Spices Indiaaaaa [24/8 - 13/9/2016]
Hye readers! How are you? Its been awhile kan? Travel to New Zealand pun x sempat lagi nak update and blog.
Takpelah I update trip India dulu sbb trip NZ byk kisah pahit
Spices North India
Travel Date: 24/8 - 13/9/2016
Duration : 20 days
Destination: New Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Jaisalmer - New Delhi - Leh Ladakh - Manali - Delhi
**I bought already tix flight to Srinagar kashmir, but decided to cancel it due to curfew and politic war there (burn rm200) *nangis*
Day 1 (24/8)
1900 - 2200pm Kul - Del
2300pm Paharganj
0300am Off to Agra
My epic first day in Delhi. Everything was fine from flight, took metro airport train station until metro Delhi station. Oh the Metro fare is quite cheap. 60rupees only. So when we reached outside the Metro Delhi..wow it was so shock. The alley is so dark and many people sleep at the road. As far as my research, Paharganj is only walk-distance from the Metro. But when we asked people they either dont know or wanna bring us. Until we at the New Delhi Railway Station, there is one guy said that the paharganj closed due to voting election. We dont know if this is true or scam (well you know India is famous with scamming). But he said try take government autorickshaw and just give it a try to enter the paharganj. He even showed his tag name that show he is part of government. We agreed on that idea. So when we enter near paharganj, the road is blocking and came this one guy said we cant enter. He suggested us to go Government Tourist Information Centre. He said that they will help us. So with blur mind...we went to that place. Came this Kashmirian guy offer us to seat. He said its true that paharganj is closed and india is very unpredictable. We ask where we can find a budget hostel for a night so that in morning we can figure the next plan. He said its very difficult and you only can get 4 star hotel that expensive. Then he started to asked us many question about our jurney planning. He even recommend his planning for us with a price! (Dalam hati sah ni jual pakej). We aint agree and get out from the office. We were so tired at that time. Sleepless, jetlagged and heavy backpack. So we ask the autorickshaw bring us to railwaystation or bus station, but he firmly said that you cant enter those place if you dont have the tickets. He then bring us to out Tourist Information Centre. Same as the previous information centre, he offer a package. I ask if he can help us on buying train station or bus station. he said he cannot unless you buy his package. The price was much higher than the previous. So we decided to go back at the first place. We try to negotiate and reroute our plan.
Our Original Plan
Delhi - Jaisalmer -Jaipur - Agra - Delhi - Leh - Manali - delhi
New Plan
Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Jaisalmer - Delhi - Leh - Manali - Delhi
He offers his package 7 days started from Delhi with ticket flight to Leh. The package is 31,000 rupees (around rm1500). We were so lost and tired that night, We just want to move on. So we agreed. After we pay everything, i saw all the guys that we've been seeing started from border paharganj until the second tourist centre guys were all gather up at the infront of the office. OHEMGEYYY this is so a big SCAM!! Well done guys. pfft. At 3 am the driver that will bring us to Agra arrived. 3 hours jurney to Agra. Sleep in the car with heavy heart and mind.
Day 2 (25/8)
0600 am Reached Agra
0630 am Enter Taj Mahal
0830 am Check in Hotel
1100 am Brunch at Grean Leaf (Beriyani sedap)
1230 pm Rest and sleep
1900 pm Dinner Maggi only
So finally we reached Agra. I'm really not in the mood to see one of the wonders of the world..but i dont want to ruin the programme. Woke up and applied some face compact powder, lipstick and spray some perfume. Got out from the car and start walking towards the entrance of Taj Mahal. Along the way you can see a lil bit of renovations going on and monkeys staring at you. In front of entrance, you will be separated by gender. After bought the tickets, you need to go through the security check. No bags are allowed. No sweets. No water. No monopod. After that then you are allowed to continue your jurney to Taj Mahal.
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| First glance of the magnificent Taj Mahal |
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| Muka wajib happy tersenyum walaupun lapar teruk dan tak mandi lagi |
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| Selfie with Taj Mahal is a MUST! |
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| This is the cover shoes that need to wear if you dont want to barefoot inside the Taj Mahal |
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| Always bring my SOUL with me. My family! |
To be inside the TAJ Mahal, you are required to wear plastic wrap that gonna cover your shoes..or else just ber-kaki ayam sahaja. Bare in mind that everything in India is that if you take some service, you need to pay tips. If you take some tour guide to explain about history of Taj Mahal..be ready to give tips.
So after taking enough photos, we were so tired and smelly. The sun is also getting hotter. Oh yeah I really recommend you guys to enter and see Taj Mahal in early morning (sunrise) and sunset. This is because normally the tourist with buses and locals will usually come after 10am. I can see myself when we were about to exit out of Taj Mahal, the people started to increase.
Be careful of your belongings when you exit out. Many sellers and kids try to approach to buy their fake lousy products and ask for money. If you really want to buy, try to negotiate half of the price. The will give in due to desperate to sell the items. Bought one irp50 snow balled taj mahal india (well the plastic cracked when i open in malaysia..huuhuu)
Then right away, our driver bring us to our hotel and we checked in. Since we are also very hungry, we just take a shower and going out again to eat our brunch. The driver brought us at this reasonable restaurant. OMG the briyani mutton there is so delicious. Among the best briyani in all the jurney in India that i tasted. Highly recommended! Since our driver also getting sick and fever, we decided to just go back to the hotel and rest until tomorrow. Thank God i brought maggi..so maggi for dinner then :)
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| Sumpah Sedap Mutton Briyani! The best!!! |
Day 3 (26/8)
0830 am Checked out
0900 am Agra Fort
0930 am Agra to Jaipur (4 hours)
1330 pm Jaipur - Check in & Rest
1600 pm Amber Palace + Jawa Mahal
1800 pm Saree Factory
2000 pm Dinner & bollywood dance
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| Agra Fort! |
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| Saw this outside the Red Fort. Cuba teka berapa ramai dalam Autorickshaw ni? Punyalah padat dalam tu. |
We checked out from the hotel and visit Agra Fort (just at the outside). Since we are still broke at the moment we decided not to enter the fort. I cant remember how much is the entrance fee. The driver said we can draw the money on the way to Jaipur. After that, we continue our jurney to jaipur. Jaipur is at Rajasthan. Rajasthan is India's largest state by area. Rajasthan literally means "Land of the King". And I'm telling you guys that I AM FALLING IN LOVE WITH RAJASHTAN. It just bring to your fairy tale. Majestic Kingdom, Beautiful Palace, Arts and History.
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| On the way to Jaipur and we saw a group of Sheep! |
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| Hello Rajashtan! |
Finally after 4hours with the same music that our driver played, we arrived at Jaipur. Yeaayy! It less crowded like Delhi and Agra. After we checked in and rest, we went to Amber Palace. But before that we went to a few ATM to draw money. The problem is the system is different and no one can speak english. After 2 ATM's that we tried, finally the third one we succeed to draw money so that we can save our jurney until the end. Bare in mind we still have 17days to survive! Fuuhh. So with a good mood, we climb the hill and stairs until the entrance of Amber Palace. Its beautiful! And you know what, this is exactly the place they shoot for Bajirao Mastani. Back then, the king will ride with elephant to enter the Palace from the ground.
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| Amber Fort |
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| Dpn tu tempat juat tiket masuk ke dalam. |
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| Fefiling Princess. hehehe |
We take photos and have luxury lassi at the palace restaurant. This restaurant place at the top of palace. We afraid that the food are very expensive due to the extravagant decoration inside the restaurant but however the lassi is reasonable price for us and why not ince in a blue moon we feel like a queen. Inside the restaurant they have the pictures of Bill Clinton and all the famous people that had dine in this restaurant, Sorry but I cant remember the name of the restaurant. After having a refreshing lassi, we went back down to our car.
