What to do in Oulu? | Finland beyond Helsinki and Lapland

Oulu ⁠— the stop before Lapland! It is the fourth largest city in Finland, located around 170 km south of the arctic circle. The city has been chosen as the European Capital of Culture for 2026. So if you happen to find yourself in this city, here is a list of things that you may want to check out.

Hunt the auroras: I mention this first as this was what brought me to the city for the first time. It was the September of 2021 when I saw news of a period of high solar activity that may bring in good auroras. Oulu is one of the southernmost locations in Finland with frequent auroras. Unfortunately, the weekend we travelled to Oulu was cloudy and we got no show. However, it was during another trip later that year, I finally managed to see the aurora in Oulu. The Facebook group Oulu Aurora Spotters has a map that tells the best locations in Oulu to see auroras. The group also has active members who post about aurora sightings almost immediately.

Winter cycling: Oulu is the winter cycling capital of the world and home to the Winter Cycling Federation. It has the most extensive network of cycling routes in Finland covering the entire city and also the neighbouring municipalities. Not just that they have the routes, but most of them are well maintained and kept illuminated even through the cold dark winters which is basically about half the year. The real thrill of cycling does come when the temperatures go as low as -20°C.

Meet the Toripolliisi: Be it sun or snow, the policeman is on duty overseeing the Oulu's market square. The bronze statue sculpted by Kaarlo Mikkonen was unveiled in September 1987. It is dedicated to the market police officers who patrolled the area between 1934 and 1979. The Toripolliisi is probably the most recognisable and photographed landmark in the city. So don't forget to get yourself clicked with the officer.

Rovaniemi — The hometown of Santa Claus | Exploring Lapland by public transport

Rovaniemi is undoubtedly the most popular destination in the Finnish Lapland. It sits right on the Arctic Circle, around 900 km north of Helsinki. It is the most convenient place in Finland to get to watch the midnight sun in summer and the auroras in winter. Rovaniemi also happens to be the "official" hometown of Santa Claus and you can meet him at his office throughout the year. As of July 2022, I made two visits to Rovaniemi — first during the mid-summer weekend in June 2021 and then again in December 2021 a week before Christmas and I had a contrasting experience either time. Not only because of the contrasting weather but the vibe of the place. During my June visit, the town was literally empty like most other Finnish cities during mid-summer. The Friday I reached there and the Saturday next, only a few restaurants were open and most stores closed early. Even the public transport was not operational on Saturday and threw my plans in jeopardy. In December however, I could hardly find cheap accommodation thanks to the high demand. There were tourists all around. For the first time in Finland, I saw and travelled in a crowded city bus where many passengers had to go standing.
Enough of my experiences! Let me show you Rovaniemi from my perspective.

City of Snowman - Kemi | Exploring Lapland by public transport

Kemi is a small town just at the base of the Finnish Lapland where it touches the Gulf of Bothnia. The place might not exactly be on someone's itinerary more than being a stopover on way further up to Lapland or while returning from there. Even I had just passed through Kemi on my way to Rovaniemie twice — in June and December 2021. But I finally got some time to explore the town during my mid-summer 2022 bikepacking trip. While I may tell about that trip in a separate post, I will here focus on what to do if you happen to be in Kemi.

How to reach?

Kemi is well connected to Helsinki and most other major cities in Finland through buses and trains. Almost all busses and trains on the way to Rovaniemie from Helsinki stopover at Kemi. It might also be possible to hop on the only overnight train service from Helsinki to Rovaniemie. Kemi also has its own airport but the number of connections is limited.

Kuopio — a tourists' perspective | Finland beyond Helsinki and Lapland

Where is it?

Kuopio is a town around 400 km north of the Finnish capital Helsinki in the Northern Savonia region. This region is also called Lakeland due to the numerous lakes present here. Kuopio, the seemingly capital of Lakeland, almost seems like an island with water bodies on all sides.

How to reach?

