Ramachandran won the Kerala State Sahitya Akademi (Kerala State Literature)award in 2005 for his first book `Uttarakhandiloode: Kailas-Mansasarassu Yatra',book on a trek to Mount Kailas through the tricky Uttarakhand rangesSri M K Ramachandran dedicatated his life completely to dangerous Himalayan travel, perhaps the only pilgrim who visited all five Kailash ,called "Panch Kailash" .These are Kailash Manasarovar, Adi Kailash, Kinnaur Kailash, Shrikant Mahadev Kailash and Manimahesh Kailash. He is one of the best selling travelogue writer in kerala ,India. His way of writings with the myths, reality and mystical experiences about his ineffable pilgrimages are truly amazing and has attracted millions of fans. His mystical experiences, such as encounters with Divya Yogis and Yoginis deep inside Himalayas are telling to the world that there are many facts that are unexplainable through modern sciences and logic . He has already covered 64 different destinations in Himalaya. Each one of his travel consist of days of research , preparation, arrangement, lonely dangerous trekking through Himalayan glaciers . For example 35 days of trekking is needed for Srikand mahadave kilash darshan. Welcome to the world of amazing Himalaya mystical Explorations .........,

    Louis and most people think of the famous arch. Residents and visitors-in-the-know appreciate the many outdoor recreational opportunities the Gateway to the West has to offer. With three new hikes and updated text, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: St. Louis points hikers to the best outdoor trails and rambles within easy reach of the city. Whether walking in the footsteps of Louis and Clark, exploring amazing rock formation in the Pickle Springs Natural Area, or trekking along a portion of the longest rails-to-trails paths in the U.S., hikers are sure to be amazed at the diversity of outdoor experiences awaiting them. The included hikes are located in Missouri as well as its neighbor, Illinois.

    Ranging from Manhattan to Venice, and Oxford to the Middle East, this portrait of the 20th-century contains Jan Morris's eyewitness accounts of such seminal moments as the first successful ascent of Everest, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the historic Eichmann trial.

    In this riveting account, editor Gary E. Moulton blends the narrative highlights of the Lewis and Clark journals so that the voices of the enlisted men and of Native peoples are heard alongside the words of the captains. All their triumphs and terrors are here—the thrill of seeing the vast herds of bison on the plains; the tensions and admiration in the first meetings with Indian peoples; Lewis's rapture at the stunning beauty of the Great Falls; the fear the captains felt when a devastating illness befell their Shoshone interpreter, Sacagawea; the ordeal of crossing the Continental Divide; the kidnapping and rescuing of Lewis’s dog, Seaman; miserable days of cold and hunger; and Clark's joy at seeing the Pacific. The cultural differences between the corps and Native Americans make for living drama that at times provokes laughter but more often is poignant and, at least once, tragic.

    When Moore sat on it for the first time, he felt like a sharp-suited, Ray Ban wearing young Marcello Mastroianni. Riding the back roads, visiting small towns, sleeping in haylofts, Moore shows us an Italy rarely seen--from picnicking in the Italian Alps to rattling through cobbled hilltop towns to gate-crashing France Mayes's villa. When Moore's girlfriend, Sally, joins him for two weeks on the road, his fantasy is complete, summer in Italy on a Vespa with too much chrome and a pretty girl riding on the back. But it is Sophia's delicate constitution we owe the greatest gratitude. Her need for constant pampering and frequent stops hypnotizes all those who gaze upon her. The locals, unaccustomed to foreign visitors, graciously invite Sopia (and Moore) into their homes, inns and restaurants to share their memories of their first Vespa; their first serious romance. Sophia forced Moore to slow down, gave him time to enjoy the simple beauty of Italy and its people--and let him experience Italy's dolce vita.

    The intrepid Rosemary Mahoney undertakes six extraordinary journeys: visiting an Anglican shrine to Saint Mary in Walsingham, England; walking the five-hundred-mile Camino de Santiago in northern Spain; braving the icy bathwater at Lourdes; rowing alone across the Sea of Galilee to spend a night camped below the Golan Heights; viewing Varanasi, India’s holiest city, from a rubber raft on the Ganges; soldiering barefoot through the three-day penitential Catholic pilgrimage on Ireland’s Station Island. A fiercely observant traveler and an insightful writer, Mahoney offers a witty and provocative chronicle of her adventures.

    He wanted particularly to visit the Georgian mountain tribes - Tush, Khevsurs, Ratchuelians and Svans - to discover if they shared a common mountain culture, and to test the old idea of the Caucasus as an impenetrable barrier from sea to sea. From Azerbaijan to Svaneti, Anderson found communities where the old customs and beliefs still triumphantly survive, despite years of Communist oppression and the terrible uncertainties since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Throughout his journey Anderson refers back to many other visits to Georgia, to the politics of independence, to the war in Abkhazia and Ossetia, to the civil war and Shevardnadze's accession to power, to the history of these people at one of the great crossroads of the world. It remains an abiding mystery that Georgia has managed to survive at all, devastated time and again by the vagabond hordes from the steppes and torn between the mighty empires that struggled over it. But survive it has with a vibrant culture still intact and, in the mountains, still deeply connected to its ancient ways.

    Speak the right lingo in country after country, for over 5,000 miles! This book covers the local Spanish of: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela.

    Lost America celebrates the boom-to-bust towns, aircraft bone yards, and filling stations of days past that were sacrificed at the altars of speed and technology and relegated to windswept desert plains and abandoned fields. The eye-catching and memorable photography is complemented with a succinct text history that details the rise and fall of each subject. The result is an impressive tour of an America still standing, yet largely forgotten.

    Even today, few people from the West have ridden the TransSiberian railroad in winter, stood on the frozen surface of Lake Baikal, feasted with the Siberian Buryats, or lived in the "highrise villages" of Vladivostok and Irkutsk.One of the few American women who has lived and worked in this part of the world, Hudgins debunks many of the myths and misconceptions that surround this "other side of Russia." She artfully depicts the details of everyday life, set within their cultural and historical context—local customs, foods, and festivals, as well as urban life, the education system, and the developing market economy in postSoviet Siberia and the Russian Far East.Hudgin's prose shines in her colorful descriptions of multicourse meals washed down with champagne and vodka, often eaten by candlelight when the electricity failed. The author's accounts of hors d'oeuvres made of sea slugs and roulades of raw horse liver will fascinate those with adventuresome tastes, while her stories of hosting Spanish, French, and TexMex feasts will come as a surprise to anyone who thinks of Russia as a gastronomic wasteland.Readers of The Other Side of Russia: A Slice of Life in Siberia and the Russian Far East will find themselves among the guests at Christmas parties, New Year's banquets, Easter dinners, and birthday celebrations. They will experience the challenges of living in highrise apartment buildings often lacking water, heat, and electricity. Above all, Asian Russia's natural beauty, thriving cities, and proud people shine from the pages, proving it is not only a land of harsh winters and vast uninhabited spaces, but also home to millions of Russian citizens who live and work in modern metropolises and enjoy a rich cultural and social life.