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| The place the we had our luxury lassi. The portrait is the picture of the King. |
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| Be careful. Ada banyak monyet liar disini. nasib sis dah biasa sbb UUM ada bayak binatang ni. |
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| cantik tak pintu besar gedabak ni? seriusly huge. It is a door entry to the inside of the fort. You cant enter if you dont buy the ticket. |
Next place is Jal Mahal. This is quite disappointing because there is not much attraction and full of sampah. We even saw babi hutan! So Jal Mahal means "Water Palace" which is a palace located in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake in Jaipur city. We just take a few photo and move on to Saree factory.
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| Jal Mahal with a kid wearing traditional clothing |
Well actually the Saree Factory is near with our hotel. They show us all various of saree, pashminas, shawls. drapes and bed cover. Being a girl I'm eyeing one saree to bring back to Malaysia as souvenier. Not sure if its a good idea to spend now. huhuu. Tapi nafsu shopping dah datang and i bought one saree.
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| saje try ;p |
Then we rush to have our dinner. The restaurant is clean and have band playing bollywood music and they have the dancer too. So once i enter the restaurant, i heard Maan song. Cant stop singing and humming even while i'm eating. hehe. So we having the very superb curry and bread that night. Perut pun dah kenyang, hati pun gembira. The dancer grab me and ask me to follow her to dance. hell yeah bring it on! sis pun gelek2 hindustan sikit. kikiki. A good memory though!
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| The best! It is the Royal Non-Vege Thali. The best curry too. Sampai esok bau kari masih ada kat tangan. |
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| One selfie with the entertainer for the night. Oh i really love their music! |
Heading back and have a good sleep. Tomorrow is another day to explore Jaipur and then off to Jaisalmer.
Day 4 (27/8)
0730 am Breakfast
1000 am Checked out.
1030 am Hawa Mahal + City Palace
1300 pm Off to Jaipur Train Station
1600 pm Jaipur to Jaisalmer (12hours)
After having a breakfast, we packing and checked out. The driver just parked at the center of Jaipur City and we walked to see the Hawa Mahal and City Palace. Hawa Mahal is a palace constructed of red and pink sandstone. Historically, Hawa Mahal was essentially a high screen wall built so the women of the royal household could observe street festivals while unseen from the outside. The detailing and art of the building is so beautiful! Then we just wonder around the city. We did try street food which is aloo kiti (made from fried potato and greens aka begedil di Malaysia). Thank god we did not get any poison food from that! Fuuhh. Then i saw store that sales rajashtani bangles! Tips for ladies, if you want to buy bangles, buy at rajasthani. Every district in India have different design and arts on the bangles and from my experience, rajasthan bangles is the most beautiful and eye-catching.
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| Hawa Mahal. Beautiful Pink sand stone. |
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| We tried Alu Kitti at one of the street |
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| Not Bad. This ulu kitti is made from potato |
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| Beautiful Art at one of the entrance |
At 1300pm we heading to Jaisalmer train station but the traffic is like hell. Thankfully we reached on time. Gave some tips to the driver (tips is a must in India esp driver or the one that give service) and entered the station. We are quite early so we hanging out at the waiting room. Near to our boarding time, we try to figuring out where is our lane because this station is huge! With heavy big bagpack at the back and small bag infront, we climbed the stairs to cross to other side of lane. Asking a bunch of people that can speak english, and they show us at the end of railway station. OMG! We run just like how in the movie because the train started to move. And thank to Allah we made it!!!! This is our first time so we were quite unsure, but the local inside the train said it was right. FUHH! Berpeluh jangan cakap. kaki cramp habis. Tapi alhamdulillah everything goes smoothly. We cherish every moment. The view is scenery. Subhanallah. Not only that, we can see how the local really are especially station that in the village. The poor really do sleep at station. Kids happily play kites and runs.
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| Jaipur Railway Station. So much of backpacking. ;p |
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| We made it! 3rd Tier Sleeper. |
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| My fav snack! |
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| Will buy one chai everytime they sell in the train. Hot nice chai. This chai calm me down. Feels like all problem solved. |
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| Almost dawn |
What did i do 12 hours in the train? Watching the view, eat junk foods, drank chai, mingles with local (yang faham english), hear some mp3 music and sleep.
Day 5 (28/8)
0500 am Arrive at Jaisalmer Station
0630 am Checkin Royal Hotel.
1100 am Breakfast at Roof top Royal Hotel
1500 pm Patwon Haveli & Lake
1730 pm Rest & Dinner at Roof top
Finally we arrived! Step out from train and we saw full of people sleeping at the deck and inside the station. Even depan station kat luar pun masih penuh local tidur. Terkejut! Oh no wonder because its raining heavily. We waiting to take rickshaw with cheapest price. Bargain and bargain we got less than 100 rupees because we know that the hotel is not that far away from google map.And i'm damn good in bargain! #angkatbakulsendiri
Royal hotel is artistic hotel. The best hotel so far for me. The restaurant is at the roof top and we can see the magnificent Jaisalmer Fort! Because we dont have any driver anymore, we took our time. We rest and ask about the sightseeing from the hotel. They provide the rickshaw to show us Jaisalmer attraction. Had a great Hyederabad Briyani for lunch with bollywood music that they play in radio.
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| Selfie at the rooftop. Belakang tu Jaisalmer Fort |
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| Ramai yang tidur bersepah di stesen. terkejut sis turun2 je train ramai tido begini. |
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| Lets Go!! |
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| Yang pasti sila tutup hidung. Pencemaran Udara mmg tahap teruk. |
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| Mirror Lake. Nothing much exactly. |
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| cows are everywhere!! |
At 3pm, we get ready to go sightseeing in Jaisalmer. We paid 150rupees for the evening. We went to Mirror lake and Patwon Haveli. Oh I LOVE Patwon Ki Haveli. The art and story behind it is just breathtaking, The Patwon Ji ki Haveli is an interesting piece of Architecture. It is believed that Patwa was a rich man and was a renowned trader of his time. He could afford and thus ordered the construction of separate stories for each of his 5 sons. All five houses were constructed in the first 60 years of the 19th century. Haveli is generic term used for a traditional townhouse and mansions that have their own historical and architectural significance.
The first haveli is the main haveli which have the entrance fee. So we decide to walk first. Then at the other haveli, the guy said its free to enter. he will show and give some story about the house. No need to pay but out of courtesy we paid him. Inside the haveli I was starstruck. I almost admiring everything. From window, mirror, art wall, floor, ceiling and every piece in the house. We explore the haveli from ground until the rooftop. And sure from the rooftop you can see the beautiful Jaisalmer fort.
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| Beautiful isn't it? I love Patwa Haveli!! |
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| The Art inside the Haveli |
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| A picture from Patwon haveli's Rooftop |
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| Selfie with local kids. |
Then we wanted to see the sunset because from my research the best sunset is in Jaisalmer. But sadly it looks like its gonna rain so we directly back to hotel. Bought some of chips, maggi flavour indians curry and drinks at the local store.
Day 6 (29/8)
1000 am Checkout
1015 am Breakfast
1030 am Jaisalmer Fort
1400 pm Heading to Khuri Desert (1 hour from city)
1700 pm Camel Riding & Sunset at desert
2000 pm Local Dance & Dinner
2130 pm Heading to desert back and sleep at desert
To tell you the truth, when i planned to go India. I planned to a must go place are desert and snow! Because India is an Incredible India and I got both of that. Desert in Jaisalmer and Snow in ladakh Kashmir :))
So today is the day we going to desert but i need to be patient because the jurney to Khuri is at 2pm. After breakfast and check out, we put our bagpack at the lobby and walking towards Jaisalmer Fort. It only took us 15minute to reach the Jaisalmer Fort. We survey some leather bags and purse. FYI, Jaisalmer is also known for its leather bags made from wild camels native to the area. We also have some drinks at one of the roof top restaurant in Jaisalmer Fort. Oh wait i should brief a lil bit bout Jaisalmer Fort right?
