Tag Archives: Contentment

ABC Trekking -# 1 Excitement Ahead!

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Come 16th November, I will be out for for my next expedition. This time it will be a a trek to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) in Himalayas in Nepal which will last till 26 Nov 2018. The Annapurna region is regarded as one of the best trekking destinations on the planet.

Three years back, in end April 2015, I planned for this expedition. But just a week before I was to leave, there was a severe earthquake in Nepal, killing almost 10,000 people. All tourist activities were closed. Next 3 years kept me busy in other expeditions like Drive from Road to London, solo drives to Iceland, Yellowstones in USA and Candian Rockies. I am now attempting to trek ABC again. Like the trek to Mt Everest BC, again I will be trekking all alone, of course with a Sherpa as a guide.

I wish the various authorities consider the energy level as a criteria to assess the abilities of a person rather than the age. Some of the initial challenges I am facing are due to my age factor of 73+. I expect to resolve these issues in the next 2-3 days and be ready to commence my journey on time.

I hope to share my excitements and anxious moments with you as I keep moving.

In the meanwhile I certainly need your good wishes and blessings for smooth completion of my dream.

Road to London # 8 – The Influential Hidden Character

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL # 7 – The Route Across India

It is not the first time that she influenced me to take on an adventure. She has supported all my crazy endeavours. She may not initiate the trips. But if I proposed one, she would be enthusiastic about the tour, even for the most complicated and risky ones.  Pushpa, the wife, is not my better half, she is the first half!

In fact, she just might be better qualified to undertake adventure and risky trips. She takes over the gadgetry, which I have never understood.  It is a family joke, particularly by Anand, that it is  because of her I can handle my mobile.

Pushpa Sliding on Australian Sand Dunes 2011

She maintains her cool during testing times of the tours. She accepts that adventure trips have inbuilt calculated risks.  There were times when we had no shelter, but she had no problems. No food, it hardly made a difference to her. She has understood and adjusted to the whatever the situation has demanded.   There have been occasions in our trips together when we had no water to drink, but she didn’t complain.  She prefers tap water to bottled, mineral water wherever she is.  You and I fall ill, not her!

Once when we were in Tibet, our vehicle stalled in a murky place.  It was the dark hour of midnight.   There were no villages for 20 kilometers in any direction. The temperature was minus 10-15 degrees Celsius. And there was a slight drizzle. Every drop of rain felt like a needle piercing your skin.  Boots were getting stuck in mud with every step. And here she was helping me push the vehicle out of the muck.   Ultimately,  we had to walk cold and wet for about a km, in complete darkness. We rested in a road side godown (if we could call it that!) where even a beast would be scared.  The place had a strong stink. It was badly maintained alcohol den, full of beer and was scattered with used cans and bottles.  She has never tasted onion or garlic, let alone alcohol.  But she didn’t even wrinkle her nose when she had to lie down there for a couple of hours of much needed rest.

And oh! That place was owned by a man in his 80s or so. He looked like he was straight out of a western movie, a cowboy, only with horrible, excessive make-up.  He had a spear in his left hand, instead of a gun. Long salt-and-pepper hair and beard – probably unwashed for a long time. He covered it with a cowboy hat.   He was probably wearing new clothes, only that they were bought years ago. His face showed his age in wrinkles. He had extra skin hanging from his cheeks, large red eyes set just above them. Sharp long grey eye-brows.  The place had no lights, it was almost all dark. Just a small dim lamp gave the scene a horror movie feel.  I was outside, in that freezing rain with a driver-guide to see if the car could get on the road. When I returned, the face of the owner, with extra wide eyes, was almost a foot from Pushpa’s face. She was speechless. I dropped in and engaged our host in slow motion, sign language. Pushpa did not complain even about that day ever.

The moment I ask her opinion about a trip, she always has a positive answer. To the extent that some times I take her for granted and forget to even take her consent. Ghar ki murgi daal barabar!

