Juwal Bose Says

The idea was there when i first did my trip to wayanad. I selectively left out Chembra peak for the sole reason to conquer it with fellow trekker Anish. So we planned to execute it on the third weekend of March09. Anish came to my home the friday evening and stayed with us. The next day we had an official agreemetn signing of a court case which had been prevailing for some years now. That was a satisfying settlement as we were getting some money back. We started our travel on bus before after noon. We had to see Devraj as Anish had to collect a mural painting which dev was doing. At trissur we met up with dev and he handed over the 6 foot mural of ‘Ashtalakshmi‘ which pictured 8 lakshmi goddesses. Anish settled the payment and we took a bus to kozhikode where we planned to deliver the mural, get the Fuji camera that anish had a friend bring him from US. When everything got settled it was very late at night and we planned to book a ticket to wayanad. Although we booked our tickets we found that our seats were already taken, thanks to some real sloppy work by the people at the ticket counter. Duplicate tickets were given out for the same pair of seats and we were left out. We got a refund and waited for the next bus. We reached Kalpetta at nearly 2 am and started enquiring about lodgings. Alas all the lodgings in Kalpetta was booked. This was news and the reason was that during weekends people from bangalore make weekend getaways to this place and all locdgingd got booked on weekends. We looked around for some time and found that the onl y option left was to find transport to sultan bethery and find a lodging there. We waited at bus stand and then the magazines arrived. Bunch of people started sorting everything. We were amazed to find this activity and to our happiness we found that the vehicle was going to sultan bethery to deliver news paper. We got a ride and it was real fun as the vehicle was free rolling onto shops to throw paper kits over to them. At sultan bethery we got a lodge for Rs 450 which was not worth Rs150, but we had no complaints.

We started early after 3 hours sleep, took bus to Kalpetta where we enquired about any bus leaving in the evening in which we can book tickets back. But the timings were not right. So we had food and got on bus to meppadi were we got an auto to Chembra peak. We actually stopped over at the forest range office at meppadi and the officer there informed us that the permission was not to be given from there. We would get the pass and guides from the office near the peak itself. The auto guy took us to the ticket counter which was on the way upto the chembra estate.

From Chembra_Mar_09

The tickets were for Rs 1000 for hard trekking and Rs 500 for mild trekking. This was an overkill as i had made treks on Himalayas for much cheaper rates. They will provide a guide for the rate and we were charged Rs 500 and allotted the hard trek. We all know that no one will come trekking if they charge Rs 1000. The auto took us to the bottom of the estate for Rs 70. It was 7kms and it was fair enough.
We started our walk towards a look out post where we found another guard. It was a scenic poit from where we can see the landscape.

From Chembra_Mar_09

The trek was supposed to be 4 hours up and down if we took it at a stretch. It was 2100 feets climb to the top and we took turns to rest when the guide simply walked on. We saw some other gangs returning from the trek and some foreigners too. It was only after a while that we saw the peak for real.

From Chembra_Mar_09

The whole area was barren due to a recent wild fire. Actually there should have been long grasses which were 6 feet high blocking all views. But this time we could see everything and that really killed the fun. We reached the lake where the mild trekking will end. Had some chocolates and bananas and lots of water. Advise is to carry 2 bottles of water atleast.

From Chembra_Mar_09

The trek consisted of 5 tiers of mountain climbing one after the other. We could reast after each steep climb. It was kind of severe when considered to the other treks that we had made.

From Chembra_Mar_09

It took us 3 hours to reach the summit. After some initial troubles we had become accustomed to the trek and towards the end it just ended abruptly. Last stretch of climb was rocky and fun.

From Chembra_Mar_09

On reaching the summit every one lied down basking in the mild sun. Sun had gone behind clouds and there was good breeze. This was relaxing. No one spoke a word, we just rested there watching the beauty all around us.

From Chembra_Mar_09

We were feeling real hungry by now as we didnt take much food on the way and have not had a good nights sleep. Suddenly we found that it was going to rain. We both had new cameras and were terrified at getting wet. So we had to rush down to beat the rain.

From Chembra_Mar_09

So we rushed down and made it back in record time. We just beat the rain and reached our Auto ride whom we had called up on our way back. We got back to our lodgings and took some rest, food and refreshment. We cancelled the idea of going for the Air bus as it was really late. We took a late night KSRTC to my place and Anish exited at his Uncles place at Kozhikode. We both knew that this was the most severe trek we had performed yet. It was also kind of dry as the vegetation was all removed due to the fire. I think i will take a break from dry treks for a while and rather look for scenic places for the time being. Looking forward to a getaway in the coming months.

