Travel Diary

Bylakuppe (Kushalnagar) Trip April,09

2010-05-24T21:00:00.009+05:30

Bylakuppe is the largest Tibetan settlement in India located near Kushalnagar. The settlement set up in 1960 holds a several monasteries and temples. The largest monasteries are Namdroling (Nyingma tradition) and Sera (Gelugpa lineage).

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The main intention for the trip was not a much needed break from mundane life, neither to visit the famous Namdroling (Golden) Monastery but to enjoy the wonderful Tibetian cuisines. Momos (Dumplings), Thukpa, Noddles, Tingmo, Fried Rice, etc are few of the mouth watering recipes that you can expect there.

Anyway, our trip started with a early morning rush to Kempegowda (Majestic) Bus Stand (KBS) in Bangalore, as we had KSRTC bus (Airavat Volvo Rs 270/person) at 6:50 AM from there. The local bus which got us to KBS didn’t charge us a penny since we had KSRTC ticket. Also to our surprise, the bus started in right time. Phew, we were the last to get into the bus. The bus was very cozy with good push back seats and an excellent leg space. They provided us with 500ML Mineral water bottles. We had Masala Dosa and a cup of hot Tea, when the bus stopped at 9AM in some place on Mysore Road for breakfast. After that we reached near Mysore non-stop in no time, but then due to elections it took quite a while more than expected to cross Mysore city due to some checking at different places. However, a Kannada movie starring Ganesh kept us entertained during that time.

The bus did not get inside Mysore Bus Stand, and headed towards the final leg of the journey to KushalNagar. As the bus was speeding on the highway, after about an hour from Mysore, we suddenly saw few shops with location reading Bylakuppe. We were shocked to realize that the conductor has forgotten to remind us. So we got down in the next stop i.e Koppa. This place was near to the famous Namdroling monastery, but a quite far from where we were planning to stay.

We took and auto and asked to him take us to Sakya Guest House in Camp 1 in Bylakuppe. He immediate agreed for Rs 50. Well finally as we approached our Guest House, we could see acres of empty land, with few trees and our small Guest House in the middle of it. We were greeted by one of our Tibetian friend’s sister who stays not very far from that place. The room rate was Rs 350 (Double Bed) which was very much reasonable. It was very clean and well maintained, though it had no TV or any other facilities.

We immediately got in the room, took a nice shower and started taking some shots of the nice monastery that was just adjacent to our Guest House. Now we were hungry and really dying to have a nice Tibetian Lunch. So we quickly ordered Chicken Momo, Chicken Noddles, Chicken Thukpa and Chicken Fried Rice. But to our surprise chicken was not available that time!!! So we had to remove Momo from the order, and change chicken to egg for the other 3 dishes.

While having the sumptuous lunch we decided to make a quick visit to Madikeri. So after lunch we called the same Auto which had dropped us here earlier (he had given his number) and headed towards the Kushalnagar bus stand. From there we boarded a local bus and reached Madikeri after an hour travel. The bumpy ride in an old local bus was very much forgettable.

After reaching there we managed one Auto who agreed to take us to the famous Abbey Falls. After an half an hour ride we reached near the Abbey falls entrance. Then we had to walk about a kilometer into the jungle until we could see the Abbey falls. Unfortunately that was not the right season to visit that place. There was almost no water in the falls, and it like a small patch of water flowing down from the hill!!! To our sadness we started back to the Madikeri. On the way back we purchased Coorg Honey and Coffee. It was of good quality and reasonable price. Finally the Autowalla dropped us near the famous lord Shiva temple very close to Coorg town. After a brief visit we decided to return back to Kushalnagar, but not before having our evening snacks in the famous Hotel Ease End. The Mutton Cutlet and dosa was extremely delicious. Then we headed towards the bus stand, but it was very late, and we were in a big soup since the bus frequency had reduced. Somehow we could get inside a local 'khatara' bus. There was hardly a place to stand in the bus, and we somehow survived the horrible trip and reached back to Kushalnagar.

To be continued...

