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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Bangalore Food Street

We are in Meggy's house in Ejipura, Bangalore on 25-Feb-2012. Meggy has given us a very well documented map to reach her house from Sony World Junction, Koramangala. We (i.e. Meggy, Ram, Runai, Akshi and I) were at her home. After some chit&chat and TV, we started discussing where should we go tonight. It was Meggy's idea that we will go to Food Street in VV Puram / Sajjan Rao Circle in Bangalore. Then the discussion went in how to go? Whether it will be in Akshi's car or 2 two-wheelers and a auto. Later it was decided that it is just going to be double and triple in 2 two-wheelers. Ram and I were in my bike and Meggy, Runai and Akshi in Meggy's Activa.
We started around 7 PM and the first traffic signal was in Neelasandra junction. Ram and I suddenly saw that Akshi got down from bike and started running. Oh yes, Akshi is good in running and she participate in Bangalore Marathon race. We had no idea why she was doing that. Later we found that trippels are not allowed in bike. So she is going to get down in every traffic signal and start running and then wait for us crossing the signal. Sometimes it happened that the signal was so long that she crossed 2 signal at a time and waited for us. I don't know how she did it but she did it for nearly 12 KM. Anyway after asking here and there, we have reached the place and parked our bike at 8:00 PM.
It was a very busy road and people were all around. It is approximately 1 km streach and it has nearly 50 food shop with more than 5k people. There was no place to stand, it was that crazy crowded. Its a pure veg street. The food store will provide food in plate and you have to make your own place somewhere and stand and eat. It was nice fun there. You can get idli, dosa, akki rotti, bele obbattu, corn, puliyogere, bonda , bajji, benne gulkan, beLe masala, masala pepsi, masala soda, vada pow, pow bhaji, paneer roll, romali roti, gobi manchurian, paneer masala, chat ... u name it they have it. All at a very reasonable price ...
We started with masala corn with mango. It was something different which we never tasted before. After that we promptly went to south indian store where it was very busy. With lots of struggle in the cash counter, we paid for 2 different types of dhosa and akki roti. It was very tasty and nice hot food. Good thing this is that they use nandini ghee and quality is good and they make everything as and when ordered. Then we went chat store and ordered for sev puri, dahi puri, gelabi and rasa malai. Meggy went to get bele obbattu. Every plate was very tasty. Later we again went for another plate of bele gelabi. Next was gulkan store. It was really really nice. There was this rose chutney type with lots of fruits and ice cream.Then we got a bottel of water and end of our dinner. For 5 people, the total bill was around Rs. 320.
Ram and I
Runai, Akshi and Meggy
Then we wanted to take tea but since it was 9:30 PM, we did not get tea anywhere there. Then we found a guy selling masks. That was the next fun we had and then we started to come back home and Akshi did the same hoping in every signal. Somewhere in middle police stopped us for breath analyzer and from nowhere Akshi was running in front of him at that late night. The police would have thought that one thief is escaping :-) Anyway with everything we reached Meggy's house arround 11 and with all chit chat we slept at 3:30 AM next Sunday.



