Radhish Kurup's Diary

Trip to Sri Lanka , The Pearl of the Indian Ocean

2011-11-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

Thanking ....

Mrs&Mr Zukkur for all the help and support provided for inland transport and accommodation in Sri Lanka.

Plan :

Oct 20,2011 - Departing Bangalore - TUTICORIN EXP - 2100Hrs.

Oct 21,2011 - Arriving Tuticorin - 1100Hrs.

Oct 21,2011 - Departing India - Check-in Flemingo Liners - 1400Hrs.

Oct 22,2011 - Arriving Sri Lanka - Check out Flemingo Liners - 800Hrs.

Oct 29,2011 - Departing Sri Lanka - Sri Lankan Airlines - 1835Hrs.

Oct 29,2011 - Arriving India, Bangalore - 1955Hrs.

Our Travel:

IRCTC - Indian Railways .

Star Destinations India - Flemingo Liners Pvt. Ltd

SriLankan Airlines

Our Stay:

Bell Hotel Tuticorin, 23 South, Tuticorin 628 001, India.

Kassapa Lions Rock ,Digampathaha ,Kimbissa, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka.

Glendower Hotel ,5 Grand Hotel Rd, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka.

Ruhunu Safari Village, Gurugoda, Yala, Sri Lanka .

Sunils Beach Hotel,Galle Road,Narigama, Hikkaduwa 82020, Sri Lanka.

Hotel Renuka ,328 Galle Road,Colombo 3, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Shivaram's family and we decided to go for a week long trip to Sri Lanka about 4 months back. After a lot of discussion on the dates, we zeroed in on the Diwali week due to the long festival holidays. Our friend Mr. Zukkur from Sri Lanka helped us in organizing the itinerary and advised us on the places of visit. To add to the excitement we looked into the possibility of taking a ship to Colombo. Our wish was granted - Flemingo liner services – “Scotia Prince” plying from Tuticorin to Colombo.

Day 1 - 20 Oct: 2100Hrs - Boarded the Pearl City Express from Bangalore to Tuticorin .

Day 2 - 21Oct: Reached Tuticorin the at about 1100Hrs. Took a taxi to bell hotel where we had booked our halt for freshening up.We checked into Bell hotel for a couple of hours to freshen up before leaving for the port. The place was good. People were very nice and food was great. The same taxi guy picked us up and took to the port. Scheduled check in was about at about 1400Hrs. The Tuticorin Port is 12 kms from the railway station. Orange gate was the one for passengers. The check in process in the port was slow and severe with the passport checked and baggage's scanned a number of times. Finally we got into the ship at about 1500Hrs .

It was a new and exciting experience for all of us to go on a cruise. The ship had good facilities including a casino and bar. The rooms were well maintained and we had a good time in the evening on the deck enjoying the sailing. Welcome drink and Complimentary snacks were provided as we checked in the reception of the ship. The ship started sailing at 1800Hrs. Initially due to the sea motion we felt a sort of instability and later on it was fine. Duty free and casino starts after sailing 12 nautical miles called International waters.

Once we were in international waters , had couple of drinks and moved on for dinner. The food was fine. We returned back to bar and continued our drinks waiting for the clock to tick12 as it was my birthday next day. Raised few toasts on my birthday and we all retired to our bunkers. We had opted for deluxe rooms with toilet and shower. The rooms were really nice.

Day 3 - 22Oct: Breakfast was served in the ship. We reached the Colombo Port at about 800Hrs.But the emigration and clearance was slow and tiring It was about 1100Hrs by the time we came out.

The vehicle arranged by our friend Mr Zukkur was waiting for us with pluck cards mentioning our names.

Jagath was our pilot for the trip. We all were so hungry that it was unanimous thought to fill in our tummies. We converted few USD to LKR. Went to McDonald's and had a great brunch. From here we set our course to Sigiriya, our first place of visit, which was about 170kms from Colombo.

Our accommodation was booked in Kassappa Lion Rocks. The resort was good, though we had some difficulty locating it as there were no signboards. There was a complimentary cake from the hotel as it was my B'day. We celebrated again in the night with lot of Deviled Chickent. Couple of Tripple distled arrack added the icing to the cake.

Day 4 - 23 Oct : We woke up quite late and it was raining heavily. The plan was to go to the Sigiriya rock in the morning. Due to rains we cancelled the trip to the rock and headed to the Dambulla temples. These temples date back to 1st Century BC. There are five caves here and they house some of the most amazing Buddha statues. We spent about a couple of hours in the caves and headed to our next destination – Nuwara Eliya.

Nuwara Eliya is a hill station and was a 100km drive from Dambulla. We had booked our stay in Hotel Glendower. The hotel was really nice and well maintained. The place was also really beautiful with greenery and the typical hill station views. It was almost 2200Hrs by the time we reached our hotel and hit the bed straight away as it was a long drive uphill.

visit – The tea factory ( Pedro Estate) and Ambewela Farms. The tea factory was closed by the time we reached and hence Day 5 - 24Oct : We went to the lake side and went for boating. The boating was quite enjoyable and then the kids went for horse riding. After that we ventured in to the Nuwara Eliya local market There were some really good stuff priced cheaply, we did not purchase much though. It was raining quite heavily and the fog was too dense. Without wasting any more time we set out to the next places of we went to the farms directly. We had to walk quite a distance from where we parked our car to the cow shed. As the place was covered with mist and it was really cold. Our walk through the farm was really enjoyable. They were breeding cows and goats imported from Netherlands and it was an interesting experience to see the animals being fed and processing of milk. That was the last stop for the day and we headed back to our hotel to relax.

Day 6 - 25 Oct: We set out early at about 8am as we had to visit the tea factory that was open only between 800Hrs- 1000Hrs. We got to see how the leaves are plucked, dried, cut and processed to make tea leaf / powder. Spent some time in the tea plantation, had some tea they served us and headed to our next destination – Yala. Nuwara Eliya to Yala was again a long drive of about 200kms. Our accommodation in Yala was inside the forest and this was perhaps the best place of our visit. Our stay was at Ruhunu Safari village. The resort was small and well maintained. We were the only guests there and that made it all the more exciting. The best thing about this place was the whole set up itself. A hotel inside the forest and beside a beach…! We normally don’t imagine a forest and beach together and this was exactly that. However the sea here was quite rough and won’t really qualify for a holiday type beach. Nonetheless, it was exciting to have a whole beach to yourself…! We spent the evening in the beach and went back to our rooms once it was dark. The food here was very good as well even though the options were limited.Day 7 - 26Oct : Today was the safari to Yala National Park and we started early at 500Hrs. We saw and captured some outstanding pictures of sunrise at the beach. The safari lasted for about 3hrs and it was an amazing experience. The wild life was really active in the morning and we got to see most of the animals in the forest except the ever elusive wild cat. Apparently Yala has the highest density of leopards in Asia.We were not lucky enough. Nevertheless, it was nice seeing Peacocks in their full bloom, Land monitors, Crocodiles lurking around the corner of swamps, Jackals, Elephants, Wild Hens, Wild Rabbits and all the wild life in full glory. We were back in the resort by about 1000hrs. Had breakfast and checked out to our next destination – Hikkaduwa.

Hikkaduwa was another 150kms from Yala. We reached by around 1500Hrs. (On the way we stopped near a small waterfall.) We were staying at Sunil’s Beach hotel, the worst place of stay during our visit. It seemed more like a senior citizens cottage with all the waiters and most of the guests being well above 60. The rooms were not great, food was bad and the pool was dirty. The only good thing about this place was the beach, where we spent most of the evening. For dinner, we were in no mood to eat from the same place and so ventured out to find an eat out and ended up in a small restaurant where they served some amazing chicken and paneer “rotty”. Back to the hotel and end of the day .

morning, after having breakfast it was decided not to continue our stay there and started to Colombo. Day 8 - 27Oct : The original plan was to stay in Hikkaduwa for 2 nights and then check out to Colombo. That Fortunately rooms were available in Colombo a day in advance. We started at about 110Hrs.On the way we visited the sea turtle hatchery. It was quite informative. We purchased some souvenirs and reached Colombo by 1500Hrs. We had booked our accommodation in Renuka Hotel. It was a good one, typically serving the corporate visitors we suppose. That evening we walked few streets in the city and had dinner in a small joint.

really cheap and you get good branded stuff. We shopped till evening and went for RA.One that night. Day 9 - 28Oct: The next morning we set out for shopping. Colombo is a great place to shop for clothes as its Probably the worst disaster after Sunil’s Beach Hotel was RA.One during our trip. Bad movie.

Day 10 - 29Oct: This being the last day of our trip, we spent the day relaxing and packing. The flight was at 1800Hrs and we started to the airport by 1500Hrs.

you can make the most of it only if at least a week is spent there.It felt like a long trip when we started off, but in the end it was over really quick and we were back in Bangalore on 29th night. We had a great time in Sri Lanka and it was an enriching experience to get a peek into their culture and life. We would definitely recommend a holiday to Sri Lanka to anybody, but

Thanking again Mrs.& Mr. Zukur for helping to organize such a wonderful trip. We would have been lost without their immense help in booking accommodation and without the car that you provided us with..!!

