Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Trip to Gopalaswamy Betta and Balmuri Falls

Place: Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta, Karnataka, India
Mode: Car Trip (Bangalore - Mysore - Gopalaswamy Betta - Balmuri Falls - Bangalore)
Date(s) of Travel: November 1, 2010





You can read more about the place(s) here: Gopalaswamy Betta

My Experience:

1. Since it was a holiday, myself and colleagues decided to go to gopalaswamy betta near mysore for a one day trip. We started at around 7 AM in the morning from bangalore.

2. It was lot of traffic even in the early morning on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. We had a heavy buffet breakfast at kamat restaurant on the way. Having awsome breakfast in the morning is a bliss.

3. We reached gopalswamy betta around 12 PM and there is big temple at the top of the hill. The priest in the temple arranged us lunch, which was yummy. Lot of tourists were on the top of the hill.

4. We trekked a hill which is adjacent to the temple and the view of the bandipur forest from the top was so awsome. People said, there are lot of elephants and it is risky to trek further.

5. While coming back to bangalore in the evening, we went to balmuri falls near KRS dam in mysore. We had a good time there having bath. Finally in the night, we reached bangalore before hitting a coffee day shop for dinner in the highway.

Thought of Day:The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking. - Albert Einstein

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Bike Trip to Shivanasamudra

Place: Shivanasamudra, Karnataka, India
Mode: Bike Trip (Bangalore - Maddur - Shivanasamudra - Bangalore)
Date(s) of Travel: October 10, 2010





You can read more about the place(s) here: Shivanasamudra Falls

My Experience:

1. Me and my friend decided to do a bike trip to Shivanasamudra which is around 140 Kms from Bangalore. We started around 12.00 PM and reached Kamat hotel after channapatna around 1.30 PM. The lunch was simply too good.

2. The bike ride was very smooth till maddur but after maddur it was horrible. We reached Gaganachukki around 4.30 PM and there were lot of water in the falls.

3. From there we travelled another 10 Kms to Bharachukki falls. We got down the steps and went to the falls to take bath. We even had a koraikal ride where they will take you near the waterfalls which was thrilling.

4. It became pitch dark around 7.00 PM and we started back to bangalore. But there were heavy rains till maddur and it was almost impossible to ride the bike because of the pot holes. We reached bangalore around 11.00 PM with having a stop in Coffee day near ramnagaram. It was a nice experience driving the bike in Mysore road.

Thought of Day:Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character. - Albert Einstein

Trekking from Kodaikanal to Munnar

Place: Kodaikanal, TamilNadu, India
Mode: Tempo (Bangalore - Kodaikanal - Munnar - Coimbatore - Bangalore)
Date(s) of Travel: September 24, 25 & 26, 2010





You can read more about the place(s) here: Kodaikanal Munnar


My Experience:

1. Me and my colleagues boarded the nagercoil express train at around 11.00 PM from bangalore to kodairoad. We reached kodairoad at around 8.30 AM the next day and we arranged for a tempo traveller to kodaikanal.

2. We reached kodaikanal around 12.30 PM and it was drizzling which was so pleasant. We met our trekking guide "Kodai mani" who organizes this trek. He is a money minded guy and never guides people. That is the experience we had from that guy.

3. We travelled by another tempo to Berijam which is the starting point of our trek. The view on the way from kodaikanal to berijam was quite beautiful. We started trekking around 1.30 PM and after sometime we were quite deep inside the forest. It started raining after sometime and it never stopped. The whole way was full of leeches and everybody was so freaked about that.

4. After three hours we stopped near a lake for our lunch. Then again we started to walk and reached a village around 6.30 PM. After having some refreshments in a tea shop, we bought some raw materials for dinner. From there we started walking towards another village called Naatampatti where we gonna camp in the night. We reached the place around 8.00 PM and it was a forest guest house.

5. After having good dinner and some camp fire, we hit the sack. It was very cold in the night. Next day around 8.00 AM we started to trek towards Kovizhur. I would say, we walked a lot and crossed a few waterstreams. It started raining so heavily and lot of people started getting cramps. The last stretch of reaching Kovizhur was so thrilling as it was very steep and muddy due to the rain.

6. Finally we reached Kovizhur around 7.30 PM and everybody was so tired as we dint had lunch. From there we went by a jeep to munnar. We stayed in a small hotel which was pretty comfortable. Next day morning around 11.00 AM we started to coimbatore by jeep. The three hour jeep ride from Munnar to Chinnar was so beautiful as there were tea plantations everywhere. We spotted some waterfalls on the way and it was quite scenic.

