Road Trip to Tip of India – Bangalore to Kanyakumari

In April we went on a road trip from Bangalore to Kanyakumari in our Fiat Palio. The 3 of us started off early in the morning at 4 pm to beat the traffic and headed on NH 7 which is a 4 lane highway. The road is excellently maintained although we need to pay tolls (total of Rs. 640) at frequent intervals.  The route was Bangalore-Salem-Namakkal-Karur-Dindigul-Madurai-Tirunelveli-Kanyakumari, total of 681 kms which we covered in 9 hrs. We reached Kanyakumari in 9 hrs with short breaks for breakfast at Arya Bhavan(near Dindigul) and lunch(packed to save waiting time in restaurants!) As the weather and road conditions were good we could cover every 100km in approx 1 hr each. 

As we arrived near Kanyakumari, we were clearly in a Windmill country – lots of windmills spinning  in the backdrop of mountains. Reached Kanyakumari at 2.00 pm and checked into Hotel Tamilnadu which is on Light House Main road very near to the sea shore.  We freshened up and immediately went to take the ferry to visit Vivekananda Rock.

Reached Kanyakumari at 2.00 pm and checked into Hotel Tamilnadu(maintained by Tamilnadu Tourism) which is on Light House Main road and very near to the sea shore.  We freshened up and immediately went to take the ferry to visit Vivekananda Rock.  The memorial stands on a rock about 500mts from Vavathurai, India’s sourthernmost tip.  On this rock is also the Devi Sripadam – the footprint of goddess Parvati where she meditated on one foot to wed Shiva. The Trisea colors are very clearly visible here and it gives a high to be standing a few meters outside the tip of peninsular India.

In the evening we witnessed the beautiful sunset and walked on the Kanyakumari beach road which is littered with vendors selling sea shells and spices. Lot of eateries serve idlis and ghee road dosas-  Tamilnad specialties. 

The next day we woke early to catch the beautiful sight of sunrise. Thereafter spent some time in Tsunami Memorial and Gandhi Dham where Gandhiji’s ashes were kept before immersion in the trisea. After a sumptuous breakfast of ghee roast dosas we headed to Suchindram Temple which is 15 kms away. It is the only temple where the trinity (Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma) is represented in a single idol.

Around noon we hit the Tirunelveli highway to reach Rameswaram.  Route was again on NH 7 -

Kanyakumari – Suchindrum – Tirunelveli – Sivalaperi -  Ramanathapura – Rameshwaram

Total 300 kms  - 4 hrs 53 mins  The roads  in Tamil Nadu are good. From Tirunelveli to Sivalperi it is a nice countryside drive passing through state highway.

By 5pm we were on the magnificient Pamban Bridge which connects the island of Rameshwaram to the hinterland of India. Views of tiny boats in the ocean bathed in the hue of the setting sun and the train whizzing across the ocean is simply breathtaking.  Rameswaram is considered as Dakshin Kashi and the famous Ramanathaswamy temple is located here.  The diety is the shivalinga worshipped by Rama after his return from Lanka. The temple is an architectural marvel famed for its huge corridors.

On day 3 we woke up early and started in a jeep at 6.30 am to visit Dhanushkodi which is about 20 kms from Rameshwaram. The road is very good till we hit the sand and from there on it is a bumpy ride in the jeep to land’s end on the white sand, interspersed with water and with Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal  on either side.  Dhanuskodi is a ghost town with about 400 people inhabiting it.  A cyclone hit the village in 1964 and the overturned rails, shattered railway station are still evident.  The place has no electricity or any medical facilities whatsoever. Once we get off the jeep, we walked for about 2-3 kms in the sand, literally till the land ended!  It was a wow moment! There were 2 oceans at arm’s length ! Sri Lanka is just 23 kms from here.  It is from here that Sugriva’s army constructued the Rama Setuve (bridge) to rescue Sita.

After returning from Dhanushkodi, at noon we hit the road again to go to Madurai which was 200kms away. Road conditions being very good, it was a smooth drive to the temple town. The Madurai Meenakshi temple is renowned for its architecture with awesome sculptures. 

