Mata Vaishno darshan is very convenient now after Shrine Board has taken over the command. Devotees of all age groups can come and pay visit to the holy shrine as per their comfort levels.

To begin you need to first reach Jammu which is easily accessible by Flight or Indian Railways. Once you reach Jammu, you will need to catch a bus to reach Katra. Katra is the base from where you start the ascend for Darshan.

Once in Jammu you can take a cab also for better comfort. Otherwise right opposite to the railway station is the bus stop from where buses ply at regular intervals. There should be luxury buses also available but their plying frequency is low. The journey from Jammu to Katra takes about maximum 2 hours. In a private transport it will surely be less than that.

Katra is where the bustling is due to all the hotel presence, restaurants and all kind of devotional services. Depending on the level of comfort you prefer, you can get it. We stayed in Hotel Orchid which was a 5 star rated hotel and is very comfortable. In case you have any elderly person with you, I would recommend it.

Any hotel in Katra will be happy to drop you at the place from where the actual climb starts. To climb the 12 km you have 5 options. Further 2 km up is Bhairon temple which is little steep but can be done slowly and steadily. I have been there on foot only so not much idea on other means of transport to that destination.

The 5 options for first 12 km are: Read more

Some time back I had written in a post that I have undergone a knee surgery. In more technically correct terminology, I had undergone an arthroscopy.

It has been more than a month now since the surgery was done and I am in the rehabilitation stage these days. It is quite interesting to know how the medical system works when an ailment of such nature is being cured in a hospital.

The doctor was responsible was conducting all the initial tests before concluding that an arthroscopy is needed. The doctor is then responsible for cutting open the knee and seeing what is the exact problem and how to rectify it.

There are some cases like mine where the MRI reports were not very decisive and the treatment I was undergoing not helping much in the pain reduction on the right knee. In such cases a diagnostic arthroscopy is done where the knee is punctured and seen for any problems and rectified right there.

Once the opening and repairing and stitching is done, then come the rehabilitation process. It is an extremely important step in any orthopedic surgery or ailment. When the instruments and repairing is done forcefully, the body reacts negatively initially which results in inflammation, skin redness and similar other signs.

The major side-effect which can be cured is the weak muscles and strength loss around the operated area. Knee seems to me as the basis for standing, moving, walking, and running which needs some time for caring it and bringing the strength back to normal.

This is where the role of operating doctor Read more

The trip to Hatta was a very traditional, unlike city environment. The photos in an earlier post of the trip easily illustrate that fact without any contention.

The city of Dubai and around is known more for the man made structures and skylines. The next day on Dec 27, 2008 we planned to explore the City Center of Sharjah. My father leaves home around 7:30 in mornings for office coming back around 6 pm. This gave my mother and me a good amount of time to explore the places near our home.

We had a heavy breakfast and I looked at google maps to find the place where I intended to go and how to reach there. Our home was near the national paints office on Emirates road. This was a very prominent junction where all taxis come by and the bus service is also quite good.

The road to City Center was dead straight about 5-6 km from our home and then a left turn about 500 meters would lead us to our destination.

We wore comfortable shoes and a heavy breakfast set the tone for an exciting day ahead with lots of fun. The stop of bus route number Read more

In the post of Hatta day trip, the ratings given at the end might mislead people into not visiting the place at all.

I would request the visitors to not make any judgments without seeing any images of that place. You can find the gallery of some images from my trip to Hatta by clicking on the image below.

See the images for yourself to decide if visiting the place is worth your time or not.

I had settled down in Sharjah at home and it were a few days past my arrival in the city. Friday is the weekend and people work on Saturday and Sunday. Dec 26, 2008 being a Friday, we planned to head out and explore the region called as Hatta.

Hatta is famous for the heritage village which is preserved in that region. Apart from the heritage value, the region probably once boasted of wide flowing river and its remains can be seen in the terrain. The landscape also reveals it with scales on water shaved rock.

It was a conducted tour from Arabian Desert Safari where my parents and me were driven around 130 km from our home taking about an hour to reach starting at 8 am. The Land Cruiser from Toyota is a powerful 4 wheel drive vehicle which is apt for maneuvering in such a rugged terrain.

The road is beautiful and driving is a pleasure. Once off road to the Hatta heritage region, the up and down landscape calls for a heavy duty vehicle with good shock absorbing technique. There were only 2 more co-passengers from Holland.

I had forgotten all my memory cards in India and hence had to look at the first stop market to buy some memory for my thirsty camera. Luckily there was a small local market which seemed to be meant for tourists like me and I was able to buy SD cards at quite high price.

Once we started back to stop only in the region where once river More about Hatta