Manali -Kalka - Kolkata and more..
The taxi came up in the morning, a good bye to the hotel guys and with the cycle on the carrier the drive starts towards Kalka. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Just one picture to keep that drive towards Kalka in context, here I stopped to buy some good apples for home.
12312 Kalka - Howrah mail was at close to midnight, reached within time at Kalka, the same process again - booked the cycle in the parcel van. The two days went by on the train, without much to report about. Train was on time at Howrah. The same Tata Ace and its driver was waiting and finally entering Kolkata again some 25 days later.
Really good to be back home!! October 14, 2012 at 1:38 pm. Moreover it being a Sunday, all were at home and I do get a great welcome back too!
What a good time to be back too. Kolkata is back to its festive best as Durga Puja had also started by mid October!
From the traditional..
..to one that is so unfortunately in news - a pandal depicting the Kedarnath Temple of Uttarakhand
and then there were the extravagant ones too.
But Puja holidays are also the time when we used to go out for one of our Safari Dicor drives. Now all this solo journey has not only be tough for me but on wife and kid too! We all just want to chill out for a few days, what better than Goa - a great place to specifically relax and absolutely do nothing. As for work, a semblance of it can continue any place as long as net connection is there.
For 2010 Puja holidays, it is Goa then for us, just like what the Ladakhi hotel and restaurant guys do. We take the train rather than the Safari as it is a for a week or so and moreover with 2 wheelers on rent and at super cheap petrol price at Rs 52 approx.
Straight from Margao We stayed at the relatively lesser known place around Zalor beach. In front of the Hotel Veeniola - mr and mrs adc clicked by master adc [we are all adc! initials of our name]. But the big coincidence -- Our daily scooter had the same number [3755] as that of our Safari Dicor. Someway Safari Dicor VTT-TMT was still with us!
Moreover, Veeniola where we stayed, had a great restaurant run by a local Goanese guy. A great place to stay within budget and plus if you like to avoid the crowded areas.
Zalor beach is located at South Goa between the very well known Varca and Cavelossim. But since this was lesser known, not much of a crowd. The local guys used to play football out here in the evening.
Brilliant this too for me even - I soon join with them, for the 4 days we were there, I played each and every evening -- more also because of the experience that it brought on, was playing again after some 20 years or so. Goa and Bengal football rivalries are quite known, and can assure that somehow kept Bengal's name there! Did score a few goals, though by the last day, mobility was much reduced due to stiffness due that sudden running around - football is much more intense than cycling or trekking for that short period of time. Thanks much to Gomes and those guys for allowing me to reclaim again some part of my lost days too!! BTW great talented they were, one of them represented India in under 18 or something - moreover have this feeling that the local Goan talent is somehow just a bit better than what we have right now in Bengal. Anyway, If I ever be back again over there at Goa, would surely go and catch up with them again.
Other than that, we did nothing much, roamed around on the scooter to wherever possible, relaxed, and of course good food has always been our weakness and in Goa what more to add about fantastic sea food.
That's it then. - Thank you all for the continuous appreciation and to all the readers for going through this big travel log. It has been more of a celebration of a great travel done and a memoir than a travelogue - so many incidents, of places traveled and people met. Cycling has opened up a whole new kind of experience and definitely this would not be the last one!
And thus to finally close this journey log, a lasting image from this wonderful bicycle and trek travel among the high mountains and passes of the iconic Manali - Leh highway.
End. [
An epilogue later about what I learned from my first long distance solo bicycling ride.]