Kuopio is connected to Helsinki by European route E63. Busses and trains are also available at regular intervals. Finnair flies in atleast once a day from Helsinki.

Where to stay?

Airbnb is a popular option to find accommodation here in Kuopio. There are quite a few hotels in the town. For budget or solo travellers, Hostel Hermanni and Hostel Matkustajakoti are also an option.

Felu'da the traveler

The Feluda series by Satyajit Ray is usually listed as one of the finest literary works in crime thriller genre. But beyond each crime is hidden a wonderful travelogue. This series has always been my favourite but the current lockdown due to corona pandemic has helped me see it in a new light. Like everyone else, I was craving to travel - more so because the lockdown foiled atleast two planned trips. I found my refuge in these stories by Satyajit Ray through movies and audio stories by Radio Mirchi Bangla. I had read, heard or seen the stories earlier but this time I also discovered how the master craftsman through his words carrys us to a different place. The experience is further elated through the sound scapes created by DJ Richard in Sunday Suspense version of the stories. There are 35 stories in the series published between 1965 and 1995. My personal favorite currently is Ebar Kando Kedarnathe. In June 2019 I had visited the Valley of Flowers and Badrinath and was planning a trip to Kedarnath or Madhyamaheswar in 2020. As I heard the story through the voices of Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Jagannath Basu and Soumok the familiar scenes came flashing before my eyes.

For those who haven't yet read the stories, do get a copy of the collection from Amazon or Flipkart. You can also enjoy the audio stories and movies but they are mostly in Bengali. I have tried listing the available audio-visual contents based on these stories. Enjoy!!!

24 hours in Panchgani

Before the Covid pandemic struck I was fortunate enough to make two trips in 2020 - Pune and Panchgani in February and Chennai in March. I have written about my Chennai trip in a story earlier as a part of  Tripoto's contest my last trip before lockdown. This is the story of my first trip of 2020 or the second last before lockdown. I was actually in Pune for a conference organised by CDAC and held at IISER. After the conference concluded I had kept on hand an extra day to explore this region. Not to mention that there are numerous hill stations in this region that serve as weekend getaways for Punekars. But the best time to visit the region is during or after the monsoon when the landscape is at its best green. Unfortunately, I was there at a time when there were only dry leaves and grasses on the hills. 

Google Map Lists

FoodKa recommends: Kolkata is a food heaven. With loads of options to try, it can be difficult for someone who has never been to Kolkata to find really good places. This Google Map list of places is based on the popular YouTube food show FOODKA hosted by Mir Afsar Ali and Indrajit Lahiri. The best thing about them is they cover both high end restaurants as well as street food stalls where Kolkata eats. ঠেসে খাও |

Highway On My Plate (HOMP): Just like Foodka and Mir, there are two other foodies — Rocky and Mayur — who had once set out to explore the food along the highways that crisscross this tasty country. The result was a show on NDTV Good Times and a two-volume book. And I created this list so that I can easily find good food while I am travelling across India.

Food-Foodie: Yet another collection of places offering good food. This one is a more general list with recommendations from multiple food bloggers, experts and of course locals.

Hikes & Treks: A list to locate hiking and trekking routes or rather the destination.

Thriftee Stay: This is a personal collection. As a budget traveler, I always look for the cheapest accommodation to stay and finding one is not always easy. Often the cheapest ones are not easily discoverable on internet. Hence was the need of this list. I try to find places that charge INR 300 or less for a night stay and add here.

*You can contribute to any of these lists by commenting down below.

Chennai : My last trip before the #lockdown

So my last trip before #Lockdown was to Chennai. Not a leisure trip but to attend a conference at IIT-Madras. I was to leave Allahabad on 4th March early morning by train and on 3rd evening a piece of news flashed on Times Of India that visas for people from few countries have been suspended. This was probably the first major step taken by the Government of India to prevent the outbreak of Corona in the country. Over the previous few days, I had seen big conferences including those of American Physical Society getting cancelled due to the Corona virus outbreak. The IIT conference starting on 6th was to have several speakers and participants from Japan and I feared should the event get cancelled. With some hope, I boarded the train on my way to Chennai. While on-board, I received an email that the event would go on as planned except that the Japanese participants would join in via a video-conferencing.

