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Templepilots Paragliding:Interview,Photos,Videos

Avi and Anita gets candid with Ankionthemove about all things aero and the journey with Templepilots so far......!!!

Avi and Anita Malik

Avi,the founder of Temple Pilots is effectively the most qualified Instructor in the country today. APPI International’s Instructor, Avi is a qualified and Certified Tandem Instructor, XC (Cross Country) Instructor and SIV Instructor. Anita flies a Zulu, Gin glider which she is quite attached to and has flown different sites at Bali, Indonesia, Kamshet, Maharashtra and Vagamon and Munnar, Kerala. She was also the only woman pilot and Indian to fly at the Third International Flying Festival at Vagamon, Kerala. Anita is the powerhouse behind the success of TemplePilots as the top School and Club in the South East Asia region.Recently featured in NDTV “Swiss Made Dreams” this candid couple is flying brilliantly high.

Clouds and Clowns : The Cute Duo on Air

What inspires you to face the challenges every day?

The casual Avi and Anita felt to me more than friends

which made the interview more like a chit-chat

with laughter and interesting conversations@Templepilots

Avi: Its a wonderful feeling when you face a challenge and overcome or accomplish what you set out to do so.That feeling of having faced the challenge and learn from it and grown from it is what inspires us

Anita: For me its seeing smiles on our students or pilot students,those who come to us.They all come with their own lives at their back they have chosen to do this.They trust us and for 3 days they are putting everything to learn how to fly and we have to help them in this journey and finally when they fly ,that smile that connection they have with us is very unique.Its only something as beautiful and as natural on being outdoors and an outdoor sport can give you,nothing else.That's my motivation to see how much joy it gets to be with and hence to me.

Avi: And it also comes from nature. To be in the sky ,to teach people to have fun in the sky and in an outdoor setting.It is also very inspiring.

The journey of 17 years in Templepilots and how it all began?

Avi: It began like I started to fly in the Himalayas and it was very beautiful,very gorgeous to fly in the big mountains.While flying a dream was born that this needs to be shared and if I can fly like this I think any and everybody can fly by taking part of this experience.That time it was a very new sport all around the world,specially in India where there was hardly anybody flying.There weren't any schools and I had just come out of the air force and found something aviation related so that's how the seed was born in the sky that we need to have Indian pilots in the Indian skies.This needs to be kind of done here because we have such a massive huge country,it is so beautiful and offers so many different kinds of flying in the big mountains or the hill stations.The weather is very conductive to flying as well.

Anita: And when we started that time no one in India was actually taking up adventure sports as a very cool thing to do.It was just people who were in small towns or villages or near hill stations who used to pursue things like this.And of course in cities there was trekking and rafting and things like that,but aerosport was not pursued in this way.We had no road maps as such to follow.We had to really do our own research, our own study, trial and error.When we used to go and find sites we used to literally cut the grass while going to make the pathway,it was so raw.So it was very interesting to learn like that.When first few people came,like even if we used to get 4 students a month for us it was a great thing.And these were mainly people who had done travelling abroad who believed that it can happen you can learn flying like this.We both loved what we were doing,we didn't even have a Plan B that if this doesn't work what would we do,we were just fully into it.

Are you the first paragliding school in India?

"Yipeeee...I was flying in the air almost in the clouds,

the enviable view in front

the other paragliders all around

Now I know how the birds feel..

It's just something words can't explain.

Do not forget to watch a small video

taken from the field and the air below" @Templepilots

Avi: We are not the first school as such.There were couple of units or groups that were teaching but very basic training was going on and they were mostly doing tandems,the 2-seated joy rides.What happens is on a hill station like Manali,you get tourists who don't have 3-5-10 days to learn to fly,majorly get people for joy rides.So a school would not run for a place like that.

Anita: There's a difference between two things Joy Rides people would do to get a rush something like how you get on a roller coaster.But for people who come to school are different,they are passionate about flying.They want to take it up because they want to learn how to fly or take it up as a lifestyle sport and that's where we came in from his knowledge of airforce to whatever I could bring from the corporate side of the world.

Avi: We were actually the first structured training school in India and a club which means you could continue flying.Like even in the Himalayas if you do a three day course,that's the end of that.Then you come back to Delhi or wherever that's the end of that.But we offer people courses and plus an opportunity for people to come on weekends and continue their flying,or help them buy gliders and become hobby pilots.We actually spread the culture of flying to encourage people become pilots.

Templepilots Paragliding:Field,Fly and My Visit

How did you both convince your parents to start something offbeat and unusual?

Anita:For me,my dad was a total outdoor person.I was on my first trek when I was 6 years old.I think he secretly liked it that I wanted to do something different quite supportive but it was a shock for my mom.I was leaving my whole corporate career well paid job and going into complete unknown territory,she didn't like it at all.But somethings if you are passionate about you need to take your own decision.You have to have the courage of conviction.Passion doesn't demand asking for permission you just do it.You have to say "I am very sorry,I love you but I have to do this".I have been very independent very early on in my life.

