Lake District

Travel Month:

Feb 2009

Country:

England

Attractions:

Mountain driving, sight seeing

Total Distance Covered:

750 Miles


Travelogue:

It all started with a quick search on Facebook to find some old friends. Suddenly a very small sized picture with a familiar face of an old friend of mine took my attention. I did not meet him in the last 18 years. Because the picture was micro, it was hard to make sure that it was infact Atif. I had to shoot an email and then to wait for over a month. Finally I received a message of concurrence that this guy is none other than Atif Maqsood. We were best friends in school days and then the flow of life took us to our fate and we moved on with our busy lives and never could got in touch for such a long time. One major reason was that we picked up different subjects in high school so life just moved on. Well once we knew each others whereabouts by exchanging emails, I finally made a plan to visit Atif and Wasim in the UK for our reunion for a couple of days. The plan executed on the 6th of Feb 2009. Wasim has been an old and tested friend and each time I visited UK in the last ten years, I have stayed with him in Milton Keynes. I mentioned only Wasim and Atif as we were from the same college and this reunion was planed like that, but there are some other very good friends that I met in the trip including very good friends Rehman & family and Afzal. Both these fellows are my friends from college days and its always a pleasure meeting them.

I boarded the plane at 10am to Heathrow, the flight was uneventful on British Air except for a four seat treat I received. It was good to have four seats to take some rest. The flight was mostly empty and there were only a few passengers aboard the flight. After landing at Heathrow I came out in the lobby just to find out that the weather has been terribly bad forcing most of the public transport to cancel and people even couldnt move their cars out of their parkings due to pile of snow behind them. I was aware of the bad weather earlier butI could not change my program due to the weather only and took a chance. England gets snow only once in a while especially the big cities like London that does not fall in the snow belt. Therefore they were never prepared for the currect series of storms they received. Had it been Canada, the amount of snow received by UK would have been just a normal amount of snow for them. Obviously, different areas are equiped with the sort of weather they face. But current weather condition in UK directly effected our plans to go to Manchester to join Atif and to continue to Lake District as per our original plan for a few days holidays.

Wasim was waiting in the lobby with a baby rucksac at his back. He was looking like a camel with a little hump on his back. It was a surprise for me to see him anyhow because he had reduced about 21 kg off his poor body shape just to get ready for our trip across Europe in the coming months. He made it to the airport on train from Milton Keynes as he could not move his car either. We had a plan to head straight out and join Atif in Manchester to continue our journey to the Lake District where we planned to stay for a couple of days. The whole plan had to be changed now. The road to Manchester was trecherous and we had to reach Milton Keynes first to get our ride anyhow, and for Milton Keynes we didnt have any transport leaving us in afix.

We sat in the waiting area, thanks to terminal 5 and kept discussing the situation. I was least bothered as long as I was with my friends. We contemplated staying in a hotel or at some other friends.

Moreover Rehman called and he said nobody goes anywhere without visiting their place in Craydon. His emotional blackmail helped us and we scrapped our program to reach Manchester that day and headed to Victoria Station on the tube to catch another to Craydon. It was cold and snow was still coming down from the skies.

UK has seen such weather after 20 years, its the same number of years that I've not seen Atif....what a conincidence! London and other parts of UK were put to stand still as England doesn't seem to be prepared for such weather.

Well it was rush hour when we left Terminal 5 and all trains were packed with people returning from work. Rehman joined us from one of the stations on his way back home as well. We finally made it to his place on taxi from the tube station in the dark, while it was still snowing. Here we met Samha (Rehman's wife) and their lovely children. Samha was cooking a lovely Nihari for us while we went ahead to pick some naan and kebabs from the market. The food was delicious and we fed the hungry stomachs to the brim. A little walk in the snow was taken to keep our digestive system function properly after all the abuse we did to it, with the extra and rich eating. All three friends sat late into the night and notes were exchanged, we caught up for the last few years, discussions on various topics ended very late when it was called a day.

Rehman backed out from joining us due to the extra day in our plan as he had work, therefore he drove us to Milton Keynes so that we could pick up Wasim's car from there to continue to Manchester. We left at 6 in the morning when it was still dark. The roads were very slippery due to the snow turned ice on the roads. The temparature was well below zero and it was even colder due to wind. There was not much traffic as it was the weekend. Weather was still bad and we were hoping to pull out Wasim's truck from the pile of snow he left it in. We got dropped off couple of streets away from Wasim's place, so that Rehman would not get stuck on the icy small streets. We walked with my luggage to Wasim's house.

