'You're in NYC, Live Like it' In New York you see this tagline quite often on road side boards. If Vegas was late night party, New York is its hangover that refuses to fizzle out. I ain’t a tourist here, I live in New York Area. As someone who lives and breathes the same air from across the Hudson river, I confess the first time was hard on me when I arrived by Bus No 158 from West New York, Port Imperial, New Jersey to Port Authority New York, to like the very thing that I hated the most about any city - the never ending chaos. 



As a short term tourist who checklists attractions its always beautiful to be forgiving. But for someone like me, who had come from the peaceful welcoming Wisconsin and was forewarned that people here ain’t sweet as sugar and my own complex thoughts on how my arrival in New York reminded me of Chicago blended with Mumbai, I must admit I was quick to judge on how withered at times the old constructions were - the subway, the bus station etc.. contrasting drastically with how fairytale the shiny tall skyscrapers looked. People weren't as nasty as I thought them to be, they were to the point, direct and busy like every other busy city.

I immediately told myself ‘Do I really have to like this city’ and ‘Thank God I live across the river thats more spaced out' and the skyline can be thoroughly enjoyed from New Jersey. The view everyday asks me the same question now ‘Have I outgrown my own thoughts’ and the answer comes ‘Yes, hell, I have started liking New York’. Yes, Its crowded, its cornered with buildings, at times dirty, the traffic sucks, the queues at stores suck(do you guys know in malls you have to pay extra tax over brands, so a lot of us shop in New Jersey), however there is so much to do that in comparison, New Jersey would be a dull sister, which I am sure I say so, because I haven’t explored much of New Jersey either. So to be honest, in my one month stay here ever since I came to New York area, New Jersey, I have just been to New York 3 days.



 In those 3 days, what I loved about New York was the experience called New York itself. One can never get bored in New York. It’s a walkable city, where your own footsteps add onto many on the road. Where you can watch the Bollywood actors dance, and wonder ‘Wow I am in New York’ and you can say to your friend’s proudly ‘Oh New York thats just there’. Where you can enjoy both roadside and gourmet food equally and even wait in the queue despite the fact that New Yorkers have less patience in anything but food.

It's a city which you can never be infatuated with at first glance, but slowly but surely you would start liking it, and by the time you try to figure it all, you would have fallen in love.

New York has that attitude love me or hate me but you can't ignore me. It makes itself seen and heard.

 So these are some 9 experiences I had, some typical, some not so typical that you may love to hear:

 1)Take the Ferry: If you haven’t seen the red tinge of the sunset over the skyline and the Hudson river from the Ferry with wind in your hair from the open deck, you might have missed the whole experience altogether. A lot of us, in New Jersey take the PATH train($2.5) or the NY Transit bus($3.5) to New York. The NYWaterway ferry is awesome, a little expensive for $9 one way, usually taken by people in 9 to 5 jobs, it just takes 10 minutes to New York and after that they have buses that drops you to their stations in destined route. These buses are free to take, and so I have taken first drop to Times Square, sometimes first drop to Central Park.



They also have return stations, so you can stand and pick back the bus to the Ferry Station which can be tracked in app NYWaterway. New York does have Water Taxis , Sightseeing Water Buses , Hop on Hop off Boat Tours , Dinner Cruises and Cruises which too are lot of fun. Some folks do kayaking in the Hudson too which you can try. Sometimes enveloped in smog, sometimes fog and sometimes just sometimes bloody moon nights or full moon nights, the views of New York from New Jersey its one of its kind. I am privileged to live here with view as these:





 2)The Parks: Central Park is safe and open spaced heaven for nature lovers. Its spread across many acres, and the southern part takes 3 hours to enjoy whereas the northern part may take more. It has its own castles, lakes, fountains, visitor centers and even traffic lights inside the park. It was where I had brief encounter with Bollywood shoot featuring Arjun Kapoor. It is a very popular place with Bollywood and a lot of movies including Kal Ho Na Ho was shot here. So no wonder, if you walk past by an actor someday don’t be surprised. Watching them is fun. And while you are here, save those little squirrels who happen to wander on the biking / hiking paths and get themselves injured or lost as we did rescue the baby squirrels and made them reach their moms and waited for 3.5 hours for it to happen try to divert them consequently again and again away from the path. As per the map, I did the Pond, the Diary, The Bethesda Fountain and Terrace and the Boat House.