Avi:They themselves could not kind of fathom as to what is this.Nobody has done it,no body is doing it,they didn't see any future,they couldn't visualise any future and nor could we.And there was no road map or a plan as to this is how it'll work out,this is how it'll be.It was all just trying it out.It was a journey,an adventure in itself to find sites,look for sites,to fly those sites,make sure they are safe for training,then get people tell them what it is,convince them its not like suicide.On all terms it was a challenge in terms of marketing in terms of getting a set up in terms of creating a structure in terms of giving information about paragliding because people have such weird notion about adventure aviation.And hand gliding never took off in India.It was like finding a path in the jungle.

Anita:Basically there were too many unknowns,I could not even tell her that this is the future or these people have done this we are doing something similar,I could have not given any assurance.Just have to tell them please trust us.

Your greatest achievements so far?

Featured in NAT GEO Traveler,Receiving awards

Avi: Each other

Anita: Each other,greatest achievement is I am with the man I love

Anita: To be with the person you love,and to do something you love so much everyday is my greatest achievement.I dunno how many people in this world can say that.

And long back I realised my achievements and success would have nothing to do with money,or materialistic things.So I love this,not that I am not totally out of it,I love travelling,I need money for travelling and flying and it's an expensive sport.But this in itself is a great achievement.

Avi: Because it was real adventure at that time in the beginning.Now its structured people know about us,set up and everything.Back in those days it was very new,very fresh so life was fantastic.

Wasn't there any moment you felt this is not happening,I should give up?

Avi: Never

Anita: Never.That's really strange because at many times in this journey we were actually left with nothing,no money.

Avi: We didn't give us an option,or there was no option.I tried various things but they were not attractive enough to hold my attention,paragliding was the only thing I found bearable or that could hold my interest.Either this or nothing at all.

Anita: Everytime there was a down,we could just fly and by flying we could tell ourselves "Why would I want to leave this?,why would I leave sharing this with others and make that into a career?"

Avi: And actually when you fly it's an awesome experience,its so beautiful.Just because you are able to do that you will continue doing that.When you are not getting people to learn but you have a one hour flying in the sunset its so awesome things on the ground don't matter at all.You are just so happy that you flew and you are on a high,you would not think an alternate.Why wouldn't somebody else want to do this?There was never a doubt,we didn't know we'll have a school like this or training instructors or it'll be so successful or people would know us in the market or we'll have articles in the magazine.There was an invisible force that was driving us that carry on carry on because it was beyond reason beyond logic.

Anita:We were quite blessed.

Didn't you face the initial financial hiccups?

Anita: We had some savings and we started off very small.

Avi: Literally from scratch

Anita: Like one student

Avi: If you see the set up now there are 5-15 students learning flying everyday,imagine in a month,imagine in a year.It's not an easy operation where you get all kinds of people with all kinds of backgrounds with all kind of IQ level,learning to fly managing their risk,managing their fears,its very challenging.And we are able to do this because we built it from scratch

How safe is aero sports in India now?

Templepilots Airforce:The latest batch
with Spikey the wonderdog of Templepilots

Avi: It's like both the things are there - safer in some sense not so safe as well because it depends on the kind of people who get involved and how safely they practice the sport.For example the way it developed in Manali and Panchgani were extremely dangerous because it was a quick buck.People would buy a two seater for anybody ,just learn how to take off and land and start flying the tourists and for some quick money.And what was happening was all the European backpackers who would have some glider with them when they won't have money,they sell it without being responsible to who they are selling and what will be the end result.So lot of unsafe practices started in Manali.They are sometimes flying without helmets,flying poor quality equipment,so lot of accidents happen in Manali and Panchgani.Same thing happen in Bir.Fortunately Kamshet is not a tourist destination and we have always focused on training and creating pilots in the country.So its very safe here.These things happen at the touristic places where joy rides have dictated the direction of the sport and since there is no governing body,no national association it,it happens.It's a very new sports like it would be same 50 years back in Europe.

People in India have a notion that aero sports/adventure sports are not that safe yet?They would rather do the same sport abroad.

Avi: They have got reasons to feel like this.There are people and operators who don't have any experience,don't have knowledge,don't use the right equipment and they start to operate.There have been incidents of accidents because of very silly mistakes.So people are right in their own opinions.

It is just like the airline industry.Initially when the airline industry was trying to establish itself in the mind of people that it is safe to do air travel they faced lot of problems.They had to put systems in place,procedures in place.And keep improving those systems and procedures,checklists and slowly and slowly people changed their view about air travel and started to trust even though there were accidents.Even though there are accidents but systems are so much in place that people trust today to travel by air.For example,our school we have systems in place procedures in place proper structure,we have been training for 17 years people have learned and flew safely.So people trust and they talk about it to others and then they trust and come.So we are creating large number of club pilots and pilots who are flying safely and they follow the discipline that the sport demands.They understand the limitations you need to understand,limitations of weather equipment,limitations of your own skill and knowledge so there is a sizeable community now which is flying safely.That is keeping the sport relatively safe despite some operators who are not giving that kind of impression in the minds of people with some accidents.

