Travel notes

Beijing - pollution and traffic

2015-09-14T01:07:00.003-07:00

Beijing is crowded and polluted, I had read multiple times. I even saw the work of a photogrqpher who had captured the beauty of the city led through the path of pollution in air, water and land.

As I complete my immigration and take a cab the first thing I see is how hazy Beijing is for a hot summer day of 33 degree celsius. I could see a few buildings but the ones about 100 mtrs away were just structures without any details for me because of the haze.

Would I have noticed this and given it so much of importance if I hadnt known of the pollution level in Beijing - probably not. This would have looked foggy and beautiful to me - atleast until I would have coughed or got choked in the polluted air.

Well talk about news conditioning you - strtaight up in front for me.

I have posted the below pic on facebook with the heading 'pollution is the price beinv paid'. I would get a few likes and I would leave the polluted imprint of Beijing on someone else's mind.

hazy beijing

Lavassa - Khandala - Midnight Ride to Tiger Point - A reunion

2012-10-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

The Group Minus Ramesh and Murgesh

Summer of 1991 – that’s the year my family moved in to our home in Mukund Nagar. Most of my fond memories here are filled with the antics of my friends; Friends who are so different – we didn’t realize then.

20 years now in the future we are all wrapped in the fabric of our own worlds but never miss a chance to look back and to laugh AT one another. Whatsapp is our common platform for connectivity. Virtually, yes we are in the same territory but in reality we have embraced other cities to follow the rat race.

So when Rajan (The Dark Knight – The most Dravidian of us all – atleast complexion wise ;-) ) made this brave decision (after permission from his wife) to take 4 days off and visit Pune – just to chill out and not work, it was an apt reason to let the others know to keep a weekend free. Raj, Bala and Murgesh were positive to the idea. I, as you know am always ready. Ramesh and Kanna confirmed on the last day and thus was planned our Reunion of 2012.

P.S. Josie my friend was also roped in by me – well he doesn’t have much to do in life anyways.

The Hitch-Hikers

Royal Enfield Classic 500 Black, Desert Storm and a Thunder Bird – Our partners for the ride

3 bikes, 6 friends, 4 will ride to Pune and 2 will join them at Chandni Chowk and off they will ride to Lavassa and back to Pune and then to Khandala by late evening to catch up with Murgesh and Kanna. That was the whole, short and sweet Plan.

Ramesh - DevAnand of Mukund Nagar

My humble request to Raj, Bala, Ramesh and Joseph was that they call me when they reach Talegaon, so that I leave then from my abode and meet them at Chandni Chowk – service road turn to Lavassa off NH4. These morons called up at 10.30 am saying they have reached. They left Bhandup Gaon at 8.30 am and that left me lost in my wits wondering – how did this happen? A quick shower and we zoomed as crazily as we could towards NH4. It was a prank, we realized – 1 hour 15 minutes later the bitchy lot arrive with laughter that invited a bullet shot. It was hot and hence the wait was agonizingly long and we were well behind in our schedule as well.

Ramesh aka Idli was experiencing the first bike ride of his life. His first sentence (even before a Hello or Wassup) – “how the hell do these guys ride so far so often man, my bum just died” ;-) (Translated from Tamil of course)

Biker Brothers

The initial 10 – 15 km’s (Paud road) seemed like we were still in the city. It’s only after we crossed Pirangut and took a left, I really started enjoying the ride. We rode till a little before of Mutha Dam and decided to take a break - A pit stop to click some pictures. What followed was a half an hour of multiple clicks to capture riders on the bullet across various turns and speeds and aperture and angles and what not. The whole photography activity was so serious that a couple of guys in their car stopped to ask if there is some movie shoot going on – and I am not kidding here. I wonder who they thought the hero was – Raj or Rajan or me…hmm!

Mutha Dam

The sight of the Mutha Dam was amazing. We didn’t stop but the pillion riders with the Cameras did a good job at capturing the magnificence. Josie became a daredevil photographer with the DSLR in one hand and clicking in all directions while Raj was twisting and turning at 90 km/hr or more. Josie didn’t even look through the viewfinder or the LCD screen to check on what he wanted to shoot. He was just click click click with one hand– So good. The entry to Lavassa is more or less like Aamby Valley. We got our bike numbers registered and entered Lavassa. The river front is another few kilometers down from here. We were very hungry. We stopped at Ekant for a nice lunch buffet. The grilled fish was mind blasting. Rabdi with Jalebi ended our hunger drought perfectly.

DareDevil Josie

By the waterfront promenade we took some nice photographs. The colors of the adjacent buildings just added to the charm of the place. The promenade has some nice coffee shops with chairs placed outside to sit, have a cuppa and enjoy the beautiful mountains, the river and the crazy visitors like us. It was already close to 5. We had to head to Khandala where our other mates Murgesh and Kanna had already reached. They had checked into the hotel and we were only just out of Lavassa – well, only to return back to Lavassa. Why? Read on.

Lavassa Promenade

Almost 30 km’s off Lavassa Rajan got a call from the Lavassa security that I had left something behind. Rajan was the pillion with Raj. They were ahead of us. So they waited for me and Ramesh (my pillion) to reach. Rajan who was carrying my backpack and had left it at Lavassa, innocently asks me ‘Vinos what have you left behind’ and I scream “Duh! My bag, which was with you’ – careless Dravidian, I say. For a moment everybody was quiet until all of us broke into laughter. Here we were at the dusk of the day; still some 100 kms away from Khandala and now have to go back to Lavassa to get the bag. Raj decided that he and Josie will go back and we head to Khandala to catch-up with the punctual friends in the hotel. The logic was simple – Raj will cover the distance in half the time that I or Bala would take :-) Kudos Raj!!

Raj and Josie - going back to Lavassa to get my Bag

From here except for a chai break we didn’t stop anywhere and reached Khandala by 8.30 pm. Raj reached at 10 pm by when our sores were better and we had already reached a hotel for dinner. It was a shady bar and restaurant called Diamond opposite Kumar Resort in Lonavla. Our entertainment here was a group of 25 guys sitting ahead of us and singing old Hindi songs in inebriated condition. The food wasn’t great but we decided on something very realistic here. We decided to ride to Tiger Point (en-route Aamby valley). Perfect! 3 bullets and 8 people @ almost the midnight :-)

Triple seat @ Tiger Point

The ride up to Tiger point was smooth and without any dramas – thank god! Raj’s Classic and my Desert Storm transported 3 each and Bala was on his Thunderbird was with Rajan. It was pitch dark all the way. Once at top we were surprised as there were a lot of revelers like us in their cars and bikes and playing loud music and even dancing. Chai tapri’s were open and even serving bhajiyas at this hour of the night. We did some time pass, clicked some pictures and rode back. Near Bushy Dam a cop caught us for riding triple seat. But he lost focus on us when he found a car with alcohol bottles in them and went on to fine them a few thousands leaving us unattended. We slipped away.

Rajan's Dream Run

By the time we slept, it was 3 am and Ramesh was close to tears. Bala and Rajan pulled Ramesh’s leg so much that he begged them to stop at one point. Bala (who otherwise is very silent) was in form that day and bought back all the memories of Ramesh that he tries so hard to bury ;-)

By the end of the reunion I fulfilled one of Rajan’s long held dream. A Dream of riding a Bull in the ghats. While coming back to Pune – Bidding Adieu to the rest, Rajan rode my Bull from Lonavla till Hinjewadi. I could sense the free spirit he had hidden somewhere within.

Bala and Me

Entry to Lavassa

@ Tiger Point

Kaas Plateau - Surreal

2012-10-04T08:51:00.001-07:00

The Prelude to the Ride -

Date : 2nd October, a National Holiday - Confirmed
Place : Kaas Plateau - Thoseghar Waterfalls - Fixed in the head
Participants : Shwetha, Me, Venu and his friend - ~~Confirmed~~ - Well Almost
Route Plan : Just hit the road and follow the tar to Satara and then make use of our expertise in Marathi Language to find the way to Kaas - Simple!!

On the eve of 1st October I witnessed one the the biggest downpour of rain in Pune. Zeus, the Greek God of Lightening and Thunder switched off our electricity and ensured that Pune was flooded - atleast ankle deep.

Shwetha who was coming from Bombay was to reach Pune by 9.30 pm but reached at 11. Luckily Aditya (My friend) had his car and we could manage to be dry in picking her and dinner back home.

Venu backed off at the last moment, as the 125 cc Bajaj XCD that he had managed to borrow for the trip was labelled unworthy. How Xcd for a 300 odd km ride? Well Venu thought Kass is near Lonavla and he would manage the ride using the mule called Bajaj XCD (Isn't it a Mule in front of the Bull?)

The Rains didn't stop till 1.30 when we went to sleep. So the plan was left balanced on the mercy of the great Zeus.

Morning 6 am; the alarm does its job.

We are ready by 6.40 am.

I sat on the Bull and thats when Shwetha realized her helmet is in the house. A little delay.

We went to the Petrol Bank (Pun intended) and filled up for the ride. Shwetha now realized that the printout of the online registration for Kaas Plateau entry we had done was left in the house. A little more delay.

By the time we finally started it was 7.20 am from Koregaon Park.

Finally the ride began and the trip took its step to fruition.

Perfect View

The Crux of the Trip -

10 minutes into the ride and we thanked the rain god for the last night. In doing so we made it even with Zeus for all the curses we hurled the day before. The weather was beautiful. We could feel the chill, yet not that much that we would shiver. The sun entered the script late on that day and even when it did the heat coupled with the chill gave the perfect warm embrace one would crave during a bike trip.

We covered some 75 odd kms in pretty good time. We passed through Katraj, Khed, Shivapur, Shirwal and just before the Naka to Wai and Mahabaleshwar we took our first halt for breakfast - Sai executive. A decent place which surprised Shwetha with its keen preference to cleanliness and quality of food. If anything can impress her, it means it really is worth some gold. Masala Dosa and Dahi Misal made its way to our tummy, followed by chai; fuel enough before we set our eyes on the road again.

Fenced Up

From Satara we took the right turn to enter the heart of the city; Because its through the heart that Kaas emerges ;-). We asked for directions and drove straight upto a chowk (a big circle with Shivaji's Statute) from where we took a right and went further some 5 kms's until FINALLY we saw the board saying Kaas Pathar (Kaas Plateau in Marathi) - 30 kms. Until here (130 odd km's) there was no sign to show way to Kaas. Considering it is now a World Heritage site, this was not appreciated.

The ride from here is steep. The roads were decent except 3 patches in between which were strewn with stones. These stretches are the only reason apart from some traffic in the city you will get to complain. Else its a ride to cherish. Though Kaas is some 25 odd km's from here, you start to see different flowers in yellow, purple and white across the slopes along. We couldnt help but stop now and begin the clicks.