Jaisalmer Fort is one of the largest fully preserved fortified cities in the world. It is situated in the city of Jaisalmer, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is a World Heritage Site.The fort's massive yellow sandstone walls are a tawny lion colour during the day, fading to honey-gold as the sun sets, thereby camouflaging the fort in the yellow desert. For this reason, it is also known as the Sonar Quila or Golden Fort. Before the days of the British Raj, the fortress city served as a refuge and way-station for caravans and travelers along the Silk Road. Its ramparts served as the backdrop for many battles in past centuries when the Silk Road still served as one of the main trade routes between East and West. (Wikipedia)
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| love! |
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| Dalam Jaisalmer Fort ni ade Kuil. Very old but full of art. |
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| Beautiful picture of Art & Drawings. |
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| Selfie at Jaisalmer Fort's Rooftop. You can see all the village until Khuri dessert. |
After cuci mata, we heading back to our hotel and repacking some stuff to bring to the desert. I just bring along my small bag that have slipper, toiletries, snacks and the most important wet tissue. Earlier, the scammer promise that we will riding jeep to the desert but turn out it was only a small noisy old car. Guess who else coming with us? The bagpackers from Rome that also got scammed just like us in Delhi. When i repacking my stuff in the lobby hotel, I saw Ana that also waiting for the ride to desert. We smile to each other and started to talk. Suprisingly she told me she got scammed and the story is exactly like mine. End of her story, we just laugh out bcoz it also happen to me. Bad luck. But she said we are quite lucky to only take 7 days package from this so called travel agent scammer. She said that she and her friend had no choice to take all 14days with them with 1000USD. Poor them!
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| This Ana from Rome. We still keep intouch in facebook. Stranger can always turn out to be friend. |
Ana is very friendly romanian. She talk alot in the car about art in India and Turki especially the mosque. Its good to have someone that are in the same situation with you. Disappointing of what had happen from scammer but need the strength to move on. Ok once we reached the Khuri village, they serve us with chai. At 5pm we started to go to the camels and ride them. It took us 1 hour to reached the desert. We feel the quietness and the calmness of the desert. Far away from all the noise of city. The exactly what we need now. Escape from the real world.
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| My camel!! |
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| Beautiful sunset ever. Big, orange-ish, red-ish Sunset. It even disappear a minute behind the cloud and appear again. |
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| Quite. Far away from all problems. |
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| My guide of camel is a KID okay! haha |
My camel is name Lallu. She is only 8 years old. And the guide of the camel is only a kid age 10 years old. When we rest at the desert, the local guides play sand jumping. If only they have board so we can teach them sand-boarding. But sand jumping also quite fun. They taught me and i did it. Quite an adrenaline rush too, We continue the camel riding until the sunset spot. MashaAllah the sunset is striking orang-ish round sun with light blue purplish sky. After sunset watching, we rush back to the Khuri village. Since it getting darker, the guide run so does the camel. Oh my sakit nye bontot. Along the way, I saw desert snake and peacock at the top of tree. Once we reach the village, they already start with local dancing. After the dance break, we had a vegetarian dinner. They prepared rice, tossai, curry and veggie. Then they continue with the dance and other foreigner from Rome and UK started to drink beer. Done with dancing, we heading to desert to sleep. It was quite a long way from the village. And when we reach the sand dunes, it has only basic rug bed and our guide put bedspread. To sleep under million stars are awesome..but the bedspread i swear to u mmg berhamas. I kept on garu badan. Breeze wind and low temperature are hitting us in the middle of the night. At the moment I remember the snake that I saw late afternoon and I'm hoping there is no snake that come to us.
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| Night local dance. The foreigner got drunk this night. haha |
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| Dinner. Nice curry, bread, potato and rice. |
Day 7 (30/8)
0630 am Back to village
0830 am Off to Jaisalmer City
1030 am Check in K.B Guesthouse
1430 pm Lunch
1515 pm Hangout at Jaisalmer Fort
2000 pm Heading back to Guesthouse
2200 pm Checkout and Off to Jaisalmer Train Station
0100 am Jaisalmer to Delhi (18hours train ride)
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| This is where i slept last night. under countless stars and cold weather. My bucketlist is checked! To sleep at the dessert. |
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| This is our ride from village to dessert where we spend a night. |
Early in the morning we woke up and heading back to the village. Clean ourselves and had some breakfast. Time to go back to Jaisalmer City. And luckily there was a jeep waiting us. haaa baru laa dapat fefeling adventure. Once we reached our hotel, the hotel staff kind enough to give room for us to have some shower and clean up. Once done with everything, we go to our other hotel near jaisalmer fort that we booked in booking.com with a cheap price for a night because our train schedule at 12am. So we want to have a good rest at hotel first.
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| Classic Jeep. Lets go back! With our driver and local kid. |
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| :) |
That late afternoon, we heading to restaurant infront of Jaisalmer Fort and have late lunch. Briyani cheese is our choice. Then we went to Jaisalmer Fort. I bought some souvenier for my mom and myself. I had momo steam for dinner. Momo is a dumpling that originally from tibet. We just enjoy our evening at the Jaisalmer fort. Sunset is beautiful. Birds flying freely. Local people smile widely to you.
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| I love this rooftop restaurant. Exactly beside the Jaisalmer Fort. |
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| Sunset over the Palace. |
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| My first ever to try Momo! Steam dumplings that native to Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet & Sikkim. Must try! |
Back to the hotel, rest, pray and start packing at 10pm. We dont want to miss our train. Checked out and the train came on time. I'm not feeling that well that night so i lay down at the train bed. But the train is delayed for 1 hour. Eat panadol, get myself comfortable, and dozzed off. This train will take 18 freaking hours to reach Old Delhi.
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| Our train got delayed. |
Day 8 (31/8)
0130 am Train from jaisalmer to delhi
2200 pm Arrive Old Delhi
2300 pm Check in Hotel & order dinner & sleep
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| Ready to sleep and continue our 18hours train ride |
Oh yeah Happy Independence Day Malaysia!!
Nothing much for day 8. wake up, drink chai, eat chips, sleep again, order breakfast (we take a risk), saw endless awesome scenery and normal local people life at the train and station. Oh the train toilet is damn smelly but u just need to endure it and do your thing.
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| Makan tidur minum chai |
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| Pintu train boleh je buka sesuka hati. So lets take one selfie! |
There is a scene in Delhi. Our tickets only stated Delhi. So Delhi have 2 part, Old Delhi and New Delhi. And we thought that we are our own. We have our ticket flights only. So our planned is directly heading to airport that night coz our flight is at 8am. But the local said the last station is old delhi. So we need to go to new delhi to take train to airport. Again this is out of our plan. Thank goodness while we are started to figuring out how to go new delhi, one of the local have our name on the paper and ask us to follow him. He said he is from the agency that we took the package from. We are not being informed that actually there will be someone picking us up and drive us to the hotel to spend a night and he will take us to the airport early in the morning. Well i guess we are lucky that night. No need to rushing to the airport and got lost. Baik jugak agency scammer (what i call them) ni. nasib baik tahu that we need a hotel one night. Fyi, old delhi is much more dangerous and busiest city than new delhi. So I thank to Allah that night because it can be worst if we are by our own. Hotel is also included in the package. Fuuh. Goodnight and tomorrow off to LADAKH!!!
Day 9 (1/9)
0800 am Flight to Ladakh (2hours)
1000 am Arrive Ladakh Airport
1100 am Check in Palu Guest House
1400pm Main Bazaar & Free and Easy
We are free! We are now exactly by our own. Freedom and we can plan our own activities. After checkout from hotel early in the morning, we heading to airport. I must tell you that security at airport are tight! They will check and scan you started at the entrance of Indira Gandhi Airport, New Delhi. So kindly prepare all your boarding pass and be 2hours early. Its quite weird when they can maintain the cleanliness of the airport. Its like two different world once you step out or step into the Airport. Once we on board, we were so excited. We took Indigo Flight. I was lucky enough to get window seat and SubhanAllah the view after 1hour are superb and breathtaking. Mountains covered by white snow and yes it is the Magnificent Beautiful Himalayan Range. It truly one of my highlight in this jurney.