Thereafter we came out of the crazy traffic of Madurai town and headed home back to Bangalore in the now familiar NH 7.

We had reached the tip of peninsular India in Kanyakumari,  been to the island of Rameshwaram, reached land’s end in Dhanushkodi, marvelled at the Meenakshi temple in Madurai and were back at home in 3 days after driving a total of 1700kms.

Trek to Kodachadri (Dec 2012)

When: Date: 1^st (Sat) and 2^nd (Sun)Dec 2012

Day finally came for long awaited trip to Kodachadri . We left Bangalore around 9pm in bus and reached Pathalagere around 6:30am. After a quick wash and breakfast at our home stay, everyone was excited to explore and enjoy the Kodachadri  trek route.  We   started the trek around 9am with local guide. It was green and hilly all around-, nature lover’s delight. Plenty of leeches on route make you to stop and check to see if any of them are sticking to you. Keeping little salt would help to take leeches away if stuck. After Trekking around 6km we found Hindlumane falls, which had nice refreshing water. We continued our trek – mostly uphill from here and reached top of a mountain, then walked on plain land  for some time and went  down the hill and until Lunch. The jeep which had come on motor-able road was waiting for us with food. After a tasty lunch we continued our trek towards the temple and then towards Kodachadri summit. Finally landed on Kodachadri top at around 5pm after enjoying the journey. The view was simply superb and it just froze in our mind. We started walking down and back to the place where we had our lunch which is also a sunset point. After watching sunset we continued our journey back but in a motor-able road. It was completely dark now hence our torches were on. We couldn't see anything around except insects noise and roaring jeeps passing once a while. We reached home stay after completing the night trek around 7pm. After fun campfire and playing dumb charades it was time to sleep. We had an option to sleep in Tent or cottage. Next day morning - enjoyed the Tea/coffee in misty green surroundings and we were ready to head back to Bangalore. On the way to Bangalore we stopped at Nagar Fort(Historical) and then for lunch at Shimoga. Reached Bangalore around 9pm. This was a very good trek and for me it was a must visit spot.     

Bike to Work: First time

Had been wanting to bike to work since a long time and finally it happened today.  Started off early in the day(7.30am) to beat the traffic and heat. It is around 18 km from home to office, distance is not a big challenge though. It took me 1 hr 10 min to cover 18 km, surprisingly the same time I need in my two wheeler. Since I started earlier in the day, the weather was good and not too hot. But I had to be very cautious about the traffic as many vehicles tend to  push you towards the curb. At the same time many showed a great deal of respect to a cyclist and gave way.  Wearing a helmet and riding glass was definitely helpful to protect my head and eyes from dust. On the way back it was dark, so blinker and reflectors were helpful.  All that cycling gear earned me curious and appreciative looks from passers by!! But it was fun. Finally checked  out another item from my "to do list" with satisfaction. Would like to keep this going and continue to bike to work at least once a month. Hope more people will join the cycling momentum !!

Trip to Kolar on 12-Nov-2012

We left Bangalore by car at 9.30 a.m in the morning and reached Kolar at 11 am. Our first stop was Anthargange. We had to climb a few steps and there is a temple on top of a small hillock. The speciality of this place is that ground water keeps pouring out of the hillock through the mouth of a bull idol (Nandi) all through the year.  There were a lot of monkeys in that area. There are lot of rocks, boulders and thick vegetation on this hill and it is a good place for trekking, but of course with local help.

            Next we went to  Kotilingeswara temple where they say there are 1 crore lingas over there. There is a huge lingas in a courtyard surrounded by many mini lingas spread over 15 acres.

            We went to visit Kolar Gold Fields but unfortunately it is closed down now and not open to public. But on the way we passed through BEML Nagar.

            Our next destination was Bangaru Tirupathi, about 10 Kms from Kotilingeshwara. Here the temple premises is very big and the main diety Venkatesha is on top of a huge boulder and has to be seen through 6 peep holes. The place was very quiet and peaceful as there were not many people.

