Traveling every month , that'd be every traveler's dream , a different destination every time , the travel bug biting you whenever you are sitting back home on a weekend , doing nothing . Well, yeah i managed to do that , i did it and i will take you through the magic in the following lines in this account.
Coming from a small town of Jammu , as a child , i loved traveling , going to different places , undergoing adventures and thrilling experiences but only after landing up at my first job , i discovered myself and found that traveling is something that i need equally as i need oxygen to live , food to eat , and water to survive. It all started from Kumara-Parvata Trek in the Western Ghats where i got bitten by the travel-o-Photography bug and the virus is still in my brain keeping the disease lively .
I hope this account is going to be an inspiring catalyst to start in you a chemical reaction that would make your 2018 euphuistic , overblown with travel and it'd be helpful guide to travel almost every month of the year.
Let me give you quick hit of Travel-Sativa of how my 2017 went . In short January - [ Goa ] , February - [ Rann OF Katchch ], March [ Sri Lanka ] , April [ Belur , Halebidu (Karnataka) ] , May [ Roopkund ] , June [ Product Release (Feature Development) ] , July [ Madurai - Rameshwaram , Thanjavur ] , August [ Cambodia ] , September [ Kudremukh (Karnataka) ] , October [ Jammu ] , November [ Udupi - Murudeshwar - Malpe ] , December [ Rajasthan ].
If you have any questions about visiting any of these places, feel free to ask in the comments below. I would be happy to answer on any questions .
31st December 2016 , that night of 2016 , when i did a trek with Bangalore Mountaineering Club , i made a new year resolution , that in 2017 i will just travel , travel and travel , solo , international , anything . I am so contented that it all worked out although it didn't come so nice , easy and smooth but it was magical and enchanting and perfect.
#Jan | 2017 - Go Goa Gone - This was the first time after 2003 that i hit goa , i made sure i utilized the long weekend of 26th January . Me , my roommate , his friends , my Honda Brio and a fantastic road trip to Goa from Bangalore . All driving by myself. Oh i never told ya i love riding and driving too . Do not miss going to Mandrem beach , it just so peaceful and not overcrowded at all.
#Feb | 2017 - Rann of Kutch - Folks , i will repeat the same old school saying , kutch nhi dekha to kuch nhi dekha , read about my entire expedition of ROK on a royal enfield ThunerBird 500 cc with the Crazy Rider Team TCR @
https://www.indiatoday.in/travel/first-person/story/rann-of-kutch-white-desert-travel-bike-lifest-964063-2017-03-05
I am sure you'll get a high for riding all around Bhuj . This was around 1500 kms in 4 days . What was exciting here , one , i traveled alone from Bangalore , two , i rented a bike from Ahmedabad and three i joined TCR team and another 20 riders to accomplish mission ROK , successfully.
#Mar | 2017 Sri Lanka Explorer - Time for some international travel , love for Sri Lanka , the land of elephants and spices , with sea all around and the country full of fantastic and lovely beautiful people . If you hit sri lanka do not miss whale watching at Mirissa , Scuba Diving at Unawatuna , a small trek through the Jungle Beach , a visit to the Splendid Galle fort , a trip to the historical city of Kandy , a trip to Nuwara Eliya , in the tea country hills of central Sri Lanka and last but not the least do not miss visiting one of casinos of Colombo , The Bally's . It was four of us , a SL e-visa and the love of travel made this all possible.
#April | 2017 Belur - Halebidu Archaeological Site
this was another solo road trip from Bangalore around 200 kms in my Honda Brio , covering Markonahalli Dam , the old temple at Aralguppe village , Shravanabellagola another temple of the Jains , the Chennakeshwa temple at Belur and finally crashing for the night at at Hotel Mayura Velapuri. Early morning one must not miss the drive from Belur to Sakleshpur and visit the Manjarabad Fort and live life above the clouds . For afternoon , continue to the Halebid archaeological site and return to Bangalore the same night.
