“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” -- Mark Twain. @@@ Though I came across this adage by Twain much later, I always believed in it and lived it. It is exactly twenty years ago that, I traveled to some of the most exotic destinations in India, on a Yamaha Rx 100, all alone. In those days, I lived in Bangalore and for several years I was dreaming of travelling to Lahaul & Spiti in Himachal and Ladakh, in Jammu & Kashmir. The latter I wanted to travel by the Manali- Leh road, which was not open to civilians until July 1989. I was planning to apply for an Inner Line Permit to undertake this journey but got to know that they would allow Indian nationals to travel without the permit once the road was cleared of snow. There is such a heavy snowfall in this area that, some parts of the road are covered with snow 20- 22 feet in height! My journey started from Bangalore one day in early July........@@@ I had reached Shimla after travelling from Delhi/ Chandigarh/ Kasauli. At Dharampur. I take a diversion from the NH 22 to reach Kasauli. It is a small, beautiful hill station and it is a honeymooner’s paradise. The next day, I planned to do the Shimla- Rampur- Kaza sector first ( Lahaul Spiti) but learnt that the road was blocked due to heavy landslides and may take a couple of days to clear the debris. I also got to know that the Manali- Leh road would be open to traffic from July 17th. Hence, I packed up and travelled to Manali and stayed overnight.@@@ Early next morning, I filled up the tank as well as two jerry cans with petrol for the long and arduous journey of 470 Kms. I stocked up my rucksack with a can of cheese, a bread loaf and some chocolates. I had “planned!” doing the journey of 470 Kms.( I clocked 496 Kms) in about 15-16 hours as I had heard that the roads were not good. And in those days, there was no internet to rely upon for better information. I had absolutely no inkling to what was in store for me! @@@ Instead of the “ expected 15-16 hours”, it took me four days to reach Leh! Some of you would have fallen off your chair reading this but, this is absolute truth. Though the journey was incredible and the area truly Shangri-La, I had trouble which was unimaginable. I was without food for almost two days and it was only due to the friendly army personnel at Spang camp who gave me kheer and eggs for breakfast on day four or else would have collapsed due to hunger.@@@ Re-live the entire experience by reading the full narration... http://tinyurl.com/krhy2e @@@ Whenever we think of our travel to various destinations, we are filled with nostalgia and feel like doing it all over again. Which other of our experiences that we list here? @@@ Nestled between Switzerland and Austria, is Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein with a population of just over 5,000, is one of the smallest countries in the world. We enjoyed a ride in a battery operated mini train, which covers the entire country’s sight-seeing in just 40 minutes! Next to the train tickets counter is the counter of the tourist office. Here, you can get your passport stamped with the “ visa stamp” of Liechtenstein for about 3 Euros. Close to it is the popular main street- Stadtle- a sort of a flea market, selling second-hand curios, souvenirs, artifacts and trinkets. @@@ One of the most enjoyable street-life entertainment is on La Rambla in Barcelona, Spain. We enjoyed the scene for hours, what with the bustle of tourists from almost all countries in the world, the performers, artists, musicians and the dancers. The whole atmosphere gets festive and as the sun sets, we stroll for a while and later reluctantly leave for our hotel as we have an early flight to catch the next morning. @@@ One of the most beautiful train station that I have seen is the Atocha Railway Station at Madrid. Madrid has two main railway stations, and Atocha happens to be the largest and also breathtaking, especially the interior plaza, which is beautifully done up with lots of greenery, water bodies, etc. It has a tropical garden with lots of plants, fish and turtles. It has a very large atrium, encompassing the gardens, offices and the train bay. We marveled at its size and beauty. @@@ Schweizerisches Verkehrsmuseum Luzern or the Swiss Transport Museum a is one of the most popular museums in Switzerland. It has various exhibiting halls, displaying all transport modes of different eras, the complex also houses Imax theatre, Planetarium and also the Hans Erni Museum, a local but renowned painter. This is located close to the Lucerne lake. @@@ The only thing which I did not like about the Yamaha RX 100 was it’s electricals. With 6 Volts, the headlights were pretty bad. The worst scare that I got was while traveling through the Jawahar tunnel, it was sheer nightmare. It was pitch dark and a truck honking away to glory behind me, I could barely see the road ahead. However, the mood changed soon thereafter. Coming downhill the steep loops on the Srinagar to Jammu is an exhilarating drive. Cornering the steep curves at a speed of 80- 90 Kms/ hour though dangerous, is a heady experience.@@@ Another “ heady” experience was the Heineken Experience at Amsterdam. The famous beer company has shifted their factory at a new location but converted their old brewery into a world class museum, where you get to see how beer is made and bottled, learn the history of beer. This factory is located exactly outside the boat cruise landing stage. You also experience a 4 D experience- “ Be a bottle, travel on the conveyor belt like a beer bottle travels, get filled with beer and get capped”, all this on a film but with a 4 D experience. You get the feeling of moving just like the beer bottle which moves on the screen. The entrance fee to experience this was 9 Euros in 2007, which included 3 beers and a memento of the Heineken miniature beer bottle. @@@ The nostalgia of the many trips are too many... The recent trip was a whirlwind tour to our hometown ( read village -Mallapur) 750 Kms away from Mumbai, on the coastal Karnataka belt, close to the famous pilgrimage destination Gokarna. Early one Saturday morning, we had just arrived from Malaysia and Singapore and I was in the midst of changing my job from one travel company to another and hence we could not be away from Mumbai for more than 2 days. The drive on the Innova took a little over 10 hours, including the mandatory 3 comfort stops and filling of fuel. Taking the Pune/ Kolhapur/ Belgaum/ Hubli/ Yellapur route, the roads are just excellent ( I just can't imagine the state of the roads after the heavy monsoons) as this part of Karnataka receives heavy rainfall and the soil strata is loose...remember the difficulties that Konkan railways had, while constructing all those tunnels and track in this area? We spent some quality time with my great grand mother who lives in the village.@@@ The "shortcut" route from Munnar to Kodai which is just 96 Kms took all of 10 hours on the motorbike.....the entire journey was done in heavy rainfall. But the scenic beauty was just out of the world! En-route we passed Berijam, had hot Malpua and tea in a small, roadside stall. I am told that now, Berijam is out of bounds for tourists, having been declared eco-reserve to conserve the delicate flora and fauna. @@@ One long trip was the drive from Delhi - Shimla/ Manali/ Palampur/ Dharamsala/ Dalhousie/ Katra in peak winter. The highlight of this was a overnight stay at the log huts at Raison, between Kullu and Manali. The gurgling waters of river Beas at night, was sheer bliss and calming. This reminded me of my stay at these same huts way back in 1989, while on my way to Leh on a Yamaha RX 100. I had travelled all alone, from Bangalore on that occasion.@@@ NOTE: “@@@” DENOTES PARAGRAPH BREAKS