Into the Nature

Frozen Gosainkunda

Gosainkunda is a sacred Hindu and Buddhist religious site. I am not aware of Buddhist mythologies and inscriptions but many  Hindu mythologies attribute Gosainkunda as the abode of Hindu deities Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.  Many Hindu Puranas and epics like Ramayan and Mahabharat refer to Samundra   Manthan, which is directly related to the origin of Gosainkunda. Its holy water is considered of particular significance during Gangadashahara, which takes place in Jestha (the second month of the Nepali Calendar) and the sacred thread festival Janai Purnima, in Bhadra (the fifth month of the Nepali Calendar) when thousands of Hindu pilgrims visit the area. Gosainkunda is believed to have formed from the digging of the land by the Trishul of Lord Shiva after he drank the poison from Samundra Manthan and desperately wanted cold water to quench the overwhelming heat.

Gosainkunda is not only famous for religious purposes but also is one of the most attractive trekking routes for tourists visiting Nepal. It attracts tourists with its natural beauty and diversity. It falls under the Langtang National Park, which is also the habitat of the most endangered Red Panda.

Rafting Down The Blue... Oops! Grey Trishuli!

Trishuli River

Goa Fun!

Day 6 (2^nd October 2011) Sunday

Early Morning Train to Goa

We had great days in Mumbai. It was a lifetime experience for me. And the next chapter was about to begin, Goa. Had heard a lot but never had a chance to visit Goa earlier. I was excited a lot. We took an early morning train to Goa from CST, Mumbai.  I had thought that we would be able to see the sea all day long on the way to Goa because as per the map Goa is just at another end of the Arabian Sea from Mumbai. Contrary to this we happened to see the mountains and our train passed through numerous tunnels until we reached Goa. Truly saying my excitement was slowly going down as the train was passing through those dark, dusty tunnels.
 I was

Colva Beach

not liking the tunnel experience, dark, dusty and smelly tunnels. I must have felt such because we were travelling in Sleeper Class this time. Windows remained open all the time. Here I would like to request one thing from all passengers who travel by Train, not to throw waste and rubbish from the window. All of them were throwing the waste, plastics, and leftovers from the windows. I think only two of us were putting everything in a plastic bag so that we could bin it afterwards. The railway tracks looked so polluted due to all those plastic bags, wrappers and styrofoam plates.

Mumbai Diary

Day 1 (27-9-2011), Tuesday

It was 4:30 PM; hurriedly I left the office and headed home with my husband, where we had our backpack ready by last night. I and my husband ate some food, carried our backpack and left for Bhairahawa, from where we were supposed to take a rickshaw up to Sunauli then 3 hours car ride and finally to Gorakhpur Junction. Though it was a hectic schedule, I was excited about the train journey which I was about to experience the following day for the first time in my life. We boarded the bus from Gongabu bus station at about 8:30PM; it took about 12 hours to reach Bhairahawa bus station.