We met Wasim's family before we drove ahead. Wasim has three adorable children, who woke up early on a weekend day to meet us up. We continued our journey and did not forget to put a shovel in the car as a precaution. The drive was nice but the scenery was nothing compared to UK's scenery in the summers when it is lush green. We crossed Birmingham from the bypass toll road and had a coffee stop. We spoke to Atif on the way a few times as he was anxiously waiting for us.

People who have driven in North America will consider this a short ride but it is long for people living in the UK. It was a 3 hours drive to Manchester. The old friends finally meet, the emotions could not be explained. There was a time when myself and Atif used to spend full days together. We would go to school on bicycles and after school we used to spend the day together either at his place or mine. We used ot play cricket for hours and used to enjoy the food our mothers cooked for us. If I say that we were inseparable then it wont be an exaggeration. Those were good old days and those memories we cherish today. Today I work in the technology and HR fields and Atif is working as a Doctor in the the UK while Wasim is working in the technology area too. Life goes on, professions move friends away from each other but there are times like this when you get a chance to get together after several years without having it on the cards. Its life, which is amazing.

We drove to a restaurant close by to have a bite before we hit the road to the Lake District. Chicken Karhahi and mixed grill was served and we did justice to it. Soon we were in the hilly terrain heading Windermere Lake that was our first proper stop. On the way we left the highway and took the smaller roads. UK is full of single roads those pass through small villages and farm houses provided beautiful scenery. One could leave the highway to go through the side roads to make it to the same destination but by adding another few hours to the journey. But for me UK's countryside is always very attractive and I love to go through the side roads rather than the highways.

I remember when I was doing some projects in the UK I used to travel miles and miles without having a particular destination in mind just to enjoy the nature and scenery and I was never bored. Today was special anyhow that I was with my two old and best friends so even the land scape was not the priority. The priority was to catch up for all those years lost. We took full advantage of the time and discussed all those years we spent together. We did not forget to talk about our other friends who have done good for their lives and the ones who could not make it to good and still struggled for good life. Our prayers are with all of them.

We drove aimlessly through the bottle neck roads and continued our journey. It was very refreshing, weather was fairly cold and windy. We stopped at several place, clicked tons of pictures, changed our course many a times but still continued towards Windermere Lake. It was mid afternoon when we made it to the windy lake. The Swans, ducks and several other birds were enjoying themselves in the lake and due to the weather condition there were not too many people out there...good or us. We took a chilly stroll and then decided to go on the lake cruise. Next 1.5 hours we rode the waves and talked and talked with keeping a good eye on the stunning scenery around the lake. Myself and Atif stayed on the deck for quite some time and faced the below zero winds bravely.

This lake is surrounded by nice hills, some of them were snow covered providing a feeling as we were in the Northern Pakistan or Nepal facing the 8000ers. I have seen similar sceneries high up in the mountains but here in England where there are no 8000ers we were getting similar views. There is a road going alongside the lake on one side dotted with mobile homes, hotels and houses. The other side shows some summer retreat houses hidden in the trees. Behind on both sides there are mountains.

Windermere is the largest lake in this area and most visited offcourse. I summers it is hard to find a place to stay in this area and the whole of UK and other tourists flood the Lake District. The celebreties have their summer homes in the mountains. Lake District is very close to the Scottland so it is inherriting the natural beauty from there. I never expected that there would be so much of population at this location. But to my surprise the Lake District is full of small villages and you hardly drive for some time to reach the other settlement. But all the towns and villages are very well maintained and whereever there is any historic place it is very well preserved. Thats makes the whole of UK as a historic place because you find such place everywhere in this country.

By the time our boat docked it was evening almost. We had a coffee to warm ourselves up before we started the journey again. We crossed Ambleside and kept going towards Kiswick. We crossed a point where there are mountains on either side of the road and there are some nice hiking treks going up. We kept it pending until the next day to climb one of them. It was turning dark when we reached Kiswick. The scenery around this town is breathtaking as it is sitting in the middle of green mountains. A very well placed beautiful town. We spent some time here and then discussed where to spend the night. The good thing was we were traveling without any particular plan in mind, and as it was flexible we were not worried about where to reach at what time. We evaluated the situation and then booked online at one Travelodge some 40 miles away from where we were in the historic town of Kendal. We started towards our destination when it was dark and cold. Through the small roads, enjoying ourselves we managed to reach our hotel. Once we were unpacked all three of us in the same room, we went to the high street to find something to eat. We had a long walk in the closed markets to find something and stopped at a nice Pizza place. After dinner we had some more walk to explore the town and then drove back to the hotel. It was very late when we went to sleep.