Tirumala Tirupati Balaji Darshan... Sept'08

2009-05-03T12:10:00.013+05:30

Tirumala Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple situated in Venkatachalam hill and about 10KM from Tirupati Railway Station is the richest and the most visited place of worship in the world. There are two kinds of Darshan (meaning "a glimpse of the Lord") at the temple. One is Dharma Darshanam - free, and usually taking 10 hours from the time you enter the Queue Complex - and the other is Sudarshanam - costing Rs. 50, and taking about 3-4 hours. This time varies with different time of the year.

It was our age old wish to pay a visit to tirupati, but somehow it was not happening for a long time, sometimes due to fear to the mercury soaring in the summer and sometimes due to the potential exodus of people. In September'o8 we could finally make it.....

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We booked a package tour of ITDC for Rs. 1550/person by AC Volvo from Bangalore.

There is another package of ITDC but that’s not available in the weekends. While the former is a 2 day Package with Accommodation and sightseeing, the later is a one day package without accommodation but includes Darshana Ticket and special darshana.

Day 1

The bus was scheduled to depart at 8.00 PM from Race Course Road from some Travel Agency. Few of the passengers came in late so it started one hour late at 9.00 PM. The bus was VOLVO A/C with good seats, and it was a house full :-)

At around 11 PM they stopped somewhere for dinner. We reached Tirupati at sharp 2AM (yes you read it right!!!!) and they asked us to stand in a queue immediately for Darshana Ticket. We were half asleep that time and somehow managed to alight from the bus and got into the queue. There were already lots of people sleeping in the queue, not knowing when their wait is going to be over! The queue was almost on the road, and looked like we will be having a tough time ahead, waiting.

Day 2

Finally at 5.30 AM someone opened the door of the Ticket Office and people stood up and started rushing in. But alas, after few mins the crowd was again stagnant, we overheard that the counter will open after a while. Finally the queue started moving, and by the time we got our tickets it was 7 AM. They took a ticket fee of Rs. 50 each along with our photo, finger print, and gave us the Ticket with Darshana Time 10AM. (The Ticket Amount was later refunded by the Travel Agency).

We went back to the bus again, tired after a long and tiresome night. Then they took us to a hotel (Hotel Grand) adjacent to the Tirupati main bus stand. To our surprise, it was 3 star hotel. Everyone was allotted rooms (twin sharing), and it was an excellent and spacious one. We had a nice shower, then had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, and were ready by 9 AM for the Darshana in Tirumala which was about 10KM from the Hotel. Since private buses are not allowed we were asked to board a local bus which they had arranged to take us to the temple.

Though it was September end, the temperature was very high and it was very Humid. So make sure you carry enough drinking water to prevent dehydration.

On the way to Tirumala our bus had a minor accident. That was a much tensed situation as the local crowd and police surrounded the bus and had a heated argument with driver. Somehow it got resolved, and we managed to reach temple an hour late by 12 Noon. The driveway to the temple which is at the Hill Top was something to remember. It was a hilly road, but very well maintained and one way. The hairpin turns in the road didn’t prevent the driver to show his driving skills and we had to hold our breath every time he made a turn.

Immediately after getting down from the bus we walked fast to stand in the queue. Camera is not allowed inside the temple, and there is a very good security at the entrance. Finally, we got into the queue waiting for the darshana. It was very crowded and there was no exit in between. After about 2.5 hours in the queue and we finally managed to get the Darshana, not before surviving the unforgettable jostling everytime time queue moved. It's very risky for women, babies and old people to handle this crowd, especially in front of the main temple where the crowd was worst. We had difficult time standing; there was not enough space to keep our feet. Thanks to my husband who saved me from getting crushed! We hardly got 2 seconds to have a proper glimse of The Lord as the crowd and the Volunteers kept people moving.

After darshana, we donated some money in ‘Hundi’. Here, you can't miss the Huge Glass Room where you can see hundreds of people counting Notes/Coins, and crores of donations heaped around them. Then there was some cooked prasadam at the queue exit which was very delicious. Then we were finally out of the temple and proceeded to the counter where you can collect 2 big laddoos each against your Darshan Ticket. Either you carry a plastic packet before going to the temple, or you can buy each for Rs.2 in different counter available there to carry those BIG Ladoos.

