My trip to the heart of India

Driving holiday in MP MY TRIP TO THE HEART OF INDIA IntroductionMadhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Orrisa are one of the most scenic and unexplored states of India, so my family decided to explore these states by car.22nd DecemberSo, we started early in the morning at 5:30am in our Toyota Innova car. We had to negotiate dense fog on the Delhi–Agra highway. After crossing Agra we drove on the beautiful four lane toll road from Agra to Gwalior and crossed the Chambal River and its infamous ravines which were once inhabited by dacoits.23rd DecemberThe weather was very pleasant in Jhansi. We drove on National Highway no.7 which is a two laned undivided highway with hardly any traffic. We reached Bhedaghat 20km from Jabalpur at around 5:00pm. Bhedaghat is basically famous for marble rocks. The Narmada River flows through the rocks. We enjoyed the beautiful sunset while boating on the Narmada River. 24th DecemberEarly morning we went to see the famous ‘Dhuandhar waterfall’ which has derived its name from the intense clouds of mist formed when river Narmada drops about 20feet with all its might. We witnessed the incredible sunrise over the tranquil waters of river Narmada. Late in the morning we decided to proceed to Raipur the capital of Chattisgarh.25th DecemberThis morning we drove on the beautiful Raipur-Jagdalpur highway which passes through dense forests, rivers and mountains. Jagdalpur is the headquarter of district Bastar, the biggest district in India. In the afternoon we went to the tiratgarh fall which is situated in the mids of a dense forest. The water falls through several steps from about 100 feet. In the evening we went to the famous chitrakot fall where Indravati river drops on a horse shoe shaped rock which is two third of the size of Niagara falls. 26th DecemberToday was the day when we had to reach the east coast of Orissa. We enjoyed the scenic drive of the Eastern Ghats and then the fantastic road of the Golden quadrilateral. We reached Gopalpur-on-sea which was an important port and is a popular tourist centre. We took a long walk on the beach and enjoyed it thoroughly.27th DecemberWe got up early before sunset and saw the sunrise on the beach. We enjoyed the beach for a couple of hours in the morning and had coconut water and good South Indian breakfast. Then we decided to proceed further to Puri. On the way we stopped at Chilka Lake which is the biggest sweet water lake in India. It was already sunset and we went to the beautiful marine beach to witness the sunset.28th DecemberThis morning we decided to go to the Jagannath puri temple. Lord Jagganath is basically an incarnation of Lord Shiva. We reached Konark sun temple at around 8:30am. The temple is dedicated to sun god and was made as a chariot of the sun god. It has 24 wheels and 7 horses to pull the chariot. We then headed towards our destination Sambhalpur.A Sand sculpture by Sudarshan Patnaik Konark sun temple Bhimbeteka cave paintings29th DecemberWe got a fairly well surfaced road which contributed in our fast progress to Raipur at 11 am. The road was pretty good and it went through various villages in MP showing us the culture of the people. We stayed at a district headquarters seoni.30th DecemberWe started our journey onwards to Panchmanhi. The 200km drive had the worst road I had ever seen. In the evening we went to roam about this peaceful hill station. Later on we went to see the Panchmarhi festival where there were many cultural shows. 31st DecemberWe then left Panchmarhi and headed to Bhopal. We reached Bhopal early in the evening and in the way we saw Bhimbateka which has one of the biggest collections of cave paintings in the country. There were horses, scenes of wars and paintings regarding other different subjects in 15 different caves which was altogether a unique experience. Then we headed towards Bhopal and to the Human resource Museum where I got a lot of information on the Stone Age and the life of man in the past. Then in the form of 9 different galleries we came to know about many different cultures their form of living.1st JanuaryToday we started well before sunrise. Then we went to Shivpuri where we had lunch at the beautifully maintained tourist village by the lake. After Kosi we started getting fog. On the way we got a lot of fog but we managed to reach our home city till 12’o’clock safely.