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| Before entering the airport, you need to show your flight pass to the police. |
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| My flight pass! |
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| The best view ever. I've travel alot but this is the best view ever. 30minutes before landing, along the way you can see snow-capped Himalayan Range! it was very very brethtaking. I am sleepy but I dont want to miss this! |
After a bumpy landing, alhamdulillah we safely landed in Leh ladakh Airport. There will be a van that take all the passenger from plane and go to airport. Once you settle taking your luggage, you need to fill up the immigration form. Dont forget to take map of leh at the airport. Once we step out from airport, many taxi van approach us. Our plan for now is to take taxi and start survey for our guesthouse with cheap price. So after bargain, we got 400 rupee from airport to our guesthouse. We explain to the driver about we need to find the guesthouse near the main bazaar with low price. Thank god he understand and be patient with us. We look over about 3 guesthouse after 3 several stop. Finally we found one 15minutes away from Main Bazaar. We stay at Palu Guesthouse. The original price for a room is 600rupees but with my expert negotiation and begging the old lady owner of the guesthouse, she agreed! She is so nice like super nice. She gave hot water and tea for free and serving those in the room.
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| Took Van taxi from Airport to Main Bazaar Ladakh |
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| Fresh Apricot. Tq old lady :) |
Suddenly we felt that we had small AMS because we are nonstop walking and searching our guesthouse before this where actually you MUST rest. The abrupt low temperature after the flight to your body will give some effect. We drank alot of water and bought some donuts at the bakery in front our guesthouse. Then we had really good rest. Later that afternoon, we had lunch at Main Bazaar and survey what we wanted to do in Ladakh and the attraction with the cost.
Useful links:
- Be sure to read up on. Altitude Sickness
Day 10 (2/9)
1100 am Walking around Main Bazaar
1500 pm Survey activities
1600 pm Rest, Pray & Nap
1800pm Main Bazaar, Dinner at Ando Restaurant
2100 pm Walking around and shopping some yak shawl
This is a free and easy day. We just relax, walking around Main Bazaar, talking with local, had a delicious Momo and Briyani and shopping a little.
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| At Main Bazaar, you can see many ladies sell fresh vege and fruits. |
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| Jama Masjid Leh at Main Bazaar. |
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| Surveying pashmina and this kid is owner's chile. cute!! |
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| Muka dah start kering and hitam. hmmmm. Jgn lupa pakai byk UV protection. |
Day 11 (3/9)
1000 am Do Permit
1030 am Breakfast
1100 am Hike to Shanti Stupa
1300 pm Booking transport to Panggong
1600 pm Leh Palace
1800 pm Dinner at Mazwa
After discussion, we agreed to go Pangong Tso and Khardung La. These place needed permit if we want to visit. So we decided to do only 3 days permit which much less than normal 5 days permit. Our 3 days permit cost us (INR 560). The permit will get ready after 1 day and can be collected at the travel agency. For transportation in ladakh, you can share car/jeep/van with stranger to go one destination. For example, me and my friend wanted to go to Pangong Tso and luckily we found one agency that provide 1 van (2days) for 5 person cost (INR10,000)..devided by 5 will cost 1 person INR2000 only. The van with local driver will drive you to Pangong Tso and will bring you back to city the next day.
After gave our passport to the agent to do the permit, we went for a hike to Shanti Stupa. From our guesthouse it take us 15 minutes to reach the first step to the hilltop,
Shanti Stupa is a Buddhist white-domed stupa (chorten) on a hilltop in Chanspa, Leh district. The Shanti Stupa holds the relics of the Buddha at its base, enshrined by the 14th Dalai Lama.[2] The stupa has become a tourist attraction not only due to its religious significance but also due to its location which provides panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. (wikipedia)
1800 pm Dinner at Mazwa
After discussion, we agreed to go Pangong Tso and Khardung La. These place needed permit if we want to visit. So we decided to do only 3 days permit which much less than normal 5 days permit. Our 3 days permit cost us (INR 560). The permit will get ready after 1 day and can be collected at the travel agency. For transportation in ladakh, you can share car/jeep/van with stranger to go one destination. For example, me and my friend wanted to go to Pangong Tso and luckily we found one agency that provide 1 van (2days) for 5 person cost (INR10,000)..devided by 5 will cost 1 person INR2000 only. The van with local driver will drive you to Pangong Tso and will bring you back to city the next day.
After gave our passport to the agent to do the permit, we went for a hike to Shanti Stupa. From our guesthouse it take us 15 minutes to reach the first step to the hilltop,
Shanti Stupa is a Buddhist white-domed stupa (chorten) on a hilltop in Chanspa, Leh district. The Shanti Stupa holds the relics of the Buddha at its base, enshrined by the 14th Dalai Lama.[2] The stupa has become a tourist attraction not only due to its religious significance but also due to its location which provides panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. (wikipedia)
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| 500 steepest steps in cold weather. |
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| That view of city of ladakh and mountain range. Ahhh just beautiful. |
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| Yoga infront of Shanti Stupa. Why not? |
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| Panoramic view |
After hike the 500 steep steps to the hilltop, finally we reach the Shanti Stupa. The view is superb. We can overlooks the city of Leh, panoramic views of the city and the surrounding snow-capped mountains. There also a cafe at the hilltop if you want to have some chai or coffee. My tips is just breath properly since it situated at a height of 3,609 metres.
Before we back to our guest house, we book the van to Pangong Tso because they only need 2 person to complete 5 passenger. It will be much less if there one more person to follow us. Then we have some nap.
By 4pm we wanted to go Leh Palace where we can see from Main Bazaar. But the map that we have not helping us much. So take one taxi to go there. The funny part is, actually you can hike just a lil bit from Main Bazaar. Thank god after see the Leh Palace, we just redah turun bawah. We just went down follow any route that they have. And yes we made it! Local that we passed by really do help when we ask to go to Main Bazaar. Thank you Ladakhian people!
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| Leh palace. There is entrance fee so kami pun tak masuk. Budget lari. |
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| Unexpected to get this view when we going down from leh Palace. |
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| Posing with Leh Palace as the background |
Perut pun dah lapar gile. We try another muslim restaurant at the end of the building in Main Bazaar called Mazwa. Not bad but the services is quite slow.
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| Mutton Briyani |
Day 12 (4/9)
0730 am Check out
0745 am Breakfast
0810 am Heading to Pangong Tso/Lake
1300 pm Reached Panggong
1830 pm Dinner
2000 pm Sleep
After 3 night staying at Palu Guest House, we finally check out. I had cinnamon bread for breakfast before we heading to Pangong Tso. So in the jeep we have 2 people from Malaysia, 1 from Brazil, 1 from France and 1 from Thailand. We had a great time together. The jurney from Leh to Pangong Tso took us 5 hours. With bumpy snake high hill mountains and endless same bollywood playlist from our driver, Ali we finally reached Panggong Tso. On the way, we rest for a while at Changla Pass situated at 5,360 Metres or 17,586 Feet. Changla Pass is the third highest motorable road in the world. Its freaking cold and windy too.
We saw wild horses, a group of sheeps, lamb and cows along the jurney to Pangong Tso. It was AMAZING! You can get sick road at this time due to the altitude, so do bring balm or some smelling herb medicine that calm your body. The first glance to Pangong Tso is magical. The blue turquoise color of water are just like diamond. When we reach Pangong Tso, there a few cafe's name after 3 Idiots. Not suprisingly la kan because they shoot 3 Idiots here and even the scooter of Kareena Kapoor pun ada tapi kene bayar kalau nak bergambar dengan scooter. huhu. We had hot maggi and chai at one of the 3Idiots cafe. Then we move to another side of location (10minutes away from cafe) to survey our accommodation for 1 night. After surveying we decided to stay at glamcamping / tent for 350 per person. The owner said this is the special rate due to the season start to approach low-season. There are less tourist at the moment. He said the tent can reach INR 1500 per night in peak season. So lucky us! This is my first time glam-camping since i always camping in the mountain but here in this tent it included proper queen size bed and toilet inside.