Then we were back to the bus stand nearby, and by 4 PM we returned back to the hotel. We had lunch, and rested for a while. At around 6 PM we went out nearby just to have a look around in the local market but could not find anything special. We bought some fruits as it was very cheap there and returned back to the hotel. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant itself. 2 of us had Steamed Rice, Chapatti, Chicken Biriyani, Chicken Chilly and Chicken Chettinad, the later being the best among all. The bill amounted to Rs 300, and it was a value for the money. After and tiring and eventful day and a very heavy dinner, we had a very good sleep.

Day 3

We got up early in the morning as we had to check out from the hotel at 5 AM. We got into our VOLVO, and then they took us to the Goddess Laxmi’s (Tirupati Balaji’s wife) temple. We could attend the ‘Suprabhatam Puja’ as there was no crowd in the early morning. Then they took us to different temples in and around Tirupati (about 5 of them). After a while we stopped getting inside the Temples as we were already very tired.

Around 2 PM we finally started for Bangalore and reached at 8 PM in the same place on Race Course Road.

That ended our long awaited Tirupati Balaji Darshana, and hope we can pay another visit in near future.

Ooty Trip Oct,08

2008-12-05T22:56:00.001+05:30

Ooty also known as Udhagamandalam is the "Queen of hill stations". Located in Nilgiri Hills it is one of the best I have seen in India, especially when the cloud comes to the Ground Level. Coonor, another Hill Station located just 21km from Ooty is not far behind in its beauty, and also know for Tea and Spices. Both of them attacts tourist all round the year for its Lofty mountains, dense forest, sprawling grasslands and miles and miles of tea gardens.

But alas in our short trip to these places, our camera stopped working in the middle of the trip, but still our experiences are worth sharing......

Day 1

We started from Bangalore by KSRTC Rajhamsa (Rs 260) at 10:00 AM on Saturday morning from Shantinagar Bus Station (KH Road BMTC Bus Stand). By the time it actually started it was 11 AM. And the next stop was in Mysore Road Bus Stand. Though the bus looked very bad from outside, but seats were good enough!!!

The weather was cloudy, so it was a nice trip and by 1:30 PM we reached Mysore. There the bus stopped for 10 mins. We got a lunch break for half an hour in Mysore, in a restaurant very near to the Bus Stand. The food was good there, but the service was very slow.

The road after Mysore was extremely bad and was in its worst condition due to rain. The route to Ooty is via Bandipur National Park and Madhumalai Wildlife Sanctuary. And the stretch of few kilometers inside the park was fabulous. We could see Peacock, Spotted Deer, Elephant, Wild pig and Monkeys roaming freely. Even the bus stopped when we came across a those animals, and we could capture some shots from the window.

As we crossed Bandipur the bus started climbing up the mountain and it was getting darker, the roads were very narrow and lot of Hairpin Turns were there. Light was not enough to take any picture, so we thought we can do the same while coming back.

The bus was running late and also it started drizzling outside. By the time we reached Ooty it was 8:00 PM. We had already done advance booking in hotel “Vinayaga Inn”. From the bus stand we bargained with 4 autos, to our suprise everybody asked the same price Rs. 50 for the 3km.

It was decent hotel and rooms were quite good, very specious & clean. We booked Front Suit for 2 days (Rs. 1320). It was already late when we checked in so we decided to have dinner in hotel restaurant itself.

After dinner we spoke to the reception in the hotel and booked Ooty-Connor sight seeing package (Rs 125 per person) for the next day.

Day 2

Next day morning, it was very misty, and the scenery outside was just wonderful. So we thought of doing some photography. After taking two three pictures, all of a sudden our camera started flickering and the display went off !!!! Some how we tried to console ourselves saying it might start working later. Then we had our breakfast in the same restaurant.

The bus for sight seeing (20 seater) came to pick us up sharp at 9:30 AM. We were unfortunately the first pick and for the next 1 hr, our the bus was roaming in and around the city to pick other passengers from different hotels. Finally by 11:00 AM they actually started to take us the tourist spots one by one.