I was up even earlier than my usual time due to the jet lag and Atif was the next to join me and we talked and talked until morning when Wasim joined the gang. After a refreshing shower we were out on the road to explore more lakes and towns of the Lake District. We wanted to do some hiking as well. At Ambleside we stopped for breakfast and to browse the outdoor stores those have always been my choice to visit. They had very nice but very expensive stuff.

Next stop was to climb the mountain but Wasim and Atif were not ready however I convinced them to come along with me. It was a snow track climbing at a steep angle and we were not prepared at all. All three of us were wearing the joggers and had no other means to help us go up. Soon we found out that it was very slippery and cold. Wasim trekked with us for some time and then gave up to go back to the truck. The remaining two continued and stopped at a small water fall coming down from a stream through the snowy mountain. We passed some other climbers who were very well equiped with sticks, ice axes, crampons and what not. One suggested us that we should not continue, but we continued for another 30-40 minutes. We only walked on the soft patches and not on the track as it was very icy and was impossible to walk on at least for us. Temperature was close to zero or below zero. We had a lot of fun, took a lot of pictures and were children like, like we were 20 years back. The time was reversed and we had come out of our aging process and felt at young as one could be. These feelings are hard to explain.

We started our descend on the slippery slopes and came back in the car to warm ourselves up. We were in the drive again, now going to the ocean. We were heading towards Whitehaven a Cumberian town and port in Northern England. That would our last stop before we head back to Manchester. The road was nice and the views were spectacular. We went through the mountains and soon were getting glimpses of the ocean far down on our right. The scenery had opened up and the mountains were just behind us. We also saw the UK's largest Windmill park generating power. Again this town was very historic and contains a lot of historic building and monuments. We clicked some pictures near the light house and the old castle.

The journey back to Manchester was bit boring as we were coming out of a nice scenery and a wonderful area. We dropped Atif where he had parked his car and started driving back to Milton Keynes. The drive was terrible because of the snow and rain falling the whole way. Visibility was reduced and the spray from the highway made it even more difficult to drive. But we kept making progress and by 8:30 pm we made it safely to Waseem's place. Dinner was ready for the hungry souls, thanks to Wasim's wife.

This leg of the trip was over with a bang and left lasting memories with us.

salalah - the last town

Area:
Salalah - Omans border with Yemen and Saudi Arabia

Salalah is the second largest town in Oman but is a far off place close to the border with Yemen. It is said to be given to Oman in dowry when a lady from Yemen royal family got married to Oman's king. The town is a coastal town surrounded by a U shaped mountain range that becomes tourist attraction in August and September each year when monsoon rains fall on this area. The mountains remain covered with fog and a lot of rain falls in the area. It makes the area lush green but the driving becomes treacherous in the mountains due to low visibility. Salalah is about 1200 kilometers from Dubai and about the same from Muscat (Oman's capital). The drive is very boring and tiresome due to a stretch of 700Kms or more of single road not very well maintained having only two petrol stations on the way. The terrain is absolutely terrible as there is not even a single plant on the way and its flat rugged surface with some small dunes on the way. Oman is sparsely populated and most of the population is along the borders with UAE and on the Arabian Gulf, a couple of cities in the mid country and then Salalah on the far end.

Travel Month:

August 2008

Country:

Sultanate of Oman

Total Days:

5 Days

Attractions:

Foggy Mountains, Some Off-road Driving, Ocean, Coast, Geysers, Shrines

Total Distance Covered:

3000 Kilometers

Travelogue:

DAY1

Since our arrival in the UAE, I had been hearing bout Salalah as a summer hill station but none of our acquaintances had visited this place. This was our first full summer here in UAE and it was as hot as it could be, touching 50 degrees roughly with very high humidity. I called up my two brothers and told them that we are going to Salalah and asked to accompany us. Everyone had their own reservations for such a long drive having heard the rough conditions on the way. Anyhow we got two entries in the shape of my eldest brother Sohail n fmly and our friend Nabeel n fmly. It was summer vacations for kids and they had no plan other than our forthcoming trip to the US and Canada. So the plan was finalized and before we left there were three more entries but all three of them didnt want to go to Salalah rather wanted to join us for one or two nights to Muscat that was not in our route. One was my brother Nabeel n fmly, the other were Saqib n fmly and Tariq n fmly. They usually don't go out for long drives so we felt obligated to go with them. We planned in such a way that we would stay with them for the first night at Muscat and then leave early morning for Salalah and let them continue for another day there.