One will get ample places to park and take a nice walk, lie down in the pastures, click some wonderful landscapes or just sit and find yourself immersing into nature.

Kaas Plateau

Kass, since its a World Heritage site now, is fenced up and it limits the freedom of visitors to take their own detour. You have to follow the paths that are constructed by the authorities and they keep a strict vigil. You cant park your vehicles along this 3 kms of road through the plateau. I wasn't expecting this. We just rode slowly past the plateau. There were a lot of people who had come to experience this natures color fest. Its just amazing to see so many wild flowers swaying in the wind, as if calling you to play with them. If you get a chance you need to experience it.

Kaas Visitors

Though you can book the entry ticket to Kaas (10 bucks) online (www.Kas.ind.in), they haven't started the payment gateway yet. So you need to take the tickets at the entrance to the plateau.

We then rode down to the Kaas lake and spent some time there. Kaas lake is serene and very clean. One can take a dip if you want or spend time listening to the magical music of water and the chirping of the birds. On the way back I stopped by the Plateau and asked Shwetha to click some pics. The shoo's of the pandu's was dealt bravely by me acting as if I am about to leave - That nautanki side that we all have hidden within us.

Time was 1.45 pm.

We had to be back in Pune by 5 so that Shwetha can take her bus back.

Thoseghar took a backseat.

In single day bike trips coming back is always the hardest. Your eagerness to see the places is no more alive, your energy is on the decline and your Bum has said 'Buzz of' by then. But as I tell myself 'A journey isn't complete unless you come home with the experience' (Please respect my modesty).

We had our lunch (Veg Maharashtrian thali of Jowar bhakri and pitale bhaji et. al), got wet in rain near Bhuinj, met some camels on the way and completed the ride of 160 kms to reach home by 5.15 pm. It sure was an achievement - 10 hours and 320 km's.

Some of the clicks from the trip are below.

Cheers!

Sun Kissed

Embracing Kaas

Kaas Lake

Sinhagad - Panshet - Almost Raigad - Khadakwasla

2012-09-21T04:28:00.002-07:00

One of the best parts about living in Pune is the excellent weather. And the bestest part about it is the plethora of choices in places to visit over the weekends or holidays that it offers. You want to trek, go cycling, biking, long drive, swim, adventure sports – you name it and Pune and the surrounds will offer you. Rainy season accentuates the beauty several notches more.

My Royal Enfield Desert Storm was craving for some taste of the mountain green. I had done two Pune – Mumbai – Pune trips on my ‘Storm’ but that’s about the exposure it had to the mist. So this one Saturday I decided to take it for a climb. And climb it literally was - 1312 meters above sea level (Pune is 560)

Joseph and me started early morning at 7.30 and rode towards Sinhagad. My car was my carrier the last time around I went to Sinhagad and this time it was the storm and boy the difference was telling. The power of the 500 cc engine just dragged us like a bison. Our plan was to ride via Khed – Shivapur while ascending and descend via the Khadakwasla route. I had used the Khed – Shivapur route before so was quite confident of the way.

The morning chill made the ride very pleasant. We were barely out of Katraj that my wallet somehow slipped out of the shorts and spilled all my money and cards and receipts on the road. Joseph and I spent some 15 minutes in the careful re-collection of my wallet residents. Careful, I say because there was continuous flow of cars and bikes on both directions. Some cars even stopped but left as soon as they realized that this wasn’t a shower of money.

We reached the base of the fort in about an hour. It had been ages since I saw a rainbow piercing the clouds but from here we spotted a beautiful Rainbow emerging from the mountain and travelling through the clouds. I was carrying my camera and it was a perfect moment for my 1^st capture of the day. We could see the Khadakwasla dam at a distance and the view was just breathtaking. The sky was clear and the fog hadn’t taken us captive yet.

We wandered around clicking the various historic corners of the fort including Lokmanya Tilak’s Bungalow – this bungalow that has had visitors including Gandhiji during the freedom struggle, Shivaji’s Brave Lieutenant - Tanaji Malusare’s tomb, various small temples, Kalyan Darwaza etc. Joseph was my model who added essence to my clicks of the fort area. His ability to pose so effortlessly can be matched only by Mamooty in his Mundu Vesti ;-). We spent some nice, meditatingly calm moments in the far end of the fort where there were no visitors when we reached. I absolutely loved this side of the fort. We had some Bhajiya and Chai from one of the many eateries – managed by the villagers and headed down to Khadakwasla.

The road to Khadakwasla is absolutely under maintained - Rocky all the way and extremely steep. It was fun to ride here though. There were some stretches where I didn’t even have to use the gears except the Bike’s neutral gear and the bikes brakes helped me wade through the rocky road. This road is mostly used by trekkers and there is considerable amount of bikes and cars plying through this path to the fort. Khed – Shivapur road isn’t that famous and hence free from traffic and ironically those roads were better maintained.

As we crossed the Sinhagad forest area and were approaching Khadakwasla Dam, we noticed that Panshet is about 25km’s to the left. So we changed the plan and rode towards Panshet. We decided to visit Khadakwasla on the way back. Some 4 km’s ahead we saw that Rajgad is about 30 km’s to the left off the road towards Panshet. So we decided to cover Rajgad as well that same day. The day just got a little more exciting. Road to Panshet is well maintained and since it runs parallel to the river it had beautiful places to take halts. We nevertheless fought the intermittent rains and reached Panshet in like no time. To our surprise the place was extremely well maintained with good water sports facilities, a few decent restaurants overlooking the lake, children play area and ample space for family picnickers to put down their blankets and food basket. We spent some time here, clicked some pictures and then rode to see Rajgad.

I knew that Rajgad will not be like Sinhagad, as in we won’t be able to ride all the way to the fort. There would be a bit of trekking and we didn’t have time for that. But Joseph was so immersed in the beauty of the Greens and Blues and intermittent whites that he was difficult to convince. So we rode towards Rajgad. We passed a few villages and some bad patches of road – so bad that some cars just decided to revert back from there – no jokes – later we found that all were lady drivers (I aint implying anything here). We were crossing a mountain which we thought will lead us directly to Rajgad however to our dismay Rajgad’s base village was 20 km’s from there. That spiraling road and the surrounding mountains were absolutely mind-blasting (Russell Peter types). We decided to click some pictures and spend some time there – letting ourselves free. Absolute Bliss!! If only we could have had the liberty to release some Holstein Friesian Cows in the meadows and make some European style cottages and serve some cheese and chocolates, voila! We would be in Switzerland. It was so beautiful.

We were here for about half an hour and we didn’t have even one car pass us; just one herd of cows and the cowboy. I tried my macro skills and took some pictures which made me feel good. Hope you like them too. Its here Joseph took a picture of mine with my desert storm (first pic at the start of the blog) that I believe is one of my best so far. Thanks Josie!!

Coming down was tricky as it was continuously raining, the visibility was low and the bad patches were kind of disorienting my bike to perpendiculars. But I managed to get Joseph to SafetyJ. Khadakwasla Dam was very crowded. Punekars call it the chowpatty of Pune. I heaved a sigh of relief that we went to Panshet and almost Rajgad and didn’t waste our afternoon in Khadakwasla. But for the fact that we were there I clicked some pictures and off we left towards NH4 via the Sinhagad road and headed back to Koregaon Park.

By 6.30 we were home. Imagine such a good ride, so many awesome places, wonderful clicks, meditating silence surrounded by the mountains all in half the days distance.

Pune - Kass Plateau – Thoseghar waterfalls – Sajjandad – Pune will be next on 2^nd October 2012.

Stay Tuned!!

Red Whiskered BulBul

Khadakwasla

Malshej Ghat - Prince of Sahyadri's - Dry during January

2012-01-17T08:33:00.000-08:00

Bull 350

My Experiment with Aperture for DOF

I was getting a hang of my camera and I wanted to go click click click. This itch led me to conceptualize a ride to Malshej Ghat. Lonavla was my first option which was eliminated point blank as it was the most common weekend attack site for Mumbaikars and Punekars alike. My head drafted this idea on a Thursday and hence didn't give much time for my mouth to shout and gather a group. My head meanwhile thought and made me arrange a Bullet Classic 350 (Thanks to Willi's friend's work trip to Gujarat, leaving the Bull unattended). Shwetha always pestered me for a ride on a Bullet, so that opened up the gates for my companion and meant an approved seal for the Sunday Ride.

I knew that the way to Malshej Ghat was via Kalyan and Murbad and that its about 150 kms from Sion. Equipped with this knowledge and CamSin (aka my DSLR...read it like the Hindi word kamsin ;-)) I rushed to pick Shwetha from Aarey, Goregaon. She was on time (one of those days) and off the Bull ran towards the Eastern Express highway. It was cold. The cold air was somehow managing to enter my jacket without permission and piercing my skin like a needle. Did that deter me? - No way!!

Hold on -Thinking about how Shwetha was managing? - she claims to be cold blooded - so you get the point.

Chai tym

We rode about 90 km's non stop to reach just ahead of Murbad and took our first break for tea and a vadapav. Getting the stuck needles out of my skin under the pretext of this stop felt like 'Raymond's suiting'...wonder why? Remember 'feels like heaven' :-D. - I know, I know, I have a good sense of humor.

After about an hour from here, just when the ghat road was opening up to the Bull, a check post slowed me down and the cop waved at me - not a good morning gesture but a 'let me check you' gesture. Luckily I hadn't left the bike papers at home and there was no drama except that it broke my rhythm. The best part about the ride towards Malshej Ghat are these meandering sloppy roads. May be I am not able to explain this in words. Please see the second pic of the blog to understand this better (One of the clicks I liked in this trip).

The roads all this while were great, no complaints uttered in my mind until I reached this curve which was riddled with these small stones and pebbles. It was a difficult attempt to control my bike from skidding here. From here for another kilometer, the tar was fresh, probably only laid in the morning and this was confirmed when I saw a couple of bulldozers parked.

We reached the peak at about 11. To my disbelief, all the waterfalls were dried up. As if all of them were on strike against the Congress led Maharashtra Government asking them to save the wild or may be the nation (a bigger objective). The mountains looked dry. No greenery. Very unlike the Malshej ghat I have seen during the monsoon's. The sun was so bright that I wasn't getting good exposure for my shots.

The Prince of Sahyadri's looked like a poor sheikh with dried oil wells by his side - This is analogy at its best.