Runai and I
Ram and Meggy

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Thursday, February 09, 2012

Trip to Coimbatore in car

It is the best trip ever from Chennai to Coimbatore on 09th-Feb-2012 in Vidhu's Car.
It happened this way. 9th-Feb was Praveen's Marriage and I left from Bangalore on 8th-Feb requesting for a leave from office for Thursday.
I reached Chennai on 9th-Feb at 8:00 AM and called Vidhu. After that I got a pre paid auto from Tamburam Bus Stand till Egmore Hotel Ashoka where his marriage is going to be held at 9:00 AM. After reaching the hotel, I freshened up quickly and went for breakfast along with Vidhya Prakash, Madhan and Ganeshan. Later we went for the ceremony and had nice time there. Later after quick lunch we planned to leave Chennai and on the way Vidhu will drop me in Krishnagiri from where I will catch a bus for Bangalore and they will go to Coimbatore.
After everything was over and meeting bride, bridegroom and uncle and aunty, we (Vidhu, Madhan, ganeshan and me) started our journey at 2:30 PM on 9th-Feb. Remember we went in same VW Polo in Kochi too. Anyway we crossed all hustle bustle in busy Chennai road and headed towards Vellore. We reached Vellore around 4 PM and then I had in mind that reaching Krishnagiri will not be before 8:00 PM and it will be difficult to reach home late at night in Bangalore. So I was discussing with my friends on board and Vidhu instantly told me to come with them till Coimbatore and get a bus for Bangalore on Friday night, so that I can reach Bangalore on Saturday morning. I thought for couple of minutes about the plan. There were 2 thoughts that were running in my mind. 1. I did not plan for this and Runai is not aware of it and 2. Office is not aware of my leave for Friday as well. Anyway after some thought I planned to go to Coimbatore with them.
The total journey was around 550 KM and we took 12 and Half hours to cover the distance. It was that we drove very slow. It is because we stopped every half and hour to 45 min for snacks and whenever we drove it is not below 100 KMPH.
Once it 6 PM, we started to feel hungry and planned for road side hotel and not some posh hotel. We were searching for a perfect hotel and the criteria was 1. Road Side hotel. 2. Should have parota, dhosa and should be prepared in open place. 3. Should have chicken and egg. 4. Should have open space and dinner should be under open sky. I think our criteria was too much and it was not satisfying our need. Once it was 10 PM and we know it is too late now, we got a hotel which does not satisfy just one criteria i.e. 4. Should have open space for dinner. It was after we crossed Salem, we got into this hotel and had lot of tasty food and total bill was Rs. 350.
In Salem, we stopped in one place and Madhan got down and it was smelling good Chicken fry. He got 2 plates parceled. Later while we started eating when Vidhu was driving, we found that it was beef fry and not chicken. Hurray! Thats what Vidhu and I was thinking because Madhan and Ganeshan does not take beef and both plate is for both of us.
Anyway we reached Avinashi and road from here to Coimbatore is really pathetic which is around 60 KM. It was more pathetic because last 500 KM we were driving in 6 lane road though the toll tax is high and nearly Rs. 700 was spend for it. Vidhu took another route and we reached Coimbatore around 2:00 AM on 10th-Feb-2012. Vidhu dropped Madhan at his home and then Ganeshan was dropped in his office where is bike is parked. From that office, Vidhu's house was very near. We two came home around 2:00 AM and went to sleep around 3:30 PM. Next day we did not do anything just sit and chit chat and I booked for bus ticket for night. Later part of the day, we went to a new mall in Coimbatore and Vidhu bought some electrical items for his car and cell phone and inquired for laptop.
Later at night, Vidhu dropped me in the KSRTC bus stand and we had a nice biriyani and I boarded the bus at 9:30 PM and Vidhu left for his house.
I reached Bangalore on 11th-Feb-2012 4:30 AM and I was back at home around 7:00 AM.

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Friday, February 03, 2012

Trip to Coonoor

Its 3rd-Feb-2012 6:30 PM, Runai and me are waiting for our bus in Mysore Kengeri Satellite bus stand. At 7:15 PM, the bus started and headed toward Mysore and then went to Coimbatore via Sathyamangalam. We reached Coimbatore at CBE SETC bus stand next day at 4:30 AM. We waited there and boarded another bus at 5:45 AM to reach Coonoor via Mettupalayam.
We reached Coonoor at 8:00 AM 4th-Feb-2012. We got down near Coonoor Railway Station and found a good old hotel. We freshened up and went for breakfast just below the hotel. We enquired about the sight seeing to the person who was serving us and he told that he will arrange a auto-wala. As prompted, he got a descent auto-wala after we finished breakfast at 10:00 AM and made a deal with him to show The Dolphin's Nose Viewpoint, Lamb's Rock and Tea Factory in Rs. 350. We went back to our room and packed our travel back with lens and other stuffs to start.

