A Journey !!

2008-04-21T01:36:00.000-07:00

Eravikulam National Park

This is a must visit place in Munnar for all animal and nature lovers. The park is situated around 8KMs from the munnar town. You can drive down to the base of the park in your vehicle or one of the autos(you have to see them climbing the steepy hills!!). From here you will have to go to the top of the hill where the Eravikulan National park is situated on one of the buses provided by the park.

buses to take visitors till the entrance of the national park

Private vehicles are not allowed inside the park area. The buses will leave you at the entrance of the park and then you will have to trek for another 1-2KMs to catch a glimpse of the beautiful tea plantations and ofcourse the endangered wildlife this park strives to protect.

is it not beautiful ?

The park is home to the Nilgiri tahr - an endangered goat species. At the start of the 20th centuary only 100 of these beautiful animals were left after being almost destroyed by hunting and poaching. Since then the nilgiri Tahr has been included in the list of endangered species. Efforts are being made to prevent the extinction of this wild goat like many other endangered species. With the efforts of the park officials and others involved in saving the Nilgiri Tahr the population has increased to above 1600 and around 700 of them reside in this park. The park is spread across 100 sq KMs and is claimed to be one of the cleanest national parks in India.

The entry tickets to the park cost Rs 35/- for Indians and Rs 200/- for foreign nationals. Incase you are carrying a camera you would have to shell out Rs 25/- for a still camera and Rs 200/- for a Video camera.

view from the ervaikulam national park

During the calving season of the nilgiri Tahr, the Eravikulam National Park is closed for 45 days from February 1st onwards.

For more pictures click here
Eravikulam national Park

2008-04-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

munnar mela

Munnar mela started as a cultural and social celebration in 1982 and then onwards happens every year in the month of April. Over time the celebration has now become a part of Munnar's annula celebrations to bring in the new year. This year it was held from 6th of April till 13th April.

revelry @ munnar mela

The people of munnar eagerly wait for the arrival of this festival that fills munnar with all colors of the universe. These eight days make Munnar a joyous and memorable place for everyone who is fortunate to visit Munnar during this time.

I luckily happened to be in Munnar this year in april and visited the Munnar Mela that was organized in the Tata Tea Sports ground. The ground was colorfully lit and and there were stalls ranging from electronics, food items to even plants! For children it was a paradise with a variety of rides and games.

Immediately the shopper within me urged me to start purchasing some memorable items from this beautiful fare. I bought a strawberry conserve prepared in the Tata tea estates and a Kerela hat made of coconut tree bark! I also tried fresh ice tea that was being prepared(by crushing the tea leaves and taking out the juice) and served chilled in one of the stalls. It was one of the most refreshing cup of teas that I have ever had.

Being a chocoholic I also bought delicious home made chocolates and they were much better than what I had got from Ooty and Bangalore and at half the price too! :)

For more pictures of munnar mela click here

2008-04-18T03:37:00.000-07:00

- munnar

- thekaddy (periyar)

bangalore munnar thekkady bangalore

Recently, I went for a Bangalore - Munnar - Thekkady trip. In this post you will find everything you wanted to know before you plan your trip to these beautiful places. Bangalore Munnar and Bangalore Thekkady are two routes that are least frequented by travellers from Bangalore, but believe me these two are among the best of places I have visited around Bangalore. The Bangalore Munnar road through Tamil Nadu is really good and the total distance can be covered in 8 hours. I took a different route as I wanted to do the uphill drive during day time so that I don't miss the beautiful scenery on the way to Munnar. In this post you will find

- My trip meter readings at major points on the Bangalore Munnar route via Coimbatore and Thekkady Bangalore route. Along with that I have put the time at which I passed through or reached these places.

- Places to see in Munnar

- Activities in Thekkady (Periyar)
- Munnar Map

Places to see in Munnar

- Eravikulam

This is a must visit place in Munnar for all animal and nature lovers. The park is situated around 8KMs from the munnar town. You can drive down to the base of the park in your vehicle or one of the autos(you have to see them climbing the steepy hills!!). From here you will have to go to the top of the hill where the Eravikulam National park is situated on one of the buses provided by the park.

buses to take visitors till the entrance of the national park

is it not beautiful ?

The park is home to the Nilgiri tahr - an endangered goat species. At the start of the 20th centuary only 100 of these beautiful animals were left after being almost destroyed by hunting and poaching. Since then the nilgiri Tahr has been included in the list of endangered species. Efforts are being made to prevent the extinction of this wild goat like many other endangered species. With the efforts of the park officials and others involved in saving the Nilgiri Tahr the population has increased to above 1600 and around 700 of them reside in this park. The park is spread across 100 sq KMs and is claimed to be one of the cleanest national parks in India. The entry tickets to the park cost Rs 35/- for Indians and Rs 200/- for foreign nationals. Incase you are carrying a camera you would have to shell out Rs 25/- for a still camera and Rs 200/- for a Video camera.

view from the ervaikulam national park

During the calving season of the nilgiri Tahr, the Eravikulam National Park is closed for 45 days from February 1st onwards.