View from MTDC

Nevertheless I did try a few shots before we rode to the MTDC resort, may be a kilometer ahead of a small tunnel at the peak of Malshej Ghat. There is a nice view point from here overlooking the mountains amidst which is Harishchandra Gadh. The resort is quite big and a part of it is still under construction. We had our breakfast here. Omlette pav and Missile pav (I mean misal pav) followed by chai. Post the tummy filling session and a few poses as a rich shetkari (farmer), we left towards the lake on the way to Shivneri (we couldn't go to Shivneri this time which is about 40 kms away from Malshej). Our first attempt to get down towards the lake turned adventurous as the path was steep and rock laden. My bull gave up and I had to balance myself to stop it from kissing the rocks. I calculated that its a risk not worth taking and I came back up like a dirt biker - Ahem!. We searched for another way through a village and finally reached the lake. It was so calm and peaceful that Shwetha almost rented a small hut for herself and few goats for company and livelihood. But then, yeah, she came back to reality.

My Assignment - Panning

I rode back to the peak for fulfilling some photography assignments. My friend Biju had asked me to try Panning and play around with histograms for exposure. Panning is a trick of photography which freezes a moving subject while putting the background in motion. After about 10 shots, I got it right.. yippee! I was really excited. And thats what I like about this hobby of Photography - when you click something good, you feel great about yourself.

When it was time to move on, I realized that my SLR's lens cap was missing. One of us dropped it somewhere. So we thought of a novel idea and traced our steps back..I mean traced our wheels back till the lake. For any guesses of the result - NO is your word. We couldn't fathom the fact that we were so careless. Then my classy brain got into act and took Shwetha's hand-kerchief to cover the lens and put her hair band across to hold the hanky - So unique and prompt. Problem solved, off we left.

On the way back, we halted at quite a few places for capturing some shots. I did get some good ones as you can see from the ones I have posted. Of course the pics could have been better if I would have controlled the exposure better. But its a continuous learning and I am glad I am at it.

It was 4 pm when we stopped for lunch at a hotel just at the outskirts of Kalyan. It was a pure veg restaurant if we were to go by the banner outside had to say but the menu inside had a different story to tell. Prawns Biryani and Masala papad made way to pacify our growling stomach followed by malai kulfi. For Kalyan this place seemed to be the Taj ;-). I expected a lot of traffic inside Kalyan city but to our good luck there wasn't any and we rode out quite easily. I wanted to take a shot of the Thane city at sun set, but we couldn't get a good location to stop and explore this.

Our last stop was for chai but this time at CCD, Powai.
340 km's in about 10 hours was our coverage value and I must say it was swift and fun.

Gaonwale Uncle

Helmet me

tranQuility of tapola

2012-01-10T23:05:00.000-08:00

Q - Factor

I am sure the first thing that would have pinched your brains when reading the heading of this blog would have been why the hell is Q of tranquility in caps? – For those with no pinch, don’t worry, I know you are more interested in reading than analyzing – ‘clap’ ‘clap’. Okay, now for the actual reason to make sense you need to see the route map for this trip of ours…Carefully. The route is an imperfect Q on paper :-).

The trip was organized by a group called Konkan Motors.The trip was to Tapola, which is 28 odd km’s away from Mahabaleshwar. The plan was to reach Tapola via the NH17 and come back to Bombay via the NH4. The formation of a circle or an oval by these routes and small straight line to connect Mahabaleshwar to Tapola gives this whole trip a ‘Q’ factor – the creativity was explained by Abhishek, one of the organizers and a brainy chap.

I was introduced to Konkan motors by my friend Bala. He had done 4 trips with them before this one and still was ready for the 5^th – A sure sign of a fun group.

Willi on his Fazer

This time even I decided to join him on my Fazer… (I should declare – not mine but my brother Willi’s Fazer). Though most of the riders in this group have a bullet, any bike above 150 cc is allowed to be a part of the tours. The initial plan was for Bala (in his thunderbird), Josie, Jaideep (my school friend) and me on Fazer to make the trip along with the other riders from Konkan Motors. But Josie mistakenly got a call for an interview (the poor company got fooled by his fake CV) and I had to rope in my brother, William at the last moment – now you know the reason for declaration of the ownership of the bike.

6 am on the 17^th December Morning – My blanket refused to leave me and was stuck on me like a leech and whispering in my ears please wait for some more time, some more please – It was cold to be precise and perfect for extended sleep.

But then my alarm didn't like been shooed, I mean snoozed and it managed to separate me from my blanket. I woke my bro who made faces like I was some general making him wake up for the early morning drill. Bala actually qualifies for being a perfect dictator in that sense; He was already cleaning his Thunderbird when I got down to meet Mr. Fazer. We 3 left (with Willi as my pillion) at about 6.15 am and reached Vashi in like no

time. Here we met Jaideep – I must

mention that this was his maiden bike trip and he was excited and had bought a new Jacket and camera but forgot the most essential helmet (a spare one was arranged for him). We were to meet the rest of the gang at Datta Vadapav in Panvel, just before you take a turn towards Pen. What caught my attention here was the ‘Royal Enfield Desert storm’ which Swapnil was riding - The exact same bike which will be mine in a month’s time. I just loved the sight. Post a little socializing we filled our tanks with the 1 rupee cheaper petrol found outside the Bombay limits and left for Kamath’s Veg Restaurant near Karnala. Raj - my friend was waiting to greet us and surprise us. ‘How come he is here’ – my eye rolling question was answered when he said he wanted to surprise his brother Bala and us. The trip just became more interesting. Raj is a Wikipedia on bikes and cars and music systems and some more stuff ;-). His ability to relate to these stuff is amazing. He isn’t like me who doesn’t get into depth of things but enjoys everything. He enjoys by getting into the depth of things – Right Raj?

Briefing

We had our breakfast here. The Tour organizers Abhishek and Pratish briefed us about the route, some do’s and don’ts, provided us with the tour tee shirt, stickers for our bikes and Helmet – so that we could be recognized on the way and also introduced us to the Mechanic who would be in a van trailing everybody and on time specific help anybody in need. Wow! It was just perfect – a tension free ride. All I had to do was enjoy the cold breeze getting warmer, the long and winding tar roads and the green, brown and blue colors of nature surrounding the roads. The icing over the previously described cake was that we could keep our bags in the van. That is like telling a school kid, your bag will be carried by a bagman. Imagine the joy.

Leaving from Kamath's

This was also my first ride with my Canon 550D SLR. Raj, was so excited seeing the camera that on the spot he decided to buy one too (Last I heard, he had already booked the Canon 7D – Big people, Big choices ;-)). From Kamath’s we had to reach Vadkal Naka ahead of Pen and then take the NH17 to Kolad, Mahad and then Poladpur. There was no restriction in terms of where to stop, time limit to reach Mahad for lunch etc. Each rider could enjoy the ride as per his leisurely speed and liking. This was another highlight of Konkan Motors. We took a lot of breaks still reached Mahad – our destination for lunch, by 12.

A halt in the ghat

We freshened up and had a sumptuous thali. We took a good hour and half long break here. We were joined by other 2 riders, who were late to leave from home. Post some clicks we left for Poladpur from where we took a left which connects us to the Mahabaleshwar ghat road. I gave the bike to my Bro and he just loved riding this stretch. He has a better grip over this bike and he was zip – zap – zoom. The road is full of steep curves, no dividers, crazier vehicles form the opposite direction and a breathtaking view of the valley below. The back tyre of Fazer was close to being worn out and hence the grip that it could get on the turns wasn’t optimum. This though scary didn’t deter Willi – the pucca Tamilian (Visit his FB profile to understand what I mean). We reached Mahabaleshwar with one stop in between to grab some water and snacks. The sight of 15 BULLETS roaring through the Ghats masked the presence of the 2 humble Yamaha Fazers and 1 TVS Apache. We humble creatures basked in the glory though and enjoyed the waves from the kids on the way.

The Resort

From Mahabaleshwar we rode another 28 km’s to reach Tapola. Tapola is another hill station, situated between two rivers, Koyana and Solashi. It’s one place where you will get to see Shivsagar Lake, Dam, Rivers and Ghats – all in one! We were to stay at Nisarg Resort which overlooks the Shivsagar lake and the rooms here are well built, clean tents with attached baths.

view from the resort

We reached Nisarg by 4 pm. We chose our tents, had chai and garam garam bhajiyas and spent some time chit chatting. Infact we were chit chatting where as some intellectuals like Raj, Bawa, Abhishek, Pratish and others were engrossed in the technicalities of Bullet like the

spoke size of the tyres and oxidization process when painting etc. Bouncers for me – quiet a long way for me to be equals with them. But I must say it was nice to be there and hear them speak such intricate stuff. I learnt a few things nevertheless.

Did the thought of sunset just cross your mind...it didn’t? Ok, pay attention to the flow…how could we miss a sunset from Mahabaleshwar? My SLR was longing for some good shots. Off we went towards the sunset point overlooking the Koyana River. We reached there at about the right time - Just when the sky was golden orange and the mountains were about to gobble the sun like Hanuman. I was happy with some of the clicks I got. Swapnil, a pro in photography gave me some tips and they were really useful. He had his tripod with him and I could see for the first time the difference in clarity due to the negligible shake in his pictures. Our shoot was followed by a chai, some play time with a puppy there and a galore of jokes. In the hurry to meet the sunset I had not worn my shoes and didn’t carry my gloves. The temperature fell sharply and I was shivering my way back. I couldn’t even hug Bala – I was a pillion on his bike this time – Tags are dangerous.

Maza at night

The terrace of the resort had a conference like setting to begin with but the booze and chakna and the RIDERS made the conference look less professional. The night was spent having fun; some interesting chats; lots of aerated and fermented drinks and yes of course a round of introduction session which included some sections of blurred speeches. I was one of the firsts to hug my bed and catch sleep. Reason – I had an agenda for the morning.

Arrival of morning and opening of the aperture of my eyes (and yea of the SLR too) coincided. Believe me – I was the only one to be awake for the sun rise (curious me). I tried a lot with my camera settings but I couldn’t manage perfect shots as the sun’s brightness was too much too soon for a novice to capture efficiently. Anyways I was happy with my trials and some pictures I clicked.