Internet its uses and misuses

Internet its uses and misusesThese days when technology is increasing a new type of it was introduced in 1995. It was called Internet which gained popularity in 1998 when it was introduced in India. My family is amongst the very few families in Meerut in 1999. At that time it was very expensive especially in Meerut where we had to connect it on STD. Now with broadband coming into existence its costs have gone down a lot.These days internet is being used by many people in their daily life to quite a great extent. It is used for booking purposes of flights and Railway tickets. It has become an important mean of communication through e-mailing which has decreased the use of normal post as it is less expensive and can deliver any letter or important document just with a click of the mouse and in a few seconds anywhere in the world. Chatting is a means in which we can send instant messages to our near and dear ones. Internet telephoning is almost free and we can all to people all around the globe at that very little cost. It can only be done if a mike is added to the computer. If we attach a Web camera to our PC it will enable us to do visual telephoning in which we can see the live picture of the person on other end as well as talk to him/her at the same time. It helps us to make new relationships and make existing relationships even deeper. This technology has enabled visual classroom which uses the technology of Visual telephoning and helps the students to interact with their teachers even if they are sitting thousands of kilometers away in another country.Apart from being a good means of communication internet is a big database of knowledge and has many encyclopedias which are indeed very useful to children for their projects etc rather than going to a library and wasting so much time, money and energy. There are many sites which tell us about new advancements and help professionals like doctors in their day to day activities. Internet also enables us to download new soft wares which result in the better functioning of our computer. We can buy gadgets without going to a retail store, just with the click of a mouse. We can give our credit card no. and the gadgets will be delivered to our house as soon as possible. Although it is dangerous but proves very useful at times. We can various information about any place and can book hotels etc. We can also know many things about certain universities, school and colleges and can sometimes download important forms of many government proceegers and other subjects just with the click of a mouse. It is a good pastime andwe can play many games. We can use the internet to download new songs in MP3 format free of cost. Internet is a boon and is used by many people to share their ideas and help them to broaden our outlook. It can be used for numerous other purposes also.Internet is a technology and as every technology has a good side and a bad side. Internet also has a pretty side as well. These days as terrorism is increasing, Internet has helped them a lot. Some developed have arrangements to trap the e-mails but to avoid this terrorists have started sending messages in audio and video files which till now have not been able to trap. Secondly if the children are exposed to internet at small ages they will learn things which should not be known to them until a certain age. If children or someone else get exposed to internet too much they can get obese and with the lack of exercise they could have various diseases in the long run. Too much of playing games or other unneccary work on the net can make them loose their concentration in Studies.Internet has more uses than disadvantage and we can download soft wares available o the internet which help us to lock certain sites which we do not want anyone to see. These days’ scientists are trying to take out a way in which they can keep a track of the audio and video files which are being exchanged. If checked that if children do not overuse it or misuse it than it can prove really useful. So, I firmly believe that as technology is increasing internet will become more useful and everyone should have access to the internet in the near future.

My trip to the playground of Europe

These summer holidays saw me and my family going to Switzerland commonly referred to as the playground of Europe. Although we had been to this beautiful country thrice before the sweet experiences made us go back for even more.

After starting from the IGI airport, New Delhi at 4:00a.m., we reached Istanbul Ataturk International Airport for transit. Then we took a flight to Zurich Airport and reached there in the evening at 5:00p.m. In this airport we took a sky metro to take our luggage. We then took a train to Interlaken ost from there. After reaching the Interlaken ost bahnof or railway station we took a bus to bonigen where we had booked our apartment. It is a beautiful village by the Lake Brienz. The bus took us to our destination around 8:30p.m. At that time sun was shining brightly as sunsets in summers could be as late as 10p.m. Then we found our apartment and completed all our formalities for our stay of four days

The next day we set out to enjoy the scenic beauty of this country. We first went to Interlaken Ost from where we took a train to Spiez situated by the lake Thun. It began to rain and so we decided to enjoy the Ship journey or in other words ferry from Spiez to Interlaken ost on Lake Thun. It was a very nice ride with the magnificent views of the mountains, villages and of course the magnificent lake. We then went to COOP supermarket to buy our daily essentials. We then went out for a walk around the lake which was a marvelous experience.