 Near to Central Park is Columbus Circle where you can enjoy shopping. And for food, you have to try this Greek food with Mykonos type setting called Souvlaki GR where you get great Greek food (I had Souvlaki Pita) and its just a walk away from Central Park. Central Park looks beautiful during fall so we are planning to go to Central Park again this weekend and spend some more time.




 3)The 9/11 Memorial: The saddest event of the century needs a gratitude to be expressed with flowers only the departed can feel.  Two of our relatives had died during the event so we had gone there to pay respect to the departed on 9/11 memorial day on September 11. Millions of flowers were placed in names of those departed. However the search for flowers was a struggle for us, because no where we could find a store that sells nearby within 45 minutes of walk.







 A few blocks away is Saint Paul Chappel or ’The Little Chappel that stood’ is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan, where during the 9/11 attacks and collapse of Twin Towers, St. Paul's Chapel served as a place of rest and refuge for recovery workers at the WTC site. A short walk away is also St. Peters Church which is the first Catholic Parish Church in New York State.

Also, there is a World Trade Center mall in the complex which has an amazing architecture and also has the path station inside.



 4)Times Square: Times Square is the ever happening square of New York. Everyone who comes here makes a visit, it seems to be the central point. Huge Screens with lights and displays and skyscrapers around, its a place which can never get boring. Beware of clowns or people wanting to get picture with you. With me my Times Square experience was strange. I was getting my picture clicked by my hubby, a lady in funny dress / clown hugged me , asked for a picture and voila asked for money of $5. What’s strange was I had never invited her.




During the night, enjoy the various shops on the stretch or just the buzz Times Square gives. Brazilian Fest was my first fest I attended near Times Square at Little Brazil and the loud music was appealing to all of us, along with food.



Though, I am not very fond of Times Square street food , I have tried Halal Food during normal days and Fried Ice cream during Brazilian Fest they were okay. I would rather have Biryani on the food stall near 9/11 at Liberty Street. We also had ice cream at Wall Street Food Stall opposite Trinity Church and that was good too.



 5)Brooklyn Bridge: The first time I saw Brooklyn Bridge from New York, It reminded of the Roebling suspension bridge of Cincinnati. So I came to know that its designed by the same person called John A Roebling.  I would highly suggest, taking a walk on the Bridge as a must do from Brooklyn to New York than New York to Brooklyn. The Bridge in person from far may not look as attractive but when you walk on the Bridge the architecture is stunning. Standing on the Bridge you can see statue of Liberty at one far end and Manhattan Bridge on another while there would be plenty of cars going beneath. Its a feeling to witness.





The sunsets are gorgeous on Brooklyn Bridge and so is the pizza under the Bridge at the Brooklyn Side at Juliana or Grimaldi. Rated as one of the best Pizzas in US, we were standing in the queue for 45 minutes to get inside for our Coal Fired Pizza at Juliana and the pizza was great.



Brooklyn also has Flea Markets - one of which was a dud for us which we attended this weekend which was Brooklyn Flea Fort Greene it was vintage and expensive flea. The other one is Smorgasburg on Williamsburg Brooklyn where 100 food vendors collect , we plan to do it this Saturday. We have really heard good things about it.



 6)Flatiron Building: The Flatiron Building is considered to be a groundbreaking skyscraper.The building, which has been called "one of the world's most iconic skyscrapers is a quintessential symbol of New York City” .

As with numerous other wedge-shaped buildings, the name "Flatiron" derives from its resemblance to a cast-iron clothes iron


As you walk towards it from the 5th avenue, you would pass through Eataly where you can enjoy Italian specialities and gourmet Italian food including Gelatos, Pizza, Italian Fare, Italian Delights, Cheese and varieties of Nutella. I find this place a little expensive, unless I am in for Gelatos or Cakes.



Walk though Flatiron to broadway on the side towards Union Square, where you can enjoy cute boutique shops which I adore.


Just 5 minutes before Eately on the 5th avenue is this place called museum of sex. We saw it last time, and it was getting closed, so we couldn’t check it, but if you are passing by and happen to come across something as this, do let me know how it turns out to be.

7)Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and Trinity Church: It was a coincidence that we were walking on the 5th Avenue popular for shops like Zara etc and all of a sudden we passed by this huge Neo - Gothic Style Roman Cathedral on our opposite and so we decided lets walk towards it.


