Travelloholic Travel e-mag October 2011 by travelloholic travel magazine

October Issue

Travelloholic Travel. Explore. Share.

Cover Story: Ko Phi Phi Don

About Travelloholic “The world is a book; those who don‟t travel read only pages.” Said by St. Augustine. Traveling is adding new flavors in life in the form of happiness, joy, enjoyment and fun‟‟. It is about discovering new culture, thoughts, language and colors of life. „We are traveling and so we are growing‟… Get connected with Travelloholic magazine and explore the unseen and seen places in a new way as never did before. Our tag line Says Travel. Explore. Share, so we would like you to be a part of our magazine, now you have chance to share any Travel Experience in form of Story, or any unseen place which is not famous and very little population know about it, but have a fantastic experience for one and can at least be visited once. We also have different flavors where your contribution will be accepted for upcoming issues of our magazine, i.e. „Travel Slap‟, „Naughty Traveler‟ and „Anti-Traveler‟. Travel slap: any negative journey experiences where you were head with difficulties and problems. Naughty Traveler: any naughty experience of a trip. Anti-Traveler: any experience of a satisfied Person who do not like to travel. Do write us on: share@travelloholic.com

Get subscribed and be connected with us. Get FREE travel emagazine every month after getting subscribed. Visit: www.travelloholic.com

Team Travelloholic Prashant Patil Prashant is from Ahmedabad with a degree in International business from Ahmedabad University. Prashant has travelled whole of India and has been a Passionate traveler. His lifetime goal is to visit each and every corner of the world. He believes that "travelling is everything".

Manish Asnani Manish is from Gandhidham (Kachchh), Pursuing Post Graduate Degree, and is passionate when it comes to travel- He has 3 years experience in Travel Industry. Manish have a huge collection of Photos all over India and has a hobby to write about each place where ever he moves.

Ravi Patel Ravi is from Gandhinagar and he is a computer engineer. Ravi has travelled to India and UK. He is interested in tracking and has travelled to many forests and wildlife centuries. He is passionate about unfolding the unseen places.

Tushar Tewani Tushar is from Gandhidham (Kachchh) and has degree in foreign trade. Along with it, he has experience with the import export firm. He likes to visit new places. He loves to be close to the nature. He is very passionate about road trips.

Editor’s Note Namaste Travelers !

Travel season has started and upcoming months are full of festival. Thanks to rainy season the grass is surely happy, Flowers have come up with the smile to make your day – Beautiful greenery at hill stations can be enjoyed right now, beaches and river would have become more beautiful and full of water and within no time Autumn would just start in next few days, Morning would be much brighter and sun rays can be felt which were been missing in last days. Diversified culture of the Indians will be observed at every city in next four to five months. I am sure Nature lovers and Photographers will take advantage of this season. It is believed that autumn - winters are best to go for any destination, Honeymoon couples (newly married) enjoy this season the most.

Have you planned for the Diwali Vacation? If NO… I have few suggestions for you in this issue, there are so many unseen places which must be explored if you are planning a trip.

- Manish Asnani

October In this issue... Cover Story 01 Ko Phi Phi Don Amazing Thailand

Destinitions 18 Jambughoda Conversation with the nature

13 Dholavira

The most ancient city of Asia

Travel Stories

P01

Ko Phi Phi Thailand

25 Britain Victor Saldanha

29 Kerala

Shalini Sanker

P06

Jambughoda Gujarat

35 Wonderland Hardik Chanpura

39 Rajasthan Akash Guar

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41 Keuka

Dholavira Gujarat

Disha Patel

More Stuff

P46

Lionâ&#x20AC;&#x;s Hunt Sasan Gir

Travel Articles

Know Unknown

Travel Slap

Naughty Traveler

Travel Toonz

Captured Moments

Ko Phi Phi Don Island The largest of the Phi Phi Islands, Ko Phi Phi Don is a non-volcanic island, made mostly of limestone and is largely populated. Accessible from Phuket, with all visitors arriving by boat, Ko Phi Phi Don has great beaches and popular diving and snorkeling spots. Much of the island is a protected marine reserve.

History From the olden days, it is believed that the area was one of the oldest communities in Thailand dating back to the prehistoric period. It is believed that this province may have taken its name after the meaning of Krabi, which means sword. This may have stemmed from a legend that an ancient sword was unearthed prior to the city‟s founding. The name Phi Phi (pronounced „pee pee‟) originates from Malay, the original name for the islands were „Pulao Pi ah Pi. The name refers to the mangrove wood found there. Koh Phi Phi was devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, when nearly all of the island's infrastructure was wiped out. Redevelopment has, however, been swift, and services are back with building regulations in place to limit the height of new buildings to preserve the island's stunning views. .

Tourism

Tourism on Ko Phi Phi, like the rest of Krabi province, has exploded only very recently. In th basic accommodation costing the likes of 50-100 baht a night. Nowadays, however, the place Ko Phi Phi has plenty of nightlife to drink and dance but if that isnâ&#x20AC;&#x;t your cup-of-tea, then the

he early 1990s only the most adventurous travelers visited the island, staying in only the most e has turned into one of the major destinations for visitors to Thailand. ere are lots of really quiet places to chill out and take it easy.