Trip to Coonoor Slideshow: Sumit’s trip from Bangalore, Karnataka, India to Coonoor was created by TripAdvisor. See another Coonoor slideshow. Take your travel photos and make a slideshow for free.
The Dolphin's Nose Viewpoint is 12 km from Coonoor, is an important place to visit. It not only provides a panoramic view of the vast expanse of the Nilgiri hills but also of the famous Catherine Falls. Lady Canning's seat is another notable viewpoint on the way. Lot of hindi Bollywood movie were shot here. I can right now remember just one i.e. Sajan. (Remember that old Sanjay Dutt movie).
The Dolphin's Nose Viewpoint
It was a very cloudy day. (Particularly the time when we reached there, it was very cloudy and every corner was misty and without any visibility). We missed the scene of Catherine Fall which is just opposite to the viewpoint. Could only hear roaring sound of the fall. There are few shops. These guys will tempt you to taste their masala tea and soup, obviously by paying them. There were one or two photo shops. This guys will give you an option of instant photo keeping Catherine Fall as a background for Rs. 50 or take you to nearby tea garden and dress you like a tea plucking lady with a tokri (i.e. after plucking tea leaves it is kept in tea basket placed on their back) for Rs. 100. This is particularly for ladies. But I guess if you guys want to dress like that please go ahead.
Lamb's Rock
Lamb's Rock was on the way back. From Coonoor bus stand it is 8 km. Here too we faced same problem. Nothing was visible due to mist. It commands a grand view of the Coimbatore Plains. It is a favorite place for tourists. Horse ride is also available here.
On the way back we went to Brookfield Tea Factory.
Brooklands Tea Factory
For the first time we saw how tea is made starting from raw tea leaves till packing. AMO, its very simple process but was really nice to see how it is made. The process of making tea follows like this. Dry raw leaves by placing it on top of net and high speed air is blown underneath -> Place them in 3 separate grinder one after another to make small pieces of it -> Place them 3 different drier one after another to make it turn into brown color from green color -> Purification and Dusting -> Final process for tea -> Packaging. This all process automatically and is transferred from one place to another by conveyor belt. We take tea everyday and now I know how it is made. Outside the tea factory, we have a splendid view of tea garden and awesome landscape.
We returned back to our hotel and planned to go Sim's Park walking which is approx 4-5 Km.
Sim's Park
It is in Upper Coonoor i.e. near Bredford junction. We did not take the usual route which is very busy but has taken a longer behind the town route where nobody or very few people can be seen. The park is situated in a deep ravine on the Northern side of Coonoor Railway Station at an elevation of 1768 to 1798 m. The park can be divided into eight major sections. The natural shola with winding footpaths all over the higher slopes of the park is the most distinctive and picturesque feature of this park. This apart, a number of individual tree specimens planted in a scattered fashion all over the place, lend a special charm to the park, specially when they bloom in different seasons throughout the year.
There are all century old tress. I could not find any tree which is planted after 1900 except small plants. It is in a shape of cone and in the tip of the cone is a lake where they have 2 paddle boats in service for tourist. There are lot of fishes who are waiting for people to give them food and you will see each of them will be jumping on top of each other to grab whatever food we throw for them.
Sim's Park - Lake
We came out of Sim's park at 3:30 PM and felt hungry and thirsty. The time was odd, so we ordered for egg fried rice and chicken cutlet and asked him to give us warm water. We walked down in town from the busy route. One the way we went to one of the oldest church and then returned back to our hotel crossing the busy market in Coonoor at 6:00 PM.
I quickly freshened myself and went to get dinner from a good restaurant. They really packed nice parota with egg masala and chicken tikka. Mind you Nilgiri is a plastic free zone. So they have parceled the food in paper bags. We finished our dinner at 8:00 PM, watched my super favorite TV serial Adaalat. But before it could finish I was fallen asleep. We were very tired and I had a nice sleep.
Next day 5-Feb-2012, we got up, freshened up and straight went for breakfast. Then we checkout our room and went to bus stand. We boarded a bus to go towards Wellington and we got down in Gymkana.
Wellington - Victoria Bridge
I think it is around 10-15 km. Its a wonderful landscape and is meant for golf. Its a military area and very well maintained. Many people were playing golf and we started walking upward on the same route we came in bus. Lot of picture session and collected few nice grown unbroken pine. We went to the junction point and got another bus for the town.
After reaching town, we immediately got in another bus to go to Sim's park again. We have really enjoyed the time spend over here. Later at 12 noon, we went to near by Kwality hotel which has a descent veg buffet. Later we walked down and setteled ourself in Coonoor railway station where we are going to board Hill Train at 3:30 PM to reach Mettupalayam. I was really excited to travel in this train since I have heard lot about it over net.
Coonoor Railway Station
Sharp at 3:00 PM, train reached Coonoor railway station from Ooty. There were some shunting processes and finally steam engine was fitted. There are 3 classes in this train. First Class (4 people per row), Second Class (5 people per row) and General class. First and Second class are same. It is well maintained and feels like that old classy look with lots of woody work and brass metal curving. We meet some good funny people and journey was full of fun. We also meet two lady Diana Graham and Annie Sparkes from Bristol - England who after their retirement came to visit India. There were nearly 7 tunnels through which train passes and each last for 10 sec each. There is a culture among locals. Whenever train passes through the tunnel, people inside the train shouts and whistles. Lights will be on in each compartment a min before train is about to enter a tunnel. On the way we can see Laws Fall. We reached Mettupalayam Railway Station  around 5:20 PM. We got in a auto to drop us in Mettupalayam Bus Stand for Rs. 40 and after reaching the bus stop, we found that it is not even half a kilometer from Rail Station. Anyway we got in a bus which was headed toward Chennai. We got down in Coimbatore - Gandhipuram at 7:00 PM. We made Diana and Annie to get in a town bus which will drop them in Ukkadam bus stand which is hardly 2 KM away. After that we went for dinner and got in our Bangalore bus at 9:30 PM. On the way we were stopped for half an hour around 12 o'clock night in Satyamangalam because group of Elephants were crossing the road. I have never seen this and was excited. Anyway we reached Bangalore next day morning and back to work.