St Patrick's Cathedral is a beautiful impressive Cathedral inside out - a must do for visitors. The architecture inside is so beautiful that one can sigh in peace and along with prayers and candles many many are seen taking millions of pictures.

                           Saint Patrick's Cathedral happens to be my favorite



On the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway is Trinity Church, that has been part of New York for 300 + years. As you walk past, do have a look inside.




8)Washington Square Park and Soho: Most of the time, I find myself walking in the city and there’s something or the other happening. Soho is a neighborhood street which refers to as south of Houston Street, where you have a lot of boutique and creative shops lined up whereas at Washington Square Park is a meeting place for cultural activities you have these performances by people that many love to relax and watch and some folks love to jump and get wet in the fountain. The park is an open space dominated by Washington Square Arch.


9)Empire State Building: All the three times that I have been to New York, I usually get down at Empire State Building Bus Station but I am yet to see the observatory from where you can get great New York views.One day maybe. Somehow there’s always a queue and somehow that doesn’t make me go in! However I have hiked quite a bit around it to get the feel of the places, so we have Madison Square Garden and Macys which is popular and a couple of mega stores. Also the lane which is just at the back of Empire State is full of cheap junk jewelry and other imported cheap stuff. If you do get time, wander around.


 Remember New York is a hub of entertainment so whether its New York Fashion Week or performances by top musicians, there’s always something you can keep yourself busy with. New York Fashion Week happens in Feb and September where you can register for RSVP for public entries. And thats what I love about New York today despite the fact that

 When I complained that I have rat in my home, the person at reception told me, like this huge, the kind of ones you find in Superstores of New York. I said, no, oh said he, it must be mice. You got my point but these are such small things really.. :) 




 I feel I haven’t yet scratched New York even a bit, because common to be fair, I haven’t yet been to Statue of Liberty nor have I been to Grand Central Terminal nor to any of the Touristic Wonders nor to renowned museums nor have I explored the good food scene in depth. I even despised the idea of clicking my picture with the Bull at Wall Street though I have been there once, because that bull was so loaded with people that my chance to be with him, would have come after half an hour or more.



 I love this list by Airbnb on 30 things to do in New York

 With being Tourist, you can’t escape the checklist, but being a local, I can do it all some other day. Till then hope you had enjoyed my post. My vlog would come very soon. And if you have been to NYC or have stayed there, help me where must I go next :)

I was bitten by the travel bug early and my first travel companions (like many of you) were my parents. When I used to travel domestically with my parents as a child, my dad always had this inner pocket somewhere in his shirt or trousers to keep money and often I used to find this very funny. I used to think that who would steal or why would people steal? Everyone’s busy in their own life or they seem to be in rush isn’t it? But then when you read headlines of pickpocketing in paper you know that keeping safe is better than being sorry specially when traveling.



 Traveling the world has made me aware of certain places in the world that are far from safe. For example, in metro trains in Paris, there are big warning signs on pickpocketing. An Indian tourist that I had met in Turkey told me that his wallet was pick-pocketed in Athens Greece and the Police were not cooperative as they said for them it happens everyday. In touristic spots of Italy too one has to be very aware of keeping their money safe. Although, it’s been a journey of its own kind for me, I would tell you how did I keep money safe.

So here are 10 speedy remedy to keep money safe during your travel:

1. Carry front or side facing backpacks in crowded areas: Most of us carry our backpack on our back, but it’s foolish to stuff in wallet and passport on your back because in crowded areas they simply can take it out from the back and you wouldn’t know. I remember I was staying in a hostel in Athens, and there was this girl who had the same incident where her wallet and passport was taken out in the metro train. What surprised me was she had her brother in the same compartment just a distance away but these pickpockets work in groups and they surrounded her in the crowd and someone took wallet and passport. And she had to request her mom to transfer money in her account and had to request the embassy for a new passport which was going to another 15 days so she had to stay 15 days longer. In cases like these, it’s important to keep money and passport separate in a side facing or front facing sling bag with zip (no open bags with magnets) separate from the backpack. Even if you lock the backpack, it can be broken. Also be aware when getting in or out of the metro as that’s the time when the crowd comes in or out.

