Arctic Blog

This might be my last post in a while. I leave for Mysore tomorrow, and have lot of last minute things to do, like sign an agreement for instance. So, even if something interesting does come up, (not like it ever does) I don’t think I’ll have the time to pen it down. So, it’s bye to my readers then. (for now at least. Don’t get to cozy, I’ll be back with more taachar. )

This time over, I would like to thank all of the people who follow my blog and even consider visiting it once in a while. Thanks people. I want to thank George personally for having done so much for me. (In his own words.) And yes, I do know most of you aren’t jobless. Sivakumar especially. He is out there to change the world, and that’s a serious job. I would like to thank the people who type annoying comments too. Without you, we would never exercise our Grey cells. Thanks everyone.

Later then.

Adventure Trips:

If you are the adventurous type that can never get enough sitting indoors and doing your daily chores, then you must make efforts to try and get closer to nature. While traveling and sight seeing are equally good alternatives, nothing beats trekking and mountaineering. Last month me and some of my friends had gone on a trip to a coastal area nearby and it was a wonderful and refreshing experience. In spite of some of the difficulties involved in travel, the trip was worth the trouble and we felt rejuvenated.

Difficulties in planning:

So we planned another trip this month. When we were making travel plans, we found out that it was extremely difficult to find information about many things such as:

• Mode of travel.
• Accommodation.
• Food arrangements.
• Other information such as expected weather, known local risks…etc

Unless you have already been to the place in question or happen to know someone, it is very difficult to find the information you want. Even then, things might have changed from the last time you or the other person went there.

Answers:

Generally, me and my friends take the following approach when we plan out trips and so far, it has always been successful.

1. First we make plans as to where we want to go and what we plan to do there
2. That is followed by preliminary information collection such as how far this place is, what are the modes of transport available, how long it will take to go and come back…etc
3. This is followed by secondary information collection such as availability of accommodation nearby, cost of accommodation, etc. Also we find out the places of interest in and around the place by scouting other people’s blogs and other websites which are dedicated to this.
4. Now that we have a fair idea as to what we want to do and how we are going to do it, we make a budget allowing for all expenses and also some emergency fund.
5. In case the travel involves going abroad, then we need to make sure that we have the necessary documents such as Passports and Visas in hand and hence we need to apply for them before hand.
6. This is followed by making reservations for travel tickets and also hotels. When it comes to hotels and comparing hotel prices, it can be a challenge. Which is why, using a tool like Hotels Combined makes the whole process much easier. You can find hotels in major Indian cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Goa, Jaipur and Mumbai. It’s basically a comparison website which searches for hotel reservations all over the world. They also offer the lowest prices. Transactions with them are also safe.
7. Then we make the trip and make minor changes to plans we had already made taking into account the local conditions. This is done on the fly and your plan needs to be flexible to make room for changes.

Although, you might not always visit a major city, facilities are mostly not available in smaller places. This necessitates that you camp at a city in some hotel and then finish the travel in the nearby areas before moving to the next city.

Bon voyage.

First Time:

While I may be a little late on the scene what with me being 21 and all, there’s always a first time. However, the first time is scary isn’t it ? You have never done it before. You are always scared you are going to screw up, that you will cause irreparable damage. So, then it’s not surprising that I was a little apprehensive. I had to get into gear slowly and make sure I picked up pace only gradually. After a while, I decided it was enough for one night. I had learned some valuable lessons that just cannot be taught. They have to be learnt and mastered. But I was jumping with joy like a kid by the end of it.

Second Time:

After having done it once, I was increasingly confident and was looking forward to proving that I was getting better at it. This time over, I had little trouble. All the mistakes I had made during my first time, I seemed to have learnt from. The entire ride was smoother. I picked up pace, made a few surprise moves. I even tried reverse. By, now I was enjoying it. I am still scared of doing it in crowded places though. That takes some practice.

What am I talking about ? Well, I did get more obvious towards the end, didn’t I. Car driving man!! Read the post again. It so happens that coincidentally, I went driving at night. I need to get a driving license soon. I am still not very confident of driving on congested roads. I just hope I get my LLR soon so that I can go driving on crowded roads.

Err, hard to believe and totally insignificant too, but now I can boast of being a Lakhpathi. 1,00,000 hits and counting. (Ok, by now, the ‘and counting’ looks silly. You don’t sit and count numbers after that.) So, I decided I’d install StatCounter, just to see how the hits and the visits differ in the future. It’s up and running.

I thought of a few minor modifications to the blog, but I don’t think that would be all that necessary. I don’t know if I can blog all that actively in another 15 days or so anyway. Anyway, regardless, keep reading and keep the score board ticking.

I would not like to thank anyone for being a big support and all that. Jobless people, go do something useful for a change.