We gather at the Hatta border check post and got the visa stamped without any hiccups. When you enter into Oman you drive along the coast to reach Muscat some 400 odd kms away. The drive was nice and the scenery totally changed as soon as we entered Oman as it becomes rocky but road sides are very green. While in UAE the terrain is sand dunes. We stopped at a couple of places for the convoy to reassemble.

The hotel booking was already done. We had booked three two bedroom apartments in a nice area. It was not difficult to find the hotel and we moved our stuff in the rooms soon after reaching there. It was afternoon so lunch was served from the one dish, each family was asked to bring. Lunch was sumptuous and left us licking our fingers, cause we couldn't fill ourselves more. After the lunch we started our city tour and visited the historic places as well as the scenic coast around Muscat. We went to a couple of famous beaches close to Muscat but those were extremely over-crowded so instead of taking a dip we rented two boats and went out in the ocean for a nice boat ride.

It was very hot in Dubai when we left in the morning but the weather changed to very acceptable in Muscat with nice ocean breeze. We came back to the city and visited some government buildings, very nicely but simply decorated. There were still signs of 2007 storm/sonamy that brought a lot of destruction in this area. I felt the sea was still quite rough out there. Back in the city we visited the main Souq, souq is the word used for market or bazaar in the Arabian world. It has its own magical attractions with shops of traditional crafts, herbs, Arabian perfumes, local clothing etc. Most of the prices were for the European customers which we saw none in our visit at least. The rates were highly negotiable and we ended up buying only a couple of souvenirs.

Night was approaching so we had a quick bite in the shape of Shawarma (traditional BBQ chicken rolled in Arabian bread with lots of vegetables, olive oil, herbs etc.). We had to call it a day because we had to start our drive at 430 hrs next morning. We drove back to the hotel to have some sleep but with so many kids around in vacation mood one could only dream of sleeping. It was late at night when we put the kids to beds by force.

DAY2

As per the plan everybody was up at 345hrs and we hit the road at the target time of 430hrs. We had some tea and filled up our coolers with ice at the petrol pump for our long drive. The target was to reach Salalah before the sun sets. Out of three cars two missed the exit towards Salalah and we had to wait for them loosing 15 minutes of time. After they caught up the drive was nice and went through some awesome mountains. The road was excellent and the morning was fantastic. The sun rose gracefully and brought some high temperatures with it. Soon it was 35 degrees early morning. We drove for 3-4 hours like this and then the road changed into a single lane with very fast moving vehicles dodging each other head on. The scenery was flat rugged surface on either sides of the road without having a sign of any living thing in the area. No plants, no villages, absolutely nothing on this long stretch of road. We filled up our fuel tanks at each gas station that came on the way, the maximum distance between two petrol pumps was about 360 kms. We drove fast and covered some good distance before noon. Lunch break was taken at one small restaurant close to a petrol pump. This was good food given the circumstances. The road was still straight, long, thin and and the driving was boring and tiring.

Finally we saw some shadows far away and thought some clouds are approaching to cool of the day. The temperature gauge was showing 49 degrees and the trucks were screaming with front and rear air-conditioners running at full. Salute to the wonderful technology of autos as these vehicles hardly got tired in this hot and muggy weather.

After a long and laborious drive we entered into the mountains and the temperature dipped below 25 degrees in just a few kilometers. The landscape changed from brown to green in no time and the hectic drive changed into a pleasant feeling suddenly. We were stopped by a check post who checked our passports and we were on the move again.

It got very foggy as we drove another kilometer further. The visibility was dropped to only a few feet and the drive became very tricky and perilous. I was leading the group of three vehicles and was negotiating the steep turns with caution. A few kilometers distance took us a long time to cover. But a very enjoyable weather with a drizzle and fog. The wipers were on and the lights were shining. Hills were lush green due to the fog and rain which remains there for these two months of Khareef Festival taking place at Salalah. The fog does not go away for these sixty days. It becomes fun for the visitors but non-livable conditions for the residents as they move to the plains around Salalah, some even camping with their big Arabian tents erected. Amazingly the Government provides them with electricity and water even at the campsites, a revelation for us.

