A Visit to Shimla

[Continued from Visit to Agra] We boarded the 12011 New Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi Express at 07:40 am from New Delhi railway station and reached Kalka at 11:45 am. From there we boarded the Himalayan Queen Express which is a toy train. It departed from Kalka at 12:10 pm. It was a thrilling journey as the train chugged through narrow tunnels, breathtaking bridges and panoramic green valleys. It was beautiful, truly beautiful. We reached Shimla at around 6 o' clock in the evening. We booked a room at a Hotel Moon Palace. The hotel is located near the Mall, the centre of the town. After settling all the luggage in the room we set out to have a first glimpse of the city. After roaming for sometime we entered a restaurant to have lunch. The food was quite good and the price was also reasonable. After that we came back to our hotel and crawled straight into the bed.

Himalayan Queen Express

Shimla Scenery

Visit to Agra

[Continued from My Trip to Delhi] Agra is one of the most popular tourist places of India. The main attraction of Agra is the Taj Mahal. Every year thousands of tourists from India and abroad come to Agra to see the Taj. Agra is also famous for the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. All these three main attractions of Agra has been given the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Taj Mahal

We boarded the Sriganganagar-Howrah Toofan Exp from New Delhi railway station at around 7:30 am and disembarked at Agra Fort at around 1:00 pm. From there I took a cycle rickshaw and searched for hotels. We booked a room in Hotel Amba Inn. That day evening we took rest in the hotel. The following day we went to see the Taj Mahal. It was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj has three gates - East, West and South. River Yamuna flows to the north of the Taj.  It remains open on all days from 6 am to 7 pm except Friday. We entered the courtyard through the South gate. For security reasons we had to leave some food which we were carrying in the cloakroom before entering the complex. On seeing the Taj we became mesmerized. The majestic structure made up of white marble left us spellbound. I wondered how this structure was built with so much perfection and accuracy. We entered the Taj Mahal. Inside the Taj, intricate designs were curved on the walls. Also there were intricate screens or jalis which allowed light to enter the mausoleum.

My trip to Delhi

Delhi is one of the most multi dimensional metropolis of India situated on the banks of River Yamuna. It is the capital city of India. Delhi is full of captivating monuments, magnificent museums, glorious shopping destinations and yummy eating places. It is also one of the oldest places to be inhabited by humans. Delhi is divided into two parts - Old Delhi and New Delhi.

India Gate

We boarded the Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express from Howrah railway station. Our train departed at 08:10 am and reached New Delhi at around 8 am the next day. At the New Delhi station there are two gates, one is known as Paharganj gate and the other one is known as Kashmiri gate. The Rail Yatri Niwas is situated near the Kashmiri gate but most of the private hotels are located in Paharganj area. We came out of the station through Paharganj gate and started searching for hotels. We booked a room in Hotel Cama. After taking a little rest we came out of our hotel. Firstly we went to see the famous India Gate. This is one of the most prominent tourist spot of Delhi. India Gate, the national monument of India was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens inspired by the Arc De Triomphe in Paris. It was built in the year 1931 and is about 42 m high. Originally a statue of King George V stood under the now vacant canopy in front of India Gate but was later moved to Coronation Park. After India's independence the India Gate became the site of the Indian Army's Tomb of Unknown Soldiers now known as Amar Jawan Jyoti.

Visit to Mandarmani

Mandarmani is a newly discovered, unexplored and virgin sea beach. It is located 172 km away from Kolkata. It is a peaceful and calm beach where you will find not many visitors hanging around the beach. It is also one of the longest motorable sea beach in India. During low tides the water shifts far away from the beach and during high tides it comes very close. So one must be careful while driving on the beach. Recently many hotels and resorts have come up at Mandarmani making it a more attractive option for tourists.

