Time to say goodbye to India. It wasn’t bittersweet, just bitter. Life is so much simpler and basic in India, I wasn’t looking forward to going back to the 9-5 worker bee life in the concrete jungle. It was only 9 days, but we really packed a lot of things into those 9 days.

Top experiences in no particular order:

• Water rafting in Manali
• Zorbing with Roh at Solang Nola
• Horticulture lesson on Marijuana
• Waking up in the morning on the balcony of a guesthouse in Banjar
• Amazing views on Nako Valley
• Paragliding

Flying home on Jet Airways.

And so this was it. En route – Singapore.

Tobs and Sas fly West back to the UK, Me and Elz East to Singapore. Roh... stays in Delhi.

Goodbye India, till next time!

With the amount of commentary, photos, videos and information about India, it sounds like I’m an ambassador for Incredible India! or Jet Airways! I should have been. Otherwise a host for a travel documentary?! For now, my few loyal readers are my audience. Thanks for sticking around. More travel journals coming up on Bali, Sikkim, Laos and Bintan.

Roh wanted to treat us for a good lunch on the last day, but because we weren’t dressed appropriately, we got turned away from the Oberoi in Shimla. Plan B was the Radisson Hotel, where I saw all the Royal Enfields.

Belly full from buffet lunch at the Radisson.

Looks like we are getting closer to the city.

Love looking at the back of these lorries and the colourful artwork on them...or the interesting load they are carrying.

We reached Delhi in the evening. We returned the rented car, bid farewell and tipped Sooki our driver, travelled to our homestay to drop off our bags and then headed to a nearby arcade for dinner.

Last meal before we were on the plane back to Singapore, we all decided to go to a nice Indian restaurant. By India’s standard, this place was considered posh! Our meal only came up to about S$25 per person and we still had A LOT leftover, which we then packed and fed the hungry stray dogs outside

Last supper

We reflected on the amazing time we shared, the highs and the lows. Can’t believe me and Elz were flying off the next morning already!

Elz, Roh and me, night before our flight back home to Singapore.

The mandatory rickshaw ride.

…you have friends like us! Lesson learnt Roh, never leave your camera unattended

Your beautiful friends

This is what happens when you spend too long in the car.

Nipple pinch!

*UPDATE – Embedded a new video at the bottom of this post.

After the morning trek and some well-deserved breakfast, we walked down the road to get the tourism tent. A few plastic chairs, a table and some brochures make up the village “tourism office”. For a small fee, we can get a guide to take us around to the important monuments and sites in Nako.

In the Nako tourist tent getting additional information and taking refuge from the strong UV rays and hot sun outside.

Nako is really like how described it “a green oasis in Spiti’s high altitude desert”. Here’s some nice-to-know facts:

• The potato fields of the village sustains the local population.
• Tourism is becoming their new means of livelihood
• the lone school has plenty of kids but seems to have problems finding teachers willing to work there.

source: India Travel Blog

We were in Nako at a good time, during their short summer season from June-September. Time for cultivation of food grains, livestock for the long winters ahead. Cultivation is difficult due to its harsh conditions, but people have found a way to make it work. Summer is the best time to visit Nako, and the villagers have catered to the influx of tourism by opening up homestays as part of its community-based eco tourism.

View of Nako village

Our first stop was Nako Lake, a small but beautiful milky green holy lake. The water was still, mirroring the granduer of the mountains behind the village houses. It freezes in winter and ice skating is enjoyed on this lake. With what sort of skates? I have no idea. Nako Lake is a pilgrim destination for Buddhists.

Stillness of the holy Nako Lake

Walking the circumference of Nako Lake, which is surrounded by willow and polar trees.

Reflections of the heavens on Nako Lake

Our guided walk took us to noted sacred sites in the village including little nooks and caves which have been visited by known lamas and saints. Near the lake there is a footprint-like impression ascribed to the saint Padmasambhava. Apparently there is a waterfall nearby which has snow water falling like a river of milk. Legend says that it is a heavenly realm of fairies.