7. In the night, we boarded a bus to bangalore from coimbatore.

Thought of Day:If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut. - Albert Einstein

Monday, October 04, 2010

Trip to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne - Europe

Place: Europe (Paris - Brussels - Amsterdam - Cologne)
Mode: Bus, Train (London Victoria Bus Station - Paris, France - Brussels, Belgium - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Cologne, Germany - Paris, France - London)
Date(s) of Travel: August 09, 2010 - August 21, 2010





You can read more about the place(s) here: Paris, France





You can read more about the place(s) here: Brussels, Belgium





You can read more about the place(s) here: Amsterdam, Netherlands





You can read more about the place(s) here: Cologne, Germany

My Experience:

1. I decided to do a shoe string budget trip to Europe for 11 days. My plan was to travel in eurolines buses (which are cheap across Europe), trains (little costly) and to stay in youth hostels and meet as many people possible and experience different cultures.

2. On August 9th 2010, I started to Paris from London Victoria bus station at around 8 AM. Eurolines buses are too good. The bus reached Dover, England around 11.30 AM. It went inside a train to cross the English channel. That was an kick-ass experience. Within 25 minutes it reached Calais, France at the other end.

3. In the evening around 4 PM reached Paris and I checked-in to the http://www.montclair-hostel.com hostel. It was a quite nice place and met lot of people. I should say some places of Paris are simply superb but some of them are really shady. I stayed in Paris for 4 days and went to Eiffel tower, Louvre museum and few places. I also met my friends whom i met them back in Thailand two years ago. Traditional french dinner with Duck and Wine...oh man..its so nice.

4. On August 12th 2010 afternoon, I started to Brussels, Belgium by bus. I stayed in the http://www.2go4.be/quality/ hostel. The city center of Brussels was quite beautiful. In the hostel met some friends from Argentina and Germany. They were so friendly and even we did a night out in a local pub. It was an unforgettable experience.

5. Next day morning, I roamed the city and did some local sight seeing. In the evening I started to Amsterdam, Netherlands by bus and reached around 10 PM. My friend dinesh who studied with me in college, currently works in Amsterdam, came to pick me up. I decided to stay in Amsterdam for few nights because I heard its a kick-ass place for bachelors.

6. In Amsterdam I went to lot of pubs, live shows and even drove a boat in the canals. I smoked weed which was like feeling heaven. I can't explain in words, how good Amsterdam was. I have some plans to stay in Amsterdam for a month. Lets see, how it goes.

7. On August 17th 2010 morning, I started to Cologne, Germany by train. I traveled in train because I was running short of time and only few bus services to cologne. In the afternoon, I reached cologne and stayed in the http://www.koeln-hostel.de hostel. I would say, Germans are the most friendliest people I have ever seen in Europe.

8. I roamed cologne and went to few places like Cologne Dom, Sculpture park, Panorama. In the evening I went to some pubs where they were playing live rock bands. It was kick ass. On August 19th 2010 evening, I started to Paris by train because I need to catch my night bus back to London.

9. On August 20th 2010 morning I reached back London with lot of beautiful memories. I made lot of friends and I am still in touch with them through facebook. Indeed the world is nice.

Thought of Day: Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. - Albert Einstein

Trip to New Forest - England

Place: New Forest, England
Mode: Train Trip (London Waterloo Station - Brockenhurst - London)
Date(s) of Travel: July 31, 2010








You can read more about the place(s) here: New Forest, England

My Experience:

1. I heard about the beauty of new forest, so I decided to go there and enjoy the summer. Early morning, I left from waterloo station and reached Brockenhurst which is one of the city in new forest area. When I reached brockenhurst it was drizzling and weather was near perfect for walking/trekking.

2. I went to local tourist information centre and bought a walking trail map and started walking towards Lymington (another city in the area). I would say it is the beautiful ever country side I have seen in england.

3. Then I went to Beaulieu which is a very beautiful place where the National motor museum and the palace house located. It was a very nice experience to see a wide variety of motor cars from olden days till the modern ferrari.

4. Finally I reached Lymington and had few beers. In lymington there is a car showroom which had lot of ferrari cars and maseratis. Just to have a view of black ferrari was like bliss. Hope one day I will have a chance to drive a ferrari.

Thought of Day: Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding. - Albert Einstein

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Trip to Brighton - England

Place: Brighton, England
Mode: Train Trip (London Bridge Station - Brighton - London)
Date(s) of Travel: July 10, 2010





You can read more about the place(s) here: Brighton

My Experience:

1. Due to high summer I decided to go to a beach and ended up in brighton. Brighton was filled with lot of student tourists and young people. So it was full of energy. For people who don't know, brighton is the gay capital of UK.