Salalah is a tourist town and the life is on the move during the summer season and becomes normal and dull in the remaining part of the year. It is popular for its weather in summer, if it rains they provide life to some ponds and streams in the region. There are some water falls those become alive when it rains. Salalah provides some historic and ancient places for archeology loving people. There are two tombs of two Prophets, one in the Salalah city and the other one in the mountains. There is a beautiful setting of geysers not far from here made by the waves hitting caves at the coast. There are certain holes on the surface that make the water come out and jump several feet with each wave hitting the caves under the holes. This was an amazing site. Then there are some very good offroad tracks leading into the mountains.

We arrived at Salalah before the sunset as per the original plan. The booking was done again through the same contact who did it in Muscat but we found out the person who was in charge at Salalah booking ditched us as he gave our rooms at slightly higher rents to someone else. We were stranded with tired and hungry kids. The search for a hotel was on but in the next two hours we made not progress due to tourist season and every place being booked in advance. We were going to all the places we could find but to no avail, finally reached Youth Hostel Hotel converted into a nice hotel. The manager listened to us and was sympathetic but offered no room. We stood our ground and reached the level of pleading (or at least we posed like that). He finally showed mercy and offered us two suites with a promise that we will vacate them the next morning. That was good enough for us to set us up for that night and the next day we would decide the course of action. The rooms were nice big size suits with one bedroom, big sitting room, small kitchenette and a bathroom. We split up into different parts and corners of the suites. My father decided to put his sleeping mat in the small kitchen to avoid the little devils.

After we were all fresh and ready again we hoped into the trucks and asked the manager for a good restaurant specializing in traditional local cuisine, which he guided us happily. We found the place after a little search, it was a traditional Omani restaurant with several rooms each could be used by one party visiting them. We ordered their specialties and ate it. It was OK food, I did not really liked it much because we usually like spicy food which this was certainly not. My wife started having tooth pain just then but as it was too late we could not find any dentist to get herself checked. She spent the night in pain and got the tooth removed next day to get some peace.

The night was good with temperatures half the mark as compared to during the day. Surroundings were absolutely astounding with mountains in the view. This hotel was at the outskirts of the city towards the mountains offering nice views and in proximity of the vistas. We really enjoyed staying here.

DAY3

The next morning we visited the manager and as we requested him earlier to help us finding a place for the next two nights, we requested him again. We wanted to fix this problem before heading out for sightseeing. After we made sure that he understood that we were the victims of one of his countrymen, we asked for his help to find accommodation. He really considered that and offered us one of his suites in another block. We were seven adults and sever children, though it did not sound a very good idea but the circumstances were already tested by visiting several hotel last night. Therefore we accepted the offer and we moved our luggage to that suite. One bedroom, one living room and 14 individuals. The night would be exciting with all the kids running around.

We drove to find a place where due to gravity, if you put your vehicle in neutral it travels uphill. An incredible thing to discover.

Details will be posted soon...

DAY4

Details will be posted soon...

DAY5
Details will be posted soon...

Polar Bear Express

Area:
Northern Ontario - North Bay, Temagami, Cochrane, Moosonee, James Bay

Travel Month:

August 2006

Country:

Canada

Attractions:

Polar Bear Express, Southern Tip of Arctic, Wilderness of Ontario North

Total Distance Covered:

2100 Kilometers on tarmac, 600 Kilometers on Polar Bear Express, a few kilometers off-road

Travelogue:
There were only a few days left of children summer holidays and I was sitting in my office reading the newspaper. There was a full page advert about the polar bear express, mentioned that the last train would be on the last day of holidays. That was enough to stimulate my senses of travel and I called home to finalize leaving tomorrow early morning, that was agreed and accepted right away. In the meantime I called the number given in the ad and tried to book in our tickets for the train. Unfortunately the lady told me that the system was down and she cannot book us but she assured that we would get the seats. I called up a couple of friends to ask if they wanted to join but as it was already evening and no one was ready to go in such a short notice and especially for such a long journey, just to ride on a train. But as always we were determined to do this.

So the minivan was loaded up at night time, and we all slept / not slept with excitement of the journey.

