Delhi (22nd-26th November)
The trip was official but finding a weekend, I spent it with friend in Daman. And what a weekend it was. Daman offers lot for the drinkers and travellers with quite coasts and cheap bars.

Delhi-Bhilwara-Chittaurgarh-Delhi (29th November-1st December)
The legendary fort of Chittaurgarh spread in a circumference of 17 km offers rich heritage of Rajasthani royal class. The formidable Vijay Stambh had a passage to go all the way to the top. That was the best part of my visit.

Delhi-Haldwani-Delhi (2nd-4th November)
The trip was special. Vihag and Ruchi got married. I will have to confess that they are the handsomest couple that I have acquainted with. The status may change once I get married. We danced for more than 3 hours. The visits to Bhimtal and Naukuchiyatal were worth a note.

Delhi-Mcloedganj-Dalhousie-Khajjiar-Chamba-Delhi (16th-26th December)
Hadn't it happened, I could never have imagined such a beautiful end to an eventful year. The trip offered so much in terms of new friends, new memories and an entirely new attitude towards life. I hope I will shed some of my scepticism and will trust strangers more than before.

1 comment:

Alex said...

Man!!!You've been traveling a lot!Wanderlust?