Once in 2012, on a flight to London I mentioned to her that I wanted to drive one day from home to London. She just replied with a “hmmm”, that too forcibly, knowing that it was one of those improbable dreams. However, I knew it is not unachievable, particularly since she would be with me.  She used to drive way back in the 80s when we lived in the Middle East.Quad Driving in Tangalooma Island 2011 With Pushpa as Co-driver

 

A few months ago, she was travelling elsewhere, I called her, “we have a chance to drive to London. Are you interested?”  Her reply was the as quickest as it can be “Grab it”.  It is all through now to make the dream come true.   She is not my better half, she my best half,  Pushpa!  I am really lucky to have such a lady as my companion for these exotic journeys.  She would be my co-driver for “Road To London”!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited : Meeta Kabra

                                                                                                To be continued …………………

Road to London # 10 – Setting New Records Adds Thrill

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL # 9 – My Brave Bachchus

Once I decided to go for this journey, I was reading through the experiences of people who had been through similar journeys, in the past.

There are a few who have driven from London to Delhi.  There is also the story of three friends who started from London and got stuck in Afghanistan – they were sent back after a week’s experience in an Afghan prison. There are some who had to return halfway due to health or political problems.

Tushar Agarwal has a series of Guinness and Limca records for his driving achievements.  Amongst several others, he drove from London to Delhi with his wife.  He and his friend Sanjay Madan also have to their credit,  a 70,000 kms self-driving trip through 51 countries in 6 continents!  Whoa!

I wanted to make a record too!  But it is absolutely difficult to beat their records.  But I am heads up on one factor.  Being senior in age has its advantages.  I beat them hollow in age. While interacting with Tushar, he realised and hinted that I would be the senior most person to take up such a long self-driving trip.  That aside, Pushpa and I could be the senior most couple to achieve this.  That we could attempt to establish these new records added to our excitement.  Yes, if I am fit and confident enough to do it and face the problem in the process of achieving it!

That would be another record for us!

When Nishi agreed to join the expedition, I realised that it would be an another record.  She would be the youngest to take such a journey. We should be celebrating her 10th birthday on the way, if all goes well, in China.

Possibilities of setting these three new records – (a) senior-most individual  (b) senior-most couple and (c) youngest individual boosted our spirits even further.

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited : Meeta Kabra

To be continued…………………..

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Road to London # 12 – “Soham”, the Companion

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL # 11 – Driving Duration a Day…..

On such a strenuous driving expedition, our physical and mental fitness aside, it is equally important to have a right and reliable vehicle. A comfortable car surely enhances the level of satisfaction of driving. Very affectionately I named our car, “Soham”. “Soham” is a chant popularised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, of The Art of Living foundation. It means, “I am He”. I acknowledge the presence of the Almighty in the vehicle that takes me around.

The varied terrain requires a safer 4-wheel drive car with ground clearance of at least 190mm, if not more.

Anand’s “consent” to the trip was on the condition that I should take the vehicle of his choice!   Smart on his part to have discovered what I was trying to hide.  Both our current cars are fairly new with about 25K and 15K km on them. “Pappa, you certainly should not undertake this journey in your favourite Skoda Superb. Yes, the  BMW-X1 SUV is better.  But still not good enough.  After all, you would be driving through some of the places where roads hardly exist.”

Anand was right.   Under such situations, my Skoda Superb, with a ground clearance of only 164 mm, is far below the minimum safety need of 190 mm.   Further, Chinese authorities do not give road entry permit for sedans.  They demand the pictures from all sides of the car.  For them, the vehicle should have SUV looks.  They consider SUV more reliable.  They don’t want me to have a vehicle breakdown and get stuck in their country for any reason!  Fair enough.

I had the option of taking the BMW-X1, compact SUV.  It has a better ground clearance of 179mm.  Though not good enough. I checked with some of my contacts who have driven on the worst of the stretches we would be passing through. I was told X-1 would be just about ok.     Arguably, it is just good enough for two of us.

Neither Pushpa nor I understand much of car mechanism.  A few years earlier, I was capable of attending to any minor car-related problems. But now I have become lethargic and have developed the habit to look for assistance even to change a flat tyre.  Habits hardly die!  I decided that  at least for the first 3 weeks of my journey, till the time I drive within India, I can have an assistant with us.  So I decided to have our household assistant, Shiva with us.  He is like a younger brother or son to me.  Once we reach Manipur, the border city of India, he can fly back home!  Our count of passengers in the car increased to three.