Anita: We are also associated with APPI which is an international organisation based in Switzerland and Avi is a master instructor on an international license.So we give out licenses to our club pilots.So they can pretty much fly anywhere in the world.We are following international norms of safety and training.

Avi: APPI is an association of professional pilots and instructors based in Switzerland and they are the only international education system of paragliding.We are a registered school with them.We are 5 star rated school with them and I am the master instructor,the highest rating for an instructor.All the members of our team are registered instructors and assistant instructors.So they all have licenses and this gives people trust.

Any future plans of expansion?

Anita: We conduct flying at many places, we go to Nepal where we conduct advanced courses.We go to Himachal in bir.We go to Bali every year,this August again we'll be going.We explore different places and take our club pilots like a flock of birds going along.

Avi: That's the most beautiful part of flying.When you learn to fly,you would want to fly to exotic locations.So I know how to fly I have got my own wings,and now I get them with my flock my community and we all go like school children with our gliders on a holiday.We fly by the Himalayas,by the coast,we fly in Nepal so in future we plan to conduct tours to Europe where we take our gang and fly in the alps and have fun like this,very special flying holidays.

Anita: Combine travelling and flying.Generally paragliding sites are very unique,very off the normal sightseeing and then you get to see very different part of that land.

If there's one social cause you'd love to contribute to in India,what would that be?

Avi: Animals

Anita: I would love to be associated with Animal welfare and more so related to elephants because I think they have been very neglected in the country which is associated with elephants.

Avi: We are on the fringes of getting into this now because when we fly,we used to see so many more birds who used to fly with us before than they do now.Like earlier when we used to fly,there used to be 50-60 vultures flying with us but over the years they have vanished,population have just reduced.It's not so in the Himalayas though,I mean the vultures are not going extinct,you can see the healthy population over there but around us here we see.We have a dog ourselves.We have some vet friends who work in animal orphanages who tell us the stories of poor state of animals etc.We are deeply touched by the conditions and we would like to do something.Like in Junnad,there is a leopard sanctuary,very bad state the leopards are kept in.And these animal orphanage in Pune,people get birds and animals there but the department doesn't accept them.They don't want to take in more animals so they are stuck there.They have limitations of how many birds and animals they can keep.They don't have enough funds.We have lands and are trying to shift out of city and then we might be in a better position to do what we want to.

There are these cows also who are left in the city they eat garbage,we need to do research in our area and decide what will be best.We also want to work with children and their education.

Anita: I have been associated with environment and environment awareness for a long time.I used to work with WWF also for 2 years.I have also done a lot of volunteer work with red cross and other organisations.We have seen someone coming at night excavating and stealing soil and you literally see a mountain being eaten up after a decade.Its very sad and on no one's agenda on what's happening to the outdoors.And only when someone takes up paragliding and comes outdoor and is in nature for a certain amount of time,you realise how much in tune we are with nature.We can't live without it.This arrogance of being a human being living in a city with all the gizmos at my fingertips on and off buttons it can go away in a jiffy if mother nature wants it.So we really need to get a reality check on how much we can destroy the environment and think we can survive that.I don't think we can

Your venture is an inspiration for many people who want to chase their dreams and do what they like even if it is out of their league. What would you like to say to them?

Anita: If you dreamt it,you can do it nothing is out of your reach.If you really really love something and you are passionate about it,you can do it.

Avi: First of all it really feels good that we are in a position like this as an inspiration.The answers too are very cliche but true.Please believe please have the faith and trust in yourself in the universe in the divine to achieve what you want.You will always always achieve it.Just go for it.Just don't compromise and settle for less.Be whatever you dream and go for it.

Anita: The intention has to come out from purity and then it fulfills itself.The motive should not be selfish or self gratifying.The strength comes from it being pure.

Your top five likes and dislikes

Anita: He has no dislikes

Avi: Very difficult question,it is for me because I am trying to free myself from likes and dislikes.She has her dislikes and likes,I would like to accept everything,I have no likes and dislikes.

Avi: Her likes are

-Nature

-Animals particularly Elephants,Dogs,Cats

-Loves travelling

-Loves dark bitter chocolate

-and I think she likes me

Dislikes are

-Arrogance

-Dishonesty

-Poor treatment of animals

-Pune ke autowalas

-Doesn't like sweets

Anita:His likes are

-He likes talking about anyone's path to higher learning or enlightenment

-He likes talking about anything that has not to with this world something that is metaphysical something beyond what you can just see.His motivation comes from learning what is within us to find out the truth.That is his endeavour and flying is a goal to this endeavour or divine

-He loves sweet

-Loves mangoes

-He loves his family back home

Dislikes

-He does not like dislikes,he aims to have complete balance.He wants to see everyone's limitations.

-Dislikes being very active,he has to have total laidback environment.He smart enough to let me do all his work ;)

-Doesn't have many dislikes,that's all I can say

Best experience in the holiday "NDTV Swiss Made dreams"

With Neha Dixit in Switzerland

Anita : There were many.Wine tasting,cycling and Glaciar 3000.The mountain on the trek when we were on the top the view of the whole alps,that was gorgeous.There was a huge bird flying there,and it came right in front of us flying.And he gifted me a big sunflower from the market over there and I was walking the whole day with that.We loved the hotel we were staying in Beau Rivage and the evening we were walking there was a rainbow on the lake.

