Three Mallus in Leh !

Note : My words below will not be able to justify the feel of experience we had during the trip to even 25%. You need to be there to understand how it feels. I recommend that every individual needs to go to Leh at least once in life time.

It was a sudden decision of us to plan the trip. All happened while we Met in Syed's I'ed party. I checked with Rithwik  and got the contacts. Rajith did his side  R&D  and we all finally decided to go with this service provider - Overland Escape. 

Tickets Booked. Purchased the gear from Decathlon.

Day 01/ Sept 06: Manali  - Srinagar

We reached airport by 1910 pm. The drop was sponsored by GI. Gulped couple of drinks in BIAL. Boarded the flight. Flight was full to Delhi. Reached Delhi on time. Spent some time wandering inside airport as our connection flight was at 0540 hrs to Srinagar. We found lots of empty space in airport to settle down as there not many like us there waiting. 

The utilisation of sleeping bag was done full extreme. Slept on the floor taking turns. 

Day 02/ Sept 7: Arrive at Srinagar airport  and drive straight to Kargil.

Reached airport by 7.30 am. Did our morning nature calls in airport only. They got only one american commode in clean and usable condition. We were picked up by a taxi which was only for 7 km. Then we changed to Leh taxi. Unfortunately it was a strike day at Srinagar and we not able to explore the city much. Had our break fast at Son Marg. Without waisting any more time we moved on to Kargil. 

Son marg-India gate-Zodjila pass-Vijay war memorial-Kargil hill

With Jidins help the Drinks supply was supported by forces. Kargil was a small town. We were scheduled for a stop to get acclimatised with the increasing altitude. Had couple of drinks and retired to our beds. Food was not so great. However basic requirements were met.

Day 03/ Sept 8: Kargil – Leh 230 Kms / 5-6 hrs

After Breakfast started for Leh by 0700Hrs. Enroute visited Mulbek, Giant Living Buddha Sculpture on Rock Mountain, Lamayuru, one of the oldest Monastery of Ladakh and enjoy the view of Moon Landscape. 

The drive was good. We had to believe the Magnetic Hill concept. The car was literally pulled back by the mountain.

Reached Leh by 4pm. We were feeling the altitude and lack of oxygen. Climbing few stairs was like running a mile. 

The tour operator representative came and briefed us about the trip plan. The altitude had pulled down Shivaram. Rajith tummy was upset due to the chicken we had last night. I had couple of drinks and we all went for dinner. Food was good. Retired to our bunkers by 2200hrs.  

Day 04/ Sept 9: Leh - Pangong Lake - Leh 280 Kms / 10-11 hrs

After early (0730Hrs) Breakfast left for Pangong Lake (14,500 ft) through Changla Pass 17,350 ft, it is the third highest motor-able road in the world. Arrive Pangong by 1300Hrs.  it is the highest salt water Lake in the World, shared by two countriesIndia & China.  Enjoyed the beauty of the lake on the Banks of pangong while appreciated the changing Colors and fascinating high altitude of the Lake. The various colours visible in lake contributed by the sand  was a marvel to see by itself. Spent couple of hours there. The lunch was packed and carried with us.The drive was ok. Lots of off-roading. Drove back to Leh by the same route. Altitude had literally pulled our efficiency levels . Had a quick dinner and retired to our bunkers. 

Day 05/ Sept 10: Leh - Nubra Valley 120 Kms / 4-5 hrs

We had to start early by 0700hrs for Nubra valley. Else will be stuck on the roads due to road widening activities happening en route. After Breakfast we started  to Nubra Valley via Khardungla (Highest Motorable road in the World, 18,380 ft) Arrive at Hundur by afternoon. Lunch at Camp. The lunch was made from the stuff produced in their organic garden. Every where apple trees. Fed up of eating apples ;-)  In the evening we went for the two humped camel ride. It was fun on the camel and interesting to see the sand dunes. We had a camp fire set for the night. Met couple of riders at the camp fire. Had a great evening. Finished dinner and retired to our camps.

Day 06/ Sept 11: Nubra Valley - Leh 120 Kms / 4-5 hrs

After Breakfast  we started back to leh. En route visited Deskit Monastery, where we had a magnificent view of Nubra Valley .Back to Leh by same Route, crossing Khardungla Pass. Reached by afternoon. Did some local shopping. Bought the worl famous Pashmina shawl.

Relaxed the rest of the day. 

