Our member, Mr Dipak Kumar Dasgupta, shares his incredible tour experience of Gujarat with Mousumi Gupta.
Gujarat, India’s longest sea-shore state, is well-known for its varied terrain—sacred places, forests, hills and deserts—which has made this state a sought-after destination for tourists from across the country and abroad.
We visited Gujarat a few years ago, but the memories are still afresh. The places we liked the most were Somnath temple Prabhas Pathan, Bet or Beyt Dwarka, Gandhinagar and Gir forest.
Shree Somnath Jyotirling temple or popularly known as Somnath temple, adored by most tourists, specially attracted us because of the intricate and flawless carvings of the skilled artisans of Gujarat. It is famous for one of the 12 lit jyotirlingas – a symbol of Lord Shiva. The guide described how it had been destroyed and rebuilt countless times in the past years.
Millions of devotees come from different parts of the world to seek the Lord’s blessings. The Brahma Kund of Prabhas Pathan, which is spoken in Puranic literature with great reverence, is also known as Triveni Teerth, is another place worth visiting.
Bet Dwarka, a small island located off the coast on the Gulf of Kutch, always stirs curiosity among the tourists, for its mythical claim of being the actual residence of Lord Krishna, as well as the archaeologists because a major part of the island which drowned in the sea owing to continual coastal erosion.
The interesting part is that it is a 15-minute scenic ferry ride from Okha, which is quite comfortable even for elders. The place is also known as Shankhodhar because of its dotted and huge variety of conch shells.
Gandhinagar, the administrative capital of Gujarat, houses many spectacular sightseeing places of which we liked the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple, a grand architectural masterwork and a humble tribute to the sages of Hindu mythology.
The sanctorum embraces a 7-foot tall image of Lord Swaminarayan. It is a paradigm of silence and peace where people are engaged in selfless service to the Lord.
Sabarmati Ashram, on the suburbs of Ahmedabad, is also an interesting place to visit, as it was the residence of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi. It has now been transformed into a museum with all the belongings of Gandhiji and the charkha he used in those days.
Gir forest, the royal kingdom for Asiatic lions, is another must-visit place in Gujarat for its wide variety of wildlife and also flora and fauna. This is a fully protected national park, where tourists can watch the wild animals free from captivity and in their natural habitat.
The lip-smacking dishes, the aesthetic art and craft, Gujarat has steeped in a certain charm and history and for us it was a well justified holiday trip.

Take a peek into the allures of Bangkok through the eyes and words of our member, Mr Sujoy Kumar Roy, who visited the temple town, also one of Asia’s most important transit hubs, last year.
Bangkok is a top joint. Girlie shops, pub dames, masseurs, they don worn-out fractional shorts. Entwined love-smitten teenagers take nomadic detours in the marts and lanes. At outdoor services, the food salivates, the lobsters stare you down, while the lambs end up as chops. It is a sin to flinch from buying such culinary trash. Am I a Socrates on an austerity high, or hungry wolf? One wonders.
Bangkok is a temple city. There are statuesque manifestations of Buddha, emerald, golden, laughing, sky-tall, all shining swanky bright against background of thronging sight-seers looking like human chain in the blink of history. The local language is quite a tongue-twister. Seventy-two muscles that we use while speaking rebel in the midst of pronouncing the word riddles. Here goes Bangkok’s ceremonial name: “Krung Thep Mahanakhon Aman Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yothaya Mahadilok Phop Noppahrat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasthan Amon Awa tan Sahit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit”. When translated the name goes like “The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel, impregnable city of God Indra, grand capital of the world endowed nine precious gems, the happy city abounding in an enormous Royal palace that resembles heavenly abode, a city given by Indra built by Vishnukam”. (Have a glass of water).
The local language is in between Pali and Sanskrit. Baht stands for currency in vogue. One such Thai baht is equivalent to Rs 2.20. I asked the return flight time to Kolkata at my hotel desk to a girl in exquisite silk, she had a painted face with a dumb-doll expression. She quipped 50 bahts before serving up the answer. At every end of the street stands a hotel. All sorts of humanity scramble around the reception desk. A pint-sized man strives to catch an eye, a well-kenned gentleman stands amidst, a man with a mermaid tattoo and eye-brow like a Scottie dog battles against the bump of a Russian traveller.
Thais drive on the left. That is about all. The right of the way on road is determined by the size of the vehicle. The motorcycles slither along. Drive against the flow of traffic is Roman, sometimes drivers manage to transform a single lane for a U-turn to multiple lanes according to traffic density. Frank Sinatra said: “If you can make it here you can make it anywhere.”
But over the decades, the most absolute degrees of spinning traffic are in Hyderabad Charminar Chowk, old Delhi, Kolkata, where the traffic screams and avalanches like angry bees scaring away traffic constabulary. The Bangkok traffic does not honk though, neither spars for blows.
Flick through traffic advisory, you will find that Safari Park is a big draw for children. A floating market sells fruit baskets and small handicrafts on the canals by boats. Its waters sloshed with grease and burnt diesel give a kind of Venetian backwater experience.
Bangkok is Asia’s important transit hub. The Suvarnabhumi airport and Thai’s several airways have provided a jump-start to the economy, which is laced with wealth and low-brow life of immigrant population from Thailand’s many districts. The local population is mostly ethnic Thais, Chinese, Indians and Australians. An overly commercialised megalopolis, it sees muggers, cut-purses. The local taxi or tuk-tuk is a negotiable mode of transport. Women tourists go compulsively shopping. They come back with an appetite to bargain, as if little has been done, but lots not yet had. Men consume alcohol. They stand unswerving like the Statue of Liberty, though a little slanted like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, being light on purse.
Bangkok’s tiger temple is a tame affair. We never knew full grown tigers stretch like lizard on ground, upturned as turtles and not even capable of flaying the flies. Volunteers fan air at them. A tiger is nonce if lies down in such defeatist fashion, which gives way to doubt if the animals are drugged. But they know they do not have to run for prey and food is served to them.
Next is a visit at the site of the bridge built on river Kwai built by Japanese army in 1942-43 by punishing and pushing with lashes raining on war prisoners in a sweltering heat on jungles. The Japs wanted to extend the bridge beyond into Burma in order that the second world war could brought close to the frontier gates of British India empire. The original structure of the bridge was blown away in explosion.
A relic of the extant piece rails is preserved in a museum of a sordid period of history. The Bridge on the River Kwai was a film made in 1957. Remember the whistling tune of the march of British prisoners? The film used portion of the Colonel Bogey March is a British march composed in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (1881–1945). Pattaya’s sweeping coastlines, water sports, international dining experience and raucous and steamy night life is a huge draw. The Alcazar cabaret show is classy.