Category: India
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Jalandhar & Kapurthala: Sports Balls, a Shakti Peeth, and a Moorish Mosque
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Every third shop here manufactures sports gear, and nobody talks about it, one surprising day in Jalandhar and Kapurthala.
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Firozpur: The Real Story Behind the Martyrs’ Memorial
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Asia · Solo Travel Solo traveller · 20 min read Trip snapshot Region Firozpur, Punjab Trip length 2 days, Episode 4 of 4 (series finale) Travel style Solo, with a returning guide Quick Answer Firozpur genuinely deserves more attention than it gets, the Hussainiwala Beating Retreat ceremony, Bhagat Singh’s actual…
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Bathinda to Fazilka: A 2,000-Year-Old Fort and the Border at Sunset
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Razia Sultan was held captive here, and 2,000 years later I watched the sun set right at the India-Pakistan border.
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Patiala: A Dying Art, 22 Pleats, and a City’s 261st Birthday
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Just two shops in the whole city still practise a dying brass-polishing craft, one day discovering Patiala’s heritage walk.
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Kwar and Dodra: A Triple-Locked Grain Store, Apricot Oil, and a Peak Google Has Never Measured
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400 sheep sleeping outdoors, apricot oil pressed by hand, and a peak no one’s ever measured, two days in the last villages of Shimla district.
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The Road to Dodra Kwar: Siddu, a Rs 30,000/Kg Mushroom, and Chanshal Pass
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An 8th-century temple, a mushroom worth more than gold by weight, and a road too narrow for two cars, three days getting to Dodra Kwar.
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A Tiger and a Rhino, Four Metres Apart: Dudhwa, Kishanpur, and Pilibhit
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A rhino walked to within four metres of a resting tiger and neither moved, three real days of safari across Dudhwa, Kishanpur, and Pilibhit.
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Darma Valley: A 4:30 AM Hike to Panchachuli Base Camp Through Bear Country
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Seven waterfalls, a retreating glacier, and a pre-dawn hike through bear territory, three days in one of the Himalayas’ least-visited valleys.
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Adi Kailash: Snowfall, Gauri Kund, and a Holy Dip Six Years in the Making
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A wish six years in the making, finally standing at Gauri Kund, and a genuine update on Lipulekh Pass access since this trip.
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Ayodhya Dham: Hanuman Garhi to Gumnami Baba, Six Years of Change
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There’s no such thing as a VIP darshan pass, and five other things worth knowing before Ayodhya Dham, six years after my last visit.