Munnar Thekkady details Top of Munnar Thekkady Post

- Munnar Mela

Munnar mela started as a cultural and social celebration in 1982 and then onwards happens every year in the month of April. Over time the celebration has now become a part of Munnar's annula celebrations to bring in the new year. This year it was held from 6th of April till 13th April.

revelry @ munnar mela

The people of munnar eagerly wait for the arrival of this festival that fills munnar with all colors of the universe. These eight days make Munnar a joyous and memorable place for everyone who is fortunate to visit Munnar during this time. I luckily happened to be in Munnar this year in april and visited the Munnar Mela that was organized in the Tata Tea Sports ground. The ground was colorfully lit and and there were stalls ranging from electronics, food items to even plants! For children it was a paradise with a variety of rides and games. Immediately the shopper within me urged me to start purchasing some memorable items from this beautiful fare. I bought a strawberry conserve prepared in the Tata tea estates and a Kerela hat made of coconut tree bark! I also tried fresh ice tea that was being prepared(by crushing the tea leaves and taking out the juice) and served chilled in one of the stalls. It was one of the most refreshing cup of teas that I have ever had. Being a chocoholic I also bought delicious home made chocolates and they were much better than what I had got from Ooty and Bangalore and at half the price too! :)

Munnar Thekkady details Top of Munnar Thekkady Post

- Mattupetty

14 KMs from the Munnar Town, at a height of 1700m, is situated Mattupetty. It is known for its highly specialized dairy farm - Indo Swiss LiveStock project. Mattupetty lake and dam are just a KM from this farm. One can do boat riding and speed boating. I suggest trying out speed boat.
It is really thrilling to ride the speed boat on the waves created by another speed boat. There is an option to hire a speed boat that can accommodate 4-6 people or hire one for a couple only. The boat ride will be only for 15 Minutes but the adrenalin rush during those 15 minutes is amazing. You will scream and shout and after those 15 minutes you will feel really relaxed in beauty of the lake and tea gardens around it.

Visit Time : 0900 - 1100 hrs and 1400 - 1530 hrs.

it became dark and rained at Mattupetty

Munnar Thekkady details Top of Munnar Thekkady Post

- Top Station

Though most of the websites refer this place as the most scenic of all the places in Munnar, I think otherwise. This place is indeed beautiful but not the most amazing place in Munnar. I found the tea gardens and the greenery on the way to Top Station much better. First of all this place is in Tamil Nadu and the 1 KM of stretch that lies in Tamil Nadu is in really bad shape that gives a real pounding to the tires and suspension. I hate it

Top Station is nearly 34 Kms from Munnar Town and 33KMs of this is a real good road. This place offers a "panoramic view" of the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu but remains covered with mist most of the time.

Munnar Thekkady details Top of Munnar Thekkady Post

- Devikulam

its work time

Around 7 KMs from Munnar Town is situated a charmingly simple and serene place, Devikulam. It is covered with Tea Plantation and provides a load of opputunity for photographers. The Sita Devi Lake in Devikulam is a good picnic spot and ideal for fishing.

Munnar Thekkady details Top of Munnar Thekkady Post

- Bangalore munnar route

- Bangalore Thekkady route

11/04/2008

Bangalore Coimbatore route

1630 - Bangalore - Whitefield

1807 - Stop at A1 Plaza for a cup of tea. This place is after Hosur
60 KMs

1835 - Krishnagiri checkpost
95KMs

1942 - Dharmapuri
144KMs

2030 - Thoppur ( Took a right turn from here to bypass Salem. This route saves around 20KMs)
172KMs

2230 - Bhavani ( Had an awesome dosa and parota with Sambar and coconut chutney )
250KMs

12/04/2008

Coimbatore Munnar route

0030 - Coimbatore
355KMs

Decided to stop at Coimbatore for night. I wanted to cover the ghat section in the day time.

1000 - Started to Munnar from Coimbatore
1030 - Stop for fuel and temporary fix for my iPOD and stereo connection

1100 - Pollachi
399KMs

1150 - Udemalapetai
428KMs

1330 - Marayoor.
475KMs
Had lunch here. On the way to this place from Udemalapetai there are 4 forest check posts and all of them I was asked for gifts. I had to give 10 or 20 bucks everytime.

1530 - Devikulam. It is near munnar, on the way to Thekkady from Munnar.
523KMs

I was in Munnar for 3 nights and went around most of the places.

Munnar Thekkady Route

1000 - From Las Palmas Munnar (Devikulam ) To Thekkady
680KMs

1300 - At Taj Thekkady
785KMs

I spent 2 nights in Thekkady.

17/04/2008

Munnar Thekkady details Top of Munnar Thekkady Post

Thekkady Bangalore route

1110 - To Bangalore
800.5KMs

1145 - Kambam
826KMs

1227 - Theni
864KMs

1349 - Dindigul bypass. Stopped for Nariyal pani ( Coconut water )
936KMs

1551 - Karur. Re-fueling on the way to Karur and lunch.
1016KMs

1730 - Salem
1108.7 KMs

1953 - Dharmapuri
1198 KMs

2212 - Bangalore
1307.2 KMs

I missed the road that goes to the toll road and instead took the road that goes into the Hosur town but I think it took almost the same amount of time.

Munnar Thekkady details Top of Munnar Thekkady Post

periyar lake

Activities in Thekkady

From Munnar, Thekkady is 110Kms. The road is pretty good for the first 85 Kms but quite narrow. The last 25Kms are in bad shape and you can't drive at more than 20-30KMpH. I stayed in Thekkady for 3 days and 2 nights. To enjoy all the activities in Thekkady you must have minimum 4 complete days.