Price list approximate (single person)
Bangalore to Coimbatore - 350
Coimbatore to Coonoor - 70
Hotel double bed room - 475
Food each time - 150 veg and 350 non veg
Side scene Auto charge - 350
Sims park (1 person and camera) - 15 + 30
Parking fee on all side scene - 10
Visiting Tea Factory (1 person and camera) - 20 + 40
Hill train 2nd Class Coonoor to Mettupalayam - 50
Mettupalayam to Coimbatore - 30

Inside Tea factory






Inside Tunnel








Saturday, October 22, 2011

Trip to Coorg

It was the best trip I ever had so had to write few lines about it with some pic. Though I am not a blogger but tried to write few lines about it. This essay does not even provide 1% of the fun, enjoyment & blast we had in this trip but is a mere a details of the trip.

Its 21-Oct-2011 at 10:15 PM, Nikhil, Runai and Me are waiting in Kengeri Mysore Road Satellite Bus Station, Bangalore for other Done Family members to come. At 11:00 PM there come Pieee Pieeee Akshata Pie (Prime Mister of DONE Family). At 11:30 PM final members, Megha and Ram come into the picture and we board the bus to head towards Madikeri Bus Stand a.k.a COORG.
Oh I did not speak of our family right? We are dones of done family and everybody is related to each others, but it such a complicated relation that I am confused. Recently we have created an organization known as Kunti Armory.
Frankly speaking road is a bit bumpy and we reached Madikeri Bus stand at 6:30 AM. Near the bus stand we had hot coffee along with steaming kasseri bath and Nikhil got a bottle of Maaza. After that we asked for the direction and headed towards our home stay MISTY HIGHTS
Misty Heights