Activities Snorkeling Scuba Diving Yoga Classes Rock Climbing

Places To See

Kayaking Cliff Jumping

Viewpoint

Spa

Monkey Beach

Bird Watching Sailing & Cruising Fishing

Fireshow Tsunami Memorial Garden Lanti Beach

Learn

Hin Khao Beach

Rock Climbing

Ton Sai Bay

Diving Kite Boarding

Laem Tong Yao Beach

Must not miss Ton Sai Bay has a variety of nightlife; something for everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x;s taste. Jazz, Blues and Classics can be found at the leading hotels. Or, if itâ&#x20AC;&#x;s romance you are after, you and your loved one can relax in one of the outside hotel bars and sip a cocktail under the stars.

Other Attractions You can take a longtail boat and visit Maya Bay - the "secret beach" where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. Water directly around the island is sometimes disappointing murky and not so good for diving though. The beach on the other side of the island, across from where the boats land, is slightly nicer. It is highly recommended to arrive at Maya Bay before 8AM, when the place can still be enjoyed in solitude. As from 9AM hoards of speedboats with tourists on package tours arrive from Phuket. Another thing to think about when coming to Maya Bay is the time of year. During the high season (October - May) you will feel like you are at Disneyland, but during the off season and you shouldn't be surprised if you are one of only two or three small groups on the beach, or even alone. There is no "low season" for Maya bay, it is crowded all year-round, the park police will only attempt to charge you for the "park entrance fee" if you turn up on a long-tail boat. ADDED: You can take a longtail to Maya Beach. Its about 1500 baht for the whole boat. The mid-afternoon trip (3 PM) is better... you get to catch the sunset as you leave Maya Beach (you can't see the sunset on the beach). The taxi boat stand between the pier and Cabana hotel is run by some lively and honest longtail drivers. Camping on Maya Bay is the best way to see the beauty without the crowds. (www.mayabaycamping.com phil@mayabaycamping.com)

How to reach 50km south-east of Phuket and are part of Had Nopparattara - Koh Phi Phi National Park which is home to an abundance of corals and amazing marine life. There are Limestone Mountains with cliffs, caves and long white sandy beaches. The islands are surrounded by the Andaman Sea. Visitors can also enjoy the annual boat-launching ceremonies of the sea gypsies and various long-tail boat races. By plane Destination Air Shuttle - direct seaplane transfers from Phuket International Airport and other popular Andaman coast destinations. By boat Traveling to Ko Phi Phi by boat is BY FAR the most frequent method used. Ferries leave from Phuket and Krabi daily.

Climate Weather in the region is tropical - there are only two seasons: the hot season from January to April, and the rainy season from May to December.

Art There are lot of Krabi handicrafts such as pineapple paper.

Shopping Most stuff is brought in by boat, so most things are less original and more expensive than on the mainland. However, there are a few shops that manufacture their goods on the island. Prices for commodities vary widely between shops. Prices told may exactly not be worth the item, but if you are a good talker, you can bargain for a good price.

Accommodation Accommodation is relatively expensive - doubles range from 400 baht up into the 1000s the closer you get to the beach front. If you are a budget traveler expect to work hard to find a decent price. If you get really desperate a couple of places rent out tents for about 200â&#x20AC;&#x201C;300 baht - mind your valuables! One thing to note, prices are double during the high season which runs from October/November until May. Other time of year you can find relatively cheap accommodation in the 200 -300 range.

Dholavira

Dholavira is one of the biggest Indus Valley Civilization site in India. Its located During monsoon, sea comes in and the entire Khadir region is cut off from leaves behind a pure white sheet of salt which covers the region around till the

in the Kutch region of Gujarat, in a monsoon island called Khadir island. the rest of the world by surrounding water, as the water flows back it next monsoon spell.

It was discovered in 1967. It is also known as harappan civilization. Excavation at Dholavira was begun at 1990 and it is spread over 100 acres. Dholavira is located in the Kutchh Desert Sanctuary in an island that is called Khadir Bet. Dholavira, known locally as Kotada (which means large fort). Ruins of the settlement found here are believed to be more than 5000 years old. If you are interested in knowing about the ancient history and the ancient civilization of the country then Dholavira is the

perfect place for you. The excavation brought in the monumental structures of the ancient times, great architectures and good water managing system as this ar e a r e ce ive s ave r age amount of rainfall. Currently, we can say that it is one of the two largest arrangements in India and the fourth or fifth largest in the subcontinent. The others arrangements are: Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Gharo Bhiro (all in Pakistan) and Rakhigarhi (in India).

A planned city has been excavated, which is built according to a ancient geometric plan. The city is divided into the upper level town, the middle level town and the lower level town. The excavations conducted here came up with a number of ancient artifacts, like seals, beads, animal bones, gold, silver, terracotta ornaments and vessels. There is even

evidence that the town was an important trade center between other settlements in Sind, Punjab and Western Asia. The journey to Dholavira itself is beautiful, taking you through the saline desert plains of the Great Rann, where you can spot wildlife such as chinkara gazelle, nilgai (blue bull, the largest antelope in Asia), flamingos and other bird life.

