vacation with family

Long time since I have written something, so I thought I might start catching up with it this weekend.

First up I went with my family on a trip to north India. Manali, Amritsar, Delhi and Agra were the places we visited. I won’t be doing them justice without describing them in detail.

                Manali was the first on our itinerary. Truly one of the most beautiful hill stations I have visited. The weather there was so comforting after suffering the Hyderabad summer’s sneak peek. The temperature must have been around 15 or 20 degrees. Compare it to Hyderabad where it seems the sun is extra closer to the earth. As I am writing this I am missing Manali’s weather. We went to Solang Valley the day we reached there. Solang Valley is a treat to the eyes even in April; imagine how it must be during January. We had to climb up the mountain a fair bit to see snow, but it was worth it. My mother and father didn’t want to ski, but me and my sister wanted to. So off we went further up the mountain, where there are no proper pathways, but only rocks and dirty footprints on the snow to guide us. Well, our guide accompanied us. The climb wasn’t tricky for me, but definitely for my sister, who didn’t complain at all. Cold wind and slippery snow, combined with very less grip on rocks made it a difficult climb. But my sister, the brave heart, did it. A testament to her willingness to do stuff like that. We went up and did some skiing; our guide was there to help us out. It was fantastic. Even though the slope wasn’t steep, I still enjoyed the wind blowing in my ears. Skiing seems a fun activity, maybe if the opportunity arises, I could learn it.

                The next day we did some local sightseeing, which wasn’t much, to be fair. Small temples and gardens. And a monastery. Okayish. But beautiful nonetheless. We went to a place that resembled a shopping mall, but was called the clubhouse. My parents wanted to do some shopping, and there was good stuff on sale. I and my sister weren’t in the mood, so we went to play table tennis (I know, I play so much TT here, and I find a way to not stay away from it.) I knew my sister played TT in school, but I didn’t know how well. Boy, I was in for a big surprise. She plays very, very well. Stand aside, ladies of Factset, who play the game. She will kick almost everyone’s ass. A pleasant surprise.

                Next we went to Amritsar. The spiritual center of the Sikh religion. I thought it was a really wonderful city, which hasn’t changed at all. It actually felt like we were in a different decade. The roads, the houses, the autos, the buildings (Note, different from the houses) everything was from a different time altogether. The roadside food there is absolutely awesome. Food in general, in the north is awesome. I really liked the food, especially the thalis. We also went to the Wagah border to watch the daily ceremony. The parade was fantastic. Sitting there you can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Jinnah was unable to force the partition. Maybe we would have been sitting at the India – Afghanistan border, instead of the Pakistan one.

                We went to Delhi after that. Delhi heat was absolutely unbearable. We went for the Delhi Darshan in an AC Volvo bus, but still were flustered by the heat. The Lotus temple was quite exquisite, and the silence you get inside that place is one which you won’t get anywhere else in cities. The other monuments and memorials were fairly standard, which I had already seen.

                Our final stop: Agra. The city of Taj. We went straight to the main attraction Agra has to offer. The Taj Mahal in all its glamour, looks absolutely scintillating. No two ways about it. The Indian Government has done a creditable job of protecting and maintaining the monument and the premises through all the wars. One of the finest examples of Mughal architecture and art has stood the test of time along the banks of Yamuna. The first time you catch a glimpse of the Taj, you are absolutely awed. I was dumbfounded. More beautiful than all the descriptions put together. Maybe the color has faded a bit, mostly due to the industrialization. But restorative works are going on, and pollution control guidelines are quite strict these days. The mausoleum is very simple but quite ornate. The area open to public houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan, which we already knew. But even there the intricacy is quite fascinating. We spent around 3 hours in the Taj complex, which is a tad more than what people usually spend. The Taj museum is also quite fascinating. Some wonderful collections of the Sultanate period were on display. We then went to see the Agra fort, which I found quite boring. Not much to see in there. I had to cut my trip short here, since I had my flight back to Hyderabad from Delhi in the evening. But my parents and sister found time to visit Fatehpur Sikri as well, which I also wanted to see.

                Overall, it was a wonderful trip, a break from the monotonous lives. Vacations are usually good and I urge you too to take a vacation with your friends, family, or if you like to travel alone, all by yourself. They freshen you up, and allow you to reconnect with yourself.

                Until next post(which should not be long, lengthwise and time wise!)