Travelogue - Tulunadu

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Introduction – Tulunadu is the Tulu speaking region covering districts of Udupi, Dakshin Kannada and Kasargod. This region (see map below) has been demanding a separate state, on linguistic grounds, but their voice has never reached any sympathetic listeners.

The Tulunadu region is also part of the longer Karavali coast, which is the linking stretch of sand connecting the Konkan coastline of Maharashtra, Goa in the north with the Malabar coastline of Kerala in the south. Mangalore and Udupi are two main cities 60 kms from each other. Mangalore is about 370 odd kms from state capital Bangalore.

Mangalore – Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshin Kannada (formerly South Canara) district in south western Karnataka. It is the only city in Karnataka to have all four modes of transport: air, sea, road and rail. The very fact that it has as many as 5 names is testimony to its rich and varied demographics. The Tulus call it Kudla, the Konkanis or Saraswat Brahmins call it Kodiyal, the Beary speaking Muslims call it Maikala, the Malayali’s emigrants from Kerala call it Mamalapuram and finally the Kannadigas call it Mangaluru. Due to so much diversity, Hindi has found acceptance as a common language which is widely understood and spoken, something miserably absent in and around Bangalore. Mangalore is famous for its temples, tiles, PSUs and beaches. It is very hot, even in the relatively colder month of December; one feels the urge to take off the shirt.
Udupi – Udupi is the cultural and culinary epicenter of Tulunadu. While most would be familiar with the ubiquitous Udupi kitchens serving delicious idlis and dosas, it is also a very important pilgrimage centre. The 13th century old Sri Krishna Mutt is the top draw attraction. Apart from Hinduism, Udupi district also is famous for the towns of Karkala and Moodabidre, which are centers of Jainism. There are several temples here (which the Jains call as basadi). All together, Udupi is a cauldron of religious and spiritual fervor.

Why go there?
Religion and Beaches. That’s all there is, frankly. If you are the religious traveler who loves visiting temples and their kind, then surely Tulunadu will appeal to you. Check out the section called “How many days/nights should one plan for and what should be the itinerary?” where I have laid out my answers in a better level of detail.

There is one more reason to go to Mangalore. This might sound to be a silly answer to the question ‘Why go there’, but really I would go to Mangalore to eat ice cream in Ideal Ice Cream Parlor. I just truly loved this place which is said to be the largest ice cream parlor in India. So merits a visit, does it not?

When to go there?
Avoid summer at all costs. Even in the cold months of December, it is sweltering hot. I guess the weather is very Chennai-esque. I also understand the region gets very heavy rainfall from the monsoon laden winds flowing from the Arabian sea. For the religiously bent, it may be pertinent to check the festival calendar and visit accordingly, for example Sri Krishna Mutt at Udupi has some designated dates of grandiose ceremonial worship when the town is painted red in a spiritual vaudeville. It would be good to visit accordingly.

How to go there?
Getting to Mangalore is probably the easiest part of the whole story. There is an overnight train and numerous reasonably priced buses that ply regularly. A slightly more adventurous idea would be self driving to Mangalore. It would take roughly 6-7 hours. While coming from the eastern side of Karnataka (i.e. Bangalore side) one would have to cross the formidable Western Ghats and this stretch of roads is really egregious. If you don’t want the roller coaster experience or if you are worried about your car’s innards, then you would better limit your gear to a maximum second. Once in Mangalore, getting around is really easy. It’s a small place really with just one or two arterial roads.

St. Mary’s Island – Getting to St. Mary’s Island is easy, but one should be aware of a few things in order to fully enjoy this wonderful island. From the jetty at Malpe port, ferries with a capacity of atleast 60-70 leave every hour or half an hour depending on season. This mother ferry will take about 15 mins to arrive at the island. There are no docking ports for such big boats, hence they operate smaller, more agile feeder boats which load and unload people from the mother ferry to and fro the island. This whole logistical operation is time taking and exceedingly chaotic. People rush, drop things in the water and what not. Once crusoed on the island, you are given 45 mins before the next mother ferry will arrive for the return trip. Actually 45 mins is sufficient to idyll and splash around on the island beach, however I noticed people had planned longer picnics. If that is the game plan, then one must arrive early, possibly by the first or second ferry 10ish in the morning and then spend a leisurely full sun and sand day on this dainty island.

How many days/nights should one plan for and what should be the itinerary?

Atheists - For the atheist traveler it’s a no brainer really. Such people should budget maximum one full day here. St. Mary’s Island and Panambur Beach or even further south Someshwar Beach can be comfortably covered in 8 hours of daylight. If you happen to be the devout traveler, then the above question is crucial and should be tackled thoroughly as part of your pre trip planning. Further, secular devouts who are fine with temples, dargahs, basadis and churches alike would need even more planning. For all the devout segments, I shall try to offer my suggestions which can be used as a prima facie guidance.

Hindus – Plan for at least 2 full days. Split it into one day for Mangalore and the other day for Udupi. Even with two full days, your job would be cut out and you would need to prioritize which temples you want to visit. I counted as many as 15 in the index page of a local tour operator’s booklet.
Christians – I would guess 1 day is enough. There are 3 or 4 great churches in and around Mangalore.
Jains - 1 full day should be good enough. Ideally if you base yourself at Udupi, then it would be better rather than setting your base camp in Mangalore. Both Karkala and Moodabidri are closer to Udupi than Mangalore; however, they are still in reasonable proximity of Mangalore. Plan your day trip as Mangalore-Udupi-Karkala-Moodabidri-Mangalore if your base is in Mangalore or Udupi-Karkala-Moodabidri-Udupi if it is in Udupi. The former route is ~ 200 kms while the latter would be ~100 kms.
Muslims – There were a couple of mosques and dargahs which were marked as tourist locations, but really I do not have a good idea.
Secular Devout – Plan for atleast 3D/4N and base yourself in Mangalore.

What is the ideal budget?
By any stretch of imagination, Tulunadu is not expensive. A 10-12K budget is good enough for a comfortable 3 star accommodation inclusive of sightseeing, food and car hire. I do not think budget is a matter warranting prolonged thought if you are planning to visit this part of Karnataka, focus instead on the number of days and itinerary.

Travelogue - Bhadra

Introduction – Lakkavalli Dam, Bhadra Reservoir, Bhadra Tiger Reserve, Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary and River Tern Lodge are different monikers to address essentially the same area (see map below). To better understand, each item needs some explanation. Lakkavalli is a small village off National Highway 206 some 40 kms before Shimoga (from Bangalore). Near this village, a dam called Lakkavalli dam, was constructed on the Bhadra river from 1946 to 1965 by Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya and more importantly an alumnus of my alma mater College of Engineering Pune. The dam’s reservoir was hence called as Bhadra reservoir. Now this region was a huge forest area, some parts of which got submerged due to the reservoir. “The area was declared as "Jagara Valley Wildlife Sanctuary" by the Government of Mysore in 1951, covering an area of 77.45 sq. miles. After a systematic survey and census of the entire area including animals, birds and plants, it was thought to bring some more area under the Jagara Valley Forests. The adjacent area, which were rich in wildlife was surveyed and the Sanctuary was reconstituted in the year 1974, as Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary” (source –http://projecttiger.nic.in/bhadra.htm)Then in the year 1998, under the aegis of Project Tiger, the whole of Bhadra wildlife sanctuary was made Bhadra Tiger Reserve
This is a highly secluded area quite untouched by the commercialization of travel & tourism. There is just one resort in the entire region called River Tern Lodge, which is owned by the Karnataka state government undertaking Jungle Lodges & Resort. No other private resorts or even makeshift Homestays are around. If one wishes to visit the reserve he has only two options. One, stay at River Tern Lodge and accompany their authorized guides on a jeep safari into the jungle or two, approach the forest range office at Lakkavalli and try out your luck!