(The best home stay I have ever stayed. Ok will talk about it later though it’s very important topic because it also adds up to make this trip my best trip ever).
We walked all the way in Coorg and finally could locate Misty Heights from far. It was an awesome place. We could see a single house on top of a hill and no other houses around. It was a quiet place and lush greenery. There was a steep road from main road to get in the house. As we were climbing we were greeted by a very very friendly dog. Initially we didn’t know his name so kept the name as “Brownie”. Later we followed him and reached the house. It was such a wonderful place. It was very beautiful place. We roamed around the house for some time and after half an hour the owner came to the place. We have taken a dormitory in the attic of the building with 8 beds. We quickly called the cab driver to come here at 10:00 AM and in the mean time we freshened up. She made coffee for us and then served idli, vada, sambar and chutney in coorgy style and taste.
We got in the car and headed towards Triveni Sangam
Triveni Sangam

which is around 35 KM at 10:30 AM. On the way, we stopped and had a coffee. After 2 hours we reached here and it was a very nice please. It’s a junction of 3 rivers Cauveri, Kannike and mythical river Sujyoti. We went near the ghat and spent some time sinking our bare feet in the cold water. It is told that a dip in this holy Sangam completes the Hindu Shraddha rites for the deprived soul. Later we went to the Bhagandeshwara temple
Bhagandeshwara temple

which is just opposite to the ghat. According to the Skandapurana the Bhagandeshwara Temple is named after Bhaganda Muni who installed the Shivalinga here. It attracted the devotion of many royal dynasties of Karnataka. Raja Doddaveerarajendra, who renovated the temple after it was damaged in a battle in A.D. 1790. AMO it was a unique style temple because the temple is in Karnataka but the architecture is like Kerala.
We got in the car and in the same road we headed further 10 KM to reach Talacauvery.
Talacauvery

It’s the birth place of Cauveri river which flows for 500 KM. It amazing to see how a small pond like place can turn up to such a big river. Devotes walk over the water and remove their sins and then heads toward the temple. From there we climbed 600 steps to go to the top of the hill to get the glimpse of the valley. Its again wonderful view. After climbing we literally became like a dog toung outside. We were dead tired. While climbing down it was misty and again it was great feeling. We could not see each other who are just 10 feet away from us due to the mist. We got in the car at 2:30 PM and in the mid way got in a KSRTC restaurant. We ordered for some normal veg. food. It was ok, nothing to complain. On the way there was a police checking and then came back at our lovely home stay at around 4:30 PM. In the town we got some snacks for evening while returning back home. The cab driver dropped Akshata again back to town who wanted to meet few of her relatives who stays in Coorg.
We ordered for you dinner to the owner lady for a kg of chicken masala and World Famous in Coorg, The Pandi Curry a.k.a Pork Masala with Aki Roti. We went for a chit chat at 7:30 PM till late night. In middle Akshata also came up and joined us. You won’t believe it was awesome dish that she prepared for us. At night we even ended up asking her how she prepared those dishes.
Next day I was the first to get up from bed at 6:30 AM and we quickly settled ourselves for the trip. This time we had a different car which is a jeep because where we are heading today does not have a good road and is very steep. We had a very tipical breakfast in one of the restaurant in town. Its pathaal (puri made out of rice powder)  and veg / chicken gravy and coffee. We headed toward Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary
Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary

which is approximately 20 KM but takes nearly 2 hours to reach there. One of the most challenging road I have ever seen more because monsoon season is just over. On the way we ordered for lunch to one of the 3 huts available. We fixed our self we roti, rice and chicken curry.
We reached the sanctuary around 12:00 PM. Just before reaching the parking lot, we got down and started walking. It was a very peaceful place with hardly anybody seen around and awesome landscape beauty. We walked everywhere wherever we could get a good picture of our self and background of the beautiful landscape. After sometime we could hear some running water stream so walked toward that. Finally after couple of meters, we saw the stream and walked towards the stream. We also tasted the water and won’t belive it was so sweet. We wanted to go a little further, but suddenly we saw something crawling in our shoe and it is not one or two, rather many of them. Looking at them, I just realized that they are none but letches. We ran away from the stream and climbed up toward the road instantly. May be we have taken 10 min to go down toward the stream but we just took a min to come up to the road. We opened our shoe and socks and started checking ever places in our leg. Finally after getting rid of letches, we started walking toward the sanctuary counter and then started climbing on top of the hill to get the view of entire surrounding. Local people was telling us that the parking area is actually resting place for all grazing animals and normally every month couple of them misses  because tiger eats them up if by dark they don’t return to this place.
On our way back, we stopped to the hut where we ordered for our lunch at 2:30 PM. It was a awesome restaurant with awesome ambience and services. There was a vast empty flat land on a hill top and a small hut. Every side of the ground had a steep fall except the road side. In between there were 4 wooden poles and a plastic sheet on top under which a medium size table with 6 chairs. We were provided with plates, serving pools, 6 plastic cups, chicken gravy, rasam, tomato gravy, roti, rice and unlimited cool breeze from all around.
We started at 3:00 PM towards Abby Falls
Abby Falls