How to Reach

MAIN ATTRACTINS

WHEN TO VISIT-

Ruins of Indus Valley Civilization, Various monuments

November to March

By Air

By Road

The nearest airport is in Gandhidham about 250 km away, where a daily flight between Mumbai and Gandhidham is available. Another airport close to Dholavira is Bhuj Airport about 300 km away, where daily two flights between Bhuj and Mumbai are available.

445 km From Ahmadabad Roads are usable until Rapar town; from there the road to Dholavira is two lanes. The best time to visit is November to March.

Jambughoda Imagine a day when you wakes up with the freshness of the lake air. Spend the noon

adventurous walk at night. If you are sitting quietly nearby riverside many a times you possible. The answer is Jambughoda. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x;s a beautiful place surrounded by nature. It is ney to Jambughoda. If you want to see the place you need to take prior permission from forest department ture with the voice of birds and silence of trees. Heritage Hotel in the center of forest is

with Leopard, see the sun disappearing behind the mountains, and explore night while you go for can get a chance to see wild animals around you. You may wonder how it is possible. Yes it is located in Gujarat which you might not aware even if being Gujarati. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x;ll take you to the jourat some specific places, olden time the king was very fond of hunting, you can enjoy the the favorite place of tourist.

na20

Things to do Go for an adventurous visit in a wild life century where you can find Sloth bear, leopard, hyena, jackal, blue bull, wild boar, four-horned antelopes, barking deer, porcupine, python, crocodiles, etc.

Attractions 

Kada Dam



Mount View



Wild life Sentury



Jhund Hanuman Temple



Hahini Waterfall

How to reach Its 20 km from Pawagadh. Nearest airport is Vadodara. Nearest railway station is at Bodeli. The only way to reach there is by road. The best time to go there is rainy season (July â&#x20AC;&#x201C; October).

Story 1

A memorable trip to UK On 10th June 2011, a bright day, in brilliant sunshine, we decided to see some authentic, old-charm British villages and “tourist attractions” places. So after a quick „google‟ we were all packed into the Volkswagen, as we drove off into the beautiful Wiltshire county. Our first stop took us to the world famous Stonehenge monument, made ever so popular by the “wallpaper” on many a PC across the globe. Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks, surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. It is at the centre of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. It is a national legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage, while the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust. The visit to Stonehenge, is really just a couple of hours walk around the monument, but a must-see for visitors to England. From there on we drove past County Berkshire, through the small Ascot village, known all over for the Royal Ascot Racecourse. The racecourse is used for thoroughbred horse racing and is closely connected to the British Royal family, Windsor Castle being just 6 miles away. By the time we got to Ascot there was a light drizzle adding to the charm and romanticism of rural England. Lunch was at the famous The Red Lion, Avebury. The Red Lion was first licensed in 1802and is famous for its 86 ft well which dates back to the 1600s. The restaurant is famous with visitors serving fine British cuisine. 26

After a long, leisurely, large lunch we move further to the quaint village of Castle Combe, a small village in Wiltshire, England, with a population of about 350. It is renowned for its attractiveness and tranquillity, and for fine buildings including the medieval church. St. Andrew's church is the home of the Castle Combe Clock, one of the very few English medieval clocks still in use. Castle Combe is situated on the southern-most edge of the Cotswolds and is approximately 12 miles from the Georgian city of Bath. Nearby there are many sites of historical interest such as Avebury, Stonehenge and the Wiltshire White Horses. Castle Combe has been called 'The Prettiest Village in England' The village houses are all of typical Cotswold type, constructed in stone with thick walls and roofs made from split natural stone tiles. The properties are many hundreds of years old and are listed as ancient monuments. Strict rules apply to preserve the beauty and character of Castle Combe for later generations to admire. Castle Combe lies in a valley and is considered one of the loveliest villages in the Cotswolds. It is one of the most visited and frequently finds favour as a backdrop for period television and cinema dramas. Its adjacent wooded hill was fortified by Britons, Saxons and Normans and like most other places in the Cotswolds, Castle Combe's prosperity was based on sheep and wool. The village was important enough at one time to be granted the privilege of holding a fair where wool and sheep were traded. Did we have a great time? You Betâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;Ś. And donâ&#x20AC;&#x;t forget tea at the Castle Inn Hotel at Castle Combe !!