Cave

Our guide shows us how the large prayer wheels are turned using the rope. Least amount of effort when you get the momentum going.

Sacred statues

It was incredibly peaceful walking through the small village. Life was simple and traditional. Gompa’s, donkeys, people working fields. Housing architecture are mostly made out of stone, and some pathways are lined with prayer stones.

Housing materials. Lots of stones and branches. Only thing you can find naturally around here.

Village life.

The Nako Monastery, situated in the village was allegedly founded by Ringchen Zangpo in 996 AD. But in recent years, a new temple was built. Entry is free, donations are appreciated.

Travel Tip: Respect

Always walk clock-wise around temples and chortens, and keep your right side facing them. Don’t touch them with your left hand. Nako doesn’t see much tourist traffic so tread lightly and be discreet and polite.

Source: Wikitravel

Prayer wheels outside the monastery. Always use your right hand and go clockwise around.

Beautiful paintwork in the walls of the monastery but due to its sacredness, age and unfortunately vanadalism, place is now guarded with secrecy. No photos allowed.

The new monastery has been constructed at the edge of the village, easily seen on the way in from the roads.

scriptures/blessings carved on slates/rocks which line the paths.

Zoomed in.

Sky, mountains, village life, in one frame.

Village kids playing on monastery grounds.

Say "Momos!"

It almost didn’t feel like a guided tour, until we were taken to a souvenir shop. But we were fine with it. They don’t get much traffic up here, and it’s their source of livelihood. We had a long chat with the owner pictured below.

Friendly souvenir shop owner who liked his photo taken

Time was then running short. I bought some prayer flags and beads for Mike who I thought would appreciate the gift and its origins. Can’t believe our trip was coming to an end so quickly.

*Update – I’ve added a video at the end of this post. No music. Just raw sound from the footage.

Hello world! Where have I been? I almost forgot my login to the blog! Business resumes, next day in India.

It’s Day 7 and we had long journey back to Delhi. We needed to do massive mileage if we wanted to catch our flight the next morning. We decided not to sleep in for too long and ventured around camp for a morning trek up the mountain/hill.

Start of our morning trek

Right outside our guesthouse/tents were several rocky paths that led upwards towards the peak. Not knowing where it would lead us, we just kept walking with the goal in mind to reach some Chortens (Stupas) we saw from afar.

Roh had woken up way before us and was already at the top waiting for us. Elz wanted to sleep in a bit longer and enjoy the view from the tents. Tobs went solo so that leaves me and Sas to find our way up there. We laced up our boots, packed some water, and started climbing.

No filters here.

It looked a lot easier than it seemed. The first 30mins seemed OK. There was definitely a shortness of breath due to the altitude and thiness of the air. And because the incline was steep, it was not long before we felt a bit giddy. We took a couple of breaks just to make sure we were hydrated and we were OK to carry on. Those breaks gave us a great opportunity to stop and look around and breathe in the crisp morning air.

You will not get anything as clean as this. Unpolluted, fresh Himalayan air.

It is what it is.

Glad my trekking boots were waterproof

Steps of pea shoot fields. Organic at its best.

Pea fields

Water from the snow peak Himalayas. Met locals on the way who were harvesting summer crop.

Finally we reached the Chortens. We swivelled around to look at the view and Oh my gawd, it absolutely took my breath away.

Chortens being restored by locals.

It was one of the most beautiful views I have EVER seen in my life. The pictures below are not filtered at all, and even then, it’s not doing justice to the real thing. If it’s anything, THIS view has made every hurdle, obstacle and setbacks on this trip worth it. I could have shed a tear.

No filters. This is how it feels to be on top of the world. Nearly.

Nature is so so beautiful. Why did it take me so long to reconnect with you! I had a moment then. You can call it spiritual or perhaps a high altitude delirium, but I felt at peace and one with the universe.