Popularity: 100% [?]

From Life Snaps

I take this opportunity to thank you for allowing us to conduct the educational tour. I
am pleased to present the following tour report,
As planned we departed from the college at 5:30 pm on 8-8-2000. We stopped at Kumily at
10:00 pm for taking permit. By that time we had dinner and got refreshed.
We reached Pondicherry at 9:00 am on 9-8-2000. We went to Youth Hostel and had breakfast
and refreshment there. From Youth Hostel we went to VDesign Pvt. Ltd. for the technical
visit. We attended a seminar on VHDL (Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware
Description Language). After the seminar, TPC members from S3 B held discussions with the
director of the firm. After the technical visit we had lunch at hotel Ram International. After
lunch, we went to Aurobindo Ghosh Ashram. There we offered prayers at the samadhi of the
great saint. After visiting the ashram, we spent time on the Beach Road. We also found time
for shopping at the Nehru Street, which was nearby. After shopping we had dinner at hotel
Sagar. At 11:00 pm, we left Pondicherry for Yercaud.
We reached Yercaud at 7:00 am on 10-8-2000. After breakfast at hotel Tamil Nadu, we went
for sight -seeing. We went to Lady’s Seat, a viewpoint 3 km from the hotel on foot, as it was
not accessible by bus. On coming back we had lunch from the same hotel. After lunch, we
went for trekking to KilliyurWater falls. But we couldn’t visit the falls as it was about to rain
_and we were forced to return~ After trekking we went for boating at 5:30 pm. Pedal boats
were available for rent till 6:30 pm. At 6:45 pm, we went back to hotel and prepared for our
campfire. Dinner was served at 8:30 pm. We conducted the campfire at 10:00 pm and went to
bed at 11:30 pm. At 6:30 am on 11th, we left Yercaud.
~== On way to Black Thunder, we had our breakfast in a restaurant at Bhavani. There we were
surprised to meet the S3 D batch on tour. We reached Mettupalayam at 12:30. Lunch was
served free of cost inside Black Thunder itself for all the students and staff members. We
enjoyed the water games till 6:00 pm and we left for Coimbatore at 6:00 pm.
–= ~=~
Dinner was arranged at Hotel Annapoorna near the Town Hall. After dinner, we went for
shopping till 10:30 pm. At 11:00 pm we left Coimbatore and reached our college at 5:00 am
on 12-8-2000 as planned.
The technical visit arranged at Pondicherry was very much informative. The tour also helped to
create a better understanding between the students and the staff members. I once again thank
you on behalf of the class for allowingus to conduct our educational tour.
Sd/-
Arun George T
Tour Representative
S3B
CEC

Popularity: 83% [?]

This is an old tale..about 7 years back. Then i was an engineering student and we were going Goa on the Sem 5 tour. Me being a bachelor with out any girlfriends at that time , joined forces with like minded individuals. People joining me were lijo (the not so famous but most naughty dude), Aby(need any explaination?), Dany (well he has his days) and we had expected HL (who was down with vomiting due to his unprecendented frenzy of drinking) and Rinu (who was cautioned by his girl friend). But from the lot of more than 50 ppl only 4 had the guts to actually do what we had planeed to do.

The tour party was going to see some churches (i forgot which) and we planned to follow our plans. we took 2 bikes, dani and lijo became the riders anf me and aby hopped on the back. The place we were heading was the red lit area in Goa – Vasco! No one knew anything about it, all we knew was the earlier week one of our batchmate from cusat was killed on the way back from there. So it was a dangerous trip..but then we had decided to see the place. Although we never had any plans other than to see the place all were afraid and no one really had the courage to ask ppl for the direction. Atlast when we asked an elderly man he told “Its not a very good place to go..you can go to another beach here which is beautiful..”. Well we were asking about the Marina beach there..But after asking some very serious looking ppl we found out the place

It was parallel to the beach and the main road was going straight. We needed to take a right turn but ppl were all looking at us and hence we missed it the first time. THen we came back and after some tries up and down we atlast made our turn right. We reached a road which was parallel to the main road. Now it was time to be afraid..what we saw ahead really made us rethink about the whole plan. We decided we had better run back. But it was too late…The moments that followed are considered one of the accomplishments that we all made in our lives…