- Victor Saldanha

Story 2 My first trip to

“God’s Own Country” I look forward to my trip to Kerala… with a song on my lips, twinkle in my eyes and thrill in my heart. Its been a year where I am working like a machine and regularly finding some places for holidays but it always turn to be a big failure, concern with family friends and some travel agents too but could not find the proper holiday destination which I want to be, as my work is to more deal with my clients and I always thinks that I am surround of the people who wear same type of cloth, arrive at the same time and do same type of work daily, so want a rid off out it, and off course I need a holiday at some place where I could spend the time with myself, one of my friend advised me to take a tour once in “GOD‟S OWN COUNTRY “ i.e. Kerala which I thought a great idea, I searched in latest encyclopaedia i.e. GOOGLE and found this place very interesting to visit and by this way I planned my first holiday trip. I booked my tickets from the travel agents, as one of my friend advice me to take the journey by train as she find it interesting while travelling by train, as I go though the route map of my train i.e. Gandhidham Nagercoil express its 2 day journey from Gandhidham to Kerela in route i found this train passes by Konkan route which covers Aoa, Ratnagiri etc, and when I take my journey I found that my friend was right the scenes from which my train passes that stagnant me which made me to play with my camera lens All the discomforts you experienced in the train, the previous night vanish as your eyes feast on the beautiful panorama that unfolds before you.

The view from my train

The water fall near Ratnagiri

My train enters into the tunnel

My first destination was Thrissur, I got the advice from my friend to visit Thrissur first its famous for the most famous temple i.e. Guruvayur , The Darshan at Guruvayur was fantastic and we visited the other Temples around too the temple is famous for its worships and ethical values, I stayed in hotel here people are very friendly in nature ,and the culture is very nice really I felt that I am in godâ&#x20AC;&#x;s own country. Have a glass of piping hot tea at a roadside tea shop. One should experience this.. 30

Thrissur railway station My next destination was tekkady (Idukki district) is the location of the Periyar National Park, which is an important tourist attraction in the Kerala state of India. It is located about 257 km (160 miles) from Trivandrum capital of Kerala it was amazing place and the wild life century was really beautiful the view of tekkady was great ,the boad ride was thrilling

Elephants group

A boat ride My next destination was Munnar is one of the most popular hill-resort towns in Kerala and in southern India. Munnar is located on the Western Ghats, situated in the Idukki district. The name Munnar is believed to be derived from the Malayalam words Munu (three) and aaru (river), referring to the town's strategic location at the confluence of the Muthirappuzha, Nallathanni and Kundaly rivers. Most of the native flora and fauna of Munnar have disappeared due to severe habitat fragmentation resultant from the creation of the plantations

I never seen this much beautiful place in my whole life ,the pleasant and stressless life which i found over there is unbelievable enjoyed the greenery ,felt a purity in the atmosphere around me which create a aura of positive vibration in me

A way to heaven

After seen this beautiful scene I want to sing â&#x20AC;&#x153;Many a times I felt lonely and scared in life that how will I walk in the lonely path..............â&#x20AC;?

River flowing

My meal yummyyyyyyyy

I have experienced the special lunch that‟s called “Sadhya”, the meal I mean the blend of flavours of Kerala and after having a heavy lunch I had “Pal Payasam” which means “Khir“ After my Munnar trio I came back to Thrissur to catch my train, but I really want to came back once. After this short trip I really want to visit Kerala next time also because I found myself and I got the time for myself and now I can on concentrate more on work and I had made many shopping for my family and friends, I hope they will like it, I found it to be a “GOD‟S OWN COUNTRY “ as it famous for its culture and richness that I found in the people of Kerala. - Shalini Shanker

Story 3

Journey To Wonderland

Hi guys, It‟s Hardik here from Toronto. I want to share my experience of Wonderland that I have visited last month. If you have been to Essel world in Mumbai, you can have a rough idea of Wonderland. It‟s just more advanced, bigger and has more rides. Now I‟ll begin with my journey of Wonderland. We four guys went together and my uncle dropped us off at the gate of wonderland. It‟s really fun if you have a bunch of people with you on the places like Wonderland. On the front gate we show a big line of ticket windows as they were all selling different types of packages, some had season passes, some had single entry group tickets and we got confused for the right window to go. Just at the same time one of the guard saw us just standing there looking confused, he came over and helped us for tickets. At the entrance one will be checked thoroughly and your hand will be stamped by a tattoo just like in a dance club. As we entered the park, there was a big fountain in the front and rows of beautiful small buildings on the both sides of it, having different kind of shops like Starbucks coffee, Pizza Pizza and other gift shops. There was a very high towering mountain at the end of the fountain, which looked like the mountain in the logo of Paramount pictures. We got maps of wonderland and planned our whole route through wonderland as it contains more than 200 attractions (including games) in eight differently themed areas, you need to be well planned to finish all major attractions. Some of the themes are Thrill rides, Family rides, Kids Area, Live shows and Splash works. We started our tour with small thrill rides as we didn‟t want the ultimate excitement from the beginning.

