Here's a maths puzzle...

What is the probability of getting a berth in tonight train when the current status is RAC3 ?
- It is for 2nd AC coach
- There is only one train that covers this destination and also some key places in the route
- It is the weekend beginning
- There is the festival week ahead

And a positive factor that I'm a
- Single lonely woman passenger ;-)

Keeping fingers crossed!

Beeravara Betta - head to Nature for a Picnic

Beeravara Betta is a hillock that is situated about 45 Kms from Bangalore and is an ideal picnic spot and a great place to relax and to become one with Mother Nature.

Beeravara is the place where you have to whisper so that you are not too loud for others’ ears. It is a very quiet place and hope it remains so.


Driving directions:

* Get onto the old Madras Road to NH7. After a 23-km-drive you will reach Nelamangala. Signal (no need to go inside Nelamangala).
* Turn left here on the Mangalore/ Hassan road. There is a big sign board and Karnataka tourism board here. This is also the road for Belur/ Shravanabelagola.
* Continue on this road for about 15 kms. You will see many villages on either sides. After you spot a small hill with a smaller temple on top, keep looking onto your left for a small temple of Bisilumaramma.
* Enquire here and take left. (I read from a blog that there used to be fairly large signboard to the left which reads ‘Beeravara - 1 km’ This is no longer there as the Mangalore road is being widened)
* Go inside for a few metres until you see a small rock pillar installed on a platform to the left and a small temple on the right. There is a rough path leading to the left till the base of the hill.


At the top of the hill is a small temple dedicated to Lord Lakshmi Ranganatha. You can spot children playing at the foot of the hills. You can reach the top via a steep flight of steps. When we went, construction activities were ongoing and we had to climb via the edges which became more difficult as the height increased. So, we abandoned the idea and returned, after a few pictures though.

We searched for alternate routes to the top though the construction workers said that there weren’t any. We took a tour around the base of the hillock and found a track going behind the hill into an open area resembling forest. We could see goats and cows grazing. We turned around and tried rappelling without any proper gear though. Ram and Satish slid down and it was fun clicking them doing this. One of the masons took interest in us and came down the hill and climbed up the hill barefoot, using his hands for the support. When we tried, we weren’t even a single step ahead. After a few more attempts, the idea of climbing the hill was dropped. We started exploring the arena for an equally interesting place. A few metres behind the hill was a jack tree which was almost picture perfect and had the coolest breeze in its shade. This vast area and the breeze instantly relaxed us.

There were a few boulders nearby and we went up a big rock which had an amazing shade at the top thanks to the trees on top. The top portion was flat and the view from here was awesome, if not more. You get to see lush green in all directions and could hear the traffic noise from the highway. The NH should be a few hundred metres away from this boulder. Though Satish complained that this noise disturbed him a bit, I was happy that we were closer to humanity and not lost in a jungle.

There was nothing much to do there, but nothing more was needed also. We sat down and started talking as we hadn’t packed any games with us. Three of us were there and each had the same experience of peace and serenity on top of this place. We regained our childhood watching a cow walking along with a crane. Whenever the cow got ahead of the crane, she would fly to catch up with the cow. They looked like friends on the way to their school. Soon an old woman came and tied the cow to the nearby bush. The crane went around her and was providing companionship to the cow and entertainment to us.Now and then, there were one or two dogs that would come to the foot-hill and stare at us. Thankfully, they never barked or did not venture up and left us to ourselves.


At lunchtime, we went around looking for a place to spread the picnic basket. We drove into the village and could see the small houses and school. There were boulders, grave tombs spread out everywhere. After a 15 minute search, we decided to return to our campJ This time when we carried the bags of food, plate, water and bedsheet, the workers looked at us with a big question mark on their face. It was a simple lunch, but tasted great thanks to the surroundings and our internal peace. We rested our backs for a while and were yapping. Those were meaningless talks but I could feel the calmness in each of us. When an old woman interrupted us for some water, we were only happy to see another human being there. She had come with her goats that were busy grazing and soon we could hear her speaking to another woman at the foot of the hill. These discussions went on for 2 hours or more amidst the chirping of birds, bleating of goats and cows in addition the whistling winds.