Four of us were looking ahead the road we just came in. It ran parallel to a beach which cant be called a beach any more. It was the toilet and playground for all the children and elders alike. A vast open toilet! Some one has created a concrets barriar on the road so that no vehicle can move on but people can walk just through it. To our right it was the ocean and the filth and to the left it was a slum. AN advanced slum, can be called even a settlement. The road divided the ladies and the gents. Gents were there to the right on the sheds, some quarelling, some lying down..all looked like local gundas. THis was time to retreat!

To left some coir beds were laid in front of some house and all those houses had elderly women standing on the door steps. Some were sitting on the roads and all were calling out and talking loudly.. We never understood what they meant. A young boy approached us, he is the pimp. Well he staight away asked us if we were mallus. We denied it upright, but he told us that he was certain that we were.(so much for all those mallus coming here) We told him that we just wanted to see the place and have some beer. He told us to follow him and started wlking. We looked at each other and started following. Our knee was shaking with fear…we were walking closer to the slum. There suddenly became evident some small path between the huts. He entered and disappeared..we followed reluctantly. Ladies were talking loadly and screaming something..we walked in a brisk pace not to get lost. It was like a labyrith and god knows how deep we went it. The path was tangled like a huge serpent. Atlast we reacher a beer parlour in the middle of the settlement. All were scared to death by now. None of us knew the way out or how we reached there.. On the way here we had to make way for ladies to pass and they quezed us out pf th path even when we had made enough room for them. One even squeezed dan, like to check him..not so funny for him. So there were 3 tables and four chairs each. We sat on them and ordered beer. I never had more than a glass of beer. What was about to come made me drink one full bottle like water.

The boy has disappeared…what will happen now?
There was a bartender for namsake and he was just tuning the radio. I never had the guts to look upto his face. We gulped down some beer and waited. If girls come what should we do? We had decided that no matter what happens no one is going to succomb to temptations. We had to be back before our friend returned from their trips. No one should actually know about this feat unless and untill we disclose this ourselves. So we had this pact to resist all services offered!

The boy came back, he was followed by a lady who seemed veteran in the field. She looked good but only stood at the door. She had with her 4-5 girls. Small girls it seemed we were just looking at each other like we were not there in the scene. The lady was talking to the girl about how to canvas us or something. All girsl were nodding and acknowledging what she was telling them. She looked like a military commander giving orders..Me and lijo were on the exposed side of the table. The girls came to our table and began talking. We made negative ex-pressions, and told them we dont need any company. I kept on gulping down the beer. All were afraid and under the table our knees were shaking.

From the dialect they were talking we understood parts of the speech, also the body language helped us understand bits and pieces. They were telling wus what all we can do with then..menawhile they were massaging our shoulders also..i couldnot look upto the girl standing at my shoulder. All others told me that she was the most beautiful one. I was not feeling any urges for that matter, at that time i just wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible. ALl were thinking on the same lines and the boy approached. He asked for the last time if we dont need any company. We affirmed it and suddenly dani made his move. He told the boy that we had other friends waiting and once we get back we will come at night. The boy became happy and we became confused. We had no idea what dan was talking abt. Then the boy became more supportive. We asked it it was possible for him to take us around the place. He reluctantly said yes. We were customers for that night no? So we paid the bill and followed him. He took us to the end os the street and we had our day. On the way back we gave him a 50rs note and said that we will be back by 10 at night. His face lit up and he told he will be waiting for us…

He is still waiting..
NB: The area was closed down recently and ppl have moved to other location like vysag and mumbai.

Popularity: 66% [?]

From Drop Box

Now how can i explain Ramooji film city in a blog. Thats sheer injustice. Everyone should go and see this marvelous wonder. And always take your girlfriend with you..as the gardens and the locales are purely romantic. Again, its spread out to hectres of filmy complex.

Fake cities are completely rebuild for the song sequences..you will see airport, sub jail, hospital, court and what ever. China ,london, paris, newyork…and one huge collection of beautiful gardens.