After some rest, I did small climb to have a good view of mountain and Pangong Lake. It was breath-taking view. Later that night, we had dinner together with other new members that we met. I still remember it was freaking cold that night. I can feel the cold until my bones. I imagine how cold it will be if off-season.
2000 pm Sleep
After 3 night staying at Palu Guest House, we finally check out. I had cinnamon bread for breakfast before we heading to Pangong Tso. So in the jeep we have 2 people from Malaysia, 1 from Brazil, 1 from France and 1 from Thailand. We had a great time together. The jurney from Leh to Pangong Tso took us 5 hours. With bumpy snake high hill mountains and endless same bollywood playlist from our driver, Ali we finally reached Panggong Tso. On the way, we rest for a while at Changla Pass situated at 5,360 Metres or 17,586 Feet. Changla Pass is the third highest motorable road in the world. Its freaking cold and windy too.
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| Rocky Dusty Road to Pangong Tso |
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| Changla Pass. Sejukkkk |
We saw wild horses, a group of sheeps, lamb and cows along the jurney to Pangong Tso. It was AMAZING! You can get sick road at this time due to the altitude, so do bring balm or some smelling herb medicine that calm your body. The first glance to Pangong Tso is magical. The blue turquoise color of water are just like diamond. When we reach Pangong Tso, there a few cafe's name after 3 Idiots. Not suprisingly la kan because they shoot 3 Idiots here and even the scooter of Kareena Kapoor pun ada tapi kene bayar kalau nak bergambar dengan scooter. huhu. We had hot maggi and chai at one of the 3Idiots cafe. Then we move to another side of location (10minutes away from cafe) to survey our accommodation for 1 night. After surveying we decided to stay at glamcamping / tent for 350 per person. The owner said this is the special rate due to the season start to approach low-season. There are less tourist at the moment. He said the tent can reach INR 1500 per night in peak season. So lucky us! This is my first time glam-camping since i always camping in the mountain but here in this tent it included proper queen size bed and toilet inside.
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| Yak Yak Yak!! Finally I saw Yak. I feel so lucky! |
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| Arrived! The famous Pangong Tso. |
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| I'll be the 4th Idiot maybe. |
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| Beautiful |
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| Never plan to come here but Allah plans is the greater and the best. Even we got scammed but see how this turn out? I am in Pangong Tso! |
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| Local buat duit. Siape yg naik scooter and bergambar kene bayar. haha. Nasib baik Sis pagi esoknya local gi makan and sis senyap2 naik. jimat disitu. |
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| Brazillian lady that follow us in one jeep. She is the owner of the textile shop and she frequently travel to India. she said she never get enough with India. |
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| Glamcamping. Merasa laa glam camping. Kalau camping bebetul kat sini dgn khemah biasa boleh mati kesejukan oiii. haha. This camp has toilet inside and queen bed. |
After some rest, I did small climb to have a good view of mountain and Pangong Lake. It was breath-taking view. Later that night, we had dinner together with other new members that we met. I still remember it was freaking cold that night. I can feel the cold until my bones. I imagine how cold it will be if off-season.
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| Lets explore this place :) |
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| Had some of ME time. Relax and think about my future and appreciate Allah's perfect plan and nature |
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| Sheeps and goats :) |
Day 13 (5/9)
0800 am Check out
0815 am Breakfast at 3 Idiots cafe
0830 am Heading back to Leh
1300 pm Stop at Chemrey Monestary
1530 pm Reached Leh Town
1600 pm Check in Palu Guest House again
The hardest part is to take air sembahyang pagi subuh because the water is freezing cold! Then the owner of tent gave us hot chai for breakfast. We packed up and check out. We had our breakfast at 3 Idiots Cafe.
Some fact about Pangong Lake:
- is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,350 m (14,270 ft). It is 134 km (83 mi) long and extends from India to China.
- Approximately 60% of the length of Pangong Lake lies in Tibet
After breakfast, we heading back to Leh city. But we will stop at Chemrey Monestary that located at the top of the hill ontheway to Leh. Chemrey Monastery or Chemrey Gompa is a 1664 Buddhist monastery, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of Leh, Ladakh, northern India. It belongs to the Drugpa monastic order. It was founded in 1664 by the Lama Tagsang Raschen and dedicated to King Sengge Namgyal. (wikipedia)
Once arrived at Chemdey Monestary, i did hike the hill to see the monestary. The view is just superb. SubhanAllah. The house also just made from white stone and only square size. I saw one of the 'Sami Budha' that live there. He approached me and ask some friendly question like where i'm coming from and etc etc. What i can saw is that the lifestyle of buddhist is very calm and simple. Money is not everything but happiness is everything.
Since we bought the ticket bus to Manali that schedule tomorrow, we decided to stay 1 night again at Palu Guesthouse. Nasib baik ada bilik kosong. So, rest and sleep.
1600 pm Check in Palu Guest House again
The hardest part is to take air sembahyang pagi subuh because the water is freezing cold! Then the owner of tent gave us hot chai for breakfast. We packed up and check out. We had our breakfast at 3 Idiots Cafe.
Some fact about Pangong Lake:
- is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,350 m (14,270 ft). It is 134 km (83 mi) long and extends from India to China.
- Approximately 60% of the length of Pangong Lake lies in Tibet
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| We got stuck becaus of this. Yak is conquering the way, haha. Hi yak! Rase nak sentuh jeee tapi tak pasal2 kne tanduk n jatuh air. haha |
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| Nampak tak beza air semalam petang dgn pagi? Ye air die berubah warna. Tak percaya? datang laa sendiri. |
After breakfast, we heading back to Leh city. But we will stop at Chemrey Monestary that located at the top of the hill ontheway to Leh. Chemrey Monastery or Chemrey Gompa is a 1664 Buddhist monastery, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of Leh, Ladakh, northern India. It belongs to the Drugpa monastic order. It was founded in 1664 by the Lama Tagsang Raschen and dedicated to King Sengge Namgyal. (wikipedia)
Once arrived at Chemdey Monestary, i did hike the hill to see the monestary. The view is just superb. SubhanAllah. The house also just made from white stone and only square size. I saw one of the 'Sami Budha' that live there. He approached me and ask some friendly question like where i'm coming from and etc etc. What i can saw is that the lifestyle of buddhist is very calm and simple. Money is not everything but happiness is everything.
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| Chemdey Menostry. One at the hill. |
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| Rumah ladakh. Petak putih dan kayu rangka cermin. Simple. |
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| Again panoramic view. SubhanaAllah, |
Since we bought the ticket bus to Manali that schedule tomorrow, we decided to stay 1 night again at Palu Guesthouse. Nasib baik ada bilik kosong. So, rest and sleep.
Day 14 (6/9)
0830 am Check out
1000 am Main Bazaar
1100 am Heading to Khardung-La
1300 pm Reached Khardung-La
1430 pm Reached Leh Town & Rest at Palu GH
1700 pm Dinner at Amdo restaurant
2000pm Mini-bus to Manali (18hours)
Today we decided to go to Khardung-La. It will more excited if you can ride the motorcycle but we go for a jeep because its cheaper. 1 jeep we got for INR2,000..so we only pay INR1000 per person and its still in our budget.
The elevation of Khardung La is 5,359 m (17,582 ft) and it is claimable as the world highest motorable pass which some party argue about.
Khardung-La is very famous among tourist and it almost crowded when we reached there. After the zigzag hill road and cold weather, you can find alot of open toilet with himalayan view. Quiet amazing but the smell you need to bare it. After taking some photos, we heading back to Leh Town. Had a last dinner at Amdo restaurant and went to bus station. The bus take off at 8pm. All our bagpacks are on the rooftop of the mini-bus. You just need bring your jacket and small bag to your sit.
So hello 18hours jurney to Manali and Goodbye Moonland Leh.