Anything else you would like to say?

Anita: I'd like to say that none of us in our lives need to settle for less.You can live fully without having to compromise and one can live by taking care of environment and surrounding without saying this is someone else's job,what does it got to do with me.Very very delicate web of life,everything matters.

Avi: The future is very beautiful.The new life that is coming these days is very very beautiful,there might not be place for negatives and those who are not right.only people who are good and have consciousness bout nature will have place.The new consciousness which is coming is very great.

I'll quote something he has told one of our friends earlier

Anita : He taught me how to fly and according to him I taught him how to land

Ankita: Really?

Avi: Not like actual landing while flying, but to stay grounded in life.

It was awesome meeting you two love birds on a paragliding high for 17 years.May god bless you and with your blessing may the environment around be more beautiful and inspired.

Thanks for being part of the interview -Anki S

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From puddles to cuddles:The All India Road Trip

From puddles to cuddles:The All India Road Trip

The dark silence on the Delhi-Gurgaon highway at 8pm was intimidating.We knew,our dad's small and old but sturdy Maruti 800 had given up midway.In the middle of thoughts on where to go and how to reach our next destination "Chandigarh",we had weird unrealistic dreams as ray of hope of being part of TV crew and asking for random hitch hikes along the way,the kind of they show in Reality shows.But what about our car,the beloved car we were in for last 8 days covering the west of India.How can we leave it alone?The car was my dad's first love,and my brother's passion.The car which was destined to cover the All India what may come.And so with our respect for our car,we started looking out for ways we could get on to the next Car repair center.Unfortunately there weren't any,but we found an angel in one of distant aunty's distant inlaws place in the interiors of Haryana.Our beloved car was tied with their jeep and there we went in another."Kaha se ae ho?" - asked the elder member of the family,just before I could complete ,my brother said excitingly "Bangalore and on An All India Road Trip" and repeated it again "on a road trip,and we need our car tomorrow to proceed further to the Himachal and the Punjab".Our faces at that time resembled the innocent cute little sheep's asking for help and he said "In the morning I'll get the car done but do not forget to have the breakfast made from fresh produce from our fields".That night we slept peacefully in a village unknown all excited about what may lie ahead and cherishing the memories we left behind.

Somewhere in Gujarat

The memories which was part of our dream to just go for our nomadic sojourn.Both of us,bored of our 9-5 regular jobs,decided to call it quits and indulge in a crazy roller coaster drive from Bangalore to Jammu and then back to Bangalore again covering first the west of India and then the central part of India in 18 days flat.We had already covered the east and part of north east in another short road and train journeys before.We wanted to escape.May be fly.May be touch the skies on the roads.So I called up my brother and..

Me and my brother are a kickass nomadic company to each other

Anki:Hey wassup dude,are we going on the run?
Gaurav:Yes we are,plans ready?
Anki:Yes
Gaurav:Food ready?
Anki:Yes
Gaurav:We are leaving tommorow,4 am suits you?
Anki:Yep,but isn't it too early(My lazy soul always wants to rest some more in the mad mad mornings,but once I am all awake I am like penguins bobbling around with sheer enthusiasm)
Gaurav:It's 11 hours dude to Pune,and you know our Maruti right,we got it after a little old fight with Dad?
Anki:Okies okies I'll be all set,anything else you want me to carry
Gaurav:Cameras,ok by the way did you receive your Air Force Admit Card?
Anki:Yes I did(I had virtually forgotten about my upcoming Air Force SSB in Mysore which was just a day after the Road trip,I wanted to live for now and feel the air of breeze.Mom was joining us at Surat and Dad at Delhi)
Cummon don't bore me with exams and results,ain't we off to something more adventurous now!
Gaurav:See ya..

The plan was

Bangalore - Hubli - Pune -Mumbai - Daman - Surat - Vadodara - Ahmedabad - Udaipur - Jaipur - Ajmer - Kotputli - Chandigarh -Ludhiana -Jalandhar - Amritsar - Pathankot - Dharamsala - Mandi - Manali - Shimla - Delhi - Mathura - Agra - Jhansi - Jabalpur - Amarkantak - Bilaspur - Nagpur - Hyderabad - Bangalore , Time: 18 days ,Total Distance: 8545 km

We started off for our first long drive the day 1 from Bangalore - Pune covering nearly 900 kms in a day.We didn't even stop at the highway food joints,we carried our own food.Yes,the food some call snacks "the Kurkures,the home-made sandwiches,some nuts".But for us it was usual stuff.Me and my brother are born nomads.The trend runs in the family.From my dad's transferable job to my mom's chilled attitute we have always been on the move since childhood.But now our thirst for discovering places was growing at such at infinite rate that we no longer wanted the local around the town travel but something big,really big.The tunnels and we knew Pune was around.