And then, my 9 year old granddaughter Nishi decided to join us for the entire tour. We would now be four for the Indian part of journey and three for the overseas drive.

We need to carry baggage to last us three months.  We would be crossing through all types of climatic conditions – normal, cold, very cold, wet, warm, hot and very hot.  Therefore we need  to carry all types of garments.   That aside, extras like food and water, a jerrycan for spare fuel, etc were also essential for such long journeys. Anand wanted me to play safe.  He proposed that I take a bigger, better and safer vehicle than BMW X1.

Anand has reasonably good knowledge about vehicles.  He shortlisted a vehicle each from Mercedes, Volvo, BMW, Land Rover and Toyota.  Land rover is expensive and  even its 3-year used model without warranty was almost same cost as a new vehicle of other brands with warranty.  Also, Land Rover has a more sophisticated mechanism.  In case of a breakdown, we might not find knowledgeable mechanics or spare parts. Hence we gave up the idea of second-hand Rover.  We further narrowed the selection down to either Toyota Land Cruiser or BMW X-5.  We had a series of meetings with the marketing executives of these brands.  Dealers of BMW offered to provide certain facilities.  Trusting them, we selected to go ahead with X-5. The trailer however

Badri Pushpa with Soham

Badri Pushpa with Soham

was slightly different than the movie we saw / are seeing … the post-sales service was drastically different to earlier promises, up to a point where, in one case, it had put our entire expedition at risk of cancellation. Without dwelling into the details, we decided to continue with BMW.

By coincidence, this is the type of car Anand wanted to buy for two years now. But since our current cars were not even a year old then, the decision was deferred.

One by one, items got checked on the to-do list: Itinerary, timings, hotel bookings, vehicle.  Years ago when I dreamt of such an expedition, I wondered “How To Do It?”.  Now, I have removed the “How To” and “?” and am left with “Do It!”

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

To be continued………………

Road to London # 11 – Driving Duration a Day

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In continuation of earlier blog RTL # …………………………

Having decided to make this trip, I had to plan my itinerary.  Once a date is frozen, planning various aspects of the travel becomes even more energised.  It inspires you to study and enjoy planning.  We would cross the Indian border from Manipur to Myanmar  on 16 April 2017.  Keeping a buffer for unexpected events, we plan to reach there a day in advance.  I back-calculated to fix a departure date from home.  I laid down some basic principles:

  • No night-driving.   Of course, we drive carefully.  But we cannot control how others on the road drive. It is said that the highest number of drunk drivers are on road between midnight and 3AM. Supposedly, fatal crashes are four times higher at night than during the day. Right from the time I started driving in 1973, I have preferred to drive only in daylight.   On rare occasions,  I drive at night, that too only on well lit roads that have dividers.  For long drives, I make it a point to start early in the morning and break for the day by 3 or 4PM. So, you safely reach the destination by sunset, even if there is any delay due to congestion.
  • Comfortable number of hours per day. I initially considered driving 8 hours a day.     Normally, for a full day’s drive you need an extra 30-35% of drive time for rest and food breaks.

    Pushpa Getting Ready to Drive to London

    That would mean a total travelling time of 10 to 11 hours a day.   A 6AM start gets you to the destination by 4 or 5 pm.  This is not difficult.  Especially, with Pushpa taking up a couple of hours of driving, it seemed quite comfortable.

Once Nishi confirmed to join us, I revised the drive time.  8 hours in the car for two and a half months is a bit much. To maintain excitement till the end, I had to make it interesting and not tiring for the child. Till we reach the Indian border, I revised the drive time to an average of about 6 hours per day. Including breaks, it would still add up to 8 hours a day.  A little delayed start every morning, say at 7 or even 8AM would take us to the revised destination by 3AM. That gives us enough time for a comfortable breakfast, have lunch on the way and reach the destination by the time we are ready for a mid-afternoon snack.  It also left scope to spend about 2-3 hours to visit interesting places around the destination or on the way.  Or just relax.