1. Ooty lake. (Entrance fee Rs. 5 & Camera Rs. 10)

Beautiful location. The lake is in a valley surrounded by mountains covered with pine trees. Mild sunlight was falling on the trees and it was giving a wonderful view. This place was very commercialized. We hired a two seater boat for Rs. 60/person for half an hour ride. The ride was good and luckily our camera worked for few seconds and we could take few pictures in the lake. This was the last time our camera worked. The person who helps in boarding the boat and alighting asked for tip!!!

2. Botanical Garden (Entrance fee Rs. 10 & Camera Rs. 30)

As we entered the garden, suddenly the weather became too cloudy and because of altitude we could feel the water particles in the cloud pinching our face. Visibility was not more than 10 feet. One cannot expect a better weather in hill station especially in South India. We spent there about half an hour. Outside the Botanical Garden there are plenty of shops selling home made chocolates, woolen clothes and other stuffs. Idea of having chocolates at this chilled weather was tempting, so we bought some and then proceeded for the next Spot.

3. Doddabetta Peak

This comes on the way to Connor. From here you can see entire Ooty town and the church where a scene in the film Saajan was picturised. But unfortunately due to clouds, the peak was not visible.

After that we proceeded towards Connor. At around 2 PM we got lunch break and it started raining that time. We finished our lunch in the mean time and again went back to the bus. Meal was good especially when it is freezing outside the taste of hot food is something different.

4. Tea Garden

This 2500 Acre tea garden is owned by former Bollywood actress Mumtaz’s husband. The bus stopped for sometime there. Amazing place for photography, but our camera had already stopped working!!! The bus then drove inside the Tea Garden, and stopped infront of a Shop where we bought some spices. The Hot Masala Tea we had there was a perfect compliment in that chilling weather.

5. Lambs Rock & Dolphin Nose.

Then we went further till the end of the Tea Garden. That was a Wonderful view, the nature was at its best. The moving cloud over the valley gave it a picturesque view. It started drizzling there so could not visit our next point(some park).

The guide said if we want to return to Ooty by toy train he will drop us at Connor station and pick us at Ooty station. It leaves at 4 30 PM and reaches Ooty at 5 30 PM (Fare is only Rs 4!!!). As our camera was not working so we decided will not go by toy train. We tried to console ourselves saying we will visit Ooty once again just for photography!!!

By 5 PM they dropped us back to our hotel. After having a cup of tea we went out for shopping. Our hotel was just 2 min walk from botanical garden and the Tibetan market.

We bought lot of woolen clothes and home made chocolates from there. We spent next 2 hours walking in and around the city and returned back to the hotel.

Day 3

Next morning after breakfast we checked out from the hotel and hired one Auto and reached bus stand. Our bus was at 11 AM and reached Bangalore by 8 PM.

But due to bad weather and camera ditching us at the last moment we decided to revisit the place soon....

ANDAMAN TRIP - March 2008

2008-11-01T14:28:00.006+05:30

Andaman - The Naturalist's Heaven...

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The Andaman & Nicobar Islands are a once in a lifetime holiday experience. It's a marvelous mix of nature's most precious delights. We wanted to share our trip experience to help you exploring the island.

If you are directed to this blog only for the Andaman album, then here is the link http://picasaweb.google.co.in/nirupam.karmakar/AndamanHavelockPortBlairMarch08#

Andaman Tour Diary:

Day 0 (In Flight): We started from Bangalore for Chennai by Jet Airways at 11PM. (Ticket Rs 2.5K/persons). We stayed Overnight in Chennai Airport and early morning (5:45AM) boarded Indian Airlines Flight to Port Blair (Ticket Rs 4800/person). Duration was a 2hrs 20 mins. If you are sitting near window, while landing you can get glimpse of the scattered islands......this view is never to be missed.

Day 1 (Port Blair): Like any other tourist destinations, while exiting the Port Blair Airport, you will be welcomed by a herd of brokers with numerous offers. We somehow managed one taxi which took us to a Hotel named 'NK International'. The hotel old but it was not so bad, and room rate was Rs 600 per night for Non A/C. We planned to stay only one day in Port Blair and leave for Havelock Island next morning. The Auto/Taxi charge from Airport to city is normally about Rs 30 to 50.