which is in the same road down which is 10 KM from here. Once we reached Abby falls, we had coffee and majega a.k.a butter milk. The Madikeri stream also called Mutharmuttu Falls 21.3 m between huge boulders to a deep rocky valley to from this picturesque waterfall called Abbi Fall. Then we went walking towards the fall and we have to see the falls standing in the hanging bridge. We are not suppose to go to the streams. We have taken our group instant photo for all of us. We started from there and reached our home at 4:00 PM.
Ram had to leave because he had to catch a train. We went to town along with him and he boarded a bus and we went to Omkareshwara Temple
Omkareshwara Temple

where we have spent an hour. The architecture of the temple was really unique.
Then we went to Raja seat where we can see a amazing view of the valley. Basically what I guess is that Raja of Madikeri used to seat and watched the beauty of the hills. It’s a small amusement park with a toy train and every evening there is a musical fountain.
Musical Fountain in Raja Seat

It’s a good one just like Mysore one. We have spent some time before Musical fountain starts. It started raining quite heavily when we were waiting the show, so all started running out the park and we too did. It was already dark, so wanted to get our dinner packed for us. We went to one of the restaurant recommended by the lady, but they were off on Sunday. On the way we also got in a shopping complex where we found a really nice bakery. We got our selfs some eatables. When we came out it was raining heavily, so got in a auto and headed toward another recommended restaurant. They too disappointed us by saying that they prepare food only for their guests and not outsiders. So we called up Anu B.T.W she is the owner for the Home Stay where we are staying. We told her that we are not able to manage Pandi Curry and Aki Roti anywhere, she helped us. She told that she will make Pandi Curry and we have to manage roti by our self and which is very easy to do and we agreed. We headed back and on our way, we got freshly baked breads and got in an auto. We reached home at 7:30 PM and she sent us the dinner at 8:30 PM. We had the delicious dinner and found out that outside it is raining heavily. We told Anu that our bus is at 11:00 PM and will be any possibility to get two autos at 10:00 PM. She told that it is difficult to get, so her husband will drop us to the bus station. We reached the bus station and our bus left Madikeri Bus Station at 11:15 PM when it is still raining and I had a sound sleep. Next day I got up at 5:30 AM and I am in Kengeri Mysore Road Satellite Bus Station.
I stayed in Misty Heights Home Stay for last 2 days and it was awesome experience. What I liked here are below points.
1.    Location – It’s on top of the hill where there are nobody else except you and your group.
2.    Huge area for each thing like dining area, bon fire, hammock and all are well maintained.
3.    A very very friendly dog (Jimmy) but we can call him with any name (Like Brownie, Jack) and he will always be with you.
4.    Food – OMG! Its another awesome thing she gets it done at home for you. Whether its chicken, pork or any veg food. We have literally licked all the casserole clean.
5.    Last but not the least – Very reasonably priced and very very helpful person.

Other places to visit in Coorg are
1.    Irppu Falls – 90 KM
2.    Nagarahole – 95 KM
3.    Dubare – 32 KM
4.    Thadiyandamol Hills – 47 KM
5.    Igguthappa Temple – 33 KM
6.    Golden Temple – 33 KM
7.    Gaddigey – 0 KM
8.    Nisargadhama – 26 KM
9.    Nalknad Palace -53 KM
10.    Harangi – 32 KM
11.    Fort – 0 KM


Jimmy

View from our window

Bon Fire

Dining Room

First day Breakfast

Evening View from Misty Stay

Cauvery River in Triveni Sangam

Talacauvery

Misty view in Talacauvery

Talacauvery after climbing 600 stairs

Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary

Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary

Roads towards Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary

We know what it is :-)


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