  • Break from driving. After every 3-4 days, I scheduled a day’s rest. At most, we could go for nominal sight-seeing.  I’ve made a list of interesting sites on the route.
  • Booking accommodation – tricky business. Our dates of travel coincide with peak holiday season: March-June.  Choice hotels during this period are booked well in advance particularly at tourist cities, forest resorts and sanctuaries.  It is important to have right spots to stay in places like Darjeeling, Gangtok, Cherrapunjee, Kaziranga etc.  The earlier one books, the better the options.
    • Selecting accommodation for the 24 nights in India was a little tricky.  It was necessary to consider certain important factors.   I prefer hotels on the highway rather than those in the city. That would save time of negotiating downtown streets.
    • If we find out about spots worth visiting but unknown to me as of now, we should have the flexibility to change the itinerary.  That would mean changing hotel bookings. Therefore, even if it meant paying a little more, I opted for bookings that allowed cancellation or changes free of cost.
    • We need a decent hotel each day. If we are tempted by a good hotel, and cut our journey short on a particular day, it will be difficult to cover the extra distance, the next day.  At the same time stretching longer on a particular day to get to an attractive hotel can make the journey tiring.
    • We know many people who live in towns that are on our route. They have graciously asked us to stay with them. It is always a pleasure to stay with relatives and friends.  Staying with them give us time to interact on the local conditions, activities and culture.  But many a time, a lot of time is lost in formalities.   Excessive insistence in eating is a problem that disrupts the digestion system – which we cannot afford.  Hence, we have chosen to decline some of these offers.

After considering these parameters, I booked accommodation.  I had a real tough time to fix locations on certain stretches like Mumbai to Ayodhya and Varnasi to Darjeeling.

Of course, there have been many revisions in the itinerary.    And every change in itinerary, even it is of a single day resulted in a series of changes in accommodation.  With every change, I changed hotel bookings.  I don’t want to miss out on any sites, just because I had to put in some extra effort. I did not lose my patience. Though confusing and complicated, I started enjoying and learning out of it. It is good I had ‘free cancellation’  terms in my bookings!

I have revised my itinerary almost 10 times and I had to change hotel bookings on all 10 revisions!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

To be continued……………..

Road to London # 13 – The Route

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                            Continued from Road to London # 12 – “Soham”, the Companion….

Right from the beginning, we knew that driving to London through the Western borders would mean going through Pakistan and Afghanistan, which might not be the safest route. The Himalayan mountain range on the North and oceans on the South rule out those routes. That left only the Eastern route through China.  There are roads linking from Nepal and North-Eastern parts of the Indian border, but entry is restricted only for the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage.   Thus we had to cross China, some parts of the old USSR, now countries like Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, certain European countries before we reach United Kingdom. This is a drive of about 45 days from the time we cross the Indian border.  This itinerary was considered as almost final for the tour.

Pushpa & Badri Baldawa with Soham

Pushpa & Badri Baldawa with Soham

Myanmar is a country I have been wanting to visit for long.  I heard of it as Burmah where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose founded the Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) to fight for independence. The ruling military junta changed its name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989.

However there was an update that though the entry point in Myanmar is safe, the exit point, Muse was not very peaceful.  Therefore the route to China had to be changed.  The best practical alternative was to drive to Thailand, cut across Laos and then enter China. This added two countries to the itinerary and increased the overseas travel from 45 to 47 days and the number of countries from 14 to 16.

We need to drive for a fortnight to cross the Chinese territory and reach Kyrgyzstan.  I was very happy when I realised our next destination country was Uzbekistan. It would give us an opportunity to visit Tashkent where our former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri breathed his last. From there on to Kazhakstan before we touch the border of Russia.

As per the original plans we planned to enter Belarus through the Kurgan border from Moscow. It

From Mumbai - Road to London

From Mumbai – Road to London

was not possible to get vehicle permits for Belarus from Russia.  In October 2016, the Belarus–Russia border was closed to foreigners.  Therefore, the itinerary had to be re-routed again.   Instead of entering through Belarus, we would now drive further north and enter European Union through Latvia and Lithuania.  The onward drive thereafter is easy through Czechoslovakia, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France and finally to The United Kingdom.  Once we enter UK at its South East, we would drive to London.  This revision added two more days to the itinerary.

However this created another technical problem.  If we left the Indian border as per original schedule on 16 April 2017, we reach the China border on a Sunday.  The border is closed on Sundays. Hence the departure from India was postponed to 17 April 2017.