Day 15(7/9)
1700 pm Dinner at Amdo restaurant
2000pm Mini-bus to Manali (18hours)
Today we decided to go to Khardung-La. It will more excited if you can ride the motorcycle but we go for a jeep because its cheaper. 1 jeep we got for INR2,000..so we only pay INR1000 per person and its still in our budget.
The elevation of Khardung La is 5,359 m (17,582 ft) and it is claimable as the world highest motorable pass which some party argue about.
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| Snow capped mountain |
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| Khardung-La Top. The highest motorable road in the world. Ride a bike to come here coz it will be so much adventure! |
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| Some explosion there. They need to do explosion because to clear the road. Stuck for 15minutes. |
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| Beautiful Perfect Himalayan Range. |
Khardung-La is very famous among tourist and it almost crowded when we reached there. After the zigzag hill road and cold weather, you can find alot of open toilet with himalayan view. Quiet amazing but the smell you need to bare it. After taking some photos, we heading back to Leh Town. Had a last dinner at Amdo restaurant and went to bus station. The bus take off at 8pm. All our bagpacks are on the rooftop of the mini-bus. You just need bring your jacket and small bag to your sit.
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| Ladakh Bus Station |
So hello 18hours jurney to Manali and Goodbye Moonland Leh.
Day 15(7/9)
1300 pm Reached New Manali
1315 pm Walk Check-in
1700 pm Out & Dinner
We stopped at some R&R and had open-air toilet. It was freezing that night. Maybe because of the altitude and the zig-zag mountain road. Somehow, I was not feeling so well. I left my thick jacket in my bagpack and i just wore red-thin sweater and it was not enough. I had headache and nausea. But i try to control it. Just force my self to sleep all night long. Nearly dawn, we stopped again. I cant remember the place we stopped but it was some village with awesome view and cold stream. All the ladies need to go to toilet but as usual we need to find bush after the stream and do ur thing at those big rocks. What an experience. haha. After that we continue the jurney, but my stomach not feeling well and i still have that nausea road sickness. Along the way before our next stopped, I cant control my nausea and i vomit. Thankfully, my yak shawl that I bought saved me! I vomit at my yak-shawl. It was so embarassing but i felt so sick at that time. Once we stopped, I vomit again and go to toilet. Clean my shawl as best i can. I ate some cookies and we continue the jurney. Dalam hati bile la nak sampai Manali. It feels like it took forever!
The best I can describe Manali from Ladakh is from Moonland to Greenland. Oh the mountains are so green there. There is one village along the way that have houses on the mountain. It looks like Switzerland. Lambs and goats are everywhere too.
Finally we reached Manali. The rest of traveller wanted to go old manali and i dont know why. Our mini-bus stopped at New Manali and i just wanted to find some cheap clean hotel and have some rest. So we directly survey some hotel/guesthouse there. We found one cheap room with 300rupees per night. We are really in tight budget so we agree for 3 nights in that hotel.
I had some rest and my stomach start dancing. Maybe because I vomit earlier and i need to eat. I went out along to find some clean restaurant and I did found one. had some small rice, pratha and curry. Unfortunately a few hours later, I had poison food! Damnnnn it! I cirit birit non stop. Oh my my. Than god i brought some medicine. I brought charcoal and pil chikiteon.
Today is our last day in Manali. So we decided to chill and relax at Old Manali. We packed our bagpacks and leave those at the lobby. We had our brunch at Delhi Mughlai at Main bazaar New Delhi. Oh my the briyani chicken is the bomb! serius sedap. With happy tummy we walk to Old Manali. Remember the T-Junction after the bridge? This time we take left road. Oh my now i know why many foreigner prefer Old Manali than New Manali. The cafe are hipster, many shops sell jewellery, bracelets, bags, leather bags and painting. It was like the really make this Old Manali as their tourist attraction. I went crazy. Bought some dream-catcher necklace, ring and leather purse. My friend bought 2 bags. The later on we chill out and try mango lassi at one of cafe rooftop.
Went back to New Manali, pray and get our bagpacks. We walk with this heavy bagpack back and infront for 30 minutes. oh we were so tired. so much of bagpacking we are. haha.
Once we take our seat we are ready to be back in delhi even we are not so ready. Trauma i guess. Hopefully we will become more aware and try to avoid scammer.
Oh btw, there is one stop where one boy sell dominos pizza in the bus! wow. Malaysia need to do this. No need to take off from the bus. hehe.
P/s To those wanted to come to Manali, I am highly recommended to stay at OLD MANALI.
1300 pm Lunch McDonald and Walking around Paharganj
Finally we arrived ISBT Kahmere Gate. First i expected it was a bus station but the bus just dropped everyone at the side of the road. With a confius head, we took autorickshaw for 250rupees. The price is quite ridiculous i think. Along the way to paharganj, we saw a crowded sunday market and this market is huge. It was like pasar pagi tapi besar dan sepanjang jalan. They sell from grains, nuts, sugar, shoes, cloths, vegetables and everything. So ofcoz the road gonna be jammed. Horn is everywhere. Noisy, crowded and smelly..the true taste of INDIA. haha.
Once we reached our Hotel Maharaja (we booked using booking.com), we settle up everything and rest. At 1pm, we went out looking for foods and we saw McDonals with aircond. Since the weather is so dry and hot, we decided to have McDonalds. At the door, they even have security guide to open the door. How amazing. Duhh it is only McD kot. but maybe for them it was high class fast food. Then we continue our walking. We plan to walk to jama masjid since it was not that far away but we have been interrupted with scammer. They said this is not right way and need to go to government travel agent and bla bla bla. So we decided to make a u-turn and just walking around paharganj. I've bought some souvenier and had my small henna done.
Back to hotel and rest. Dinner maggi je sebab stok maggi ade lebih.
1400 pm Back to Hotel
1630 pm Check out & off to Metro Delhi Station
1900 pm Reached Airport
2245 pm Boarding (Delayed 1 hour)
So today we decided to go Masjid Jama. It is a must! We wanted to avoid hassle and scammer so we just take autorickshaw from our hotel to jama Masjid. Bytheway, today is Malaysia Hari Raya Korban. sadly in India the muslim celebrate one day later which mean tomorrow. Baru nak merasa berhari raya di negara orang. So ber-huhu la jugak.
Once we reached jama masjid, we had a heavy breakfast infront of jama Masjid. There are alot of muslim small restaurant. We had briyani chicken. Then we enter the jama Masjid. Be careful that they will request for money if you take out your shoes and put outside. So better you guys take out the shoes and put it inside your bag. Dont shows your camera because they will said that no camera are allowed and need to pay if you still insisted to bring inside. So kene pandai2 la buat helah and tipu diorang.
So sekali dapat masuk, you will see tempat wuduk di tengah2 Masjid Jama. I decided to solat sunat Masjid. Take my wuduk there with guys too (there is no seperated wuduk for female) and pray inside the masjid. Take some photos and watched the local and tourist punya gelagat.
Then, we continue to Red Fort. Red Fort just at the back of Jama Masjid but need to walk through the market there. So kami pun just redah and ask local only. The market is full with goats!! They all selling goats and ready for tomorrow's celebration of Hari Raya Korban. Sadly once we reached the Red Fort, the Red Fort is closed :( We were hungry and hot. Again we saw McDonald there and decided to have some lunch there and relax.
After that I took autorickshaw for 100 rupees to go back to paharganj. Walking around alone and bought some last souvenier before heading back to hotel.
Rest and start to pack. At 4.30pm we check out and heading to railway station. But somehow we get lost. It was a wrong railway station. We need to go to METRO New Delhi Station. With a heavy bagpack and hot weather, We climbed the stairs and cross over to the Metro New delhi station. Alhamdulillah after that everything went smoothly. We reached airport early and Malindo delayed. Pray inside the airport (very clean and huge). It located at the boarding waiting place.
After nearly 1 hour delayed, we finally fly off to KL. Alhamdulillah. Finally we made it!
