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Ladakh - Planning The Trip

Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out!  Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, thoug...
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Memories of 2013 - Books, Reviews and so much more!

How can I think of wrapping up the 2013 retrospective without talking about books? This has been a year when I have (sort of) caught up with my reading. I have never, ever, been without a book in my hand. But, over the years, my reading had reduced, and recently, had been restricted to reading for Samhith, and thanks to buying more books for him, I have bought fewer for myself. The change began some time in 2012, but 2013 upped the pace. I began receiving more books for reviewing, till, eventually, I had to refuse some, since I didn't have enough time to read! It has been an interesting journey, reading books I probably wouldn't have bought, reading authors I had never heard of, genres I would tend to avoid, and in the process, re-discovering the love I have for the written word.




I can not mention books without mentioning #TSBC. For those of you who are wondering what that is, it is 'The Sunday Book Club' - a group on twitter, which tweets with the hashtag 'TSBC', and talks about, well, obviously, books! One of the founders is a dear friend, Sudha Ganapathy, and though I haven't been as enthusiastic a participant as I would like to be, TSBC has certainly led to me reading a lot more, and, more importantly, connecting to like minded people, who read just as much, or more, than I do! And yes, this year, I have also met some of these wonderful people!

With the #TSBC gang at Krishna Udayasankar's reading of the second book in her Aryavarta Chronicles series - Kaurava


Taking part in the #TSBC Book Exchange brought me some wonderful books, and sending off books to someone I didn't know was a wonderful experience too. After all, what can be more fun than picking out books for someone!!

These were the wonderful books I got from my secret book giver, through the TSBC Book Exchange! And they also sent me some lovely postcards! 

Meanwhile, this year, I was interviewed, for the very first time, by Fablery.com! interestingly, it wasnt as a Travel Blogger, but as a Book Reviewer, that I gained this fame!!! Makes me wonder - should I switch to blogging full time about books instead? What do you think? 

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Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 31, 2013 at 8:24 PM

    Per my opinion,traveling and books complement each other. For instead, I can't imagine to travel without carrying Ruskin bond' books.

    Regards
    Rachit

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarDecember 31, 2013 at 8:35 PM

      Thank you, Rachit, but travel and books cant be said to complement each other. while reading while travelling is always an interesting way to spend the time, I am sure there are many others who dont feel the same, as for me, i can never stay long without a book in my hand, travel or not. and also, as far as Ruskin bond books go, i have read and enjoyed many, but i prefer books which will last me through the trip. else i will have to carry a library along :D

      Delete
  2. UnknownJanuary 1, 2014 at 4:01 AM

    Sweet memories, Indeed! Have a great year ahead :)

    ReplyDelete

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