Bike Trip from Surat to Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India | Before COVID19 Pandemic | February 2020

What this blog is all about:

My experience of travelling from Surat to Ahmedabad on a bike/ motorcycle in February 2020, before the spread of the Coronavirus Pandemic

Are you someone who wants to travel long distances but you are AFRAID. Fear NOT! It is possible to travel on Indian Highways on a bike in 2020!

95 KM Left till i reached Ahmedabad City (Highway) 

Brief Backstory:

Prior to this trip I had never actually travelled to Ahmedabad on Road, that too on a motorcycle.

Well, I have been always been fond of MotoVlogging and ever since I started watching Mumbiker Nikhil (Famous Youtuber in India)  i started to love the idea of long Rides on motorcycles

Soon after, I learnt how to ride my first ride (TVS Jupiter) and gained some confidence, then i proceeded on to buy a real bike, after research i bought a Honda Hornet 160R.




From there onwards, my journey started. I have travelled to the following cities from Surat, Gujarat

• Mumbai, 
• Goa, 
• Bangalore and 
• Kevadia (Narmada District in Gujarat)

Being a university student and having limited funds, all my trips were on a shoestring budget!

Surat to Ahmedabad Distance

Coming back to the Journey : How it happened:

Ahmedabad is located approximately 270 KM North of Surat.

I was familiar with 25-30% of the journey as I had travelled to Kevadia to see The Statue of Unity last year in Summer of 2019.

This trip in particular was going to be a little different than all my other trips, as all my previous trips were SOLO while this time a close friend of mine - a classmate from my University was all set to come along with me! Exciting right?

Sand art work at the event

Oh! And by the way, I must tell you that I was going there to attend an event which was going to held in Gujarat University Campus, Navrangpura!

This event was scheduled a couple of days before the hyped Namaste Trump event! Oh yeah!

He'll be a strong doggo someday

Guess who we spotted at the event location! 

This cute little adorable thing was trying to bark like his fellow elders! We couldn't resist not taking a photo of him!

Pre Coronavirus Journey to Ahmedabad (Before the New Normal)

All prepared! 

The Namaste Trump Poster at a bus stand in Ahmedabad

I was really stoked to visit this city. I had previously been there but unfortunately did not get the time to roam around freely. This time I was all set!

So it was a pleasant morning, My friend who lives in Valsad, Gujarat (90 KM) South of Surat City, travels daily to Surat and back home after attending lectures at University here. Hectic Isn't it!

Yep. That is my rider bud right over there beside the bike.

So After meeting up, we set off our journey in the morning hoping the weather to remain decent.


It took us 5 hours to reach Ahmedabad.

Subhash Ghai - The Bollywood Legend at the event in Gujarat University

The next day, we went to Gujarat University and Attended our event. The star guest was Subhash Ghai (Bollywood Film Director).

Sabarmati River Front View

Sabarmati River Front

We didn't get much time to explore the city but we did make sure to get a view of the Sabarmati Riverfront View in the evening! Looks absolutely beautiful.

Vastrapur Lake, Ahmedabad

I really had a good time over at Ahmedabad that day.

We had our dinner at Maruti Gujarati Hotel at Vastrapur. The Gujarati Thali was totally worth the price.

After dinner, we started at this awesome view right infront of the restaurant.

About the Journey

Mehmdabad Road (While returning to Surat)

We had no hiccups at all! Everything went smoothly.

Highway Fuel Cost was around Rs 550 (one way)

The Surat to Ahmedabad Highway is pretty awesome! Quite a busy stretch too!

Conclusion

Little did we know that the Coronavirus Pandemic Would sweep through the world soon after we returned home. Life wouldn't be the same at least for foreseeable future.




Feel free to ask any questions about the journey or whatever!

Thanks for visiting!

Poloniex - Waiting Approval Issue - 2019 - My Experience

If you are new to crypto, you must have heard about Poloniex Exchange. If you're curious then let me explain, there is an unusual issue on this exchange - Whenever one wants to withdraw funds, especially Bitcoin (BTC), it takes hell lot of time!