Click here to see the pics of the Trip

Photographers : Brinda Shivaram, Meera Menon and Radhish Kurup

Trip to Thekkady

2011-07-17T02:30:00.000-07:00

Feb 17, 2011 to Feb 20,2011

Feb 17,2011

0615Hrs : I started my journey to Kotayam from Calicut in Shatabdi Express. I had mistook Janashathabdi for Shatabdi express.Difference is you don't get food in Janashathabdi express ! Poor peoples chair car but still 25% more expensive than other express train chair cars :-(

From Kotayam railway station took prepaid auto to KSRTC bus stand. Boarded bus to Kumily. It took me 210mi to reach Kumily. Had a great Kerala lunch with beef fry in a restaurant nearby. From there I went tot the Kumily police station where I met the station SI as advised by my cosine Rahul. The office helped me with the stay and the local arrangements.

Our stay was confirmed at Haritham residency( http://www.thekkadyharithamresidency.com/ ). A great place to stay. Biju Mathew is the manager over there. He is a registered government guide and tour operator also. We can book our full trip through him. Mob No - 09447387344.

Please follow my link below to see the pics of the room we stayed. Please note there is no in house dining available here. We need to walk to a nearby hotel for the same. Checked in to the room and called the day to an end.

Feb 18,2011

Rithwik joined me in the morning. We went to the forest wardens office and met the Warden to understand the procedures and permissions needed to camp in the jungle. It was the same as for Silent Valley Forest. The permits needs to be taken at Trivandrum.

For the evening we decided to go for a Nature walk. At 4.00pm we started with a guide allocated to us. The trking was really good. It was raining also. We had a great time. Got few sun set shots.

Feb 19,2011

Early morning we geared up ourselves for the Border Hiking. We were a group of 6 people. Only 2 of us Indians ;-) This was a 24 km long trek. Would not reccomend for Indians. The food provided was not great and very less in quantity. We dint get any good sighting also. Reached back by 1900Hrs. We were so tired that we dint even know when we went to bed and when we slept !

Feb 20, 2011

This was the last day and relaxing day for me. Rithwik went to the nearby jingle for capturing birds with his new tele lens.We were ready to leave Thekkady by 4.00pm. I had my bus back to Bangalore from Thekkady itself. Rithwiks bus to Chennai was from Theni.

Sharing some moments of our trip ... click here

Wayanad

2011-03-12T07:01:00.000-08:00

Wayanad – A trip to the God’s own country.
Jan 13th – 16th’ 2011.

Naveen and I were discussing about a photography cum vacation trip and after sifting through a few locations, we zeroed in on Wayanad. Later Shivaram and family decided to join us as well…So on Jan 13th, we set out on the three day trip. Our plan was to stop over at Mysore on 13th night and proceed to Wayanad on 14th morning.

Meera, Naveen and Divya met at Shivaram’s house and they started at about 3.30pm. I joined them later on the way at Kamat, Mysore Road. We reached Mysore at about 7pm. Our stay was booked in Ginger. The room was good and our stay was comfortable.

Our dinner was already booked at Pai Vista…had some good food and drinks and retired for the day.

The next morning – 14th Jan, we started to Wayanad at about 10am after breakfast and reached there by 1pm. Our stay was at Haritagiri Hotel and Ayurvedic Spa. This is situated in Kalpetta. Though this place would not ideally qualify as a resort, it is well maintained and since it is situated with in the town itself, it is easily accessible. The food was average, although the complementary breakfast was excellent. As it was already 3pm by the time we finished lunch, we decided to relax for the day. The kids had a good time at the swimming pool and we all had an Ayurvedic massage. A word about the massage, few of us found the massage excellent while some of us were disappointed….so I think it will depend upon the condition of the person who massages….!

We started early next morning and our first stop was at Karlad Lake. The drive was through some small village roads which were still being laid and when we reached, we were the first set of tourists to arrive…took some good photographs of the lake and we went for boating. The lake was very small, so the boating lasted for about 20 min and the kids enjoyed it thoroughly.

Our next stop was at Banasura dam. Well, not much to watch here. We took a jeep from below to reach the dam. As it was midday, it was quite hot and we relaxed a bit in the shade there. After about an hour, it was time for the next spot.

Next, we went to Kuruwa dweep. This is basically a collection of small islands and the fun part is to hop on to each island and spend some time there. It was already 4 pm by the time we reached and as this place closed at 5 pm , we were reconsidering to come the next morning. Finally, on Brinda’s insistence, we decided to take the plunge and finally took the boat to the dweep. As we were late, we decided not to go on to all the small islands and had some fun in the water on the first island.
This place was a nice experience, taking us back to a different age of life in jungles and in between trees and water. It was really unfortunate we could spend only about an hour here. Next time, we thought if we ever come here will come to the island first thing morning.

Finally before calling it a day, we went to Tirunelli temple to offer our prayers to God. It was about 45min drive from Kuruwa dweep.

We started back to the hotel at about 6 30pm and the drive was for 60kms. It was a terrific drive through the ghats and thoroughly enjoyed it…although the co-passengers wouldn’t agree…. Reached hotel in an hour and cancelled our trip to water falls the next day as we thought we need a day of relaxation before returning to Bangalore.

Next day was relaxed and we enjoyed a late breakfast and some drinks by the pool. The ladies went for a second round of Ayurvedic massage and after lunch it was time to start back home…. We had a brief halt in Kamat for dinner and reached home by 10 pm.

Wayanad would qualify more as an extended weekend getaway as it would easily take 2 days to visit all the places in and around and a day totally in driving. Our trip was nice and relaxing. As we probably didn’t cover Wayanad fully, would love to go back there for a longer trip.

The trip costed us RS 7000 per head ( inclusive of everything ).

Sharing some captured moments of our trip......
......Please Click here .

Enchanting Mauritius

2010-08-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

Mauritius trip – Feb 9-15, 2010

This is a long delayed write up on our trip to Mauritius in Feb 2010.

After sifting through a lot of locations, we zeroed in on Mauritius after a few of our friends gave good reviews about the place. We did our research about how to organize the trip and decided to take the 6 nights & 7 days package tour offered by makemytrip.com since it looked like a complete package and economical at the same time.

Our flight was at about 0600hrs on Tuesday, Feb 9 from Bangalore. Vikram my friend had advised that liquor was expensive in Mauritius and hence we purchased it from the duty free shop in Bangalore airport. We then boarded the flight and there was a one hour stop over at Chennai for boarding passengers and then it was a non stop 6hr flight till Mauritius. We landed in Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International airport at about 1300hrs local time. The time zone in Mauritius is about 1.5hrs behind India.

As informed to us, we were met by a representative of Seaside Holidays in the airport. Our booking was made in a 4 star resort - Casuarina Resort & Spa, which was about 1.5hrs drive from the airport.

The first things that struck us about Mauritius were the serenity and greenery around and also the unending sugarcane plantations. We reached the resort and were met by the staff who were quite hospitable. We had a quick chat with them about the facilities available in the resort and then retired to our rooms to refresh ourselves. The resort was very well maintained with excellent landscaping and individual cottages. We were famished by then after the long flight and went to have lunch. Unfortunately the lunch buffet was closed by then and we helped ourselves with some awesome chicken and tuna sandwiches. It was then that we learnt that no water will be supplied for free anywhere in Mauritius and we had to buy a bottle for MUR70 (= Rs 100)…..!!! After the lunch we relaxed for the rest of that day and then we were informed that next day would be a rest day as well as our tour would start only from the day after.

On day 2, after breakfast we met Saif, the representative from Seaside Holidays. He briefed us about the agenda for the 3 day sight seeing tour and gave us the list of options we could try on the remaining two days. The options included submarine, lion safari, cruise to a nearby island and quad biking. We finally decided to go for quad biking on one day since it sounded quite new and adventurous . We made all the payments regarding the rides for the 3 day tour and quad biking to Saif to avoid last minute hassles. He also gave us some helpful info about where to get water cheap and some good restaurants nearby.

The rest of the day was left to us and we relaxed ourselves enjoying the greenery of the nature and blueness of the beach. The resort had a private beach and we could use their rides like peddle boat, kayaking, glass bottom boat etc at anytime during the day. We took the peddle boat and went around the beach sometime and had an excellent Indian lunch at “Tandoor”. We also had some excellent fruit wine which was a complementary gift for honeymooners….and then relaxed at the hotel for the rest of the day.

