Summer Camp for Taiwanese Students

We are pleasure to announce that Companion Travels are one of the co-organizer for the Summer Camp for TAIWANESE STUDENTS.

Trekkers Paradise in Kashmir – Yousmarg

Hardly few tourists know about Yousmarg near Srinagar. Yousmarg is a blend of beautiful natural sceneries, Nilnag Lake and various peaks convenient for Trekking.

Yousmarg is just 47 kms away from Srinagar in the district of Badgam, with a drive of 2 hours. Green Meadows stretched in Acres of Land, pine trees forest with snow capped mountains in the back, gives you an immense pleasure. All is to say that it is worth spending 2 hours to reach there and enjoy the natural and splendid beauty of the place. For families it will be ideal place for picnic (picnic goers please do not spoil the natural beauty by throwing the garbage or polythene bags in open, kindly carry it and throw in dustbins only). Newly wedded couples can enjoy the walk in Yousmarg and also near the river famously known as Dudh Ganga.

The Mountains of Yousmarg are comparable to European Alps. Yousmarg is famous for its unique Spring Flowers. Yousmarg has some high peaks in Pir Panjal Range such as Tatakoti 4725m, Romesh Thong 5000m and Sunset Peak 4746 m.

Activities in Yousmarg

Trekking - Yousmarg has some major trekking routes through large meadows, hills with many springs.

Skiing - Yousmarg has some natural slopes which offer the opportunity of skiing to experts.

Picnic spot - School and adventures camps can be placed in here for weekends.

Horse Riding - Horse/pony riding can be fun in here. Unlike Pahalgam, here pony wallas charge a reasonable price for pony riding. Same Day trip to Yousmarg from Srinagar is best for Couples whereas for adventure lovers it can be a weeklong camping site with plenty of trekking opportunities.

Places of tourist interest in Yousmarg

- With a short trek of 4 kms, Nilnag lake in the middle of Pine Trees forest.

- A full Day trek to Frozen Lake in Sang-E-Safed Valley which 10 kms away from Yousmarg

Advice - Trekkers are advised to carry tents with them as weather in such areas changes frequently with Guide help.

Getting There:

By Road: Tourists are advised to hire taxis from Srinagar. During winter road will be closed from Tsar-E-Sharief to Yousmarg.

For Stay:

Only Jammu Kashmir Tourism has Tourist Bungalow in here. Trekkers are advised to bring the tents along with them.

To Eat:

There are Jammu Kashmir Tourism restaurant which offers continental food at reasonable price and some dhabas which provides snacks and small meals during the day time.

Advice: It is advisable to carry your own packed food before going Yousmarg.

Cool Summer Destinations to visit in India

This summers, chill yourselves by visiting some of beautiful hill stations of India. Travellers love to visit India during October till Mid April as these are the months of winters. But Summers are also best time to visit hill stations of India where they can enjoy the low temperature with cool air and fresh environment. However, some of the hill stations have hot afternoons during summer but evenings and mornings are cool.

Where to Visit in Summers

Below is the Chart of hill Stations, you can visit during Summers:

Uttarakhand	Ø  Almora           Ø  Ranikhet         Ø  Nainital,    Ø  Lansdowne     Ø  Mussoorie      Ø  Binsar    Ø   Corbett National Park
South India	Ø  Ooty                  Ø  Munnar                            Ø  Kodaikanal       Ø  Coorg                       Ø  Yercaud             Ø  Coonoor
North East India - Kanchanjunga Hills	Ø  Darjeeling     Ø  Gangtok      Ø  Kalingpong    Ø  Pelling           Ø  Yumthang    Ø  Shillong    Ø  Guwahati
Himalayas	Ø  Dalhousie       Ø  Dharamshala      Ø  Auli    Ø  Kufri             Ø  Patnitop          Ø  Srinagar      Ø  Gulmarg         Ø  Pahalgam        Ø  Sonmarg    Ø  Leh-Ladakh    Ø Yousmarg
Other Hill Stations	Ø  Khajiar                Ø  Shimla                     Ø  Kasauli                Ø  Mount Abu            Ø  Mahabaleshwar     Ø  Lonavala

Be Careful While Taking Auto Rickshaw in Delhi

Taking auto rikshaws in Delhi for Travel, is not anymore safe, Especially for Ladies traveling in the Evening time. Recently some snatching and robbery cases happened in Auto Rickshaws which I think would not happened if taken the precautions. The Important thing before hiring any auto rickshaw is to notice down its vehicle number (preferably on your hand). Try to hire the old age auto rickshaw driver than a young drivers. Before reaching your destination do not get down without your luggage inside the auto, even if the driver ask you to do so. If the auto stuck somewhere and driver not able to start it and ask you to push it, never ever do that. Recently one of my known Tourist Friend has been robbed in this same manner. Auto Rickshaw Driver asked him to push the auto because it was stuck and not able to start engine. The moment he came out and start pushing the auto, the driver immidiately started the auto and run away with everything inside the auto. My Friend had nothing not even his own mobile and he could not even notice the vehicle number due to dark.

Secondly, just 2 days back, very unpleasant incident occurred in Capital City Delhi. A biker snatched the bag from the woman, while this Syrian Couple was traveling in an Auto Rickshaw in South Delhi's Safdurjung Enclave. The Biker snatched the bag from the other side of the auto and sped off. The pair is now in a fix as their passports, credit cards and US $7000 and 3000 pounds was in the bag.The man alarmed the nearby public and police was also informed but it was too late.


