Author: nomadicnitin

South Africa in 10 days : A comprehensive, budget-friendly itinerary

Published by nomadicnitin

Quick Links: Book flights at half price – Flight hack Total Cost of travel Applying for a Visa Best Budget Airbnbs Planning a trip to South Africa? South Africa is a myriad of experiences from vibrant cities to breathtaking landscapes. I recently traveled to South Africa and here’s my guide on how to make the most of your 10-day trip to SA. Before you start planning I have mentioned all the prerequisites for the trip including air bookings, cost and car rentals. You can also find the link to the best budget Airbnbs towards the end of the blog. How to book flights to South Africa at half price ? I booked a return from New Delhi to Johannesburg for INR 35k / person. Took a Flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town for INR 5k / person and returned to Johannesburg from George airport for INR 6k / person. You can also directly book for Cape Town, however that costed nearly double the amount around INR 75k / person How to book a car on …

Stay at Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore

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I recently visited Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore, and stayed there for 4 days. This article is to help people, about how to reach and stay there, budget friendly. How to Reach Isha center in Coimbatore  If you are travelling by air, you can book an auto (uber auto) from coimbatore airport to Gandhipuram bus terminal (Auto charges : 100-130 INR). If you are travelling by bus, drop at Gandhipuram bus terminal only. There are direct buses plying from Gandhipuram bus terminal to Isha center. Price of the ticket is INR 40. Otherwise, you can always book a Cab. (For taxi booking, please contact Isha travel desk 0422-2515430 email- travel.desk@ishafoundation.org) Below mentioned link is the time-table of buses from Gandhipuram to Isha center. (copy and open in browser) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1o8zl3wRVvLvl0aI_oTDAm7xIRMQOWEJtDzDo3NvW70M/pub?hl=en&hl=en&single=true&gid=0&output=html How to book an accommodation at Isha center in Coimbatore  Basically, there are 3 types of accommodations available : Nadhi Cottages — Price is 850 INR per day. 2 people can stay in a room. 2 time meals at the bhiksha hall is included. Nalanda deluxe Cottages — …

Tirthan Valley – A quick travel guide !

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Quick Links: About Tirthan Valley Why Tirthan How to reach tirthan from Delhi/Chandigarh What to do while in tirthan Where to stay in tirthan Snowfall in Tirthan/Jalori Pass Mobile/Internet connectivity in tirthan Local Transport in tirthan Work from Mountains Video : Morning walk at tirthan Tirthan Valley is not the place for you – if you want to stroll mall roads for eating and shopping, if you want to invest your evenings hearing a live-band while sipping your favorite cocktail in a populous pub, if you get spiritless when there are less or no people around, if you crave for ice-cream parlors around the corner, OR if you want to commute in luxury buses. Don’t read further, in case you happen to fall under this genre.   About Tirthan Valley Valley : a low area of land surrounded by mountains on all sides, and tirthan is a little extra special one. Along with presenting a 360 degrees view of gigantic mountains, this valley is positioned along Tirthan river (that is where the name came from) …

Sethan – An Epitome of Peace in Himachal !

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Quick Links: My first hand experience in sethan How to reach Sethan from Delhi Where to stay in Sethan What to do while in Sethan Video : Around Sethan Video : SnowBoarding I used to locate tranquil villages in Himachal, with extremely less settlement and complying local cultures. Every single time, the motivation was – wisdom of peace and a laid-back life. No pictures were clicked, no videos were recorded and there was no mention on social media. This lasted for many years before i got involved into the enthusiastic job of travel blogging, which required me to explore more places and write about them. With this assignment now, i earn comparatively fewer opportunities to visit a few places which i truly adored once. Sethan is one such place. Most of us visit manali after spending almost 15 hours on the road (from delhi). If you devote 40 more minutes to your journey, the road will lead you to this exquisite village – Sethan, which is almost 15 kms uphill from manali and locates at …

Software Engineer’s experience staying at an Ashram in Rishikesh !

Published by nomadicnitin

Traffic Jam in the morning > Coding > Traffic Jam in the evening > Netflix > Sleep > Repeat – This is a typical day-to-day conventional routine of a software engineer laboring in a metro city in India. Unfortunately, i am also sailing in the same boat. However, being a part-time travel blogger and influencer, i tend to travel places too. That’s a sigh of relief, isn’t it ? At some point of time even while travelling, you crave for iota of me-time, some introspection of self. These thoughts had been whirling in my mind since months when i finally settled to go for a retreat at some ashram where i can meditate, learn/practice yoga and perform basic inner engineering for a few days. While searching and inquiring for an optimal ashram in Rishikesh – the yoga & meditation capital of India, i got to know, of my surprise, that it has develop into an emerging business where they charge hefty amounts and equip you with 5-star facilities. It made me re-evaluate my consideration and …