So i wish i was not alone, but alas i was. So guys dont make the mistake of going there alone. Its huge and alone its sometimes boring. Then i followed upto charminar the returning day. One historical monument which we should all see. The huge looming historical magnitude. I bought postcards of all the main hybd places for 10 rs from a lady. She told me that i should go to Birla Temple. Actually i had planned to see Mecca masjid also. There was also one placce called laad bazaar where i thought of shopping hybd pearls.

Hmm anyways my auto driver told me not to go to the bazaar as the place was not good. He told that if you shop there you will be looted of your pocessions. That became evident when i stepped out of the auto. 3 beggars suddenly surrounded me. They held on to me and didnt let me move.

I told i am not gonna give anything..but they were adamant. This made me angry..if they were not this agressive i would have given something. So i tried this act of calling someone over the phone. They hesitated, but again held stand. So i felt helpless. Tourist will definitely curse india after coming to this place. Suddenly the other auto drivers words came to my mind…traffic police!

I went upto the traffic guy and complained..he scolded all very harshly. Now they also told him something in slang and then departed. thanks God, i am not going into the bazaar anymore. I even skipped visit to mecca masjid which was nearby. I could not try to attempt to talk across the street. So i watched the majids beauty from over the charminar. It was huge and lots of people were walking around. Suddenly the bell in the minar rang and the guard guy came hurrying down. He took a boy by his ear and scolded him. may be he rang the bell. Then only i saw the ball, it echoed inside the minar and birds flew all around.

From there i went to birla temple, the full marble marvel by the birlas. I had so little time as i had t catch the train back. I went to planetorium and got in to see the show. But then time was not there. Suddenly one fresh group of ppl came in. They were mallus..the guard made me move all over the place. Then i thought lets go with the flow and i walked out. The guard thought i was angry t his behaviour. He told me sorry and all but i said i am going out anyways. naughty me huh!

I got an auto and reached abck just in time for the train. THis was one good trip. But more was to come on the way back..guess what?

Popularity: 64% [?]

From Drop Box

I came back in the elderly chachas elderly ambassador. We tried to see the 7 tombs but it was closed. I had a ganna juice and then i came back to my luxury hotel room. After some food i decided to go and see the necklace road and other posh areas. So following the directions of the hotel receptionist i got in an auto. It was 25 rs to Imax.

I was going to see imax for the first time. Ppl have told me its once n a life time experience. The crowd was huge and posh. I was confused what to do as i didnt have an internet prior booking done for my show. But it was over the hedge in 3D. I took the ticket and then waited along with others. I was given one 3d glasses which seemsd pretty ordinary but once broken had a heavy duty fine on it. There was numbering on the ticket and my seat was unique.

I didnt know that either and sat on the top most seat. When others seemed particular about their seat, i check my ticket. it was a 2 digit numbering system which indicated the row and column of the chair position. I got into my chair ans watched in awe the size of the huge screen in front. It filled the whole view, i had to look to the sides to see the full picture. hmm..then the imax promo showed and then they put on spiderman 3 trailer.My first imax experience.

I put on the glasses and saw the film in its full glory. i had decided that i am gonna visit imax again tomorrow. The next day was the film 300 in imax. It was worth a million shows. One action packed movie and one huge screening..i enjoyed every bit of the action. It felt like i was in the film.

On the way back i had to catch auto. So i thought it would be 25 again. But alas it was 50. I started bargaining, but they all left when i started bargaining. Hmm..then i settled for 35 with one auto guy. He claimed that after 9 its night fare. The next day i had one good autoguy who told me his meter was the only genuine non altered meter. It didnt move in majority of the journey and i felt he was telling the truth. It showed 20 rs for the same distance that i followed the previous day. i gave him 25 anyways. He told me that if auto ppl demands more i should tell them to stop the rikshaw near a traffic police guy. They will get scared and will only ask genuine fare. I didnt want auto ppl to run me down so i thought may be its better to pay rather than to make them angry. But his advice really paid off the other day when i went to charminar.

Now was the trip to Ramooji film city…later ok!

Popularity: 55% [?]

From Drop Box

I had planned the trip to hyderabad one month prior. Then when the day came all my friends abandoned me. The friends in hybd went else where and no one from here was willing to come as all said its too hot in hybd. I had never thought about the heat and had no idea how hot it really was. People from chennai told that its hotter than chennai – it began to look like a bad decision. But i had decided to go anyway. I had to visit Golgonda Fort, charminar, Birla Temple, Planetorium, Imax and numerous other places if possible.

