Trip to Heaven

 Tsomgo Lake, Sikkim

Sikkim, Kalimpong and Darjeeling

Our journey to Sikkim, Kalimpong and Darjeeling started from Delhi. Nearest airport to all these places is Bagdogra airport. We reached Bagdogra airport around 3:30 pm, drive from Bagdogra airport to Sikkim capital Gangtok took around 4hrs. We had pre-booked all our stays. I was pleasantly surprised when the hotel members greeted us and told us that they were waiting for us. Another surprise was the hotel was run by women only. One lady helped us with our luggage. Very sweet people, God bless them . 
 
 

Sikkim Authentic Chicken Momos 

Early morning we got ready to go to the extreme side of Sikkim near China border. Only big cars, jeeps or SUVs are allowed on those roads. It took around 3 hours to reach the extreme point where we were allowed to go with a special Government permit. Roads are steep, rough and at times dangerous but worth it. One unique thing I observed was mountains on one side of the road are covered with snow and the ones on the other side are rocked and rough. We stopped at a village for lunch. People are very warm and sweet. Villagers have opened shops in their small houses, their own kitchens are used for making food for travellers also. As we proceed further, the view became more and more beautiful and breathtaking. Being surrounded by beautiful  mountains covered with snow I wondered myself Is this heaven? Does heaven look like this?
 

 

Sikkim Exotic Flowers 

Tsomgo Lake of Sikkim

The famous Tsomgo Lake of Sikkim... It is sooooo beautiful , it looks like a lake in heaven. No kidding! During winter the entire lake freezes adding more shine and beauty to the lake and its surrounding. While enjoying the view of this beautiful lake, I felt some dry drops on me. For a moment I thought it was raining , later I saw white tiny balls... It was snowfall! Experiencing snowfall for the first time... Amazing!!! 

 

Way to Sikkim-China Border 

 Shivji far at the hill of Sikkim

From Gangtok we went to Kalimpong. We enjoyed our road trip, views kept changing from time to time, from river flowing beside us to uniformed tall trees standing straight and still... Every moment excited us. One of the best views was Triveni Sangam where three mountains and two rivers meet.  Roads are tiny yet beautiful in Kalimpong. I have seen many monasteries in and outside India, but the one I saw in Kalimpong is the best. From Kalimpong we went to Darjeeling. Again the road trip was awesome with beautiful views throughout the journey. We all know Darjeeling is famous for Darjeeling Tea. Happiness is going to the real Darjeeling Tea Gardens, having  freshly brewed original Darjeeling tea sitting near the tea garden. But for me the best experience was watching early morning sunrise from Tiger Hill. Sun ray then reflects on Mt. Kanchenjunga. It looks like God Himself is evolving from behind the mountains and showering blessings on Mother Earth.  I could die for this experience. No more words. 

Darjeeling Tea Garden

Sunrise at Tiger Hill Darjeeling

Beautiful Trees - Sikkim to Kalimpong Road

Monastery at Kalimpong

Triveni Sangam, Kalimpong

Solo Trip to Pattaya

 The Sanctuary Of Truth

Travel to Pattaya

Why I like Thailand??? Reasons are many. First reason would be... I looooove Thai food. I love beaches and there are many beautiful beaches in Thailand. Things are so cheap in Thailand... I am mostly talking about food, dresses and travel. And not to miss... I find it a very safe country for women. 

 

I did not stay in a luxury hotel in Pattaya. Hotels are much more cheaper in Thailand as compared to many other countries including India. But this time, a friend suggested me to stay in a hostel. She told me about a hostel which is near Pattaya beach. I didn't take much time in enquiring about it, and booked a room for myself with female-only roommates . I reached Pattaya around 10:30 at night, reached hostel in no time. I was surprised to see the hospitality of the hostel owner. She was very sweet. Rooms were spotless clean. I took an ac room , where my Nigerian roommate was waiting for me. She was also a solo traveler like me. We didn't talk much as we both were very tired. I took a shower and went off to sleep. 

Explore Pattaya Beaches

Before every travel I normally do my rough homework, I list down the places I want to visit as per recommendations and reviews given by real people in internet. I avoid seeing pictures available in internet, they are mostly high resolution pictures taken by expert photographers, there are chances that the pictures turn out to be much more beautiful than the original places. And you don't want to disappoint yourself, right? I don't set any expectation, my plan is simple... go and see the places yourself, enjoy the moments. I hired a scooter and told the rider to take me to the places I have listed down . He first took me to Pattaya Beach where I had breakfast. I loved the coffee... Very strong and creamy. I didn't spend much time at Pattaya Beach, I told the rider I will spend the evening there. Then he took me to Walking street which I should visit at night but I had a late night flight. The place reminded me of Goa. Then I went to Jomtien Beach, it was more peaceful and beautiful than Pattaya Beach. Pattaya Beach was like one of those crowded North Goa beaches, Jomtien Beach was like one of those untouched quiet South Goa beaches. 

