Anil G Kurian

New website

2016-07-04T22:57:00.000+05:30

IMPORTANT: I have created a new website and all the posts from this blog is moved to the new site. Please check anil.cloud and subscribe for new posts.

No more posts will be made here, thanks for understanding.

Exploring Ooty

2016-03-27T09:35:00.000+05:30

Best place for me to go in this summer was Ooty. The maximum temperature was 19C there. Me & a friend started in two bikes on Thursday morning by 7PM and reached Ooty by around 1.30PM. We took the Kanapura road instead of the busy (& boring) Mysoore road. Reached Gudalpet by noon and it was very hot by then. From there we crossed Bandipur forest, which is always one my favorite place to drive. This is the fifth time I am going through this forest. Thrice in car and twice in Bike. Twice to Ooty and thrice to Wayanad. Read about them here:

Bandipur Forest

To Ooty there are two routes from Gudalpetu, one is the famous 36 hair-pin road and the other one is via Gudalur. We went uphill to Ooty via the 36 hair pin road and came back via Gudalur. Its really a pleasurable ride if you have a powerful bike and can really bend it to negotiate the hair pin corners.

Masinagudi Ooty road

Evening we went to Doddabetta. The usual mistake people going to Ooty make is they roam around within Ooty town - with the boating or the garden. Actually you have go outside town to places like Coonnor, Kotagiri etc. to discover wonderful places. Doddabetta is on Kotagiri road, 8KM from Ooty town and it is the highest peak in South India. You have to walk about 3km to reach the view point but there are some local bikes also available to carry you if you are lazy to walk. From the view point we can see Coimbatore town, Ooty town etc.

way to doddapetta

View from Doddapetta

Another must visit place is the Tea facorty which is also on the Doddabetta road. Here you will get to taste fresh chocolate and five different varieties of tea.

View from Ooty Tea factory

Next day, Friday morning we drove towards Kotagiri and then further to Kodanadu. On the way we saw the famous Kodanadu Estate which belong to Tamil Nadu CM. We were fortunate enough (don't ask me how) to go inside and have a glimpse of the beautiful estate and bungalows. From there we proceeded till the road ends. The view from there was awesome. Click here for the Google map location. You could see a river in the map, same river can be seen in the picture below. Next to the river is the famous Sathyamangalam forest and then Karnataka border. This is where the notorious Veerappan was living or rather ruling. As you can see in the map there are no roads, its just the river and forest.

Kotagiri and Kodanad

View to Sathyamangalam & the river

Same day evening we went to Emerald Lake and Avalanche Lake. Unfortunately Avalanche lake closes by 3.30 PM and we were late. Emerald lake is also a must visit and a great place for camping with a tent. It was not very crowded and you could drive your car/bike close to the lake. This is a common film shooting location so chances are there you must have seen this place in many films.

Emerald Lake

On Ooty Emerald lake road

Saturday morning we started back from Ooty via Gudalur. The road was good & traffic was less. On the way back we made occasional stops at the Barren hills and Pykara waterfalls etc. Reached back in Bangalore by evening 5pm only.

Barren hills on Ooty Mysore road

Pykara Lake & Gudalur Mysore road

Click here for the complete route map.

Calendar 2016

2016-01-08T22:25:00.001+05:30

Photos for the Calendar 2016

Fort Kochi

2015-12-29T21:56:00.000+05:30

A very short and quick visit to Fort Kochi and Mattancherry. Its a very historic place and famous for Jew streets, churches, old style homes & buildings, beeches etc. Best place for street photographers.

Its less than an hour drive from the city and a good place to hang out. You can see many foreigners there from all over the world, some of them are permeant resident there. Fort Kochi is also a common shooting location for many Malayalam films.

Kumarakom

2015-12-27T21:41:00.000+05:30

Finally went for a house boat trip from Kumarakom during this christmas vacation.

Coorg Again

2015-05-23T22:44:00.000+05:30

Visited Coorg (Kodagu) again, (previous visit) this time with friends. Had a wonderful stay at Heritage Resort. Here are some photos.

Vypin Island

2015-04-19T23:28:00.002+05:30

A quick evening ride to Vypin island in Cochin after my cousin's marriage. Cochin is always one my favourite place as I have spent most of my school vacations here with my cousins.

I was not carrying my camera and took these pictures with iPhone.