Day 07/ Sept 12: Leh to Sarchu 250 Kms/ 10 – 11 Hrs 

Started for sarchu. Reached by 1500hrs. Our stay was in camps. The camp guys told us that we need to collect water in buckets in the night itself as morning it will be frozen. We took it lightly. However what we had in store was horrible. The temp went down to -4 deg cel. Adding to this the altitude was killing the oxygen.  The coldest night we experienced. If we have a choice we will not go back to this place. Old monk and Holister jackets were complete failure. Multiple blankets helped us to sleep for few hours. 

Day 08/ Sept 13: Sarchu – Manali 222 Kms / 9-10 hrs

Left sarchu ASAP. Target was Manali. Roads were really bad. Leh-Manali road was restricted until 1988, this rugged 472km road - 2nd highest in the world - is only open about three months per year. 

Crossed Baralacha La (4845m), lunch at Sissu village, later cross famous Rohtang Pass, 13050 ft. 

We some how wanted to reach manali. We passed through the Rohtang  pass which was fully green. By 1700 hrs we reached Manali. Checked in dragon guest house. A decent one. We were allocated a pent house to stay. As we were completely exhausted by the road travel we did nothing but relax. 

Day 09/ Sept 14: Manali  - Chandigarh 7-8 Hrs

The best sleep we had in the complete trip was in Manali. Woke up late. Checked out of the hotel after the brunch. Decided to go for JOHNSONS spa. Spend half a day taking care of ourselves. The massages and facials did really rejuvenate us. By 1900 hrs we left for Chandigarh. Our initial plan was to directly go to airport. However we reached Chandigarh airport by early morning 0400hrs. Flight was at 1140hrs. Decided to take a room to retire and freshen up. Checked in in a nearby hotel. 

Day 10/ Sept 15: Manali  - Chandigarh 7-8 Hrs 

Flew back to Blore via Mumbai.  

Stay:

01 night Hotel D’zojila  in Kargil

03 nights Hotel Pangong  in Leh

01 night Organic Retreat camp  in Nubra

01 night Deluxe camp in Sarchu

01 night Dragon Guesthouse in Manali 

Relaxing Trip to Goa

For our annual vacation this year, after sifting through various locations, we decided on Goa.

Shivaram’s family, Santhosh’s family and we started from Bangalore on 19 th Nov by bus and reached

Goa at about 10am next day. We had already made our booking in Santana Beach Resort. We reached

the resort, had breakfast and retired to the rooms. The resort was well maintained, the rooms were

spacious and had a kitchen attached as well. After relaxing for a while, we went to the beach in the

evening. It was good fun. We then had dinner was called it a day. As we had planned this vacation to

relax from our normal busy schedules, we did not make any plans to venture out.

The next morning, we finished breakfast and decided to go around the city in bikes. We hired 4 bikes

from the resort and went to Candolim beach. The beach was quite crowded. While Shivaram, Santhosh

and kids enjoyed in the beach, Meera and I went to the shack to relax for a while. We had some

prawns, chicken and crabs for lunch. As there was not much to do in the beach we rode back to the

resort and spent the evening again in the pool and beach. As the next day was my birthday we cut the

cake at midnight. It was a great birthday indeed…!

Day 3 was a relaxing day and we spent it idling at the resort. We had some late breakfast and spent

the rest of the day in the resort. Evening was again in the pool and beach. It must be said here that the

beach is the best part of the resort. It was shallow and the tides were really welcoming. We never got

bored of spending long hours in the beach. It was Santhosh’s wife Geetha’s birthday today and so we

cut another cake at midnight. We had ordered lobsters for dinner today and we totally relished it…

Day 4 was the last day of our trip and we went for the city tour organized by makemytrip. We visited

the dolphins park and the Church during the tour. As we found the tour quite tiring, we got off at

about 3pm and got into a resort in Panjim for rest of the evening. Our bus back to Bangalore was at

7pm and reached home next morning.

Movie Review : Bachelor Party ( Malayalam -2012-June)

The film Bachelor Party: cinematography is great. Amal Neerad did justice to only that. Apart from that I felt bored. Item number songs were torture. Songs are ok . Not recommended viewing. I would rate 1.5/5

Coonoor - A Trip to Niligiri Hills

Mar 23rd – Mar 25th


Work was taking its toll on us and what we needed was a rejuvenating break and what Coonoor offered was exactly that. It had been while since we had gone for a trip and so Shivaram’s family and we decided to venture out during the Ugadi weekend. We originally planned to go to Chikmagalur but as the weather was too hot there, finalized on Coonoor.

We browsed through a number of resorts listed in tripadvisor and found that the best reviews were for Sun Valley resorts. We enquired about the availability on 11th Mar and confirmed the booking on 13th. By now, Santhosh and family decided to join us as well.