We planned to take only some of the rides because it‟s not possible to go through all rides in a day. Some of big ride had big lines, so we had to wait for 30-40 minutes for our turn nut it was worth to wait. I would like to give you some information on the rides that we enjoyed in Wonderland. WindSeeker was the newest arrival and it was fun as it‟s a 30-story tall swing ride. Towering over Canada's Wonderland, WindSeeker will give riders a spinning view of Wonder Mountain and Splash Works. It can go up at the level of 301 feet. DropTower was another cool ride. On Drop Tower, riders sit on a high-speed transport lift that travels over 16 feet per second, 230 feet in the air. The ride will take guests on that height and release them; one can imagine the thrill in dropping at more than 100 km/hr for 23 stories. Behemoth is the Canada‟s tallest, biggest and fastest roller coaster ever. It takes you up 230 feet and then sends you speeding down at a 75 degree angle of descent with speeds reaching 125km/hour! It has a track length of 5,318 feet. It was the most wonderful experience I ever had in my life; we decided to come back at the end of the day to sit in this coaster again. It were only some of the rides we had visited, there were many others like Stunt coaster, Dragon fire, Flight deck, Mighty Canadian Minebusters, Psyclone, Riptide, Shockwave, Sky rider, The bat, Time wrap and many others, I can‟t even remember all the names. We didn‟t realise when it was 3:30 pm. We all were hungry like hell so we went outside for lunch as the food available in the park was 2-3 times costlier than normal price. It‟s a good option to go outside to have lunch especially when you are on a budget. Yes, you can re-enter the park by showing the tattoo on your hand. We went to Subway across the street and each of us took a combo of a foot long sub, chips and coke.

After 4:30 pm we came back in the park and went straight to the water rides to cool off. We went to all the water rides one by one; at the end we just had fun in the wave pool. It was then around 7:30 pm. We got out and dried ourselves. After that we decided to go again in the Behemoth and couple of other rides again. At the end of the day I went to Xtreme Skyflyer, in this ride you have to buy a ticket. Me and one of my friends bought the tickets and went for it. Xtreme Skyflyer is Canada's largest free-fall swing. On Xtreme Skyflyer riders control their own ride experience by pulling the rip cord and initiating a 170-foot power flight that takes riders through a breathtaking pendulum swing, soaring a mere six feet above the ground! Drawing its inspiration from skydiving, riders experience weightlessness and speeds of more than 100km/hr. In the night at 10:00 pm, we were at the main gate near the mountain. We show Starlight Spectacular, itâ&#x20AC;&#x;s a light show. This show was dedicated to 30 th birthday of Wonderland, it was indeed a spectacular show. After that show we went outside on the street and my uncle picked us up. It was an indeed thrilling and memorable experience of my life. I would strongly recommend to visit wonderland to all. - Hardik H Chanpura

Journey with Irony

Story 4

Rightly said, “ Where there is a will, there is a Way”. I myself authenticated this proverb on 14th May,2011. But in my case i considered its vice-versa. I was not actually willing to take the IES(Indian Engineering Services) exam , nevertheless was going to take it and had left from JODHPUR to JAIPUR, for this purpose, which seemed to be purposeless. Had many second thoughts about whether I should go or not, but at last left for Jaipur in a bus at 23:00 hours on 13th May from Jodhpur, which was supposed to reach Jaipur at 6:00 hours on 14th. My examination time was 9:30 hours and so, was satisfied with bus timings and me n my friend departed from BAR (name of a city in Rajasthan, not the place you thought) where it took a hold for refreshment. And then when I was in a deep Slumber, began the main Twist-e-Journey. When I opened my eyes back @ 6 am, I saw the Bus stuck-up in Traffic besides the giant looking Trailers. And to my beloved surprise, i was just a KM away from Bar, which we had left at 2 am. This all Shit happened because 2 Trucks collided on that twolane hi-way at the narrowest place on the entire route, luckily. It took some time to clear the Traffic and by the time we reached Jaipur, am had just turned into pm. And thus, was just 10 minutes late for the Exam, i mean for the end of the Exam. Though had missed the exam on 1st day, took the remaining two exams on consequent days as IES isn‟t a ODI, its a 3 day match, rather exam. But then , the motive of Jaipur had just swapped from Exam time to Entertainment time and enjoyed to its fullest in Jaipur. Hawa-Mahal, Jal-Mahal, Aamer Fort, GT(Gaurav Tower, one of the famous hang-out place) , etc had become the main course of this journey. After the above irony, returned on 16th night from Jaipur to Jodhpur in Train, but we had just left behind Jaipur, not our companion Irony. Because, to our further Lucky-charm, TT caught hold of us this time because we had a General ticket of a normal train and made ourselves comfortable in a sleeper class of a Super-Fast train because the previous one was late. It was with ` 280 fine per head that we finally reached Jodhpur without any further Mishaps. So, though expecting nothing from the Exam results, at least got a new Lesson printed virtually in my book from bewildering Miss Life; that no man-made creativities (BUS here) ought to be trusted, because the Divine power always makes a Special appearance, sometimes as HERO and sometimes as a Supporting role. So a healthy and manageable Schedule must be planned whenever you Travel since T(ravel) has a Ravel in it which means to be perplexed. Wishing you a HAPPY JOURNEY / BON VOYAGE for the journey called “LIFE”!!!