Day 3 was our start of Mauritius tour and this day we were to go around the city and heritage sites. We started at 0800hrs and our first stop was at “Aapravasi Ghat”. This is one of the world heritage sites and this was where indentured labourers from India had first set foot in Mauritius. This site is a souvenir to those labourers. From there we went to “Fort Adelaide” and “Citadel”, both of which were heritage sites again. It was almost 1300hrs by then and we went to “Caudan Waterfront”. It was a huge mall with a number of eat outs, shopping stuff and a good view of the harbour. This was actually the most boring part of the whole trip since we didn’t find anything great to shop and were just trying to kill time. We spent about 3 hrs in the mall and then proceeded back to the hotel….end of day 3…well…..not so exciting…:(

Day 4 - This was our most awaited day of the tour - the trip to an island “Ile Aux Cerfs”. This place was about an hours drive from our hotel. The first event of the day was undersea walk. This was perhaps the best event of the day. It was an amazing experience wearing a 22kg helmet and getting into the water…! We spent about 15min walking inside the 10ft water, viewing the corals, plants and fishes. It was a wonderful experience and the last thing we wanted to do was to get out of the water…!!

After the undersea walk experience we were taken to the island in a boat. The guy riding our boat was a cool chap and played some Carribean music and gave us a really enjoyable and adventurous boat ride. Our next event was para sailing. This again was really exciting and along with our ride, it was really funny to see how the other people landed….it felt serene being on the air in the parachute and see the blue sea from the top.

That was the end of rides for the day and then we had a relaxing lunch in the beach, had some fun in the water and took some snaps. It was evening by then and we headed back to the hotel….end of day 4….awesome fun…!!

Day 5 - Today was the final day of our tour and we went to the Southern part of Mauritius. We went to a dead volcanic crater first. It was raining by then and it was quite a romantic place to be in. We enjoyed the greenery there for sometime and then moved on to “Ganga talao”. This is a religious place for Hindus and there had been a big Mahashivarathri festival just the day before. We then proceeded to “Chamarel” – the place with the seven coloured sands. It was an amazing sight to see the sands in such varied colours and they had done a great job in maintaining the site. Luckily a rainbow also had formed on the sky by then and it was a once in a life time sight of seeing the seven colours on the earth and sky at the same time…! We then went to a small waterfall and that was the end of day 5 of sight seeing…….a great day again enjoying the beauty of Mauritius.

Day 6 – Another day of adventure…today was the day for quad biking..! We had another couple, Yogesh and Harshali whom we had befriended during the tour with us. The place was about 2.5 hrs of drive and we had to start early.
We reached the place by about 1200hrs and had some good Mauritian lunch. It was a beautiful location full of greenery and a stream. We then wandered around the property for sometime enjoying the nature and having some fun with the horses there. Then the adventure started. Each couple had a “bike” to ride. It was really hard trying to control the bike as it was very heavy and we were driving through rough roads….but it was good fun. It felt like we indeed were in paradise. The view from the hill was breathtaking …Mauritius at its best…! After more than a couple of hours our biking we ended the ride. It was an amazing experience and were glad we chose to go for this adventure….headed back to hotel….end of day 6…adventurous and rejuvenating

Day 7 – This was the saddest day of the tour since it was returning time…our flight was at 5 pm in the evening. We didn’t plan any outing and relaxed by the beach. We also went for the glass bottom boat ride on the private beach. It was a great experience too as we got a closer view of the life under sea, the corals and colourful fishes…

Finally, a few more words about the resort and the trip. First of all, thanks to Makemytrip.com & Seaside Holidays for organising the tour so well. We were never in doubt of anything at any point of time and help was always available. The resort was also nice with good facilities, food and rooms. Apart from the tours our best times were spent in the swimming pool in the evenings. The resort also organised some good dance and singing programs in the evening for entertaining the guests.

We were back in Bangalore on Feb 15 early morning. It was a very good break from the hectic schedules of work…looking forward to a trip like this again..!

Masinagudi - The Untouched Valley

2010-08-07T07:50:00.000-07:00

Masinagudi is a small town situated 29km from Ooty at an altitude of 1000-1200mts from MSL. Its one among the five ranges of Mudumala ( 'first hills’)-one of the first wildlife sanctuaries established in India. The sanctuary is divided into 5 ranges - Masinagudi, Thepakadu, Mudumalai, Kargudi and Nellakota. It was a casual conversation with Dheeraj and Suhas which led to the plan of going to Masinagudi. It was long time we had been to a hill station. The team consisted five of us - Suhas, Dheeraj, Bhavya, Meera and myself. However, fortunately or unfortunately Dheeraj fell ill just before the trip and could not join us ;-) . The plan was to start by friday afternoon so that we can reach Masinagudi by 9pm, after which the forest road is closed for vehicle movement.

Though Masinagudi can't be called a typical hill station, its nearness to Ooty, awesome weather and a gorgeous view of the Nilgiris gives it a feel of being close to nature..

The drive:
July30,2010: As planned Bhavya and Suhas reached our place by 1515hrs and we started our journey by 1530Hrs. Masinagudi is about 250kms from Bangalore. The route was,
NICE road towards Mysore road - Mysore - Gundalpet - Nanjangode - Bandipur - Mudumalai - Masinagudi.

It was a nice drive in the evening and weather was cold and breezy.It was a 6 hr drive with no breaks in between since we wanted to make sure we don't miss the 9pm deadline...!! By the time we crossed Bandipur it started raining and that slowed our drive a bit. We then crossed the Karnataka and Tamilnadu checkpost by 8 30pm. Its worth mentioning here that we had to pay an "entry tax" to enter Tamilnadu although we were there well within the time. The amount of entry tax...well...the police told us whatever suits you...!!...So we paid a Rs.10 "entry tax" and proceeded.

The stay:
We reached our destination by 2100hrs. Dheeraj had already booked our stay in "Chalets farm & GuestHouse". The place was good with 5 cottages. Although the landscaping is not great, the rooms were very clean and the staff were hospitable especially Mr Senthil who was the care taker of the property.

Chalets Farm & Guest House, Achakkarai, Masinagudi, The Nilgiris. Cell 09486956551,09486189899,09486189996.

The food was also very good...especially the chicken fry...mouth watering...:)..It was almost 2230hrs by the time we finished our dinner and retired early to bed after the long drive...The weather was very cold and windy and it was really nice and relaxing being there..

July 31,2010...
We woke up by around 830hrs and it was a lovely morning. The view of Nilgiris was breathtaking from the cottage. We enjoyed the weather and view for sometime and had breakfast. We then went to a stream nearby and spent some time there.

It seems wild animals came to the stream to drink water and it was quite apparent when we saw the dead remains of a cow attacked by a leopard there....The next getaway was for an evening safari...

Before starting the safari we went to a nearby hill to enjoy a panaromic view of Nilgiris. With such an amazing weather it was just the place to be.....cold and breezy.....

The safari was nice and adventurous. Our guide Mr Pramod, was a friendly guy and very familiar with the forest and the wild animal behaviours.

We saw a group of elephants first and when we went nearer to see them, one of the elephants came charging at us.....that was scary..!!...Pramod dealt with the situation quite well and soon after we realised the elephant was being protective of its kid.....well after a while the family posed for a few snaps as well ..:)..We then spotted a lot of deers, monkeys, bisons, peacocks and more elephants. Although the safari was enjoyable, we were a bit disappointed that we could not spot any wild cats and that too when a gang that went on a safari the previous night spotted a leopard....anyway the heroes don't show their face often...!!
Well that was the end of the first day...adventurous and relaxing...
Aug 1,2010 ......
The second day was unfortunately the returning day and we decided to head back after breakfast...we started back to bangalore by 1100hrs. We halted for lunch after Mandya and were back home by 1725hrs.

Masinagudi is a great weekend getaway and you can thoroughly relax and enjoy your stay....looking forward to our trip there again....

Please make sure you are carrying enough cash with you as Masinagudi town doesn't have an ATM.

Sharing some captured moments of our trip......
Please Click here .

Ooty Trip with CTC

2010-07-03T06:06:00.000-07:00

Date : Feb 20 & 21 , 2010

It was Rithwik who had sent me the notification about the trip. I had immediately registered for the same.

The schedule was hectic as the previous week I was in Mauritius and was really tired. Still the excitement of capturing Ooty rejuvenated me to go for the trip.

Thanking Samyak and Nara from Chennai trekking Club, for taking the lead and arranging such a nice trip. Anu was the point contact for people coming from Bangalore . The tickets and accommodation were arranged by the club. The cost incurred inclusive of everything was some where near to RS 2500 per person.

We were a group of 5 from Bangalore. We boarded in the bus on the night of 19th Feb. The bus from Bangalore goes through the Mandya-Mysore-Bandipur route. The bus has to halt before Bandipur as it is a Wildlife Sanctuary and does transport is restricted from 9:00pm to 6:00am.

The Chennai team in the meantime had planned to travel till Avinashi (near Coimbatore) and take 2 private vans for the travel to Ooty. By the time we resumed the journey from Bandipur, the Chennai team had reached Avinashi and were having their breakfast.

We reached Ooty around 9:30am and had our breakfast in a small tea stall. When checked on the return tickets booked , could understand that the bus would reach blore only by 10.00am in the morning. Went to the reservation centre to check the other options available. We were happy to hear that Tamilnadu State Transport runs two buses with special permit and can go through the jungle and we can reach blore early morning. Booked the tickets in the TNSRTC and moved towards botanical garden as that was the place fixed for meeting with the Chennai team.