Why go there?
It would be more relevant to first talk of ‘Why you should not go there?’ This is not the place for you, if you are the urban city noveau riche variety. This is not the place for you, if you think 12K for a 1N/2D package stay is way too steep. If you have reached till here unscathed by the previous two impediments, then there is just about no other reason why you should not go there! Boat safari – While everyone, me included, grant a lot of attention to the jeep safari it’s smaller cousin the boat safari never gets its due. I have travelled abroad in Langkawi, Malaysia and the standard of River Tern Lodge’s boat safari is at par with international destinations. The islands which play peek-a-boo with the rising and ebbing water level as the seasons go, are covered with rich verdant deciduous to semi-evergreen forests supporting an absolutely unique ecosystem for mammals and especially birds to thrive. In the morning boat safari which we took from 7:00AM to 8:30AM, our guides and co-travelers jointly spotted a Kingfisher, Osprey, Crested Serpent Eagle, Brahminy Kite, Brown Fish Owl, Cormorants, Egrets, Bonnet Macaque, Wagtails, Drongo, Grey Hornbill, Mongoose, Spotted Deer, Jungle Fowl and a Paradise Flycatcher. In case you lost count, that would be 15 animal/bird sightings! Still wondering “Why go there?”
Jeep Safari – When you enter the reception area, you would see a white board with recent sightings written methodically by the resident naturalist of the resort. There are several books on Indian wildlife which one can soak in. All this I found really cool. Lastly, I am aware that no review about any wildlife resort in India can be complete without touching upon the Holy Grail for all wildlife enthusiasts – the Tiger. While the density of tiger population here is among the lowest in any South Indian reserves, but this can be compensated by the brilliant hawkeyed drivers and guides. For the first time in all my travels, I saw the elusive leopard. We were told it was a very, very lucky and rare sighting. Full credit to our jeep safari driver. I gave him a pat on the back:-) When to go there?
River Tern Lodge is so named due to tens of thousands of migrating river terns which nest on an island in the Bhadra reservoir during the months of April-May. These birds come here to roost and offer a noisy spectacle for the visitors in the boat safari. The water level in the reservoir is at its lowest during these summer months, exposing many more tops of hitherto submerged hillocks. The heat makes the animals drink more often and hence offering some of the best wildlife sighting opportunities. Best time to visit would be the hot summer months. Don’t worry, all accommodation is A/C

How to go there?
Drive towards Tumkur. Take the Shimoga bye-pass road at Tumkur (instead of going to Tumkur town) and cross Gubbi, Tiptur, Arsikere, Kadur, Birur, Tarikere. After crossing Tarikere, take the left that also has a Kuvempu University direction board. Travel 14Km till you reach Lakkavalli. At Lakkavalli you will find a sign board to the River Tern Lodge, which is about 4km away. Alternately you can contact the Range Forest Office at Lakkavalli for enquiries. The River Tern Lodge is 38km from Shimoga and is located by the Bhadra Reservoir.
Alternately, one could take a train from Bangalore to Shimoga. There is a very convenient overnight train which runs daily.

How many days/nights should one plan for?
If we keep the budget away, then ideally a 2N/3D stay would be perfect. There is enough to do, see or not do over a 2N/3D period.

What is the ideal budget?
All Jungle Lodges & Resorts have a pricing plan which is all inclusive and on per person per night basis. For River Tern Lodge, it is Rs 4K per person per night. This is that one thorn in the flesh which might deter someone (definitely it does deter me) from extending their 1N/2D jaunt to a more comprehensive 2N/3D itinerary. I think the pricing, although on the expensive side, is fair and correct. I would be surprised if majorities come out saying they did not see ‘value’ in that price. Having said that, I wish JLR come up with some innovative pricing which attracts people to stay longer

My grand travel affair

A few months ago I turned 30. For all the vivacious beings who call that a young and ripe age, let me be clear I coldly disagree with you without offering any lattitude for mollifying my strong views about the age vs action graph. I am a strong beleiver of the right age for the right action. Anyways, that is besides the point here. Now I am having difficulty judging whether this particular ‘landmark’ of 30 has been achieved with thumping fists, clapping encore or has it just passed by like inconspicuous, effaced milestones on an unfrequented state highway. Right now, I am inclined to believe the latter is more likely rather than the former. This disturbing inference has, in some part, forced me to relook, refocus on the transcendental goals of my life and he who seeks thus HAS to travel. Please accept this as gospel truth.

Hence I have a dream… to visit each state and union territory in India and write a book on my travails. There are 28 states and 7 union territories in India. If I were ever to achieve this dream, I would need more than just inspiration from Robert Frost’s lines ‘Miles to go before I sleep’. Maybe that could end up as the title of the book.

When George Mallory was asked “Why climb Everest?” he had a rather simple reply “Because it is there!”. Behind the simplicity of the remark, in fact, lay a profound truth. For a person like Mallory the particular question was inane, rhetoric and hence elicited that befitting response. If I were asked “Why travel to the ends of India?” should I say “Because it is there?” Not really. One, I am no Mallory and two, I do not have an irrefutable answer yet.

So much so for a rather boring (maybe esoteric) explanation to the why, let’s get on with the what, where, when and how of traveling to the ends of the country.

What do I want to do? - Travel and write. Simple :-)

Where do I want to go? – This is probably the most crucial part. India is such a vast country and getting to know which place fits my bill is exceptionally difficult. However, I have been doing some thinking and what it boils down to is really following a strict guideline of prioritizing places which not only excite me but are also conducive for story telling. The usual stuff around accessibility, safety etc would need to the ticked in the checklist off course, but that’s not a big concern anyways in the 21st century.

How do I want to do it? – My very initial estimate puts a figure of 213 days required to sufficiently cover all 28 states & 7 union territories (there is much logic to that number, its not random). This is the time spent on site and not considering the travel to and forth. Taking a 25% uplift to cover the to and fro time, it comes to 213*1.25 = 266 days or 9 months. It is very clear that under no circumstance can I get 9 months off, either from my profession or from my domestic duties as the man of a family. It has to be done post retirement.
Then there is also the budget! How can we ever forget that?. I have yet to estimate what could be the budget required, but a safe guess would be 20-25 lakhs INR, which could be the chief reason why this dream could remain subscribed to the realms of either fantasy or this blog.
If I were to assume divine benedictions on my mortal self which cause the time and money factors to turn favorable, then how would I do so much travel. The answer to this is a well thought out plan. Some initial points which could be used as inputs in making this grand plan, if the need for one arises
- The travel has to be done in phases. Best way is to club the states as per their geographic regions: North, South, East, West, Central and North East. This way, Phase I would mean spend 1 month travelling south and come back to home. Then Phase II and so on
- I am mulling over the need and justification for travel companions. Point is, if I were to write a long story out of all this travelling, continuous character are a must to help glue the shifting stories. So, depending upon people’s readiness, I should be open for one or more people joining me.
- The months need to be planned carefully. I would not be wanting to visit Kalimpong when it is frozen or Sasangir when it is closed for 6 months

I think there are some wry smiles out there. I totally accept the whole idea is exceedingly improbably to execute. But…

It is and shall be a dream to keep.
And miles to go before I sleep
Maybe I will never achieve it
But when my days are numbered, I shall be proud I tried that little bit!