- Akash Guar 40

Story 5

”Keuka Park: I am glad it is not famous”

We usually select a college on the basis of how big the college name is; well for me the story was different. I went to USA for my Master‟s from Keuka College, NY because of Keuka Park‟s beauty. Yes I know nobody has heard of this college, but may be that is the reason Keuka Park is so pure. A silent town located on Keuka Lake. Keuka Park is simply “scenic beauty”. What catches people‟s eye is the Keuka Lake. An unusual lake which is in a “Y” shape which is why American Indians named this lake as Keuka meaning “crooked”. People travel to New York and finish their visit in New York City, what they are missing out is experiencing the beautiful upstate in New York State. The entire place is filled with breath-taking view. I feel lucky that I got introduced to this place through Keuka College. There are bigger cities and towns and villages located on shore of Keuka Lake, but it‟s the atmosphere created by people of Keuka Park who make you feel comfortable, that is why Keuka is special. Surrounding places which attract a lot of visitors are Watkins Glen state park and Buttermilk falls. They are good for hiking, picnics and much more. For natural and wildlife photographers this is a tour of paradise. Keuka Outlet Trail is full of thrill and oomph from kayaking, biking, snowmobiling, hiking, dog-walking, cross country skiing, 4-wheeling ..pheewww and many more activities. Every experience is “Have to do it!!” quality. This trail stretches out for 7 miles, and ends in Seneca Lake; the deepest lake of New York State. These all are mediums through which Keuka can be and is enjoyed by people who see what beauty is.

When one takes a bike ride during fall he can see how nature pulls out their postal colour kit and teaches us about how colours can create our mood. With changing weather from warm air to chilling breeze, we see how wind picks out every bit of leaf from the trees and create a carpet for us to walk; it feels like we are on a set of a Bollywood musical where Shah Rukh khan will raise his hands in a moment and start singing for us. Winter season is my most adored season of Keuka. The morning and late nights are the best where one can see unpaved beautiful white snow everywhere. Even though the chilling weather convinces your brain to stay indoors, I see myself putting on 1 ton heavy load of winter jackets, just so I can go outside to have a snow fight. Going for skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling are not the only way to enjoy your winter. There are walks on frozen Keuka Lake, bonfire with Sâ&#x20AC;&#x;mores in our hand, ice-fishing and my personal favourite: making sure a silent/introvert friend is drunk so he does all possible crazy dances. And of-course recording every move made by him so that he get embarrassed the next day at the breakfast table. 10 months werenâ&#x20AC;&#x;t enough to enjoy Keuka; it is one the best places that I have travelled to; the reason is that, it is not polluted by unwanted tourists. Keuka is a silent place with a rhythm of its own. If you ask me Yashraj films should change their location from Switzerland to Keuka Park. - Disha Patel

Article 1

Patan the city of Historical Heritage… The famous line which narrates Ahmedabad as a city “Jab Kutte Pe Sassa Aaya, Tab Ahmed Ne Saher Basaya”. The cities of Gujarat has some or the other peculiarities about their being in the history and each town has contributed some or the other thing in making of Gujarat. For example Surat is known for eating, Baroda is known for the Gayakwads, Jamnagar is known for the Jamsaheb, Dwarka is known for lord Krishna, the same way I am going to talk about the ancient historical city of Patan… My love for this city is because of my belonging ness and to put forward the thoughts which I gathered as a proud citizen of this ancient town. The city has major communities like Ganchi‟s, Patel‟s, Brahmin, Muslim and you can observe the life style when you walk on the roads of Patan. The communities has their own businesses like the Ganchis are known as “Gheewala‟s” as they do business of Ghee, the patels are known for the farming and the hardware business, each caste represents their own way of existence. If you observe a typical day at this town starting as early as 5am you will find a group of people gathering either as a laughing club member or a walking club member, people still use Babul as a tooth brush and there is a special market of the same by morning the temples will have darshans and morning aartis, in the communities of Vaishnavs they go for their their mangala aarti to the Mahaprabhuji‟s bethak and other performs the pooja or aarti at various temples. It is still a trend that people open their business shops or go to office only after they worship the god they believe in. By 9.00am the market is full of villagers from the surrounding small villages and they come for purchasing various goods. By 12 the main road is full of public and will have a difficult time to drive a vehicle. But the life does not end here, by afternoon the small woman entrepreneurs will start their work and they will start working in the areas like Gruh Udhyog or the small gathering working for a social cause. E.g. Bhagini Samaj which is a NGO working for the woman upliftment projects.