Just about 15 minutes after we reached Botanical Garden the team from Chennai (22 people) arrived there to join us. I was meeting Rithwik there after our our Silent Valley Trip. His new cam was really a masterpiece.

We had an initial round of introduction and were really excited to have Mr. Hopeland (yes that is his real name!!), a zoology student with tremendous knowledge about flora and fauna. After the initial introduction, everyone went on our own way exploring the garden and taking photos of whatever we saw and liked. We regrouped at around 2:00pm to have lunch. The lunch was not so rich but was very tasty as our hunger was at the peak. After lunch we proceeded to one of the tribal villages in Ooty.

We spend a good 1 hour there talking to the people there to understand their culture and way of living. Myself and Rithwik were able to get some good portraits of the tribal girls. These tribals are supposed to be the most beautiful ones.

We then proceeded to 9 mile a famous picnic and shooting spot in Ooty. Upon reaching there we saw a film shoot happening . It was Sura - starring Vijay and Tammana. My tele lens helped me to get a glimpse of both of them.

We took some random shots and was waiting for the sunset. The wait was worth it and the reward was great. We got some great sunset shots.

We went to the forest guesthouse which was booked by Anu, for our stay. Ram and Nara went to the town to find some food. They came back with some chapatti's and egg omelet. It was really fun to stand in ques and get the food. After that myself and Rithwik decided to go to City for dinner. We had our regular dose of medicine to kill the cold and had great biryani . By the time we reached back most of the team members were asleep. It was a huge hall where people spread their blankets and got into their sleeping bags. We found ourselves a place to sleep. Fortunately we got a heater from the girls room. The medicine plus the heater dint make us realise how chill it was in Ooty. Otherwise I had only one thin blanket and a jacket on me to save me from the chill during my sleep.

Feb 21: We were supposed to be ready by 6.00am. All were in a rush to clean up themselves. We were ready by 6 and were waiting for the forest personnel to come. The forest guide came only at 7:00am to take us to Avalanche – it is a place about 30km away from Ooty. Avalanche Valley Named after an `avalanche’- a landslide, really- in 1823, Avalanche is a riot of shola trees, rhododendrons, orchids, magnolias and a trout stream: absolutely lovely .

We then headed to the place where river Bhavani starts. This was a really tough trek . The sun was at its peak, no proper breakfast , but the thought and the anxiety to see the river pushed us. We were supposed to leave the place by 2.00pm but later the plan was changed and time was extended till 4.00pm. We reached the place and the sight of the river was awesome. By the time we reached back the bus, we were really tired due to the lack of food. We somehow managed wit the available chocolates and snacks and headed towards the city. As the sun light was harsh , I could get much good pictures.

Reached Ooty, had lunch and energised ourselves. The guys who had to return back to Chennai had their buses starting at 10:00pm from Avinashi, which means they had to start by Ooty not later than 6:00pm if they have reach Avinashi to catch the bus at 10:00pm. Immediately after lunch the Chennai team headed back to Avinashi in the vans and we 5 returned back to our guest houses.We refreshed ourselves in the guest house and left by around 8:30pm, had a light dinner and headed back to Bangalore and reached here by 6:0oam next day.

The trip was great, made lot of new friends and was very economical. Only problem some of us faced were with the food and the time planning. The scheduling could have been better.

Sharing some captured moments of our trip......

Please Click here .

Hampi - Word Heritage Site

2010-03-28T02:11:00.000-07:00

HAMPI, the seat of the famed VIJAYANAGARA empire was the capital of the largest empire in post-mogul India, covering several states. The destruction of Vijayanagar by marauding Moghul invaders was sudden, shocking and absolute. They reduced the city to ruins amid scenes of savage massacre and horrors beggaring description.The ruins of Hampi of the 14th Century lies scattered in about 26 sq. km area, amidst giant boulders and vegetation.

In March 2002, the Government of India has announced that Hampi would be developed as an international destination centre.

It was long time we were planning to get out of the hectic work schedule after our wedding. During a tele-conversation I and Srijith decided to go to Hampy – The world heritage site. Thanking Meera for helping me with data to publish this travel log.
Day 1 – Dec 25 2009
6:00 am – Srijith and Rashmi arrive at my place at Jalahhali Cross.
6:30 am – Started our journey in my Black Stallion.
9:00 am – Stop at new Kamat for breakfast. As usual very refreshing spot.
Took NH7 & NH13.
NH7 – Well maintained road (toll of Rs180 till chitradurga). Took diversion due to traffic jam and hence lost way in Tumkur. Spent some extra ½ hr getting back to the highway
Took diversion for NH13 .
NH13 – Road bad as heavy trucks ply in that route for mining.
Totally about 7hrs drive. As there were no proper sign boards nearing Hospet we lost our way at the end of NH13. Some how managed to reached Hospet at about 2pm. Srijith had booked our stay at SLV YATHRI NIVAS through one of his friend. Decent place to stay. Had our beer and lunch at a near by restaurant.
Went to Tungabhadra dam in the evening at about 5. Nice place, good view of the dam. It was cool and refreshing to just look at the river. Lot of school students had come for excursion so place was crowded.
End of day 1. We drank and dined at the hotel itself. North Indian food not recommended.Hampi is a legacy left by the Vijayanagara Empire. The Vijayanagara empire spanned over four centuries and was divided into four dynasties – Sangama (1336-1485), Saluva (1485 – 1505), Tuluva (1491 – 1570) & Aravidu (1542-1646) dynasties. The empire is known to have flourished and reached its peak under Sri Krishna Devaraya when Vijayanagara armies were consistently victorious and the era was called the Golden Era.
Finally in 1565, the “Battle of Talikota” happened and Vijayanagara was defeated by the Sultanates. They went about destructing and plundering the empire for five long months and brought it to a state of ruins in which it remains until today. It was never re-occupied.
We first visited “Sasivekalu Ganesha” and all the other small temples nearby. It was indeed saddening to such great sculptures in a ruined state.

Went to Virupaksha temple next. This temple existed from the 7th century, well before the start of the Vijayanagara empire. However, it was built from a small shrine to a much bigger temple during the Vijayanagara empire. For some reason this temple was not destroyed by the Sultanates and continues to be a place of worship.
The most fascninating place in this temple is a small dark chamber where the light comes through a small brick hole and the shadow of the shrine appears upside down.

We then visited “Kadaekalu Ganesha” and “Lakshmi Narasimha” temple. This magnificient monolithic Lakshmi Narasimha , the fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu stand 6.7m tall. The roof of the chamber enshrining the statue is missing, which has led to weathering. The four arms of the statue with various attributes has been broken and the seated figure of his consort, Goddess Lakshmi, on his left lap is missing. The face too has been damaged, making him look ike “Ugra Narasimha”(Angered Narasimha). The presence of the right hand of the Goddess, embracing the Lord at the back is a proof that it is indeed “Lakshmi Narasimha”.We then went to “Badivilinga Temple”. This is a 3m high shiva Linga, carved in one stone. Our next stop was the “Underground Shiva Temple”. This temple was intentionally built below the ground level so that the Shiva Linga would be always surrounded by water.

It was almost 3pm. Now, that was enough for a half day, so we stopped for lunch. We could not find any good hotels since we were not anywhere near the Humpi city. After some search we saw a “Karnataka Tourist home” and decided to go there. Since it was already late, we had almost missed the lunch buffet and the man at the counter told us that there was no more lunch. Since we were really famished, after some bargaining he said we could have whatever was left in the Buffet. One of the best lunches we had although the number of items were very less…J But to quench our thirst , chilled beer was available. After an hours break and relaxation, we set out for the second round of exploration. It was much better since the sun was down and the heat had subsided.

We went to the Lotus Mahal” next. The decorations and architecture is a curious mix of Hindu and Islamic styles. Lotus Mahal’s Islamic style arches and the Hindu style multiplayer roof and base structure are often quoted for the ingenuity of the Vijayanagara artisans. There is a large lawn made around the Lotus Mahal. This is a nice place to relax for a while and take some nice pictures.

We then went to “Mahanavami Dibba”. Many festivities and competitions were said to be celebrated here. The Stepped tank or “Pushkarni” is also situated nearby. The surroundings of this place is a classic example of how advanced and contemporary the water irrigation systems were at that time. There are clearly built water channels which flowed into the ponds and used for irrigation. A lot of these methods and ideas are said to be useful in today’s world as well. We then proceeded to the “Queens Bath” .

Then it was time for some enjoyment and we went for a catamaran ride. After much bargaining he agreed to four of us for Rs.150. We were quite concerned since we four “big” people were being taken on the ride in a small catamaran steered by a boy not older than ten..!!...but it was well worth the ride. A good view of the scenery around as well as some “merry-go-round” antics by the small boy for some entertainment…

Next we visited the “Vittala Temple” and the “Stone Chariot”. This is one of the best sculptures of the Vijaynagara empire and is famous for the “Musical Pillars”. However the Pillars are not open to public viewing anymore .Spent some relaxing and educative time there and also some good sunset pictures.