            We then started to Avani which is also about 10 kms from Bangaru Tirupathi. The drive through the villages and field was very beautiful. Avani has many lingas  in a huge temple premises and is very well maintained by the Archaeological Society of India. The temple is similar to that of Belur and Halebidu with a lot of carvings, inscriptions on stones. The lingas are said to be installed by the 4 brothers of Ramayana namely, Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha and Shatrughna. Right  next to the temple is a Shankaracharya Math with a temple of godess Sharada. In the backdrop is a huge hill with big rocks with big lingas on them. It is said that Sita stayed here with Luva and Kusha alongwith Sage Valmiki. There are steps leading on top of the hill and it is a very beautiful view from the top. This was my best experience.

            Then around 7 pm we started our journey back to Bangalore, had dinner at Woody's on NH-4 and headed home.

Visit to Andaman Islands( Oct 2010 )

Blog on our Vacation to Andaman Islands from 10 Oct 10 to 17^th Oct 2010

Day 1 1010/2010:

We departed from Bangalore at 5.15 a.m. in the morning by Kingfisher Airlines and reached Port Blair at 7.30 a.m. It was a 2 and a half hour journey covering a distance of 1800 kms. As we were alight at Veer Savarkar Airport in Port Blair, we had a breathtaking view of the islands from above. There were many bunches of green islands scattered in the blue ocean of Bay of Bengal.

It was raining in Port Blair when we reached. From the airport we were transferred to a Jetty. We got into a luxury cruise vessel," Makruzz" for journey by sea to Havelock Island at around 9.a.m. There were approximately 300 passengers on this Singapore made vessel. It was a comfortable 45 min journey. Havelock is a beautiful island about 30 kms from Port Blair.

On reaching Havelock, we were taken to SeaShell Resort. This resort has condos and has its own private beach. We freshened up and had a stroll on the beach. We played tic-tac-toe on the sand and also built sand castles. After lunch, we took a 2 km walk from the resort to the Jetty. It was still raining and the surroundings looked lush green. We returned back around 4pm. It had already begun to get dark. Since we were tired from the journey we fell asleep till 7 p.m. Woke up and had dinner and after a stroll till the beach in the night we called it a day.

Day 2. 11/10/2010
Daybreak is very early by 5.a.m.When we woke up at 5.45, it was very bright. It was drizzling. Just took a walk around the resort and checked the water level at the sea. It was still low tide there. Had a nice breakfast and got ready to go to Elephant Beach for snorkelling. Though it was a bright day it was still raining.

We reached the Jetty and got into wooden boats to have the ride of our lives. The tides were pretty strong, the rain was lashing, and the boat was going hunky dory tossing us around. All of us slowly picked up our life jackets and of course there was a lot of screaming happening around. We were at the mercy of the sea for half an hour before we reached Elephant Beach. People were doing Scuba diving and snorkelling there. We had a gala time playing in the waves. We were sceptical about our return journey in the boat, but the sea had calmed down a bit. On reaching Havelock we considered ourselves lucky!

Went back to the resort totally drenched and drained but disappointed on not being able to do snorkelling. After lunch we headed to Radhanagar beach. It was Asia's best beach in 2004. It is a beautiful beach with white sand, literally untouched. It was raining very heavily. But it did not stop us from venturing into the sea. We had a whale of a time. We were just floating on the waves.

On the way back to the hotel, our bus slipped and went off the road. We all got off the bus and finally it had to be pulled out by a rope with another big truck. Whew! That was bit of an adventurous ride. When we reached the resort at 5.45 it was pitch dark. We rested for a while.

We played Housie in the evening and we were lucky to win full housie. It was a lot of fun. After a good dinner we wound up a pretty long day.

Day 3 12/10/2010
Had our breakfast, packed our bags at checkout at 10a.m. We reached the Jetty and boarded the ship Makruzz at 11.am. The weather was bad, the sea was rough and it was a roller coaster ride aboard and it made quite a few people suffered from sea sickness. It was a memorable ride though.

On reaching Port Blair, we checked into TSG Emerald Hotel at 1.30 p.m. After having lunch, we took a walk in downtown, went around the bazaar area, purchased T Shirts and shorts, ready for another wet day. Must mention that the city is very neat and clean. People are very polite and friendly. Saw a lot of camaraderie between people of different states and religion. We came back all the way back by walk. Had dinner and called it a day.