I couldn't stop myself counting the number of Tunnels along the Pune route,a few seconds of darkness no signals on our phone and we shout "Yeeeeeeeeeeeeey" until we see the bright light at the other end

Next day we took a quick stroll in Pune and we were off to our next destination Mumbai.After Mumbai came Daman.While Mumbai was humid and hot, Daman was burning with Scorching heat.Gujrat smiled us at Surat next.We visited the famous temples and did some shopping.Next was Vadodara.South east of Ahmadabad is the artificial Kankaria lake, which was near to where we stayed. We visited the temples, Kankaria Lake and the local markets.

Religion is a state of mind,for us we respect all @ Ajmer Sharif

Next day we had planned to reach Ajmer by the evening. We had two choices, to go via Udaipur or to go via Chittorgarh,we chose Udaipur route as it was more popular.The city's famous Lake palace sits proudly on Jal Niwas or Lake Pichola.The palace was splendid. We clicked some photographs and then proceeded towards Ajmer and reached there in the evening. Ajmer is famous for the Ajmer Sharif dargah.We visited the Dargah and with the confirmed blessings from the god,chose to move ahead.

Striking a pose with mommy dear in Rajasthan

Camels & the Chameleon

Next morning, we went to Pushkar which is only half an hour from Ajmer city. It is a famous place all over India for its fair as well as the numerous temples. It has the only Brahma temple in the whole country. After visiting some of the temples, we started for Jaipur. Jaipur is bursting with forts, museums and palaces. Famous for the Bandej sarees, we explored the city as much as we could and from there we took the road to Gurgaon and that's where our real journey started.Stuck in the middle of Haryana,Village all around, unperturbed by beeps and honks, simple people and great food we were enjoying the untold unplanned adventure.Next morning I had pure dhud(milk) and freshly prepared vegies from the khet with the ghee roti.I wish I could stay there forever,but just then I heard him "Gadi thik ho gai hai,you might leave".After giving quick and sweet hugs to the villagers for their kind hospitality,we left for another adventure.

Sometimes distaster turned adventures are equally fun@Haryana

The land of Gabru Jawans

Dancing DDLJ Style in the fields of Punjab

Since we had wasted a lot of time driving in Haryana last night,we thought we would bypass the main Gurgaon highway and just follow what google map suggests now "The Jhajjar-Rohtak-Sonepat-Panipat route".What we didn't know that there was a flood in Haryana a month back,and what we didn't know what the condition of roads that lie ahead of us.The natural disasters in India as we all know takes exceptionally long time to heal,and so with the happy-go-lucky attitude we started off with putting one tyre on the relatively smaller hole and another on a little pakka road.Splash splash..a little left a little right left right left right it looked like the game of terrible maze.The bumpiest 10km drive which took us more than an hour.And this wasn't all,the usual Delhi-Chandigarh if done by normal route which takes 4 hours,took us 10 hours travelling in the interiors of water clad Haryana.But now when I look back,It was the most interesting route we had ever drove on.

Shouting at our vocal best at Wagah,Amritsar

Punjab is quite synonymous with Amritsar for the golden temple and Chandigarh for the rock gardens. For us, we just spent a couple of hours driving around Chandigarh and then we started off for Amritsar.Covering Ludhiana and Jalandhar was on our wish list too thanks to DDLJ,and Punjab didn't leave us disappointed. The icing on the cake was the visit to Wagah border to witness the ceremony and I was completely overwhelmed , it’s a feeling I cannot describe.We shouted out loud,our tones on patriotism reflecting in our actions.The moment which can only be felt and just cannot be put into words.

India is a land of incredible adventures.Sometimes cows,sometimes sheeps,sometimes even elephants on road.And I love it that way ;)

Not a bad idea to spend a few hours camping alongside at Himachal

Next was our drive to Dharamshala and Palampur.The view of the hills along the route is very beautiful and for some time, we felt like we were in heaven. Unlike other hill stations, the road leading to Dharamshala is very very narrow and a very steep climb.Dharamsala is untouched by commercialization hence the beauty is intact. Our next destination was Manali. A special thanks to the Indian military which has built up a long tunnel which has shortened the journey to Manali by about 50 kms. One of the very interesting feature about this trip was the hills on one side and the free flowing river Beas on another with many waterfalls en route. Every scene was picturesque and we clicked as many pictures as we could.Shimla Tattapani hot sulphur springs was on the Manali- Shimla route,famous for the healing properties of water and we enjoyed going to the hot springs as well. Mall road is the lifeline of Shimla and we absolutely loved our experience walking down the mall road.

Just around 1 and a half hour drive from Shimla is the famous Naina Devi Temple located on the hillock, the road is steep and we got lucky that our car didn’t break down in between. We visited the temple and started our journey towards Delhi. Mathura, a little town,birth place of Lord Krishna comes in the way of delhi-agra road. After visiting Hari Krishna Janm Bhumi , Vishram Ghat , Dwarkadeesh Temple , Gita mandir, Nidhivan , Seva Kunj and Banke Bihare Temple and crossing fatehpur seekri near Agra,we reached Agra. Agra is famous for Taj Mahal,and it truly deserves the title of "one of the seven wonders of world”.