When the train reached secunderabad much of the people exited the train. There goes the first step wrong..i should have actually planned my stop at secunderabad. Anyways it gave me ample time to think and relax as i was totally consumed by a very talkative Telungu guy who was talking on and on about his multiple jobs. The lady opposite told me telungu ppl wee very talkative and they wont stop once started. She was feeling pity for me. Anyways the train had stopped in secunderabad and it was moving slowly to hybd. I saw the budha statue, the hussain sagar lake, the tank bund and the posh area of the city from the train.

After exiting the train i found a good AC room for rs 800 per day. it was a high posh hotel and the food and the stay was excellent. They arranged got the trip to golgonda, flalaknuma, 7 tombs and to the Ramooji film city. I cant really explain these places to any one…as these are places you should see for yourselves.

Golgonda fort: Acres spread across the hilltops of the outskirts of the city is this huge city inside a fort. It is currently in ruins, but an exceelent spot to be nostalgic about history. You can walk the mountain paths to the top mahal. If you dont take a guide with you then you can roam around freely and thats what i did. I walked around all over the place and found the corner guns called the ‘peeranky’ . These shot hot iron balls into the invaders. There were located at the corner vantage points as the hill overlooked the city beneath. There was also one temple atop the hill. On top of the highest mahal you can just see the beauty of the twin cities to the max. Small soap boxes of houses and other structures lined up towards the horizon.

It was hot, but thanks to mineral water bottles i was not dehydrated or anything. Lot of tourists and people were coming to see the place. Lot of guides were entertaining those people..i walked on every path i saw..some led to small caves when some led to cliffs. It was total nostalgia..i wished i had some one with me. A romantic mood leapt up, but i didnt want to miss the fun that was there even when i am alone. For all those couple out there, this is a place where you can sit around in the shadows or get lost for good. I saw a lot of couples in the shadows, but hey life is good right!

Popularity: 34% [?]

From Athirappilly Trip

On the way back was a small falls similar to the one on way to adimaly. THis one was bigger and we enjoyed the scenery, took some more photos. Everyone was hungry and we hoped that there will be good hotels down there at athirappilly. We reached the place and immediately looked for hotels and found one with a good view of the falls. We could see the falls at a distance and hear the roar.
We had food, not bad as this time all were hungry. Time for dress changes. As the ladies were
outside we rushed to change dress into burmudas. All were supposed to jump in the water, but none
knew anything abt the chances of that and even no one was certain if they really wanted to jump
in. These were notoriously famous place for accidents in the water. There was a slippery path
leading down to the river. Mom was walking slowly and i accompanied her. Others went ahead and
found a lot of monkeys having a social gathering. Eldhose found that really amusing and he was
clicking away photos. he wanted a more intimate shot of the monkey and he tried reaching closer to
one perched on a chair. The monkey reacted ferociously and eldhose was taken aback. He helplessly cried out “Sorry,..Sorry..” and everyone surrounding went into a fit of laughter. So much for 100 literacy..a Monkey who knew English , or is it another monkey who didnt know that monkeys didnt know English?
Anyways we joied with the gang and we could see the river flowing ahead of us. It was a steep
climb down over the rocks so mom agreed to wait up. There was huge roar of the falls and the sight
on it was breath taking. About half the height was filled with watervapour and mist and tons of
water was falling down with thunderous sound. We enjoyed the sight and clicked some more photos.

The might of nature in full beauty! It was a place with network coverage and people started
getting and making calls. Now where were we supposed to bath? Devraj the guide(well not really)
told that it was another path which led to the bottom of the falls. We all started in that
direction..the climb down was dangerous as it was all slippery due to rain. Mom waited for us on a
bench perched on top of the falls. We went down thru the curves mud road in between the pine
trees. Anupama made abhi accompany her all round the total length of the road when we all cut it
short by climbing straight down thru a more dangerous path. Leter on Anu did make up for it by
climbing this path with us on way back.
The sight that awaited us was heavenly. The atmosphere was full of watervapour and had a heaenly
touch to it. Mist all over and we were drenched in water very soon. We climbed a top the rocks and
proceeded to see the full might of the falls. The sound was tremendous. Every one was delighted and rejuvenated by this unearthly experience. We had an unforgettable time there where we took a lot of photos and enjoyed thoroughly.
One totally rejuvenated team returned up after half an hour. it was time for our return. On the way back we went to drop Anu off at her home (at some place with out electric lines) and reached back at night. Many had small fits of fever and body pain the next day, but all was worth the fun. The spirits were soaring as we closed offices for Onam holidays.