Route:
Cochrane is the last town in Ontario North, from where the polar bear express originates. It goes to the last village in Ontario North called as Moosonee touching the James Bay and further to Hudson Bay. This place is considered as the southern tip of Arctic. Very exciting to hear. We had to travel from Mississauga to Barrie to Orilia to Gravenhurst to Bracebridge to Huntsville and then passing by the famous Algonquin Provincial Park to North Bay and finally to Cochrane which is the home town for famous hockey player Tim Horton. Who doesn't now about Tim Hortons - now the largest coffee giants in Canada. This was appr. 800Kms journey by road and then about 4 hours ride on the train to reach our destination.

Our commitment for travel and willingness to take challenges has never made us think much before travels and we leave the thinking for the way. We would get plenty of time to think and to plan on the way.

DAY1

We left and 4:30am and crossed Barrie before breakfast time. Once we crossed another few small towns we got the feeling of the North. We were away from the city the road went through quite ups and downs and green fields and forests. We drove along the Lake Simcoe for some time and also not far from the Georgian Bay. When we crossed the road going to Algonquin Park and then to Arrowhead Park we got an urge to divert our plan to these locations but we still continued as Polar Bear name was very attractive and we associated high hopes with that.

North Bay is a sizeable town on the shores of Lake Nipissing. Lunch break was taken here with some fast food and the journey started again towards Cochrane. This was a single road and very less traffic on it. Now we were really far from home or atleast due to very sparsely traveled road we got this feeling. For the next long stretch of road we hardly saw any vehicles and crossed through some nice densely forested lands. The road was going through low hills and then we came across a few nice lakes on the turns. The lakes continued along the road for some time. About 1.5 hours drive we stopped at a very nice lake and a small village named Temagami. The lake was absolutely picturesque with lots of boats in it and the water planes belonged to a tourism company. Deep blue water provided an amazing sight. We had a small round here and visited a very interesting outdoor shop and the visitor center. The lady in charge at the visitor center moved here 35 years back from Hamilton. She was a painter and move away from the city to paint in peace. She had a nice exhibition of her work in the center. A very nice, soft spoken and loving lady who told us that she hardly see any Asians visiting this area and we were exceptions. Anyhow this stopover was worthwhile and we loved this place and would love to visit again.

The last couple of hours journey was tiring as we were fatigued by the days journey. It was 4ish when we made it to Cochrane and went straight to the visitor center. There was nice information displayed about the area and activities. This area is only visited during the summer and in the winters there is hardly any visitor except from when the snowmobiles race takes place, which is a famous event here.

After visiting a couple of hotels we finalized a different kind of a hotel having man-made Igloos to live in. It was very interesting concept that we never saw before, kids were ecstatic and loved the moment they entered this place. Evening was falling in and it became a bit chilly.

After checking into the hotel we drove straight to the station to book tickets for the next morning train as tomorrow was the last day of Polar Bear Express going to Moosonee. But to our surprise they didnt have booking where we get all seats together. After a lot of argument and discussion and reference to my previous days call they offered us to come in the morning and they would get us seats together. This was really disappointing despite calling in from 800 kms before travel. Anyhow there was no choice and we had to give up trying. On the way back to the Igloo we stopped at a Pizza place for dinner and enjoyed the meal. We also visited the small museum about Tim Hortons and the area build inside abundant train bogies.

We came back to our Igloo suite and adjusted ourselves in. It was a comforting place after the long journey. There was a glass wall between the room and the bathroom, it was clean and elegant. We put children to their beds and had a coffee. It had become quite chilly outside - no wonder we were traveling towards the Arctic.

DAY2

We had to reach the station at 6:30 to sort out the seating issue. And as usual we were there even before that. We had on backpack, one baby carrier for Hassan, some water, some eatables and Iman and Sajeel. The seating issue got sorted out right away as they added an additional bogie to the train on demand and as it was the last train they were more courteous. But I must admit people there were very helpful and nice. There were a lot of old people and harly anyone with small kids like us. All whites and we didn't see any Asians/browns. The train was old but comfortable. There was a children play area in the next compartment, they were excited anyhow as this was their first journey in the train anyhow. We had some open spaces in our compartment so it was not crowded at all. The train started with famous whistle. We were out in the open soon. Most of the travel was through the plains and forests. The train continued through the trees and there were hardly any picturesque areas visible. Apart from and few spots when we crossed the Moose river and couple of other waterways when the scenery opened up. So far the excitement was only to be on the train and we were hoping to get to a nice place at the end. The journey was long but not tiring so far. Kids were having good time and they enjoyed every bit of it. Train and open area was all what they wanted.