By 4pm you will find people restarting the preparation of the evening and kids returns to schools. The life of a pupil or the students goes at a high risk of performance and will need continuous guidance through tuitions and coaching. The evenings are pleasant at the town and you will find many tourists visiting the places like Ranikivav, Shastraling Talav, the famous Patolas, the bhadrakali Temple, the various gates to enter the city. There are similarities in the built-up of Ahmedabad and Patan city in terms of it‟s infrastructure etc. e.g. the gates you see in Patan and Ahmedabad is Three Gates, the pole culture like Sankadi Sheri, Manek Chowk, Bhadrakali Temple, Mahalakshmi Temple, etc. By 7pm the shops and business starts closing and you will find the eatery joints opened on the road side, the season of marriage has the procession of brooms going for the bride on a traditional way where each of this procession is a status symbol and each procession is a typical customs of rituals to pay and the clothes to wear. The famous tea of “Murali Tea Stall” in the juna Ganj Bazzar is an attraction at night and you will find the youth to elderly people gathering and chatting. The people are at their leisure during the night time and the market trading also takes place on the roads. The culture of communal harmony and the process of helping and facilitating is the way of life for this city along with it‟s historical importance and festive mood. One will certainly enjoy all the seasons per say as well as their way of living life. The credit goes to the rich heritage of the then time rulers like Siddharj Jaisingh and Vanraj Chavada with the saints like Hemchandracharya and the writer like Kanaiyalal Munshi with his description on Patan with his novel called “Patan ni Prabhuta” Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat… - Amit Jani

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Asia Changed course at the backwash of recession During the period from January to June 2009, the eight Asian countries have recorded a decline of 10% (source: IPK international) in its outbound travel demand. This was imputed in part to the recession but also to the impact of the outbreak of (H1N1) influenza. Asia being relatively a younger market and, therefore, much more volatile than, say, Europe or America. Despite rock-bottom airfares, low-cost airline travel in the region was also suffered a setback – albeit to a modest extent – in part as a result of airline capacity cuts, which resulted in lower seat availability and, therefore, rising fares. The biggest decline so far has come from South Korea, down more than 10% over the same period in 2008 – a decline due in large part to exchange rates: in the six months from September 2008, the one went through a period of great volatility, involving massive depreciations. The period between January to August 2009 saw the demand for India, China, Japan and Thailand down between 5 to 10%.Demand for Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, meanwhile, fell over the same period between 1% and 4%. To put things into perspective, the following graph highlights the volumes of outbound trips from each of the eight markets surveyed. In contrast to official data from the China National Tourism Administration (which measures all travel, including same-day trips and trips to the Chinese Special Administrative Regions, or SARs, of Hong Kong and Macau), IPK's Asian Travel Monitor excludes not only travel to the two SARs, but also to Taiwan. The resulting figure of 14 million for Chinese outbound trips puts China in second place in the ranking, behind Japan with 18.1 million, but ahead of South Korea with 11.7 million in 2008. Taiwan follows in fourth place, generating 9.6 million trips. All other sources, according to the Asian Travel Monitor – and even India – still have a long way to go to catch up with the leaders. More than three quarters of all outbound trips from these eight Asian markets are for other Asian destinations, according to 2008 data, and this share will increase by the end of 2009 if year-to-date trends persist, as many expect.

While intra-Asian trip volume fell by 'only' 5% from January through August this year, travel to Europe (14% of total trips) was down by 10% and that to the Americas (9% share) by 15%. One good piece of news is that, seemingly against all the odds, the Chinese market has overtaken Japan to become the leading Asian source for the region, , 34% of the total volume of the eight markets surveyed, according to the Asian Travel Monitor. In some cases, this has notbeen entirely their own choice, as the Chinese Government issued an edict earlier in the year stating that no Chinese Government employee could travel abroad. Chinese are not such a good bet for European destinations as Japanese in termsof spending, either. The total spend by Chinese on transport, accommodation and incidentals (ie excluding shopping) is €240 per night, as against €320 for Japanese,€185 for Koreans and €180 for Taiwanese. - Jithin Ponathil

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Be Aware To Join. Send a request mail to know.unknown@solution4u.com To know more about us go to www.facebook.com/know.unknown The Origin Of The Word “Travel” Our ancestors knew the real deal. The word “travel” comes from the old French word “travail” which means to work. That word, is thought to have come from “tripullare”, which is the three sectioned whip that Roman soldiers used to strongly encourage productivity out of the laborers in their expanded empire. They associated the act of moving from one place to another with hellish torture.

First person to travel around the world Who was the first person to travel all the way around the world? Most people would probably answer, “Ferdinand Magellan” – and they would be partly correct. However, ask almost any Filipinos about Magellan and they could tell you that he died in the Philippines fighting Chief Lapulapu. Magellan‟s Malay interpreter, known as Enrique de Malacca, was the first person to travel all the way around the earth – and some have even claimed that Enrique was a Filipino.

The first person to travel in space was Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin on 12 April 1961

Incredible India! Highest Mountain Peak in India Kanchenjunga - 8,586 meters (28,169 feet) engirdled by Sikkim in the south and east Nepal in the west Tibet in the north The name derived from the Tibetan words, 'Kanchen' and 'Dzonga' ', meaning 'Five Treasuries of the Great Snow', as it contains five peaks. The treasures represent the five repositories of god, which are gold, silver, gems, grain, and holy books. The five ridges are named according to their respective directions with reference to the main peak to which they are attached.