Morning Golden Rays

We left from Tapola in the morning by 10. We visited a strawberry farm on the way. We spent an hour here buying and clicking strawberries and once in a while annoying the ‘kaka’ by eating a few ‘on-display’ strawberries. From here our next step was the tableland in Panchgani. This time I was riding the fazer and didn’t want to be left behind. Jaydeep (my pillion) and I cut the corners like butter at 70 and 80 km’s/hour until we reached a corner which I couldn’t manage to cut like a butcher and drifted off the road like a blind horse and jumped in the air some 2 – 3 feet like a monkey before landing on the ground like a hawk. My initial thoughts in my head were like I can control this (my way of telling myself to be calm) but with Jaideep shouting in my ears I thought this is going to be a crazy scene. But yes, I managed to control it and I threw a fantastic spectacle for the cars which had stopped expecting a disaster – sorry guys to disappoint you all, huh! Quickly I checked my bike – no scratches. I asked Jaideep – he was fine (Thank God) and I was perfect. But the riders behind me Karan and Aditya couldn’t relate to the adrenaline we just experienced and did give me some sound abuses ;-)

Discipline

Tableland was quiet crowded as it was a Sunday. Here we planned our next halt for lunch – Surur, ahead of Wai. The ride from here on was just amazing. One of the best rides I have done in my limited riding experience. The bends were overcome with panache and the calculated overtakings just added to the thrill. We stopped by a local restaurant on the way just about 1 KM before Surur for Lunch. The lunch break was for 2 hours :-o. It was 3 pm by the time we left. But post this we didn’t stop anywhere till we reached Khandala – Actually I did halt in between for chai ahead of Pune. This stretch was long and longer.

Desertstorm

At Khandala we all met up for the second last time in the trip before proceeding to Panvel – the last stop of the tour and then proceeded home.

An eventful trip– a little short of a fatal one – but completely fun filled and TRANQUIL.

Visit Konkan Motors at - https://www.facebook.com/KonkanMotoTours

My Clicks -

Barb Wire

Harrowed in Hyderabad...

2011-11-11T02:02:00.000-08:00

Recruiting was my job and out-station hiring one of the channels. This highly coveted reason took me on a visit to Hyderabad in October 2009. We had a few vendors there and they were supposed to line up some excellent, hardworking, smart candidates eager to work for 3G in apna Mumbai. To begin with I couldn't digest how will I be able to recruit the 'aheavii Aekcent' wala Hyderabadi's for the customer service openings we had. But then it was my job to search for the diamonds among the coal ;-). My train ticket was booked and was under RAC. It got confirmed only on the day of my departure. I louee my travel department. At this point I didn't focus much on the fact that my return ticket is on waiting list. You may ask how is that a big deal...well it turned out to be one. It lead me into a messy affair..much on that a little later.

Paradise

I was in Hyderabad for a couple of days. I was put up at Lakdi ka Pul (as one word). The vendors whom I had to meet were in Secunderabad, which wasn't very far from where I was staying. The first day - Surprisingly, I was at this vendors office on time and to my surprise there were no candidates. I mean, I felt as if I was called there to drink tea and inspect the old computers and stacks of files in this 19 and a 1/2th century building. I was there for 5 hours and they couldn't line a single candidate. I was mind strained (you know the word that I wanted to use - but avoiding from a larger viewer/reader perspective ;-)). But you know what saved the day - Paradise. Not Heaven. The famous Paradise Hyderabadi Biryani House. It was bang opposite to where this vendor's office was. I had a scrumptious, spoon licking chicken Biryani and dozed off for sometime. That was how my first day in Hyderabad was - Utter waste.

The second day was better. I went for a ride by the necklace road. Its more like apna Marine Lines. Necklace road is by the Hussain Sagar Lake. I had to be at a vendor at Banjara Hills that day. Banjara hills is akin to apna Pali Hill. A posh Area of Hyderabad with good crowd, clubs and a nice locality in totality. Here thankfully I was presented with some work. You know without it I would have been bogged down with the guilt of spending company money for nothing. I hope you feel me here. I had some 7 candidates to interview. 6 of them could only introduce themselves and I ticked the 'Failed' button of my mind. So horrible in communication. The 7th guy was better but huge ego and a mis-fit. He was an engineer, did MBA from UK and now wants to work in a BPO. Another one rejected - dis time on stability grounds.

So the summary is something like this -
2 days stay - 24 hours of train travel - 2 vendors - 7 candidates met - zero selects - But a scrumptious Biryani.
How impressive!!

My train from Hyderabad was on the same day at 7.30 in the evening. I had packed my bags in the morning itself. Another colleague of mine who was with me and whose native was Hyderabad said it would only take 20 mins to reach the station from LakdiKaPul and I can leave by 6.45 pm. My bad, I believed him and later realized that this is how luck plays with you. We left by the rick at 6.45 and got stuck at a circle on the NH 9. There was some kind of a morcha and mera locha. We waited for 10 mins but no sign of the rickshaw moving. I hurriedly got down and started running towards the Nampally station (Hyderabad Deccan railway station). I had 15 minutes and I had to get my train. I was running with my bags and worse still I was wearing my chappals. People I passed were searching for a camera of 'The Amazing Race' unit. It was a run to remember. I stopped twice to ask for the direction. Every sound of the train smoking black led my heart to skip a beat. I ran ran and I reached just as the train was pulling off from the platform. Luckily the train was on the platform adjoining the station entry and I didn't had to cross any bridge. You remember Kareena Kapoor's introduction in 'Jab we Met'. Similar was my entry but there was no one to help me get in. Only girls have all the fun here.
I managed to get into a second class compartment from where I moved to the AC section. Now if you recollect my ticket was in the RAC mode and I hadn't yet checked if it is confirmed. I earnestly thanked the Indian Railway for having an internet based ticket status checking facility and thanked Nokia for developing a GPRS enabled phone as I checked the status. And surprise surprise - it was still RAC.

I went blank for a moment. The train had started, I don't have a confirmed ticket, I have a night to spend - what to do? I knew that there are no tickets available in the bus as my colleague had enquired in the evening. He was to stay back in Hyderabad for a day and leave the next day. I gained composure with the thought that with a little money to the TT, I could manage something - No no Anna Hazare wasnt popular then. I parked my luggage and checked out the 3 AC compartments. I couldn't see even one empty seat. The thermometer of my hope fell down a bit but not completely. I couldn't spot the TT so spoke to these blue shirted guys who provide blankets and towels in the compartment. They asked me wait till the TT comes and he would surely help. The place where these guys keep the blankets is by the toilet and it has kind of a wooden bench which can be unfolded. I was given a place there to sit by this generous blue shirt guy. The TT came by 10.15 pm and on spotting me had a angry look. 'What want you here' is what I heard and spent a few seconds decoding it. Well but I knew he didn't have much time for me so I told him my story and he was like, get down and get into the unreserved section. I tried to reason out that I have a 2nd AC ticket so something can be done and I can pay extra. But he was like there are no seats available and that he cant help and I should move off immediately. The blue shirt guy asked me to speak to the 2nd class TT and ask him to help. I thanked him and took a voyage in the train to sport TT number 2.

I have traveled a lot in the Indian Railways and I know the nuisance of someone who has an unreserved ticket sitting on my reserved seat and saying 'Pleaje Adjusht no'. I could have done that (not with that accent), but it's awkward and something I can never do. I managed to locate the second TT and spoke to him. This guy was more calm and helpful. But he also didn't have any seat to give me. By now it was11.30 pm or something and the train was reaching Wadi Junction and I was frustrated. I had to get a normal ticket because right now though I had an RAC ticket, I was a ticketless traveler. I had no option but to get off the train. I crossed the bridge, located the ticket counter. To which place should I take the ticket? I cant sit by the bathroom the whole night to reach Bombay for sure. I found out that the next big station is Gulbarga. I have passed by Gulbarga when travelling to my native in Tamil Nadu a countless times and it did look like a decent place. So, I thought and Prayed that may be I will get a bus from there. I took the tickets and boarded the same train which was still waiting at the station - May be it felt pity on me. I stood by the door for another 1.5 hours and at 1 a.m. reached Gulbarga. I walked out of the station expecting a bus stop but could only locate a couple of tea stalls and a pitch dark road starting from there and ending I don't know where. I asked a local about getting a bus to Mumbai and he said, its like 10 kms away and its dangerous to travel alone at night. That was the downfall of another of my hope.

I checked for a confirmed ticket to Bombay that night or early next day but there was no availability. The next plan I could come up was to take a train to Solapur and a bus from there to Bombay. The next train to Solapur - a passenger, was at 4.30 in the morning. I spent the 3 hours of the night in the station platform. I was damn sleepy, but didn't want to lose my belongings, which above all had the files of the important interviews I had taken of the Hyderabadi's. I sat wondering how exciting this trip has turned out to be. I could feel what people without a confirmed ticket would feel. I could feel what a person lost would feel - though not entirely as I knew my geography :-).
The train to Solapur was on time. It was relatively empty and I boarded the train, selected a berth and went of to sleep. I reached Solapur at 7 am or so. Places look better in the day light, I concluded. My enquiry started - this time in my fluent Marathi. The Bus Depot was some distance away. no luxury buses were going to Mumbai in the morning. Luxury eludes you, the more you chase her. What a learning, from what a situation. Well, I then took a rick and reached the ST stand. Kolhapur is like Pune how it was 10 years back. Very laid back and slow. I booked my ticket in the Asiad ST Bus - The only luxury I could lay my hands on that day. The luxury turned a little more luxurious as I got a window seat. I had a vada pav and chai and started my journey among the 'aamchi maathi, aamchi maansa'. Relating it to a movie - it was like Shahrukh Khan in Swades, minus the background score by A.R Rehman :-)
Till 10 am, the journey was pleasant but as the Sun God decided to show his presence and might, the journey became a nightmare. The rays were penetrating the windows and my skin and mixing with my blood and it was boiling now. The rattling sound of the aged ST bus body when running over the impeccably maintained country roads was deafening. There were times when my seat literally flew up in the air and miraculously got back to the original position - defying all laws of physics, I must mention. I bought a Marathi Newspaper. I hid myself from the sun using the news of the previous day - Thank God.
The lunch of Maharashtrian Thali at some village - the name of which I didn't bother to register, was really good. Atleast food didn't let me down.

I expected to reach Bombay by atleast 4 or 5 pm maximum. But in this trip no expectation of mine saw the lights of accomplishment. I reached Bombay at 8.30 pm and the Next day was a serious feedback session with my admin team and a series of escalations in HOPE (the same elusive character again) that others don't go the way I did.

The Bulleteers...

2011-11-03T05:50:00.000-07:00

3 months had passed since our Kolad and Raigad trip and I was craving for another one. I had a feeling that another bike trip is just around the corner and it just needed someone to take the lead and push in an agreeable place to explore. Post the previous trip we had formed a Blackberry chat group called 'Bykers' and all of us were in constant touch. Raj tossed the idea of another trip, Stanley built the hype over it, Krish suggested the place (Guhagar) and I did the required research of the place. And guess what we were all set. Bala as always...hmmm..you know what they call that...' did nothing ' ;-)

28th, 29th and 30th of October were the dates. The plan was to leave on Friday afternoon and return back by Sunday evening. Since it was the Diwali weekend all the places that we could find on the internet, in and around Guhagar were all booked. I suggested Staying at Dapoli and visiting Guhagar on Saturday. This way we will be able to explore two places and add some more miles into our trip. Stanley found a bungalow and we booked it. But luck was such that just a couple of days before our trip the bungalow guy backed out saying he cant rent us the place and he arranged us another place. I will get back to how wonderful and exotic that new place was a little later. For now lets go with the flow.