I never felt so much of grateful in my life. I love Malaysia. I love everything about Malaysia. This experience bagpacking 20days in India really taught me alot about life, life survival, independent and grateful. From scammer, riding camel and sleep at sand dunes to fly over Himalayan Range and be at the top of the highest motorable road in the world...1001 experience and somehow i love every beat of it.
Go travel. Go experience. Dont stay put. Dont get comfortable. Be adventure. Go out and see the world. Challenge yourself. Be ALIVE!
1700 pm Out & Dinner
We stopped at some R&R and had open-air toilet. It was freezing that night. Maybe because of the altitude and the zig-zag mountain road. Somehow, I was not feeling so well. I left my thick jacket in my bagpack and i just wore red-thin sweater and it was not enough. I had headache and nausea. But i try to control it. Just force my self to sleep all night long. Nearly dawn, we stopped again. I cant remember the place we stopped but it was some village with awesome view and cold stream. All the ladies need to go to toilet but as usual we need to find bush after the stream and do ur thing at those big rocks. What an experience. haha. After that we continue the jurney, but my stomach not feeling well and i still have that nausea road sickness. Along the way before our next stopped, I cant control my nausea and i vomit. Thankfully, my yak shawl that I bought saved me! I vomit at my yak-shawl. It was so embarassing but i felt so sick at that time. Once we stopped, I vomit again and go to toilet. Clean my shawl as best i can. I ate some cookies and we continue the jurney. Dalam hati bile la nak sampai Manali. It feels like it took forever!
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| We started to see green mountain. From Moonland to a Greenland. Magical and breathtaking |
The best I can describe Manali from Ladakh is from Moonland to Greenland. Oh the mountains are so green there. There is one village along the way that have houses on the mountain. It looks like Switzerland. Lambs and goats are everywhere too.
Finally we reached Manali. The rest of traveller wanted to go old manali and i dont know why. Our mini-bus stopped at New Manali and i just wanted to find some cheap clean hotel and have some rest. So we directly survey some hotel/guesthouse there. We found one cheap room with 300rupees per night. We are really in tight budget so we agree for 3 nights in that hotel.
I had some rest and my stomach start dancing. Maybe because I vomit earlier and i need to eat. I went out along to find some clean restaurant and I did found one. had some small rice, pratha and curry. Unfortunately a few hours later, I had poison food! Damnnnn it! I cirit birit non stop. Oh my my. Than god i brought some medicine. I brought charcoal and pil chikiteon.
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| The reason i got poison food. Just unlucky. The restaurant is absolutely clean but somehow not the food. hmm. Ape lah makna datang India tapi tak merasa Poison Food kan? kikiki. Prepare yourself ahead. Bring medicine ape yang patut, |
Day 16(8/9)
1100 am Buy ticket bus to Delhi
1200 pm Old Manali
1600 pm Back to New Manali and rest
So today we decided to buy ticket bus. We survey at Manali bus station and the travel agent. Frankly I was quite confius because the local price is much higher then travel agent. So we decided to buy at travel agent. The bus station is quite far away. It was 20 minutes walk down the street. After that,we got separated and i walked alone to Old Manali. I'm not sure the way but I ask local people frequently. So basically Old Manali is above New Manali. You need to hike the road for 20 minutes And you will reach the big turqoise blue green river. Ya Allah, it was very breathtaking view.
After i crossed the bridge, you either can turn left and hike somemore or turn right to the river. So I decided to take the right road. I found one cafe, bought coke for a drink and hangout beside the river. They had cross river activities too. I relaxed and had some chit chat with local. One of the cafe staff is Nepali and he worked in Malaysia for a few years. We had some conversation about Malaysia. His friend also recommend me to go for a hike and see waterfall. The plan is he will bring me tomorrow morning and I decided I will meet him tomorrow if I want to. But I was very tempting and I was worried if I just go alone with him and something happend. I dont want to take the risk.
I was very hungry but I was afraid to eat. Damn to poison food. So i just bought cinnamon bread at one of the bakery in Old Manali. I am lucky enough to get only 20rupees tuktuk to New Manali.
1800 pm Off to Delhi1600 pm Back to New Manali and rest
So today we decided to buy ticket bus. We survey at Manali bus station and the travel agent. Frankly I was quite confius because the local price is much higher then travel agent. So we decided to buy at travel agent. The bus station is quite far away. It was 20 minutes walk down the street. After that,we got separated and i walked alone to Old Manali. I'm not sure the way but I ask local people frequently. So basically Old Manali is above New Manali. You need to hike the road for 20 minutes And you will reach the big turqoise blue green river. Ya Allah, it was very breathtaking view.
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| In love with this greenish mountain and light blue turqoise river. Again Panoramic view. |
After i crossed the bridge, you either can turn left and hike somemore or turn right to the river. So I decided to take the right road. I found one cafe, bought coke for a drink and hangout beside the river. They had cross river activities too. I relaxed and had some chit chat with local. One of the cafe staff is Nepali and he worked in Malaysia for a few years. We had some conversation about Malaysia. His friend also recommend me to go for a hike and see waterfall. The plan is he will bring me tomorrow morning and I decided I will meet him tomorrow if I want to. But I was very tempting and I was worried if I just go alone with him and something happend. I dont want to take the risk.
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| Sanggup cecah kaki je sebab sejuk gile air dia! |
I was very hungry but I was afraid to eat. Damn to poison food. So i just bought cinnamon bread at one of the bakery in Old Manali. I am lucky enough to get only 20rupees tuktuk to New Manali.
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| Delicious big Cinnamon bread |
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| Manage to get 20rupees autorickshaw. haha! |
Day 17(9/9)
1000 am Walking to Old Manali
1030 am Took autorickshaw to Jana Falls
1100 am Trekking 30 minutes to Jana Falls
1230 pm Heading back Manali
1400 pm Lunch & rest
1830 pm Dinner & rest
My friend decided to join me. Yes! So we walking to Old Manali and go to that cafe. Unfortunately that guy is not there. So I decided to go by ourselves. I found one travel hiking agent and i ask him about the waterfalls that previous guy had mention. He said just take autorickshaw and you can go by your own. Thank god that kid help us. He found one autorickshaw and ask him to drive us to the base of Jana Falls. After bargain, he agreed for us to pay 130rupees per ride because it outside from New Manali. So it was reasonable. I said thakyou to the kid and ride the autorickshaw.
He just stopped at the side of highway. He said we just need to walk straight and follow the path. So we just walk and see houses and the base of hill. We hiked the hill follow the pathaway. We reached the top and we saw a beautiful waterfall. But the best is the view up there. feels like dancing bollywood kuch kuch hota hai there. The water is so damn cold. I was so tempted to join loacl to jumo from those big rock and swim those freezing water. But it was not fun without any friend to join you. Syok happy sendiri je. I wish my adventure girls are here with me at that time. Along and mok. We will be crazy and dare enough to do everything. So i just take photo and cecah celup kaki jelah. Kawan tak sporting. huhu. Then we descending from the fall and hill. Take autorickshaw and walk around Main bazaar Old Manali.
For dinner i'm craving for western food. So we go out and found local pizza. Not that good but it was ok for that night.
Day 18(10/9)
1100 am Trekking 30 minutes to Jana Falls
1230 pm Heading back Manali
1400 pm Lunch & rest
1830 pm Dinner & rest
My friend decided to join me. Yes! So we walking to Old Manali and go to that cafe. Unfortunately that guy is not there. So I decided to go by ourselves. I found one travel hiking agent and i ask him about the waterfalls that previous guy had mention. He said just take autorickshaw and you can go by your own. Thank god that kid help us. He found one autorickshaw and ask him to drive us to the base of Jana Falls. After bargain, he agreed for us to pay 130rupees per ride because it outside from New Manali. So it was reasonable. I said thakyou to the kid and ride the autorickshaw.