All these changes made the total countries visited from the original 15 to 18 (excluding Bhutan).   The total number of overseas driving days increased from 45 to 49.   Add to that the 23 days drive to reach the Indian border. The total duration of the tour now is at a total of 72 days!

The action begins in less than 10 days on 24th March 2017. We would love to see you all cheer us when we leave at a small flag-off event. Please do come!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

To Be Continued ………….

Road to London #3 – Day Dreaming

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An email to me on  20 May 2016 read:

We are finally ready to execute the most extraordinary road trip that without a doubt is going to be a journey that you will go on telling your grandchildren about!

Can you handle the thought of a road trip from India all the way to London?

……… unknown, unheard of villages and towns on the way, forests, deserts, mountains, rivers, high altitudes, remote terrains, bustling cities, new cultures, exotic foods…

If you are still interested in doing a road trip from India to UK, here is your chance to join us on this mother of all road trips!

A quick look at the route and I figured that from my place in Mumbai, it meant a distance of 20,000kms, across 15 countries, over a period of about 70 days in 8 time zones. In fact, it would be more thrilling as the route would pass through more geographical variations and include areas inhabited by Bodos, Naxalites and Maos even before I cross the Indian borders!  Wow!

I was super excited!

Around 2010, on a flight to UK with Pushpa, I looked outside the window through the flight.  I could overlook the city of Mumbai, the vast seas, mountains, dense clouds and then the shining, snow-topped Alps and finally the British channel and the city of London.  I told Pushpa how interesting it would be if we could drive from Mumbai to London one day!

“Yes, exciting!  Why not we do it?”  she replied as if it was a casual drive from home to the movie theatre!

“This is what people call day dreaming” I laughed out.

I studied the atlas, glanced the globe in my office and did a bit of Google mapping.  The only route I could think of was to pass through the western borders of India, through the Middle East and Meditarrean countries, reach Europe and end up in London via the English Channel.

There was a small problem on this route.  One could cross borders and get lost for ever!  Because it meant passing through countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria, we might not be seen again!  Too big a risk.  I had also heard of the unsuccessful incident where three Indians who had tried this.  For some technical reason they were arrested as they entered Afghanistan and were sent back after a week’s experience in prison!

What were the alternatives?  While Himalayan Mountains would not permit to drive through the North, the Indian Ocean would obstruct in the South.  The very realisation that going through the East would more than double the distance, I did not even consider that route.   I gave up at that time but always felt one day I would be able to make that trip.

In Nov 2012, I read that one Tushar drove from London to Delhi.with his group.    They opted for the Russian countries, China and then to India.   I figured that I had not completely explored the route though the East.   Though longer, it is a feasible one.    In fact, that would make travelling in a small group more fun.  I contacted Tushar and his colleague Sanjay in case they had plans to make a similar trip again.

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

Road to London #1 – Another World Record For Me?

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I am excited!

I am privileged to have a life partner who has always been with me – from social responsibilities to simple dinners out to super adventures like a trek around Mt. Kailash, a cruise to South Pole, a driving trip through Iceland and lots more.  Together we established the record of being the first Indians to land at North Pole (i.e. 90° North) in 2009.

Of late, Pushpa’s knees have not been able to cope with the strain that trekking brings.  But painful knees cannot keep thrill and excitement at bay.  So I thought, till such time she is able to convince her knees to support her for treks, let us go for driving trips.

It is not unusual for me to take driving trips within the country, like the one I am about to set off for next week – 2,500 kms into South India and back. This is an endurance test drive for something coming up soon!

Our next adventure is a 60-day driving trip from Mumbai to London – 14 countries, 18,000 kms and 9 months of preparation.

It is a route that takes you to West by first going East. We will start with cutting across the Indian states of MP, UP, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland and Manipur.  This will lead us to Myanmar.  We would then drive through China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia (right up to Moscow), Belarus, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and finally the UK.

As you can imagine, the journey will be through off-beat tracks, rugged mountains, deserts and sand dunes, dense forests and snow passes, high altitudes and heritage sites, and of course some highways and city drives.  We will cross iron bridges in Myanmar as well as pass through the silk route in Central Asia. Believe it or not, we are looking forward to the various challenges we will face driving through such varied landscape.