The last stop was at going through the “Soolai Bazar” or the “Dancing Girls Street”. There is a also a small tank near by which has a pavilion in the center. The tank was believed to be used by the dancing girls.
It was almost 7pm and we were ready to go back to Hospet. Another ½hr drive. But we lost our way a number of times before reaching our place of stay. It was more because the people were not giving proper directions. We were quite perplexed as to whether they were intentionally misdirecting us since it was such a small town and each person was giving completely different directions…!!!
It is worth mentioning here that we had our dinner at “Krishna Palace”. This is a must visit because where else can you find a luxurious candle light non vegetarian buffet with a nice swimming pool on the side…all for Rs.200….!!!

After a nice dinner, we ended our journey to past and dreaded the arrival of the next morning since we were to come back to Bangalore hence to the present routine of life…..

Day 3 – Dec 27, 2009
7:00 am – Had a nice breakfast at Yatri Nivas and started the drive back to Bangalore. Took the same NH13 & NH7. Had lunch at Kamat Yatrinivas and was back home by about 4pm.

Even though a heritage site , Indian govt has not maintained it well. There is no proper route directions for tourists coming in here. Very badly managed. No proper hotels in Hampi.

I had been to Mauritius and had visited Apravasi Ghat, which is also a world heritage centre. Its only approx 2500sqft area but so beautifully maintained by Mauritian govt that I felt ashamed thinking about Hampi. I think we should learn from other countires how to show case our riches. The last words what I could think is -- those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Sharing some captured moments of our trip......

Please Click here .

A Wild Escapade: K GUDI WILDERNESS CAMP (B R Hills)

2009-07-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

It all started with a casual conversations between me and my cousin bro – Sooraj R Nair about planning a trip in south India. Recession paved the way out by giving him a one week off in the form of shut down at his office for 5 days. We scheduled the trip for June 10 and June 11. Tickets were booked at K GUDI WILDERNESS CAMP – Jungle Lodges and Resorts. Shiju’s sis in law helped me out on the same and that also with a discount of 20 %.

June 9 – 1750Hrs – 00Km: We started our trip. Vehicle – My Black Stallion. The route was via Mysore – Nanjangud- Chamrajnagar to K Gudi.
1930Hrs: Stopped at Kamath for a snack break. As usual the dosa, iddali and tea were delicious . The break lasted for 30 min. We continued our journey towards Mysore.
2140Hrs – 148Km: Reached Mysore. Checked in at Hotel Mayura Yathri Nivas. The rooms were clean and big. The charges were RS 400/ day. As food was not served there, we brought in from out side.

June 10 – 0630Hrs: Checked out from the hotel. Planned to have breakfast on the way to Chamrajnagar. But unfortunately there were no decent hotels till Chamrajnagar town.
0925Hrs – 212km: We stopped at Chamrajnagar for breakfast – Hotel Shringar Sagar .
1145Hrs – 240Km: We reached the camp located in Kyathadevara Gudi (K.Gudi) within B.R Hills Sanctuary limits. At the K. Gudi Wilderness Camp, you are in nature’s lap.

The Biligirirangan Hills, commonly called B R Hills, is a hill range situated in south-eastern Karnataka at its border with Tamil Nadu. It spreads over an area of 540 Sq. km. Located at the eastern most edge of the Western ghats, BRT is considered as bio geographic bridge between the Western and the Eastern ghats. The hills are in the Yelandur taluk of Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. The hills are contiguous with the Satyamangalam range southwards, in the Erode district of Tamil Nadu. For hundreds of years this region has been the home for the semi-nomadic Soliga tribe. The hills are famous for the temple of Lord Ranganatha. The local form is called Biligiriranga. The deity is a standing form of Ranganatha, and is probably the only place one can see Ranganatha in the standing form.

Activities arranged by the camp for the visitors are as follows. Open topped jeep rides, with trained naturalists to interpret the sightings, are the major attraction of the camp. They take guests twice into the forest everyday, once at dawn and once just before dusk. Trekking inside the Sanctuary is another exciting activity that the camp offers its guests. There are many well-marked trails leading out of the camp, which offer various degrees of physical challenge. Trekking offers a plethora of wildlife viewing opportunities and bird watchers would be delighted at the number of birds one can sight in these trails.Evenings for unwinding after tiring day, sit around a campfire or watch a wildlife movie at the audio-visual room. Soft drinks and snacks are served . Alcoholic drinks are not served here. The food is very good. The tent houses are very well maintained and well secured. It’s an altogether different feeling to stay in the camp.

June 11- 1130Hrs: Settled the bill at the camp and we started our return journey to Bangalore. We took the Yellandur- Kollegal- Mallavalli – Kanakapura route.

1415Hrs – 330Km: Reached Shivasamudram. Unfortunately water was very less and hence the waterfall was not a good sight.

Shivanasamudra Falls is the second biggest waterfall in India and the sixteenth largest in the world. Shivanasamudra Falls was formerly known as the Kaveri Falls. River Kaveri divides into two branches and each branch cascades down rocky cliffs as the Gaganachukki and the Bharachukki, both are one km away from each other. These spectacular waterfalls are surrounded by hill forests of the Kaveri Wildlife Sanctuary.Gaganachukki - the western fallsThe Gaganachukki waterfall is 98 m tall. One can view these waterfalls from the Hydel Power viewing end or the Dargah end. People love to visit this waterfall when the Kabini River floods along with Kaveri River in the months of July and August.One of Asia's first hydro-electric power stations is located here which was started in 1902 by Sheshadri Ayyar, diwan of Mysore. From here power was supplied to Bangalore, the first city to get power in India.Bharachukki - the eastern fallsThe Bharachukki waterfall is just about a kilometer away from the Dargah. Bharachukki has a wider falling edge. A section looks like a "U", as Niagara Falls.Ideal time to visit Shivanasamudram Falls: Between July to November.

1600Hrs: We started back to Bangalore. Took the Kanakapura road- Nice road – Mysore road – Jalahalli Cross.

1900Hrs – 468km: Reached back home.

The roads were good except some through the jungle. The animal sightings were not so good. But the stay was really cool. Sharing some captured moments of our trip......

Please Click here .

After Due Date (lapse) Two-Wheeler Insurance Becomes Dearer!

2009-03-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Bangalore: If your Two Wheeler Insurance has lapsed (The Oriental Insurance Company) and you want to renew the same, now need to pay an extra fee of RS 100 to ‘Auto Risk Management Services Pvt Ltd’. This fee is for the inspection of the vehicle which was initially done free of cost by the Insurance Company itself. Now they have tied up with this third party for their benefit. Common man can not oppose, as without the vehicle inspection, insurance policy cannot be renewed. This is a complete exploitation of the helpless customer. Government should take necessary steps to stop this in the benefit of the common mass. I also paid the RS 100 and got my insurance renewed. My bikes Insurance premium was RS 529. So at the end if we see I had to pay 19% extra to renew my insurance.
The above supplements the repeatedly proven fact that the genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, paying heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return.

Another Day…Another Terrorist Attack…

2008-11-28T09:12:00.000-08:00

I thank Ms Meera Menon for choosing my blog to publish her below post.

Today marks another dark day of terrorist attacks on the Indian soil…again…each time an attack happens we think it is the worst it can get… today is as brutal as it can get…

Each time an attack happens, it creates a panic in my mind. Every attack happens in a place familiar to each one of us. It could be an unsuspecting me or my loved ones tomorrow in the place where an unfortunate few were today…

But what is the answer to fighting terrorism?

I believe the answer is to simply move on with life….with your head held high….

When I say "move on”, I am reminded of the words that the protagonist in the movie "The Mighty Heart" says after her husband is killed brutally by the terrorists..."The intention of the terrorists is to terrorize us...I am not terrorized. Neither should any of the others be".

"Moving on" to me does not mean forget what happened yesterday and go on with your life...but it means realize the enormity of what has happened or rather what is happening and put up a brave front. Don’t paralyse your life with fear....move on....

Unfortunately...do we have a choice other than moving on?...

Do we blame the politicians and system here? I don’t think so, because the fight here is not against terrorists, but against a bunch of cowards who have no might to fight in the open for what they want….cowards that attack unarmed, innocent people. What can the Government do?....

Set up an anti terrorist squad? They have done that already and very effectively.

Check each of our bags in every place we go to?...is it practicable?

Go on a rampage against terrorists by trying to kill them all like what the US is doing in Afghanistan? Unfortunately this is also not practicable because terrorism has dug its roots too deep in the country. There are reports of terrorist activity in Kerala, Karnataka, Mumbai, Delhi, Andhra (and who knows where else?). Does the army go and kill half a thousand innocent lives in search of a half a dozen terrorists?

All we can do in a small way is extend our support to people who fight terrorism…may be in as small a way as not getting irritated when your bag is checked in a mall or a railway station or any other place....