Popularity: 30% [?]

From Athirappilly Trip

Ok..another travel blog and this time to Athirappilly and Vazhachal falls. When we think about tours from our office, they seem colorless and boring – well not for us. We had an unforgettable
experience back there @ athirappilly. We were 11 ppl including my mom who was supposed to take
rest due to chickenginuya, yet forced to come with us to lead our girl gang. Now that i think of
it, there seemed no need for that, thanks to our enthusiastic female couple. The plan was to leave
at 6.30 morning in our remodeled tempo traveller. The driver guy told us that DVD player which he
had bought exclusively for this trip was not working. We had taken the cd for Kalyana raman and
eventually the DVD player did work and we did see the movie. We had planned ahead to take some
fruits and some play items like frizbee and some indoor plaiying sets.Now that i look back we just
carried them with us and never had a chance to even look inside. Although we played the frizbee
for the sake of it at vazhachal parking lot.

FIrst stop was vazhachal. It didnt take much tie to reach the chalakkudy junction and we were very eager to get there that we missed all the good hotels. The only hotel that we coulf find wa sone
outside Dreamworld theme park. I wont repeat that mistake again. We had a mouth splitting Pori. We were all shocked as Anish did order an additional one. Damn , he was really hungry man! oh the
start was bad..although we had some fun on the traveller..the food let it down.
But then we reached the place. Nature in its fury mode. WHite water crushing down thru the rocks.
We could all just stand there and watch it for all day. It was beautiful sight. We walk along the
banks and mom sat on a bench letitng us to roam away. Now it was photo sessions. All had mobiles
with cameras and weere clicking away.. We thought of playing some games that we had bought with
us..but then all were too busy sight seeing. The couples with us were enjoying the sceneries..i
thought may be Sunil had forgotten abt salini as he seemed heavily consumed by the natures beauty.
We wnt up along the banks till the path led and then entered into the delta inside the river. We
sat there for some time chatting and seeing the fishermen trying to make their living. There were
people living on the banks..and they were going about their day to day life. It was time to get
back to the trveller. As we wnt back the child iside us suddenly got released.

The girls started it by getting on the swings. Then the boys followed. THey got on the slide and
the see saw. All were trying to weigh down Anish. ehhmm.. Me along with shiju and shyju went on
the slide and withpout sliding down, ran down.. well i still have all bones intact. When the girs
went away it was the boys time to get on the swings. That was nice time as we were children once
again.

Me and mom went to buy Honey which they claimed to be original and collected from the forests.
Outside all had started playing frizbee. Now it didnt last much as all got tired very soon..so
much for our ages..we are old now na. SO back inside the traveller we had to take one sudden
decision : whether to go to Sholayar Dams or not. The decisin was unanimously taken to go. SO we
started towards sholayar dams. Sholayar is a heavy forest which reminded me of our Mukruthy trip.

All the way there was elephant wastes..but no elephant to see. Suddenyl due to the eerie and scary
atmosphere all felt a little scared. We also started playing Bingo (thanks to Anish for that idea)
Bingo was a instant hit. We had to give 1 rupee to play and got money back if we got lucky. Anish
was the anchor first and on the way back it was shiju who never liked the idea of giving money to
play. ehhmm..

I felt kinda dizzy later on and we stopped the game..i felt the smell of unmistakable 5% alchohl
beverage..anyways. Then all of a sudden the driver stopped the vehicle and to our amazement we saw a huge snake slithering with remendous power..within 2 seconds it crossed the road and was gone. I asked the driver in confirmation of the snake “well that was a huge cobra right?” He replied “Well that not a cobra, but a King Cobra!” Wow a king cobra for real. and in front of us..this was
getting intense. Mom had already started talkingaabt how dangerous the forest really was. After 35
kms of journey thru the think forest we reached the dam. And there was the biggest
dissappointment. The dam was closed to visitors..we needed to take paases from trissur..35 kms and nothing! There was a lone big butterfly and Guards. The butterfly was thier sole companion in the forest. Too bad! We sat down and rested some time and then started back. When near a scenery was stopped and started our food session. Bread with honey! Depp forest and sitting besides the deep falls we ate our food. There was a big deer running across and we had some good time watching it dissappear into the wilderness. Salini spotted some Lion tailed Monkeys on the way back. We had water from one of the numerous springs nearby. I didnt notice it at that time but a leech had got on my arm. later on my way back i noticed it and we all had lessons on how to remove a leech. The dirver simply produced a room freshner and withing few seconds the thing detached itself. The blood didnt stop for some time and i had a cotton onti the wound. All were suddenly tense abt looking about themselves. What if they had a leech on them! The most curious thing abt these are that we wont even know these things are there even when they are sucking our blood. Vicious
things! It was a slow journey back and it was also raining. Everyone was in a mood to sleep..
salini was in look out for an elephant or a leopard. Mom was talking abt real tigers and even
smelling a tiger or an elephant nearby..

