Month: June 2016

Solo Bike Expedition To Spiti Valley – An Ideal Itinerary

Published by Dev

There’re some journeys that leave an imprint on your soul. And my solo bike expedition to Spiti Valley was one among them! Many years ago, my father happened to stay in Lahaul-&-Spiti. He told me stories about Spiti Valley’s raw and uninviting nature. It was from him, I knew how disconnected Spiti Valley can feel, from the real world. Time has changed though. Regular morning buses, which run daily, in different parts, now connect Spiti to its neighbours. Private cars and taxis also, at times, are quite visible. “Surely the Gods must live here, this is no place for men.” Rudyard Kipling But if compared to Ladakh, Spiti valley is still very harsh and desolate. It takes a certain amount of madness to drive on these uninviting, mesmerizing landscapes. And to do it solo – you need to be more than just mad. When I decided to drive solo, through this unfamiliar terrain of East Himachal – home to one of the ‘world’s deadliest roads’ – my sole intention was to see its natural vistas and being …

Tips For Solo Road Trip To Spiti Valley – All You Need To Know

Published by Dev

‘We spend our lives trying to become something. To prove ourselves worthy, and important. Until we stand still, one day, facing the mighty nature. It is moments like these when we truly realize, how petty, how insignificant – human condition actually is’ I found myself struggling with these boundless thoughts, regularly, during my solo bike expedition to Spiti Valley – a trip which made me believe, in just 9 days, that everything falls into place when you really want it to. Once you embrace the true spirit of the journey, it reveals itself to you. A road trip to the world’s one of the most isolated roads in Spiti Valley, is nonetheless a tough experience. You need to drive for long hours, look after your ride, calculate kilometres, and take many survival decisions. And doing it solo is somewhere at the next level. Perhaps that’s what compelled me to try it out at first place. Now that I’ve I managed to complete the journey in 9 days and while camping each night, I thought why not …

How To Drive Across Spiti Valley Cheap, And In Less Than 5 Thousand Rupees

Published by Dev

Spiti Valley is harsh and inhospitable in nature. With an average height of 12,500 feet above sea level, it consists of high alpine lands scattered with small postcard-perfect villages of mud-homes and monasteries. But when it comes to experiencing it, many find their pockets falling short. “25 thousands for 10 nights? I can go to Bali for a week, for that price,” and they would abnegate the idea. How Much A Prepaid Itinerary To Spiti Valley Costs A 7 to 10-day prepaid bike tour can costs over 25,000 per person – depending upon the number of members and the kind of accommodation being offered during the tour.  A comparatively cheaper option, however, which crams you in a standard 9 seater Jeep – starts from a whopping 15 thousand Rupees for a week-long itinerary. Now the only option is – if you want to do it super cheap – you go backpacking riding uneasy buses and staying in smelly dorms. Or, you take your motorbike out, change its flat tires, follow my 9 Day Bike Expedition itinerary, and have …

Why I Quit My Job To Travel

Published by Dev

Last week, I took a wee trip to Rishikesh – the land of sadhus and of many people’s spiritual rebirth. I have a personal affection, some attachment to this place. This is where I once spent two months, practising meditation and taking spiritual lessons. But this time, my arrival was accompanied by a sense of unexpected realization. I wondered, as I grabbed myself walking along its frenzied, confused walkways, that how lucky I am to experience places like Rishikesh again and again. And yet, it is never the climax of my journey. It is always the beginning. “We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls” Anais Nin It has been a few years now since I have been travelling full time, or I should perhaps say a few years since I’ve made travelling my life, and my source of income, yet I never shared here why and how it all happened. It would be nice to say that I wanted to understand myself and find my inner consciousness, but frankly speaking, it’s …

Timelapse Of My Camping-Site-In-Making, In Chandratal

Published by Dev

During my very recent 9-day solo bike trip to Spiti Valley, I camped almost every night. This helped me to keep my budget under a good control and stay away from the most ‘sought after’ tourist places — as I had the security to have a roof at night, no matter where I go. Here, a quick time lapse of my temporary dwelling (on day 8) in making. Pretty neat, eh? Location: Chandra Tal (about 4,300 m above sea level) Read About My Solo Motorbiking Expedition To Spiti Valley

9 Ways To Travel Smarter And Cheaper

Published by Dev

Want to travel the world but don’t have enough money? These tried and tested tips will help you travel smarter and cheaper! When I tell people that I’ve been travelling the world since 2015, without having any source of steady income, they ask, without sparing a second, “Then how do you fund your travels? You must be rich.” People think travelling is an expensive hobby. They think it is only possible to travel, and travel regularly if you either earn in an impressive figure, or your father is exceptionally wealthy. In my case, neither were true. Perhaps that’s why, when I’d initially told my friends, two years ago, that I am quitting my job to travel, they couldn’t believe me. A few even asked if I’d won a lottery.  Sure travelling costs money. But if you do it in a budget, you don’t need much of it. For example, three weeks of budget travelling in Cambodia shouldn’t cost more than USD 350. Similarly, a two weeks holiday in Thailand doesn’t cost more than 300 dollars And then travelling cheap …

The Dilemma Of Leaving Everything Behind And Travel

Published by Dev

I remember when I quit my job in 2015 to leave everything behind and start travellng, I was feeling a bout of the jitters. Fear, excitement and curiosity – they all were playing their part. I had no idea what to expect. Which guidebook to follow. No one among my friends had ever done it before. In three words: I WAS CONFUSED! A few days ago, I received a 700-word email from one of my readers, mentioning how he has been holding on to a marketing job for the past 10 years, but now wants to leave his career, and with it, everything behind and start travelling. He wrote to me in search of some kind of assurance. But more than assurance, I felt, he needed inspiration. Inspiration to let go, to break free and find his freedom again. To Travel Is To Find New Opportunities So as I started typing a reply, I told him how even if he quit his corporate career almost recklessly and suddenly, and if tomorrow he couldn’t find a …

The Joy of Slow Travel

Published by Dev

I was recently trying to put all my logical judgments and answer a burning query of mine “why do I consider myself a traveler, when I address most of the people, including many friends, as tourists?” I mean, I take the same road, experience similar locale, and possibly meet the same local people. So why this demarcation? Is it the term ’a traveler’ which has some sort of bounding appeal to it? What makes me a traveler? I realized the answer, on its own, while having a conversation with an old friend, who came home for a quick visit, a couple of days ago. He was getting married in 6 months from now and was busy doing overtime to get promoted before the marriage. Under such convoluted circumstances, I asked him if he fancied a short motorbiking expedition in the Himalayas (I really did mention the word ‘short’). And the first thing he said was: “For how long? Give me the dates when we are leaving and arriving.” I took a little breath, pondered, and then described …