We took a few rounds here and there in the train and went to the glass top double story bogie and had nice views from there atleast. We also enjoyed breakfast in the dining car with eggs and toasts etc.

It was getting far far away from the civilization and there is no road that leads to the last stop but only this train is the means of travel. Other than the summers there is a regular passenger train that takes several hours one way and stops everywhere. Finally it was announced that we were reaching Moosonee.

This was supposedly be a cold place as the word Arctic suggests but when we got down from the train it was quite hot and humid. There was just one platform and nothing else visible. We were told to get into a bus to be taken to the town. That took two minutes and we passed through a very small far away town/village and were brought to the Moose River banks. Here the river gets high tide and low tide every six hours and many of the small visible islands are washed up during the high tide. Interestingly as it is touching the James bay the water becomes salty at high tide and becomes sweat at low tide. This is an interesting phenomenon.

Moosonee is a historic place and there are old buildings and the Old Moose Factory (the only attraction of the area other than traveling to the James Bay by boat) still intact on an island in the middle of Moose River. Once we reached at the banks everyone started boarding onto a small cruise ship to be taken to the Moose Factory and we being more adventurous hired a small jet boat for the same purpose. After seeing us boarding a small boat instead, two old couples also opted to join us rather. The cruise had left before us but soon we caught up and crossed them. For children that was a big win and they made a lot of noise. They were looking very cute with bigger sized life jackets. The boat was really fast and interesting. Our driver gave a good round before dropping us on the island. And later we got to know he dropped us on the other side of where the cruise drops everyone else, giving us an oportunity to walk on the dusty track for about 1.5 km to join the historic street. It was a real hot day for this area and walk under the sun with the baby carier at my back was tough. Me and my wife shared this on the way to the other side and then found out there was quite a walk to see the place and then back to the boat. Our water reserve was finished and the kids were tired. So we headed back to the boat station to catch a boat back to the other side. Kids insisted in taking the smaller boat again and we came back to where we started. So far it was not a good experience and the town was really haunted with hardly any people visible. We finally reached the only store in Moosonee "Northern" that had a pizza hut and some place to sit. It was a well deserved lunch and break as we could even find a shade to sit otherwise in this town/village. We ate and drunk to the maximum, had a round in the grocery store to pick some water and snacks before coming back to the small station. There was a one compartment museum the only shade in the area so we had several rounds inside and then once the sun moved to west we got a shade to sit.

There was still some time before the train goes back. We met an Indian family who were surprised to see us as we were to see them. We had a nice chat with them and the time passed little better. When the sun was down and we were approaching the evening the train started. We found a nice compartment with 3x3 and 2x2 seats so that the kids can sleep on the way back. It was dark soon and there was not scenery whatsoever. It was just a train travel and thats it. We took a few walks to the snack bar and dining room before the kids were asleep.

It was after 10pm when we reached Cochrane and now definitly tired. We picked up a pizza for the dinner and headed back to the Igloo. The hotel management had upgraded our Igloo as they got a big one vacated and had moved our stuff to that one. This was more spacious and nicer. The night was again chilly and the day heat was forgotten. Kids were again fresh, as they had slept during the journey, they were jumping every where. We had nice view of the fields from the little igloo window.

DAY3
We got up with little leisure today, had a shower and got ready for the breakfast. In the dining room there was only another couple having b'fast. They told us their story as they were traveling from Vancouver to Montreal with the wife driving a U-haul truck and the husband later caught up to her on his car. But the trailer broke down some 200 kms from Cochrane and there was no replacement U-haul could provide to them immediately so they decided to take few days off in Cochran and the area. We had a nice chitchat with them. The continental b'fast was not bad and we really enjoyed it.

Once we packed up our van we went to visit a couple of places in Cochrane including their museum kind of setup with the old village with the original old stuff in it. They had old houses with old furniture, farmhouse, barbershop etc. etc. it was nicely done. And then to the Polar Bear pools. They had polar bears in one pool and then another pool separated from this one by a think glass for the visitors. This was very interesting. We changed into our shorts and jumped in the cold water to be closest ever to a polar bear. The water was freezing but we still managed to get in to see the polar bears swimming across us. It was an amazing experience standing next to polar bears. We had to come out and change, as we were turned blue in only a little time. Then we came into the covered gallery to watch the bears fed. They were quite athletic in the water and performed a number of tricks and games. It was time to move out.

