[unoczar]

hey avi bhai,

great work! and you would be happy to know that one of your pics now adorns my desktop! (i hope u dont mind..!)

[pulsar56]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Wow, great negotiation skills, as usual . By the way, what is an ATV?

Venu Sir,
Avi = Official Negotiator!

BTW, ATV = All Terrain Vehicle

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Wow, great negotiation skills, as usual . By the way, what is an ATV?

When I visited Solang Valley in Jan 2002, I took a pony ride to the top of a snow-covered hill, where there is a Shiva temple that is carved out of icy stalactites.

While there was fresh snow at the top, the final part of the path that leads up was treacherously slippery, so much so that I slipped and fell on the way down to the pony. Hurt my tailbone, and it took 3 weeks for the pain to subside. Thankfully, I was still able to move around and enjoy other places on the following days.

That was a lesson learnt the hard way---snow that turns to ice is really very hard and hurts when you fall on it. I fully agree with you that going down is far more tough than climbing up.

Originally Posted by pulsar56

Venu Sir,
Avi = Official Negotiator!

BTW, ATV = All Terrain Vehicle

Thanks for praising my nego skills. Being a sales guy helps you know

Venu, looking at that steep mountain scared the pants off me. That was also a partial reason for dropping out of the para gliding...LOL

Originally Posted by unoczar

hey avi bhai,

great work! and you would be happy to know that one of your pics now adorns my desktop! (i hope u dont mind..!)

Wow, thanks ! Mind sharing which image would that be?

Taking things a bit off tangent from snow, mountains et. all. Some close-up shots of those beautiful things called " Flowers" with a hen thrown in between. Ha Ha ! .

These were taken at various locations during this trip !!

[traveloholic]

Avi, this is the best pic.
Love the GRUMPY COCK (no offences intended)
A lil' more DOF would have done wonders to this pics. A Blurred background with a sharper cock in the foreground would have enhanced the image more. Love this capture the most.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by traveloholic

Avi, this is the best pic.
Love the GRUMPY COCK (no offences intended)
A lil' more DOF would have done wonders to this pics. A Blurred background with a sharper cock in the foreground would have enhanced the image more. Love this capture the most.

Thanks.

He does look quite grumpy doesnt he? Maybe he finished his breakfast and immediately looking for lunch and not finding one ( Hint: Look at his size)

Well, DOF if i understand correctly is largely lens-dependant. At the minimum aperture that's the maximum DOF you can gather.

[Zappo]

Avi, if I were you I would have driven down (or up) to Himachal from right here.
Waise, that "cute kid"... tere jaisa lagtaa hai kya yaar thoda sa?

[traveloholic]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Maybe he finished his breakfast and immediately looking for lunch and not finding one (Hint: Look at his size)

Looking at his size, I am imagining how it would look on our Dinner Table. Just imagine.... TANDOORI CHICKEN

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by Zappo

Avi, if I were you I would have driven down (or up) to Himachal from right here.
Waise, that "cute kid"... tere jaisa lagtaa hai kya yaar thoda sa?

You hit the spot man ! My intial plan was to drive up and due to someone ditching me had to change plans. I will never forgive him

Btw, Yaar Deb, i thought i was smart not cute

[unoczar]

hey avi bhai.,

that pic is the pic named "tirthan valley" 3rd pic first post.

water and rocks... if u stare closely at them, they actually seem like two brother rocks! (whatever am i thinking?!)

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by unoczar

hey avi bhai.,

that pic is the pic named "tirthan valley" 3rd pic first post.

water and rocks... if u stare closely at them, they actually seem like two brother rocks! (whatever am i thinking?!)

Gee ! now you say that, it does look like that

I tried a couple of panning shots from one side of the hill. Both these shots were taken at 300mm hand-held.

Also, a typical himchali relaxing after a rice-curry meal at a place we stopped in between the mountains.

[mobike008]

Been too immersed in work so just could not continue this photoblog.

Here are some more varied pictures from our journey from Manali to Amritsar via. Mandi, Pathankhot.

[mobike008]

Whew! I feel sad that i cannot continue with my picture blog in time due to severe pressure at work. There are just a few more pictures left which will mark the end of this journey.

We reach Amritsar and around 1:00pm and immediately decided to head out to Wagah Border as its about 30+ kms from Amritsar and we were told there is a huge queue to get in.

Reached Attari Check-Post at 3:00pm and rightly said, the queue was intimidating. They finally let us in around 3:45pm and that line went for a toss as that huge mass of crowd was rushing in to choose the best seating spots to watch the Indo-Pak joint parade.

However, just a small piece of advise, that audotorium is so nicely made, it doesnt matter where you sit, you can still get a perfect view.

Compared to the crowds on Indian side, the Pakistani-end seem scant.

It was a beautiful experience to see this parade and the camaraderie shown between the Indian and Pakistani soldiers. Btw, the dark blue attired soldiers are from pakistan. Soldiers from both sides cross the gate and enter the other end for a short span.

MUST WATCH !!!

[mobike008]

We get to actually see a tourist bus that takes passengers across the border each day.

I beileve this bus starts in the morning from Delhi and reaches Wagah around 5pm. Though it was projected initally as a short period show, it went on till over 6pm which was more than 2 hours.

[mobike008]

It was dark when we stepped out at Attari Pass, had a quick snack outside and decided to head quickly to Golden Temple.

Traffic was bad, so we reached GT only by 9pm. This was my first visit to this temple and it just took my breathe away.

One of the most beautiful monuments in our country. I tried to take some snaps with a tripod but i was politely asked to put it away. So all pictures are hand-held !