Thekkady (Periyar)

All you wanted to know about Thekkady and Periyar. The Periyar Tiger Reserve named after the Periyar River is one of the most popular and beautiful wild life reserve on the Western Ghats. The Periyar Lake surrounds the sanctuary was created by building a dam across the Periyar River to divert the water for irrigation. The first step towards conservation was taken by the Maharaja of Travancore by appointing Mr. Robinson as the first game warden in 1899.Based on his recommendations, the forests around the lake was turned into a sanctuary called Nellikkampetty Sanctuary in 1934.The sanctuary was declared as a Tiger Reserve in 1978 under the Project Tiger Scheme. In 1982, the core area of the Sanctuary (350sq.kms) was notified as a National Park. The Periyar Tiger Reserve & Sanctuary covering an area of 777 sq. kms is a renowned destination for wildlife tourists & nature enthusiasts. The vistas of Periyar with its creeks, islets & peninsulas provide an ideal habitat for a wide variety of wild life. The altitude varies from 900mtrs to 2019mtrs. Topography is uneven & encompasses forests, grasslands & the lake. The splendid artificial lake formed by the Mullaperiyar dam across the Periyar River adds to the charm of the park. This is the only sanctuary in India where one can have the unique experience of viewing wild life at close quarters from the safety of a boat in the lake. The greatest attraction of Periyar, however, is the herds of wild elephants that come down to play in the lake. Besides the Tiger, the sanctuary is also home to Gaur (Indian Bison), Sambar Deer, Wild Boar & a varied species of monkeys including the Nilgiri Languor & the Lion Tailed Macaque. There is also a variety of bird life of which Snake birds (Darters), Cormorants, Kingfishers & Grey Heron are commonly sighted. Boating and Trekking are the common means of sighting wild life in the Sanctuary. Presenting a panorama of majestic mountains and verdant valleys draped in stunning green, Thekkady is the ultimate gateway for the traveler looking for a tranquil holiday in the lap of nature. The vast stretches of plantations and the luxuriant forest cover offering great trails, make Thekkady a trekker’s delight. The locality is also famous for spice cultivation, Kumily; the nearest town is renowned as a Spice trading center. The town is surrounded by plantations of Cardamom, Pepper, Ginger, Turmeric, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Clove, All Spice, Vanilla & also of Tea & Coffee There are varieties of activities, like Nature Walk, Jungle Patrol, Gavi, Trip to Mount, Bamboo Rafting, Boat Ride, View Point, Spice Plantation Tour, Tea Plantation Tour, Elephant Junction, & Ayurveda.

Munnar Thekkady details Top of Munnar Thekkady Post

Nature Walk at Thekkady ( Periyar)

Different nature trails traversing diverse habitats form the trekking routes, generally 4 to 5 Km. in length. This program offers excellent opportunity to watch birds, butterflies and other wildlife. The trails pass through evergreen and moist deciduous forests interspersed with marshy grasslands. A maximum of 5 persons can go for trekking at a time along each nature trail, accompanied by a trained tribal guide. The nature walk is the right program to feel nature, her whispers and smell her flowers.

Munnar Thekkady details Top of Munnar Thekkady Post

Jungle Patrol at Thekkady (Periyar)

This is part of the regular night patrolling in the fringe eco development zone of the tiger reserve. The trekking is done between 7 PM. And 4 AM and it should be taken by person having proper physical and mental fitness to trek through the wilderness in the night. The maximum duration for a slot is 3 hours and the maximum capacity of one slot is limited to 8 visitors (to move in two separate teams). They will accompany two protection watchers and one-armed forest guard! Try the limits of your senses-sight, hearing and smell and take in the totally different world of nocturnal jungle life. A must for a true wildlife lover.

Munnar Thekkady details Top of Munnar Thekkady Post

Visit to Gavi

Gavi, a picturesque land is a one of the most off-the-track destinations ideal for a wilderness retreat replete with trekking, canoeing and facilities for boarding. There are hills and valleys, tropical forests, sprawling grasslands, shoals, cascading waterfalls and cardamom plantations. Endangered species including the Elephant, Nilgiri Thar, and Lion-Tailed Macaques are often sighted at the outskirts of Gavi. There are two programs run by the Kerala Forest Development Corporation and Eco Development Committees, one where three families could stay in the Eco Lodge at Gavi and the other where 15 persons can go for a days visit of the area. The programs starts at 05:30 am where you leave Thekkady in an open Jeep, a 40 Km drive through the hills and valleys, tropical forests, sprawling grasslands, sholas, cascading waterfalls and cardamom plantations and then you reach GAVI.

Hosted and accompanied by trained local people, the visitors can go for trekking and bird watching in the many trails around, paddle in still waters to cool off or perhaps settle down for watching in this oasis of peace and tranquility. Native vegetarian food and snacks will be provided to the visitors.

Munnar Thekkady details Top of Munnar Thekkady Post

munnar map

I strongly recommend to visit both the places, Munnar and Thekkady, at one go. Since the distance is around 500KMs from Bangalore one should try to visit Munnar and Thekkady in a single vacation. You will have the fun of the hill station and the wildlife as well.

Munnar Thekkady details Top of Munnar Thekkady Post

2008-03-10T04:46:00.000-07:00

Ranganthetu or Ranganthitu

Slow flowing cauvery river has created an island near Srirangapatna and it is a famous nesting and breeding place for various migratory birds from all over the world. Noted ornithologist Dr. Salim Ali advocated the conversion of this place into the status of bird sanctuary in 1940. Some of the famous birds that can be found inside the sanctuary are Spoonbills, Open bill storks, Painted storks, White Ibis, Egret and Grey Heron. Kingfisher, peacock and bats can also be seen. One can also spot Crocodiles inside the lake.

Cormorant

Best season to visit is from December till April. This is the time when migratory birds come to this place to avoid the extreme winters of the Siberia.

Crocodile

Bangalore ranganthitu ( or ranganthetu ) route :-

the ranganthitu ( or ranganthetu ) bird sanctuary is around 130Kms from bangalore. it is on the bangalore-mysore highway. on this highway you will have to take a right after u reach a bridge ar srirangapattanam. there is a petrol bunk on the left, just opposite of the road leading to the ranganthitu ( or ranganthetu ) bird sanctuary. once you enter this road if you hit a manned railway crossing, be sure that you are on the right road. you will have to take a right from this road and that road will directly lead to the ranganthitu ( or ranganthetu ) bird sanctuary.