Day 4. 13/10/2010
Started the day with a good breakfast . Began the day by visiting Cellular Jail. The guide explained a lot of details about Veer Savarkar Jail. Built in 1852, has around 752 cells; saw various heinous punishment techniques meted out to prisoners; saw Veer Savarkar's cell – he had written Marathi poetry on the wall; had a view of Ross island. Spent about an hour in the jail. It made us quite numb to hear the sordid tales.

Then we went to Anthropological Museum. Lots of info about tribal people; the way they lived, their weapons, dressings, huts, food, community style, etc models were kept.

Then we went to Samudrika Museum. Saw Aquarium - had star fished, sea anemones, clown fishes, corals, shells, etc..

Later we visited Chhattam Saw Mill. Saw various wooden furniture, cutting of logs by machines, transportation by trams etc.

Came back to the hotel around 1.30 pm.

In the afternoon at 3 pm. We went to Corbyn's Cove Beach. Nice beach, it was a lovely afternoon. We did a lot of swimming.

On the way back we shopped for Sea shells in the shopping area – Middle Point. We tasted some delicious samosas and kadak chai.

Day 5. 14/10/2010

We had the morning off to ourselves. We visited Marina Park in Port Blair. It is a beautiful place in the heart of Port Blair with many memorials of II World war, Subash Chandra Bose, Kargil, etc.

We did some swimming in the sea water. Then we did Jet Skiing in the sea water. It was an awesome ride, jutting off at 40 nautical miles per hour on the Jet Ski. Truly thrilling!

In the afternoon we went to Viper Island by boat. It houses the first jail built but later used for female inmates. It is almost in ruins now, caused by the tsunami. On the way back, we sat on the deck, enjoyed the sunset and the cool breeze.

Got off the boat and headed straight to the Cellular Jail to watch the Light and Sound Show. It was pretty dark by 5.30 pm. There was a huge audience and chairs were put up in the jail. The story of how the jail came into existence, the happenings, about the brave prisoners, etc were told using light and sound effects. After the show most of us literally had tears in our eyes, to realise that we are enjoying freedom because of the struggles of so many Indians who fought for our independence. This show was a memorable part of our trip.

Day 6. 15/10/2020

After breakfast, at 9.00 am we reached the jetty to catch a boat to Ross Island. Ross Island was the British Capital and Administrative Centre. It is surrounded on all sides by water. On alighting on the island, we were dumbstruck to see how well planned it still looks today. There was a tennis court, bakery, cafe, swimming pool, power station etc. We were taken around by a fiery and passionate guide Ms. Anuradha Rao who commanded our undivided attention. She has dedicated her life to the island and is so familiar with it that even bulbul birds line up at her beck and call. Even the deer come running to her when she calls them out. Prithvi did what he loves the best – feeding the deer with bread. She was one of those rare guides whom we cannot forget. We learnt that Port Blair was saved from the wrath of the tsunami, as Ross Island took the first hit.

Had refreshing Coconut water and got on the boat to head for North Bay. All of us were very eager to do Snorkelling. It was a lovely day, lovely weather. We changed into swimming gear the moment we got down and were off to swimming. We put on the snorkelling gadgets,(goggles and the blow pipe and tube) and were taken quite deep into the sea by a snorkelling guide. We saw a lot of corals beneath the sea. Some hopped onto a boat with glass floor and took a look at the corals without getting wet! The underwater marine life is really mesmerising! We decided we must definitely go Scuba Diving next. We had a nice picinic, as we had packed lunch from the hotel. Half heartedly we got on the boat to get back to Port Blair. We had a splendid time in the water.

We reached Marina Park and we hung out there. We did Paddle boating with my son at the wheels. We treated ourselves with hot samosas and it was a delight to eat them sitting by the sea. On the way back we saw Durga Pandals put up for Vijayadashami, Bengali style celebrations. We tasted Rosgulla and Sondesh.