2. First I went to sealife aquarium which was pretty decent. Seeing people feeding sharks was very thrilling and under water walking through glass tunnel was also very exciting.

3. Next went to devil's dyke which is a valley near brighton. Thr bus takes you through brighton city in open top and seeing the green valleys and breathing the fresh air was welcoming. After relaxing for sometime in the valley and watching people flying kites I decided to do a small trek around the valley.

4. After the small trek came back to brighton and went to brighton pier. The pier had lot of gaming shops and fun rides. First time in my life went in a roller coaster and it was thrilling.

5. After a long day travelled back to london with lot of memories.

Thought of Day: A person starts to live when he can live outside himself. - Albert Einstein

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Trip to Edinburgh - Scotland

Place: Edinburgh - Scotland
Mode: Train Trip (London Liverpool Street - London Stansted - Glasgow - Edinburgh - Glasgow - London Stansted)
Date(s) of Travel: June 11 - 13, 2010





You can read more about the place(s) here: Edinburgh - Scotland

My Experience:

1. Almost everybody who travelled to scotland tells you that it is a beautiful place. So we decided to experience scotland. We started around morning 7.00 AM from london and reached edinburgh around 3.00 PM after a small break in glasgow city.

2. Edinburgh is a beautiful city with lot of history attached to it. In the evening we decided to do a small trek which is adjacent to scottish parliament. The view from the hill towards the city and the seashore is so beautiful. In the evening we decided to do some pub hoping.

3. Next day we went to South Queensferry and did a boat trip to one small island. After that we did a city bus tour which was so good as they explain lot about the city history. In the evening we decided to go to the edinburgh castle but we were short of time and couldn't go.

4. We decided to climb the Scot monument which is built in memory for a famous scot poet. Climbing the 287 small circular steps till the top is little scary. The view from the top is so nice. Then we went to a pub to watch the world cup match between USA and England. No body in Scotland were supporting England and they were supporting USA just because they hate being part of UK and ruled by England. That was a very different experience.

5. Next day morning we went to a service in St.Giles Cathedral. It was a very old church and we met some scottish people asking about India and the religions we follow. Then we went to National Art Gallery followed by Edinburgh Castle. We spent some four hours looking around the castle which was nice.

6. In the night we left to London. We should have done northern scotland trip but due to time and plan we couldn't do it. But Edinburgh was a nice experience.

Thought of Day:Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. - Albert Einstein

Road Trip to Bath, Cardiff and Snowdonia

Place: Bath - England, Cardiff & Snowdonia - Wales
Mode: Car Trip (London Heathrow - Bath - Cardiff - Dolgellau - Snowdonia - London Heathrow)
Date(s) of Travel: May 29 - 31, 2010








You can read more about the place(s) here:
Bath - England
Cardiff - Wales
Dolgellau - Wales
Snowdonia - Wales

My Experience:

1. Since it was a long weekend we decided to do a roadtrip to wales. We started at 10 AM and after initial glitches with tomtom (GPS) we finally hit the motorway around 11.30 AM. It takes some time to adjust to use GPS. Finally we reached Bath around 3.00 PM and it was little bit cloudy.

2. I should say Bath is a very beautiful city. The landscapes before entering the city and the central city was so good. We went to the roman baths which is a natural warm water spring and its been well preserved till date. The early engineering used by romans were just amazing to see.

3. Then we left for Cardiff. We reached cardiff around 8.00 PM and we stayed in a youth hostel. The hostel was right before the Wales millenium stadium and it was a too good experience. We did pub hoping and it was so much fun drinking till early hours.

4. Next day we went to local market and had some breakfast. In the local markets you meet lot of countryside people and its nice to meet new people. We started at around 11 AM to Dolgellau. The drive from cardiff to dolgellau through lot of hills was simply good. Finally reached dolgellau around 7 PM and we stayed in a country side hostel. Actually it was a camp site with some dorms.

5. We decided to do some walking around dolgellau town and we dint see anybody in the road. Then we went to a pub which had live music and it was so much fun. The whole people in the town was in the pub.

6. Next day morning we started to snowdonia one of the highest mountain in wales. We saw lot of tourists on snowdonia and lot of people were hiking. Mountain railway is a famouns thing in snowdonia but there were no tickets for the whole day. We did the electric mountain trip which is a visit to one of europes biggest hydroelectric powerstation. That experience was so good and thrilling.