Belur is about 223 kms from Bangalore, a drive of about 4 hours and is called the south Banaras for its temples. Halebid was the capital of Hoysala Empire for about 150 years. It's a must do two day trip from Bangalore .
Belur : https://www.flickr.com/photos/deepanmol/albums/72157678294847813
Halebid : https://www.flickr.com/photos/deepanmol/albums/72157678226991504
#May | 2017 Roopkund Lake Summit - It's may and me and my ex-boss from Oracle (he wasn't my boss at this time) and his cousin , we booked a trek to summit the Roopkund lake in the month of May. There is so much to talk about this trek but i will cut it short for now .
For the entire details of the trek see my blog
https://www.indiatoday.in/travel/story/trekking-roopkund-lake-trisul-ghunti-kathgodam-traveller-lohajung-lifetr-983377-2017-06-18
At 16,500 ft , summitting Roopkund was a lifetime memorable event and will remain one of the most challenging treks done ever till date.
If planned well , you can visit Nanital and Bhimtal for two days before the trek and then join your organization and group for the trekking . Paragliding at Bhimtal is something one should not miss.
#June | 2017 - June . To be honest i did not travel anywhere in June for two major reasons . One was the ICC champions trophy 2017 that was scheduled from June 1 till June 18 . Secondly there was a feature release for my product for which i was working for and hence June was the only month in 2017 that did not allow me to travel . I didn't travel but yet the adventure bug did not leave me , so i did a class on Level 1 course on Canyoneering and Rapelling . Check Gokul Ramachandran on Facebook to know more .
#July | 2017 Madurai , Rameshwaram , Thanjavur - It was july and it was time for some more temple visits , holy shrines and some pilgrimage . The travel part of this was totally exciting for me and for my parents who had come to visit me all the way from Jammu , i made it a point to show the most sacred shrine of South India i.e. Rameshwaram . We hired a Car Rental from saavari.com @ Bangalore & our pitstops included Madurai , Pamban bridge , Rameshwaram , Dhanushkodi , Thanjavur and back to Bangalore.
#August | 2017 - Cambodia & Hyderabad - The month of the year when my passport seemed to beg me for another set of entries to be printed on it , my international traveling experience added another country to feel proud of itself . It was Cambodia this time & the country is simply wow . You should visit Cambodia if you like old temples , a different architecture style , south east Asian clubbing style , Angkor Wat the Great , history ,of the Cambodian Civil War ,lakes , jungles , the local traditional dance of Cambodia and last but not the least 1$ beer . The best international experience for me after SFO , Texas and Sri Lanka . Also i had visited Hyderabad this month for marriage of one of my Oracle friends and Hyderabad offers the great Golkonda Fort and should be a must visit when in Hyderabad.
Cambodian traditional dance : https://www.flickr.com/photos/deepanmol/sets/72157685813407154
#September | 2017 Kudremukh - Now is the month of the year i was born in . Yuss i am a Libran , born September 28th and in this month , the idea of trekking came back to my mind . After Roopkund in May , any trek in the southern terrain of Western Ghats seemed a simple task . Me and my friend joined Nature Walkers for the trek .
It was one of the best trekking experiences of my life . Kudremukh gives you a high which no other trekking destinations can give . Tips : Travel post monsoon when the rains have settled and it's green and clear all around .
#October | 2017 : Jammu [ Salal HydroElectric Power Plant & Baba Siar Water Falls ] - It's the time of the month of Diwali , i feel goosebumps on my skin , it's home calling , it's the time to celebrate and fortunately i could convince everyone at home for a family outing somewhere in the outskirts of Jammu for a day trip . That's how i ended up visiting Salal Dam (Hindi: सलाल बाँध Salāl Bāndh), also known as Salal Hydroelectric Power Station, is a run-of-the-river power project on the Chenab River in the Reasi district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It's not a tourist destination but since my parents were in Government sector we could manage to get an official tour of the project. The turbines , the machines , electricity generation , magnetism, it was all Engineering Physics and Electrical Engineering 1st year B.E. coming back to the mind . Post visiting Salal project one should not miss the famous Baba Siad Water falls en route Jammu from Reasi . It's an undiscovered beauty in Jammu , not many know about it and not many have witnessed how beautiful the waterfall is .