We started our drive back by afternoon and planned to stop on the way whereever we feel like. When we reached Temagami we visited the old artist again, when we told her that we planned to stop somewhere on the way, she suggested to stay at Temagami and she would arrange a nice cottage for us. It was tempting to we thought to explore it. When she called around and arranged a cottage for us, we drove another few miles to a small private cottage area to have a look at the cottage. It was a very nice and beautiful lake and the two-bedroom cottage was right on the lake. We accepted it right away. The area was nicely tucked in big trees and there were private lands and cottages around the lake. A Polish couple that moved here twenty years back from the city owned the property we rented. They had a few cottages, a small boat marina, and nice trail through their land. The family was really nice and hospitable. They told us to take some rest and then see the area. They also included two fishing rods & bait, one small engine boat and a canoe in our rent - a very good deal in $100.00. We were also warned about the bears as this was bear country. They told us a bear sighting two days back on their property and suggested to stay in at night time.

The feeling was great, the place was spectacular and the atmosphere filled with jungle smell. We off loaded only the necessary things and after putting them in the cottage we came out for some walk. We never drove a boat before so thought to give it a shot. Everyone was fitted with life jackets and when I pulled the string to start the motor, it started right away giving us a good start. But only the start was good as we did not know a thing about the motor or the boat. We had been doing canoeing in the lakes but never had a change to drive the motor boat. Being our first experience, it was not simple and straight-forward for us. When I reversed it, it went everywhere and then the motor died. The boat was dragging in the lake with the waves. I kept trying but in vein. The sun was setting already and the evening breeze was quite chilly. There were some clouds on the other side of the lake hanging from another cottage chimney. All our tries were failed and there was not help available around and suddenly we happened to see the ores in the base of the boat. Rest was no problem as we used them to bring the boat back to the parking point. We gave up on this for tonight as it was getting dark. We still had to go out to have dinner or to get something to cook for dinner.

We drove back to the town and found a fish n chips corner hut. We ordered and sat in the open sitting area. After like 30 minutes on our third inquiry we got to know that there was on one plate fish available, well no choice given to us but to eat that fish and the chips. Once we were half full we walked to the only grocery store opened and got some snacks for tonight and eggs & bread for the breakfast. The drive back to the lake was very nice as it was through the dense jungle and part of it was not tarmac. We came back to the cottage and the kids had some fun at the play ground right in front of the cottage. When it got too dark we came into the cottage and sat on the lounge to enjoy the night. There was a lot of moon light out there and the lake and surroundings were quite dramatic and fairytale. Kids went to sleep on their bunkbed and we enjoyed bit more before retiring.

DAY4

Early morning it was sunday and we were all ready for the hike. When we came little far from the cottage in the small hills we found some fresh bear pooh and a shiver came through our body as we were two adults, two children and one small baby in the carrier. After cutting short our hike we came back to the cottage - not to take any chances towards the end of our trip. After coming back we thought of giving another try to the motor boat. This time it never got started so I went back to the owner's hut and asked for assistance. The man came with us and taught us how to ride it and gave us a big round in the lake. After I saw him doing things I was confident that I could do it now. We enjoyed so much that day on the boat, it was not a big lake as per Canadian standards but still sizable and quite deep. There were a few very nice cottage around it - all private quite elevated, the only rental property and on the ground level was where we stayed. Suddenly the clouds roared up and it started to rain very fast. We stayed in the boat for some time under our umbrella as we were on the other side of the lake but the rain was not in a mood to stop. Therefore we drove back to the marina and switched off the motor with a feeling of success and achievement - we learned something new.

It was time to pack up as we had long drive back to Mississauga some 700kms away. We packed up and were ready to go. We said goodbye to the area and drove towards North Bay, further to Barrie and eventually reached home after sunset.

Another memorable trip ended and left more hunger to see the nature with the whole family.

Grand Canyons and Vegas

Area:
Nevada, Arizona, California

Travel Month:

July 2001

Country:

USA

Attractions:
Natural wonder, Drive

Total Distance Covered:

2000 Kilometers on tarmac

Travelogue:

DAY1
Details will be posted soon...

DAY2
Details will be posted soon...



Coming Soon...

Singapore and Hong Kong

We visited Singapore and Hong Kong for 10 days. Details to be posted later.

Bangkok

Thailland

Details later...