Travelogue - Bandipur

Introduction – Bandipur National Park is 80 kms south of Mysore, near the Karnataka border with Tamil Nadu. It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve stretching across the three states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The park has an area of 872 sq km and was one of the original Tiger Reserves designated in 1972 under the aegis of the Project Tiger. It was also infamously inhabited by Veerappan during the 90’s.

Why go there?
Bandipur is a forest area inhabited by teeming numbers of spotted deer, bison, tigers, leopards, elephants, jackals, Indian wild dogs, sloth bears and birds like peacocks, serpent eagles. It is one of the better managed national parks in the country with a healthy population of tigers (about 80). The government and private resorts organize jeep and bus safaris into the heart of the jungles. They drive on mud tracks meandering across an area of 40 sq km. That’s just about the one and only reason for wishing to visit Bandipur.

When to go there?
My visit was in August when there were sporadic rains. Given my smattering knowledge about wildlife, I believe, the best time to visit would be the dry season when sightings would be relatively easy. Having said that, it really is an all year round destination.

How to go there?
This was my first ever road trip, so that way it’s special. The best way to reach Bandipur is a self drive or hired cab option. There are state government buses which got to Bandipur, so if you cannot afford the car on the road option then these buses are definitely feasible. The route from Bangalore is as follows –
Bangalore-Bidadi-Ramnagaram-Channapatna-Mandya-Srirangapatna-Mysore-Nanjangud-Gundulpet-Bandipur. There is an alternate route to reach Mysore which goes through Kanakapura. The distance from Bangalore to Bandipur is about 220 kms. Mysore is the midway point, where one can take a break. If you are unfamiliar with Mysore, then the safest option is to drive through straight and you would get out. Avoid taking the ring road, it’s easily 10-15 kms longer, roundabout route and you might get lost. Cutting straight through the city is easy; just ask for directions to the airport. The Mysore airport is en route to Nanjangud on SH 212, Bangalore Calicut highway. The first town will be Nanjangud. Sail straight through. After you arrive at Gundulpet, keep heading straight and you will arrive at a right turn which goes to Calicut via Wayanad. People wishing to reach Wayanad should take this turn. Now this is important. Both roads cut through the Bandipur forests. So, make sure where your resort is located, i.e. on which road? Ours was not on this Calicut road, so we ignored this right turn and headed straight. The Bandipur National Park entrance gate, from where the forest limits begin, is about 19 kms from Gundulpet. This road cuts right through the forest and offers an amazing chance to see herd of deer, bison and even the occasional pachyderm crossing the road. The road goes to Ooty, and during day time private vehicles are allowed to cross the forests. So people driving to Ooty would love this stretch of road through dense forest, with an almost guarantee of spotting wildlife.

How many days/nights should one plan for?
There is nothing much there to do other than the jungle safaris and morning nature walks. So a 1N/2D or a weekend getaway is perfect. However, if you desire to spot a tiger its best you give yourself a couple of forays into the forest. As a thumb rule, in a week tiger spotting occurs on 2-3 occasions. Accordingly maybe a 2N/3D could be more appropriate. Anything beyond that, to my view, is stretching it a tad too much and not value adding.

What is the ideal budget?
Staying options range from the basic dorm beds cost a couple of hundred to luxurious villas for Rs 10K. Good thing is they offer all inclusive packages – boarding, food, jeep safari, nature walk so there are no extra overheads. Bandipur being 220 kms, petrol expenses would come to ~2K even if you consider a conservative 15 km/liter mileage. All in all, a weekend getaway to Bandipur can be wrapped up in less than 10K. Pretty neat.

Travelogue - Langkawi

Seldom do I struggle to take up my pen for writing the account of my travels. This time I am struggling, which is more surprising than frustrating. What do I write then?
Langkawi is an archipelago of 99 or 104 islands in the Andaman Sea off the west coast of Malaysia. 99 or 104 are not a geographical approximation but the effect of tides; there are 99 islands or rather islets when the tide is high and 104 when it is low. Doesn’t that, in itself, sound appealing? Normally, I would have written about the itinerary, how to go, what to see, things to do, where to stay and what to eat. In case of my current destination, these details are best gleaned from tripadvisor.com which is where I did my research in the first place. This time over, I do not want to write these things. This occlusion of items from my normal travelogue writing agenda is the chief reason for the aforementioned struggle. What do I write then?

Frankly, I am in no mood to start the ramble on how incredibly stunning the islands are, and use grandiloquent adjectives to extol the destination. It has been done over and over again by people far more capable than me, and finding one more star in a star studding sky does not improve the night’s brilliance. My ten twenty sentences of pure panegyric will not make Langkawi more astounding, more awesome and more heavenly. What do I write then?

I believe every travel should add to one’s intrinsic value else it is better to stay at home sweet home. While on the return journey from my travels, I excuse myself into a private world of deep introspection in pursuit of justifying the value addition or erosion that has occurred during the time I was holidaying. I ask myself a simple question. After spending time, effort and tons of money; what value have I added to myself? On the Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bangalore, this was the profound question which seduced my faculties and my evolving attempt to answer the question is what I should and will write about.

There is a certain reptile which has no limbs and evokes an instant defensive or repulsive reflex in most humans. Whether I belong to the class of ‘most humans’ is an attractive argument, but the fact shall stay that I have always loved snakes. (For the purpose of this blog – love, like, admire, fascination is interchangeable!). During this trip, I finally did something which translated this intangible love into tangible action. After having seen countless programs on Discovery, Animal Planet and Nat Geo on snakes, I yearned for seeing the real thing, in its real environment. This yearn was finally quenched when the mangrove boat trip presented an opportunity to watch vipers from close range. The guide and boatman managed to spot 6 Malaysian shore pit vipers for me. Then, towards the evening came the big moment. At one of the town squares, a man was standing with his pet, adult python and offering a picture with the snake coiled around you for a sum of 5 Ringgits. I stopped and considered the prospect, not so much the monetary part but the risk involved. As expected, I chickened and moved on, but with a sense of smothering guilt; I had the opportunity to do something I always dreamt of since long and had let it go. The next 15 minutes were full of compunction, my heart not believing what its conductor the mind had ordered. While retracing the steps, I finally decided, this is the moment and carpe diem it! So there it was, the longest snake in the world, the famous Reticulated Python draped around my neck and torso, and I gently holding its neck. The snake’s handler was a funny guy, cracking jokes and scaring people. Seeing my relative ease, he urged me to leave the snake’s neck and stretch out my arms wide. Almost immediately, I could feel the snake wriggling down along my right leg. It is the most amazing sensation I have ever felt in my life. The python’s muscles are as hard as granite, and when such strong mass flexes on your neck as it moves down, you get the most brilliant neck massage ever imaginable.
The Snakes at Langkawi were the first item on my list of value added for me. An experience I will remember for many years to come, until I do something bigger, like track a King Cobra in the Western Ghats of India :-)

Driving in Langkawi in a rented car is the second item. For a person who only learnt how to confidently drive a petrol propelled quadruped a year ago, the feat of clocking 300 kms on pristine, desolate roads using maps is definitely value adding.

