Tag: travelling

World’s Highest Gurdwara Trek

Jul 6th, 2024

Hemkund Sahib is the world’s highest gurdwara located at Uttrakhand, India. This vacations we get the opportunity to visit this holy place. The experience was so interesting that it encourages me to write a blog.

The thought to visit this holy place was of my son. He wants to go for trekking and also wants to go to Hemkund Sahib gurdwara. I was a little scared as it is a very tough trek. After his repeated requests we decided to visit the Gurdwara Sahib.

We booked a cab and started our journey from New Delhi to Sri Nagar Gurdwara situated at Uttrakhand. We stayed there for first night of the vacations. Next day we travelled by road and reached Gobind Ghat Gurdwara.

Both the days we travelled day long and second day rest at Gobind Ghat Gurdwara. Now was the day of trekking. The 3rd day we hired a cab which took us 4 km from Gobind ghat to the starting point of the trek.

We all were very excited and started the trekking. The trek was of 9 km. We started at 7 am in the morning. I was very tired and my son too after 4kms. Helicopter service is also available and you can go by pony also. Repeatedly asking my son that you can avail the facility of pony or helicopter but he was not ready to go by any means but by his own.We reached Gobind Dham Gurdwara by 5 pm in the evening.

It was very necessary to take rest so that we can be energised enough for the next day trek which was of 6 kms taking us to our destination HEMKUND SAHIB GURDWARA. The challenge here is due to high altitude and low oxygen levels no body is allowed to stay at GURDWARA HEMKUND SAHIB and everyone have to return back the very same day from GURDWARA HEMKUND SAHIB TO GOBIND DHAM.

This means we have to trek for 6+6=12 kms.

I was very scared and excited at the same time. We left our hotel room by 6 in the morning and took a pony each for 3 km trek after which the glaciers started and we have to go trekking by our own.

The experience can’t be expressed in words. We reached the GURDWARA HEMKUND SAHIB by 11 am and after bowing down before the almighty stayed inside the Gurdwara Sahib till 12:30 pm listening Gurbani.

The helpers of the Gurdwara Sahib announced the weather conditions are changing please leave for GURDWARA GOBIND DHAM. We left there and then. After we trek for 3 kms which was the glaciers part. We should have taken the pony again but we didn’t. This was the big mistake by us. It took so long to reach back and we were so tired. My legs were paining like anything. We reached Gobind dham 7 pm. I was unable to take a single step.

We reached our hotel had dinner and slept. Next day we have to go back from GOBIND DHAM TO GOBIND GHAT GURDWARA for which we took a pony each because we were unable to walk.

We started 11 am in the morning and reached GURDWARA GOBIND GHAT 4 PM.

It was a challenging experience though worth it. Now when I am writing this blog thinking as if it was really a dream.

6th Day morning we left for Gurdwara Rishikesh. After day long journey stayed there for a night and seventh day reached our home town New Delhi.

This was an experience which I will never forget my whole life.

Stay happy Stay healthy.

Ramneet Kaur
Visit to Golden Temple

Oct 16th, 2023

Above image which you are seeing is of Golden Temple, which is also known as Darbar Sahib. It is situated in Amritsar, Punjab, India. I recently visited it with family. Though we try to visit here every year. But this year, we were more happy that we had the privilege to bow down to Guru Granth Sahib ji, Sikh’s present Guru in the Gurudwara twice. At the time of evening prayer i.e. rehraas Sahib and early morning.

The experience this time was so amazing.

We chose weekdays this time instead of weekends to visit here. There are lakhs of devotees who visit here on holidays and weekends. We enjoy listening to gurbani. The atmosphere was so divine. Specially inside the Darbar Sahib.

You can easily come here through flight, train and by road also. It’s approx 500 kms from Delhi. It’s a foodies paradise. You can enjoy a variety of delicacies here. For vegetarian food you can visit Bhrawan da dhaba and Kesar da dhaba. And for non-veg food visit Makhan restaurant.

There is a famous aam papad (dried mango pulp coated with some spices) shop. They also sell mouth freshners. The name of the shop is Lubhaya Ram in Laurence Road, Amritsar. You can also visit here and buy some aam papad.

There is another Gurdwara situated near Golden Temple named Guru Ka Mehal. We visited there too. The whole experience was so so good. We were very much satisfied and happy with our visit to Amritsar.

You too should visit this divine place when you come to India and feel the vibes.

Ramneet Kaur
Vacations with Family

Jul 6th, 2022

This summer we went twice for vacations. Both the vacations we make memories. It’s good to have more family members to come along and have fun. It makes relations strong. The experiences and happiness shared along the journey is remembered throughout your life. You may sometimes forget but your family will remind you the things that you come across in the journey. You feel good about it.