The option left with us is to "move on"....the way we interpret this is left to each one of us. I choose to not feel terrorized....

Feel the Sanctity of Silence - Exploring Silent Valley

2008-11-15T02:38:00.000-08:00

“Believe me the air in the atmosphere itself was different. The purity and the freshness were pumping in gallons of energy into us with each breath we took. We were in natures preserved lap called Silent Valley Reserve Forest”.

Oct 28, 2008 - Diwali Day. A normal tele-conversation between me and Rithwik gave birth to our trip to Silent Valley National Park. We jotted the date of visit to be Nov 8 & 9. Palghat was decided as our meeting point.

Even though we had heard about these rain forests before, the info was not sufficient for the travel and the final hunt to all the details needed was launched. Browsed through lots of blogs, editorials, and travelogues to get a clear picture of the preparations required for the trip ahead. Remya Naresh helped me with the details on the accommodation as well as the procedures to get the permission for entry at the reserve forest. Rithwik was also at his side trying to get in touch with the warden of the reserve forest. The site www.silentvalleynationalpark.com was of a great assistance to us. You get all the contact details for permission, stay, etc on the portal.

We called the contact no listed on the portal and booked our stay. As all the suits were fully booked to capacity we were given the dormitory. But we had requested for an up gradation to suite if any cancellation happens. Tickets were booked- towards journey in KSRTC Volvo bus (in train there were no seats available) and return in Train.

Nov 7, 2008 –Boarded the 2030hrs Bangalore – Palghat Volvo from Bangalore. The journey was horrible. The driver was driving the bus like he was competing in F1 rally. Sudden brakes were like adding insult to the injury. Honestly was not able to get a wink of sleep.

Nov 8, 2008 - My bus reached at 7:00hrs at Palghat. Rithwik was already waiting for me there. Without wasting any further time we continued our journey to Mukkali. We boarded up the direct bus to Anakatty, via Mannarkkad. If you don’t get a direct bus also, nothing to worry. You can board the Kozhikode buses and get down at Mannarkkad. From there you will get lot of buses to Anakatty. You need to get down at Mukkali where the base camp is located. We boarded up the Anakatty bound bus by 0725hrs and by 0945hrs we were at the base camp.

Located in the Kundali Hills of the Western Ghats, the Silent Valley National Park holds a valuable treasure of rare plants and herbs. The Park is rich in its wildlife, and elephants, lion-tailed macaques and tigers are the most common residents of this park. Perhaps, nowhere else can you also find such a representative collection of peninsular mammals, over a 100 species of butterflies and 400 species of moths and other fauna like the ceylon frog moth, great Indian hornbill, the Nilgiri laughing thrush and the lion-tailed macaque. It is proudly Kerala’s 7th national park. It has a mystical history linking back to the Mahabharata. The caves here were said to harbor the Pandavas when they were in this area.

The forests of the Silent Valley - christened so because of a perceived absence of cicadas (tropical insect with a loud, chirpy sound) - are home to rare mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. They are also home to a variety of creepers, ferns and orchids. Some say the valley got its name from Macaca Silenus - the scientific name of the lion-tailed macaque.

We reported to the base camp and to our good luck, the stay was upgraded from dormitory to suits. The suit was named as Siruvani. We got freshened up fast. Got ready by 1100hrs and went out for breakfast as the camp didn’t serve any food. We found a small hotel at a walk able distance. Being a vegetarian was a negative point at Mukkali. Rithwik was enjoying his Porata and fish curry and poor me managing with green peas curry! We got ourselves stoked with the food and water needed during the trek at Sairandhri.

We returned back to the base camp and did the formalities for entry passes, jeep booking, camera charges, guide charges etc. The jeep took us to Sairandhri through the buffer area. On the way we spotted the lion-tailed macaque and the Indian giant squirrel. The road was really bad and only jeeps were allowed.

Nearly after 90mins drive we reached Sairandhri. There we got a briefing on the reserve forest by the forest officials. After the briefing we started our trek towards Kunthi River. The trail was really amazing. We got lot of good shots of varieties of flowers and insects. River Kunthi, with its clear water untouched by man was a sight to be remembered life long. We got some very nice snaps of the river. At about 1500 hrs our guide reminded us that we need to get back to the base camp before 1800hrs and hence have to hurry up. We started trekking back and since it was uphill and with all our equipments hung on to our body it was very tough. But we managed back. There is a watch tower which gives you a good view of the whole valley. By 1830hrs we reached back to the base camp. Later when I removed my shoes feeling some pain, I found out that I was bitten by a leach . Sodium Chloride (common salt) came to my rescue. So beware of this tiny little enemy!

We had our dinner at the same hotel where we had our bf in the morning. Rithwik had a great supper with a side dish of beef and me with the same old faithful sambhar curry. Still I survived. Night we waited for long to try shooting star trails but were not lucky enough as the moon was in its full glow. Tired and exhausted we retired to bed by 2300Hrs.

Nov 9, 2008 – 0630hrs we were out with our cam and tripods shooting the macro subjects like the flowers, insects etc. Could not shoot the river Bhavani as the sun was in its full glory by the time we reached the spot. We took a break and freshened up ourselves. Had our break fast and started again to explore the buffer zone. Time was like running away from us. We were only left with 2 more hours!

We met Mr B.N.Nagaraj, the Forest Ranger at the base camp. During our discussion we were really feeling jealous for him as he was so lucky to be in close contact with nature. We saw some of the photographs taken by him of rare species of flora. Meeting him was really educative for both of us.

The clock was ticking and it was time to say Good bye. We packed our stuffs, thanked Mr Nagaraj and the other forest staff for all the support extended and left the place by 1630hrs . In our minds we were sure of coming back soon!

The greenery, the freshness and the purity has not left our body and soul. This in itself is testimony to the beauty and grace that India needs to remember more and more. It’s high time for our country to lead the way for a new green revolution. Sharing some pictures to share more words as the pictures would itself speak the greatness and the wisdom of the nature in the country that holds so much wisdom in it’s ancient texts singing to nature and singing to her protection. Please Click here .

Kalyan Varma Photography Workshop

2008-08-24T23:34:00.000-07:00

Before I go into details let me first thank kalyan Varma for organising such a beautiful and informative workshop ! secondly Rathish, my friend who told me about Kalyan. Thanks again to both of you!!

As I mentioned , came to know about Kalyan's photography workshop thorough my friend Naroor Rathish. I had visited Kalyan's web page and registered a month back for the course. Last week I got the mail saying that my seat is confirmed for the 8/23 and 8/24 workshop. The venue was Nandana Grand Hotel at Kormangala.

8/23- Day 1 (Classroom Session)-The route map attached with the mail was very helpful and with my friend Sathish's tip's I was able to reach the venue by 0915hrs. The conference room was all set to go and the workshop started at about 0945hrs. We were a group of 8 . Kalyan briefed us about the whole workshop.

During the day topics like introduction to Photography, basics of Photography - Aperture/Shutter/ISO/Depth-of-Focus, exposure and composition were discussed. Adding on Kalyan showed us all the equipments he uses in the field while he shoots.

The sessions were really good and informative. We had our tea breaks in b/w and to tell you all, the lunch was really yummyyy ! The day's session ended at about 1800hrs. We planned to meet at Lal bagh the next day at 0700hrs with our equipments.

8/24 - Day 2 (Field Session + Classroom Session). Today we were supposed to apply all the theory we learnt the day before in the class room on actual field. Reached Lal bagh at about 0700hrs, fully equipped with our cams. The team was already present there by the time I reached . Kalyan briefed us on the theme based on which we were supposed to do the clicking. We started exploring for great creations. After the theory classes it was so evident that lot of my pics dint have the optimum exposure. It was real fun doing the shoot at Lal Bagh. And I bet people at the park would also have enjoyed seeing us taking pics of all the plants and flowers as if seeing for the first time ;)... Kalyan helped us in our shoots. It was a great experience for us to shoot with a well known expert in the field. His expertise helped us to get more hands on our machine/pics. We finished our shoot at about 1030hrs and headed back to the hotel. On the way back we refreshed ourselves with breakfast at Sukhsagar. Reached back in our conference hall at 1130hrs. We reviewed the pics taken by us in the morning. And I am sure that all in our team would agree that we were better photographers than we were the day before. Post lunch kalyan briefed us on various after shoot processing software's and guidelines to be followed. The session got winded up about 1730hrs. We all in the team were fully charged up and ready to explore the world of digital photography. We realised that any picture becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or doing it better.

This workshop again proved it -- Cameras don't take pictures, photographers do. Cameras are just another artist's tool.A camera catches your imagination. No imagination, no photo - just crap. The word "image" comes from the word "imagination." It doesn't come from "lens sharpness" or "noise levels." Your equipment DOES NOT affect the quality of your image. The less time and effort you spend worrying about your equipment the more time and effort you can spend creating great images. The right equipment just makes it easier, faster or more convenient for you to get the results you need !!!

