This more work - less leisure trip was my first one to the Sundarbans. The highlight: ferrying my bike on rickety wooden boats, over the distributaries of the Ganges. It was a short but worthwhile trip. And while we returned from the periphery of the national park at that time, I hope to explore further in the future.

Snowfall in India usually happens from October to February and is common only around the Himalayas. However, many regions in the north are snow-covered all year round. I was living in Manali, Himachal at the time and the best chance of finding snow was at least 70 km uphill, at Lahual. Well, had the snow not been blocking the Rohtang Pass, I would have probably reached Spiti valley on that trip.

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For the next few months, I ran a quaint and cute campsite and cafe amidst apple orchards, with a 360° view of the Himalayas. There were pine forests and hiking trails all around. The river Beas flowed in the vicinity. The endeavour eventually ended in disaster, but it was wonderful while it lasted. :)

Jodhpur is a mixed-bag : 4-lane roads to stone alleys and large open drains, corporate pigeon coops to houses made of mud and stone, extravagant export markets, fusion street art, a range of street food options, archaic views and the Mehrangarh fort towering it all like a poetic recess.
The bustling city life, traffic, speed, noise can seem very claustrophobic at times,  but the multiple cafe rooftops function like respite islands.
Many residential houses have retained their ancient large wooden doors. Pastel shades abound. Blue being the max, in the older part of the city.

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It was love at first sight with this bright red 220cc Avenger. The ride through the Western Ghats surrounding Goa, into Gokarna, was undoubtedly one of the most scenic routes I had taken till then.

The proposition came at a time when I would love a road-trip and my dog could use one too. So we decided to replace the painful memories from our previous Krishnanagar road-trip with a much happier one - of people, food and mirth. :)

It was a bright sunny day and I decided to hike to the village uphill from Lava. I remember plugging in my earphones and dancing in the middle of the pine forest. And I finally walked into this settlement spread on side of the mountain, painted in the most happy colours.

I had a few extra hours at hand before I had to catch a flight from Kochi airport. As a perfect utilization of the window, I took a ferry to Fort Kochi. The journey was the attraction here, not the destination: Cruising through the creeks of the Arabian Sea along the Kerala coast.
The Chinese fishing nets lining the coast are these massive structures, which gleam of frugal yet effective engineering design. Too bad I didn't get to see them in action. The suburb is also a street art paradise and has an expansive bohemian flea-market. 

Went on a ride with my friend's brother on a Royal Enfield. This was somewhere along the way. We stopped for smokes and pictures. :)

Varkala is yet another hippie shrine in the south of the country. The beach, flea-markets, sea-food give it a very Goan feel, but more rustic.

Unfortunately I lost my phone soon after this trip and my photos hadn't backed up. Given that it was May and the days were sweltering hot, I rode mostly through the night. And I must say that Uttar Pradesh has some of the most well maintained roads for the purpose. I took stops in Lucknow and Varanasi. I was riding all the way from Delhi, the destination being Ranchi.
Here are some snaps from Lucknow which I had backed up by posting on social media. ;)

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While I spent 

Hallan valley is a pristine Himachali beauty. During my volunteer stay at Soulville near Manali, Lady and I would frequently go for afternoon rides. We took the camera along. She didn't mind posing.

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Witnessing a magical sunset each evening...that's the life you find hard to let go.

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A fishing village with multiple creeks of water entering the landmass and cliffs hanging over the sea. So many points offering heavenly views of sunrises and sunsets, that you can't possibly make it to all.
I camped by the side of such a cliff, at Belekan beach. Next morning, I was greeted by one of the most precious sunrises of my life. I then proceeded to hike to the lighthouse, slightly uphill from there, along with three fellow travellers I met at a nearby cafe.

My partner and I had planned a reboot trip to Goa after we would finish our doctoral degrees. But when the time came, we were not together anymore. So, right after I defended my PhD thesis, and felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, I booked a single one-way ticket to Goa.
I picked up my tent, sleeping bag, driving license, and left. This was not the trip we had planned. But this was absolutely the trip I wanted to do at that moment. Quite a stark contrast from my previous Goa trip, this one was about peace, space, time and musings on the beach.

I had just moved to Kolkata and the first week of settling down is always a bit overwhelming. This trip however provided the much-needed calm and carefree laughter I needed at that time. It also seemed like the most befitting way to end the maddening 2020.

This is one of those rare trips which was born out of the need to break free instantly. With some major trauma to overcome, I packed for the hills or the sea or wherever the train takes me, and landed in NJP. Lava was again a spontaneous decision there. It was a bus ride and a trekker drive away.
Enveloped in the clouds, I felt almost okay. :)

The beef and parota we had at a tiny eatery outside the town was to die for. So was the view. We rode past the backwaters, stared at house-boats passing by and clicked a ton of pictures.

I hitched from Trivandrum and reached Alapuzha late at night and I look back very fondly at that journey. The route crosses through hills and cities to finally arrive at suburban Alapuzha (Allepey). Special thanks to Umichi (my friend's mother) for being the most accommodating host ever.
Backwaters and cement roads criss-cross the entire beach town, with the beach itself offering some of the most splendid sunset views. Pace of life here is much slower compared to Trivandrum.