So it was back in November 2018 when I finally entered the world of cryptocurrency, I was confused as to which exchange I would use, I was doing my own research, I did not know much at that point of time, so I used Poloniex exchange to keep my funds. I wasn't aware of personal wallets, then.

So anyway, after depositing a fair amount of BTC, XRP, XLM - I learnt that Poloniex was hacked once upon a time and it can be dangerous to store funds on an exchange.

I switched over to Atomic Wallet. Now, came the most scary part, when i wanted to withdraw my funds!

Anyway, As I was waiting for my funds to come in, i started doing research about Poloniex, and I felt as if i had made the worst decision of my life! I went through countless threads which were filled with complaints about Poloniex, that they TAKE AN INSANE AMOUNT OF TIME to process withdrawals.

Some folks were waiting for 3-7 months and others ridiculed Poloniex' Customer Service.

After raising a ticket, people had to wait for insane amount of time before getting a reply.

After going through these threads, i gave up hope and thought to myself that I probably shouldn't have entered this space as portrayed by the mainstream as DANGEROUS.


Big Relief -- It took more than 24hrs for them to process my withdrawal! Can you believe it!

And i was given a warning by Poloniex that they would freeze my account if i did NOT trade. OMG!

Lesson learnt- Never would I use this exchange again. And then I learnt about Binance - Made life much more convenient.

ANOTHER INCIDENT:

People don't really learn their lessons sometimes. Right?

Now coming to February 2019, I was really interested in Grin. And it was listed on this exchange. Since I was unsure about other little known exchanges, I was in two minds but then knowing the potential of Grin I went ahead, transferred some BTC and soon after, I did some research and I did not want to trade, so I withdrew my BTC.

Raised a ticket, NO LUCK.
AND THIS TIME IT TOOK them 8 - 10 hours to process it. Gosh.
NEVER AGAIN. POLONIEX.

How to withdraw Bitcoin Paper Wallet December 2018 | How to sweep Bitcoin Paper wallet December 2018

Importing Bitcoin private keys - 2018 - Working Method - Tried and tested -

So, being a newbie, I researched my way into the world of cryptocurrency in late November 2018, Well, I did know about crypto since 2012 but never did I think about getting into the trade, for obvious reasons.

Anyway, I found myself in a situation where I did NOT know how to withdaw or sweep the Bitcoin Paper wallet which I had created.

All the working methods shown on Youtube and other sites - Were not working for me.
99.9% of the video tutorials showed blockchain.info which DOES NOT work in my country as of December 2018. 
I also noticed blockchain.info is now blockchain.com.


And apart from that, there were videos on electrum as well. That didn't work too!

Well nobody bothered to make a new video! All the videos are either from January/July 2018.
And the worst part, IT DID NOT WORK anymore!

Yep, I was kinda panicking already. As I had a 100 + USD on it. Mind you a 100 bucks in american currency is worth a lot in my country. No joke!



Lets get to the working methods now, without wasting anymore time, Shall we?

Here are my Top 3 picks:

1. https://www.infinitowallet.io/

Open the above link, head over to the website and download the android or iOS application.

It's pretty simple. Just follow the instructions and you should see an option where is says "import private keys".

2. https://wallet.mycelium.com/

The same applies for this one. I've tried it on my android. No issues at all!

3. https://atomicwallet.io/downloads

One of the best desktop wallets out there. Pretty reliable. And you can import your private keys here as well or sweep your bitcoin paper wallet.

I have tried the windows version. And I am still using it till this day.

Hope this helps!

Let me know if you need any further help!

Thanks for visiting.

Budgies Medicines | Treatment of parakeet sickness | List of medicines for Budgerigar | 2018 Bimar Budgie Parrot Medicines

Hi there! After a lot of research, I decided to make this blog stating various medicines for your sick budgie or if you are worried about your budgie getting sick, then you must have a look at the list below!