Destination Garo Hills

After being in oblivion for years, Garo Hills have started to open up to a new era. An era of TOURISM. When one talks of Meghalaya, Shillong, Cherrapunjee or Mawsynram are the probable names that come to mind. But around 300 km west of Shillong lies this hidden gem. It is only lately that tourism has started gaining pace in the hills with better road connectivity and opening up of homestays and hotels. Frankly speaking, having born and brought up here even I haven't yet explored this place. 

Garo Hills is one of the three hills besides Khasi and Jaintia Hills that make Meghalaya. Apart from clouds, these hills are home to the Garo Tribe. The blue-green hills are rich in biodiversity and houses two national parks and two wildlife sanctuaries besides several other protected areas. The National Citrus Gene Sanctuary within the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve is also the home to Citrus indica or Indian wild orange which is considered to be the most "primitive" citrus.

Your guide to walking around Darjeeling

Darjeeling is synonymous to tea all over the world. No other flavour is believed to be finer than those grown here. Darjeeling, also called the queen of the hills, sits like a crown over the sweetest part of India a.k.a Bengal. The name Darjeeling has been derived from the Tibetan language and it translates to ‘land of the thundering bolt’.

For a budget traveller who loves walking around, Darjeeling is heaven. Supplemented by cheaper travel options at certain zones, this hill town has a lot to offer to a thrifty traveller. In this guide, I have tried to compile a walking circuit of the places to visit in Darjeeling. This is based on my own trip in February 2019.

A solo trip to the Valley of Flowers

To visit places within the Garhwal circuit, including the Chota Char Dham, Haridwar is the starting point. The Haridwar Jn. (HW) on the Delhi-Dehradun route has direct trains to major cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Madurai, etc. The Jolly Grant Airport, 44 km from the city provides air connectivity to the rest of the country. Ample bus services are also available from the neighboring states - Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab - to reach Haridwar. 

As I was based in Allahabad, I took the 14163 Sangam Link Express, the only daily train between the two stations. This is a bit slower train and one can also board the tri-weekly 14115 Prayag Ghat (PYG) - Haridwar (HW) Express. The scheduled arrival time for Sangam Express is 10:48 hours while for the PYG-HW Express is 14:15 hours. Taking either of these trains allow enough time to explore Haridwar before heading to the higher altitudes. Additionally, with Indian Railways being well known for their punctuality the time can be kept as a buffer to avoid delay in further plans.

Road trip to Nainital

"Once a year go to a place you have never been before." 

This quote by Dalai Lama has become one of my favourite in the last few years. I have even tried my best to follow it by visiting a new destination on the first day itself or at least in the first month. I was in Hyderabad during new year 2016 and in Kerala on Pongal holidays 2017. 2018 was a bit loose and had to wait till march to visit Gwalior. In 2019, I was back to celebrate new year in a new destination -  NAINITAL. The 2018 year end trip was another milestone as Uttarkhand became the 18th Indian state I touched down at.

I tried hard to cut down cost by availing the Indian Railways but luck would not have it and it had to be a road trip. I started from Prayagraj at 8:00am on 28th December 2018 bound for Lucknow. After around 5 hours of smooth ride I was dropped off at Alambagh bus station in Lucknow. This newly opened bus stand, I must say, is one of the finest I have ever seen in India. The Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) must have been the same when it was opened. As it was lunch time I visited the food court on the first floor and tried their aloo paratha served with pickle. The pricing has been kept in budget. The food court serves a variety of food at pocket friendly prices.

Places to visit during Kumbh 2k19

Sangam: The holy trinity of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati must undoubtedly be the first on this list as Kumbh is all because of this. Prayagraj is all about this. The Prayagraj Kumbh is being held at this river junction since ages.