Coldest Place in India

Drass in western Ladakh is the coldest place in India. It is also the second coldest place in the world after Siberia. Temperatures drop down to about -40 degrees Celsius in winters. However, summers in Drass are balmy and many trekkers and campers visit Drass during the summer time. Drass has an altitude of 3230 m and lies 60 km west of Kargil on the road to Srinagar. The Drass valley starts from the base of the Zojila pass, the Himalayan gateway to Ladakh. Drass is a convenient base camp for treks to Suru valley. Inhabitants of Drass are of Dard descent, an Indo-Aryan race believed to have originally migrated to Ladakh from Central Asia. 50

Largest Glacier in India

Siachen Glacier is the largest glacier in India. In fact, it has the distinction of being the largest glacier outside the polar and the sub-polar regions. Siachen glacier is 75.6 km long and 2.8 km wide. It is the source for the 80km-long Nubra River, a tributary of the Shyok, which is part of the Indus River system.

Wettest Place in India

Wettest Place in India is Cherrapunji. In fact, Cherrapunji is the wettest place on the earth. The place receives an annual rainfall of over 1200 cm. Cherrapunji is situated at 56 km from Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, in one of the heaviest rain-belts in the world. However, off late, a ding-dong battle has been on between Cherrapunji and the neighboring village of Mawsynram for the crown of "Wettest Place in the World". Sometimes, it is Cherrapunji which records highest annual rainfall in the world and sometimes it is Mawsynram. However, meteorologists question the genuineness of the data obtained from Mawsynram. Unlike Cherrapunji, there is no meteorological office at Mawsynram and the readings there are taken by a peon of the Meghalaya Public Works Department posted there.

Largest River Island in India

Majuli Island in Assam is the largest river Island in India. Majuli is in the Brahmaputra River, and is about 200 kilometers east from Guwahati, the capital of Assam. Majuli was formed due to course changes by the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries, mainly the Lohit. The total area of the island was 1250 sq.km but due to erosion its present area is 557 sq km. The island has twenty-three villages with a population of 150,000 and a density of 300 persons per square km.

Largest Delta in India

Sundarban is the largest delta in India. The Sundarbans are a part of the world's largest delta formed by the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna. They are vast tract of forest and saltwater swamp forming the lower part of the Ganges Delta, extending about 260 km along the Bay of Bengal from the Hooghly River Estuary in India to the Meghna River Estuary in Bangladesh. Sunderban covers an area of 4262 sq. km in India. Sunderban is a unique ecosystem dominated by mangrove forests and gets its name from the Sundari trees. Sunderban is spread over 54 islands and two countries. It is one of the last preserves of the Bengal tiger and the site of a tiger preservation project.

Flavors of Travel Naughty Traveler : Naughty means behaved funny or badly. Have you ever experienced any naughty activity during trip? I am sure you would be eager to know the naughtiest experience which according to you would be fun or foolish. Let‟s check out this flavor and yes for sure you are invited to share your naughtiest experience. I remember the day which was most embracing, I reached Hethrow Airport (London) and was so excited to meet my brother after 13 odd years, I dint saw here and there and shouted loudly „Kem Cho‟ – all the Gujarati people came ahead to talk to me (oh I was at airport for next 25 minutes and enjoyed a lot). But then I felt that I should not have shouted so loudly as all the travelers were looking at me as if I had committed a crime. for more – www.travelloholic.com

Travel slap : Many people love to give travel tips. But we are different. We share real life experiences of travelers. So that readers can take care of certain required things in their next trip. We invite our reader to share their bad travel experience to make people aware Have you ever missed a train? Have you ever forgotten to take money along? This shit happened with me when I left home towards station for a trip to Goa, last year. I missed my train for a 5 minute and this was because I forgot wallet at my home. The Taxi driver did not allow me to move a step without paying him a fare. When I missed my train I thought this trip will not give me any benefits or this trip was not made more me. I went back home. for more – www.travelloholic.com

Anti traveler : Sounds odd – yes but it‟s true. As every coin has two sides antitraveler is the opposite personality of the travel addicted person. We found that there are many people who are very happy in their life without journey – trip – travel; this flavor is introduced in the favor of people who have experienced that they are satisfied without journey – trip – travel; or have not traveled since long time due to one reason or another. Your contribution of experience is accepted. Ohh Traveling!!! I see movies a lot but when it comes to tour or a trip I do not have any company I like traveling but I am known as one of the Anti-Traveler – I Remember a beautiful saying “ HUM KAALE HAI TO KYA HUVA DILWALE HAI‟‟ for more – www.travelloholic.com

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Contributors: Manish - Edit Prashant - Design Nita Ahir - Travel Toonz Disha Patel - Keuka Story Victor Saldanha - UK Story Jay Ajudia - Know Unknown Nirav Jadav - Know Unknown Shalini Shanker - Kerala Story Ravi Patel - Jambughoda Photos Hardik Chanpura - Wonderland Story Nikunj Patel - Travelloholic Logoâ&#x20AC;&#x; Tushar Tewani - Collage Design Akash Gaur - Rajasthan Story Jithin Ponatil - Asia Article Nishant Jalu - Lion Photos Amit Jani - Patan Article Siddharth Joshi - Dholavira Photos Thailand Tourism - Ko Phi Phi Photos

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