Mobile & Internet connectivity in Leh-Ladakh region

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No Mobile Network ?           How will i talk to my family. No Whatsapp ?                      How will i chat with my friends. No Instagram/Facebook ?   How will i keep my acquaintances posted : what am i upto. Not to worry anymore, Leh-Ladakh has improved a lot, with a scope ti improve, in terms of mobile coverage and internet connectivity. Since Leh was a part of Jammu&Kashmir, so as applicable under law, for security reasons, only postpaid connections from other states will work and if you are carrying a prepaid connection of other state, you can use your phone only for clicking pictures and setting alarms. Now, after article 370 got scrapped by central government, and Ladakh becomes an independent Union territory, conditions may change. I will keep you posted if prepaid connectivity gets allowed in Leh-Ladakh region. PostPaid Mobile & Internet network in Leh-Ladakh : Postpaid connections from other states as well as from Leh will work properly in most of the …

Best Stay options in Leh

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If you are reading this post, you are already planning to visit Leh. Bingo !  Below mentioned is my personal stay experience. I can also help you plan your trip only if you click here. 😉 There are a plenty of stay options in leh ranging from high star hotels to guest houses to hostels to home-stays. The ones i prefer most are the guest houses located at ‘Upper Tukcha Road‘. The area in the vicinity of this road has a lot to offer. The guest houses here maintain a good level of hygiene standards and amenities plus they offer tasty appetizing food. Also, the advantage of staying here is – you will be walking distance away from main market (mall road). The ones i personally stayed are – Raku Guest house, Mandalchan Guest house, Mangyul Guest house. When you take a exploring stroll at this road (Upper Tukcha) and in its neighborhood, you will yourself witness a lot of guest houses which you can check and book on the spot also. Tariff of these …

Leh Itinerary – precisely explained !

Published by nomadicnitin

Every person who has discern Leh visually in photos and videos, gets enthralled by its charm and desires to visit this extra beautiful and alluring high-desert city in the lap of Himalayas. But when this craving reaches its threshold, a lot of questions arise in the mind of soon-to-be-travelling individual ( You, at this time) like “how many days and work leaves are required for this trip“, ” Road trip Or is it better to directly fly to Leh“, “How to cop up with the less-oxygen atmosphere there“, “Which mobile networks work in Leh“, et-cetrea. I have traveled to Leh two times : By Road in 2013 and By Air in 2019. So i consider myself enough qualified to answer your major questions and clarify your doubts about leh and help plan your trip to this cold desert of India in a better way. Leh ‘By Road ‘ If you want to visit leh by road, i would suggest you to make a circuit route and start dreaming of it right away : Delhi > …

Pulga-Tulga-Kalga : stroll in the trio-village of Parvati Valley

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Don’t you feel uninterested and irksome about recurring and frequent mention of Kasol-Kheerganga trek from everyone who visits Parvati valley. I was also sailing in the same boat when I decided to trek Kheerganga – Once, twice, thrice to finally put a screeching halt and end the periodicity then and there. The trek is indeed beautiful and green but the summit is not that alluring. The major setback for me was immense human-traffic. Be it any season, people throng to kheerganga which makes it more commercialized and I, personally, don’t favor to visit those places anymore. Not in the mood & spirit of long trek and not in the mood to travel anywhere else other than mighty Parvati, I finally decided to explore the trio village of Kalga, Pulga and Tulga – starting from Pulga. Pulga is a small settlement of people attracting majorly hippies for its own reasons. Uniqueness of this village are the houses which are still in the same shape and of same material as they were built many years ago. I …

Bir-Billing : Paragliding Site and BackPacker’s Nest in Himachal Pradesh

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If you are thoroughly searching and keen to visit a place with pleasant weather, not very far from Delhi, some adventure, some backpacking, some trekking, some peace time, some yoga and meditation, some cycling, some cool cafes and what not – Head straight to Bir in Himachal Pradesh. Bir and Billing are two different but adjoint places in the state of Himachal Pradesh. As most of us already know, this place is famous for Paragliding (highest in India) : Billing is the Flying (take-off) site and Bir is the Landing site for Para-gliders, together it is known as Bir Billing – the Paragliding capital of India. Billing is situated at an approximate distance of 14 kms uphill from Bir. Bir is a home to many Tibetan Refugees and Monks. It has numerous magnificent  monasteries and Buddhist stupas. There are a lot of people in metro cities who practice Buddhism – Bir can be an ultimate travel destination for those people if they want to practice and experience the next level of salvation. But this place …