The Andaman Trip

Disclaimer: Unlike other blogposts of mine, I am going to keep this one really short without getting too much in to the background stories. Unfortunately, I don't have a number on the budget this time as this trip was arranged via tours and travel agency, and sponsored by parents :)

Total Duration: 7 days (12th - 18th January 2020)

Places Covered: Port Blair, Ross Island, North Bay Island, Neil Island, Havelock Island

I took a 12:10 am flight to Bangalore and a flight to Port Blair from there at around 4 am (yeah, tell me about it :P). I was travelling with the Patil family and my parents reached after 2-3 hours of us reaching our hotel in Port Blair - The North Reef. The hotel had no wifi (which is pretty normal in Andaman) and even data wasn't working (also normal in Andaman). Connectivity was reduced to almost zero!!

Euro Trip

Total Duration: 8 days (3rd - 11th November)

Total Expenses (per person): ~Rs. 85000

Places Covered: Prague, Vienna, Budapest (Layover at Paris, Amsterdam, Kyiv)

Snapshot of the Trip:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VnGUSy0Z9N3yXUkteHxMAVZcuZBmIz5KN_3HUZUdXog/edit#gid=0

Route Map

Forex: We used the forex card and cash (euros) from bookmyforex.com which was offering us the cheapest rates back then (approx in the range of 83-85). Conversion rates that we followed in our trip was:

1 EUR = 85 INR

1 CZK = 3 INR

320 Hungarian Forint = 1 EUR

Amritsari Dhaba Trail

Total Distance Covered: 1193 kms

Total Duration: 4 days

Mode of Transport: Toyota Innova Crysta from Avis

Total Expenses (for 1 person): Rs. 30000 (approx.)

Places Covered: Murthal, Ambala, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Karnal

Snapshot of the Trip:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wowjbk6G5gmJmQ5E51n6fL3o4mFeZQYydGrfr2nKXQg/edit?usp=sharing

Route Map

March 2018 (Whatsapp):

Me: Confirm karo yar Vietnam kab chalna hai?

Tejas: We need a mini trip before that. How does the Delhi-Nepal roadtrip sound?

Me: How about Delhi-Lucknow-Varanasi roadtrip?

Gourab: I have been wanting to do a dhaba hopping roadtrip from Delhi to Amritsar. What say you guys?

Me: Punjab? Although I am a Punjabi who has never been there, I have no interest in visiting that place. It's not my thing. We can eat the same food in Delhi anyway.

Gourab: Chal le na yar please. I really really want to do this.

Tejas: I am in. 

Me: Ughhhh. Ok.

Tejas: I need a photo in a field full of sunflowers. Eshan, you must be knowing where we can find such fields, right?

Eshan: Of course yes. I will even let you drive the damn tractor which we have in our fields.

Holi in Sri Lanka :D

Areas covered: Colombo, Kandy, Ella, Galle

Duration: 28th Feb - 4th Mar, 2018

Snapshot of the trip:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aVos28KW1lnNS2yMeBZ5602s-gD8pPcCzlafPjOFPpQ/edit#gid=0

Total cost incurred: Rs. 50000 (approx.)

Currency of Sri Lanka: Sri Lankan Rupee LKR (1 INR = 1.88 LKR; 1 USD = 145 LKR -> Please don't refer google for the exchange rate as the actual value used there is much lesser)
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Me: What scenes for Holi?

Disha: Yar, planning to go to Sri Lanka.

Me: Wow, that's cool. I have been wanting to go there for quiet some time.

I spotted a tiger in Ranthambore

Distance travelled: 850 Kms

Mode of transport: Road

Cost involved 23000 for 2 people

Places covered: Neemrana Fort and Ranthambore

Part 1/2

I have lived in Delhi for 17 years now and you would believe that places such as Neemrana.........

Southern Sojourn: a 6 day roadtrip

Total Distance Covered: 2572 kms

Total Duration: 6 days

Mode of Transport: Honda BRV from Myles

Total Expenses (for 3 people): Rs. 93000 

Places Covered: Gokarna, Coorg, Hampi

Snapshot of the Trip:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pB2h0WL7RWRh7t4QhkYV7n6o5tU_wSGjMC9FbcuKlBI/edit?usp=sharing

Route Map

Mid October, 2017 (whatsapp):

Motabhai: Suno na

Me: ?

Gray (after 2 hours): Bolega BC

Motabhai: Dec end mein Goa aur Coorg ka plan banate hain na...2 days in Goa 2 days in coorg something like that...Drive of around 2000kms...it will be a great vacation covering beach sun and hill station coolness

Gray: Mujhe Gokarna mein jyada interest hai

Motabhai: No issues, woh bhi kar lenge in 1 night. But I really want to go to Goa because I have never been there...........

Eshansthan: My 9 days of Rajasthan

Areas covered: Udaipur, Jodhpur, Thar Desert, Jaisalmer, Jaipur

Duration: 14th - 22nd October, 2017

Snapshot of the trip:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TJTrI3Leyhkz7rkmjIB-JzcTeMPPQgp-3PwgzIJVrU8/

Total cost incurred: This being a solo trip and the cash outflow being too frequent, it was just impossible for me to keep a tab on my expenses. But I would say that the entire trip costed me around Rs. 40,000 (inclusive of a major f*ck up that I shall talk about subsequently)

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Once a rainbow moon you receive a message on Whatsapp which 'makes your day' to such an extent that you just can't stop smiling. One fine day in late August I received a very interesting message on Siemens' Management Trainees group which excited the wanderer (yeah yeah, very much cliched but whatever) within me.........

8 Hours in Jaipur. Summed Up.

Areas Covered: Jaipur (6/10/2017)

Rajasthan isn't new to me nor am I to it. Jaipur is one of those cities that I would gladly take a trip to in North India any given day primarily for two reasons; A. I could drive down from Delhi and B. they have some of the best food to offer 

FYI: Good food and driving are the two basis of my existence.

So unlike the 5 times in the past when I visited Rajasthan which were planned to cover a number of locations, this wasn't one of those. This was actually a trip for business that left me time to explore the beautiful city again...........

A trip to the Ghat, Land of Thunder Dragon, and Icy Peaks

Areas Covered: Kolkata; Bhutan (Paro, Thimphu, Dochula); Darjeeling, Gangtok (& Nathula)

Total Duration: 16-29th April 2017 (13 days)

Snapshot of the trip:

Total cost incurred by me:  Rs. 22,000 (approx.)

Currency of Bhutan: Ngultrum (g is silent). 1 Nu = 1 Re

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Ishan: Want to go to Bhutan?

At this precise moment, my brain conjured .....................

My 1.5 days of Delhi

The trashiest Google search result that I have ever seen in my life is - 'things to see in Moradabad'. Well, I was visiting my native town Moradabad and wanted to explore the city (or other nearby places). The options I had were Haridwar, Lansdowne, Rishikesh and Delhi. However, Delhi......

Gujarat Road Trip - The Roads Less Travelled

Total Distance Covered: 2732 kms

Total Duration: 4 days (26th - 29th March, 2017)

Mode of Transport: Ford Ecosport from Revv

Total Expenses (for 3 people): Rs. 39,547

Places Covered: Lothal, Ahmedabad, Rani ki Vav, Siyot Caves, Lakhpat, Bhuj, Kalo Dungar, Dhordo, Dholavira

Route Map

Day 1 of the Trip:

We had decided to leave quite early in the morning but due to sheer excitement of the journey that we were about to undertake, we............