What to do when inside the sanctuary :-
You can walk and relax around the lake and of course photography. You can also take boat ride and visit islets and look at these birds closely. Oarsmen are very knowledgeable and will be able to recognize almost every bird for you. Best time to take the ride is early in the morning or in evening. It tends to be very hot during noon time.

spoon bill

Charges :- Rs 15/ Per person ( for Indians) and I think Rs. 100/per person for foreign nationals.
Still camera fees is around Rs.20/- and video camera fees is around Rs. 100/- .
If you are taking your vehicle you will have to pay another 40 bucks. There are extra charges for taking boat ride. If you are going in a group it would be wise to hire your own boat and pay the boat guy little tip and he will take you little bit more inside the lake/river :).

Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala

2008-01-14T00:53:00.000-08:00

ooty - kotagiri- connoor

About Ooty, Kotagiri and Connoor ( Conoor) and how to reach these places :-
There are three most popular hill-stations in the Nilgiris - Ooty, Kotagiri and Coonoor. All three are located close to each other in the state of Tamil Nadu. The least known among these probably the best is Kotagiri. Drive from Bangalore to Ooty takes 5-6 hours and the Bangalore Ooty route is very good but for 20KMs after Gundlepet. The total distance from Bangalore to Ooty ranges from 250-290 Kms depending on the route taken. The route to Ooty from Bangalore is through Mysore. Though you can take the outer-ring road to bypass Mysore, you will end up driving around 20kms more. Both the roads are good but the route through Mysore city will have much more traffic. To take the bypass road you will have to take a right turn at the traffic signal just after the town of Sirangapatna, famous for the Ranganatha Temple. if you miss this turn you can go straight & you will enter Mysore and can take the route through Mysore city.

wellington railway station - it is near connoor

golf club @ wellington

tea gardens @ ooty

mysore --40-- nanjungad --30-- gundelpet --20-- bandipur forest

The road from Mysore till Gundelpet is decent and you can easily average around 60Kmph. However, from Gundlupet till Bandipur (distance of around 20km) the road is full of pot-holes. Though the construction of the road is on going but will easily take another year unless an MLA is selected from that region ;-)

animals at bandipur forest

Toque Macaque

Spotted dear

langur

Once you are inside the forest don't honk and drive slowly so that you do not disturb the wildlife. You can find deer, wild boars, monkeys and Langurs and if you are lucky you can even spot elephants. I have not seen a single one in my two trips to Ooty.

Once the Bandipur Forest boundary ends you will enter into the Madumalai forest. It is actually the same forest but falls in Tamil Nadu. There is an entry fees of around 20 rupees. After Madumalai there are two roads that lead to Ooty (I think the place is called Masinagudi), one with 36 hair pin bends and the other one is the older route that buses normally take. In the former route buses and heavy vehicles are not allowed and is around 30Km shorter than the latter one. I have never taken the older route as it is in a really bad condition. The shorter route with 36 hairpin bends is amazing and anyone passionate about driving will love it. You would however need to have a vehicle with good pickup. These routes meet around 8 Kms before Ooty and there is a police check post there. You might have to show your vehicle papers etc. They do not ask everyone to stop :).
While in Ooty relax and soak in the scenic beauty of this queen of hills. If you have gone in the summer months all the tourist places like the lake, gardens, famous peaks would be extremely crowded. During winters it is less crowded but very cold. Winter season in ooty is much better than the summers (my preference) but do take woolens as it tends to be quite cold at night. There are a lot of hotels to choose from for your stay. The concept of home stays is also quickly catching up here. Government guest houses like Ratan Tata's guest house (it is near lake) can also be booked if you know someone associated with it. I have stayed in Sinclair hotel and Ratan Tata's guest house on my two trips to Ooty. Sinclair is a decent hotel although the rooms were musty and not very clean. It has a very good view of the valley and the food is something to rave about. The Ratan Tata guest house is quite cheap but don't expect a lot of luxuries as it is built in the old style.

Few more pictures from Ooty and Conoor

pykara lake

rose at Ooty rose garden - best time to visit is summers

tea gardens - on the way to dolphins nose

Kotagiri falls on one of the routes from Ooty to Coonoor ( Conoor). This route from ooty to connoor through kotagiri road is one of the most scenic routes I have ever driven on. Most importantly the road is in a really good condition and much better than the regular Ooty - Connoor route. Those who want to take the kotagiri route from Ooty to Connoor should ask for route to Dodabetta peak and instead of taking the right turn from the main road to go towards the peak, keep moving on the same road. This route will lead to connoor.

ooty---7----take right (3Km ) for Dodabetta peak -----------30--------connoor

Planing a trip to Ooty Read this

P.S. don't buy tea from the tea factory (near Sinclair hotel) in Ooty. These guy cheat people. The sample tea that you will drink will be totally different from the one they will sell. Ooty tea otherwise is not very great (what is sold in market) and is the same as what we get anywhere in India and costs almost the same.

2007-08-07T01:49:00.000-07:00

yercaud - poor man's ooty

About Yercaud :-

The hill station,Yercaud, is situated near Salem, Tamil Nadu. From bangalore, Yercaud is 230Km by road. The road is fantastic and it takes around 4 and a half hour to reach Yercaud. It would be advisable to leave bangalore early to escape the morning hour traffic in Hosur.

Bangalore Yercaud Route:-
Bangalore--90--Krishnagiri--40--Dharmapuri--75--Salem--25--Yercaud
<------------------NH-7------------------------------>

The route from Hosur to Krishnagiri is amazing with 6 lanes. One can easily go at around 100Kmph . Next 40 Kms from Krishnagiri to DHarmapuri is not good as the road has got a lot of bumps but after that it is again a good road. The uphill road is one of the two properly banked roads that I have seen ( the other being that of OOty through the madumalai wildlife santuary).