The Hotel was very near to Phoenix Bay Jetty (port), so without any delay as per the plan we walked up to the reservation counter in the Jetty for buying ticket to Havelock Island. Be prepared!!! You might have to stand in a long queue and do not forget to carry a pen and Identity card with you. They will verify your identity whether you are local or tourist. Then we filled up the form and bought ticket (Rs 150/person) for Ship (MV Straight Island) for the next day morning at 6.00 AM.

Next thing we had to do is to book accommodation in Havelock. Before planning the trip we did some research and came to conclusion that Govt accommodation (Dolphin Resort) in Havelock would probably be the best choice. So we took Auto (Rs 20) from Jetty to Andaman Tourism Office. But we were not lucky enough to get the reservation done as it was fully booked already. As we were about the exit the Office; the receptionist told us that she can give us a contact about a Broker in Havelock who can arrange for some other Resort out there. In fact she called from the office phone and we talked with the broker who confirmed us the hotel booking.

Then we went back to Hotel, had lunch and rested for a while. In the mean time we planned to visit Ross Island in the late afternoon. So we caught an Auto (Rs 30) from Hotel and rushed to Ross Island Jetty since the last boat from there was at 3PM. From the jetty we boarded a Speed boat for Ross Island (Rs 60/person).

It was 10 mins ride. This Island is the erstwhile capital of Port Blair during the British regime, and it presently houses the ruins of old buildings. It's an excellent place for photography. The last boat from Ross Island leaves at 5pm and also the sky was getting darker because of cloud, so we had to leave that place soon before it starts raining.

Then we thought to view the sunset at Corvyn Cove's beach won't be a bad idea. So we hired an Auto for going there and coming back to hotel (Rs180) but by the time we reached there it was almost dark. That beach was pretty ordinary like any other beach in mainland India, but still not a bad place to spend some time.

That was all for that day. It was very dark when we returned back to Hotel. We had to sleep early as next morning we had ship for Havelock Island.

Day 2 (Havelock Elephant Beach): We checked out early morning from the Hotel (It’s hard to believe at 4 o'clock in the morning the sky was so bright) and along with luggage started walking towards the Jetty (the same place from where we had booked ticket for Havelock). It was about 15mins walk. It was our first journey in a ship, and it started exactly at 6AM. Seating arrangement was good and clean. Once the ship started, we decided to look around and then climbed on top of the deck. Though it was very Hot and Humid but it was worth tolerating the heat as the view was amazing and it was very windy.

Entire journey we spent sitting in the front deck. After about 2.5 hrs (54kms) we reached Havelock Island. It's a very small island with very less population, majority of them are Bengali. The broker (Rishi 09434299490) with whom we talked earlier, welcomed us in the Havelock Jetty, and took us in his car to a Resort (Bay View Inn) near Govindnagar beach. Our 3 day stay there was already confirmed (Rs 800/night Non AC). It was an independent cottage and the beach was adjacent to our room.

At around 11, the broker (Rishi) took us to the Jetty, and arranged for a wooden motor boat for Elephant beach. The half an hour boat ride was just amazing, the view was nothing less than what we see in movies. We never got tired taking pictures and videos. Once we reached the beach, we were silenced by nature's creation; it was just like a dreamland.

It was a very small island beach (hardly 100mts). The boat rider took me for Snorkeling. My wife was scared of going deep down the sea, so I had to make the journey alone with the snorkeling guide. It was one of the best moments in my journey. I could see the underwater coral, fishes moving around my legs, and other sea creatures. The water was so colorful and clear. We spent few hours there taking pictures and drinking coconut water.

Then we started back for Havelock. Once we were back, Rishi was waiting with a bike for me as I requester for one earlier. His job was done here, and he charged me only about 1K for everything (including pick n drop, hotel arranging, Elephant beach boat ride & snorkeling). So we were on our own with the rented bike (Rs 250 per day rent + own petrol). Then we had lunch n went back to Hotel.

In the evening, we went to the market, filled petrol in my bike (from backside of a Grocery shop as I could not find a Petrol Station). Then went to Wild Orchid Resort's Restaurant, and had a nice candle light dinner which was a must for our Honeymoon trip!! And then we were back to the hotel.