The wait was worth it as what was to come was an unforgettable experience.

Popularity: 28% [?]

On way back from angamaly we planned to see the Sankaracharya Stoopam and the Kodanadu Elephant Kraal. The stoopam had an entry fee of 2rs each and e can walk along the spiral staircase which depicted the life and journey of sankaracharya. There were different statues which depicted some important symbols which i could never figure out. On the top there is a big statue of shankaracharya with his disciples and the lords blessing him.From Okkal we took the deviation to kodanadu. It was a 10 km journey in Eldhoses Estillo. The entry pass again was 2 rs each. The attraction there was the small kid elephants and the Elephant cage which is used to train young elephants. They are contained in the cage and trained by professionals. Elephant ride for 4 cost 200 rupees and we were not in the mood.
On the other side there was the river where they bathed the elephants. When we were watching they took the kid elephant sfor a bath. All children and adults alike were amused by the little mammal. When a youg tusker followed ppl went into a small panic as they wll had to make way for the elephant. The Pappan or the elephant driver was explaining that he could get rs 4000 for one day for functions involving elephants.
There was a mini zoo also which had python, crocodile, monkeys, pigeons, peacock, deers and many other species of animals. Some notorious monkey there was famous for stealing mobile hpones from ppl and wreaking those for fun. The caretakers never warned any one and they are known to levy fees to get the stuff back from the monkey. hmm..anyways the monkey didnt attach us. One small monkey was roaming outside the cage and looked very cute.
We stared at the female elephant which was the biggest in the lot. She was showing some wierd facial postures. Then all of a sudden made some sounds and shook the head vigorously. Ppl were alarmed, but it was just something stuck in her mouth. She was trying to get that out. And meanwhile she let us see her bug tongue and the yellow teeth and gigantic mouth.
We rested at the park in the cool tree shades. Children were on the seaswa callin gout numbers of each swing they made. It was my first time there even when i lived close by. We made our way back another way which lead us to kuruppampady. I hope to visit thattekkad some day soon. Birds lagoon is the target.

Popularity: 39% [?]