#Disclaimer: I am not a professional vet or medical practitioner, this list is totally based on my research and experience. I am not responsible for anything. I use the following medicines to treat my own budgies, using these are totally your own responsibility.

Do you sense that the little one is ill? Are his/her feathers all fluffed up and is sort if inactive? Has he/she lost his/her interest in eating?

It is up to YOU now to take a decision which could save your budgies life!

Here, you might find these helpful!

Points 1 to 6 cover all medicines in this image.

From Left to Right: (AS IN IMAGE)

1)Metronidazole Benzoate Oral Suspension IP-

USED FOR infections caused by bacteria

Metronidazole is an antibiotic that is used to treat a wide variety of infections. It works by stopping the growth of certain bacteria and parasites. This antibiotic treats only certain bacterial and parasitic infections.

Another Alternative is:

You might have looked up Youtube and seen many videos on Flagyl Syrup, it seems this is not available in many Indian Cities, if you are from another country then you could try for Flagyl Syrup as well. Just Google it i you are not aware.


2) Ofloxacin & Omidazole Suspension

USED FOR diarrhea / loose motion

Ofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic that fights bacteria in the body. It is used to treat bacterial infections of the skin, lungs, prostate, or urinary tract. Ofloxacin is also used to treat pelvic inflammatory disease and Chlamydia and/or gonorrhea.

Ornidazole is an antibiotic used to treat infections caused by protozoa and certain strains of anaerobic bacteria. It is used to treat infections of the stomach, intestine, urinary tract and genital area.

Both may be prescribed together to treat a gastrointestinal infection causing diarrhoea.


3) Ciprofloxacin Eye Drops ip

USED FOR Eye Infection

Ciprofloxacin ophthalmic solution is used to treat bacterial infections of the eye including conjunctivitis (pinkeye; infection of the membrane that covers the outside of the eyeball and the inside of the eyelid) and corneal ulcers (infection and loss of tissue in the clear front part of the eye).

This formulation puts the power of Ciprofloxacin in eye drop form for treating eye infections in dogs and cats. Veterinarians prescribe Ciprofloxacin Ophthalmic eye drops to treat bacterial infections of the eye and eyelid including conjunctivitis. Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic.

4) VIMERAL

USED FOR vitamin supplement

A powerful antistress liquid vitamin supplement for cattle and poultry feeding
Vimeral liquid.

5) Vengro Drops

USED FOR multi-vitamin

Venky's Vengro Drops are a multi vitamin supplement that is suitable fordogs, cats, birds, goats and cattle. The multivitamin supplement reduces any deficiences and provides a balanced nutritional intake of multivitamins.

There are more!Please Keep reading! Thank you.

Points 6 to 10 cover all medicines in this image.

From Left to Right: (AS IN IMAGE)

6) Amoxicillin Oral Suspension:

USED FOR bacterial infections

Amoxicillin is used to treat a wide variety of bacterial infections. This medication is a penicillin-type antibiotic. It works by stopping the growth of bacteria.This antibiotic treats only bacterial infections.
It will not work for viral infections (such as common cold, flu).


7) Vizylac Lactic Acid Bacillus Powder (Good Bacteria)

USED FOR infections, antibiotics, digestive disorders, constipation, etc.

Vizylac Syrup is a probiotic used to treat diarrhea caused due to infections, antibiotics, etc. It is also used to relieve symptoms of digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, stomach ulcers, constipation, indigestion, etc


8) Calpol 120 MG Suspension

USED FOR fever

Calpol 120 MG Suspension is used to temporarily relieve fever.


9) Azithral Xl 200 MG Liquid

USED FOR infections caused by variety of bacteria

Azithral Xl 200 MG Liquid is an antibiotic used in the treatment of infections caused by a variety of bacteria. It has the advantage of once-daily dosing. This medicine is not recommended for use in case of a common cold, flu, or other viral infections since it is active against infections caused by bacteria only.