Till today, I would sometimes close my eyes and imagine that spot again. It brings me so much peace.

Tobs the natural model.

We stayed there for awhile, in silence. Watched the clouds roll across the range.

Nako Village, a green oasis nestled between the arid Himalayan range.

Plenty of time to reflect. You just don't feel like leaving!

I’ve been going through bouts of depression for the past few years, and it was only that moment that I realised the healing quality of nature, and how it was able to lift all that burden and negative energy away.

The mandatory jump shot!

Great photo. It almost looks professional!

Casualties during the trek. The sole of my boot came off. Thank goodness this happened on the last day of the trip and I still had a pair of chucks for the last leg of the journey. Got these boots about 10yrs ago for a trek to Nepal, holidaying in the UK and now through adventures in India.

Goodbye my friend. You have served me well.

Nature, our place in the universe and the circle of life:

Yea, I am one with all I see,

With wind and wave, with pine and palm;

Their very elements in me

Are fused to make me what I am.

Through me their common life-stream flows,

And when I yield this human breath,

In leaf and blossom, bud and rose,

Live on I will….

There is no Death.

~ Robert Service

The next leg was the long drive from Jalori Pass to Reckong Peo and Kalpa. We spent so much time in the car, I’m glad we had moments to get out and stretch and take photos.

One might say it’s silly to be stuck in the car all day, but unfortunately to get to the beautiful places, it’s always a bit more difficult to get to. Today, what we thought would be a scenic day of driving on fairly good roads turned into a dusty, disheartening affair.

The first part of the journey was fine, lots of trees, hills, and friendly villagers. Then after awhile past the Jalori Pass, the rivers were now a murky grey or light brown in colour? It was only after a few km upstream we realised it was coming from the giant hydro-dam construction. The construction went on for kilometres, roads were in terrible conditions; pot-holed, rocky and dusty. You can’t open your windows because you would have hotdust-boxed your car.

It’s quite sad that huge companies are destroying the landscape with the construction of dams. There are arguments for and against such developments; social, economic and environmental, but what we saw today was just a sad process to see kilometres of countryside swept away by eroded banks. What it will look like in a couple of years? I don’t know.

We reached Reckong Peo in the late afternoon, checking in at the Tourist Information centre to find out situation about hill passes for our next leg. Reckong Peo, also simply known as Peo by the locals, is the capital of Kinnaur district at a height of 2,290 metres from sea level.

Next on our list, is finding somewhere to stay. We drove up some more to a little town called Kalpa and settle on a hotel called Hotel Royal Voyages. It was basic, but clean enough for a nights sleep. It had fantastic views of the snow clad Kinaur Kailesh peaks, and was quiet, away from the bustle of the town below.

Before we turned in for the night, we all took a late night stroll in pitch black up the path. We found a nice spot where we sat on a ledge, laid down, one hand behind our heads, the other holding a bottle of local beer. We laid there chatting, and watched the shooting stars.

By the end of the day, I was absolutely spent. The picture below says it all.

After a good nights rest, we packed up our bags and loaded the car for another long day of driving. It was only in daylight were we able to see where we stopped for the night. Apple orchards surrounded us, and in the distance you could hear the morning chatter of men while they packed boxes of Himachal Apples.

Our next leg of the journey was from Banjar to the Jalori Pass. En route, we stopped at the top of one of the mountains to take some amazing photographs of the valley. This is the beauty of travelling in your own group, we get to stop wherever and whenever we pleased.

When we made it to the pass, we decided to stop there for a parathas lunch at a local tea shop.

While we waited, we threw the rugby ball around, with some near misses where we would have had to climb down some really dramatic drop-offs on a side of the cliff. Also in the area was the Shringa Rishi temple at Bagi, most visited for it is considered the patron deity of the Banjar Valley. The deity is made of brass and stone and is seen riding a chariot.