This might just be a World Record – the senior most person (72 years) to make this journey (Waiting for confirmation from Limca Records®).

Just wanted to share my excitement with you!

Written : Badri Baldawa

Edited  : Meeta Kabra

Thoughts At The Most Peaceful Place

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I had a crazy idea – to look for the most peaceful place on the earth!

In 1983, when I visited North Pole, Narvik was the northern most place, I could access. My first experience there in the midst of midnight sun left me with a great feeling.  In 2006, when I went to Antarctica in the South Pole region, the large icebergs floating in the ocean itself had an amazing and surprising soothing effect on the nerves.  On my expedition to Mt Everest, Base camp in 2008, trekking the mountain snow peaks by myself, probably calmed down my temperament by leaps.

North Pole Location

North Pole Location

In 2009 I planned my second trip to North Pole, this time to reach exact 90° N.   I did reach.   The place is aligned with the northern most tip of the earth’s axis of rotation. This place is just a large sheet of ice and has no inhabitants. I realised it was the most peaceful place I had been to till then.  I closed my eyes to experience the vibrations.  Soon enough my thoughts took me to a star shining absolutely bright, right above me.  This was of course, the Dhruv Tara, the North Pole Star, also called Polaris.

Wow! While the thought process started, I realised there were many lessons the Pole Star has, to make life meaningful, if only we could follow.

  • Pole Star is committed to stay firm for sure. Why can’t I be in my commitments?
  • A person, trillions of miles away on earth, confidently depends on the Pole Star to assess directions. Can I make myself dependable in such a way at least to those who are known and close by?
  • Pole Star acts as a guide to those who lose their path. If one gets lost on the earth’s northern hemisphere, one can make out the directions by looking at Polaris.  This guidance is unselfish, unconditional and unbiased. Can I be such a guide?

I wish we have the ability to follow what the Pole Star has been practicing flawlessly for ages –  Dependable, Unbiased, Firm and Guide to those who need!  All these, without any self-interest.

Round The World in 60 Seconds

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When we went to North Pole 90°N in 2009, I was told that we would be spending almost 24 hours at the extreme northern point of earth’s axis. Obviously, there would be no shelter.  To the contrary, it would be a trip full of hassles, especially if we encountered heavy rain or snow.  I wondered if I’d get totally bored of spending a full day there, with nothing to do.

Once we reached, it all proved to be interesting.

If one has to travel around the world, one could do it near the equator or the Tropic of Capricorn or Cancer or any latitude.  Which basically means you have to go around the axis of the earth.  90°N is also a point on the axis of the earth.  At this point of North Pole, it would take the shortest time to travel round the world.

Keeping this concept in mind, a beautiful event was arranged, “going round the World in 60 seconds”.  A flag pole painted ‘North Pole’ in red and white was fixed on the sheet of ice on the land’s surface at 90°N.  All the guests and crew formed a circle around the pole.  The circle was about 200 feet in diameter.

Then, every one sang and danced while going around in a circle.  About 105 guests from 24 nationalities.  While moving in the circle, we were waving the Indian national flag, which we had carried with us. We were one of the very few who carried our national flag with us, as can be seen from the picture.

It was symbolic of going around the globe.  At North Pole, going round the point of North Pole 90° North, is same as going round the world from any other degree of latitude.  This could be done in shortest time, even less than 60 seconds!  

We felt pride as we went around the world waving our national flag.  The captain prayed for universal harmony and suggested that we all accept the challenge to spread world peace.  The event was appropriately named ‘around the world in 60 seconds”

Round the world in 60 secondsat North Pole 90°

Round the world in 60 secondsat North Pole 90°

Another thrilling event was the Polar Plunge, which I have written about.

Also, for the first time in my life, I had barbeque, wine and dine on a large sheet of Ice.   No structures around for handreds of kilometers/  On the ice, chairs and dining tables were laid, the barbeque was cooked and served hot.  We spent the entire day at the North Pole leisurely.  I didn’t want to leave the place when we were told that it was time for us to sail back.

Amazing and absorbing events at oddest of odd places in the world.

It made me realise, wherever and in whatever condition one might be, with proper imagination and planning, one could still wholesomely enjoy life.

Experienced and Written By: Badri Baldawa

Edited By : Meeta Kabra