10) Amoxicillin Trihydrate Capsules ip 250 mg

USED FOR infections caused by bacteria

Amoxicillin is used to treat many different types of infections caused by bacteria, such as ear infections. (This is an alternative for the above mentioned liquid, use either one, whichever is available).


I hope you find these useful. Do comment if you need help with anything.
Oh yes, I will be updating this blog later on about the dosage.
Bye!

Male Budgie Swollen Chest / Stomach & Vent | Indian Budgerigar Swollen vent & Chest Problem

Young lad

Back in January 2017, I had bought a budgie, I was unsure if it was a boy or girl. I was still trying to figure it out. Anyway, as the days went by, I understood that it was a boy and not a girl budgie.

I had named him 'pincher' because he loved to pinch us, Not because he was wicked or anything but he just liked to do it.

Pincher & Bluey

Months went by and he grew up. He was very playful and active. He had a caring elder brother, 'bluey'.

Now, let's fast forward to mid- May 2018.
Pincher, the budgie was around 1.5 years old (approximately). Now it was around that time, I had some work and I had to leave my city and go elsewhere for 2 weeks. I told a close friend to take care of my budgies while I was away. I had 6 of them.

Okay, once I returned, I noticed that pincher was suffering from diarrhea. He had a heat stroke unfortunately (which I found out after close observation). I took him to a vet. After treatment, he recovered within a few days time.

Well, I was shocked when I noticed that his belly was swelling up and also his bottom part.

Male Budgie Swollen Stomach & Vent

The picture which you see above is actually taken at a later stage.
It wasn't so bad initially.

Now as the swelling grew bigger, I became very restless as the vets here (in my city/area) couldn't quite figure it out.

Now, Coming to August 2018, his swelling still did not reduce. I tried different methods.. nothing worked!

Sadly, It was the 4th of August 2018, he passed away!

you can see it in his eyes that he's in pain deep inside

How you ask?  Well, on the 1st of August, I had taken Pincher to another vet, working in the government hospital (of India) The vet had given him an antibiotic injection. After that he instructed me to return after 2-3 days, which i did and after the second visit, My best friend passed away, while I was returning home.

As I reached my parking lot, below my apartment, I noticed that he's no more!

I assumed that maybe there was some sort of overdose, maybe. Which took his life. But still I did NOT find a proper answer yet.

Hopefully someday I can understand the reason for this death. I miss my little buddy a lot!
Here are some more pictures of him.

Pincher the Budgie's Journey with us & with some of his friends:

Pincher with the gang

His caring brother, Bluey

China Man, his best friend

Handsome Boy!

He is missed!RIP

My Experience: Trip from Surat, Gujarat to Calangute, Goa on Motorcycle/Bike - April 2018

In this blog I will share with you my experience on travelling from Surat to Goa on bike-SOLO!

One morning in April 2018, I decided to travel to Calangute, Goa from Surat, Gujarat on my bike, as I had some personal work and not for partying! lol.

For a couple of years, I have been following motovloggers on Youtube, to name a few- Mumbiker Nikhil, Bulu Biker, Chintamani Jaipuri, JS Films, Oggy F, etc. And i always wanted to travel across India on my sweet ride.


The preparation (Physically and Mentally):

Now, being a student of some college and especially when you do not have your own source of income it can be difficult to fulfill this dream. Travelling some 500 or more old kilometers without proper gear can be dangerous and especially on our Indian highways where people slide in from anywhere. Ugh!

Anyway, since i did not have enough funds, and I had to make it to Goa anyhow, I decided to go SOLO on my Honda Hornet 160R! Yes, I was in a great dilemma whether I should go ahead with the plan or not but I knew deep inside that I was ready for this trip.

Research about the correct roads and Navigation:

I had done extensive research on Youtube by watching countless videos, other Motovloggers  do share details on their trips and give many opinions and advice during the journey, like bad roads or areas of the National Highway where it is dangerous. So I was well aware of every minute thing.

