I was sitting with my friend, P, today after lunch, having a smoke and appreciating the beautiful weather. It is very rear in Hyderabad to have a sunny sky and still not hot. As with all good things in life, this was also short lived. As usual we blamed it on global warming (the most overused term these days).

Of many reasons we picked fossil fuel as one of the primary contributor in the global warming. With cigarette in hand and beautiful weather you tend to think of changing the world. So we were discussing many ‘what-if’ scenarios – alternate energy sources, nuclear cells, and many others.

P suggested teleportation should be our primary means of transportation. It will result is going away with all the current gas hungry means of transportation, and it will be fast, fast as in speed-of-light. Guess what, we can reach New York in less than a second, which otherwise takes anywhere from 15 to 20 hours. I liked the idea, but then I started thinking on means to implement it and its consequences.

You remember Star trek, don’t you? Well teleportation seemed so simple in it. But we have a bigger problem at hand. Our star trek fellows only have to teleport very few at a time, but here we are talking about it as a means of mass transport. So we may need teleportation station, like we have railway/metro station, bus stands, airports, etc.

We are all made of hydrogen and carbon, and so is everything else around. Isn’t it? So it boils down to the atoms of hydrogen and carbon that we really need to transfer from one end to another. Transferring them physically may not be a real good idea. What if we have huge containers of stored hydrogen and carbon on the receiving end and we just transfer the details about the composition of a particular person to that end, so that we are reconstructed at the other end. In order to do so, you have to be first broken down into these molecules or atoms (whatever you want to call them). It sounds so painful, right? Well its not my idea, I read it somewhere. If I come up with something, that will be less painful.

Now consider the consequences of having teleportation stations.

1. First we need an infrastructure that can support mass teleportation,
2. Huge band width to transfer the molecular information to the other end,
3. Fail safe, of course I don’t want to be lost in transaction
4. Each station having multiple entry and exit points

Imagine what really happens at teleportation station – you get inside one of thousands of machines, enter your destination. The machine analyzes your vital signs, molecular structure & composition and breaks you down in to the basic elements. Stores your converted form in its hydrogen & carbon containers, and transfer the information of your reconstruction to your destination, where you are reconstructed again. Isn’t it fun? No way… it’s scary…

But never mind, we will do it for the sake of our beautiful planet earth. But I still have some unanswered questions:

• What if there is a traffic jam?
• What if all the receiving ends are busy?
• What if a VIP (like a politician or film start) is on the transfer? Will others have to wait for reconstruction?
• Do they need queuing?
• When we are reconstructed, will we have our cloths on?

East or west, India is the best! So I have decided that before going out of India for a vacation I will first cover as much of India as I can… SO here is the list of places I want to visit before I die:

1. Ladakh (Tibetan script: ལ་དྭགས་; Wylie: la-dwags, Ladakhi: Hindi: लद्दाख़, Urdu: لدّاخ, Hindustani pronunciation: Neolithic times. [ləˈdaːx]; “land of high passes”) renowned for its remote mountain beauty and culture, it is sometimes called “Little Tibet”. Rock carvings found in many parts of Ladakh showing that the area has been inhabited from [lad̪ɑks];
2. The Andaman Islands (Hindi: अण्डमान द्वीप समूह, pronounced Tamil: அந்தமான் தீவுகள்) are a group of archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal, and are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India. [əɳɖəˈmɑːn ˈdʋiːp səˈmuːɦ]
3. Jaisalmer (Hindi: जैसलमेर) nicknamed “The Golden City”, is a town in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone, crowned by a fort, which contains the palace and several ornate Jain temples.
4. Ranthambore National Park is one of the largest and most famous national parks in northern India. It is situated in Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, about 130 km from Jaipur, which is also the nearest airport. The nearest town and railway station is at Sawai Madhopur, about 11 km away.
5. Valley of Flowers National Park is an Indian national park, Nestled high in West Himalaya, is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty.
6. Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century Sun Temple (also known as the Black Pagoda), at Konark, in Orissa. It was constructed from oxidizing and weathered ferruginous sandstone Khajuraho (Hindi: खजुराहो) temples, constructed with spiral superstructures, adhere to a northern Indian shikhara temple style and often to a Panchayatana plan or layout. The external curvature and carvings of the temples depict humans, human bodies, and the changes that occur in human bodies, as well as facts of life. Some 10% of the carvings contain sexual themes; those reportedly do not show deities, they show sexual activities between people. The rest depict the everyday life of the common Indian of the time when the carvings were made, and of various activities of other beings.
7. Jim Corbett National Park—named after the hunter turned conservationist Jim Corbett who played a key role in its establishment—is the oldest national park in India. The park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park. Situated in Nainital district of Uttarakhand, the park acts as a protected area for the critically endangered
   Bengal tiger of India, the secure survival of which is the main objective of Project Tiger, an Indian wildlife protection initiative.
8. The Kashmir valley or Vale of Kashmir is a valley between Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. It is around 135 km long and 32 km wide, formed by the Jhelum River. It was called as “Paradise on Earth” by Jahangir.
9. Sikkim (Nepali: सिक्किम, Tibetan: འབྲས་ལྗོངས་,’bras ljongs;Denzong) is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas. It is the least populous state in India and the second-smallest in area after Goa.
10. Arunachal Pradesh (Hindi: अरुणाचल प्रदेश, pronounced state of India. Arunachal Pradesh borders with the Indian state of Assam to the south and Nagaland to the southeast.[ərʊˈɳaːtʃəl prəˈdeːʃ]  ) is the easternmost