When they say "Taj one of the seven wonders of world"

I count myself "The Eighth"

Jokes apart,the magnificent Taj

Next morning we went to the fort at Jhansi which is very well maintained, compact and worth seeing. After spending some time in Jhansi, we proceeded towards Jabalpur. After accumulating lots of dirt in the ongoing road trip, our car gave up at a town known as Sagar. But we again got lucky and our car stopped right in front of the mechanic’s shop. He charged only Rs.200 for cleaning the carburetor but it took him more than 3 hours. We were already running very late so we asked him if there is any shortcut to Jabalpur. He said to us there is an alternate route which is much shorter but in between comes a jungle and in a stretch of over 20 kms, there is absolutely no road. We thought we have no other choice because had we taken the longer route we would have reached Jabalpur very late. The road was great for the first 20 km or so but then started the nightmare. Maruti 800 is a very small car and its not meant for jungle roads but we took the risk and plunged into the jungle. We literally crossed little rivers and the tyres gave up after some time. We became quite anxious and changed the punctured tyre as quickly as we could have done. Then came a small bridge and horrible was over. We realized we were extremely lucky as we didn’t had any more spare tyres. We finally reached Jabalpur

The Scenic Jabalpur - Bilaspur route and no,it isn't the valley of flowers,its a long long stretch of road with wild flowers spread like an altogether different world.The icing on the cake was Dad joined us at Delhi.The perfect and complete family road trip

At Jabalpur,we took the cable car over the Narmada River at Bhedaghat from where the bird’s eye view of Dhuandhar Falls and Marble Rocks is amazing. We also did boat cruise at bhedaghat. Of all the road trips we have taken so far,this route is one of the best and most scenic. With flowers alongside the road, the route took us by surprise.Next we went to Nagpur ,Lata mangeshkar musical garden at Nagpur is a landscaped garden and lawn. The garden also has the musical fountain.

Next was Hydrabad,as we all already know Charminar is a major landmark of Hyderabad which we cannot ignore as the monument is situated right at the heart of the city.We started off from Hyderabad next morning to Bangalore.

And now when we are back in Bangalore,we know we had the best times in 18 days covering more than 8000 kms.What made it worth was it was done on a 13 year old non-AC MARUTI 800 in October when parts of the country was burning almost(specially parts of Rajasthan,Gujarat,Daman and Madhya Pradesh were horribly hot) and not some flashy SUV.It was the most memorable journey of our life and with the stories of puddles and cuddles above,you must be now knowing why."The adventures" were unpredictable,the roads inescapable the cows adorable and we as usual on our own vagabond self.Our journey was also covered in Outlook Traveller last year,a journey of two crazy minds,my brother(the driver) and me(the inspiration).

Our JOURNEY - On Outlook Traveller

Why I love Travelling?

Travel makes my itchy feet fulfill my nomadic greed - Anki S

I love travelling because err "I love it because sometimes in life you fall in love and then you have no control over your desires.Travel makes my heart go skipping and we share an intimate bond of absolute fondness for each other.My funda in life "22 tak padhai.. 25 pe naukari... 26 pe chokri... 30 pe bacche.. aur 60 pe retirement aur fir maut ka intazaar.. . . . . . dhatttt yesi ghisi piti life thode hi jina chahta hu.If my thoughts resonate the upcoming lines from the movie trailer "Ye Jawaani Hai Deewani" don't be surprised I can give a tough competition to the sweet and charming Ranbir. Did engineering,left engineering,did a job,left a job,started a travel adventure blog and now travelling like mad to places I have had only dreamt of before.Some don't believe I was a techie in my past year.

I travel because sometimes I find cows much more interesting than the humans @ Bihar

Why I love travelling is because I love the change,the people I meet,the uncertainties and the surprises,sometimes crazy sometimes bizarre but they all in all make great stories.The basic reason we all travel is we get bored of Mundane,and we go out in the open to restore our balance of mind and soul.My inquisitive soul looks out for challenges every time I travel " I backpacked Maldives because I was like hey why people just go there as a honeymoon couple,can't it just be explored like any other country,I covered Bihar because I thought It can't just be so boring as people say","I tried Microlight flying because I loved planes".

I love travel because I can't fly in closed corporate cabins.Microlight flying in Bangalore

Why I travel is I find the imbalance in me very often,there's a thirst in me which gets fulfilled with a new destination every 2 weeks.I cannot define it,some people are balanced I am not.I find balance.I sometimes like sand sometimes sea,sometimes just strolling around.Change of place,change of friendships,change of funny little things to do and weird things to eat excites me.I love to follow my heart and my nomadic heart takes me places very often and sets me free with every journey.

The nomadic on-spot-dance with the Maldivians

The journey in itself is worth living for,and what makes it worth more is the puddles and the cuddles along the way.

