The Backpack Nomad

Day 6 - 25-Jan-27 Ready for the jungle trail We reached the Safari booking office at 8 AM. Problem was, we had made a booking for 4 and there was a last-minute addition. The bookings for Gir Safari can be made online only they informed. So after begging the guy there and telling him that we had come a long way to Gir, he agreed - without additional charges! Once this was sorted, we had a traditional Gujarati breakfast of Faafda-Jalebi and a cup of tea. And by 9 AM, we were on our way through the jungle road. We were excited, and really wanted to spot a lion. I had seen it on my last visit to Gir, but none of the others had seen one in its natural habitat before. We started off with a few deers, fancy looking birds and Sambar, but no lion. The guide informed that it was really rare to see a lion this late in the day. He tried to find a lion, getting in touch with the forest rangers and trackers. But to no avail. We saw jackals as well, and peacocks. But n o lions. At the e...

Day 4 - 23-Jan-17 Sunrise at a beach near Dwarka We gathered our stuff, charged batteries and got ready to leave for Dwarka, and by 3 AM we were back on the road. Dwarka was 220 kms from Keshod and we hoped to be there by 7 AM. We halted for refueling at one point and tea to help us stay awake through the night. I was handling the map's responsibility, and figured that there was a beach on the way, hidden from the road but visible on the map. So, we took the detour, and it was worth it. It was an isolated place, a virgin beach called Bechtel and just the five of us there, the sun was just rising and I managed to get a few decent shots of the place. It was serene and we stayed for almost an hour there, before starting our journey again.  Another half an hour later, we were at Dwarka, parking near the Dwarkadhish temple. We were famished by the time we reached and had a heavy breakfast before entering the temple. The temple was very crowded, and you could see a lot of peo...

Day 1 - 20-Jan-17 My way is the highway The occassion was a friend's wedding, location - Keshod and the dates of the journey were finalized. With the idea of a road trip at the back of our minds,  we were looking at other options to travel. On the date of the journey, 20th January, three of us (Akash and Shiva with me) started off in Shiva's car.  While leaving from office that day, I had nothing but the journey on my mind! It was an exciting prospect to be on the road for 6 days. We planned to leave Mumbai at 8 PM, but obviously, we left late. It was 10 PM by the time we crossed the dreaded Fountain hotel traffic at Ghodbunder road. We had planned to reach Surat before breaking for the next day. I got to drive as well, and the smooth highway made it easier to drive. After stopping at 1230 AM for a quick bite at a 24-hour McDonald's at Vapi, we started again. There was another tea break before we finally reached Surat at around 4 AM. We parked near a ...

     The first trip of the year holds an important position in how my year would shape. Despite seeing a few cancelled plans, we finally zeroed in on Bhandardara, a hill station close to Nasik around 150 kms from Mumbai. The group included 5 people after a few last minute cancellations. I borrowed a friend's bike and we decided to start early morning on Saturday, 14th Jan.  Wilson Dam      By the time we started, it was already 0800 AM. We had a heavy breakfast at around 0900 AM on one of the roadside dhabas (Bageecha) near Bhiwandi. A few plates of delicious Pohas and tea later the 5 bikes were back on the highway cruising toward Bhandardara.       It was all highway till this village called Ghoti, and we could cruise along. But with 20 something kms to go, the road in the country-side turns old and worn. It gives you an impression that great armies walked the same road on which we were riding our bikes, and it hasn't b...