2. Take out currency in separate ways: Now what I do is, usually I take part money as a currency and part money in a travel card. For example, if I am traveling to US, I would convert the Indian currency to US currency i.e Dollars and If I am traveling to regions in Europe, I would convert the Indian currency to Euro. I would use travelers card to use it for my daily travel and when and wherever travelers card are not accepted I would use the currency which is also very important to keep because not everywhere you can use Travelers Card. A lot of people do take out local currency using their debit card in international locations, but that also incurs conversion rates and you also have to search for an ATM. I have used it once in Malaysia. When coming back to India from my travel, I would convert the currency back from euro to inr.

3. Don’t carry loose money anywhere in display: There are certain pockets everywhere in the world which is not safe. For example, when taking a walk in Chicago between Greyhound Station and China Town, that stretch is very very unsafe with homeless and messy people on road. In that case, do not even attempt to flaunt money even to your friend because that might be very risky. I generally do not encourage giving money to beggars surrounded by similar looking folks, because they may forcefully demand more. It’s better to say no. Unless if they are performing and are at a good location. Also, in trains, it’s better to sleep with the money in your inside pocket than to lose it from your money casually kept in bag kept below. Also lock your belongings in train at all times to prevent random stealing.

4. Don’t carry money in Check-in bags: Carryon bags or an extra sling back is a good way to carry money in airports but don't put all your money in Check-in bags. I used to keep separate currencies in different bags splitting up which I still do with carry on or after reaching a place, but never with Check-in bags. Because recently when I flew inwards to US, they had my locks broken and also the coins that I had in my box was spread out in my check-in bag. Although nothing was lost but I would still not recommend it. Once you land in a place, you can put some amount of money in your check in and lock it. Once you reach the hotel, keep money safe in safety locker with your created passport and take out money for each day and keep in your wallet and keep it in your front pocket.

5. In case if you lose your credit card or debit card, immediately block: Credit Card or Debit cards can lead to massive transactions in a jiffy. Most of the places don’t even tally signatures. I have had my Debit card lost once and there was an immediate transaction of around 12k, by the time I had blocked it. I would suggest keeping lost card numbers handy of your bank and as soon as it gets lost, block. I would recommend carrying two cards, in case if you lost one and need another. Also take photos of your credit card and keep it with your family or with yourself in locker. Keep passport copy photo with you at all times.

6. Be aware of most used currencies: Currency Conversion Rates can go up and down and its best to use widely used currency applicable for the region. For example, if American Dollars work in Canada, use American Dollars before changing currency to Canadian Dollars. If Euros work in Switzerland, use Euros instead of Swiss Francs because these are widely used currencies and would leave you with less currency loss. You will also be able to use them in multiple locations without converting or losing currency. That’s why a lot of people do save dollars after they come back from a US trip because it can be used in other countries too. Remember in case you want to, you can always convert us dollar to inr at any time.

7. Don’t login into Internet bank websites from Cybercafes: Cyberbullies and Cyberhacking is something we hear on Internet but most of us have never faced it and so we assume it’s safe to login with your bank credentials from Cybercafes which sometimes could be not. Sometimes the cybercafes can save your passwords or can monitor your activities and hence it’s not advised.

8. Walking with your shiny purse in the middle of night, not done: Purses are favorites with pickpockets. They know women carry money and if you walking in a lonely street in the middle of night anywhere in the world, there could be people who can attack you, try to steal or even pickpocket. Do not carry purses when walking on lonely street. Avoid lonely streets. Keep it casual. If you are wearing jeans, keep a little money in your front pocket. Take a cab etc.

9. Do not disclose Financial Identity: A casual chit chat with your cab driver and a few questions blurted here there may make you flaunt a little on how well to do you are. Do not get over friendly with cab drivers and reveal Financial Identity on how much money do you have and I travel business class etc. These incidents rarely happen but might.

10. Keep Change: And last but not the least, if you are traveling within a country in local transportation, it may require you to have some change as in many countries including USA they demand exact change in bus or other local transportation. Some countries also have automated kiosks like in Italy where you have to insert in exact coins at metro stations or use a credit card. It also helps with food kiosks where exact change is required to get that bottle of coke or chips. In some places, washrooms are paid, I think it was Zurich airport where there is one paid washroom. It also helps when buying in local stores.

Thanks everyone. I hope this was helpful. And if there is any other Financial tip that I missed, feel free to comment below.