Where to stay in Yercaud?

There a 2-3 decent place to stay : Hotel Grand Palace ( It has got very nice food but service is pathetic) , Hotel Shevaroys and Sterling Resort (This hotel has got the best view of the valley but only the members get the rooms facing valley )
There are a lot of other places to stay but anybody who is planning to go there on weekend should make sure to book well in advance.

What to do in Yercaud ?

Photography :- I love doing that and Yercaud has got really good view points best of which are pagoda point, lady's seat and children's seat.

Shopping :- One can shop for honey, perfumes, coffee and spices such as cardamom, black/white pepper.

Relax :) Go around the lake. Do boating.

tree @ pagoda point

flowers @ Monfort School

beautiful sunset @ children's seat

salem @ night . view from the sterling resort

view from lady's seat

lotus in the small tank outside the montfort school

2007-03-01T02:03:00.000-08:00

krabi

Krabi is located in the west coast of southern Thailand and is famous for its beaches and limestone formations.

http://maps-guide.org/thailand/map.htm

http://www.hoteltravel.com/thailand/krabi/maps.htm

Krabi can be reached directly by air or by road or ferry from phuket.

Airlines which operate to krabi :- Airways, Air Asia, Nok Air and One-Two-Go and Tiger Airways. The main beach Ao Nang is around 30 min travel by taxi from the airport.

From Phuket it takes around 2 hrs and taxi can charge around 2000 to 2500 baht.

There are a lot of things to be done in eat sleep and play on beach, scuba diving, snorkelling, wind sailing, kyaking, rock climbing, trecking, photography. One can go on speed boat to different islands and above all get nice masaage to relax your body. There are a lot of massage parlour on the Ao Nang beach and they dont charge much ( 200 - 500 baht ). Krabi is basically a place for people from all age groups to enjoy and relax. Best season to visit would be from November till March.
I have uploaded most of the pics on

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eeshmengi/
If you need more information mail me eeshmengi at gmail dot com
Some of them

golden water

sunset

hum do :)

chicken island

limestone formations

the rock

2006-12-26T21:59:00.000-08:00

ocean se7en - most memorable trip ever

this trip was done exactly 2 years back. it was long weekend - christmas weekend. this was the weekend when tsunami caused havoc in many asian countries. i 'll not be writting in details and instead i'll just be copying the original plan. yes we had a proper doc file prepared by nit ( for more photos and trips, check out his website http://www.flickr.com/photos/trance_nut )

Ocean's Seven

Bangalore Kanyakumari (23 Dec 2004 - 27 Dec 2004)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Seven

=========

1. Ashish a.k.a Dhoom Dhadak

2. Deepak a.k.a DJ

3. Eesh a.k.a Born Free

4. Guppi a.k.a Sparking

5. Nitin a.ka. 6 mein 1 ka mazaa

6. Vishal a.k.a Choos Lee

7. Vivek a.k.a Tan D

Statistics

Total Distance: 1900 km

Trip Start Time: 5 PM

Trip End Time: 8 AM

Trip Duration: 51 hrs

The Route:

Bangalore à Kanyakumari

Bangalore -- Coimbatore -- Ernakulum -- Kochi -- Alappuzha -- Kolam -- Thiruvanthapuram – Kovalam – Kanyakumari

Kanyakumarià Bangalore

Kanyakumari -- Madurai -- Kodaikanal -- Dundigal -- Salem – Bangalore

Vehicles:

Esteem: CH01-L-XXXX

CBZ 1: DL4S-Z-XXXX

CBZ2: KA03-EE-XXXX

ZMA: KA03-EP-XXXX

23.12.04

Leg 1: (Bangalore—Coimbatore)

Distance: 382 KM

Approx Time: 8 hrs

Route:

Bangalore--90--Krishnagiri--40--Dharmapuri--75--Salem--164--Coimbatore

<---------------------NH-7--------------------------><------NH-47------->

Depart by 3 PM (latest)

Reach Coimbatore by 11:30 PM-12 AM. Sync up with car. Rest at any hotel for 3 hrs (sleep, do anything). Start at 3 am.

24.12.04 (3 AM Start)

Leg 2: (Coimbatore – Kovalam)

Distance: 430 km

Approx Time: 10 hrs

Route:

Coimbatore--114--Thrissur--79--Ernakulum--2--Kochi--218--TV Puram--16--Kovalam

<------------------------------NH-47-------------------------------------------->

Sync at Kovalam with car. Have lunch. Chill till sunset. Leave for Kanyakumari.

view from the hotel @ kochi. this is where we had breakfast and took rest for 3 hrs

first view of sea @ alleppey

back waters @ alleppey. a night in this boat would cost you around 20k

sunset @ kovalam

sleeping @ kovalam beach

24.12.04 (7 PM Start)

Leg 3: (Kovalam – Kanyakumari)

Distance: 90 km

Approx Time: 2 hrs

Route:

Kovalam --90-- Kanyakumari

Search for a hotel for the night. Have dinner. Off to bed by 11 pm (latest).

its christmas time - on the way to kanyakumari

waiting for sunrise @ kanyakumari ( our bad luck, it was cloudy )

25.12.04 (6 AM Wake Up)

C THE SUN, RISE J. If we miss it, the whole trip is worthless.