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| Hidden gem in Old Manali. Ade hutan pinus. Diorang betul jaga hutan ni. |
He just stopped at the side of highway. He said we just need to walk straight and follow the path. So we just walk and see houses and the base of hill. We hiked the hill follow the pathaway. We reached the top and we saw a beautiful waterfall. But the best is the view up there. feels like dancing bollywood kuch kuch hota hai there. The water is so damn cold. I was so tempted to join loacl to jumo from those big rock and swim those freezing water. But it was not fun without any friend to join you. Syok happy sendiri je. I wish my adventure girls are here with me at that time. Along and mok. We will be crazy and dare enough to do everything. So i just take photo and cecah celup kaki jelah. Kawan tak sporting. huhu. Then we descending from the fall and hill. Take autorickshaw and walk around Main bazaar Old Manali.
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| Lets hike! |
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| Ada pulak uncle ni suruh rehat dulu lps hike sekejap. Isteri dia kasi chai. Sembang la lepas tu. Dah nak gerak teruskan perjalanan dia mintak duit minum chai tadi. haha! Nothing free in this world. |
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| Boleh rase nak lepak 4 jam kat sini je. Relax gile, Air sejuk. Pemandangan cantik. Ape lagi nak? Nature lover pasti suke! |
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| Air terjun bukit! |
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| Tak mampu nak mandi sbb tak ade geng so sunburn je la sekejap. |
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| Hardcore bebudak local nih. Sejuk nak mati. Berendam bukan main lame pulak. |
For dinner i'm craving for western food. So we go out and found local pizza. Not that good but it was ok for that night.
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| Pizza yg so-so. Indian style sgt. |
Day 18(10/9)
1100 am Packing and Checkout
1120 am Brunch at Delhi Mughlai
1200 pm Old manali & shopping
1700 pm Take bag & go to Deluxe Bus Station
1200 pm Old manali & shopping
1700 pm Take bag & go to Deluxe Bus Station
Today is our last day in Manali. So we decided to chill and relax at Old Manali. We packed our bagpacks and leave those at the lobby. We had our brunch at Delhi Mughlai at Main bazaar New Delhi. Oh my the briyani chicken is the bomb! serius sedap. With happy tummy we walk to Old Manali. Remember the T-Junction after the bridge? This time we take left road. Oh my now i know why many foreigner prefer Old Manali than New Manali. The cafe are hipster, many shops sell jewellery, bracelets, bags, leather bags and painting. It was like the really make this Old Manali as their tourist attraction. I went crazy. Bought some dream-catcher necklace, ring and leather purse. My friend bought 2 bags. The later on we chill out and try mango lassi at one of cafe rooftop.
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| Mutton Briyani. ni pun top 5 yang sedap sis rase. |
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| Accessories! I went crazyyyyyyy. |
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| bag penuh dengan barang shopping, Bukan kaki shopping tapi barang rare kat sini. |
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| Manggo lassi |
Went back to New Manali, pray and get our bagpacks. We walk with this heavy bagpack back and infront for 30 minutes. oh we were so tired. so much of bagpacking we are. haha.
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| Bus-station Manali |
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| Dia prepare kacang rebus utk dimakan. |
Once we take our seat we are ready to be back in delhi even we are not so ready. Trauma i guess. Hopefully we will become more aware and try to avoid scammer.
Oh btw, there is one stop where one boy sell dominos pizza in the bus! wow. Malaysia need to do this. No need to take off from the bus. hehe.
P/s To those wanted to come to Manali, I am highly recommended to stay at OLD MANALI.
Day 19(11/9)
0730 am Arrived ISBT Kahmere Gate
0745 am Take autorickshaw to Paharganj
0830 am Arrived Hotel Maharja
1000 am Check in
0830 am Arrived Hotel Maharja
1000 am Check in
Finally we arrived ISBT Kahmere Gate. First i expected it was a bus station but the bus just dropped everyone at the side of the road. With a confius head, we took autorickshaw for 250rupees. The price is quite ridiculous i think. Along the way to paharganj, we saw a crowded sunday market and this market is huge. It was like pasar pagi tapi besar dan sepanjang jalan. They sell from grains, nuts, sugar, shoes, cloths, vegetables and everything. So ofcoz the road gonna be jammed. Horn is everywhere. Noisy, crowded and smelly..the true taste of INDIA. haha.
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| Pasar Pagi Ahad! |
Once we reached our Hotel Maharaja (we booked using booking.com), we settle up everything and rest. At 1pm, we went out looking for foods and we saw McDonals with aircond. Since the weather is so dry and hot, we decided to have McDonalds. At the door, they even have security guide to open the door. How amazing. Duhh it is only McD kot. but maybe for them it was high class fast food. Then we continue our walking. We plan to walk to jama masjid since it was not that far away but we have been interrupted with scammer. They said this is not right way and need to go to government travel agent and bla bla bla. So we decided to make a u-turn and just walking around paharganj. I've bought some souvenier and had my small henna done.
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| Must try air tebu dan air limau. Kalau ade mangga pun kene try. |
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| Sambil buat henna sambil sembang. |
Back to hotel and rest. Dinner maggi je sebab stok maggi ade lebih.
Day 20(12/9)
0930 am Off to Masjid Jama
1100 am Red Fort closed. Lunch McDonald
1230 pm Chadni Chowk
1300 pm Back to Paharganj
1230 pm Chadni Chowk
1300 pm Back to Paharganj
1630 pm Check out & off to Metro Delhi Station
1900 pm Reached Airport
2245 pm Boarding (Delayed 1 hour)
So today we decided to go Masjid Jama. It is a must! We wanted to avoid hassle and scammer so we just take autorickshaw from our hotel to jama Masjid. Bytheway, today is Malaysia Hari Raya Korban. sadly in India the muslim celebrate one day later which mean tomorrow. Baru nak merasa berhari raya di negara orang. So ber-huhu la jugak.
Once we reached jama masjid, we had a heavy breakfast infront of jama Masjid. There are alot of muslim small restaurant. We had briyani chicken. Then we enter the jama Masjid. Be careful that they will request for money if you take out your shoes and put outside. So better you guys take out the shoes and put it inside your bag. Dont shows your camera because they will said that no camera are allowed and need to pay if you still insisted to bring inside. So kene pandai2 la buat helah and tipu diorang.
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| Sedap! Kari die power! |
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| Entrance Jama masjid |
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| Inside Jama Masjid. |
So sekali dapat masuk, you will see tempat wuduk di tengah2 Masjid Jama. I decided to solat sunat Masjid. Take my wuduk there with guys too (there is no seperated wuduk for female) and pray inside the masjid. Take some photos and watched the local and tourist punya gelagat.
Then, we continue to Red Fort. Red Fort just at the back of Jama Masjid but need to walk through the market there. So kami pun just redah and ask local only. The market is full with goats!! They all selling goats and ready for tomorrow's celebration of Hari Raya Korban. Sadly once we reached the Red Fort, the Red Fort is closed :( We were hungry and hot. Again we saw McDonald there and decided to have some lunch there and relax.
After that I took autorickshaw for 100 rupees to go back to paharganj. Walking around alone and bought some last souvenier before heading back to hotel.
Rest and start to pack. At 4.30pm we check out and heading to railway station. But somehow we get lost. It was a wrong railway station. We need to go to METRO New Delhi Station. With a heavy bagpack and hot weather, We climbed the stairs and cross over to the Metro New delhi station. Alhamdulillah after that everything went smoothly. We reached airport early and Malindo delayed. Pray inside the airport (very clean and huge). It located at the boarding waiting place.
After nearly 1 hour delayed, we finally fly off to KL. Alhamdulillah. Finally we made it!
Day 21(13/9)
0645 am Arrived KUL
I never felt so much of grateful in my life. I love Malaysia. I love everything about Malaysia. This experience bagpacking 20days in India really taught me alot about life, life survival, independent and grateful. From scammer, riding camel and sleep at sand dunes to fly over Himalayan Range and be at the top of the highest motorable road in the world...1001 experience and somehow i love every beat of it.
Go travel. Go experience. Dont stay put. Dont get comfortable. Be adventure. Go out and see the world. Challenge yourself. Be ALIVE!
xoxo
Ida
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