The front of the coach was 14 feet higher than the back of the coach, we were on the maximum grade of 37% inclination and was on the world’s first mountain-climbing cog railway. The moment I stood up  I could feel how slant the rail was heading towards the summit, and then I saw my seats, how could I not feel that all the while sitting. The seats were slant too and why because when the rail is steep, you are in a perfect comfortable seating. 



Engineering marvels has always fascinated me and the weekend of Columbus day was when we got an unparalleled view of mountains and valleys during peak fall foliage in New Hampshire. In fact, there were several mountains covered in deep red foliage which I had never seen before. Some were in yellow. Some in green still. The colors were magnificent in deep strong hues.

Mount Washington Summit where our rail was heading to is said to have the worst weather in the world. We were silently praying that no fog hugs us as we get down as then, we would not be able to see the spectacular panoramic view spanning the mountains and valleys of New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, north into Canada, and east to the Atlantic Ocean. At night, you can even see the glow of Boston and Montreal.



Mount Washington has earned the reputation of home to the world's worst weather due to persistent combination of bitter cold, dense fog, heavy snow , abundant ice and relentless wind. At the highest point in Northeastern US, and located at the confluence of three major storm tracks, it is walloped by weather. Mount Washington is also listed in the list of America's Top 50 scenic views.

 Mount Washington was also called Agiocochook by native americans meaning the place of the great spirits. 

Our Journey To Mount Washington

 No it wasn’t my solo trip. It was a planned trip with my friends and my beau of a very short duration of 2 days, where we covered a lot of places in White Mountains including Mount Washington. This was the route we followed on our journey of 3 days:



We had started at 1 am from New York area on Saturday and it took us 8 hours to reach the Cog Railway station that includes our 1 hour halt for breakfast. Weather wise, I would say it was comparatively clear but there were certain sections with barely any visibility due to fog where we had to drive very very slow. As we reached Nashua and above towards Lincoln, the amber color of the early morning sun paired up with dense fog was reflecting on the trees giving it a beautiful color.




 The crisp autumn of New Hampshire had always been famous and Columbus Day weekend where often peak fall foliage falls is jam packed every year. So much so that for the first time in my entire life, I saw 100% bookings a week prior. People plan this gateway for months in advance and come from several countries as we have fall foliage tracker that gives near accurate date for peak fall and if impromptu is your way of traveling, even in the form of Airbnb or Motels or Hostels, they were all booked in White Mountain region or the rare available ones were about 1.5 hours to 2 hours from the location which itself were filling up. Camping was available in a few campgrounds but it was cold to camp plus we didn't had appropriate winter gear i.e blankets, bedding etc to be used with tents .I  love booking.com for its ease on free cancellation on many hotels and after ringing a lot of individual motels and airbnb’s and various cottages and cabins which weren’t vacant, I booked with Motel 6 on booking.com which was 1 hour 40 minutes away from Lincoln.

I was continuously monitoring if there is anything that shows vacant which is nearer, luckily a day prior to my trip, 1 cottage at Holderness which was 30 minutes from Lincoln with occupancy of 5 came vacant and I booked as soon as possible cancelling my prior Motel 6.

 The best place to live in offseason or summer or early fall would be in white mountains or Bretton woods or Franconia Notch or twin mountains or Lincoln. If you go in weekdays you may find vacancy as many of the motels told us that for this weekend they have a minimum stay of 2 nights and also, Sunday - Monday was available in a rare few. However, due to peak tourist dates, the stay was twice expensive than usual.

We liked our stay in White Oak Cottages they were $210 for 4 people 2 bedroom with kitchen and it had a pond at the back, it was clean, and it had a pool in the white oak premises which we didn’t use as it was cold. We even prepared our dinner with the groceries we had collected. The motel opposite says it has breakfast but we had our breakfast next day in Lincoln.

 My Cog Rail Experience 




As we got down at the Summit from the train, cold freezing weather hit us in high wind although the view was clear. We had come unprepared with only one jacket. The hands were freezing. The view was not as clear that we could see the Atlantic Ocean but we could see long range of mountains and valleys and lakes all covered in brilliant fall colors. The change in weather from the base to the top of the mountain was drastic. We were lucky with the weather though as we weren’t kissed by fog.
Often what we see with our naked eyes are incomparable to the depth of what our cameras can capture in a short while. Short because we just had an hour to explore before we board the return rail. Short also because, I don’t know about you, but I am often conflicted on should I enjoy the place through my own eyes, or should I let my camera enjoy it more. Sometimes you just let it be. It was one of those times where colors were brighter than my eyes could reflect. It was bright red, bright yellow, bright orange and bright green. It felt like a painting. And it was everywhere. And I was overwhelmed on what to capture. 