Mandarmani Sea Beach

From Esplanade bus terminus, we boarded a bus and reached Chawalkhola. From there we hired a car which took us to Mandarmani. A metalled all weather road connects Chawalkhola and Dadanpatrabar, a small village en route Mandarmani. From here our car drove along the beach. It was a unique experience. On reaching Mandarmani, we booked a room at Hotel Neel Nirjaney. It was already quite late in the afternoon. Hence we didn't get much time to spend near the sea. Then we ate at our hotel's restaurant. Probably all hotels in Mandarmani have their own restaurant. The food was not up to the mark. After lunch we went to have a look at some small shops near the sea which sell toys, shell necklace, balls and other stuffs. We remained inside the hotel in the evening and watched TV.

Trip to Puri

Puri is  famous for Lord Jagannath temple. The famous annual Rath Yatra or the festival of chariots is celebrated here. This festival is generally celebrated in the month of July. Millions of people from different parts of India come to Puri to watch this festival. It is also a very popular beach resort. It is famous for its long and broad sandy sea beach. One can even view the sunrise and sunset from the beach.

As we were planning a trip to Puri, I thought that this time we will stay in a holiday home instead of a hotel. So I went to the United Bank of India, College Street branch and booked a room at the holiday home 'Ananda Bhawan'. As the day of journey was nearing we were getting excited. On the day of the journey, we boarded the Howrah-Puri Express from Howrah railway station at 22:35 hrs. The train reached Puri at 07:30 hrs. Coming out of the station we saw that many cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws were waiting to take passengers to hotels or holiday homes. We took two cycle rickshaws and reached our destination holiday home 'Ananda Bhawan'. There was a caretaker so we had no problem in taking the luggage to the room. I went to a nearby gas store and from there I hired a small sized gas cylinder. Then we went for a bath at the sea beach. The beach was excellent and the waves produced by the sea here were quite high. After spending some time there we came back to our holiday home and had bath. That day we had lunch at a sea facing restaurant. In the evening we went to the sea beach. The cool sea breeze relaxed our mind and body. We also had some shopping at the shops which were situated opposite to the sea. These shops mainly sell apparels, saris, towels and other clothing products. Then we came back to our holiday home, cooked our food and had dinner.

A Visit to Mumbai

[Continued from Saputara, Gujarat's Own Hill Station] Mumbai, formerly Bombay is the capital city of Maharashtra and is one of the most populous cities in the world. Mumbai constituted of seven islands where the fishermen were the main inhabitants. Today, Mumbai is the commercial and entertainment capital of India. Altogether Mumbai has a tropical climate with a little variation between the summer and winter temperatures. It also experiences a lot of rainfall during the monsoon.

Gateway of India

We woke up early in the morning because we had to catch the Flying Rani Express which was scheduled to leave Surat at 05:25 am. On reaching the station we saw that the train was almost ready to depart from the platform. It was a double decker train. We took our seats in the upper deck. Our train started its journey towards Mumbai. We reached Mumbai Central at 10:10 am. From there we took a taxi and went to search for hotels near the Mumbai CST Terminus (Victoria Terminus). There we booked a room at Hotel New Bengal. Our hotel had three restaurants namely Zaffran, Howrah and First Floor. In the afternoon we had lunch at the restaurant Howrah. It mainly served typical bengali cuisine. The food was quite good. That evening we went to see the Gateway of India, one of the most popular attractions of Mumbai. The structure was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay to attend the Delhi Durbar in the year 1911. The last British troops left India through the Gateway in a ceremony on 28 February 1948. On the way we saw the Flora Fountain, now renamed as Hutatma Chowk. After spending some time near the sea coast we came back to our hotel.

Saputara, Gujarat's Own Hill Station

[Continued from My Visit to Daman] Saputara is the only hill station of Gujarat and it is still unexplored and unspoilt. Saputara is situated in the Sahyadri range and has an altitude of about 1000 m. The name 'Saputara' is derived from the Snake God worshiped by the tribal people and translates into "The Abode of the Serpants". Nature has blessed Saputara with picturesque landscapes, hills, table-tops, lakes and water falls.