The 3 Bulls

I have a Fazer. Raj and Krish have 500 cc Bullet Classic and 350 cc Thunderbird respectively. It was our dream that we should do a 'All Bullet' ride soon. I sensed an opportunity and tried to rope in my friend Sushant who has a 350 cc Electra. But he couldn't come due to family commitments but the sweetheart he is, he gave me his bullet for the trip. A dream was going to be fulfilled and the excitement knew no bounds. Finally a 'All Bullet' trip, so soon - not expected. On the day before the trip my other friend Josie jumped into the plan and thus the group of 3 riders and 3 pillions was established for the trip of a life time called..aahhh..hmm...actually we forgot to name it...No No..wait a second.. I remember from the last time...'Men who wont quiet being Boys'.

Day 1 -

In the morning I took my bike for some oiling and battery testing. I didn't want trouble in between the trip.

Set to leave from Vashi

It was very hot in the afternoon. I knew it would be a tough ride since we will have a good amount of ride during the night as well. Krish and me left our building by 1.30 and picked up Stanley at Sion station who had tricked his dad to believe he was going in a car to Guhagar (Uncle wish you were reading this). As we picked Bala from Shivaji Nagar, we saw that a lot of crowd had gathered to see off Bala. He is a super star there, Mind It!!.

Josie and Raj met us at Vashi and we were on our way by 2 pm.

The route was via Panvel - Pen - Vadkal Naka - NH17 - Lonere - Goregaon - Dapoli. 220 kms approximately.

Near Vadkal Naka

We took the JNPT road to bypass the Panvel city and believe me we reached Panvel in like no time. We killed the traffic of the city. Once we hit the road from Vashi we rode for more than 60 kms straight to only halt at Vadkal Naka for chai. Chai didn't come alone. It got numerous vada pav and misal pav along with it. But, believe me, we didn't hog :-D

Once we left from Vadkal, our next halt was after Kolad, a good 50 kms away. We were riding cautiously and trying to stick together. By the time we reached Kolad it was about 5.30 pm. We took our Map out and checked the way ahead, decided on the next stop and left from there. By now the air was cooler, the sun was settling down into its nest beyond the mountains and it was fun to ride.

Treasure Hunters

We reached Lonere in another half an hour. From here we took a right towards Goregaon. Harihareshwar is 50 kms from here. Thats another beach along with Shrivardhan that I want to visit soon. As soon as we turned right, we could feel the difference. National highway to State highway :-( - so stark. Bumpy roads. Badly maintained. But then we had no choice. The pillions have a tough time in these road conditions. Bum hurts like hell. But this was just the start. We had another 70 - 80 kms to cover over such pain inducing roads and more than that under the moon light amidst the mountains and the far and between spread out villages. We took a halt as soon as we crossed Goregaon, alongside a bridge. Did some photo shoot here before moving ahead.

Andhere main Pose

Reached Dapoli

From here till Dapoli it was a ride of a life time. No street lights, extremely curvy roads, crossing mountain after mountain, not very visible sign boards. All these though sound scary, added that zing to the trip. We took a few breaks on the way, asking for direction at the villages we crossed by. Everyone kept saying its not very far now. But

The whole group at the Garage Hotel :-)

we felt as if our ride was never ending. It was 9 pm by the time we reached Dapoli ST stand. It was such a relief. In between we missed a turn and hence rode an extra 20 kms odd. We almost reached Khed, whereas we had to take a right some 12 KM's before (Men and directions - you know how). We were completely exhausted by the time we reached Dapoli. Not because of the distance but because of our sore bum. We took directions of our place of stay and moved on. The place which as per the directions was above a Maruti Showroom was actually above a Maruti Garage. 4 rooms built above the garage.We had 2 rooms. The rooms had to be shut constantly as there were swarms of insects outside dying to hug us badly. One Room had 4 mattresses and no beds. The other had 2 beds and a western style toilet. Relief!!. Infact there was a terrace too. It was full of the junk and car spares. Well we didn't mind actually, because luxury wasn't what we were after ;-). We freshened up and went to have dinner at some restaurant (MTDC approved). Pathetic service, bad sea food and over priced.

With that we called it a day. In fact I called it a day. I had slept for only 2 hours the previous night (partying at a friends place) and I was almost dead. Stanley, Bala and Josie saw hangover and had wine before they crashed.

Day 2 -

The Whole Group - Dolphin sighting

The alarm rang at 7 am. We had our appointments with the dolphins in the sea. We quickly got ready and reached Murud, the beach which is like 8 - 10 kms from where we were staying. After driving at night it was such pleasure to ride the curvy country roads in the sunlight. Every human we passed, we attracted admiration (Ahem! if i can call the stares as admiration). The beach was nice, very long, black sand, sand wasn't very loose. So we could take our bikes inside the beach for a stroll. As I said before, all eyes were you know where :-). The beach was crowded with visitors. There were dirt bikes available for paid rides, there were speed boats, banana boats and also the boats on hire for watching the dolphins. After a few clicks, we decided to pay the dolphins a visit. 150 rs. per head and off we went into the sea. Hardly any distance from the shore and we could see these lovely groups of dolphins sun bathing, occasionally coming out to let out their steam (you know those small water fountains). They appeared shy as they used to not surface above the water as the boat used to approach them. It wasn't difficult to spot them. They were everywhere. But yes, it was difficult to capture them on our digicams. I wish I had a SLR. Inspite of this limitation we took a few good clicks of their fins and tails (as you can see in the pictures). The whole trip was for half an hour. Believe me, it was a wonderful experience. I was a little disappointed as I expected the dolphins to jump over our boat and come and shake my hands and smile at me etc - Sigh!! never happened.

Riding the bullet in the beach and through the waves is so thrilling that it cant be expressed. The sand keeps altering the path of the tires but doesn't push you down. Freshly Wet sand gives the tires a better grip. We did have our share of tires getting stuck in the sand and we using our bicep strength to pull it off.

All of us took our pictures, posing with the bullet's which you all will soon see as profile pictures on Facebook and blackberry and Gchat and Shaadi.com and Sulabh Sauchalay etc.

We so wanted to do the banana boat ride, but we also had to leave for Guhagar which was another 80 to 100 kms odd. We had heard that even Guhagar has water sports, so we decided to do it there. The plan was to take the roadway via Khed, Chiplun to reach Guhagar while going and when coming back we will come via jetty. There is a Jetty available from Guhagar (20 kms form the beach) to Dabhol. From Dabhol, Dapoli is another 25 kms. This is the quickest route between these two places.

Puncture Zaali..

We left from Dapoli by 10.30 am towards Guhagar. We were like 12 kms into our journey that we noticed Raj's back tyre is punctured. Luckily we weren't far from a mechanic. The next 45 minutes was chill out time for us, as Raj supervised the mechanic. We reached Khed and got connected to the NH - 17 again towards Chiplun. We all were carrying only one pouch with our cash and the cameras. Raj and me had left our wallets in the room. And we were stopped on the highway by the police and we thought its going to be another drama waiting to unfold. We got down. Bala showed his licence, Stan and Josie showed their licence instead of Raj and me. The policeman didn't say a word and let us go. Now when I think about it, it sure was his way of saying 'Respect' to the bullet and MUMBAI :-).

Veg Khana :-(

Post this we halted at Chiplun and then took a right towards Guhagar. The roads here were much better and we had an awesome time riding. We took quiet a few breaks along the way. Raj couldn't stop himself from riding below 100 kph in his classic and we used to be left behind. Then he used to wait for us ahead and that would be an excuse for us to take a break as soon as we used to spot him. In the mountains, 20 kms ride feels like 40 kms. It feels like we are riding for so long but have covered very less distance. Wonder if all bikers feel this.

We reached Guhagar by 3.45 pm. We were freaking hungry but couldn't find one non veg restaurant. All the kitchens were closed. We ended up having Veg Thali at a veg restaurant. Imagine we are here by the beach in Konkan and having veg food instead of prawns and crabs. Such was our state.

The other disappointment was the missing water sports facility in Guhagar. So we instead went for a swim in the sea. We had our photographer bhai (Stanley) take some really nice pictures. God bless him!!

The Baywatch Run

Amazing Sunset

ABy 6 we were back on the road, riding towards the jetty. All of us were going to board the jetty with our bikes for the first time and yes we were excited. Here again the ride of 20 kms took a little over an hour and it was completely dark as we reached the Jetty. 5 - 7 mins and we were on the other side. We were tired by now. And knew that the next 25 kms is not really 25 kms but somewhere close to eternity. We were right; the roads kept going, the roads were more of stoned pavements and no lights and no villages in between. It took us a hour and 30 minutes to reach Dapoli. everyone's hands were busy. Yea, busy holding their bum and imagining a warm oil massage in Phuket.

Bala resting his tired Bum

We had our dinner. And for the first time in the trip had prawns and it was yummy. We filled our stomach and went back to our rooms. Being the last night we didn't want to sleep early. We played Uno drinking wine to end the night by 1 am. I wanted to visit Suvarnagadh, the fort in the sea, the next morning as it was not very far from Dapoli, but we as a group decided to leave early and reach Bombay early so that we can rest and be ready for our grind called work and rat race.

Smewhere on the way to guhagar

Jetty main entry

Bad Roads..

Day 3 -

The ride back to Bombay.

From NH-17 we took the Khopoli - Pali road thinking we will reach quicker and overcome the traffic between vadkal Naka and Pen. This was not a wise decision. The road is pathetic. Though there are so many industries along the way, the road is no good. We will surely avoid it in the future.

However once we got connected to the expressway ahead of Khopoli the roads were very good and we just zipped through to reach our homes sweet homes.

The last halt and a look at the 3 bullets

Bum Pain leads to some innovation

A wild pic gone awry

Ek Duje ke Liye

Josie and Me

Spooky Goa...

2011-10-14T03:25:00.000-07:00

Go - Goa!!
Doesn't these two simple words ring such high pitched bells in your ears and make your ears stand like a curious pup?? That's what I did to Yusuf (aka Saif). He had just come back from Goa a couple of weeks ago and I was pulling him back. And you know right, no one can resist Goa? He had to agree.

Neeta Volvo - 9 p.m. from Vashi - Booked
Place in Goa - Churi Baba (Hari OM!) did that for us.
Return tickets - Go Air for Monday - Booked
Bags - Packed
Office - go to hell!!