Day 7 16/10/2010

Woke up at 3.am. to go to Baratang Island. We got into a Tata Sumo, and a convoy of vehicles moved on along the 90 km stretch for 1 ½ hr. We reached the checkpost at 6.30 am.
Thereafter, the convoy was escorted by the Forest police as we travelled along the area inhabited by the Jarawa tribe. There were a lot of Jarawa tribal kids along the way waving and cheering. Some of them had dressed up in flowers, some had smeared ash on their face and some were holding spears and arrows. They were as eager to see us as were to see them. We reached a place and we were transferred to Baratang Island by a ferry. Then we got on a boat and had the best boat ride in the sea. We were cruising along and there were lush green mangroves on either side, and many small islands were scattered along. There was pin drop silence and we heard only the sound of the waves. After about 40 mins, the boat suddenly took a deviation and we were in for a surprise. We had entered a canopy of the mangroves, and the only word that came out from everyone's mouth was "AWESOME". It was a beautiful sight as we moved into the mangroves slowly. We got off and took a 3 km trek to see the lime stone caves. The walk was wonderful as we moved carefully in the rainforests. The limestone caves were dark inside, and with the help of a torch light we moved inside and saw the myriad images formed by the limestones. It was a wonderful experience.

We walked back the 3 km stretch, most of us exhausted, got on the boat, enjoyed the scenery on the return journey, back the same way through the Jarawas territory and reached the hotel around 4 pm.

We had just had a glimpse of the real Andaman that day. We realised how rich Andaman is in its flora and fauna, heritage and culture.

The evening was spent in exchanging emails and phone numbers with other members of our group and we all were feeling sad that our trip had come to an end.

Day 8 17/10/2010
Checked out of the hotel at 6.30 and reached Veer Savarkar International airport. Our flight was at 8.15 am.We thanked our Makemytrip guys, expecially Shyam who was an excellent co-ordinator. We waved one last good bye to Andaman and reached Bangalore at 11 a.m. with a lot of wonderful memories.

Skandagiri hill from road

 

Midnight at Skandagiri

Skandagiri is a hill situated about 56 kms north of Bangalore, near the small town of Chikkaballapura. It is an ideal weekend trekking spot for people of all age groups.

On 4th Sept, Friday night, it being a full moon day, we AOLers set out on a midnight trekking expedition to Skandagiri.
We started from Bangalore around 10 p.m. and reached Chikkaballapur around 12 a.m. It was a quiet drive through the town, with the entire town fast asleep. The tiny mountain range beckoned us behind the dark cloudy background. By 1 a.m. we were all raring to go with the head count done. Amidst all the chattering, and with a bunch of searchlights flashing around, we made quiet a sight.

For the first half an hour we scaled the hill with relative ease. Then we started moving amidst the narrow bushes in the dark. It was quiet slippery as it had rained the previous day. As we moved higher up we could see the lights of the neighboring town of Gauribidanur. For the next hour and a half we climbed on boulders, dodged slippery stones, taking breaks frequently and enjoying the night. We reached the summit at 3.a.m. Guess what, we were literally in the clouds!! It was freezing and very windy. There was a temple with an idol of Ganesh(some of us took refuge in there to escape the cold). We set up a bonfire and started out wait for the sunrise. Must mention the weather reminded us of Shimla, and spending time out in the cold clouds was quiet an ordeal.

There was quiet a crowd atop with a lot of fellow trekkers up there to savour the sunrise which unfortunately was not visible because of the thick clouds. We started descending down around 6.30 a.m. The air around was awesomely fresh and it was a lovely sight to see the morning light spread out across and beyond the mountain ranges. It looked as though the ranges were bathing in the rays of the sun.

We reached down around 8.30 a.m.and excitedly discussed about the journey down. The coconut water we drank quenched our first pangs of hunger. We started back thoroughly satisfied and reached Bangalore around 11.am.

How to get there:

From Yelahanka, take NH7 via BIA, Devanahalli and you reach Chickkaballapura which is approx 56 kms. In Chikballapura take a left turn at the Police Station(one near Bus satnd). After about 2 kms, make a left at the Papagnimatha arch and a narrow street leads through Mallapura and 5 kms later you are at the base of Skandagiri.