 I had always wanted to experience the vintage steam historic locomotive cog railway in Mount Washington. However both slots of 8 am and 9 am were fully booked online. The smell of steam , the whistles of steam locomotive in chuck chuck with the colors of fall may have been way way more attractive than the eco-friendly diesel cog rail. However , the experience still was one of its kind.







Thankfully we had pre booked ticket for Diesel cog, as for that weekend, had we arrived impromptu there was no chance we could have gotten in the train before 1pm or even none. We had booked tickets 2 day prior online and it was showing few tickets for 9:30 am and then 10 , 11 , 12 were fully booked and a few slots in between till 4 was available. We chose the early slots, because usually in mountains, clouds start appearing post late afternoon.

Weather.com had predictions of rain post lunch. Here in US, due to weather changes, everyone does road trips after checking weather.com. Not checking it might be a little foolish. Sometimes there are thunderstorms, sometimes, other natural weather changes which can delay your travel, so better check it. 

 The railway is approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) long and ascends Mt. Washington's western slope beginning at an elevation of approximately 2,700 feet (820 m) above sea level and ending just short of the mountain's summit peak of 6,288 feet (1,917 m). The train ascends the mountain at 2.8 miles per hour (4.5 km/h) and descends at 4.6 mph (7.4 km/h).





It is the second steepest railway in the world after Pilatus Railway in Switzerland with an average grade of over 25% and a maximum grade of 37.41%. You can check my post on Pilatus Cog Railway here . The guys here at Mount Washington say that Switzerland was jealous of our Cog Railway which was once the steepest and hence after a few years they developed their own Steepest Cog Mountain Railway. 

 As we ascent above from the base, the view at our back starts getting bigger and better on our left. We see numerous valleys and mountains covered in fall foliage in peak fall. Hence while going up, sitting at the left side is important. But we couldn’t get left side because we reached by 9:20 with our drop off buggy that takes us from the parking to the rail station and people had occupied seats probably way before that. Arrive half an hour early to get seats specially on packed weekends.



 But we could stand up after some time, and click pictures. Note that it’ll be a little uneasy to stand up due to steepness under our feet but still me and a lot of us stood and took pictures from the view ahead. The windows can be opened from the seat.



At the back there is a staff door, do not attempt to open that, as it may lead you to a fall that would be a long drop to the bottom. As you ascend up, to the summit, we took a mental note on how the trees change and we hadn’t even gone so far.

From being bushy in fall colors to bare there was a difference and why because this region was struck with Avalanches ( 7 years back) and Hurricane Irene(5 years back) in the past that had left marks of scarring and mud slides and washed off trees.

 So as you ascend up, you would also see a moose on your left, and that moose is so sweet that it stays in the exact position on your way down. Well thats a statue of a moose, but it looks so real that I almost grabbed my camera only to be told that you would much likely see the moose on the access road that you came up this morning but wouldn’t see moose on the rocky mountain like this as the moose drinks a lot of water in a day.. When taking Road trips in New Hampshire you would see many markings with moose crossing! We weren’t as lucky to spot one live moose crossing in front of us, but still.

 Cog Railway is a little expensive but the experience is totally worth it. Steam Cog Railway are for $75. Diesel Cog Railway starts at $69. And at the prime time of 12 O’ clock we even saw the fare as $130.

There is another Notch Train that runs from North Conway to Bretton Woods that too was sold out.

 Things to do and pass by in Mount Washington Cog Railway / Mount Washington Summit 

 At the Mount Washington summit we have Sherman Adams Visitors Center, Mount Washington Observatory's Weather Museum and 1853 Tip Top House. Visitors can send a postmarked stamp from the top of Mount Washington and get their photo taken at the summit marker. It’s cold there. So wear jackets and dress in layers. There is a restaurant at the base and a coffee place at top where we got hot chocolate. There are restrooms at the summit too.



 There are three gates, A B C. It means the train sequence one after the other. The first train would be train A, second would be B and third would be C when lined up going together one after the other. For coming down, stand in the queue on your respective gate. There is no such as a visible gate but the first line would be A, then B, then C. There would be announcement on return time based on your arrival at the summit. They would call like for 9:30 train passengers please depart. I wish we had flexibility to stay more and come back by any return train but that's not there.