Have you done anything crazier,if yes share your road trip at:

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Scotland:Food,ScotExpo 2013

The Food That Speaks@Scotland

Soak yourself in the depth of flavor with the food that speaks.We'll learn some in the next blog post but for today let the teaser on the food make your appetite blushing and wanting for more. Doesn't matter if you are a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian Scotland has hint of nature everywhere.Can you spot the leaves and the flowers and the green peas?Well all I have to say is if you love good food,you have got to be here ;)

To view all previous posts on Scotland click here:All posts Scotland

And oh yeah..The backpacking information on Scotland is coming soon.It wasn't that difficult when we have whole day hop off hop on buses for 12 pounds,the general connecting buses for 1.5 pounds and food for 4-5 pounds and shopping for 5-6 pounds.I was smitten by Edinburgh's sale and sale everywhere from where I got myself shorts and a lovely top for 5 pounds,unbelievable isn't it?I love shopping so much so that one day I dream to be a fashion designer or even try my hand at modelling,lets see when that happens.But for now,this travel adventure blogger takes a backseat for you to put on your foody side frontseat. You can also discuss your favorite Scottish dish right there in the comment box,or can virtually admire the ones posted here.

Where we had the best Scottish Food:
Cail Bruich,Glasgow
Three Sisters Bake
House for an art lover

The Visit Scotland Expo 2013

The annual business to business event, VisitScotland expo 2013, was held at the SECC, Glasgow on the 17th & 18th April with more than 230 Scotland-based exhibitors concluded by the honorable guest speakers (Caroline Packman Homecoming Director, Robbie Clyde Ryder Cup Director, Mike Cantlay VisitScotland’s Chairman).

I was the only Indian Travel blogger to be invited for the event,it was my great luck to have met many journalists and bloggers from other countries sharing the same platform,event and also the press trip.

Love my look,why don't you try the same
Full Sleeve Top: Zara
Coat:Allen Solly
Necklace:Fab Alley
Skirt:Code,Lifestyle
Tights:Marks & Spencer

Scotland:Places,Videos,Things to Do

A Traveler and not a Tourist:Scotland

“To see the years touch ye gives me joy", he whispered, "for it means that ye live.”

I often wonder what makes us travel like a tourist and not a traveler.Many of my friends have told me recently "Hey we have been to Scotland but not to the places you mentioned" and I feel great to be given an opportunity to explore and bring about to you the part of Scotland we hardly know.We often walk on the same path as everyone does missing out the soul of the country.Every country is beautiful in its own way.

Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.

My 11 days in Scotland opened up my mind to an extent that I no longer want a day or two in a country but the whole of 10-15 days to discover each and every country at my own pace.Most of us travel Europe or UK on a 10 day package covering several countries,but how many of us really get to know a country this deep.Honestly we do not know!To know more click on Visit Scotland Official Page

The drive in Scotland will treat you to something like this,along the way

To view all previous posts on Scotland click here:All posts Scotland

The great Scotland travel video

Yipee the video on Scotland is done,what a relief!This video is self shot on timer on a tripod(90%) of the times,or on assistance with general public or self handheld shot.Nothing professional,but just helping you get to know Scotland better.The last three days of my travel was discovering Edinburgh day and night,on my own and travelling solo hiking along,hopping on to buses or waiting for one.Enjoy the video folks and do not forget to comment!Scotland is a safe country,doesn't matter whether you are travelling solo or at night or with groups.

11 days just wasn't enough ,may be a month would have been,may be 6 months.But for now,as promised last week I take you through the remaining 3 things to do out of 7 offbeat things.We'll also discover a bit of Glasgow and backpack Edinburgh in the subsequent days.

Laggan Outdoors,Dumfries and Galloway Scotland

Segway in the hills is hell lot of fun!

With breathtaking views of the mountains and the sea,you wouldn't want to miss the UK's longest zipwire,now the second longest.Spanning 820 metres,the double Zip wire allows two people to zip at the same time,next to each other.Alternative activities are arranged if the zipwire is unsuitable or the wind is high.

We tried blindfolded reverse steering jeep drive,a game where to have to drive on hills blindfolded and the mute directions were given by our partner sitting at back by tapping our shoulders in the direction opposite to the drive.It's an incredible feeling when you cannot see what lies ahead,its fun and super thrill.

Segway is easy,relaxing and thrilling.If you tried it once on the hills,you'd be hooked onto it so much that you'd wish that it goes forever.

Website: http://lagganoutdoor.co.uk/

Culzean Castle,Ayrshire Scotland

Enjoy the Culzean experience @ Scotland

Culzean is one of Scotland's best loved castles.The Royal Bank of Scotland has Culzean on its pounds.With views of sea and Culzean's aesthetic history,this is one of the must visit along the coast of Ayrshire.

The stunning coast of Ayrshire

Website: http://culzeanexperience.org/

Glenapp Castle,Ayrshire Scotland

I was growing up listening to Queen stories and then I found myself living and dining like one.

Have you ever fancied living in a castle?Like a queen for a day..and a night.Well this was where we stayed overnight,each of us having rooms as big as we could have only dreamt of.The castle is hidden in 36 acres of glorious garden and woodland on the rugged and beautiful Ayrshire coast.As everywhere else,the food is awesome and you can enjoy a four course dinner at Glenapp Castle.

Website: http://www.glenappcastle.com/

Scotland:Things To Do

Top 7 Offbeat Things to do in Scotland

The wonderful trip around Scotland was sponsored by VisitScotland,the official tourism board of Scotland.Visit their website for more details.