Madiwala Market

2015-03-23T07:26:00.000+05:30

The famous Madiwala Market for fresh fruits and vegetables. We don't go here often, but just stopped by once to check out the market. The vegetables were fresh and cheap too compared to other retail shops and super markets.

Meenakshi Resort

2015-03-05T23:11:00.000+05:30

Team outing from office this time to Meenakshi Resort in Jigani. As it was near to Electronic City it was an easy option for me to drive there directly. The resort was an average one with only few activities like mist dance, go-karting, rope climbing etc. But the covered cricket ground was good enough for many to start the day with cricket.

The day was very hot and sunny as you can see from the pictures & most of us were completely drained-off by evening. Good thing was that they had some decent cottages for staying over. It wasn't looking very impressive from outside but was different inside. Four of us stayed there over night and came back next day morning. Overall it was good experience especially because of the desperate need for an outing after months of hectic work.

Meenakshi Resort entrance and cottages

Dining area

Basket Ball court & go-karting or whatever you call it is.

Mist dance

Benz

2015-02-10T07:13:00.000+05:30

A stylish Mercedes Benz parked near our office. This place is known as Dollars Scheme Layout in BTM and rich people are staying here. In Bangalore any street with the name "Dollars" indicates they are rich :)

Audis and BMWs were looking better for last couple of years but now its Merc back again with their stunning looks.

Office Terrace

2015-02-02T21:07:00.000+05:30

Took this photos from our office terrace.

The continuous white light and scattered read light shows free way on one side and heavy traffic in other direction. Interesting thing is that its the same always, be it morning or evening.

Lalbagh Flower show

2015-01-25T20:58:00.000+05:30

Visited Lalbagh Flower show and here are few photos.

Calendar 2015

2015-01-01T23:00:00.000+05:30

My favourite photos for the Calendar 2015

January & February

March & April

May & June

July & August

September & October

November & December

Nandi Hills

2014-11-01T22:55:00.000+05:30

Another early morning bike trip to Nandi Hills. We started from around 4.30 AM and reached there by 6.30. Weather was clear, not much mist this time compared to last trip. But it was very windy and cold though. Uphill driving in Bullet is always a pleasurable experience, you never feel under powered.

Reaching Nandi hills I was surprised to see a long queue at the ticket counter. It has become a very common weekend destination for Bangaloreans now.

on the way to Nandi Hills

An old room made carving a big rock (left). We went inside it and it felt like a jail room. I liked this picture very much especially with reduced saturation.

Another similar one. The colourful flowers covering this old left behind also hides the mystery feeling.

Walking around the hills

View from top of the hills (left). New arrangements for visitors (right)

Nandi hills is getting maintained better now.

Noon walk

2014-10-28T11:27:00.001+05:30

Everyday after lunch we go for a short walk outside our office. The picture shows the road with a clear blue sky after heavy rains on last few days in Bangalore.

Hosur Railway station

2014-10-23T10:14:00.000+05:30

Private buses are the first option for most of the people staying in Bangalore to travel to Kerala. For me too it was the same till a couple of months ago. But their arrogant and irresponsible behaviour and over charging on weekends and special days made me to prefer trains recently.

The gareeb rath train runs on alternate days from Bangalore is a good option. The timing is convenient, train is neat and easy to get tickets too.

The picture below shows Hosur railway station where the train stops and is a preferable stop for people from electronic city area.

Wayanad again

2014-09-14T23:25:00.000+05:30

This time to attend one of my close friend's marriage. So it was a get-together of our friends and a wonderful trip as well. We started by around 7.00 AM on Friday morning and reached there by 3.00 PM with occasional pit stops in between. This time the weather, especially the sky, was clear unlike last time. So the photos came out good and colorful.

Our stay was in Coffee County resort, which was a pretty good one. However our taxi driver wasn't happy at all as the road to the resort wasn't in a good condition. There are 4 cottages and we were the only visitors that time, occupying two of them. The owner of the resort was a close friend of my friend who was with us, so we have got a very good reception there and the stay was really enjoyably.

Next day went for an exciting trekking to Chembra peak, which helped in burning out the calories we gained from the resort. The climb was very steep but we managed to complete the full 2.5km. The view from the top of peak was breathtaking. We had a guide and they were very strict about tourists throwing garages and plastic bottles. Overall that was a really nice experience. But again the road was very bad & taxi driver wasn't happy.

Attended the wedding (sort of) on Sunday and returned to Bangalore.

