Osho Ashram, Koregaon Park Pune

I went to Osho Ashram, Pune in end Feb 2013. . The very first thing I would like to say is that it is very different from a traditional Indian Ashram. However, if you go with an open mind and reasonable amount of money, you are likely to enjoy your stay.

Osho ashram is quite calm and serene and the entire experience is quite blissful. Programme is run quite professionally and all basic facilities are present. The programme is organized to give variety of options: dance, meditation, discussion, archery, discourse, swimming, reading etc. Meditations start at 6 am and go upto 10 pm. These are optional and one is free to attend or not to attend. You can just be yourself and there are no compulsions. Osho developed around 100 different meditations. Each day there is an assortment of different meditations. Some of those are held daily, some occur only on fixed days.

Fixed charges for first timers: Rs. 1100- Test+welcome, Rs. 550-entrance (This is for Indians. 1100 for foreigners). Rs. 750-maroon robe, Rs. 750 - white robe. Get a pair of clean white socks.

A locker would require a deposit of 350 (refundable), with 40.00 charge on per day basis.

Above is minimum if you eat and stay outside. In general a meal inside would cost Rs. 300.00 minimum.

Quality of food is excellent. Both Indian and continental vegetarian food is available (Eggs are available).

Overall a worthwhile experience.

Goa Visit - Some Key Points

It will be a brief writeup. Some key points:

1. If you are travelling from Mumbai to Goa -- Choose NH 4 over NH 17, if you prefer safety. NH 17 passes through Ghats.

2. When you approach Goa from Mumbai, no need to go upto Belgam. There is a cut at a place called Nipani. Do not miss it. You will save 30 km.

3. Try to reach Nipani during day. After Nipani, SH begins and then route upto Amboli passes through Ghats. Better to go during day. Also in this stretch, very few milestones/ route signs are there, so day time is better.


4. At Goa, best beaches are: Vagator, Bagha and Anjuna. Vagataor in particular is really good. Most guided tours go to Calangute which is also good but crowded. Sequirem beach is also nice.Tour operators deliberately leave Vagator / Anjuna as it is far away. But insist on going to these two beaches.

5. We stayed at Ginger Hotel. Value for money. Book early.

6. I took my car. Journey took 10 hrs. Now I enjoy driving, but 10 hrs does become exhausting. Next time I would go by train and take a two-wheeler/ car at Goa. I think it is a better option.

7. Those fond of Casino: Our experience at Casino Royale was quite reasonable. Now they do not allow kids inside Casino. Kids have a TV zone, but they get bored there. Further one feels bad, if kids are getting bored. In our case this was one reason that we decided to leave early. So Plan accordingly.

8. No dearth of decent restaurants. I prefer north Indian food. Moti Mahal, Sher E Panjab, Kamat (for light snacks/ south Indian) were good.

Visit to Manali- An excellent experience

Visit to Manali

When to go?
Our stay at Manali was from 18th Sept'09 to 23rd Sept'09. As per the information that I gathered from locals, the peak season is May to June. Tourists also visit Manali during Dec-Feb to enjoy snowfall. However, I may add that the period during which I had visited, was also quite pleasant and we were also able to find snow at the Rohtang Pass.

How to go there?
Manali is not easily approachable by rail. The nearest stations are at Chandigarh (315 km), Pathankot (325 km ) and Kalka, near Shimla (310 km). Thus it may be seen that in any case one has to take a taxi from aforesaid locations.

The nearest airport is at Bhuntar which is about 50 km from Manali. Currently, Kingfisher Red & MDLR Airlines provide daily nonstop services from Delhi, Air India provides twice a week nonstop services. Of-course, this can be a bit expensive.

For middle class families, there is another option of buses. The advantages are two fold : direct connectivity and also budget suitability. I had taken Volvo bus from Delhi (Kashmiri Gate) directly upto Manali. I had booked bus online from Himachal Tourism website. The details are as follows:

1. One side fare per person: Rs. 970.00
2. Time taken: Approx. 14 hrs (One way)
3. Starting Time From Delhi: 8:30 PM, Reaching Time at Manali: 10:30 AM
4. Starting Time From Manali: 4:00 PM, Reaching Time at Delhi: 6:30 AM
5. Dinner stoppage at about 9:30 PM at Murthal (while going from Delhi).
6. Dinner stoppage at about 9:00 PM at Bilaspur (while going from Manali).
7. Note that apart from Himachal tourism, there are a number of other Volvo service providers and time etc might vary.

How many days should I stay?