Echo Point

We had planned to visit Saputara earlier so we had inquired at the bus stand the day before our journey about the bus timings. The next day we went to the bus stand of Surat. On reaching the bus stand we found out that the 8 o' clock bus had left earlier and so we have to wait for the next bus at 9 o' clock. The bus left Surat and went on its journey towards Saputara. It went over crisscrossing the river Ambika. Then it went through a road which was surrounded by dense forest. This was the Vansda National Park, one of the most unexplored, old and dense forest of India. Many types of animals are found in this forest including leopard, hyena and chital, jungle cat, Indian flying fox, wild boar and many other animals. On the way to Saputara we also saw many tribal settlements. We reached Saputara at around 2:00 pm. There we booked a room at hotel Chitrakoot and also had the lunch there. Gujarati and Jain food was served at the restaurant and the food was very delicious. In the evening we went to have a look at the local market which sold many goods from honey to camel leather shoes.

My Visit to Daman

[Continued from Visit to Tithal] I started my journey from Valsad. We boarded the Sayaji Nagari Express from Valsad Railway Station at around 11 am and reached Vapi at 11:20 am. From the adjoining bus stand, we boarded a bus which took us to Nani Daman. On the way we crossed the check post. Atlast we reached Daman. On reaching Daman we saw that there were many types of public transports like bus, taxis and auto rickshaws plying in the city.

Nani Daman Fort

Firstly we went to book a hotel. After keeping our luggage in the hotel room we went to have our lunch. After having lunch we went for sight seeing. We booked a cab and it took us to Nani Daman Fort. This fort is situated on the north of Nani Daman. Although this fort is quite small, there are schools, radio stations, market, hotels, tourism centre and even burial grounds situated within this fort. The main attraction of this fort is the large gateway to the fort facing the river. Then we went to Jampore beach. It is a very pleasant spot and one can even plan a picnic on the shades of the Casuarina groves. After that we went to Mirasol Lake Garden. It is a wonderful place with two islands connected by a bridge and surrounded by a lake. There are provisions for boating in this lake. Other attractions include the toy train and video games.

Visit to Tithal

[Continued from Trip to Surat] We started our journey from Surat at around 9 pm. We boarded the Sayaji Nagari Express which leaved Surat at 10 am and reached Valsad at around 11 o' clock. From there we hired a Auto Rickshaw which took us to Tithal. We booked a room in Hotel Sri Lekha and went straight to the beach which was a few steps away from the Hotel. On reaching the sea beach of Tithal we were quite excited because the sea beach was much better than that of Dumas beach at Surat. But it was quite late in the afternoon so we decided to have lunch first and then in the evening we would come to the sea again. It was mandatory to have food in the Hotel's restaurant at least once in a day. So we had the lunch there. Gujarati and Punjabi dishes were mainly served in the hotel. The food was not bad but it was not up to the mark.

Tithal Sea Beach

Trip to Surat

This time I planned to visit Surat, a port city in Gujarat. Surat is situated on the bank of  the river Tapti. It is well known for its diamond and textile industry. The city is also called the Diamond Capital of the world and Textile City of India. Based on Surat we would visit Tithal, Daman and Saputara. Finally we would go to Mumbai and then come back to Kolkata.

Surat Textile Market

We boarded the Howrah-Ahmedabad Express which leaved Howrah station at 23:55 hrs. After spending the second day in train, we reached Surat on the third day at around 11 am. There were many hotels opposite to the railway station. We booked a room in Hotel Imperial. Although the hotel was clean and the rooms were good enough but there were no windows in the rooms. After having lunch in our hotel's restaurant we came out of our hotel. We saw that there was a bus stand just opposite to our hotel. We boarded one of the bus and it took us to the Textile Market situated in Ring Road. Many types of beautifully embroidered saris with zaris which are woven manually were being sold here. Most of the saris were made of synthetic fibres. After that we came back to the hotel. In the evening we had a look at the market near the station. There were so many things which were sold here - electrical appliances, fruits and vegetables, sweets, newspapers, snacks and much more. At night we ate at the Roopa Restaurant. The food was of standard quality.