Below is the link of this news:


http://m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articleshow/12772906.cms


Humble Advise:
Please if you carry so much cash with you, then do not travel in Autorickshaw, better ask the hotel to arrange taxi. Every hotel provide lockers to the tourists to put their expensive jewellery or cash. 

Upcoming Festival - Moatsu Festival Nagaland

Festival Name : Moatsu Festival

Place: Nagaland

Festival Date: First Week of May

North East State Nagaland is a place for many Tribal People or communities and also rich in Traditional and cultural heritage.

Among the tribal communities living in Nagaland, Ao Tribe celebrates Moatsu Festival every year in the first week of May. Ao Tribe performs different cultural activities and rituals during this time. The festival usually comes after the crop harvesting, ploughing of fields, seeding, cleaning up the water resources such as wells locally known as Tsubu with another housing works like repair and building up the houses. This festival gives an opportunity for recreation and entertainment to reflex their muscles after the weeklong of physical stressful work. The environment becomes vibrant and lively during Moatsu festival by peppy songs and dances on the pulsating music by the tribal men and women.

 

The joy and fun of festival continues for full three days. The ritual called Sangpangtu in which camp fire is lit up and the well-dressed villagers sit around it are served wine and meat, which forms an intricate part of the festival. A virtuous man who claims to have directed by the Almighty forecast about good and bad days of natives and village.

This is also the time when best rice-beer is prepared and the best breed of pigs and cows are slaughtered for the feast during the festival. The women and men enjoy the festivity by participation in eating, dancing, drinking and singing songs in praise of fighters and love with gusto.

How to Reach :

AIR

DIMAPUR has the only Airport in Nagaland at the moment. Direct flights connect the airport to Guwahati and Kolkota and connections can be made from all other airports in India

RAIL

Dimapur has a railway station on the main line of the North east Frontier Railway. It is well connected to Guwahati, with a number of trains that shuttle between the two stations every day. Guwahati, on the other hand, has direct train lines with most major Indian cities.

ROAD

A number of taxis ply from Dimapur to Kohima. Night buses connect Dimapur and Kohima to Guwahati and Shillong (Meghalaya). A very convenient way for reaching Kohima is to take the train or flight to Dimapur and then rent a taxi to Kohima. The Dimapur taxi stand is adjacent to the Railway Station. Yellow taxis can be hired with other passengers (shared taxi) or exclusive (full taxi).

A traveler can also opt to rent a car from Guwahati (through tour operators) and drive all the way to Kohima. This is a very pleasant drive, lasting about 6-7 hours and taking the tourist past beautiful stretches of forests, greenery and hills.

NOTE: One should try to start and end the journey before nightfall.

               

Videos of Moatsu Festival

Same Day Visit to Agra...

Thinking to visit Taj Mahal, while you are in Delhi.. is good idea!!

All you need is to plan this trip one day in advance.. Leave Delhi at 06:30 AM in the morning with four hours drive from Delhi. On the way you will get the chance to visit Mathura & Varindavan (the birth place of Lord Krishna).

During your Agra visit you will get the chance to see Agra Fort, Tomb of Itmad-Ud-Daula with other interesting tourist places.

Few important things to be kept in mind during this tour:

1. Taj Mahal is Closed on Fridays and also closed partially in other days if any VIP is visiting which will be max. for 2 hours.
2. Entrance fee to Taj Mahal is INR 750 approx. (For Foreign Nationals Only)
3. Do not engage with touts if they ask you to go for cheap entrance ticket or free entrance from any other gate.
4. Do not let anyone come alongwith you during your visit to Agra. (even if you are going alone or staying in India for more days, as many tourist think that they have spent enough days to understand the people in here, which is not totally true.)
5. If you prefer any guide service, ask your agent only or go for licensed guide directly. Most of the guides carry their license with them.

Wish you all the very best... :))

Starbucks unveils plans for India stores with Tata-Oya!

Starbucks has unveiled plans to open its first outlets in India.

The US coffee giant said the first coffee shops would open by September in a 50-50 joint venture with Tata Global Beverages.

The outlets are to be co-branded "Starbucks Coffee: A Tata Alliance", on an initial investment of 4bn rupees ($80m).

Starbucks currently operates more than 17,000 cafes, with about 6,000 of them in more than 50 nations outside the US.

Starbucks announced a reorganisation last year, creating a China and Asia Pacific division with the intention of opening in India.

Delhi and Mumbai will be the first Indian cities to see Starbucks stores.

John Culver, president of Starbucks China and Asia Pacific, said: "We're going to move as fast as possible in opening as many stores as we can so long as we are successful and so long as we are embraced by the Indian consumers."

The Tata group is a massive Indian conglomerate. Its Tata Coffee division will supply coffee to the joint venture.

Tough competition

Indian coffee sales are put at about $667m annually, with the organised market - mainly cafe sales - accounting for about $140m.

Cafe Coffee Day is the market leader in cafe outlets, followed by Barista and Costa Coffee, both of which have ambitious expansion plans.

Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz has successfully turned around the company's fortunes since he returned to the top job in January 2008.

He closed under-performing outlets in the US, and extended the company into selling pre-packed coffee in supermarkets.

from: BBC NEWS