Jomtien Beach 

After spending some quiet time at Jomtien Beach I went to the Big Buddha temple which is at the top of a hill. There was a huge and extremely beautiful Buddha statue. I enjoyed the two-wheeler ride to the hills something I don't get to enjoy in India. After this I headed to the famous floating market. I can spend the entire day here. I love everything about this place... the boats which sell everything from food to flowers to dresses, the well maintained tiny bridges, shops on land which sell stuff starting from THB 10. I pampered myself with a fish spa which I did for the first time. 100s of tiny fishes enjoyed eating my dead skin, they attacked my feet as if they were hungry for ages. Initially it was very tickling but it was complete fun. 

The Big Buddha Temple

Steps to the Big Buddha Temple

 Pattaya Floating Market

Lady selling Indian Food

Live Performance and Food at Floating Market

The final point I planned to go was The Sanctuary Of Truth. It is one of the top most beautiful places I have ever seen. It's a beautiful Hindu temple made of wood and wood only. The silent beach next to this place adds to the beauty of this place. Fragrance of plumeria filled the air, I could sit there forever and enjoy the view of the gigantic temple and the silent beach. I have never seen such a serene beach. I left the place after spending some good time alone with a promise that I would come back.

  Golden Tree at The Sanctuary of Truth

 

Beach near Santuary of Truth 

View of Santuary of Truth from the beach

Way to Sanctuary of Truth

Ill Effects of Excess Use of Social Networking Sites to Children

The popularity of the social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter has increased rapidly among children. The negative effects of these social networking sites overweigh the positive ones. Children become victims of social networks more often than anyone else. This is because they get attracted to these sites to kill the boredom in their study time, diverting their attention from their work. Ill Effects of Excess Use of Social Networking Sites to Children include:

Reduced learning and thinking capabilities 

Nowadays with easy access to social networking sites Children rely on information easily available on these sites. They become lazy and tend to show no value and respect to hard work. These habits reduce their learning and thinking capabilities.


Poor Academic performance

Children get involved in social media activities so much that they do not give adequate time to their studies which result in poor academic performance.

No physical activities

Since children are engrossed in social media sites, most of the time they are sitting at one place. This results in no out-door physical activities/games/sports. This ultimately results in cases of child obesity and other health related issues.

Reduced contact with real world

Children are so engrossed in the virtual world of social media, they spend less time with family and friends. This results in poor communication and inter-personal skills resulting in poor real world socializing qualities. Children become weak and introvert.

Addiction

Some children get addicted to social media. They will frequently post pictures/videos in these sites. These children get into depression if their pictures/videos do not receive likes/comments. This is a major psychological disorder.

Character of children are affected

Children should learn good habits and gain knowledge to become a person with moral character. With the trend of showing off in social media, children become spoiled, they stop valuing both living and non-living things. This affects the overall character of the child.

What should be done?

Considering all these ill effects, it is necessary to develop certain regulations over the use of social networking sites, especially for children. Children should get the choice to spend time socializing  in social networking sites in an effective way. But it should not hamper their school or college performance, it should not spoil them or drag them into bad habits. Children should be advised that social networking sites create virtual worlds which is completely different from real world.

Parents, closed family members and teachers should play a vital role in protecting children from becoming prey to social media.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

Someone said ... Men are from Mars, women are from Venus. Someone said it so right .

Jazz and Jamie got to know each other through their common friends. Both Jazz and Jamie are single and ready to mingle. Their first meeting went so well that they decided to go on a date . They went for a couple of dates. Then one evening Jazz told Jamie... I want to spend rest of my life with you, will you? Jamie said Yes.

Love affair started between Jazz and Jamie. Things are beautiful between them, Jazz turns out to be quite romantic which pleasantly surprised Jamie. They would make sure that they spend most of their time together. Things are getting serious between them. They both introduced each other to their respective families, everyone is happy, everyone wants to see them getting married. Then one day Jazz proposed Jamie for a live-in relationship. Jamie wholeheartedly said Yes. But God has a separate plan for them. Jamie moved to another country for work. Will their long distance relationship work?

Things are not same anymore. They don’t talk much, their romance died very young. Earlier, it was Jazz who was more keen to marry Jamie, but now he does not want to talk about marriage. He told Jamie that he wants to have a live-in relationship before thinking about marriage. But he does not want her to leave her job, compromise with her career. Jamie is thankful that Jazz is very understanding when it comes to her career. But she didn’t know that live-in relationship was a crucial factor for their relationship to take to next level. She gets another blow when Jazz expresses his point that according to him they are not in a relationship as neither they live together nor things are official between them. Jazz told Jamie… There is no “Us”. Jamie wonders herself… No marriage, no relationship, no romance, no spark… no “Us”… Is this love???