Are you one among many who are geographically challenged with the ASEAN region? Would you fail to differentiate between Malaysia and Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand, Borneo and Sarawak if presented an unnamed map? Is your memory of Malaysia restricted to learning its capital and currency for intra school GK quiz competition and invariably getting both wrong when you pressed the buzzer? Forgive me for this figure of speech where I am addressing ‘you’ where all these questions are basically a reflection of me!. But not any more. Increased geographical awareness towards Malaysia has been the third value I have added. If someone were to now say to me he is going for a vacation to Kota Kinabalu, his neighbor is just back from Selangor and last year his boss visited Tioman & the Perhentian Islands, I would not present my inquiring eyes arched with those clouded eyebrows.

What can be more pleasing than a fair, genuine and unexpected compliment? I take the compliment I received from a full time, licensed naturalist when he was amazed by my knowledgeable conversation about bats as the fourth and final value add from my trip to Langkawi. This small compliment has proved to be a major catalyst, so much so, I am considering enrolling for a 3 day long Naturalist Training Program just to try something different. More on that later, hopefully.

India Travel - Wayanad

Introduction – Wayanad is a district in the north of Kerala, bordering the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The entire district is a part of the Western Ghats mountainous range. There are two important towns in the district – Kalpetta and Sulthan Bathery which can be used as bases for sightseeing. Wayanad is an ideal destination for the outdoors freak with several challenging trekking trails, wildlife sanctuaries, prehistoric caves, raging rivers, wonderful waterfalls and misty mountains.

Why go there?
A vast majority of middle class Indians would pack their bags for the following reasons – a break from work life pressure, to utilize the annual LTA or holiday home facility, clamor of kids seeking a vacation. The question ‘Why go there’ does not apply to the above people as they are mostly location agnostic. For the few discerning wanderlusts whose modus operandi involves choosing the destination as first step, my explanations of ‘Why go to Wayanad’ would be appealing.

Here is a list of attractions in Wayanad. Against each proper noun, I will add its common noun for better understanding
Chembra Peak – Mountain Trek
Pookote Lake – Pedal Boating
Bansasura Sagar Dam – Speed Boating
Eddakal Caves – Spelunking
Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary – Safari
Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary – Safari
Soochipara Falls – Waterfalls
Meenmutty Falls – Waterfalls
Kuruva Dweep – River rapids
Pakshipathalam – Bird Watching Treks

Then there will always be temples and more temples. If it’s Kerala, there always will be beaches and more beaches. Such quotidian ‘attractions’ have been excluded from the above list.
The list of ten is the answer to the question ‘Why go there’. I cannot think of any other district in entire southern India which can boast of such a collection of attractions. To have all the above activities within a radius of 50 kms only is pretty rare and thus merits a travel.

When to go there?
Definitely not during the peak season. I wish to overemphasis this point as I have been victimized by the peak season spoilers. The peak season is December which touches its maddening peak on 25th and 31st. Monsoon months of July, August and summer months of May, June are avoidable as it will baking hot.

How to go there?
Applying ceteris paribus, (which means keeping the economics of getting there away) there is only one direct way to reach Wayanad from most important cities and that is by road. There is no railway or air route of reaching Wayanad. It is about 75 kms from Calicut and 300 kms from Bangalore. If you are coming from distant parts of the country then the only option is to reach Calicut or Bangalore by train or air and then proceed by road. Since I travelled from Bangalore to Wayanad, I shall share the exact specifics of this route. From Bangalore, one can take bus (state or private) directly to Wayanad and get down either at Sulthan Bathery (which the bus conductor will call Batteri) or Kalpetta. It takes about 45 mins from Sultan Bathery to Kalpetta in that order if coming from Bangalore. The problem is these towns come at odd hours in the morning and first timers would get confused. The KSRTC Volvo buses called Airavat are pretty good with reclining seats. The major problem is the chaotic bus stand. The bus for Calicut leaves from Mysore Road Satellite Bus Stand and this place gets crazy. There is no display, announcement, enquiry and it’s a dismay that inter state bus travel in India hasn’t kept pace with the parallel advancement of railways. Not knowing Kannada is also an impediment at such places. The state bus is cheaper but only marginally so my recommendation would be to use a private bus operator.

Another option is a self driven car. Many people do this but this is not my recommendation even if you are a veteran driver. The mountain roads are tortuous, narrow and can tire you down easily especially while climbing. Overtaking is outright risky, as roads are narrow and serpentine so you invariably have to honk while passing. Night driving is a strict no. Although it’s possible to haul a Maruti 800 up the steep slopes, it won’t be an enjoyable ride at all. Only an SUV or jeep is preferable under such conditions. Further, you simply cannot do the sightseeing with lower power/torque cars. The roads are pretty bad and many times non existent. Even our hired Indica was struggling at times. Small car drivers please park your baby at home when you come to Wayanad.

How many days/nights should one plan for?
Wayanad has enough to offer for the entire range of itineraries right from the compact weekend 1N/2D to the idyllic 10N/11D plan. My recommendation however would be 2N/3D for a brief holiday or 4N/5D for a long, relaxed holiday. There is also another point to bear in mind. Wayanad is a paradise for adventure lovers, so the days/nights decision should be a function of how much outdoors stuff one wants and is capable of doing. Kids and senior citizens in the travelling coterie would obviously constrain the ability of outdoor adventures. On the other side, the more sedentary travelers should not stay beyond 2N/3D. I will cover the exact itineraries for both choices later.

What is the ideal budget?
I shall tackle this important question objectively by proposing budgets for two categories – minimum and median. Also, the figure would be for two people travelling together and for decent 3 star hotels or homestay in these parts. This estimate is ex Bangalore. A rough break up of total budget into four components – reaching there, local sightseeing, lodging and food will also be given for a sample case (the way I travelled)

2N/3D: Minimum Budget = Rs 14,000. Median Budget = Rs 18,000
4N/5D: Minimum Budget = Rs 28,000. Median Budget = Rs 35,000
Sample Illustration – In my own example, the total expenses stood at Rs 15,857/- for a 2N/3D trip. The breakup is given below

What is the ideal itinerary?
The first critical decision while planning a trip to Wayanad would be which town to put up at. As mentioned before, there are three options – Kalpetta, Sulthan Bathery and Vythiri. Hotels & Homestays in their dime and dozen are scattered across these three towns. My recommendation would be chose a place in Kalpetta as it is the geographic centre of the district and all tourist attractions are within a radius of 50 km only. Moreover it’s a bigger and better town than the other two. It even has an ICICI bank & ATM.
The next thing one must be cognizant of is that all the tourist attractions are pretty far. A 15 km distance in the mountains easily takes anywhere between 45 mins to 1.5 hours. They open at 9 AM and close by 5 PM. This means you can cover only two in a day, comfortably only one!

