Walking on the Compass

Have you ever been fixed to a wallpaper showing symmetrical strips of tulip farms and endless stretch of colorful fields ? Most likely it's Netherlands. Among many other things Netherlands is famous for, its tulip farms are at the top and it's staggering to see the view from the sky if you are flying over Netherlands. Locked among these colorful fields is Keukenhof, one of the most beautiful and largest spring gardens in the world. No surprise it's visited by almost 1.5 million people every year and considering it is open only for 8 weeks that's almost 250k visitors each day. Staggering 7 million flowers of 800 different varieties blossom every year in this garden alone. Not very far from Amsterdam, Keukenhof is well connected and can be conveniently reached either by car or public transport. We left early to schiphol airport to avoid the queue but unfortunately that didn't help and we ended up in the queue for 1.5 hrs. It took around 35 mins to reach keukenhof an...

On my each visit to India I always make sure to spend 50 percent of the time backpacking with my sisters. My brother has not been very happy about it so this time in November I decided to take him along for a short trip to Banaras. The oldest city on earth and considered to be the door to Nirvana, this city has always been a fascination for it's ghats, bizarre alleys and mysterious lives of sadhus. All I had to do was to book my tickets and plan a quick itinerary but unfortunately I couldn't find any tickets neither on train nor on any flights. It was disappointing but you don't have to worry about finding the next best destination if you are in India. I wanted to visit somewhere not too far from Delhi, a 2-3 days trip. It was a tough task going through a list of so many eligible places and my final two selection didn't help much: Jhansi or Khajuraho. Both are fairly near to Delhi and both equally famous for their history and the architecture. It was better to decide b...

The day on the road started at 7 and our first destination was Karni Mata temple. This is the temple which many of you would have heard or read about; the temple of rats. Apparently, there are almost 25000 rats in and around the temple and are considered holy. The temple is 600 years old and is located in a small town called Deshnok. Deshnok is 30 km from Bikaner and around 3 km inland from highway. The area around the temple is very clean and has typical shops selling snacks, breakfast and offerings to the god. We parked our motorcycle, bought puja thali and draped dupatta around our heads before entering the temple. It was the most unusual and quirky scene inside; rats and pigeons at every inch space and rats specially concentrated around a vessel full of milk. Rats and pigeons sharing together the bountiful of grain spread all around, I would rather call it the temple of rats and pigeons. Since rats are well aware that this is the safest place on earth for them, they were...

Our next lap was 180 Kms to Bikaner. In the early morning hours we saw a very different side of the Churu city. Unlike yesterday, the streets were silent and we could barely see people, mostly drowsy faces just starting the day. I did my elementary check before heading to the highway: withdrew cash, checked air pressure and loaded fuel tank. Highway from Churu to Bikaner is excellent but not surprisingly I came across 4 legged animals more often than the vehicles. I had a narrow escape while trying to avoid bumping into a goat that decided to make a sudden U-turn leaving me helplessly trying all my reflexes and impulses. It was a hot sunny day and for several miles I didn't see any civilization. We passed through a stretch of road with high dunes on both the sides, a very unique and splendid view. I stopped to take few pics when a guy on a bike approached us. As Expected, he was surprised to see two of us alone in that desert and that too on a bike. He asked if he...

Energized, after a good night sleep, I was all set to explore in and around Churu. I had already scouted the area online and read about Ramgarh and Mehansar. These two little towns in shekhawati region are famous for numerous havelis. Though unfrequented by Indian tourists, this region is quite popular among the foreigners and soon I knew why. I was stunned to see the colorful hand paintings, painted with natural colors, and how well they captured the minute details to perfection. Every single brushstroke is delightful to watch & no wonder it took years to build these havelis as the artists carved life into the walls. After the breakfast, light and delicious poha, we were on road at 7 in the morning. Mahansar is a small village around 15 km from Churu and is famous for "Golden Haveli". The haveli get its name from Sanskrit mantras written all over the walls in gold. We relied solely on help from locals to reach Mahansar and search for the haveli. The whole town inclu...