Location: Dzongri Base Camp to Dzongri Peak
Distance: 2 Kms
Height: 4200 mts
Date: 6-Oct-09

Dzongri peak gives the best view of Mount Kanchenjunga, but to see it we had to reach there before sunrise.  After previous day’s high altitude sickness, I woke up fresh in the morning. Anything after midnight is morning, though it was still dark outside. At 4 AM in the morning, all I could hear was the occasional sound of yaks & horses and the stream flowing next to our tent.

We (Vishal & me) started moving uphill. On our way we found Maurice & Kim (trekkers from Singapore). It took us more than an hour to reach on the top. By the time we reached, dawn was just breaking. There was thick blanket of fog, which we expected to shed soon.

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We waited patiently for sun to come out. As the time passed we realized that the fog was there to stay and all our hopes of seeing the mighty Kanchenjunga may not be fulfilled. At around 7 am fog slowly started to move away and we could see Mt Black Kabaru. On its left was Mt. Pandim, and on its right was only the faint trace of Mt. Kanchenjunga.

After waiting there for another hour, we realized that we may have to finally return back without seeing Kanchenjunga so we started back for our base camp. We spent some time there on the locals, who stay there for only two months during the trekking season.

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We started back from Dzongri to Tshokha at around 11 am. I realized that climbing up was tiring but going down was painful. This realization is going to last for another 2 days… and probably for rest of the life.

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Maurice & Kim stayed back that day as they had to go to Goechala which was further up at a height of 5000 mtrs. Later they sent pictures of Mt. Kanchenjunga from Singapore.

Location: Tshokha to Dzongri
Distance: 9 Kms
Height: 14000 ft
Date: 5-Oct-09

The day started on a good note. After last night rains, the morning was bright & sunny. It is said that at high altitudes weather is best at early morning between 5 to 9 am. This is also the time to have the best view on the mountains, which are otherwise hidden behind fog & mist.

Even after not sleeping previous night, I felt fresh in the morning. Probably that was due to the soundings. The first thing we did was to spread our cloths to get dry.

There are times when you feel like living in a place like this, but then I guess it is a momentarily feeling as it is really hard to live at high altitudes. Anyhow, sometime I wish few moments should last forever and that morning was one such moment. Right after stepping out of the tent, we could see the magnificent peaks of Himalayan range. Mt. Pandim was very prominent.

First day of camp, breakfast was served right under the sky with Himalayas towering from behind. Nothing could have been better. It was an awesome site and experience.

We resumed our trek at around 0830 hrs for Dzongri. It was difficult then the previoud day trek from Yuksam to Tshokha. In fact, I felt like I was in a fairytale, going to a dangerous place to rescue a Princess…. Someone like Sindbad – the sailor. J

Vishal as usual was ahead of us… he covered the trek in 3 hrs 15 min. I was the snail, walking slow and stopping at every possible opportunity. At around 1300 hrs it started drizzling. We reached Dzongri at around 2 PM. I had slight headache and a nausea, so I was given hot garlic soup. The weather has not improved till then and all people were in there sleeping bags.

Location: Trek from Yuksam to Tshokha
Distance: 12 Kms
Height: 10000 ft
Date: 4-Oct-09

The day started early for us, as we had to get ready to start our trek. It was the bright sunny day and that reflected in my mood too. I was full of energy and ready to conquer the peak. On the way we had to register at the police check post. This has to be done by all the trekkers. On the outskirts of the city (Yuksam) was the last tea stall, where we stopped to meet Subba’s girl friend.

Starting few kilometers were fine, with not much slope but as the time passed the distance started looking longer and the slopes steeper.

At around 1200 hrs, I was too tired to carry my bag so I handed it over to Subba. Later we stopped at Sajang for lunch.

We resumed on the trek at around 1330 hours. Fresh cooked food and rest had given enough energy to my legs to carry my load further. After walking for another couple of hours we reached Bakhim. Vishal didn’t stopped for a break at Bakhim, but I was too tired to go any further without taking a break. I had some tea and took some rest.

Don’t think that I can walk again like this. After Bakhim, it was still a couple of hours more to reach our night camp Tshokha. By time we reached it was too foggy and I was almost dead. Vishal was nowhere to be found. After Subbar setup the tent, I went in for rest and he went to look for him.

That night it rained heavily, and water started seeping in the tent. Couldn’t sleep that night and everything was wet by morning.

Location: Yuksam
Height: 5000 ft.
Date: 3-Oct-09

Yuksom is around 138 kms from Gangtok. We started from Gangtok at around 0900 hrs. Our guide, Lalang Subba, came in morning to pick us from our hotel. The Jeep was loaded with the food ration for the next 1 week. On the way, we stopped at Ravangla at 1215 hrs for lunch. We were really hungry by the time we reached there so ordered lots of stuff… we ate gyathuk (another form of Thupka), fried rice, chicken momos, and local favorite wai-wai noodles in lunch. It was too much for both of us, but we anyway finished it.