Hussain also joined us at the last minute. He kind of surprised us at Panvel where the bus stopped for a loo break. He had boarded another bus which also managed to reach Panvel by the same time we were there. He woke Saif from sleep who thought he was dreaming. Nice dreamy start.
Neeta is really like a Neetabai. No concern for time. It took us 14 nauseating hours to reach Goa. Bitch! like her. She still survives because people at times don't have a choice than to ride her ;-)

As we stepped out of the bus at Mapusa, we had Kings waiting for us. Kings the beer which makes Goa so much fun. Our Goa trip was loaded with Beer, Crab/Prawns/Fish, clubbing and sleep. We were put up at Baga very close to Tito's. Our day used to start by afternoon and night used to be early mornings.

Okay, now coming to the spooky bit. I cant make my writing scary for nuts, wonder how I am going to narrate the spooky bit without sounding funny. Phew!
It was 2nd October. A Sunday. The third day of our stay in Goa. And yea, we had Gandhiji for company. It was a DRY DAY. So obviously we weren't drunk. So that takes care of any arguments that will lead to say that we were drunk when Hussain was spooked.

We went to fort Aguada at about 5 pm that day. It was an excellent ride on our bikes, watching the sun set into the sea, standing by the light house and having a smoke. We had a nice peaceful time there. We left and on the way saw this 16th century St.Andrews Church. Saif, wanted us to see it as he had been there last time and liked the place. I never feel uncomfortable visiting a church but here I felt. Dont know why. It is a beautiful church, overlooking the sea. Very quaint and uncrowded. The gates were closed. Hussain was hesitant to get inside but came with us. There were these statues of angels on all the pillars and a statue of Jesus Christ (Rio De Janeiro type) facing the church door. The church was closed. Even the gates to enter the compound tightly shut. I just managed a short prayer. I saw Hussain saying 'Lets go' and walking towards the gate. I though since lights fading he wants to leave. We followed. Hussain wasn't himself. He was riding at the speed of say 15 km/hr. We waited a few times on the way to check on him.

We had something to eat on the way. He didn't say anything. We started our beer session in the hotel room (luckily they gave us access to booze here). By 12 am we could see crowd trickling into Baga. We went picked up whiskey and some more beer and drank till about 2 am. We decided to go to the beach. It was pitch dark. There were people in the beach, far and spread. We were like 10 - 15 meters away from the waves when Hussain asks, who is this fourth guy with us. We were 3. Saif and I looked at each other and also around to see who is it. He pointed towards the left saying who is this walking with us. We told him to stop it and thought may be its the booze. He was like I can see him and pointed towards the bush. Its here he recalled that back at the church he heard a voice telling him 'Hussain get out of here, NOW'. He said it has never happened to him all his life. It was kind of very clear right in his ears, he said. This now drained all our booze in an instant. Just then, a wave appeared on nowhere and kind of pulled me by my legs. I just let my slipper go. This left me stunned. I had heard a lot of stories about unnatural happenings in Goa and I really didn't want to be a part of any.We thought, it would be nice to go back to our room. I rushed to my bike and for no apparent reason it refused to start. I was cold but I pushed it all the way, looking around to thwart any attack ;-).

I don't know what to conclude but it was one freaky night.
Check this picture I took at the church, but I never saw this statue of a soldier saluting something looking away from the church. Kind of weird.

Sunset

The St. Andrew Church

Rajmachi - we lost the way

2011-08-29T23:11:00.000-07:00

My Conquest

Push-Kar - The trek lead (struggling behind is me)

Pushkar Vaidya, our Trek Leader and a specialist in extra terrestrial life was the chief planner of our trek to Rajmachi. Rajmachi is a famous and well known trekking point in the Sahyadri's. One can reach the fort via 2 different paths. One is a flat 10 km walk from Lonavla (Tungarli Lake) and the other is a 4 km climb from the village Kondivade near Karjat. The walk from Lonavla is easier and good for beginners. Beginners - that is exactly what we weren't. I love to proclaim that though it was the first major and serious trek for me and my friends Shriram and Jacob. The others in our group including Shradha (the sole lady) were pretty experienced. We chose the toughest route from Kondivade village.

The group except Pushkar and his 2 friends

We had taken a bus from Mumbai till the village - starting point of the trek and back. If not for the bus one can get down at Karjat Station and take a rickshaw to Kondivade village. One Rickshaw can easily accommodate 6 people. I was the last one to meet the group at Thane from where we proceeded directly to Karjat. Everyone was excited as it was the first trek of the rainy season of 2006. It wasn't raining but the climate was pleasant with the air flaunting itself as cool and the sun uninterested to shine for the day. Perfect for trekking without exhaustion due to humidity. I got down at Kondivade and discovered there are no vade. I thought that's the specialty of Kondivade like batatavade - depressed me.
There were a few groups who had come before us and were getting ready to trek. I could feel the energy and was all pepped up to hit the mountain (adapted from - hit the road).

Start of the trek

We picked up 2 bottles of water each, a glucose packet, some biscuits and we were off. Strict instructions - No booze allowed. Before taking off we had a photo session - sorry forgot to mention. The time was like 9 am when we began. Pushkar had estimated about 4 to 5 hours for us to reach the fort on top and say 3 hours to be back. Hence by 6 to 7 pm we had to be back to the base. Sounded so easy.
We started walking cracking jokes, enjoying the greenery around and watching the birds. When walking on a straight path I didn't feel tired but just 15 minutes of upward climb got me catching my breath. But I didn't want to show that - not a novice, you see. I kept walking. I saw Shriram also breathing heavy. This sure made me feel better. I had company.

25 minutes into the climb we took our first break. With 'WE' I mean Shriram and me. This forced others to call it a break too. We stopped by some caves and a very beautiful waterfall near the cave. It was a fantastic spot. The cave had some Buddhist sculptures and I got to know later from Google + Wikipedia that it dated back to 200 BC. Wow! what would we do without GoogWiki (GooWiki didn't sound appropriate). Post the break we started our ascend. The experienced lot of Yash, Gaurav and Pushkar's friends were very considerate and were going very slow to be with us. There were some really steep stretches and they really tested our stamina. Being fit is so so important. I pledged to start jogging from the next day - only to realize that sleep is more attractive.

Breakfast Break

One and a half hours into the trek we took a breakfast break. To lie down on that plateau overlooking the valley and eat bread, butter and eggs was just a scene straight out of a movie. We hurried on the insistence of our leader and were back to the trail in 15 minutes. Its very easy to give up when you are trekking. Usually its the body that gives up. But your mind more often than not takes over and keeps pushing you beyond the limits that you had set for yourself. This was my biggest take away from this experience.

The village of Udhewadi far away

Pushkar was shrewd. He used to keep showing us a hill top and say that's all we have to climb. I used to get fooled and walk only to realize that there is a bigger mountain behind it. But then setting smaller goals helped in the longer run. For most of the journey, Shri, Jacob and me were trailing. It was like 1.30 pm when we reached the base village of Udhewadi. Its here were we had our lunch at a local village hut. It was a perfect Maharashtrian Thali with bhakri and chatni etc. Most of the trekkers use this village to refuel their body system. There is a very beautiful lake near this village. We could see it but we couldn't go as that wasn't in our agenda and we were getting late to trek the fort which was another 30 mins away from this village of Udhewadi.

The path just across the valley

The final leg of the trek

The next hour or so was absolutely breathtaking. The path was rocky, many a times narrow and slippery. No proper places to hold and almost always you are close to the valley. It was difficult but we managed it easily. The trek from the village looks short and easy but when you are going up you are actually going around the fort quiet a few times at that and it takes like eternity. We took more than an hour to reach the top. The fort of Shrivardhan was conquered and that's exactly how I felt and posed. Ecstatic would be an understatement because I could have so easily given up and would have missed the summit from where you feel as if you are at the top of the world. Every where you turn all you could see is green and blue. The most soothing colors to your eyes.

Shrivardhan seemed to be a watch tower of the Marathas more than a fort. There wasn't much of construction on the top. There were a few water tanks on top and we couldn't stop ourselves from taking a dip. The water was ice cold. Refreshing!!

The Descend begins

The summit

The Fort

By the time we started to climb down, it was 4 or 4.30. We were behind our time schedule. Pushkar pushed us move faster. I could climb down faster and didn't need much support. But we had others in our team for whom getting down was difficult. Hence we had to ensure everybody was together. The path was slippery and hence we did fall a few times. Not
serious though. Shradha was finding it difficult to get down as quick as she was able to climb up. Thats when I realized that for some getting down is the toughest part. When getting down you have to keep your body weight behind you when placing your leg ahead. This gives you proper support. When getting down the whole pressure falls on your ankle and knee and hence you are susceptible to sprains. Speaking of sprains, Shri had sprained his knee at one point and we had to take a break to massage his legs and apply some moov. It gave us a much required break but time was slipping by. We were rushing now to get out before the night falls. When on the way, we saw a couple also trying to get down. However the girl was finding it very difficult. She was literally crawling as she couldn't get down properly standing. The guy was getting frustrated with her speed. We crossed them. I felt bad and spoke about helping them. Pushkar said No! as when in such situations we should take care of ourselves first. Somehow I didn't agree to it. We had torches and it was for sure they would not make it in the day light. We decided to assist them irrespective of what some felt. We slowed ourselves and gave them the company.

One of the water tanks

It was 7 and it was the last stroke before which sun rays would be taken over by the night. We made another decision. We divided ourselves into two groups. One would move ahead and reach the base when the other which included Pushkar will stay back with the couple and help them. I was in the first group and we were just rushing. And naturally we lost our way in the night. All the Ramsay movie scenes started playing in my mind. Poorani Haveli was the first to visit my mind. And guess what we did come across a haveli. We stood outside the gate and shouted if there is anyone. No one I guess. We didn't have the courage to get in and check. We left from there in the best route we thought was visible through the torch light. The light insects kept misguiding us as we used to think there are some bulbs in the distance. We were very close to giving up and screaming for help. Luckily we saw a man returning to his village. God Bless him. He helped us to the village and we were away from the wilderness.

Breathtaking view from the top

Pushkar and group also joined us shortly and our decision to help the couple proved correct as they would have surely felt the heat.

Once in the light we saw were are all in so much muck. Our bodies were stiff like a stick. All we could do was eat a vadapav and just wait to reach home and crash.

The sister fort - Manaranjan

Shiva temple

Sinhagad - 'Gad aala par Sinha Gela'

2011-08-26T02:43:00.000-07:00

Sinhagad Fort

Its been about 18 amazing months since I have been working in Pune. The weather here keeps pulling me away from Bombay which still remains my first love. Pune is surrounded by a lot of forts as it is in the midst of the Sahyadri's. Weekend getaway's are easy to plan when you are in Pune. Sinhagad, one of the forts of Shivaji Maharaj and which was under the Maratha Rule for a long time is just 45 kilometres away from Magarpatta (where I stay). It is at a height of 800 metres above sea level and the best part is you can drive all the way till the base of the fort. There is a 2 lane road all the way up till the base of the fort. The road is steep, curvey and in real bad condition. My room mates and I decided to visit Sinhagad one friday afternoon - you guessed it, we bunked work. It didnt require a lot of planning. Just the car to take us to the top and a camera is all we needed. Balvin, Kaushal and me started our short trip to Sinhagad.