Bade Hanuman Mandir: This is probably the only temple where Lord Hanuman can be found in reclining position.

Akshaya Vat, Patal Puri Mandir and Saraswati Koop: Set within the fort Akbar built on the banks of Yamuna, this is another important religious place. Saraswati Koop is believed to be the last of the remains of river Saraswati.

Sri Adi Shankara Vimana Mandapam: This is an important landmark in the vast flood plains of Sangam. Standing out from the remaining of the building in terms of architecture, this is the tallest structure one can see in the area.

One District One Product: This is an initiative to showcase the cottage industry of Uttar Pradesh. One prominent product from each district has been promoted here. ODOP is located at Sector 1/Parade ground near the triangular park, Chungi.

Namami Ganga: What can be better place than Kumbh to educate people regarding the importance of river and it's protection. This camp set just beside the ODOP complex hosts several important information regarding the initiatives being taken under the Namami Gange program. Desks by the Wildlife Institute of Indiahas been setup to create awareness about the non-human species that are dependent on Ganga. Apart from WII, desks of CSIR-NEERI and Ganga Task Force has also been setup.

India Post: The postal department is hosting a philetelic exhibition on the theme Gandhi.

Pustak Kumbh: Book exhibition cum sale set up in sector 1.

Sanskrit Gram: 17 galleries showcasing the different periods of India right from the Harappan civilization till Indian independence movement. A perfect place to know and/or brush-up your knowledge about Indian history.

Kala gram: If ODOP was to promote artisans from Uttar Pradesh, this zone in sector 19 is for rest of India. In collaboration with the zonal cultural centres, handicrafts from different corners of India have been exhibited at the Kala gram.

VIP Ghat: This is the place for your official selfie. 

Toilet cafe:

Map of Kumbh 2019

(Source)

Accessories I use while travelling

Current:
- Suntop Neo 9 26 L Medium Laptop Backpack(Black & Airforce Blue) [Amazon]
- Unistar PU Anti-Skid High Ankle Jungle Boots [Amazon]
- Hanwag BANKS WINTER GTX Men [Partioaitta]
- Asus ZenFone 8 (Black, 128 GB) ( GB RAM) [Flipkart]
- Sony Alpha 6100 + SELPZ1650 [Amazon]
- Kenko Filter Circular PL SLIM 40,5mm [FotoMonza]
- Sandisk Ultra microSDHC UHS-I 16GB Class 10 Memory Card with Adapter [Amazon]
- SanDisk MicroSDXC Extreme Pro 128 GB memory card [Amazon] [Gigantti]
- Toshiba Canvio Alumy 2 TB Wired External Hard Disk Drive [Flipkart]
- Toshiba TransMemory 16GB USB FLASH DRIVE [Flipkart]
- Rollei DIGI 3400 Tripod [Power]
- Fast Delight Mini Stylic Tripods for Smarphones and DLSR Camera [PayTM]
 
Previously:
- Canon IXUS 145 16MP Point and Shoot Camera [Canon]
- Neo 9 26 L Medium Backpack (Multicolor) [Flipkart]
- Liberty Warrior Olive Green Men Canvas Jungle Boot [Liberty]
- Moto G Turbo Edition (White, 16 GB) (2 GB RAM) [Flipkart]
- Asus ZenFone Max M1 (Black, 32 GB) (3 GB RAM) [Flipkart]


Note: The links provided above may be affiliate marketing links.

Ride to Pelga

Siddhnath Ki Dari - A weekend getaway from Varanasi/Allahabad

Siddhnath ki Dari, a waterfall with a plunge of about 100 ft. is one among the scenic waterfalls on the Vindhya range. It is named after Siddhinath Baba who is supposed to have used this serene place for meditation. The waterfall is located in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, about 20 km from Chunar. The falls can be accessed easily by road from both Varanasi (30 km) and Allahabad (120 km). Alternatively, one can also take train upto Chunar Jn. or Mirzapur railway station, both of which lie on the Delhi-Howrah main line. Compared to Chunar Jn., Mirzapur railway station has more train stoppages. From Mirzapur to Chunar one can take auto or bus (33 km, ₹30/-) and then from Chunar continue by bus till the falls (20 km, ₹25/-).

