Ravi Santhalia | Goa Trip

 My name is Ravi Santhalia and I began travelling almost ten years ago. I started writing blogs simply to share my travel experiences with the hope to inspire people to start travelling too. As a traveler I love travel in India because…I have learned to appreciate the simple things in life and it is a land of a billion smiles. Only in India.

Some trips we go to see the places, some trips we go to feel the adventure, some trips we go to relax etc etc... So every trip have some expectations, some plan, some goals in mind...But this was really a great experience for us where we went trip without any plan...Yes, seriously no plan as such...We have seen GOA just 8 months back, and we have seen almost all places and even same hotel we are staying...So nothing planned as such...And that too with the special person we are going with, planning never works.
Mode of travel: Train between Bangalore to Vasco

                 We purposeful choose train for 2 reasons...First to enjoy the journey with lots of talks and plays. Second to see Doodh Sagar waterfalls.
Stay: Godwin Hotel at calangute beach                    
What to wear: Yes for Goa your dress code is very much important... Choose knee level or at least three fourth so that you can walk in beaches comfortably. I think shopping for dresses in Goa itself is best than in Surat, cost wise and also you get more varieties. Carry a good sun screen lotion (If not you skin tone will change badly). Again mainly buy a nice hat as soon as you reach there to avoid tanning on your face.
we crossed the CASTLE ROCK station. From this station onwards we get lot of tunnels, nice greenery all the way. And also we are just ~30 min away from Doodh Sagar falls. Few Sicked to windows and few at stairs enjoying the scenic view and also eagerly waiting for Falls. Next station was dhoodh sagar and just in 5 min, Finally Dhoodh sagar water falls came... Little disappointed as water was less and it was very magnificent considering the height of falls...Train goes pretty fast and we already ready with our cams and able to capture it.
After falls, had small nap and we finally came to GOA Vasco station.
         The plan was to take the bikes from this point and use for rest of the journey. But our bad luck, all bikes got over. Then we wanted to try the bus from Vasco to panji and from there bikes... Found the bus stop...But again it was too long queue and very less buses at that time...Again bad luck...It was very hot and we finally decided to take a TT directly to our hotel. Finally got TT for Rs.1600 where all can sit. The hotel is around 45KM distance. Anyway, We finally reached the hotel.

Ravi Santhalia

 
My name is Ravi Santhalia and I began travelling almost ten years ago. I started writing blogs simply to share my travel experiences with the hope to inspire people to start travelling too. I get to see physical evidence that God is omnipresent and in every form; be it a stone, a tree, a cow, a person possessed by spirits, the small shrine in the middle of crossroads or even autorickshaw meter! I love to travel in india because here it’s a celebration always. It’s full of colour and diversity. It’s like a mountain valley in spring when the land explodes with life in myriads of hues and colours. The beauty of India lies in the spontaneous, un-manicured experiences you get while travelling,


A journey to Taj Mahal

Agra, aside for the Taj Mahal, brought me back to a disheartened state. With all the money this grand marble structure brings in, it was heartbreaking to see the poverty and pollution surrounding it. You’d think that some of the site’s earnings would go to the community, or that there wouldn’t be trash flooding the streets; but alas, that’s not the case.
As I snuggled up into the stained sheets of my crusty hotel room, I yearned to escape my discomfort. For a coffee shop that felt warm, for a bed with clean blankets. I wasn’t expecting to find Brooklyn in India, but I wanted something, anything, that made sense.

Iconic, beautiful, and jaw dropping — words can never be enough to describe the beauty of this landmark of eternal love. Taj Mahal in Agra, one of the most-admired seven wonders in the world is a classic tale of declaration of love by a Mughal Emperor Shahjahan for his wife, Mumtaz. The artistic masterpiece was built by Shahjahan after the demise of his wife during child birth, as an apparent token of love in her memory.

Tourists visit all day, but I would recommend the dawn session. If you’re lucky enough to get a good sunrise, the colours of the sky really transform the Taj. It’s also the quietest time to visit, with the majority of tourists arriving later in the day.  You can experience the Taj during sunrise on both a private tour by car and an overnight tour.
The palace is serenely positioned in front of a river, which creates an aura of peace and tranquillity… it also means that visiting at dawn makes you a part of the mozzies’ breakfast buffet. Don’t forget to wear your bug repellent.

The experience of arriving at the Taj Mahal can be a little overwhelming. A great guide will not only help you navigate the ticket queues, but they can also make sure you get the best out of your visit. There is plenty to learn about the rich history and craftsmanship behind the monument, so it’s worth getting an expert to tell you the whole story. If you’d like to find out more about organising a tour to the Taj Mahal, we can help. Reality Tours offers private and group tours of Agra for all price ranges.

Ravi Santhalia Dalhousie & Khajjiar Tour

 My name is Ravi Santhalia and I began travelling almost ten years ago. I started writing blogs simply to share my travel experiences with the hope to inspire people to start travelling too. As a traveler I love travel in India because…I have learned to appreciate the simple things in life and it is a land of a billion smiles. Only in India.

We started our Journey in the afternoon so we plan for night stay at Chandigarh. we reached Chandigarh at 7.00 P.M in the evening so we were having enough time to visit the famous Mansa devi temple. its an awesome place with such a peace. On the next day we started early in the morning for our journey towards Dalhousie. it took almost 7hr to reach to Dalhousie from Chandigarh. The road is pretty good if you follow the Hoshiarpur-Pathankot-Dalhousie route.

We reached Dalhousie at 3.00 PM & straight went to our guest house to have some rest. The location of the guest house was awesome & it was surrounded by thick trees & was on the tip of the mountain. The weather was soothing with cool healthy air which you will never experience in Surat.

Our guest house was near to Subash Chowk & we decided to visit the St. Francis Church at Subhash Chowk that evening. One will love the architectural beauty of the church. It’s a very old church built by the English men early 19th century.
Then we decided to walk till Gandhi chowk which was around 2 Km. we loved each & every moment of the walk which was full of ecstatic natural beauty. I have never seen such a beautiful mountain views in my life before.

We wake up at around 6.00 in the morning & decide to just have a good stroll in the  morning to adore the natural beauty. We walked around 1 Km on the 8 when we saw one young child coming from the village which was far away in the deep in the mountain. We were very impressed with the young child & decided to track that dangerous route till his village.  There was no pathway for the complete track so it was full of danger & excitement.

We planned to visit Khajjiar. Then we started our journey towards Khajjiar. It is the most exotic and scenic beauty place around 22 Km from Dalhousie. Khajjiar is officially proclaimed the mini-Switzerland of India. At an altitude of 6450 ft, this saucer shaped green meadow, ringed by Devadar Trees has a lake in the middle complete with floating island. I liked horseback riding and strolling. It’s the best place to spend more time as compare to the other places. We spent around 2 hrs & enjoyed Horse riding there.

At around 5 p.M we started our journey back to Chandigarh.  We took another route which goes directly to pathankot & is shorter in distance. The road was Ok but it was too narrow so only a experience driver should follow that path. The traffic at this road is very less & the scenic beauty is ultimate along the whole route which compensate for the narrow road.

At midnight we reached at Chandigarh & have a great sleep. Next day we left for New Delhi & have a great drive till Delhi.
It was one of the most memorable trip I have ever been too.