The next morning was bright and sunny and we went to Faulensee to have the nice view of Lake Thun. The village was dotted with many Cherry trees and apple trees. Then from there on we went to the capital city of Switzerland, Bern. The city has a nice bear pit which has many bears. Then we went to the main market from where we bought chocolates, sat in trams and went shopping in MIGROS and other shopping outlets. There were magnificent views of river Aare during our walk around the city. Then we took a train back to Interlaken. Bears in bear pit

The next day early morning we went to roam about bonigen on its lakeside and do some photography. Then we took a ferry to the world famous Giessbach fall on the Lake Brienz. It was a sunny day so I could enjoy the deck fully. After reaching the falls we went for a trek to the top of the mountain to have the most spectacular view of the fall. Then after an hour we took a ship to Brienz and took a walk around Lake Brienz. Then we took a train to meringen, the city in which Sir Arthur Canon Doyle sent his famous fiction character Sherlock Homes to die. Then he had to revive him ultimately on demand by the readers. The best Sherlock Homes museum has been set up here. A representation of Sherlock homes house at 221, Baker Street, London has been set up as described by Sir Arthur Canon in his books. Giessbach fall

We shifted to our new apartment which was in the same village but at a different location and more luxurious. We then went to wengen after the shifting. We took a nice cogwheel railway which has trains which have special mechanism so that they can climb high mountains easily. In wengen we took a walk around the village and the nice children’s park and market. We did some shopping. We bought bells and chocolates from there. The magnificent view of Mt. Jangfrau made our walk all the more beautiful. After reaching Interlaken we took a walk on the lively streets of Interlaken West. Seeing so many tourists shopping, eating and enjoying was wonderful.
The next day was wonderful with the weather just favorable for a perfect sightseeing day. We planned to go to Lake Geneve the largest lake of central Europe. We went to Lusanne a beautiful city by this wonderful lake. We took a train from Interlaken Ost which took us directly to Lusanne. Then we went to the shore which was beautifully decorated by statues and flowers. The flower clock, there was great. Then after enquiring about the museums we took a walk along the shore to the Olympic museum which is run by the ‘International Olympic federation’ which has its base there. This museum wonderfully presented the history of Olympics and also all the torches along with the medals given out in all of the modern summer and winter games. Then we took a tram to the railway station and then a train to Interlaken. Flower Clock
Olympic museum

Early next morning we decided to explore the mountains of the Interlaken region. We went to Grindelwald first which is on top of a mountain giving magnificent views of the surrounding peaks including Mt. Titlis. The Ropeway journey up there was an experience of a lifetime. We trekked on top of the mountain enjoying the serene beauty of the scenery up there. After a ropeway ride down to Grindelwald we decided to roam about the market place. We bought chocolates and took a journey back to Interlaken.

The next day we set out early to explore southern Switzerland. We went to Brieg a historical town towards Italy. We took a train from Interlaken which took us through the Alps. There were several tunnels one of which was 13 kilometers long. Another tunnel is being constructed which will be 43kms long, the longest in the world to further shorten that distance. We went to the magnificent castle of the King of Brieg which taught us many great things about the rich history of Switzerland. Then we took a walk around the walled city which had narrow roads laid with stone. Then we went to see the Clock Tower which is also a marvel of ancient Architecture. Then we decided to check out some modern technology amidst that historical wonderland. We went to Inter Discount and bought a walkie talkie which was used by us for conversations between our apartment and the lake. We also bought 2 cordless for our house. We reached Interlaken and took our late evening walk around Interlaken.

This was the day when we decided to go to Luzern, one of the biggest commercial centers of Switzerland. We took a train which took us to our destination through the mountains. We experienced excellent views of the gorgeous lake Lungern, whose water seemed green by the reflection of the trees. After reaching Luzern we took a walk around the lake and reached the transport and communication museum which was an amazing experience. There was a live broadcasting setup and we could host our own TV show. There was a stimulator of an F1 car. Many great models of racing cars, bullet trains and steam engines were on display. There were many ships which could be operated and used by us for racing. There was also an excellent planetarium which solved many mysteries of space that adorned us. We than went to the “Bridge of Sorrow” a popular shooting spot for Indian directors. We then went back to Interlaken.

The next day we went to Murren, a beautiful hill station on the mountains in Bernese Oberland. We went there by a beautiful ropeway which took 40 people at a time on a fascinating journey to the hill station. After reaching the ropeway station we took a train to Murren. The views from both the ropeway and the train were mind-boggling. We enjoyed the serene beauty of the place by foot, trekking and cherishing the wonderful views. We then came back to the ropeway station by our cogwheel railway and took a Ropeway back to Interlaken. In the evening we had to de a lot of packing as it was our last day in Switzerland and it was time to go back home.

The elegant and cosmopolitan Geneva to the genteel Interlaken, from the lush green alpine region to the rugged snow capped mountains made all our experiences including this one made our experiences sweet. I will cherish the sweet memories of this trip forever.