Rain al the way (Balvin's creativity)

Google map on my mobile was our guide. Though I dont have GPS in my Blackberry Curve, google maps do the trick most of the times. We reached Katraj from Magarpatta and continued on the NH 4 till Khed - Shivapur Junction from where we had to take a right and go towards Kondanpur. Its very likely that one can miss this junction due to no proper sigboards on the way. If you do miss it - like us, then go straight till the toll naka (a few hundred metres from the junction), take a U -Turn and come back to this junction. If you dont want to drive all the way up, then you can get jeep or vans who ply towards Sinhagad very frequently. But believe me, driving or biking is real fun and you shouldnt miss it. Yes, the roads are bad but thats how these trails should be, isnt it?

Steep narrow road

From the Khed Shivapur junctions its an uphill journey passing through many villages and buffaloes on the way. Buffaloes are like the traffic controllers on these narrow roads - they stop, look at you, give a stare, wag their tail and move away when they want to. Only thing they missed to do was ask for our licences and the PUC - what a sigh of relief. The way has some real sharp turns which can easily test a novice driver to extreme limits. Modestly speaking, since it was me the scenario was different. We were lucky since we went on a weekday we didnt get many vehicles coming from the opposite direction except a few bikes. It was drizzling all the way and the fog crowned the mountains almost throughout our journey. We halted a few times on the way for pictures and smoke. Balvin did some bharatnatyam steps in excitement as chennai cant even come close to having such natural beauty in its vicinity. He photographed some droplets on the windshield which looked really beautiful (check the pics).

Bharatnatyam in the greens

Ass load ;-)

Once at the top we had a grand welcome by a few asses. I mean, donkeys made way for us. Hard working asses they were (they had load on them) and seemed very disciplined and motivated. We had a good laugh at the asses - for reasons similar to why you may have had a smile reading this.

Continue to do your job even if you are an ass - our takeaway lesson.

Hidden Caves

One of the temples

Sinhagad has a rich history behind it, including the fights between Marathas and the Mughals. Sinhagad is in the centre of 3 other forts Rajgad, Purandar and Toma surrounding it. It is strategically placed. I had read in my school history books that Tanaji (Shivaji's trusted lieutenant) had climbed this fort from a steep valley using monitor lizard (ghorpad as they say) to hold the rope. Tanaji died fighting the Mughals in this same fort and his memorial exists here. Earlier this fort was called Kondana fort, its in the remembrance of Tanaji that it was renamed as Sinhagad (fort of the lion).

LionCAT

The fort is quiet big and interesting however it hasnt been managed properly. Another site where we and our goverment have failed to protect our history. Many of the sites inside the fort including the memorial of one of Shivaji's son Rajaram is in shambles. There are a lot of hawkers in the fort who more than pressurize you to eat at their stalls. Half of our time went in answering them politely that we arent hungry - 'ata nahi ho, nantar yeto' were our words. There are a couple of ponds in the fort. They looked inviting for a swim but we decided otherwise. Actually, we didnt have extra pair of clothes. The view from the fort of the forts and valleys around is breathtaking.

The Madrasis

We saw a domesticated cat trying to hunt down birds and squirrels - ekdum discovery channel ke lion types. It failed in its attempts miserably though. But yes there was no sign of dejection on its face or may be I aint an animal phsychologist.

We spent about a couple of hours on the fort and then made our way back. While coming down we saw the khadakwasla lake and Dam far away. We wished we could have also gone there. May be some other time. Kurt Cobain and Metallica ruled the speakers of the car while we drove back.

Peace!

Paved path along the valley

Alternate view of the fort

The way we came

Jerusalem - a collage of old and new

2011-08-24T14:29:00.000-07:00

Jerusalem has always held a mystical image in my head. Having read the bible and heard stories of Jerusalem in the church, the picture I had in my head was that of a 1st century BC desert city as one can see in movies like Prince of Persia. And I was all set to encounter the mystery soon. The excitement I had as I booked the tour for Saturday 11th December 2010 is very difficult to put in words. It was akin to the excitement of a school kid going to an amusement park the next morning.

Israel Flag

I got picked up at 7 am sharp from my hotel in Tel Aviv and guess what - I was waiting since 15 minutes. I was so eager to get going. We picked up a few more tourists from other hotels. Post that, we were taken to the Ramat Gan bus station from where we boarded the actual bus which was to leave for Jerusalem. We were about 18 of us in total. It was a multinational group with Americans the most followed by Brits, a few Scandinavians and a single Indian (me) plus a humble Korean who couldn't speak English. I am saying humble because for every question of mine including 'How are you', his response was a bow and a smile.

Tel Aviv Marina

The bus left sharp at 8. Our guide was a lady in her late forties may be. She spoke good English, unlike most of Israeli's who prefer communicating in Hebrew. Jerusalem is about 60 kms from Tel Aviv towards the east. Tel Aviv has a complete European look as the Jewish settlers who founded the city wanted it that way. Tel Aviv is a perfect party place with excellent pubs, numerous coffee shops, excellent local transportation and clean n clear beaches which showcase a lot of activities like kite surfing, beach volleyball and other water sports. As you get out of Tel Aviv you see a lot of small villages with acres and acres of farms. The image I had in my mind that Israel will also be mostly covered by desert, like the other middle eastern countries was proven wrong. I could see a lot of green forests along the highway. My guide explained that Ben Guiron (The first prime minister) of Israel had the vision of a green Israel. So he started a country wide initiative to plant trees, adopt trees, and contribute to a green cause. It’s his effort that today you see Israel different than the other countries around.

Temple Mount (Temple for God built by King Solomon)

Tel Aviv is to play and Jerusalem is to Pray. This is how Israeli's define the two cities as. And that's exactly how the cities are in context to each other in Israel. Jerusalem is one of the oldest continually inhabited city in the whole world. The other city that comes to mind is Benares in India. Jerusalem is the city chosen by God and hence all the 3 Semitic religions (Jewish, Christianity and Islam) hold Jerusalem as their holy place and hence Jerusalem has a bloody history of capture and recapture by various sects and kings in the last 10000 years. As a matter of fact Jerusalem has been attacked 52 times and captured/recaptured 44 times.

One of the Suburbs of Jerusalem in the Hill

Jerusalem is in a hilly terrain and each hill, kind of houses a village or Suburb. It’s a spectacular sight to see the white and off white houses in the hills. The white house’s are new and the off white are old and assume that color due to the sand winds in the region. Jerusalem has grown quiet a lot since the ancient days and now you have a New city of Jerusalem and Old city of Jerusalem. New Jerusalem is modern and looks like a proper city and acts as a business center after Tel Aviv. Its vibrant and young. The Israeli Parliament is here. The Old city of Jerusalem is where you have the ancient walled city of Jerusalem, the temple of god, the biblical locations, the archaeological sites etc. Coming from Tel Aviv, we first crossed the New city. We took a halt at King David Hotel, which had an impressive building - don’t confuse yourselves with King David's construction. I collected a few souvenirs, had my breakfast and was the first to board the bus to go and visit the JERUSALEM I so eagerly wanted to see.

Church on Mount of Olives

As we entered I felt like I am being transported back in time. It’s a very humbling feeling to be in the Gods selected city. The Old city still maintains the ancient construction and charm. The first thing that I noticed and took the picture of is the Wall of Jerusalem. This isn't the wall that was constructed during the biblical times but a far recent one. However it stands around the exact same location where the ancient wall was built. In fact we can see the 3000 year old walls if we go down and visit the archeological sites.

Graves on the mount of Olives opp the Northern Gate

We first went to the Mount of Olives. The place from where Jesus ascended to heaven post he resurrected from the dead and met his disciples. The view that you get of Jerusalem from here is just breath taking. It was windy and cold and I was shivering while taking some pictures from the top. I got a bird’s eye view of all the important sites that I would be visiting soon. The slope of the Mount of Olives has a lot of Jewish graves. Tombs of notable Old Testament prophets like Zechariah and Malachi is located in the Mount of Olives. Exactly opposite to the Mount of Olives is the Northern gate of the Wall of Jerusalem from where the Jews believe that the Messiah will come and the ones buried in these graves will be the first to be brought to life. Interesting! Did I just miss a second chance to life?

Tomb of King David

The City of Old Jerusalem is in 3 quarters The Jewish quarter, Christian quarter and the Muslim quarter. You can imagine how sensitive the situation would be any given day. Though the interaction between all the 3 quarters is minimal, they live and pray as peacefully as possible today. King David's tomb was the first place that we visited as soon as we came down from the Mount of Olives. King David's tomb is on mount Zion and incidentally that is also the place where Jesus had his last supper with his disciples. The authenticity of this site being the place where King David was buried is still challenged by many.

Narrow Alleys of Old Jerusalem

When walking inside the walls of the old city, if you ignore the modern clothing of the people around and the electronics one can easily mistake them to be right there in history. The houses are made of stones. Many still look like caves. The old city is full of narrow alleys and lanes with some cramped up markets on the way. The manner in which they have preserved each and every artifact is really commendable. As the city of Jerusalem was destroyed and rebuilt many times, there are different layers of the city beneath. Where we walk is actually the most recent development. There are at least 2 - 3 layers below which is accessible and archeologists continuously work there.

4th Station on the 'Way of Cross' - Jesus meets Mary

The next on our tour agenda was to go through the 'Way of the Cross' or 'Via Dolorosa'. This is the path through which Jesus Christ was taken before being crucified. The path unfolds as a series of 14 pictures or sculptures depicting the scenes as per what we read in the New Testament. The 3 times when Jesus fell while carrying the cross, a place where he held the wall to take support, the place where he met Mary on the way and finally the place where he was crucified and the tomb where he was laid. I was thankful that I could be there and see the place and walk the path that most of us only read about. Absolutely humbling!

The Muslim Quarter

The sight of the place where Jesus was Crucified and the Tomb where one can enter and take a look or pray is divine. The positive energy that you feel in those places is amazing. The Church over Jesus’ Tomb is the 'Church of the Holy Sepulcher'. This Church is split between the Orthodox and Catholic sects of Christianity.

While following the 'Way of the cross' we pass through the Jewish quarter, Christian quarter and the Muslim quarter. The Muslim quarter is very different in terms of the construction of their houses, vibrant colors used and also more hawkers around. It’s more like walking through Mohammad Ali road in Bombay.