#November | 2017 - Udupi / Murudeshwara / Malpe : Another month , another destination , another road trip . This time again backpacking with my Honda Brio with some awesome people and this was the second time in last two years that i was visiting this place . When in and around Mangalore , do not miss seeing the backwaters nears Kundapur , sunset at Marvanthe beach , the scared and great Shiva statue @ Murudeshwara , a boat ride to St Mary's islands from Malpe , and a dip in the Malpe beach . All of it is totally amazing.
#December | 2017 Rajasthan Explorer - Well , well , well it's' the time of the year when everyone wants to be in party mood , clubbing , celebrating New year's eve in style . What's your style ? Think about it .... By the way , this one might go a little longer but you can trust me the length would be equally exciting as the details of wrapping up of 2017 in my style .
I finally got mentally ready to do a solo trip from Bangalore , exploring Rajasthan for around 7 days on a rented bike . So very briefly , i started from Jaipur - Bikaner (Night 1) , to Jaisalmer , Tanot and Longewala (Night 2 & 3) to Jodhpur (Night 4) to Ranakpur & Kumbalgarh (Night 5) to Udaipur (Night 6) to Jaipur via Ajmer and Pushkar (Night 7 & 8). I spent the New Year's eve at the roof top party organized by the Hostel (The Joey's Hostel Jaipur) that i was staying at, and they made the night of 31st December 2017 worth remembering . That was my plan , you may wish to as well spend one night at Pushkar , and if you have more time which i unfortunately did not have , you can as well include one night stay at Mount Abu visiting Dilwara temples and one night stay at Bundi ( visiting Kota ) . This completes entire Rajasthan . The entire details of this wrap up is still in progress , however the links to the pics can be found below .
Bikaner : https://tinyurl.com/y8xxuflt
Jaisalmer :
https://tinyurl.com/y8fpr7un
https://tinyurl.com/y9rep8d7
Jodhpur :
https://tinyurl.com/yavhfru5
Kumbalgarh :
https://tinyurl.com/y7x8zzpr
Udaipur :
https://tinyurl.com/yad8favg
Ajmer | Pushkar | Jaipur :
https://tinyurl.com/yd3fcyut
Folks this was all i had to share , this was my account of 2017 , this was my life , my journey , where i met so many new amazing people , did so many new exciting things , discovered myself , saw the small world in whatever small time i had . I hope this account has been helpful and encouraging for all people around the country who think they have to quit their job to travel every month . Nah , you don't need to , all it takes , is the virus , that enters your brain and infects you , urges you to leave, leave every month , somewhere you haven't been to , somewhere you can be lost alone into your own thoughts , forgetting every trouble that bothers you in life , meeting strangers , living in dormitories , making friends with people whom you were never supposed to meet in your life , making memories and last but not the least having numerous stories for you to share with your children and grandchildren when life is about to end at your doorstep to leave this world and enter another world of transcendence .
Follow me @ instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/some_anmoldeep/
@ flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/deepanmol/albums
Read my blogs @ https://www.indiatoday.in/topic/Anmol-Deep
and when i am not travelling i am a techie @
http://anmoldeep.blogspot.in/
I thank each and every one of you who read this blog , please drop in some comments and let me know if you liked the above account of my travel in 2017.
Frequent Searches Leading To This Page:-
sri lanka tourist places, top places to visit in sri lanka, top places to see in sri lanka, top tourist attractions in sri lanka, top sri lanka tourist places, sri lanka best time to visit, sri lanka places to visit, srilanka tour package from kerala, cambodia packages from hyderabad