Itinerary for 2N/3D trip
This case would require prioritizing the list of ten attractions based on individual preferences. I would anyways provide my recommendation. The underlying assumption is non peak season, as you would no way be able to cover two places in one day during peak rush. That’s what happened to me!
Day 1: Arrive early morning, check in. Quick shower and breakfast. Be ready to hit the roads by 10:00 AM, earlier the better. First stop could be Eddakal caves. I do not have any specific inputs on visiting Eddakal as it was closed for renovation. What I know is one has to climb 250 odd steep steps so by 1 PM you should be back to your waiting car in the parking lot. From here move on to Muthanga wildlife sanctuary, which is enroute just 15 kms ahead. They have jeep safaris here. Stand in the queue and get tickets. Counter closes by 5 PM.
Day 2: Kuruva Island and Bansasura Sagar Dam

Day 3: Soochipara Falls and Pookote Lake (if time permits)

Travelling in India

My bias towards international travel has thrived at the expense of domestic travel. I intend to correct this.

The realization that travelling to international destinations is unaffordable for atleast the next ten years made me sit up and pay more attention to what I can and have already achieved with decent success - travelling in India. My traveller profile is the middle-of-the-road wanderlust, neither splurging in 5 star hotels nor roughing it out in shady bylane lodges. With this blog, I am initiating a 'India Travel' compilation. The idea is to use the lens of my experience to systematically document travel experiences in India so that they can be compared, referred to by me and others and eventually, who knows, maybe culled into a book! An important disclaimer here would be that these experiences are totally and completely prejudiced as they are mine. Although the tone will be that of recommending, its up to the reader to accept or rubbish it. Further, they would be written with Indian upper middle class as target audience. Even if there are no readers, no problem, I am the writer cum reader all rolled in one.

So much so for the obligatory introduction. Moving on to the meat.

Each location which I travel to will be reviewed under 7 sections namely
1. Why go there?
2. When to go there?
3. How to go there?
4. How many days/nights are ideal?
5. What is the budget @3 and 4 above?
6. What is the ideal itinerary @4 above?
7. What you must know before travel?

Coming up soon is the first installment. Wayanad

Travelogue China - Part II

5 days in the capital of the world’s most populated country are grossly inadequate. When they get dispensed in plush hotel rooms, AC taxis, client premises and famous dining places the real China has been conveniently bypassed. Such should be the qualified introduction for my travel experiences in Beijing. In others words, what follows is the just the tip of the iceberg from my bird’s eye with dark shades to protect from the glare.

Weather – Beijing is pretty up north latitude and is swathed with harsh winters. Apartments have central heaters which are switched on for 6 months. Thankfully, it was prefect weather when I went. However most notable was the air pollution in Beijing. The worst I have ever seen in my life. The smog is so thick that visibility is restricted to about 50-100 meters only. It really makes it very gloomy. In fact, for Beijing 2008 Olympics the government had enforced several measures over 2-3 years to reduce the pollution levels in the city.

Transportation –This is one area where I got more than what was expected. Let me start first with the roads. The city is basically a horizontal city and hence it’s huge. 10kms is nearby for Beijing. There are 6 ring roads, all concentric and fast expressways with no signals at all. In the centre is the famous Tiananmen Square. This ringed design makes every area very easily accessible. I wondered how they managed to build these ring roads so systematically; given the fact Beijing should be a very ancient city.
Talking of traffic, it’s pretty smooth. And regulation is a significant facilitator for this. Odd and even numbered cars are allowed to come out on roads on alternate days. Only on Saturday & Saturday it’s free for all. One important thing worth mentioning is that Beijing has no market for small cars. The superfast ring road design has rendered it a market for the big, swanky, fast cars. However, my guess is the Tier 2 and 3 cities must be where the small cars may ensconce.
I could not expose myself to the other forms of transportation viz bus, train, underground rail so have no observations in that area. Taxis and cabs are pretty good. One thing I did not understand was the no. of receipts the cabbies handed. Since they do not speak English, it was a challenge even figuring what had been the fare! First they print out the total fare as per the meter, then they eject a small square shaped paper with government stamp on it and once we received even a third addendum to these bills.
Then there was the Beijing International Airport. As expected, huge and awesome. But not quite of the same scale like Hong Kong. One new stuff here was a push button for entering feedback for the immigration staff. So when they finished their stamping, they would enable the device and you could choose one of the 4 buttons ranging from a wide smiley to a morose face.

People & Living – I asked my Chinese colleague one question. Sometimes, names are same for men or women for example Li. How do you distinguish wether it’s a man or a woman? The key to this lies in a subtle difference in the way the names are written in the Chinese script. Also, many Chinese have English names, atleast the first name. This is more a personal choice rather than something obligatory. The custom which began in Hong Kong has spread to the mainland and is one of the tangible signs of globalization on Chinese ethos. The Chinese have a lot of names and words beginning with x, y and z. I was also interested in knowing the education system. The best engineering college is Tsinghua University in Beijing which conducts national examination for entrance. There are reservations by province presumably accordingly to population of that province. Doesn’t that make more sense than reservations on caste in India? Point to ponder. Well it’s a no brainer actually. We Indians have inherited something catastrophic since our civilization began flourishing on the banks of the Indus. That would be religion. There is no official religion in China. Hans which form 90% of the population do not have a religion. So shall it be, religion will continue to be the opium of Indian masses.

Script – The one thing that fascinated me most was the Chinese script. Native English or even Hindi speakers will find reading Mandarin something similar to those rebus games we used to play in college. It’s really like unraveling a puzzle which has a coded message. Basically, the Chinese do not have an alphabet set. They use pictures or symbols to depict objects, then combine these symbols, or modify them to make new meanings. That is something similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics but that was ancient! Hence, The Chinese writing system is the oldest surviving writing system in the world. There are about 45,000 symbols out which mastery over 3k-4k is enough to know Mandarin thoroughly. The Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese also follow the same script. Although Mandarin and Cantonese use the same script they are completely different, to take an example from back home – Gujarati and Bengali. Mandarin is spoken in Mainland China, while South China (Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Macau) is referred to as Canton. I suspect learning Mandarin would be easier for a native English speaker than learning French, because one does not have to adjust to spellings, pronunciation that what his eyes see.

Food - :-). The prime urge for me when I travel is to get exposed to new things and also dispel my misconceptions about the place I am travelling to. On this trip, one of the areas where a great misconception got disabused was food. I went to Beijing expecting terrible food. But I was proved wrong. If you are a non rigid non vegetarian, you would love Chinese cuisine. The taste is quite close to our Indian masalas. They eat a lot more garlic though. So let me list the animals which I ate, in decreasing order of bizarreness – Sea Cucumber, Peking duck, Pork, and Chicken. On one evening, a Director level guy took us out for dinner to Da Dong Roast Duck restaurant, one of the most popular eating places in Beijing. If waiting time has a direct correlation to popularity, then please be advised that we waited 1 hour for a table! The Chinese custom of eating I have explained in my previous post, only thing to add is that they taste rather than eat. What I mean by that is, they don’t really eat one or two items in a meal fulsomely, rather they eat 10-15 items in small quantities. Having said that, its common sense that such may not be the case in everyday meals.