A summer weekend trip to Varanasi and Sarnath

In the hot summers of June 2018 I made another trip to Varanasi. Touching down for the third time. This time I was accompanied by a friend from my PG back in Allahabad. We started from Allahabad on Saturday at around 4 pm on board the UPSRTC bus. Thanks to the ongoing highway development projects the usual 3 hours journey to cover the 125 kms took nearly 4 hours. Yet we were not dropped at the Varanasi Cant. Bus station. The buses to and from Allahabad now terminate 4 kms before the bus station ever since the disastrous accident - the collapse of the under construction flyover took place. Next I was to look for auto to Dashashwamedh Ghat nearby which I had booked a guest house. We found an auto that agreed to take us for ₹20/- per person on sharing basis. It took around 30 minutes to reach our destination. The famed Ganga aarti had just ended and a sea of people was returning from the ghat.

Crowd at Dashsshwamedh Ghat

An exam trip to Varanasi

Varanasi or Benaras, situauted on the bank of the Ganges is considered to be one of the oldest inhabited cities on Earth. The first time I had set foot on this holy land was in August 2017 when my train decided to change it's route on way to Delhi. I had to get down here and continue my journey to Allahabad on bus. However it was not long when I got my second opportunity to visit this famed city. CSIR NET December 2017. As I was staying in Allahabad, Varanasi was the closest exam centre. Though I was on tight schedule I managed to visit a few spots within the approx. 24 hours I was in the city. So this is my encounter with the holy city.

Walking Through the temples of Khajuraho

19th to 22nd October a long Diwali weekend. I was by then well settled in Allahabad and was eagerly waiting to make a trip to the 17th Indian state on my list - Madhya Pradesh. I planed this two day trip to Khajuraho.

Since no direct trains were available on 19th I got a current reservation ticket till Mahoba aboard the 11108 Bundelkhand Express. The train was scheduled to arrive at 10 pm but was an hour behind in Allahabad. I reached Mahoba at around 4 am next morning. From Mahoba I continued my journey on 22448 UP Sampark Kranti Express. The slip route from Mahoba to Khajuraho takes one across the beautiful Bundelkhand plateau. I reached Khajuraho station at around 7 am. I hopped onto a share auto that would drop me near the Western group of temples 10 km away(auto fare is usually rupees 10 per person for a share ride). 

Khajuraho is located in the Bundelkhand region of Central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The town is situated within a picturesque back drop of the Vindhya Mountain Range and is surrounded by Khodar river in the south and Ken river in the northeast.

Planning your trip to the Scotland of the East

Fact check:

Location: Shillong

State: Meghalaya

Country: India

Altitude: 1525m

Reaching there:

For the people coming from Rest of India and other countries, Guwahati in Assam will act as the hub. Guwahati (Maligaon) is the head quarter of the Northern Frontier Railway zone of the Indian Railway. The Guwahati (GHY) and Kamakhya (KYQ) railway stations have trains to most major cities in India. The city has Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (GAU) to cater to the tourists preferring airways. Buses are available from several places in West Bengal and Bihar till Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) in the city.

Guwahati not only serves as a hub for visiting Shillong but all the seven sister states of North East India.

The four lane Guwahati-Shillong Road (GS road) or NH-6 connects the two cities. TATA Sumo and buses ply at frequent interval from Paltan Bazar. From here one can also hire taxis for Shillong.

The first thing that welcomes you to Shillong is the majestic Umiam lake. It was created by damming the Umiam river in the early 1960s. Apart from the scenic beauty this place offers water sport facilities to enthusiasts.

Umiam or Barapani Lake (Source)