Day 1

On Friday 23rd Mar, we started from Bangalore at 6AM. The weather was perfect and our holiday started with a cool drive under the rising sun….one of those rare mornings where we stopped to watch the sun rise. On the way we stopped at Bidadi for breakfast, where we filled ourselves with some awesome hot Thatte idly. There were no stops thereafter until Coonoor.

We took the Bangalore –Mysore – Gundlupet – Mudumalai –Masinagudi – Ooty – Coonoor route. The drive through the forest was exciting though we didn’t expect to sight any animals. The roads were good but the ghat section from Mudumalai till Ooty was quite a steep and tedious drive. We reached Ooty at about 1 30PM and Coonoor by 2PM. We waited near the Coonoor railway station from where Michael (from the resort) came to direct us till the resort. We were famished by the time we reached and all we could think about was food. Before we could feel the cool air and absorb the serenity, we gathered ourselves for lunch. The food was really awesome in South Indian style with sambar, rasam, rice and chicken curry.

We then checked into our rooms, which require a special mention here…they were fabulous and very well maintained. The furnishings were really good and the rooms were well ventilated. The view was perfect, overlooking the tea plantations and the town below. Our rejuvenation had begun…..

From the start, we had planned on not keeping the trip packed with visiting places. We spent the evening in the resort, relaxing around camp fire and just enjoying the weather. Again had some yummy dinner and looked forward to the next day.



Day 2

As planned…we didn’t have any big plans for the day, though the one thing we did not want to miss after coming to Coonoor was the ride on Nilgiri Express…the train that has set the mood in a lot of Indian movies and was part of everybody’s dream of a hill station. The train was starting from Coonoor at 1215PM. We had a late breakfast at the resort (bored of saying how awesome the food was…again…!!) and started to the railway station. The itinerary was to take the train to Ooty and to immediately return in the same train, which had a stopover of about 15min before heading back. We got into the train and it started chugging along at 1215PM and immediately the mood was changed. Though the train was crowded and noisy, it didn’t stop us from enjoying the beauty of the Nilgiris unfurling itself outside. It was now that it dawned on us they we were going to Ooty- The Queen of Hill Stations and how could we return without enjoying her, though it may be only for a short while. So we reworked our plans and decided to stay back for a few hours in Ooty before taking the last train back to Coonoor.

The experience on the Nilgiri Express was truly special. She rode along the hills taking each turn slowly so that we could fill our eyes with the beauty underneath. It was a nostalgic trip for all of us as we had only heard about the tunnels and views of the Nilgiris in our childhood and this was like all those images coming to life in front of us. We reached Ooty at 130PM and headed straight for lunch. We then decided to go for the boating in the lake.

It was quite sunny though not particularly hot. Being Ugadi holiday, the boating place was crowded. We still managed to get the tickets and took an eight seater ride around the lake. It was beautiful. The greenery around was mind blowing. The place was swarming with people and we couldn’t help but imagine what a beauty this place once would have been. This felt like one of those tragedies that men inflicted upon nature, where her eternal beauty was replaced with cement buildings, shops and crowd.

It was almost 4 by now and our last train back to Coonoor was at about 600PM. After boating we spent some time lazing around – the kids enjoyed a few rides and we started back to the station. One word of caution here, the queue for taking tickets for the train is really long and so it is better to reach the station well in advance to avoid standing in the queue for too long or taking the risk of missing the train. We took the 1st class tickets for our way back and enjoyed the ride back in the coupe.

We reached the resort by 730PM, feeling refreshed in mind, but tired in physique. Again, we relaxed by the camp fire for a while, had dinner and retired for the day.

Day 3

We were scheduled to start back to Bangalore in the afternoon. We had late breakfast and relaxed in our rooms. Brinda and kids enjoyed a walk and few photo sessions in the tea plantation. By then it was time for lunch and start our journey back. We picked up some homemade chocolates from Ooty as well.

While returning, we took the Ooty – Gudalur – Gundlupet – Mysore – Bangalore route. Although this route was longer than the earlier route, the view was amazing and it was worth every extra kilometer we drove. The tall eucalyptus trees and the beautiful view of the Nilgiris provided a real treat to the eyes. We also sighted some elephants and deer along the way...would recommend this route to anybody who wants to really enjoy their drive back. We reached Gudlupet, took a short break at Café Coffee day headed to Mysore.

Sharing few  moments we enjoyed together ....click here

Trip to Sri Lanka , The Pearl of the Indian Ocean

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

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

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 .