Corporate Culture – My observations on corporate culture is strictly limited to one company which I was consulting to. But there are some generalizations which can be extrapolated, I believe. The culture appears to be just an extension of their political ideology. It must be noted that below the ministers there is some sort of industry forum which is comprised of about 300 odd CEOs. This body is the de facto engine for policy formulation, giving ground level pulses to the political heads. Talking specifically of my own client, the CEO was a very weird man. First, he did not look like one from any angle. He had a very queer way of talking by looking straight ahead and not turning his head to point towards the person with whom he was conversing. But he was a sharp guy and pretty successful in his short stint at the helm too, so nothing to take away from him really. Also when we were at the lunch table, I observed he served food for my company leaders seated next to him. So he is not that crude after all. Just his style. Another point on culture, when he spoke nobody else spoke.

To sum up, I have just begun the preface to what should pullulate into a deep understanding of a country which is going to dominate the globe in not so long future. Hope to pack my bags soon!

Travelogue China - Part I

I got invited for a private executive lunch for select ‘important’ people by the CEO of a big company. Tathastu.

But then I shuddered at the lunch. We were escorted to the second floor of Loong Palace Resort where a special lunching area was being prepared. The entrance had huge aquariums with all marine life swimming. With my experience in Hong Kong I was wiser this time to understand their purpose. I entered gingerly. Our company’s leader was assigning places. I waited for my assignment to be delivered, wishing I get to sit next to my senior Indian colleague. “You sit there” came the verdict and I was sandwiched between two client guys but worst of worst straight facing the CEO who arrived like a Mughal emperor in the heydays of the seventeenth century. Just how powerful and influential this man is in China can be imagined by the fact that when German chancellor Angela Merkel visited China, he was one of the member of the delegation to be invited to meet her. More on him later. All chitter chatter stopped immediately and we sat still waiting for his highness to begin the proceedings. However before the story proceeds, I must mention here the table and Chinese custom of eating. There is generally a round table with a movable circular glass of smaller diameter in the centre. The dishes are places equidistant on this moving platform. As it rotates you pick up your stuff with the chopsticks and put it on a small plate. I discovered after my recent dining experiences that one needs to eat from this small plate and not put the food on the larger plate which is given to hold the small plate. Not so elementary, my dear friend!

The guy on my left, who was a very senior guy, almost jumped with his conversation as if he had been dreaming of this once in a lifetime opportunity of sitting beside me. He began asking me my opinions on the Jaguar Land Rover acquisition done by Tata Motors. I gave him a high steroid dose of unadulterated gyaan sprinkled with confidence which would make even Ratan Tata frown. However, he turned out to be a nice chap, English speaking thankfully. I explained to him why Indians do not eat beef and he said no problem and very willingly pointed to the beef plate on the rotating disc which I should avoid. So I ate or rather tasted most of the other creatures which looked agreeable. I did not want to be embarrassed and asked question why do u not eating? So first serving was the sea cucumber soup. Gosh! Never in my living life would I have even read it in the menu card of any restaurant. My very first hesitant sip and some while resin like jelly stuck to my mouth which by desi instinct I tried to pull away with my bare hand. The young Chinese to my right (we exchanged cards and he turned out to be director of Latin American operations) saw this and offered the towel. I was a bit ashamed of my lack of punctuality and decided to either avoid that white jelly or gulp it down if it unabashedly slipped in my soup spoon.

So over the next hour, down in my stomach went some pieces of roast duck, chicken & pork. The chicken.. ohh shit. No wait, it was delicious and I enjoyed it but on my third helping I suddenly saw something in the plate which did not quite blend with the same color, texture of other chicken pieces. On closer examination, I figured it was the chicken’s head with its crown, lips & shut eyes. Fuck. Awful. I stared at it for a moment maybe feeling a bit sorry. Only for a moment. Eat. Was the command in the head. One look up front made me realize my discomfit position and I hastily sorted the pieces and chose the most non-controversial looking anatomical part.

But many more animals passed by me which I could not muster courage to put in my mouth for one reason or the other. These are mentioned as below
a. Alaskan King Crab claws – I don’t mind crabs.. but too much of a hassle negotiating the calciferous undulations searching for that prized morsel of flesh. The variety is further suggestive of the much larger challenge in this case!
b. Shrimps – I like these but these guys bloody cook the entire shrimp along with its eyes. I am a non vegetarian not a carnivore. Also since I would have probably eaten only the soft flesh inside, I did not want to try the adventure of hacking off its shell either by hand or teeth or otherwise. Least of all chopsticks!
c. A huge fish which still looked like a fish and had some yucky paste or gawd-knows-what-was-that sautéed over it. Again I have still not become a carnivore and prefer the meat in an unrecognizable state. Fair expectation, isn’t it?
d. Oysters (my guess) – Well I wanted to taste that but really needed some guidance what, how to eat. This was certainly not the occasion to experiment.

What happened next was my greatest fear. I only thanked god it wasn’t dinner time. The staff brought red wine, some marquee brand. Me and my colleague at the farther end of the table quietly sign languaged the waitress ‘I don’t want’. She obliged by pouring in coke. Then came the cheers moment. Our man of honor raised his glass to everyone’s cheer and commented (in Chinese, there was a translator) – Why aren’t the Indians drinking wine, with so much globalization what stops them from adopting this social culture. Bomb. I had a feeling this thing would come. Since the translator directed the question towards my senior colleague he tackled it. There was no rebound to me. Phew!

This was one memorable experience. There are situations in life when no is not an option. One must evolve to prepare for such exigencies. I am still learning.

Travelogue - Hongkong

Almost 2 years of futile attempts at international travel got erased finally. 4 days got spent at the fragrant harbour, as the natives call it. We know it as Hongkong. 1 day got spent at the world's top gambling destination. Not Vegas, but the tiny ex Portuguese settlement with a very avian name Macau.

With my past international travel, I often had a day wise travelogue (read Saudi Arabia) however this time the approach to collect my thoughts shall be different. Since I am still a very less travelled man (6 countries out of 200 odd makes it less than 3% of global coverage) it would be presumptious to comment of how good, bad, ugly Hongkong is. What could be more warranted would be an apple to apple comparision with another destination I have had the fortune of knowing at close quarters. So two super cities of the world seen through the same lens.

Climate - Hongkong climate (and weather) is way, way better than Dubai (DXB). Although both are ports, the latter is a desert. Hongkong's (HKG) peaks and hills offer a fascinating landscape. Its an all year round destination. There really are no best-time-to visit constraints here unlike Dubai, which is best seen during the winter months only.

History & Tradition - Dubai is very bad on this parameter. Most foreigners can conveniently spend years living there without as much knowing anything about the emirate, its culture, its evolution etc. This is quite unlikely in Hongkong. A foreigner will invariably get entangled with the Hongkongness of Hongkong, wether she likes it or not. Also, I doubt whether whatever history Dubai has can be really called as history? The museum of Dubai only manages a faint squeel for attention in the din of malls and malls and more malls. Contrast this with HKG, and Hongkong museum of history is the top ten attractions among 140 odd listed on tripadvisor.

