2018 - Looking Back - Part II

A year is made up of all the right kind of memories, and the second half of 2018 was also mostly so. Writing down and choosing from the best of memories from a year , is as hard as choosing the best dish from a splendid dinner buffet. Yet, here are the best ones from last six months of an amazing year.

July - Hiking in the Western Ghats

India is blessed with regional diversity , and as the monsoon sets in , the western ghats hill range change into a rain forest with mystic landscapes. Hiking through the dense foggy vegetation , it felt like an alienated land out of some story book. I climbed some historical forts and forgotten temples with my local friends from Mumbai who had an in depth idea of the region. Truly mesmerizing and very different from my known Himalayan landscape and experience , this added up the spice in the middle of the year. Also in order to visit here , I had to come down to Bangalore and Mumbai , and attended some of my close friend's birthday, which are always special and and a lot of beers! Nothing can beat that !

August -  Adventures in the middle lands of Spiti

The remote and lesser known lands of Spiti , in the higher Himalayas are a part of Tibetan region. This whole month , I conducted tours and explored all of it slow and nice. Though this was not my first time here , yet I had not spent so much time in this region before. I considered shifting to this place too, as it got my heart, but the lack of connectivity to the outer world meant a greedy man like me could not afford the peace this region brought. Yet the time spent here with out worldly landscapes and solitude to learn about myself, helped me to figure a lot of answers , I had been seeking for. This picture from the crescent moon shaped lake called  " Chandrataal " is one of many memories that will be framed in my home.

​September - Biggest Tattoo Dare of Life 

September means the start of fall, and I did fall for tattoos. Went on a tattoo spree and got myself inked three times with images that connect and reflect most of me. But the most memorable of the one has to be the tattoo inked on my throat. My dear friend and artist , never had done a throat tattoo, and was very skeptical of my wish. You see once you have a tattoo on your throat , its very hard to hide it , and its a commitment far stronger than marriage , he said. I was ready, I knew what I wanted and he got to work. But instead of using machine , we decided to go for hand poked, and the rest of the story is of pain and memories. Thank God , there are intoxication available to soothe the pain and keep you going. Sorry can't name what intoxication helped me out!
I still cant believe , I have a tattoo on my throat and I was daring enough to get it hand poked. But for all the times I question myself , this event sets itself as an example and gives me strength. Hell yeah !!

October - Peace at Home and Dogs

October meant arrival of the winters in the Himalayas, and the arrival of cute puppies all over our place. Happy quiet times , with nothing much to do. You wake up , eat , play with puppies , talk deep shits , drink and smoke , dance and play some music and then go to sleep again. That is mostly of October for me. I have had other experiences too , but its too insignificant to mention or very controversial indeed ! Life after all!

​November - Varanasi and spirituality

I never have a knack for religious places, yet thanks to my work as a super guide, I get to visit places that I have totally wrong judgement about. Varanasi is one such. This city totally captured my soul , after being here for a week and more. Photographing this city , I found a lot about faith , love , healing and happiness. The history and heritages of this city has tales to tell that capture your heart and warms it up. I guess this also prepared me for the hardest times of the year that followed in my personal life. I guess 2018 will be left incomplete if it wasn't for the lessons learnt on the road.

December - Sikkim and Eastern Himalayas.

Well honestly speaking, the end of November and December as of now , has been the hardest and trying times of this year in personal emotional front. However , if you keep having faith in life , it sails you through the storm , all you gotta do is know how to enjoy the ride. The eastern Himalayas and Sikkim tour will be memorable for more reasons , I can write or express. However the great food enjoyed with my super clients from Norway or the renowned tea found from this region , made up of a story to be remembered. The calm quiet times in the realms of Sikkim is to be loved by most.
My rest of December is to be spent here in this region, and probably ending the year in Bhutan. And with just few more days to go, I hope to make the last as amazing as was the rest of 2018.

So that was my year of 2018. a mix of everything and a lot of adventure. It really feels good to be grateful of the time gone by and the new year knocking on the door. I hope you too had an year to remember and relish. If its not, no worries , 2019 isn't far , and its never too late to close the ending chapter and begin the new one.