We reached our destination by road. The journey was filled with happiness. All were happy to be together. Sometimes, no matter where we are going, if we are with right people it’s enough. The purpose is to be happy and spread happiness. Things that we do during our journey are memories we cherish throughout our lifetime.

It’s not that we enjoy less with friends. But with family we are more responsible, protective and at the same time having fun. We all pack food and drinks with us. It not only make us share things but also teach our children, the future of the country, how sharing and caring go hand in hand.

The destination was 6 hours away, but it took 9 to complete due to traffic and due to stoppage for refreshment and freshen up. The smiles, the laughter everything is captured in our mind though we also click pictures too. Looking forward to more trips like this one in future.

Ramneet Kaur
Journey on a plane

Jun 28th, 2022

We all might have travelled from one place to another on plane. I also travelled many times. Sometimes we enjoy, another time not. We demand something or the other when we are boarding on plane. We always think, we have paid the airlines money, we must avail all the facilities provided by the airline. We just press a button and one of the crew member within a few seconds is at our service, as if, we have rubbed Alladin’s lamp and a genie appears in front of us asking ‘ kya hukum hai mere aakka’ ( how can I help you). Then we ask sometimes for drinks, AC etc.

Recently I have the pleasure to go on vacation and while travelling I also like any other passenger was cursing the airline, this is not good, that is bad, comparing with other airlines. I was excited to reach the destination and nothing other than that came in my mind. Reached there, enjoyed the vacation and while coming back through same airline my thought process totally changed.

The AC was off, everyone was annoyed and asking to turn on the AC. One of the crew member came and said AC will be turned on once the plane take off. I was also feeling hot but stayed silent. One passenger from my behind said ” They are not switching on the AC will they give us refreshment also or not?”. I was thinking how stressful it is to calm down the passengers, no doubt passengers were also right. All this was being handled by one of stewards on the plane.

The plane took off well, passenger behind my seat was boarding on plane for the first time, he remembered God. Our plane’s captain was a female. I don’t know why I was happy to know this. I silently wish all the best to the female captain in my mind and slept. When I woke up, it was 4 o’ clock in morning and we reached at airport before scheduled time. The landing was also smooth. All the passengers including me were waiting for the doors of the plane to open so that we can exit. While coming out I saw the captain of the plane. In white uniform she was looking fab. She was in a hurry, took her baggage and exit just before me.

Driving a car might be easier than flying a plane I am sure. While driving a car,daily going through same route you become aware: where the speed breakers are, when you will approch a traffic signal, you can stop by the side, you are grounded, doing nothing against gravity. On the other hand, inspite of being on same route pilot don’t know when the plane has to go though thick clouds. Each day is new and unpredictable. And if the passengers are not happy with the services you just have one choice- to calm them. The training which crew members get is maybe more about how to be mentally prepared for any unforseen circumstances, how to remain calm if they have irritating passengers on board etc. All these thoughts in my mind made me silent and to respect the profession of a Pilot and crew members. A big thank you to the Captain of our plane.

This blog is very much in layman format describing the true journey on a plane. Hope you enjoyed reading it.

Ramneet Kaur
Believe in God

Nov 7th, 2021

Do you believe in God? I do. It is the best and more trustworthy method to find peace of mind, which most of us are finding, by downloading an app or by paying handsome amount to rejuvenate. When we believe in God our outlook changes altogether to see life from different perspective. We not only find happiness within ourselves but feel happy to make others happy too. We are more happy with what we have and are satisfied. Riches are everyone’s desire but it should not cost your peace of mind.

Visit to a historical place, religious travels cleanses our soul. Running after money all the time gives so much stress, anxiety, diseases that we have to spend handsome amount to get relieved, healthy. Travelling to a holy place not only makes us know that place but provide us it’s positivity too. Some people don’t believe in God, may be they think that they are the source of their happiness and God don’t have a role in their lives. But it’s not true at all, the word ‘KARMA’ says it all, what you will sow, you will reap. If your nature reflects jealousy, ego, anger, arrogance that means you are not enlightened soul and needs God’s guidance.

When you do something wrong or hurt anyone intentionally. It’s denotes your Karma and the consequences will be accordingly. Those who have fear of God, believe in God never attempt these deeds. Rather they are kind, humble, helpful and down to earth souls. Be it any religion or any God we worship, we are never taught to hate anyone, we are not taught to harm anyone. So I wonder about the people who don’t worship or believe any God, never been to holy place to worship. I wonder what restrain them to do so. We can cleanse our body but to cleanse our mind and soul we need to worship the Lord.