 There are three popular ways to reach the summit. The Mount Washington Cog Railway ascends the western slope of the mountain, the Mount Washington Auto Road climbs to the summit from the east which is a drivable road (A lot of bikers and car owners drive up this road). The mountain is popular with hikers as it passes the Appalachian trail.

The folds in the rock that you see along the auto road(about 5 miles up from Cragway Springs) are evidence of the compression of the land of tectonic plates. The force of compression folded the rocks and uplifted the land into mountains. During the winter months the auto road is closed to the public, a snowcat is the only vehicle able to transport the observatory crew up and down. The steep ice slopes and hurricane winds can make it a trip of an adventure for them.

The Cog railways runs from April till end of October and sometimes till November weather permitting. Other common activities include glider flying, and annual cycle and running races such as the Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb and Road Race.

 Where to eat? 




 The best place to eat nearby would be Munroe’s Family Restaurant (opens at 7am) in Twin Mountains which comes 20 minutes before Cog Railway Station. That's also where we had our delicious breakfast as pancakes and omelets and they also have an exciting lunch menu. I highly recommend it for both breakfast and lunch if you happen to take the train similar to our timings i.e 9:30-12:30 as there aren't many restaurants between Bretton Woods to Franconia Notch.



 Directions 

 Cog Railway station is location at Base Station Road, Bretton Woods. There is barely any Internet connectivity / network in the region. GPS however was working. But as a caution, please follow the directions as given on cog railway website as a slight deviation can take you to opposite end of the mountain.

 So how did the Cog Mountain Railway start? 

 In December 1852, a man by the name of Sylvester Harsh hiked to Mount Washington. When he went there, the weather became very very bad, and he almost died on the way back coming from the mountain. Now when he got down, he thought that there must be a better way to experience the beauty and wilderness of the mountain. so Mr. Harsh made little money in a meat packing business in Chicago and he got interested in engineering and decided the plan the railways going up the mountain and in 1853 his plan was registered. Initially he was ridiculed.. Then in next few years, they started beginning to seek investors, reviving the plan. in 1866, the construction began, took 3 years, and in 1869 made its first voyage up to the summit. There is a memorabilia of The Cog at the Marshfield Station, where the original "Old Peppersass" engine is on display.



Every activity of the running cogwheel today is tracked at the base station. They run through the summers, and in winters the employees become locomotive builders where they build locomotive, switches etc at the locomotive shop 200 yards below.

 How Does Cog Mountain Railway Work? 

 Think of it as a bicycle pedal pedaling the chain, so the chain here is called rack which we see in the middle of the track at the base and it runs all the way to the summit. As the bicycle has sprocket here they have cog which is much wider and just like in a bicycle pedal they have an engine. What engine does is it turns the cog which intern grabs the racks and that the locomotive to the mountains.60 gallons of biodiesel fuel is used in BioDiesel Cog. On the tracks there are numbers on the left and right which are very similar to the mile markers and they tell us where we are on the mountains. The numbers on the left had higher digital numbers, that meant it was main line track. The number on the right was lower digit numbers. In between our train journey, the train had stopped for our few seconds to let the engineers know that the track was lined and then we proceeded onto the main line track.





Bretton Woods : Our Red Escape



As our cog railway was coming down, we spotted a red mountain right in front of us. And each of us stared at each other? Shall we? We didn't know what place it was, but we randomly drove thereafter to places that were bushy red fall foliage. And we found Adventure Center Bretton Woods where we could zipline, take a canopy tour, lift rides and etc. Since we didn't had so much time, we just took some pictures at the hillock we walked on, and proceeded further.. However if you do have time do check them!



A lot of motels / hotels closes mid October(Oct 15) or post Columbus Day(Oct 10) only to be opened next season but some remain open.

As per Foliage report, the fall is still going to be there this week till weekend although what we saw felt like peak but one can still take a chance!

There aren't many travel videos on this region, I would be posting it very soon although it will be very short as we had very very limited time at each place. The next post is going to be about Lincoln, Franconia Notch and the iconic Kancamagus Highway!

The vacation to White Mountains region must ideally be done in 3-4 days or more to enjoy it thoroughly.