Once done with the sunrise, have the option to go and sleep till 11 AM (negotiable). Have brunch, and leave for Vivekananda Rock. Assume to spend about 2-3 hrs for the rock visit. Lunch time (2:30 pm). Finish by 3:30 – 4 pm. Chill around, watch sunset, depart by 7:30 PM latest.

view from our lodge - vivekananda rock, thiruvalluvar statue

on the way to vivekananda rock - inside ferry

vivekananda rock

thiruvalluvar statue

@ vivekanand rock

experimenting - sun shades in front of camera

sunset @ kanyakumari - we were lucky enough to atleast see the sunset

Leg 4: (Kanyakumari – Madurai)

Distance: 235 km

Approx Time: 5 hrs

Route:

Kanyakumari--81--Tirunelveli--72--Virudunagar--89--Madurai

<-------------------NH-7------------------------------------>

Spend the night at Madurai. Plan to leave by 5 AM (latest by 6 AM)

madurai temple

26.12.04 (5 AM departure from Madurai)

Leg 5: Madurai – Kodaikanal

Distance: 130 km

Approx Time: 4 hrs

Route

Madurai --50-- Batlagundu--80-- Kodaikanal

Starting on the NH7 towards Salem/Bangalore, cruise for 32kms on a not so smooth road and too narrow for a National Highway. Once you take a left turn to go
under the BG Railway line and cross the road level MG Railway line.

Note: Uphill climb is not smooth. Roads are in a bad shape.

Reach Kodaikanal by 10 AM (latest). Have brunch. Roam around (Coaker’s Walk, Lake, some caves also, can decide there). We have 8 hrs in Kodaikanal. What to do is up to us.

sunrise - 26th Dec '04 - the day of tsunami - we left in time to miss it

early morning in kodai

uphill - bikers on the way to kodai

fog covered mountains

kodai lake

26.12.04 (6 PM departure from Kodaikanal)

Leg 6: Kodaikanal – Salem

Distance: 300 km

Approx Time: 6 hrs

Route:

Kodaikanal--130--Dundigal--164--Salem

This is the toughest part. Hope to reach Salem by 1 AM latest. Sleep over till 5 AM. Depart for Bangalore at 5 AM.

time for sleep- on the way back from kodai

sunset @ kodai

27.12.04 (5 AM departure fro

m Salem)

Leg 7: Salem – Bangalore

Distance: 205 km

Approx Time: 5 hrs

Route:

Salem--75--Dharmapuri--40--Krishnagiri--90--Bangalore

Reach Bangalore by 10 AM J. Totally SCREWED!!!!!!

Total Distance: 1770 km + 100 (Margin) = 1870 km in 90 hrs

2006-11-23T03:26:00.000-08:00

marina beach - the longest beach in india

got a chance to go to chennai for some office work. though the trip to chennai was made by air, but the trip from abhirampura to marina beach was by road :-). this time of the year in cheenai is quite wet. it kept raining for all the days i was there except the day i had to come back to bangalore. it was burning hot outside but the temptation to capture sea in my new panasonic camera was enough to go to marina.

on the way to marina

a boat

ready to fly

land, water and sky

all alone

me too ( all alone )

though it is debatable if this beach is one of the longest in the world, i think it can easily qualify as the worlds dirtiest beach :(

2006-06-20T00:12:00.000-07:00

Mysore dussehra

idol being carried on top of elephant

mysore dussehra

dusshera celebrations in mysore are famous world over for its grandeur. its a 10 day festival which ends on the day of dusshera. on the 10th day idol of the goddess chamundi is taken all over the city on elephants. the procession starts from mysore palace and goes through all big roads of mysore. there are also a lot of cultural performances in this procession.

people trying to get inside the mysore palace

mysore palace

the procession starts at around 1:30 in the evening and goes through till sunset and you need to have pass to go inside the mysore palace.

cultural performances

all through these 10 days mysore palace is beautifully lit up at night, unlike normal days when mysore palace is lit up only on sundays.

guards

the weather in mysore is much hot compared to bangalore. there are 2 ways to reach mysore from bangalore. kanakpura road and mysore road. mysore road is really good and one can cover 140km stretch easily in 2 and half hours (provided you leave bangalore early morning to miss traffic near bhel).

places to see in and around mysore :- sri ranganathan temple, ranganthetu bird sanctuary , mysore palace, vrindavan gardens, chamundi temple, st. philomena's church and there are also a lot of small exibitions of pictures and ornaments from tipu's time

st. philomena's church

chamundi temple

hawa mahal

race course

ruins near sri ranganathan temple

checking the zoom of my cannon handycam

2006-05-24T01:52:00.000-07:00

road to pearl valley

drive to pearl valley

called up sasi and asked him to get amit’s camera (konica minolata with 12x zoom) and it just happened that i had no work at office so decided to go to some place near to bangalore. i had heard about a place called pearl valley so googled for it and found that it is around 45kms from bangalore.

common sight in bangalore during this season

pearl valley is actually a resort at a place called muthyala maduvu. this place is around 45kms from marathalli(airport road). from marathalli you have to move on the road which goes to electronic city. after crossing electronic city, drive for another 8kms and you will reach a place called chandrapur. take a right turn from here to anekal town. it is around 10kms from the highway.

on the way to anekalhey! who is there

when in anekal just ask anybody about pearl valley (since this is the only place over there in which people outside the village have some interest) and they will be able to guide you through the small lanes. keep driving for a km through the town and you will find a turning on the right (it’s the second turning). the road is bad after this and pearl valley is around 3 km from this turn.