Food - My judgement on this parameter shall be carefully qualified. From an Indian alimentary canal perspective, Hongkong food is yucks, eeeks, grose and can't-even-enter-a-restaurant. This was indeed my experience as has been every Indian's. But if we zoom to see the big picture then I would be left incapable to judge whether the Arabian Shawarma beats the Pekingese roasted duck. Here I shall narrate a small anecdote. On one of Hongkong's bylanes I stood admiring a roadside aquarium. It had these huge glass tanks filled with water and was brilliantly lit up. In the water were swimming and floating acquatic creatures with or without spines whose names I would never know. As I admired this wonderful marine spectacle, I was shocked to be approached by the man on the shop's door. He offered me the menu card! Turned out I had mistaken a restaurant for an aquarium.

Global Outlook - Dubai is hands down the winner. Hongkong's economy may have capitalist foundations but they havent managed to de Chinatize themselves at all. There is no Wal Mart or Carrefour. English is an official language but is understood by few and spoken by even fewer. I would guess globalization of Hongkong has been limited to Japanization and a little Koreanization.

Public Transport - The best way to opine on this would be alloting scores on a scale of 0 to 10. The rest will be clear. Bangalore - 0.5 Mumbai - 3 Dubai 4 Hongkong 9. The Mass Transit Rail (MTR) of Hongkong just took my breath away. Truly, truly awesome. I havent seen the New York Subway or the London Tube but using Hongkong's public transport was the best experience of my commuting life so far. On this note I must shower encomiums on Hongkong to have mass adopted the cashless way of travel. They have an Octopus card there which is basically a smart card. Within just 5-6 years of introduction, every single individual has one of her own. Right from school children to retired gentlemen, one card which they use for the railways, the buses, the trams, the mini buses and the ferries. But what left me amazed was they have now extended its use as an card for entry into schools, residential societies and even offices!! Seeing the mass adoption, retail chains like McDonalds, 7/11 installed Octopus Card Readers. Incredible isnt it. Imagine you get into the tram near your house by tapping your card, alight at the rail station and use the same card to complete your journey. After you alight from the train at your destination you feel the need for a snack. You go to McDonald's and buy your grub using the same card, then drop into a 7/11 and buy mineral water with the same card. Enter office with the same card. Movie with girlfriend at night.. book tickets using the same card and get back home in time to change by tapping the same card at your residential security entrance. Do it to know it, really. One last thing. I walked up the counter at the airport and asked for what docs I need to submit to buy a Octopus card. He said nothing, just give HKD 100. After the trip when I went to cancel the card, it took less than 2 mins to get my entire refund back. Efficiency in civil service has found a new benchmark for me after all this.

Shopping - Well, well an area which I deeply abhor :-) but have some insights to share nevertheless. If you are the mall shopper then Dubai is THE place on earth. If you prefer a balanced mix of street markets and malls then Hongkong is better though crazily expensive. Hongkong is arguably the second costliest city in the world after Tokyo. So mind the wallet!! The street markets though allow huge scope for haggling. Those who derive great satisfaction in this convergence to the arithmetic mean art of haggling would love Hongkong's streets. Dubai also has its bland share of flea markets like the gold market and Meena Bazaar area, however you cannot bargain too much. So the 'joy' of shopping is absent.

Night Life - Hongkong wins over Dubai. Dubai does have a decent night life or rather after day life but still I am a little biased over Hongkong because of its superior public transport which runs till early morning 1-2 AM. This makes night life there more exciting. Plus stuff like drinking, bars, night clubs, casinos would all be absent due to Dubai's cultural censure.

Entertainment - As far as my prejudiced opinion is considered. Dubai - 0.5, Hongkong 9. Its that big a chasm. Skiing down artificial snow covered slopes in a concrete and steel air conditioned mall just does not register as true entertainment to me. Thats Dubai for you. A fake, artifical concrete, glass and metal jungle which is straight out of George Lucas' film. Contrast this with Hongkong thousands of miles away. The cable car climbing noiselessly into the clouds giving its inmates a breathtaking view of land, sea and sky is real. The rising smoke swirls of incense sticks from temples on the sea shore is very much earthen. I have a great dislike for Dubai due to this. A desert should act like one, creating artificial islands mimicing the world would only call for the befitting debt crises like the one it has landed up in.

Loved Hongkong, but would struggle to live for an extended time frame due to food & Cantonese incapacitance.

The Irumbai Legend

I recently completed a long cherised dream. Today, I can claim to have set foot on all geographic corners of India. Delhi in the North, Mumbai in the West, Kolkata in the East, Chennai in the South and Nagpur in the Centre. Interestingly, it took a staggering 20 years to achieve this seemingly easy objective. Nagpur was first off the block, when I was a toddler. Next was Kolkata when I was in 7th standard. Mumbai followed in my engineering 2nd year. I conquered Delhi when I was 22. Finally, Chennai happened just a few days back!

To celebrate this achievement, I thought of sharing one very interesting legend that I came across while on a visit to Auroville at Pondicherry. Its called the Irumbai Legend.

The people who live in the villages around Auroville have shown warmth and hospitality in welcoming people of different races, cultures and countries to their area. The ancient legend of Kaduveli Siddha, a famous yogi, can perhaps explain partly why the villagers have shown such grace.
The story of Kaduveli Siddha begins some 500 years ago in Irumbai, a small village on the edge of Auroville. According to the legend, the yogi was performing harsh penance sitting under a peepal tree. The heat of his body was so intense that the rain gods suffered and the villagers were exposed to hardships and drought, yet nobody dared disturb him. Thus sitting undisturbed, an anthill began to form around him. Valli, the temple dancer and devotee of Lord Shiva, decided to do her best to rescue the local King and his people from the adverse effects of the yogi's penance. Observing that Siddha would put out his hands to catch and consume the falling peepal leaves, she prepared some thinly fired food which she started placing in his hands. Soon he began eating and slowly grew fatter until finally the anthill broke and he was once more exposed to the rays of the sun. The god of rain was relieved from the torture he felt from the heat of the yogi's penance and the rain fell in plenty. The people were happy once again

In order to celebrate this event, the King ordered a large Puja to be held at Irumbai's temple. The Puja was followed by a classical performance in which Valli would act out the cosmic dance of Lord Shiva. During her performance, however, one of her anklets fell off causing her to lose her balance and rhythm. Kaduvelli Siddha, who saw Lord Shiva in Valli, picked up the anklet and put it back on her feet. This act exposed him to the ridicule of the King and the court for having touched the feet of a dancing girl and he was heckled. Furious, he invoked Lord Shiva to come out of his temple and prove his righteousness by causing a rain of stone. Immediately, the lingam in the temple’s sanctum sanctorum exploded, and wherever its fragments fell became desert. The King, frightened, begged the pardon of the yogi and pleaded with him to end the curse. This appeased Kaduvelli Siddha, who said that what was done could not be undone, but that in the future, people from far off lands would come and make the desert land green and fertile again.

Today there are villagers who feel that the Aurovilians are the people from far-off lands mentioned by the yogi and the curse is now being lifted.