The Cave where Jesus was Buried

The Wailing Wall

Not very far from the 14th station of the 'way of cross' is the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall. This is another place of very high historic value and one of the most sacred prayer sites of the Jews. It is situated at the foot of the western side of the 'Temple Mount' (The temple of God). Jews aren’t allowed to enter the Temple Mount (as it is still under the Arab control), the exact place where Solomon had built the Temple for God. Hence this wall assumes a lot of value since it is the closest that they can get to the 'Temple Mount' and pray. I saw a lot of Jews praying by the wall and even more reciting the verses and lost in meditation. Some also write their wishes in papers and leave them at crevices in the wall.

I understood from my guide that only the most pious and religious Jews stay within the Jewish Quarters close to the Wailing Wall and the Temple Mount.

We came out from the walled city onto the Jaffa Road Exit and moved to our next stop, the church of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Gethsemane is the place where Jesus Christ was praying when Judas came with the soldiers and betrayed Jesus. Today there is a church built near that garden where Jesus was praying. This is the church of all nations, because all the countries had contributed to build this church at this location. The garden still has the rock by which Jesus Prayed (Rock of Agony) and some very old olive trees which some say dates back to 2000 years.

Agony Rock at Gethsemane - Place where Jesus Prayed last

Jerusalem has a lot of churches. Each one of them is distinctly different from the other in terms of Architecture. Some are built by the Greek Orthodox Church, some by Russians, Some by Armenians, some by Roman Catholics and so on. I found a Russian church with the dome in the shape of a mosque dome and a cross. The dome seemed to be made of gold. That’s also one of the most visited places in Jerusalem.

Since it was a Saturday we couldn’t visit Yad Vashem, the site of the Holocaust Museum. I was very tired and content by the end of the whole tour. While going back, we passed through the Syria gate of the wall. Its named since that gate opens up towards Syria.

The 1000 BC jerusalem city walls..there are few more layers of city below

The Northern Gate - Jews believe its from here that Messiah will Arise

I learnt a lot from this trip and it sure has left me wiser.


The Tomb of Jesus

Pillars as they were 2000 years back

The Old City of Jerusalem

Church Built by Russians

Men who wont quit being BOYS

2011-08-19T12:28:00.000-07:00

The Group minus Bala M

It was pending since a while. We had planned it many a times before and it never materialized. Well, not this time. A Bike trip to Kolad and Ratnagiri in the Konkan belt of Maharashtra on the way to Goa. The bike trip was to be complemented by River Rafting in the Kundalika River the next day. The riders were Raj on his 500CC Bullet classic; the beast as we call it, Bala K on his Yamaha R15 and me on my Yamaha Fazer, the humblest and the modest of the lot. The pillions were Bala M and Stanley George. Another friend ditched the plan and US at the last moment.

Kolad is about 140 km's from Bombay. You need to take the Sion - Panvel road and reach McDonald's near the mouth of Pune expressway. Go below the expressway take a right at the circle and continue on the NH 4. Pass through Panvel and join the NH 17. This is a right turn at a heavy junction area where the board shows Pune if you go straight. The right indicator shows JNPT/Uran. I am not sure if NH-17 board is being put there. NH 17 takes you directly to Pen via Karnala from where you take a left at Vadhkal Naka (Pen Market) and connect to the Goa Highway. Kolad is on this highway.

We went in July and the ride was just amazing. It was raining all the way.

Our first destination was Pooja Farms in Kolad. It is a wonderful lake side resort about 12 kms from Kolad Market, at a place called Sutarwadi. I had been there before and love the place for its location,view and the lake where they have a fishery. The location is Serene and beautiful with good Maharashtrian food as a part of the package.

We left from Sion at about 7 in the morning, behind schedule by 1 hour, thanks to our friend Raj. I still cant digest his reason of some tool kit arrangement. Anyways, we reached Shivaji Nagar, a separate country within Mumbai. Luckily they didn't ask for our Visa. Its only later we realized that the president of Shivaji Nagar, Bala Murugan Kathiresan (Bala M here) was our friend and part of the trip. Hail Bala M!

The Man with the third Nipple on his forehead - Stanley

Our first Chai wala stop was at Vashi. Its here we met a gang called 'Bisons - ride hard'. Ride here means their bullets (dirty people). Raj was the only one who was given a look by that group. Simply because only he had a bullet which was like a license to speak to them.

Raj negotiated the joining terms and conditions and also booked an appointment, while we enjoyed our cup of tea with some smoke flying around.

Bala K who was in the John Abraham cum Anil Kapoor Avatar showing his hairy biceps attracted a look of gaze from the people (old and still older). But the sport that he is, he managed to wax through the situation.

Stanley was our official photographer. He tried various stunts while riding as a pillion to take pics of everything around including his third nipple on his forehead (please see the pic for the proof).

The Riders

We took a lot of breaks on the way. I loved posing for pictures. Sometimes with the glares on and later with the helmet close to my hip to look like a real biker. A real biker we were, so to speak, but still - u can understand. While taking one such picture, Bala M almost got taken away by a truck. He went into the middle of the road for that perfect click of our lovely faces.
Rains hitting your body felt like stones hitting us hard. I wore my helmet, now the sound of the rain drops hitting my helmet was like listening to raag malhar mixed with the bike strokes.

We reached Pooja Farms, right at time for lunch. We were dead hungry. We put our luggage's in one of the tents allotted to us - since the lake cottage was still not free to occupy. We were about to change our wet clothes when Raj had an idea flash through his amazing brain. He suggested since we don't have anything to do in Pooja Farms apart from lust lazing around, why not ride to the Raigad fort via Mahad after lunch. Perfect - another 150 km's up and down in the rain and the return journey would sure be under the moonlight. No efforts put in convincing anybody - after all we are BOYS still, right.

When we asked the resort supervisor to shift our bags to the cottage later as we are going to the Raigad fort, he had a surprised look on his face. I thought he thought that our thought was very ambitious. But then the look didn't even come close to convincing us to change our mind. We enjoyed a nice lunch packed with chicken curry and bhindi bhaji, fryams and dal and rice. Just enough fuel we needed till we reach the Raigad fort. We rode towards Goa from Kolad and Mahad was 50km's away. I need not say how beautiful the ride was. If it was a Movie - I am sure the cameraman would have shot us from an helicopter and the audience would have see lush green set up with a Dark Gray line in between where there are like the 3 hunks; I mean the bikes, zipping through.

Bala M - AKA - Mandakini

As we reached Mahad, the tiredness had started to creep in slowly. We were at a junction where we had to take a left towards Raigad Fort. The big banner with Shivaji Maharaj's picture showed the direction to the fort. We stopped for Chai and started discussing if its a good idea to ride further 25 km's to reach the base of Raigad. The consensus was that as we have come so far, we cant cut short our goal. The next 25 km's was the best that a biker can ask for. Well almost the best; I personally want my Ladakh trip to be the best. We were gaining altitude rapidly and overcoming some steep curves while riding cautiously in the fog. Now that sums up the situation. We stopped at a waterfall on the way. Its here where Bala M enjoyed the waterfall even more than what Mandakini would have done in Ram Teri Ganga Maili. Really! he posed like her too (check the pic for confirmation - I don't lie).

Raigad Fort

We reached the base of the Raigad fort by 5 and we hurriedly took the cable car to go to the fort. This was another highlight of the whole trip. First time I was going to be elevated to a higher altitude by a cable car. While going up, I wanted to take so many pictures but I couldnt take any. It was so foggy that it resembled heaven; the abode of the gods. I almost felt like Ramba and Urvashi may come to dance sometime soon. The journey by the cable car is for about 5 mins, but it feels amazing. If it wasnt the fog you can get amazing clicks of the waterfalls around, the valley below and the fort on the top.

Shivaji's Throne

The Raigad fort is very huge. It is in a better shape than many of the forts that I have visited. Raj was our guide who showed us around with stories like how the queens used the bathrooms, where the prison was, how punishments used to happen etc. I liked the Darbar area of the fort, where they have a huge Shivaji's statue on a throne built exactly where he used to have his original throne. Once you are near the throne you can actually feel how it would have been if you were Shivaji's Fan man with the peacock feather bundle been swayed right and left. On a serious note, that place has natural amplification. Any whisper anywhere in the Darbar can be heard clearly near the throne. So thats when I started to challenge the fact that the amplifier was invented outside India. We had that centuries before it was invented. So what if someone added wires and some chips to it the whole set.

One of the Many waterfalls

Waiting for Rambha and Menaka ;-)

We rushed back to the cable car in 30 minutes as we had to ride back as well. While coming down the fog had cleared and we could take some nice pictures. While we rode back and the light had started to fade, we realized that Raj's headlights weren't functioning and Bala's bike battery was running low. Anxious moments. Raj managed to fix the bulbs. I had no doubt he wouldn't; he is born with electricals and electronics in his mouth, hand, head, mind and what not. As Bala K could face issue on the way, we decided he rides in between the other 2 bikes so that if anything happens one can stop for help. This worked for us and we covered the next 75 kms in about 2 hours. Riding the bike in the ghats at night with the high beams from the opposite side temporarily blinding you is a nightmare which came to reality that day.
Once back in Pooja Farms, we changed into dry clothes for the first time since 6 am. We had food and just crashed on the bed.

The Alarm rang the next day at 6.30. We had asked for a vehicle to take us to the Rafting site at the Kundalika river. We wanted to be on time and kept asking our resort guys and also cursing them for not arranging the car on time. By the time the car came and we reached the spot it was 8. Only after reaching there we realized that the resort guys didn't hurry up because no one reaches on time. Obviously Except Us. What happened for the next half an hour is evident in the pictures. Photo shoot followed by some fun in the river. Though we were the first to reach our raft was ready only by 10.45 because we were 5 and there had to be 4 more people to join us and apparently all other groups were perfect 8 or 9. Point noted for the next time.

Ready to Raft

The rafting experience, I had expected would be more tough than what we actually encountered. We had a few crazy rapids along the way where our raft flew for a few seconds to land perfectly thereafter. But that was all, there was not much excitement after that. We rowed really well. And manoeuvred around without much difficulty. Balam M was all talks and no action. We put him in front to sit and balance the raft. And thus he assumed a central position in the entire operation.
As we reached the last leg, a calm patch of the river we jumped into the river and swam for about half an hour and that was a beautiful experience. Since we had our life jackets, we could float so effortlessly.

The whole rafting experience was great. It left us wanting to try the Ganges soon.

The ride back home was peaceful too. Only that we rode slow and relaxed and enjoyed the heavy rains. But our body was shouting at us saying 'Stop Pretending, and admit you are growing old'. No! we retorted. We will grow old when we want to.