One should be patient when someone hurt them. Leave it to God to do the justice. Believe that you will always win. Sometimes we wish one thing, but Lord give us in abundance and this is his way of pouring the love on us. We must always be thankful to God. When we trust the almighty it strengthens us. No matter what we be through, it gives us courage and motivation that God will help us and enlighten our lives. We and whole world is creation of God. The purpose of our existence is only known to him.

When we think practically, we think in monetary terms, like how much profit we will gain, how much to invest to fetch handsome return and emotions takes a backseat. When we think emotionally we are are least bother about any gains but want to win a relation. When we think spiritually, we become children of God and surrender in front of him. When we are in party mood we forget everything and gets indulge in drinking, casino, we see a new world where everyone is happy and enjoying, but overindulgence is bad.

It’s not that those who believe in God never party, we do but our way of celebrating is somewhat different. We include presence of God in each our celebrations, because he is the reason for our celebrations, how can we forget him. In Gurbani its said: ਸੋ ਕਿਉਂ ਵਿਸਰੇ ਜਿਨ ਸਭ ਕਿਛੁ ਦੀਆਂ। English Translation: Why to forget the almighty who has given us everything. Likewise we never forget him in sorrow so that we gets strength to face this situation too.

We have seen many times Doctors failed and lives of patients saved by a miracle. What this miracle shows, it shows that there is a power or force which is over and above man’s intelligence. We have seen doctors find themselves helpless in this pandemic. The situation was worsening in many parts of the world, we have seen videos of doctors who were worshiping God for help. We can’t deny and will always be thankful to doctors and medical staff who worked day and night to save lives of people without bothering about their lives. Their reaserch gave us life saving vaccines, they are still working on children vaccine. Those who believe in God saved lives of others, the kindness, humanity, helpful nature which each religion possesses works for us.

We should always visit holy places to get vaccinated against hate, jealousy, wrong deeds, anger. Pay our respect there and again go for booster shots if needed. But as pandemic is still not ended, should always wear mask, maintain social distance and clean your hands.

Ramneet Kaur
Road Trip

Sep 7th, 2021

Have you been on a road trip? If yes then, how you feel about it? Do you feel more tired or you enjoy? Everyone of us have been to a road trip, I don’t think there is anyone of us who don’t have been on it. The difference is that how each one of us feel after a road trip. I enjoy road trips, despite tiredness. Occasional travellers find road trips more exciting than frequent travellers.

I recently been on road trip after so long and enjoyed it. Planning of road trip was done,all the essentials were taken. Excitement was on peak. The journey and destination both were beautiful. We reached our destination after 7 hours and after rest whole day, started our sightseeing trip for whole day very next day. We visited many places and reached our hotel in the evening.

Do’s and Don’t on road trip. 1. Try to take some light eatables with you so that you don’t have to take breaks again and again in between your journey. 2. Have enough water with you, you don’t know when and how far you will find a shop to buy a bottle of water. 3. Stop when your car needs to cool down. 4. Keep your valuables safe. 5. If you are travelling with kids, then stopage should be kids friendly. 6. Be aware and informed about good family restaurants available in between your journey. 7. Also be informed about fuel ( petrol/diesel/ cng) filling stations.

You can explore the places according to your wish on road trip and according to your convenience. The more you explore by your own, the more you know about it. The words can’t explain, what is felt while you are on road trip. Go on road trip to experience the fun.

Ramneet Kaur
Travelling

Jul 23rd, 2021
Travelling is one thing I enjoy the most. Visited many countries till now. Eager to visit many more. When you travel different countries you come to know about people’s lifestyle, their food, culture and much more. You can think openly. The moment you make a plan to visit certain place, you find how to reach there, the mode to travel, the accomodation to book, make a list of places to visit, what type of cloths you will carry and much more.

At some places you have language problem, so a translator or guide accompany you and tell you the history about it and more. When you travel domestic places you need not to worry much. Because you are fimilar with weather conditions, lifestyle. But when you visit abroad, you have to do your homework and act accordingly.

Travelling becomes fun when you are with group of people. We travelled abroad mostly with family groups and enjoyed a lot. The best part about family group is that not only you enjoy their company,you feel safe if some emergency occurs, the journey becomes more interesting and memories are made.
You feel fresh and enthusiastic whenever you travel to a new place. We always buy a souvenir wherever we go. Things have become much easier now as we are provided with packages to travel abroad by travel companies with itenary of our choice in our budget. Though due to covid not all countries are open to travel. Each and every country have their own covid norms and conditions to fulfill.

Travelling is exploring . And I love to explore the world.

Ramneet Kaur