Thank God it is 2018 and we have Google Maps! We can go where ever we want without asking for directions! Yes i agree it is risky as people have followed GMaps blindly and have fallen off the road into a river or pond. lol. We must be cautious!


Approval from parents:

This is certainly the most scary part where you have to ask your parents about allowing you to go ahead, And our Indian parents are always concerned and will most likely refuse, But in my case i was lucky that my parents aren't here at home, they work elsewhere so I had to take my own decision and was responsible for my own safety.

Modifications made on bike & servicing:

Coming from an upper middle class family, I could not own the most expensive bike but I do own a pretty decent and reliable beast, my--Honda Hornet 160R, my first ride, which I had bought back in May 2016!

In 2 years time I was confident enough to go ahead with this long trip, as i had covered more than 20,000 KMs!

Honda Hornet is a great bike but there are setbacks on all bikes, none are perfect! Anyway, I installed 2 LED lights in the front on both sides and a flasher. That's all!

I made sure to get a full service & checkup done on my bike before I left Surat. This is a very important step before travelling long distances. There have been many fatalities when people ignore this essential step.

It was Time......

So after thinking & planning i decided to leave Surat at 11:30pm. I wanted to keep extra time in hand. 6.5 hours to reach Mumbai was more than enough. Also another reason being that If I left at night, I  would be able to cover the ghat section in Maharashtra in the safety of daylight.

So I was very anxious but confident on the day of the journey. Made all preparations like - got my bags ready, made sure to keep a bottle a water and small snacks like biscuits, cakes and chips. We should not eat heavy food while riding on the highways! How did I know that? I researched a lot of course, remember! lol. Okay then... it was 11:30 pm and I was ready to hit the road. I left my home, got on my bike and pressed the ignition, I was super exited at the same time a bit nervous. Anyway so here is the map

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The highway is pretty good here in Gujarat. 4 lane highway gives a sense of confidence, nevertheless one must be aware at all times, And i surely was!

I took breaks after every 100kms. Don't ask me about the time duration as I wasn't really looking at it. I was maintaining a speed of 60-80 / 85.

I reached Mambra around 7:45 am and continued

---img---

The roads weren't in a great condition but I did not face any major problems so i continued my journey

---img---

The Khandala - Lonavala stretch was amazing! It was my first time on ghat roads. Was I nervous? Nope! But I did take precautions while cornering. I was prepared for all of this. Thanks to the fellow vloggers.

Mumbai-Pune Expressway (below)

Then I was enroute Satara, It was 5:00 /5:30pm I guess and I decided to call it a day and I had booked  my hotel before hand, for the night.
So after an amazing day, I slept like a baby in a cradle that night. Woke up early at 6am the next day and I jumped up from bed and got ready ASAP and checked out from the hotel at 6:30am.

I was super stoked, as it was a brand new day and I was riding high on confidence. The morning view was too good. How can I describe it here! I am falling short of words.

After crossing Kolhapur, I was heading towards Nipani . Reached there around 10:30am. It is a very important junction. In order to reach North Goa, I had to go via Ajara, Gavse, Amboli Ghat, Sawantwadi and Insuli Road.

Amboli Ghat, what a beauty!

--img--

It took me 5 hours to cross the ghat section. I took my time. Enjoyed the great western ghat view.
Soon after i was mesmerized. There was Sawantwadi Lake. WOW!

Sawantwadi Lake in 2018

I took Insuli road which lead me to Banda junction. And, Yes i had almost entered Goa by then. I was super excited. It took me around 1.5 hours to reach Calangute from there.

What a journey it was. I knew I had to again travel by these roads after a couple of days or a week. So i was content inside and I looked forward to complete my work which I had come to attend at Goa.

Here's some statistics from my journey (one way)

Total distance covered: 867KM
On Road Duration: 29 Hours approx.
Petrol Cost: Rs. 1250

HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? FEEL FREE TO ASK!