Ok..i know its been very long. But things were happening around me and i could barely get in touch with my friends..but i had this new year resolution of mine : To travel a lot. See all the places..enjoy with friends..this year i just realised how insignificant a human can be, life is so big..we should work extra hard to enjoy at least a little bit of what life has to offer. So with aby the Trekker dude i joined forces for a trip. First plan was to go to Pune and see some pune girls..well ehmm, finally the plan boiled out into a trip to some place called Mukruthy. Aah..what the hell, who gives a damn. And ppl who dont give a damn joined forces with us. Hl, pullechan, Mooppan, me and aby set our for this trip. We were supposed to take 2 pairs of underwear, chappals, tshirts, sweater, etc etc..and ppl who dont give a damn..well, need i say more. SO the ppl who arranged the trip reached last…me and anish started late night from aluva to coimbatoor. Reached there at 2 and laid down to sleep. Well mosquitoes and a good lady on the side bench kept me awake. HL reached from chennai at 5 and we started waiting for the party. The guide and his team arrived and we were still waiting for veterans. Atlast by 730 all were in the attendance register. We took off to Ootty. The guide who took us was mallu and he was a Karate teacher. Wow!. We were in a qualis..well god help it. We talked about all the things under the sun. politics, travel, ppl, friends, india, america, hl everything was discussed..all were eager to have the black label scotch on rock in the chill of ootty. We had planned to bath at a fishing hut that day..but due to the perfect timing we were sure not to make it in time. We had a break at the forest guard office where we needed to take passes. It was restrcited area…and the guide took our money..ehhm this better be good Dude.
So we ate and started again..new ppl joined us and our old guide left us. New guy didnt know malayalam and was typical tamilan. One the way we passed one of my life most horrific places. A place where whole ootty dumps here wates. It was spread pver 3 football fields. All rotten stuff with so pungent smell that we could not talk for atleast 15 mins. Every rose has its thorn. I thought ppl will not ever come back again due to this filth. The it was the pine forests..the primates in us leapt out and joined forces with the original ones. We had bought green apples which were the centre of attraction for all..then it started to become dark..we reached closed barricades which forest guides opened up for us. There was barren mountains which some of us tried to climb up ..that was some thing which told us that we were not anymore the young bloods of cec. So every one lept in the qualis and the vehicle moved on. The sight was excellent..small streamm flowing down the valley…We suddenly saw some wild bucks..huge and majestic. Then it was usddenly pitch dark..Forest. Everyone felt the chill of fear and cold. The path was going on and on…curving up and down..the vehicle had lost some balancer or something which i dont know anything abt. Atlast we reached the place. It was a cottage in the centre of the forest. Pitch black…no lights and No KEY! Well no key..so what to do we started to walk around in the dark. Dripping water..streams flowing some where…glowing eyes..ehhm. We started down the side..there was a cottage down the drop, and it was abandoned..hmm we found a tamil horror novel inside. Humans!. Then we found the creek..water flowing in from between the roots of a overgrown tree, a truely horrific sight. We decided not to move far away as it was Tiger infested forests. Once back in the cottage some one decided that i should accompany the guide back t find the key. Wel..what the hell, i did. Pitch black and only mobile light..hahaha tigers will have a great time playing with us. That was an experience which i wont repeat again. SO we found the original veteran guide some way down the road and they told me how the tigers wont attack. According to them elephants are the ones to be afraid of. hmm back in the cottage we had fire hearth and a grand food. Super chapathy and chicken. The we had the black label and these guys made me drink it on the ROCKS! Well well..we were supposed to wake up at 5 and i took that responsibility. Th trek started at 6, after noodles breakfast. The guide was moving like a rocket and we all in sweaters were trying hard to keep up. He told not to make noise as there is a tiget trial and seems like a tiger has moved in our direction. We saw pug marks and tigershit. AAhh..everywhere tree and big branches were blocking the path. The way seemed endless. Atlast we reached the banks of the river which was actually part of Podumund dam. We all looked up and the guide told us where we were heading. There was a mountain range up ahead which looked like an apes head. We were supposed to get atop his nose. Wow!. And it looked like moles and miles away! The uphill journey was very tiresome..unless i had those blue berries and glucose and ofcourse water i could have fallen down. It felt like hours but we reached the top in 3 hours. We reasted before the last strech and then began the troublesome climb. Not much difficult but all were very tired. We reched the top and there was this tribal god sitting in the middle. i looked down and …we were far above the clouds..thick mist and cluds were under us. TO one side was beautiful mottakkunnus , grasslands and other side it was forest cliffs. Actually it was Kerala. This was energising stuff. All were very excited and the tiredness vanished. We decided not to have the breakfast but to make it down to the lake and swim in there.. We sat there feeling the ecstasy..and then started back. We were actually running back and it took only 1 hour or so to reah the lake..then we dived in. Wow icy water, rejuvenated everyone. We were young and 2 years just broke off. We spent some time in the cold water and swam around. Then we saw some other ppl coming up and we thought better to start back. We had some food and went back to our cottage. Once back all were down on the beds. No one wanted to wake up. As the vehicle was not able to lift us up over the mountain we wee supposed to walk again back to pothmund. Now that was a bad decision. We really were totally used up when we actually reached the vehicle back on the other side. on the way we saw the pothmund dam. Then all started feeling the side effects..everyone wanted to vomit and the decision was taken to stay back in coimbatore for the night. The traffic was heavy and it was very late when we reached coimbatoe. We took a room for all of us and sent pullechan back to blore. We kona adied for some time took some instant decisions and were back on trains at 12 the next day. Me and anish had the company of some girls gang returning home. And we enjoyed that…Well now i am looking for the next trip. It should not be a trek, but a holiday spot. Lets wait and see.

Popularity: 19% [?]