Please Click here for the pics taken during the session and you can view Kalyans posting at his web page here . Happy Clicking !!!

Nostalgia 2008 -- A Rendezvous with Nature at Bandipur

2008-06-30T02:41:00.000-07:00

I think I am in love with the Jungle. Just last week I was at Mudumalai and now Bandipur. And you wont believe the nature always gives you surprises.

The credit for the trip to become a reality completely goes to Bhavya, the advisor in the team. She was planning for a get together last Sunday but few of us couldn't join and she proposed this week. It was really difficult for us to get a booking as most of the resorts were already full. Then as an angel came Shine Chechi, my friend Shiju's sis in law, who helped us to get a stay at the Safari Lodge, Bandipur and that also with a discount of 20%. I on behalf of our team thank her for the support she has extended and we will avail the same again next time :D

Nithin had come to blore on 6/27 one day prior to the trip. He was staying at my place. Suhas and Rekha were reaching blore on 6/28 early morning 0430hrs. The plan was like the vehicle would pick Srijit and Sachin first and then Bhavya/Meera and last 4 of us ( me , Nithin, Suhas and Rekha ) from my place.

6/28 morning 0500hrs myself and Nithin picked up Suhas and Rekha. They got refreshed at my place and by the time we were ready the vehicle was already at my place after picking the other 4 . As planned we started at 0800 Hrs from my home.

All the time during the travel the music was on ( Nithin's collection ) and our DJ was Sachin. He was really playing with our mood. He would play soft no, then suddenly a fast no... but it was fun. We stopped at Kamat on mysore road for breakfast by 0900hrs. Finished our Bf and moved on from there by 1015hrs. On the way we took some cans of beer. We reached the resort by 1330 hrs. In b/w we stopped for pee breaks. We had our lunch at the resort. It was really good. We had a safari to Bandipur forest at 1600Hrs. We boarded the Jeep and geared with our cams started for Bandipur.

I had been to the same forest last week. You will not believe, the jungle was fully different. This time I could spot more of wild elephants, bison's and sambar deer. We even spotted a fresh kill done by the wild dogs. The guide took us to a hill top and it wa awsome. Every one loved it. We were on our extremes !! We stayed there for nearly 20 min. It was real fun. Returned back to our resort after that. There was a wild life film screening at 1930Hrs. I checked it out and dint find it interesting and hence decided to stay at the room and get warmed with my drinks. Others went for a stroll and after that we sat for a long chat. In b/w went for a dinner. The chat continued till late night. It was really a good feeling to be with your school friends after years.... too good and cant be expressed in any words the dictionary supports. Here I thank again -- Bhavya Chechi. She is a bit upset with my drinking habit and I have decided to reduce on it ;)

6/29 - Again I was the last one to get up as usual. Got ready fast for the trek. We trekked for 8km and believe me it was fun, the meter to check our fitness. Myself and Rekha were partners leading the team. We got back to our resort for break fast.

Did some shooting at the resort. Packed our backpacks and started our journey back to blore. The music was still on. Same DJ, same cd. Got our stocks of beer refilled. I was literaly drunk by the time I reached blore. We dropped Suhas and Rekha at the Yeshwanthpur railway station as they had their train at 1600Hrs. Then we cam back to my place, had our lunch.

It was time to part. The wine urges me on, the bewitching wine, which sets even a wise man to singing and to laughing gently and rouses him up to dance and brings forth words which were better unspoken. This trip brought me closer to my old friends - Bhavya, Sachin, Srijith and Suhas. I got two new friends too -- Meera and Rekha.

As Aristotle said "A friend is another I." I was missing myself when we were parting. Meeting is a pleasure... parting - sorrow still -- expecting a reunion again soon !!!

Sharing some moments ... please Click here

Jungle Retreat Mudumalai, The Nilgiris.

2008-06-23T01:45:00.000-07:00

Finally after lots of discussions the place and participants were confirmed on June 5, 2008. The team - Maja, Zoe, Sathish and myself. On 6/6 we got our rooms booked at Jungle Retreat through the phone and we were helped by Nandini, the resort Manager.

We had scheduled to leave Bangalore by 1400hrs on 6/20 but got stuck up while procuring the beverages. At last we started at 1600hrs in an Innova, with Malikarjun as our pilot. We planned to take the route Bangalore - Mysore- Gundulpet --Teppakadu - Masinagudi - Jungle Retreat. We stopped first at CCD for a tank clearing break at 1645hrs. Did some small shopping there. Moved on. The roads till Gundulpet were very good. After that , they were in a wrong shape. this reduced our pace. In b/w we had stopped at Lalit Mahal. Took some snaps, cleared our tanks and again continued our journey. We managed to reach the resort by 2200hrs. Had our dinner . The food was Delicious. The music was simply good. Good No's were been played. We got to see a live band there and the singer was none else, Nandini. Cool ! The booze and the drive had made me really lost. We retired soon to our beds. I slept like a baby that night :)

6/21-- 1000Hrs we reached the living area for the BF. We had missed the early morning safari/trek. Got our trek planned for 1100hrs. Zoe and Danny ( the trip coordinator ) planned all the activities for the day and next. After our BF we went to the pool side and spent some time there. Maja was determined to make her new cam handy before the trip ends. She was reading the camera manual sitting by the pool side. Jungle retreat has a very good pool. We dint have much of a time to use it though. Sidda was the guide allocated for us. He was also a bird photographer and had done more than 20 nestings. We all geared up with our cams and started to trek at 1100hrs. The sun was high and all the animals had gone to shelters and hence had very less chances of seeing the animals in the wild. We trekked for nearly for 180 mins. The trek was really good. Spotted the rare Malabar squirrel. After reaching the hill top, it was such a good feeling -- fresh air , greenery all around. No one to disturb us. No mobile calls. There is no other network than BSNL available in the jungle. We reached back to the resort by 1400Hrs for lunch. Before the lunch Zoe and Sathish tried some Mojito. I had my minted lemon juice. The lunch was really good. It had both veg and non veg dishes.

We went back to our barracks after lunch for resting. By the way we were booked into standard rooms. The rooms are spacious and has all the luxury what we can expect in the midst of a forest. Morning we can find herds of deer near to our cottages. If i remember correctly ours was cottage no 6 and no 7. I would suggest these two if anyone is planning to visit the place. Maja retired to bed for a small nap. Zoe was into the process of making Sangria ( Red wine + Jinn + Fresh juices) . Sathish and myself were the wine tasters there. The drink was good. While making the drink Zoe revealed her plans of opening a wine bar. She promised us that we would be in the guest list for sure at the inauguration. I went around the resort in the mean time and did some clicking. We got geared up for our safari in Mudumalai forest. We reported at 1600 Hrs for the safari. Basi and Ravi were our guide and driver respectively. The drive in the jeep was really thrilling. We spotted some deer, peacocks, Gaurs, Mongoose during the safari. We went to a near by river to watch the elephants taking bath. Later visited the elephant feeding center. Here we could take lot of good pics with elephants. We reached back to the resort by 2030hrs. After couple of drinks we had our dinner and retired to bed by 2330hrs as we had to wake up at 0500 for the safari at bandipur. A wake up call was arranged. Viewed the pics taken through out the day and said good night to a good memorable day !

6/22 -- 0500 Hrs we woke up. Got geared up. Had to manage with a bucket of water as there was no water coming in the taps. Drove till bandipur in our car. From there we were taken in the forest dept gypsy. Sunil was our guide cum driver. Here we were really in to the forest. We spotted the Deer, Eagle , Peacocks,etc. This safari was really thrilling than the last evening one at Mudumalai. On the way back to resort we had the luck to see a gigantic wild elephant. He inspires us to be in the wild and get wild ! Reached back resort by 0900hrs and had our breakfast. Got back to our barracks, got freshened up. Packed our backpacks and started our journey back to Blore at 1200hrs. We stopped at CCD, Gundulpet for packing our lunch. We reached blore by 1750 hrs. We had plan's to party at night but cancelled the same as all were tired and Maja and Zoe had their early morning flights back to US.

The trip was really memorable. We dedicate this to Maja and Zoe . We thank Rogan, Nandini, Siddha, Danny, Pradeep, Karupan at the jungle
retreat for making our stay a memorable one. The experience we all had was so good that 'n' no of words or no picture can express !!! Sharing some moments ... please Click here

Even though the team parts now, we will meet again for another blast but with a difference -- Maja, Zoe and myself reducing min 10lbs and Sathish reducing on his cigis. Before keeping my pen down, allow me to quote Robert Frost --- "The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep".

Karnataka Road Transport Corporation.

2008-06-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time I blogged. The normal excuses -- work pressure, over time , blah blah ....

I had planed to go to Chennai last Fri and tried booking the tickets through the Internet for KSRTC. The page opened up, everything went fine. I selected the seat in the middle. Was very happy with the proceedings. But as if god dint like it , after i did the payment, the message came that the seat I opted had been already allotted to somebody else. My money was out of my account. I was helpless. But it seems that this is a normal practice happening with the site.The authorities have given an email id to correspond on refunds. Till now, after 3 days , I have not received any feedback on my complaint to KSRTC. Don't know when I will be lucky to get my money back.