We were getting increasingly excited. Every day this land brings about a new level of awe inspiring beauty. Every time you think this is the best the country has to offer, she surprises you again and again. Have a look at the photos to see the beautiful landscape!

Doesn’t Roh look like a Bollywood star in the photo below?

Bottom left photo below were these 2 guys on their Royal Enfields, a very popular tour option by Europeans and locals. I would have loved to do that! Cross country on your bike and what you could fit on it.

Was invited to a blogger’s event this week by BBC.com for the launch of their new travel site in partnership with its sister company Lonely Planet.

It was an intimate dinner with just 5 bloggers, Dunbar Jones and the BBC folks at South bridge Jazz@7ATENINE. A great sharing session on technology, website user experience and behaviour, travel stories and us locals throwing a slew of recommendations to David on things to do in Singapore.

BBC.com today launched its new travel site in partnership with its sister company Lonely Planet.

BBC.com/travel is led by Editorial Director, David G. Allan, formerly NYTimes.com Travel & Styles Editor. BBC.com, already attracting blue chip advertisers and 16m unique users, has secured Emirates as the key sponsor of the travel section.

At launch, the site has a range of stories from top destinations including Italy, the Caribbean and New York City. Coming soon are a series of specially commissioned stories from BBC contributors and Lonely Planet authors such as the Edinburgh Festival, Japan’s twist on Fall foliage and life above the Arctic Circle.

David G. Allan says: “Our audience already loves the smart, sophisticated and well researched stories from the BBC. BBC Travel builds on our news and documentary heritage with outstanding travel journalism, and key insights from Lonely Planet’s authors, to inspire you to leave your desk and have an adventure whatever the destination.”

BBC Travel is going to be huge! I had no idea they owned a big stake in Lonely Planet. I’d recommend bookmarking this site and watch it grow and evolve into the monster its going to become. If you have any recommendations or feedback about the site, let me know and I’ll be sure to pass on the note to them.

Website: www.bbc.com/travel
Twitter: http://twitter.com/bbc_travel
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BBCTravel

What a strange name. I wasn’t sure if people were saying Bund, Band or Bun!

The Bund is a stretch of buildings on a road which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River. It sits between Baidu Bridge and JinLin East Road. The embankment has a 771-metre long wall built for flood control. It’s also probably the most famous skyline in Shanghai with mentions in famous movies, books and songs.

After googling a bit, it was said that grown all around that area are Chinese wisterias, gingko trees and azalea. I wish I took notice of the trees, would have loved to see how gingko trees look like!

Pictured below is the Shanghai city skyline seen from The Bund side.

The Bund is a beautiful stretch to walk at dusk on a cool day, but there is nothing much to do there besides that. Take a few city skyline shots and appreciate the architectural styles of the buildings and that is an hour walk about done.

The word “bund” means an embankment or an embanked quay, and comes from the Urdu word band, meaning an embankment, levee or dam (a cognate of English terms “bind,” “bond” and “band,” the German term “bund,” etc.). “Bund” is pronounced to rhyme with “fund”. The term was brought to Shanghai by the family of Victor Sassoon, a Baghdadi-Nepali Jew. There are many “bands” to be found in Baghdad, even today. There are numerous sites in India, China, and Japan which are called “bunds” (e.g. the Yokohama Bund). However, “The Bund” as a proper noun almost invariably refers to this stretch of embanked riverfront in Shanghai.
Source: Wikipedia

Pictured below is the newly refurbished Waldorf Shanghai Hotel on The Bund side, and also where the HSBC Welcome reception was held. Beautiful.

The biggest shocker for me is the architectural styles of the building. They just seemed so European it almost felt like you weren’t in China. Romanesque, Renaissance, Neo-Classical and Art Deco… and building heights are restricted in this area. Good town planning unlike places like Malaysia where the city’s “flavour” is lost by towering skyscrapers and horribly designed buildings. By the way, did you know that Shanghai as one of the richest collections of Art Deco architectures in the world.