2006-05-15T23:55:00.000-07:00

nandi hills - year-round picnic destination

a perfect getaway from bangalore, but best time of the day would be sunrise and sunset time. during day time if the sun is out, it can get quite hot .

the height of nandi hill is 1479 meters above sea level which is around 504 meters more than the height of bangalore.

the foot of the nandi hill

at top of the hill

nandi hills is about 68kms from bangalore on hyderabad highway. i don’t know if there are direct buses to nandi hills from bangalore, but surely you can reach there by hopping buses (a japanese guy in my previous company did go there by bus). it is better if you can get your own vehicle. 4-wheeler would be preferred vehicle on highway but going there on bike is a real fun. the uphill road is really good with proper banking.

from bangalore you have to take nh-7, bangalore - hyderabad road. after around 32kms there will be a road for nandi hills on the left. its very easy to miss that road so be careful after your trip meter has reached 29kms. the nh7 is really good but you have to pass through "the bangalore traffic" so it would be better if you leave early morning. after taking left if you can see 2 hills in front of you, you are sure on right path. the road to the foot of the hill is pretty good apart from 4-5 stretches of 60-70m rough road. you have to take left when you hit dead-end on this road. keep moving on this road till you see a turning on right for nandi hills. early morning nandi hills is always under cloud ( atleast i have been there 6 times early morning and it was covered by clouds all the times).

another foggy sunrise @ nandi hills

the road from the foot of the hill to the top is good and there are around 42 properly banked curves. so those who love biking can really enjoy the ride here. there is a gate at near the top of the hill beyond which 2-wheelers are not allowed but 4-wheelers are allowed till the top of the hill. there is a entry fee of 3 rupees per person and 30 rupees for car. there are few shops at the foot of the hill, near the gate and at the top of the hill. one can easily get tea, wada, idli, chips, biscuits etc to eat but the prices are bit high. there is a rest-house at the top where you can stay overnight( i have no idea about the quality of rooms).

at top of the nandi hill, there is a temple, a small lake and tipu's fall. prisoners who were given death sentence during tipu sultan's rule were thrown from this steep fall.

tipu's fall @ night

inside yoganandeeswara temple

just another view at nandi hills

the others - hill opposite to nandi hills

lonely moon

2006-05-03T03:09:00.000-07:00

what we did that summer :)

we : abhishek, harman, rajeev, shibashish and i
destination: goa, murdeshwar, jog falls, kemengundi
duration: 5 days
transportation: buses, bikes, autos, trains

its a very long travelogue, as it was a 5days trip and there were a lot of interesting incidents that happended with us. also the picture quality is not good as all these pictures are scanned
this travelogue is dedicated to abhishek, harman and rajeev ( harman was with us only during the bus journey from bangalore to goa).

our office was supposed to remain closed for 5 days (first week of july'04) as we were moving to new campus and all the stuffs ( workstations, servers, etc…) were to be moved. i was sitting in my cube ( last day at GVH office) , harman came and asked me that they were planning to go to goa and if i was interested in joining them. that was around 3:00 pm. we went to the ksrtc reservation center and got the ticket of bus which was at 5:00pm.

the journey from bangalore to goa normally takes 14 hrs but our ksrtc bus got delayed by 2 hrs. we reached goa bus stand at around 9 in the morning. near the bus stand is the goa tourism office from where we got some information and maps of goa. this time of the year is off season in goa so we decided to stay next to the best beach over there, calungutte beach ( queen of all beaches in goa). there we took 2 ac rooms for just thousand rupees per day. in the afternoon we went to the beach, enjoyed there for about 2hours. because of monsoon the sea was very rough so we couldn't go deep into the sea.

rough sea

in the night we went back to panjim and visited a beautiful hanumaan temple. it was really good, especially during night with flood lights directed onto it. when we came out of temple it was around 9 pm and the buses for calungutte beach from panjim stops after 8:30pm so we had to take auto from panjim. we paid around 200 rupees to the autowala. one can hire bikes in goa so we decided to hire bike instead of paying to autowalas. we started on bikes for anjum beach. which is around 10 kms from calungutte beach . the roads to anjum beach are quite narrow and with a lot of curves. riding bike on empty road with countryside setting at night..wow !! it was a real fun. that beach has got a disco. since there was no good crowd over there we decided to spend the time on beach instead of disco.

beach near aguade fort - behind is a ship which amir khan mentioned in dch

dch style - aguada fort

central jail aguada

next day after having parantha at one of the punjabi restaurant, we went to aguada fort. this is were dch was shot. it is an old fort on the sea shore. form there we went to chuara island. we had to take ferry to that island. the ferry carries from cycles to jeeps on it. it was a 15min trip to that island from panjim. on that island there are lake and few springs which are around 40-45 kms from the place where the ferry dropped us. then we started on bike at 65-70 kmph.

at chuara island

spring at chuara island

It was really thrilling. we went for boating and then went to the springs. at around 6 we were back at panjim, went to 2-3 more beaches mariymar and daonapaula ( i am not able to recollect the names correctly. they sound something like this only). at 730 we went for cruise. it was a 1hr cruise into the sea water but was bit disappointing, because of the crowd on it. we reached back to our rooms at around 9:30pm. whole of goa was excited about the since euro final since portugal was involved. at the football grounds large screens were put on for live telecast of the event. ndtv, aaj tak crew were also there. but we decided to goto beach and have drinks. took few beers and scotch (vat69). got prawns, pomfret fish , chicken packed and started towards beach. after beer and 3-4 pegs everybody was high and we started running around, chasing each other. somehow we managed to come back to our room. that time greece and portugal were 0-0. i think it was the start of the 2nd half. i started giving a lot of fundas about offside, offsidetrap and how they should implement it. don't know during the match when i slept, but morning at 7:30 we were up. no hangover. totally fresh.

next morning after having brunch we left for margaon, from where we took train for murdeshwar. the konkan track is ultimate.

murdeshwar beach

lots of greenry, tunnels, bridges, mountains. murdeshwar has the tallest shiv statue in the world. it is built next to the sea shore. in murdeshwar one can drive car/bike on the beach, but sadly we were without oue bikes. we spent some 2-3 hrs there and started for jog falls.