7. In the afternoon we started to London and reached in the evening.

Thought of Day:We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. - Jawaharlal Nehru

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Trip to Dover - Kent, UK

Place: Dover - Kent, London, England
Mode: Train Trip (London Bridge Station - Dover Priory - London Victoria)
Date(s) of Travel: May 23, 2010





You can read more about the place(s) here: Dover - Kent

My Experience:

1. In the office some of my colleagues and myself decided to go to some place in the weekend and we zeroed in to Dover. We started at morning around 10 AM from London and reached Dover after an hour. The scenery during the train journey towards dover was so good and the sea at the last 5 minutes is so beautiful.

2. After having Brunch in the city (which is pretty small) we went to the dover castle. The view from the castle towards the sea is too good and one shouldn't miss the underground wartime tunnel guided tour.

3. Inside the castle there were people enacting as the king, prince and princess. We interacted with them and they looked like wax figures for me initially. The prince gave me some tips to woo girls. Yay.

4. Dover is very famous for its white cliffs and we did a small trek on the cliffs. From the cliffs, the view to the Dover port was amazing. Some people were even mountain biking. I envy them, coz they are damn fit. From the cliffs, you can the see the france.

5. After spending some time on the cliffs we went to the beach. In england, there are lot of pebble beaches, so not good. The view from the beach towards the white cliffs are good. It was worth time spending one day in dover.

Thought of Day:A picture is worth a thousand words. - Napoleon Bonaparte

Sunday, March 07, 2010

Bike Trip to Yelagiri

Place: Yelagiri Hills, Tamil Nadu, India
Mode: Bike Trip (Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Vaniyambadi - Yelagiri)
Date(s) of Travel: March 06 - 07, 2010





You can read more about the place(s) here: Yelagiri Hills

My Experience:

1. I decided to go by bike for the office party which happened in yelagiri. Since its a 170 km (one way) ride, I lended a Apache RTR 160 from my friend.

2. Since the summer started, I started around saturday 3 PM from bangalore. It was so freaking hot these days. Since the whole journey is on highway I was able to push the bike @ 80s constantly.

3. The Hosur-Chennai stretch is so superb that you would love biking. After reaching Vaniyambadi took a right turn which takes us to the yelagiri hills.

4. By around 5.45 PM I reached yelagiri since I haven't stopped anywhere. Yelagiri is a small hill station and its commercially growing. Having said its a hill, its not cold at all. Roamed here and there in bike and went to a temple which was nearby where I was staying.

5. Enjoyed the party and started the next day afternoon to bangalore.

Thought of Day:Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. - Russel Baker

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Trip to Dandeli and white water rafting in Kali river

Place: Dandeli, Karnataka, India
Mode: Tempo (Bangalore - Hubli - Dandeli - Bangalore)
Date(s) of Travel: January 23 & 24, 2010





You can read more about the place(s) here: Dandeli

My Experience:

1. Me and my colleagues started at around 10.00 PM from bangalore to Dandeli. Till Tumkur the traffic was very bad since some bridge construction was going on. After Tumkur, our tempo van driver felt very sleepy and he took some power nap for 2 hrs :(. During that time we were playing some music in the portable speakers on the highways.

2. Next day morning just before Hubli we had breakfast and I forgot the place name. Finally we reached Dandeli only at 12.30 PM, since the distance between bangalore and dandeli is around 500 kms. (blame the driver)

3. We arranged for home stay which is after Kulgi Nature camp around 12 kms from Dandeli city. The stay was too good and water streams flowing behind our house. The home food they prepared was too good and we just went on a rampage.

4. Just outside our house we spotted a big squirrel in a tree. We also spotted some jackals. But we couldn't spot any other wild animals.

5. In the night we had campfire and some music and I should say it was a pleasant one. The walk on the moonlight in the road was an thrilling experience, but we didn't go very far.

6. Next day morning we reached Jungle Lodges and resorts where we took a jeep to the Kali river for white water rafting. The early morning drive from dandeli to Kali river was sexy. It was so cold and green everywhere.

7. Doing water rafting on the Kali river was so good. I have no words to explain the awsomeness we experienced while rafting. Floating on the water with life jacket was simply good. We spotted lot of wild birds.

8. In the afternoon we went to a place called Syntheri rocks which is a natural granite sedimentary rock. Then in the evening we had plans to do jungle safari but time din't allow us to do that. Finally reached bangalore next day morning around 5 AM with dinner break at Rani Bennur town.

Thought of Day:Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing. - Albert Einstein