Day 3 (Havelock Radhanagar Beach): In the morning, after breakfast we started for the very famous Radhanagar Beach. The 30 min bike ride was very nice, good roads, greenery all around, sometimes dense forest on both the sides, and some houses of the local people.

Radhanagar Beach is one of the largest beaches in India, it's huge, lonely, very clean and breathtakingly beautiful. It has been ranked world's 2nd most beautiful beach by Times Magazine, 2004. We could not stop ourselves from diving in the waves in the water. We spent a lot of time in the water in the scorching heat. All the sunscreens were ineffective after some time, and we were tanned. But still it was a wonderful experience, more because it was not crowded, and a perfect place for Honeymoon!!!

After spending a long time there, tired, tanned and dehydrated (though we carried enough food with us), we were back to Hotel, and rested till it was dark outside. We were till then not very happy with the food; as we didn’t get any good sea food restaurant. So we went looking for a good restaurant, and our search ended when a local resort owner guided us to Nala's Kingdom near Jetty. We asked the shop owner if he has fish, and without hesitation he got 2-3 big raw whole fishes and asked which one we want. We randomly pointed out to one of them and after few mins he got us the same fish, fried and well garnished.

It was very tasty, and that was the best food we had in Andaman. Then we returned back, and were planning for the next day

Day 4 (Havelock Kalapathar Beach): We decided that we will just roam around and explore the whole island, as there was nothing more to see. We heard from our broker that there is a place called Kalapathar at the other end of the Island. So we decided we will just give it a try, so we started again in bike towards that place. It was a long drive, road was not good all the way but not that bad too. It was very lonely and sometime scary as we could not see a single human being on the way. We could see the sea along the road. That was an excellent view and we could not stop ourselves in the middle of the road to capture some shots.

Then we went until we reached almost the dead end. There is no big beach out there, but it’s lonely and very colorful. Also the best part was dead corals all along the beach, and also the big black rocks in the sea (that's why it's called Kalapathar). We collected some dead corals from the shore (I wish we could have collected more). But that place was worth visiting, and I don't know why people coming to Havelock miss that place.

Then we returned and had lunch again in Nala's Kingdom (Each fish costs around Rs 125 to Rs 200 and meal separate Rs 40/meal, of course the prawns and lobster costs more). It was again amazing food as usual. That was all for Havelock, we came back to hotel and spent some leisure time in the beach in front of our cottage, and slept early as next morning we had to go back to Port Blair.

Day 5 (Port Blair): In the morning we woke up early, checked out from the Hotel. Rishi (broker) came in time to drop us back to Jetty and I handed over to him the bike key and the bike rent (Rs 250 * 3 days). Then we bought ticket for the ship (Rangat) which was about to leave in an hour. Luckily we go the special seats (push back seat along with air cooler) costing Rs 200 each and it started at about 9AM.

We reached Port Blair in 2.5 hrs, and went back to the same hotel (NK International) where we stayed on Day 1. After relaxing we planned for one final sightseeing, i.e. Cellular Jail. So we took an auto (Rs 30) up to there. There is a nominal entry fee (Rs 5/person and camera extra). The view of the Jail from outside is spectacular. It has got a typical shape. Every evening at 7PM, they play light & sound show but we din wait for it. Then we came to the city roamed around and came back to hotel.

Day 6 (Back Home to B'lore): Checked out from hotel at 6.30 AM as our flight Indian Airlines was at 8AM. Auto was easily available so reached airport on time. By 10:30 AM we reached Chennai and from there back home to B'lore by Paramount airways.

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Checklist for Andaman:

A good camera along with tripod. Tripod is needed as sometimes you won’t get any one to take your snaps.

Good Sunscreen (High SPF), Sunglass and a Cap.

Carry a pen and ID Card for ship reservation in Port Blair Jetty

In Havelock Island only Airtel and BSNL mobiles work (in March 08), so if u have Vodafone or something else, then you may face difficulty.

Carry enough of cash in Havelock as we didn’t see any ATM there.

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That was end to our most exciting and adventurous trip, and we will cherish it forever.