I had a similar problem with India Railway. But appreciate the system where in my money got refunded in 24 hrs.

Can we say here that still central is much more capable than state !!

Hey friends ... I got my money back ...nearly after a month...

Sush Wedding

2007-10-23T04:06:00.000-07:00

Sush may question me for keeping the title like this because for sure at least for once a thought would have crossed her minds -- "are these guys coming for my wedding or to rock on the Malpe beach?"....

Binod, Praveen, Sathish, Shiva, Riyaz,Chandru and Myself planned to start the trip by 1800Hrs on 10/19/07. Plan was to go in two cars-- Praveen's Zen Estilo and Binod's Honda City. As it was raining heavily in Blore we were delayed on our start. Finally our journey commenced at 2240Hrs.

We refilled ourselves with food and beer at Sri Chamundeshwari Farm Dabha , near to Nelmangla at 0030Hrs, 10/20. We moved out and targetteing Udupi. Our plan was to hit Malpe beach via Hassan ( 147km frm Nelmangala ) and frm Hasan take the route to Belur (30Km ), Chikmangalore ( 40Km) Shringeri via Balehonnur and Jayapura and reach Shringeri(100Kms frm Chikmangalore) from there to Agumbe ( 28km ) Someshwar, hebri, Hiriyadha, Manipal and reach Udupi( 80Km frm Shringeri) and finaly Malpe Beach ( 5km).

The road stretch between Hasan and Chickmangalore was not in good condition. We got some good snaps at Agumbe. We reached Malpe beach by 1100Hrs.

We had booked our stay at Paradise isle beach resort. The stay was good. We had a quick swim and then proceeded for lunch. Rolled out our plan for the day and next. It was finalised like first St Mary's Island then night at the disco and next day morning towards the marriage hall.

St Mary's Island is a beautiful place. You have to go in boat for half an hour. They will charge you RS 80 to and fro. As we had gone in the last batch we could only spend 30 mins on the island. We returned back to resorts by 2000Hrs. All decided to take a nap for some time so that we have enough energy on the disco floor.

The sleep dint end as planned because all were so tired that none woke up at the planned time. By 2300Hrs myself and Binod got up due to preset alarms on the mobile. We decided to check the disco. And to be honest we were disappointed as the crowd was very less. Can you guess how many people were there. 2 young girls and we 2 . We ordered our drinks and started our session. We were a bit happy also thinking that might be god has gifted us with a boon in the form of a curse. We 2 young guys alone and 2 young girls, they also alone. But this happiness dint last for much time. Actually those girls were waiting for their group and they arrived soon and finally joined them.

We decided to go for a drive and on the way get some money from ATM. The roads were empty and the drive was superb. All others woke up this time and called us checking our where abouts. We decided to go back to the disco again and rock. Till early morning this continued. I went to sleep at about 400Hrs 10/21.

Next day I came to know that I missed some early morning shots of fishermen bringing in their night's catch. Shiva was lucky enough to see all these activities.

We took some snaps near the resort as well as beach. Got ready by 1030hrs and moved towards the marriage hall which was nearly 20km from our place of stay. On the way we filled our car tanks. Luckily gas station was also available.

We reached the hall by abt 1200Hrs and were on time. Got some good snaps of the wedding. The bride and the groom were looking too good. After the marriage we proceeded for lunch. The lunch was really yummy and our tummy's were full till the brim. We wished the couple and planned to move.

By 1430Hrs our wheels were rolling again back to bangalore. We stopped at Agumbe where the nature blessed us with some great snaps. Without any delays we moved on to Blore on the same route.

We reached Chickmangalore by 2100Hrs and met Riyaz's cousin. He took us to a hotel called Srimangala Fish Land -- The fish items were really too good there.

I would specially thank my friends for organising a cake cutting in the same hotel as next day was my B'day.

We finished everything and moved again. At 2455Hrs we stopped our cars and opened beers to toss cheers on my bday. Concluded the event fast and rolled on.

All went well till Binod's car hit the median ( under construction ) on the shringeri - nelmangalore highway. Readers beware on this road. There are no sign boards or indications hinting work in progress.

The car's radiator was damaged and hence we couldn drive. We tried towing the car by Praveen's car but ...failed. Myself and Binod planned to stay back and the others moved towards blore as it was no point all staying back.

We slept in the car planning to check for workshops in the morning. Woke up in the morning found a workshop but no luck there also. With great difficulty we drove another 35km but stopped as the engine temp was going high. We hired a vehicle and towed the car till bangalore. Reached Bangalore by 1500Hrs on 10/22.

We are sharing some moments we enjoyed
Click here

Jiju Weds Priya

2007-08-01T05:05:00.000-07:00

Friday evening we all ( Myself, Srijith, Sobin) met at Sri’s house at Madivala. As the ritual before going for a good thing the pooja (boozing), we couldn’t dare to skip. The bar just opp to the KPN office was the venues. We charged ourself eith the required fuel and commenced our journey to Trivandrum. Purpose – to attend Jiju Stephan’s marriage.

The small bus picked us up frm madivala to Bomanhalli by 7.00pm. But as usual the bus got delayed nearly an hour due to the busy traffic. Dinner was only snacks. The bus route was not through Palghat but via tirunelveli. We reached TVM by 11.00am.

Jju came to pick us up. He had arranged our stay at Venkateswara Hotel near by to new theatre. The rooms were good. We finished our breakfast cum lunch along with 3 -4 pegs each and proceeded towards Jiju,s house. Reached his place in an hrs time. Once again upon Jiju,s mom’s insisting we had lunch there also. There was fried fish, kappa, fish curry apart frm the rice. Our tummies were full. We settled at Jiju’s room for some rest. We had 3-4 pegs of whiskey while watching some good old Malayalam comedy movies. We parted Jiju by 4.30pm.

On the way back to the hotel we went for a small shopping. Sobin ans Sri purchased the dhothi’s . Sri a scullers shirt, unfortunately it was the same that Jiju’s bro had taken for him. Before going to room we got our dinner packed at AZAD. Took a bottle of DSP Black for the night and marched owards the room. The evening pooja started and the day came to an end.

Sunday morning – We finished our breakfast. Went to veli. Got some good snaps. Came back to the hotel by 3.30pm. Refilled our stock with some chilled beers on the way back. Starded our ucha pooja. Finished the same by evening. Had dinner—puttu, kappa, beef. After that we went for a movie – mamooty – mission 90 days. We reached back in hotel by 1.00 in the night. We finished our drinks stock in an hours time. We slept by 3.00 Am.

Monday morning—we got up by six. Got ready soon and rushed to jiju’s house. Reached his place by 9.00am. Finished our breakfast. Helped Jiju in getting dressed up. Moved towards the church along with the group. Attended the wedding. Wished the new couple and we packed our bags back to Bangalore.

The unfogetable moments are here to be shared with all. Please click on this link http://picasaweb.google.com/radhishrs/JijuWedsPriya to view the album.

The Scotland of India - Coorg

2007-05-21T03:37:00.000-07:00

April 20th 2007, 1915Hrs IST , Myself, Rathish( popular as Naroor Rathish. I was meeting him after long 7 years.) and Pavitra in my Santro Blacky said good bye to Blore. Nature blessed our trip with heavy showers on Mysore road. Had dinner (unlimited) at Kamath. We started again. Myself and Naroor were exchanging the wheel. We reached Pavi's place( he is native to coorg) at o400Hrs IST. There was fog and it was chill outside. We slept well, prepairing ourselves for the next day.
Morning we woke up by 1000Hrs. Wentto the nearby stream, had a good swim. Went to a temple which was about 10 Km interior in the jungle. On the way we saw a poor pig getting slaughtered. Naroor absorbed all these moments in his Canon S3IS. Lunch we had all the Coorgy dishes. They were really yummy !

Evening we went to Pavi's uncle's house which was lacated in midst of a wast coffee plantation. The place was so silent, free from pollution, no vehicle horns, no television sounds,no mobile rings( as there was no networks available ). You wont believe there was no electricity connection in that house. But we enjoyed a lot. We dint feel any of these drawbacks at any moment of our stay there. We slept there that night.

On 22nd - 1100Hrs we packed our packs and targetted our next destination - Raja Seat. Took lots of pics there. Said good bye to Coorg and with sweet memories we left for Blore. On the way we dropped in at kushalnagara.

We reached Blore by2100Hrs. The moments we shared are here and will be remembered life long.

Bangalore - Kasarkode - Coorg- Official Trip

2007-04-18T23:06:00.000-07:00

This trip became a reality on 23.12.2006. Myself, Sathish,Santosh and family, Mani and family, Shiju and family and completing the group were Neelima & her Sis. It was really moments of joy when we all boarded up the vehicle in the evening for Coorg. All were ready for adventure and we started ......