Place: Skandagiri, Karnataka
Mode: Bike Trip and Night Trek at Kalavarahalli
Kms: 75 kms from Bangalore
Date(s) of Travel: December 7, 2008
You can read more about the place here: Skandagiri
My Experience:
1. Me and my colleague Chethan started from Palace Grounds by bike at Dec 6, 2008, 11.00 PM. We went through chikballapur route and reached foothills by around 1.00 AM.
2. On the foothills there is a temple and a mutt. There is a pay and park facility available and there are few guides also available. Since chethan has already been to this place we choose to trek by ourselves around 1.15 AM.
3. It was damn cold and fog everywhere. The hill was bit steep and rocks everywhere, but trekking in the night with Torch was a nice experience. We took some rests in few places. We could see a lot of people and there was traffic jam over there too.
4. We managed to reach the peak by around 4.15 PM. There were group of people everywhere and even some having campfire. It was almost like seeing a new civilization.
5. There were some people who sell hot tea and Omelette. It was freezing cold over the top and I started even running nose. There is a Lord Ganesh Temple at the top and we sat there for sometime to protect ourselves from cold.
6. Around 5.30 AM, Sun started to come out. We could see the clouds very near to us and it was a thrilling experience.
7. Around 8.30 AM, we reached back the foothills and back to Bangalore by 9.50 AM.
Thought of Day: Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time - Steven Wright.
Place: Seoul, South Korea
Mode: Thai Airways (Via Bangkok, Taipei)
Date(s) of Travel: Feb 2, 2008 to March 23, 2008
You can read more about the place here: Seoul
My Experience:
1. G. Prabhu and Krishnamoorthy helped me a lot during pre-travel activities like purchasing and send-off. Thanks da. Thanks Navaneethan for lending me a digi-cam.
2. First time flight experience was good. But I feared almost all the time.
3. First to Bangkok, Thailand. I had only half-hour to catch the connecting flight to seoul, but the boarding pass queue was very long. Finally flight got delayed by two hours.
4. Flight did a stop-over at Taipei, Taiwan for 45 minutes. I roamed around the Airport for some time. It was good.
5. Finally I reached Incheon, Seoul. When the flight got landed, every korean in the flight shouted "Welcome to Korea". They love their country very much as like everyone in the world.
6. Immigration people didn't allowed me and put me in the suspect room. Oh my god, I couldn't understand their language. [:)]. Finally, police verified and allowed me. (Reason: HP Business in Korea and I had a long colored hair in the Passport Photo).
7. It was -10 Degree C in seoul and I could experience snowfall. Traveling in Subway Train was a real good experience. Lot of people asked me, "Are you an Indian". When I say yes, they reply with joy "We love India". Oh Great.
8. I tasted korean dishes like Kim Baap, Vivim Baap(My favourite), Pibim Baap, Kimchi and Bean Soup. Soju Drink and Sundae are really great to have. I too tasted Mexican food. You could find a lot of Indian restaurants too. Korean people love Indian food.
9. While coming back, I took a three days vacation in Bangkok. It was nice experience roaming around the city. Khao Son Road night life was ultimate. Simply Thai is great.
10. Finally came to Bangalore. Same Traffic all the day. :)
Thought of Day: Travelers Never think thay they are the foreigners. - Mason cooley.
Place: Ramanagaram near Bangalore.
Mode: Bus.
Kms: 50 kms from Bangalore. (On Mysore Road)
Date of Journey: January 30, 2008, Wednesday.
Read about the place here: Ramanagaram
My Experience:
1. I woke up late in the morning, but Nishi dropped me so I could managed to catch the bus.
2. Since we went on a weekday, we were only there. That was good.
3. The whole place is surrounded by mountains and forests.
4. There are some shops at the entrance, where you can get drinks, and some food stuffs.
5. The activities like Rappelling, River crossing and Rock climbing are organized by skilled people. They are providing this service as a whole package including food and camp fire.
6. Everyone was enjoying a lot, except the day was too hot.
7. Night Trekking was really good, but lot of people did not turn up becoz of tiredness.
8. In the evening, camp fire was good as I was watching only :)
9. The dinner was good with some drinks sponsored by one of the section manager. :)
Next day, I could able to go to office only in the second half. Overall it was new and a fun filled experience for me.
Thought of Day: Known is a drop, Unknown is an ocean.