Chekkadi, the rice bowl of Wayanad

Sun set view from paddy fields in Chekkadi,Wayanad

Coffee County Resort

Top of Chembra Peak, Wayanad

Tea estate in Chembra , Wayanad

See the trip video, completely made (shot + edit) using an iPhone 4s.

Happy Onam

2014-09-07T22:41:00.000+05:30

Sarah's first Onam

Trying Ona Sadya (Onam special Lunch)

Yercaud

2014-08-17T21:20:00.004+05:30

Yercaud is a hill station at about 220km away from Bangalore. Since it was a long weekend this time I have decided to drive toYercaud. From Bangalore to Salem we can reach in less than 3Hrs and from there uphill starts. There are 20 clearly marked hair pins to negotiate before we reach Yercaud. The road was very good and traffic was less. We will be at about 5000 feet high from sea level at Yercaud. But the weather wasn't very cool, can't compare it with Ooty or Munnar.

The sky wasn't very clear, as can be seen from the pictures - the colour reproduction didn't come out good. Main attraction is the view of Salem city from the top of the hills.

Hair pin bends towards Yercaud

View from top of the hills in Yercaud

A village as seen from pagoda point and pepper trees all over in Yercaud.

View of Salem city at night and the same view in the morning

Riding back to Bangalore

NH 47

2014-06-15T23:10:00.000+05:30

On the way to Bangalore from my home town Pala, the sky was looking really beautiful as we were passing through NH 47. Anytime when I see a clear blue sky with white clouds I take photos with the sky occupied most of the frame and it comes out good. This time I didnt bother to take out my SLR but captured these using my mobile.

NH 47 near Salem

The high-way passes through Kerala and Tamil Nadu, but the road condition is pathetic in Kerala & on the other hand its very good in Tamil Nadu.

Wayanad Bike Trip

2014-04-20T23:26:00.001+05:30

Finally at this peek of summer I did my longest bike trip - to Wayand from Bangalore, about 300+ KMs. There was a plan for a trip in car with my friends which got cancelled at the last minute so I thought why not go alone in Bike. This is my second visit, read about the first visit here. Friday around 10.30 I started from Bangalore, took occational stops and reached wayand by 6 in the evening. Stayed at my friend's place and returned on Sunday. The solo drive through Muthanga wildelife sanctuary in Bullet was unforgettable. The roads were excellent - clean and empty with frequent curves which made the bike ride really joyful. Bangalore-Mysoore highway ride was tiring as it was very hot.

Muthanga is known to people from Kerala more for the police firing incident happened in 2003. I took a stop for a cup of tea at Muthanga after crossing the Kerala border and asked the him about the incident. He told me it was the result of a political drama where one party encouraged the Adivasis to occupy reserved forest land and then the government had to forcefully remove them. Anyway that was a real bad chapter in the history of Muthanga.

Not much photos this time, everywhere it was dry and hot. The forest was better though. I was little scared to stop inside the forest, I saw many deers and a bear too. Hera are few photos.

Driving through Muthanga Forest, view from cockpit

Pulpally Forest

Muthanga Forest

Wayand Cricket Stadium

Concorde Manhattans

2014-03-09T23:01:00.000+05:30

Took these pictures apartment - Concorde Manhattans - on a sunny day using my mobile.

Jigani

2014-01-28T23:44:00.000+05:30

Jigani is a close-by village to Electrnoic City. Though I have been staying in EC for more than two years I've never been to this place. One fine evening I decided to explore this village roads in my Bullet. It was a good experience. Couple of kilometers from the busy Silicon Valley of India there is this beautiful village with plenty of trees and silk worm gardens. The roads were narrow and almost empty. I could see only few children walking from school and farmers carrying their stuff in two-wheelers.

Also found a Meenakshi Resort which seems to be a good option for next family outing.

Jigani Trees

Calendar 2014

2014-01-05T11:35:00.001+05:30

Photos for my Calendar 2014

10,000 KMs

2013-10-28T22:59:00.000+05:30

My bullet clocked its first 10,000 KM last week. We went for an early morning ride to Nandi hills to celebrate it. I have been to Nandi hills before but that was during the evening time. The early morning trip was completely different, it was very cold and there was lot of mist. I was surprised to see so many people as a group cycling and walking to the hills during that time.

Here are the photos.

On the way to Nandi Hills

Branches of the same trees which are behind can be seen as faded out, shows the intensity of the mist.

Mist on top of Nandi Hills