A Long Weekend

Halebid-Belur-Chikmaglur-Kemmanagundi

En route passed a deliciously named signboard 'Hagare - 70 kms'; but after 2 hrs passed a village which transgressed all limits of creative nomenclature - a village called Goregandi. After such an excreting errr.. excruciating trail, I arriveth at Eagle Eye Holidays Home Stay, amidst a coffee plantation cut out from the mountain's bosom betwixt Bhadra & Muthodi Wildlife Santuaries. A long weekend spent amist 11th century temple complexes, cloud kissing on misty mountains, enchanting waterfalls and an inordinate amount of burning the rubber on ramshackled roads serpenting through deep, deep forests on high, high mountains. Over 900 kms! The rest of the story can be best judged from these pics. Touche'

Travel Roster - I

I have developed for myself a travel roster intended to continuously track the travel I undertake in whatever years are left in the aberration defined as my life. The longer this aberration aberrates, this roster would be appended and refined. In case the aberration is indeed that flash-in-the-pan :-) well at least you all would reckon I held Megasthenic ambitions.

Travel Roster - I as on this day, this time has two themes - Countries and Wonders of the Ancient World. My objective for each theme has been articulated below

Theme 1: "I want to visit 100 countries in the world"
Countries Covered: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt
% Target Achievement: 4%
Remark: For a person who first sat in a airplane only when he was 24, 4% is not bad at all!

Theme 2: "I want to visit the seven wonders of the ancient world"
1. Great Pyramid of Giza (completed)
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
3. Statue of Zeus at Olympia
4. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
5. Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus
6. Colossus of Rhodes
7. Lighthouse of Alexandria
Remark: Nah! If you know me well, you would understand why not the medieval or modern world:-)

Travelogue - Egypt

With this as a reminiscing backdrop, I shall now ostentatiously pat my own back sore :-). I traveled to Egypt. And it just happened.

Unlike my other travelogues (here, here) this one unfortunately would not come out good given the frenetic and unorganized events surrounding the travel. On an official visit, amidst ruins at workplace I found time out for the real ruins:-); the ancient pyramids of Khafre and Khufu. The frown on the Great Sphinx is certainly more enigmatic than the smile on Mona Lisa's face. I took some pics which I am putting up here. A complete album would soon be loaded on Google Photos.

1. Egypt Air has a symbol of Horus on its tail. Horus is the mighty falcon god who is considered the protector. Egypt enthusiasts would have heard of the 'eye of Horus'.

2. Cairo is beautiful, quaint, old and I loved the city. It looks exactly like Mumbai but feels different. Find out what I mean by that.

3. Surprise! Shock! I always thought the pyramids would be way inside lost in the desert wilderness, but the city has grown right up to its altar. Was taken aback when they suddenly loomed behind the dense growth of muti storeyed apartments.

4. Egyptians generally are hoarse in speech and bad tempered. It still runs in the blood after so many centuries I guess

5. Language is a crippling constraint. With influx of millions of visitors from all over the globe, it suprises me how the country has stuck to its Arabic lingua franca

6. I felt a intangible satisfaction in crossing the bridge over the Nile. I have this fancy of crossing rivers and Nile is certainly the most fanciful. Its unusually narrow and serene.

7. Suggestion - Tours and travels are the best way to check out Egypt. Traveling on your own would mean certain rip off by locals. Recommended only if you have a local contact to take you around

8. I quite liked the 'forwardness' of Cairo. Saw young pairs doing the walks, sipping cosy coffee and all. I would be interested to know some statistics on love marriages vs arranged marriages in Egypt given the hardliner backdrop of its immediate east side neighbours.

9. I noticed women wear trendy stuff, even tight fitting but in all my observations I noticed the hair was never let loose and the hands were never bare.

10. Cabs are horrible. The taxis of Mumbai are luxury sedans in front of Egyptian cabs. They look like the cars from a junkyard.

11. There are no coins in circulation. It was funny to be carrying 25 piasta notes.

12. I get a sense the education system in Cairo seems quite effective. Lots of colleges and universities. Think I saw the building of Cairo University on th way and the campus looked very impressive.

Travelogue - Oman

Dates: 03/10/07 – 05/10/07 .. the month of October 2007
Reason of travel: Official; Mid year Offsite
Venue: Shangri La Palace Resort, Muscat

1. The countryside had a distinct India feel. The arrangement of houses, doors, parked vehicles outside had a characteristic prosperous North Indian flavor.
2. Mosques in Oman have a blue colored dome. I haven’t seen this in other Islamic countries I have been to. In fact this observation seemed so interesting that I actually thought it could be a very good idea to research about mosques in different countries. After some reasonable erudition, one may be able to judge the country by looking at the mosque alone!
3. Oman has the least GDP among all gulf countries, even tiny Bahrain is better off. There are only two international airports for an otherwise big country – Muscat and Salalah. Its clearly atleast 20 years behind its more illustrious neighbor.
4. Entire Oman is hilly and undulating. It was very pleasant to see hills and hillocks in the heart of the city.
5. Currency is strange! 1 Omani Rial = 1000 baisa. I was very surprised by this, usually countries have 100 as a lower denomination
6. Frankincense trees are most common and have an important place in local culture, I am not very sure how one looks like but I thought I saw them along the road.
7. Omanis generally have a darker complexion than other Arabs. Also, one can distinguish an Omani from his hat. Its unique. Have a look here.
8. Travel to Oman from UAE is easy and picturesque by road. Visa formalities are just 15 min pit stops. But let me drop a caution here, the petrol pumps in the Omani side are hopeless, get your Pringles, tyre pressure and excretions in the UAE side. The latter without the bounty of water would not be an indulging activity.

That’s all folks! Till I travel again. For more photos please write to me at tenthousandthunderingtyphoons@gmail.com

Home is where the hurt is

In an order which demeans the disorder at the time of the big bang…

Nasik, Riyadh, Calcutta, Pune, Bombay, Puri, Jalgaon, Delhi, Cochin, Dubai, Ranchi, Mahabaleshwar, Bangalore, Shirdi, Alwar, Abu Dhabi, Chandigarh, Trivandrum, Jaipur, Patna, Ahmednagar, Kota, Sharjah, Cuttack, Goa, villages of North Rajasthan, Nagpur, BodhGaya, Bharatpur, Bhilai, Aurangabad, Muzzafarpur, Sawantwadi/Konkan, Mordor!

Influence on psyche on the y axis and my age on the x axis, size of the bubble indicates duration of stay, colors depicting emotions. Only two geometrical patterns that emerge from such a plot deserve mention. First is an ellipse with the equation x^2/a + y^2/b = c. Those who took co-ordinate geometry seriously in their teens would now conjure up the ellipse when I announce that a is greater than b. And all colors dashed freely, from green to pink!

Second is basically an outlier. And as all outliers, it tries to screw up the normalcy of the distribution. For simplicity, let me assign it limits y -> infinity. Size of the bubble is moderately large, but what’s striking is its color.. pitch black. Darker than a black hole, darker than hell, darker than this blog!; a shade only genuflecting to the blackness of my damned heart.

The hallowed few who transcend the defined thresholds of intellect and empathy and sympathy needed to comprehend this rant may freely draw conclusions. Most welcome. The disenchanted millions who are vociferously campaigning for my inclusion in Ripley’s believe it or not cerebral disorders can put the upper right hand corner of their screens to effective use. Balls. The confused many who are ..well.. the confused many, can dispense a sincere sigh or a sweet smile. Much appreciated.

Home is where the heart is.