Indian Samurai इंडियन सामुराई

Trekking in Nepal in August? But why?

Well here is why…

It all started on a cool day of April 2015, while me and my family were visiting the Corsican mountains, with a 4-month-old Baby Samurai baby. I was so proud, carrying my offspring like a mama Kangaroo! But after a couple hours a family overtook us, and they were carrying a 12-month-old baby in special trekking carrier, an amazing thing. And THIS gave me lots of ideas!

When we started wondering where to go for the summer holidays this year, I immediately pictured a short trek with 20-month-old Baby Samurai. The first part of the plan was relatively easy: finding an amazing carrier. It is not really available in India. But a French girl happened to be selling hers on a website of expatriates. I bought it without a second thought!

A nice article came up on thrillophilia.com (PDF version) with 50 places to visit in India – in “less travelled” places. I am half the way down the list and got good new ideas for next year trips (in bold)!!

1.     Camping in The Arid Desert of Rajasthan

2.     Eat at Chokhi Dhani and Take an Elephant Safari in Jaipur (Rajasthan) – Done!

3.     Rajasthan Trip on Bullet bike

4.     Jodhpur to Jaisalmer on Truck/Tractor trip (Rajasthan)

5.     Experience Sunburn in Goa – Done!

6.     Trek to Markha Valley (Ladakh) – Done!

7.     Experience Rann of Kutch and Gir Forest (Gujarat) – Done!

8.     Boat Trip to Andaman & Scuba diving – Done!

9.     Sikkim Sightseeing Trip – Done!

10.   Kolkata Trip – Done!

11.   Sunderbans Boat Ride (West Bengal) – Done!

12.   Munnar, Periyar and Thekkady wildlife Trip (Kerala)

13.   Rafting and Camping in Rishikesh – Done!

14.   Orissa Konark Temple – Done!

15.   Go to Gokarna and Do Nothing (Karnataka) – Done!

16.   Visit Coorg, Scotland of India (Karnataka) – Done!

17.   Visit Temples and Boulders at Hampi (Karnataka) – Done!

18.   Dasara in Mysore (Karnataka) – Done! 

19.   Experience Local Trains, Mumbai – Done! 

20.   Visit Varanasi to Experience Chaos (Uttar Pradesh) – Done! 

21.   Yak Safari in Ladakh – Done! 

22.   Wildlife Adventure Trip at Corbett (Uttarakhand) or tiger spotting in Kanha (Madhya Pradesh) – Done! 

23.   Travel in a Toy Train (Darjeeling, Matheran, Ooty and Shimla) – Done! 

24.   Spiti Valley Trip (Himachal Pradesh) – Done! 

25.   Dhuandhar Falls, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) 

26.   Sandakphu Trek (West Bengal) 

27.   Trek to Dudhsagar Falls (Goa) 

28.   Experience Konkan Railways (Maharashtra to Goa) 

29.   Bombay to Goa road Trips 

30.   Vaishno Devi Temple (Jammu and Kashmir) 

31.   Roopkund Trek, Himalayas 

32.   Trek to Kudremukh (Karnataka) 

33.   Drive Through Forest of Bandipur (Karnataka) 

34.   Trek to Valley of Flowers (Uttarakhand) – between mid-July and mid-August 

35.   Skiing in Auli (Uttarakhand) or Gulmarg (Jammu) 

36.   Paragliding in Solang (Himachal Pradesh) 

37.   Visit Golden Temple in Amritsar & Wagah Border (Amritsar, Punjab)  

38.   Cycling in Nilgiris, Ooty (Tamil Nadu) – Done! With blue flowers that blossom every 12 years (August-September 2014 in Munnar (Kerala)!) 

39.   Backpack Across Northeast & Visit Cherrapunji, Tread on Living Root Bridges (Meghalaya) 

40.   Manali to Leh on Bike 

41.   Srinagar to Leh Bus/Truck Ride 

42.   Holi at Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh) 

My additions: 

43.   Road trip in Maheshwar region (Madhya Pradesh) – Done! 

44.   Kumbha Mela in Haridwar (Uttarakhand) or any of the other 3 holy places – Done! 

45.   Elephant Safari in Kaziranga national park (with Rhinoceros) and trip to Majuli islands (Assam) – Done! 

46.   Helicopter ride from Gangtok (Sikkim) to Bagdogra Airport (West Bengal) – Done! 

47.   Visit a haveli in Shekhawati region (Rajasthan) – Done! 

48.   Houseboat on Dal Lake (Srinagar, Jammu)  

49.   Trek and stay in Shakti Lekti 360 (Kumaon village, Uttarakhand) 

50.   Hot air ballooning in Pushkar during the camel fair (Rajasthan) in November 

Bonus: rat temple (Karni Mata near Bikaner, Rajasthan) (done!); snake temple (Mannarasala, Kerala). 

My photos: here and there and also there. 

For holidays, some go roasting on the beach and others go to sweat their ass off at 4 000 metres above sea level... Guess what a Samurai does? Bingo!

My parents came in India for a ten day trip in Himachal Pradesh (up North), Spiti Valley (crossing the Kinnaur Valley and the Lahaul Valley on the way)... It had been described to us as a mountain range more "affordable" than Ladakh. God knows what that meant... The 2 day drive from Shimla to Sangnam in Pine Valley had nothing very affordable! The road was just under construction... The 6 day trek with crazy hikes were not really more affordable (cf my mother’s altitude sickness) – and as a matter of fact we did not meet any other tourist! The 1 day drive from Kaza to Manali through a Rohtang Pass half collapsed due to landslides, not what I call affordable.

You get it, I am not convinced with the affordability of the place! However, the calm, the nature, the simplicity make it a magical place for trekkers. Much much more than Ladakh – ok in Ladakh you feel you are the only one on Earth, but in fact after having walked in the Spiti, you realize you can be much more alone!). There is just no word to describe it!

Himachal Pradesh - Aout 2012