jog falls

we didn'thave any idea how to reach there. we took buses from one stop toanother to another and finally we reached jog falls at 10 in the night having no idea if we will find any thing to eat leave aside getting a place to stay. luckly there is a kstdc restaurant that serves meals and also a govt. guest house that has got really stinky rooms. somehow we spent the night there. morning we had bread toast at the same ksrtc restaurant and started down hill. the track was extremly slippery and dangerous near the bottom of the hill. it took around half an hour to reach. that place is really dangerous. a slip and you are gone and there is nobody to help you out, no facilities, no dispensary, nothing at all. after spending some time there at the bottom we started to track back. it was really exhausting. when we reached the top of the hill we couldn't move our legs... had some rest and after having lunch started for shimoga. we got a direct bus for shimoga from there. shimoga was really disappointing. we had thought it to be a hill station but it is a normal city like any other small city, so we decided to go to kemengundi. its a hill station in the heart of western ghats.

kemengundi

we had heard of that place from one of our friend in office but had no idea how to reach there. we got some information from drivers , shop walas and people with whom we could communicate :-(. we changed 3 buses before reaching the foot of the hills where kemengundi is there. it is 13 Kms from there. took maruti omni upto the place. kemengundi has got 15-20 rooms in 5-6 cottages, 2-3 canteens and an office where the receptionist sits. thats it. we decided to have beer. for that we called up a guy at the place that was 13 km from there (near the foot of the hill ), but we got a big kela as he got warm beer and were asked for service charges for bringing that. we had a big fight with that guy and finally we managed to return the beer but had to give him the service charges.
next day we enquired about the water fall and few other tourist places around it. the jeep wala asked for 1500 rupees for showing all that places. by that time we had spent more than our budget so we decided to go for tracking instead of going to those watefalls. we tracked for around 2-3 hrs.

kemengundi - on top hill after tracking

when we came back to our rooms there was no jeep, bus, car to take us back. so we started on foot. after travelling for about 2 kms with our bags on our shoulder we got totally tired and we had to go another 11 km. so we called up the receptionist to send the jeep when ever it comes. we waited for one and half hour and then decided to cover the distance on foot. jeep came after we had covered about 1km. from there we changed 2-3 buses before reaching berur. there we took beer and boarded train, jan shatabdi, for bangalore. we had to drink beer in toilet. people were confused about whats going on. 2 guys went inside, after 10 min one comes out and another goes in. one uncle wanted to use toilet after one guy came out but he couldn't open the door, and was surprised. we explained him that someone is changing the clothes inside and he was amazaed and we started laughing. after having beer we ate chips and snacks and slept. when we got up we were at banglore station.

2006-04-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

mekadatu - goat's leap

mekadatu in native language means goat's leap.
here river cauvery has carved beautiful curves, cuts and holes into the hill and it is believed that the natives once saw a goat leaping over the narrow gorge which is created by the river and hence the name mekadatu.
how to reach mekadatu : this place is about 100 kms from bangalore. from bangalore you have to take kanakpura raod ( from airport road enter inner-ring road, keep driving through koromangala and enter btm. cross btm to reach jp nagar. keep moving straight in jp nagar and on your left you will find turning towards kanakpura ) . on the way to mekadatu, on kanapura road you can see "the art of living" ashram. the ashram looks quite good especially during night when it is fully lit up. the road is pretty good till kanakpur and you can easily drive at 60kmph or more. kanakpura is around 53kms from bangalore. you can pick up some stuff to eat this place as there is more option for food here compared to your destination and you will also save some money.

from kanakpura you have to take a left and move towards mekadatu,which is around 40kms from kanakpura. the road is like any other village road, not very good. drive very carefully on this road as kids, cyclists, dogs, poultry birds will keep coming on your way. keep going straight and you will hit a dead end ( banglorean way of giving direction ;) ) . this place is called sangam, where arakavathi river meets river cauvery. to reach mekadattu from here you will have to cross the river stream.

there are no shops at mekadatu so buy whatever you want ( or is available ) at sangam before crossing the river. across the river there is a rickety bus to take you to mekadatu or you can trek the remaining 4kms. the so called road to mekadattu from sangam is totally rough and full of rocks.

split-apart : picture clicked while trekking towards mekadatu

at mekadatu climb down the stairs and move over the sharp edged rocks to reach the place from where you can get the best view of the gushing water, but be very careful, the rocks are extremly slippery and very sharp.

some of the pictures clicked while at mekadatu.

man-made rainbow

2006-04-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

dodda alada mara : the great banyan tree

wild flower at "the banyan tree"

28 kms west of bangalore at ramohalli is this gigantic tree spread over three acres of land. the tree is also the largest in karnataka.
thought of celebrating new year in a different way away from the hustle-bustle of bangalore so decided to go to this peaceful place .
how to reach there
from bangalore start on the mysore road and after 23 kms on the left will be a dental college and just opposite to it is the road to banyan tree. keep driving for another 5 kms on this road to reach there. the approach road is not good at all.
no need to carry any eatable with you as there are quite a lot of shops and carts selling tea, cold drinks, cucumber, bottled water, etc...

2006-04-26T04:37:00.000-07:00

vehicles :

black tvs fierro f2 and silver hundai accent viva crdi

behind fierro is vishal goel's yellow hero-honda karisma. on the slopes of chamundi hills ( mysore )

me and my mom standing with the car . on the much better part of the extremly rough road to sivasamudram.

2006-04-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

crossing the limit: on the way to nandi hills.....
this picture is of one of the latest trip that i took on my car with my parents and brother... picture clicked by my brother while i was driving the car

2006-04-25T12:19:00.001-07:00

Pictures from some of my trips, mainly road trips :)