From Ravangla we resumed further at around 1300 hrs. On the way we stopped at Phamrong Falls, one of the highest waterfalls in West Sikkim. It presents a magnificent scenario especially during monsoon. A gentle footpath takes one to a viewpoint for a closer view of this mighty discharge of water.

We reached Yuksam at around 1600 hrs, got fresh, and then got out of hotel the local view. Yuksam was a small town, beautiful people, their livelihood mainly depend on tourists and trekkers. I also realized that unlike rest of India the favorite sport there is football. It was great… calm, peaceful and good food & beer! J

We slept early that night, as there was no TV and anyway we were tired of all day travel & had to start our trek next day early morning. Sometimes it’s good to be away from the maddening crowd & chaos of the city life.

Location: Gangtok, Sikkim

Date: 2-Oct-09

We started for Gangtok at around 0800 hrs. The highway was bad, in fact too bad to be called even roads and that’s the state of roads I observed in most of northern part of West Bengal. On the way we stopped at an arc-bridge (one of its kind in India) over river Teesta.

We reached Gangtok at around 1400 hrs and checked in Hotel Mayur. At around 1600 hrs we met our trek organizer from Sikkim Tours & Travels.

For rest of the evening Vishal & I roamed on MG Road, had our dinner at Karoke restaurant and returned back to our hotel at around 2300 hrs.

I know 2300 hrs is to early to return, but then it was 2nd-Oct… A DRY DAY!!

Location: Binnaguri Cantt, West Bengal

Date: 01-Oct-09

This was a very exciting day… woke up early and then later went to the firing range where all the officers and their teams were practicing for a competition to be held in UK next year. I was taught finer details of firing a Light Machine Gun (LMG) and the Indian version of AK47 called INSAS 5.56 mm rifle. Some good learning & fun!!!

Later we went to Fhuntsoling, Bhutan, which is a border town near Binnaguri, West Bengal. Had Thupka in our lunch at Hotel Durk, and then went to a nearby Dumpa. On the way to Bhutan we had an excellent view of women plucking tea leaves.

The road from Binnaguri till Indo-Bhutan border was really bad, so bad that it was as good as not having any road at all. Good thing of reaching Bhutan was that India look really beautiful from there; anyway one can’t see roads from so far… J

Date: 30-09-09
Day start at 0300 hrs

0500 hrs – Wow! What a start for the trip. Its pouring cats & dogs today. Low visibility from my home to airport, thanks to express highway i reached on time.

Its 0530 hrs and I m on board on Indigo flight to Delhi. Both air hostess, Jaspreet & Manisha, are beautiful. This is a good start for the day!

1000 hrs – Boarded Kingfisher flight to Bagdogra. Sonia, the air hostess is good, she smiles.

1230 hrs – Reached Bagdogra. Maj. V is waiting. After collecting my baggage, we head to a restaurant for some fuel refill forthe body. Drank Dansburg beer. Danny Denzongpa owns the distillery. It is good, I think better than Budwiser.

1430 hrs – Starts our journey in army jeep to Binnaguri, WB. It’s been along time since I have traveled by road, over it the road is full of potholes in which I will sink.

1730 hrs – reached Binnaguri cantonment. Took some refreshments in the mess.

1830 hrs – V & I had a long discussion on life, friends, and other philosophies.

2030 hrs – Heading to mess for dinner.

2400 hrs – It was fun to meet all the officers at the mess. Eat & drunk a lot!

Have to go to firing range tomorrow…

Everyone seems to be so fascinated with the word ‘Sex’. Our need to have sex is perhaps the only thing natural left in us. But this is not my topic for today’s blog…

Sometime back I was reading somewhere in china, a park breeds tiger, so that they can sell their meat in there restaurant. I wondered why someone will like to eat the most beautiful & fearful animal in the world. Then I came to know that Tiger’s & Lion’s genitals are costliest body parts in the Asian market (read China, Taiwan, Cambodia, Vietnam, South Korea, and few other Asian countries). They have a belief that various tiger parts have medicinal properties, including as pain killers and aphrodisiacs. In fact, the market for tiger’s testicles has driven the Asian tiger to the brink of extinction. With the result, all tigers disappeared and ended up in man’s stomach. All living tigers and lions you see are now are in preserved wildlife parks and zoos.

Well strange it may seem it has its roots in the very ability for lion & tigers to have sex many times in a day. Have you ever wondered why a lion sleeps all day and lioness does all the hunting? Simple – he has to preserve all his energies for the act of love. Now here is the more surprising part, a lion can mate 150 times in just a period of 48 hours, with as many lionesses in the pride. It may seem like he is really a sex addict. Isn’t it? Not really.

A lion has to really work hard to pass on his seeds. On an average it takes a lion to mate around 3000 times with a lioness so that she can make a cub. So now you understand why lion has always sex on his mind!