I am specifying the minimum. This is the plan that we had followed:

1. First day: Arrival at Manali: Stroll at Mall Road, keeping it easy.

2. Second Day: Visit to Rohtang Pass. (One full day is reqd)

3. Local sight seeing of Manali : Requires half day. (Again keeping it easy as visit to Rohtang Pass was hectic)

4. Visit to Manikaran, Kullu, River Rafting etc.

5. Visit to Naggar Fort, Roerich's art gallery. Departure from Manali.

Local Transport?
A number of taxis, autos are available and so local movement is no problem. Also one can get motorcycle on hire. I had hired one, and it gave me great flexibility. Rate: Rs. 500.00 per day. Note that unlike Mount Abu or Goa, one does not get Honda Activa etc (i.e. Gear-less Scooters) here. Only motorcycles are available.

Food & stay??
Don't think about it. Veg, non-veg, Chinese/Tibetan, south Indian, continental you name it, you can have it. Since I was a veggie, and I survived pretty well. For veggies I would like to recommend 'Satyam'' a nice pure veg joint. Try out their pan-cakes.

Also Sa-Ba Restaurant (reminder: Veg + Non-Veg) was also ok. Try out sizzlers. Also Baskin Robbins has a joint just adjacent ti this restaurant, so we frequented t his place a lot.

A number of restaurants catering to specific requirements were also there i.e. serving Bengali cuisine, Andhra Bhojnalayas or Gujarati Thali etc.

Rates are quite reasonable.

There were two joints which I couldn't visit but saw a lot of firangi junta frequenting: One was Johnson's Cafe & Bar. Other was IL Forno Pizzeria. Try out if you have time.

Any language problem??
None whatsoever. Hindi / English anything would do.

Places to visit??

1. Rohtang Pass: Not to be missed. It is 51 Kms from Manali. Manali is at 6400 Ft. and Rohtang Pass is at 13000 Ft. So obviously this 51 km drive by road is an experience by itself. Take care of the following:

• Drive take 3.5 to 4 hrs from Manali.
• Fare: Rs. 1400.00 for Alto car from Manali for full day.
• First check up whether snow is there at Rohtang pass.
• Also check up if there is any road -bloackade / jam.
• You will have to hire Dangris (boiler suit type overalls) for Rohtang pass. Also gumboots will be required. These cost us Rs. 500.00 for three persons. These are necessary as you will be moving around in / playing in snow.
• We also hired skeing equipment and a guide which cost us Rs. 2000.00 more.
• We also had to purchase goggles for Rs. 100.00 each covering entire eyes. My advice would be to purchase them at Manali itself as these are a must for countering the glare of snow at Rohtang Pass.
• Note that closer you reach to Rohtang pass, above items will get expensive and therefore it is advisable that these are hired early.
• At Rohtang Pass we found it very difficult to walk in the snow, and finally had to hire ponies. My advice would be to hire them at the outset. Rate of ponies was Rs. 400.00 per pony.
• Food (Maggi / Omelette/ biscuits etc are available at Rohtang Pass also, but it is advisable to take a light meal in any of the Dhabas in the way.

2. Local sight seeing at Manali:

• Hidimba Devi Mandir: Excellent. May keep it at last.
• Manu Mandir: So So.
• Vashisht Mandir: Worth visiting.
• Buddhist Monastery: Can Visit.
• Club House: Do not miss experience of River Crossing here. Children may enjoy here as a number of indoor and outdoor games are there.

Taxi (Alto car) took Rs. 500.00 for above, for half a day.

3. Visit to Manikaran:

• Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara: Worth visiting. Hot Spring at manikaran is not to be missed.
• River Rafting: Absolute Must. Price Rs. 450/- per head for 3 km stretch on Beas River. On the way to Kullu.
• Vaishno Devi Mandir.
• Visit to Kullu Shawl factories: Be careful. Visit them but don't get fleeced.
• Visit to Rabbit farm for Angora wool: Do Visit but don't get fleeced.
  Taxi (Alto car) took Rs. 1400.00 for above, for full day.

We took our lunch at Sanjha Chulha Restaurant, while returning from Manikaran Sahib, it was an excellent restaurant. Alternately one can take meal at the Langar at Manikaran Sahib Gurudwara.

4. Visit to Naggar Castle etc.:

• Naggar Castle Visit: Nice place
• Roerich Art Gallery: I found the area around this place extremely serene , calm and spent some time there. The art gallery was excellent and worth visiting. Kids might get bored here, but couples and people who want to just want to relax should not miss this place.
• Jagat Sukh Temple.
• Fish Farming.

To conclude, Manali visit was one of the best Hill Stations I have ever visited. I look forward to visit it again.

Andaman Islands- A splendid beauty

Andamans will always be very close to my heart, as I went there on my honeymoon.

Why to go there?