Scotland All Posts - Link Back :
A Warm Hi From Scotland
UK Visas,Luggage,Flights

At Cream O' Galloway,Scotland

[Quarries Village - Dumfries - Ayrshire(South West Scotland)]

If your flight has arrived Glasgow,and you have almost been everywhere around the city and would like to venture out more, check out the top 7 things you would love to discover.For those who haven't discovered Glasgow and Edinburgh and other parts of Scotland,I'll soon come up with a post on how to do it on your own and on a budget.

Wohooo we are now heading to South West of Scotland!Are you guys excited?But before we go further lets look up to what others say about Scotland

Let's get to know Scotland BETTER

There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter - Billy Connolly

"True.Scotland is cold in its own way,Sunny sometimes but cold,rainy sometimes but cold,so guys Scotland is cold.Take your jackets and your umbrella or just a plain raincoat.It also rains quite often here."

The thing I miss the most about Scotland is the football - Robert Carlyle

"Sport plays a central role in Scottish culture. The temperate, oceanic climate has played a key part in the evolution of sport in Scotland, with all-weather sports like association football, rugby union and golf dominating the national sporting consciousness.The 2014 Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow,so get your tickets guys to Scotland,you'd love the place and the crowd".To know more about Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games and registration Click here: Glasgow 2014

Scotland is the Canada of England! - Rainn Wilson

"Aha the natural beauty around would take you to back to the dreamy world of countryside and broad roads.You wouldn't want to leave because its so beautiful.Whether its the greenery or the road alongside the coast or the food or the fresh air,Scotland will mesmerize you with simple honest people and great ambiance"

A glass of whisky in Scotland in the thirties cost less than a cup of tea. - Catherine Helen Spence

"One more reason to arrive in Scotland.Whiskeys!"

We'll discuss some more in the upcoming post,but for now let's begin with the 7 offbeat things,4 discussed here and 3 we'll continue in next post with the video

1)Delight your senses at Three Sisters Bake Cafe,Quarries Village Scotland

Just half an hour from the main town Glasgow is the quiet and historic Quarries Village.Enjoy lunch at this boutique cafe where the key aim is to 'Delight the senses'.

Opened by three sisters who are passionate about food and bakes where each and every dish is bursting with flavor Three Sisters Bake is a fun place to be.And so great was the taste that I still remember what I did order "chicken liver parfait and Freshly made soup of the day" along with the wholesome desserts.Loved it!

Website: Three Sisters Bake Official Website

2)Threave Gardens and Estate,Dumfries and Galloway Scotland

One and a half hour from Quarries village is the 647 hectares of Threave estate.It is divided into four main elements: Threave House,a restored Scottish baronial-style house,Threave garden made of landscaped garden and themed 'rooms'.

Threave garden is a beautifully designed landscape garden where on one end you'd find bat reserve another end sculpture of eagle and all at the backdrop of a Scottish house.The Scottish house which is now home to volunteers who work closely to preserve the nature.

Website: Threave - Estate

3)Camera Obscura at the Dumfries Museum Scotland

I have a confession to make,I am really not very fond of museums unless its interesting!And this one even if you are not into Museums would surprise you.Dumfries Museum is centered around the eighteenth century windmill which stands above the town.On the topmost floor of the museum is Camera Obscura.

A historic astronomical instrument which gives fascinating panoramic views over the town.No well it isn't a telescope it is something like..

An opening on the top floor which is reflecting in the spherical device just beneath and you can view the entire town at your table,just like an HD movie.You can zoom in and zoom out the objects on the round base,and can clearly see who is walking outside,the cars moving around,even as close as faces of people.Its amazing.You can add a little fun by adding small bridges on the round base and the car outside would look like it is going over the bridge"

Website : Dumfries Museum

4)Create your own ice-cream at Cream O' Galloway Scotland

Cream O' Galloway's award winning ice-creams are extra yummy.Made with pure,real ingredients,we too got to go a hands on session on ice cream making.So we all dressed up in sheer white doctors coat and the head band and the participants were divided into two teams.Then we whipped the milk with the cream,weighed down other ingredients and added on our own flavors we thought would be good and great.And there it all went in the machine which churns and makes the whole ice cream.Takes around 30 minutes to make,we kept on staring almost into the the machine every minute as if the ice cream was our baby.

Set in the beautiful Galloway countryside,the visitor center of Cream O' Galloway offers a full day fun filled activities with ropes and go karts and slides.If you love animals,you can play with sheep.In Scotland,you will find sheep almost on every patch of green and there are plenty.In the end,we gorged on the yummy burgers handmade with beef from their own organic farm.We had three vegetarians in our group,and they too were delighted with the veggie meal of their choice.

Website: Cream O Galloway

Have you been to Scotland,why not share your best places,best experience right on the comment box or mail me at Ankionthemove@gmail.com in case you want your post or insight on Scotland to be highlighted in the next blogpost.If you like my post and feel like dropping in some sweet words,put it across,it'll make my day more beautiful and all thanks to you.