Andamans are one of those rare places, where one finds the beauty of deep blue sea with extremely clean beaches, along with the scenic beauty of mountains. I had not imagined that the place would be so good. One has to visit there to believe it. Particularly Jolly buoy and Havelock Island were two places (described later), which were good enough to come to this place. I quote from a book ''Vraman Sangi- All India Travel Companion of Asia Publishing Company'', which I had purchased to get some info on Andaman isles. The book says quote '' Let someone argue, but the Andaman & Nicobar Islands are a storehouse of peerless beauty. The days are bathed in bright sunshine, fresh gentle breeze all the time. Under the canopy of blue sky ......, nature has skilfully built the Andaman isles in the Bay of Bengal decorating it with forests and hills'' unquote

When to go?

October to February is the best season. I reached Port Blair on 22nd Feb. As per information that I gathered from locals, it was almost end of peak season, with the heat increasing slightly. Avoid monsoon months.

How to go there?

Flight and sea are two options: I preferred air travel because from Kolkata, sea journey would have taken 3-4 days. Since it was honeymoon time I wanted to spend more time at the place itself rather than in the journey. Also, though a journey through sea might seem romantic, however, the rolling and pitching of sea voyage is not really worth it. Presently there is flight of Indian Airlines from Kolkata and one of Jet Airways from Chennai. The important thing to keep in mind is that you will have to book your tickets early. And by early I mean three to four months in advance. I had to go on 10th February and I had booked my tickets, in October (for Kolkata-Port Blair flight), and I was lucky to get a confirmed booking. Price: around Rs. 7500 per person one way Reminder: my information is of Oct'02- Feb'03. Do check up the latest details.

Local Transport?

A number of taxis, autos are available at Port Blair, and so local movement is no problem. Also one can get motorcycle on hire. I had hired one, and it gave me great flexibility.

Food & stay??

Don't think about it. Veg, non-veg, Chinese, south Indian, seafood you name it, you can have it. Since I was a veggie, and I survived pretty well. For veggies I would like to recommend ''Amigos'' a nice pure veg joint. A number of nice hotels are there. I had thought of Andaman as a semi developed place. But when I saw the hotels here, I had to change my opinion.

Some nice ones are: Megapode nest, Hornbill nest, Bay island, Sinclairs. I had preferred a location slightly out of city, near the beautiful Carbin's Cove beach. Peerless Inn was situated right there. It is a good hotel and I really enjoyed my stay there.

One Main Point

As soon as you arrive at Andamans (or even before) make a booking at Dolphin Yatri Niwas at Havelock Island (or any other good hotel). Also make a booking for a deluxe cruise for Havelock Island (Depending on the time you have in your hand, you can plan for one or two days for Havelock island. Strongly recommended: keep at least one night stay at Havelock Island) I had booked my room in advance, as it was nearly season timings.

Any language problem??

None whatsoever. Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, English anything would do.

Expense??

(Reminder: This info is of 2003) Apart from Air travel, rates of Hotels are quite reasonable. Rs. 1000/- to 1500/- for an AC room with other facilities is charged. Honestly, the stay expense depends from person to person. In short all varieties of hotels are there.

How many days should I stay??

I am specifying the minimum. Keep two days for Havelock island, one day for Jolly Buoy, one day for cellular jail and local city movements, one day for harbour cruise, visit to adjoining islands, with one day for simple lazying around, that makes it five days at least. I may add that we had stayed for 10 days, and were not at all bored

Places to visit??

(a) Havelock Island Not to be missed. Two to three hours journey from Port Blair, on a deluxe cruise. Avoid a five-hour journey ordinary cruise. I have heard that the five-hour journey becomes too dull and boring in that. Book the deluxe cruise and Dolphin resort early. Beautiful place

(b) Jolly buoy One reason to decide firmly about Andamans. One can view breathtaking view of under sea corals. The sheer beauty and novel experience of the place made us feel totally out of this world. You catch a ferry to jolly buoy from a place called Vandoor. This is about as famous in Port Blair as the Taj in Agra, so no need to worry. You will get there.

(c) Harbour cruise: A visit to adjoining islands, Viper Island, Ross Island etc, organised by Tourism deptt. Nice trip, not to be missed.

(d) Cellular Jail and city tour: Light and sound show at cellular jail is not to be missed. A bit serious though. City tour takes one to various museums and one very old Sawmill

(e) Carbyn's Cove beach: Beautiful beach. Beautiful scenery.

Finally the pros and cons

Pros:

1. Extremely beautiful place.
2. Not too commercialised.
3. No language problem
4. Well developed tourism infrastructure.
5. People are honest and helpful.
6. Best choice for honeymooners.
7. No extra chaos, with all usual desirable facilities of a civilized place.

Cons

1. Will have to plan early.
2. Slightly expensive unless you enjoy LTC facility (I was!!) (Expensive by middle class standards)