There was no trekking, adventure or rock climbing. Still, we were satisfied with our picnic spot.

Believe me that becoming one with nature is not very difficult here. Rest here for a while and forget any worry and erase every tension out of your mind.

It might not be a very good idea to come here in summer.


This is what I had read about the hill temple, by SRINIDHI RAGHAVENDRA L V:

“After a little distance, the stairs pass through a cave-like passageway for about 20 feet before reaching the top. It is a marvellous creation of Nature, the path giving way to a cave passage with sunlight streaming into it from the other end. The top of the hill is a small squarish plateau about 50 sq ft in area.

The temple is a small stone structure with beautiful Hoysala style square pillars. You can see a pair of large footprints, believed to be of Lord Hanuman, right in front. Inside, is a strikingly beautiful image of Lakshmi Rangantha Swamy made of shiny black granite carved on a pillar, which is about five ft tall. A pair of glittering brass eyes with stones encased appear as though the lord is staring outside. The other parts of the face are also well defined and adorned with brass ornaments.
Worship is performed only on Saturdays and special days.
The annual jatre or the fair is held on Rathasapthami day here. “
(copying the info as the DeccanHerald page link doesn’t open)

Mydanahalli, a weekend getaway from Bangalore

Last Saturday, I had been to a place called 'Mydanahalli' - u read it right- or 'Maidanahalli', which is a black buck reserve forest in Karnataka bordering Andhra. A friend of us came to know abt this place and suggested it as a weekend getaway. Here is the blog that she was referred by her friend : http://ifornature.blogspot.com/2008/11/mydanahalli-blackbuck-reserve.html There are more blogs on this place and we were convinced that it would be a good idea to go early in the morning to spot the blackbucks made famous by Salman Khan. Though it was 140 Kms from Blr and the place did not have any flora or landscapes, we decided to try our luck with the blackbucks and their winged friends. 5 of us decided to leave Blr by 4.30 in the morning (in the peak cold winter) so that we can reach when the animals are out on their morning walk. We managed to get up, packed almost all brands of biscuits, fried snacks, soda and water cans, filled full gas and and left home just before 5 am. Ram was as usual behind the wheel and I next to him with 5-8 papers with the route and directions, courtesy- blogs and google maps. The early morning was definitely a different sight - dark roads covered with fog, howling & barking dogs, the roaming cops dressed like terrorists to protect themselves from cold and only a lathi for self protection! , fellow vehicles on the road - that being the beginning of xmas week, many families could be seen travelling that early. We took the old Madras road to join the outer ring road that feeds into Tumkur. As usual, Tumkur road was full of slow-moving trucks and thousands of diversions and barricades. I pity those who get to travel this road often! After an hour long drive, we reached the toll gate and were asked by our friend to look out for a board 6 kms after the toll, on the right side. 10 eyes followed the instruction and after 6 kms, we were desperate and looked out in all possible directions! It being a straight road without any turns, we were puzzled and drove on, doubting the directions given by her friend. Soon, we reached the exit of the toll gate and continued straight. We all were shot back suddenly when she shouted that she spotted the board. Time for reverse gear . Only then it became clear that the 6 kms was meant after the toll exit :-) It was fun, anyways. We had to take the Tumkur by-pass and not get into the town. But there was no signboard when we reached the deviation point. We asked a villager who asked us to go straight, whereas Satish was insisting that we should take the right turn to join the by-pass. Me being me, said that since Tumkur trucks were taking right to enter the town and insisted that we head straight, which we did. We were doubtful as the road was not wide enough for a NH and could see shops on the roadside. So, we stopped a cyclist who confirmed that it was not the by-pass and we took a U-turn. While continuing on the by-pass, there was a small board with the hand-written words 'Pune road' which made us discuss again. After discussions, we continued straight only to return to Pune road after 5 minutes. That place is the over bridge under construction. Turn right and continue for 45 kms or so towards Madhugiri. That part of the drive was wonderful - it had dawned by then and there was thick fog on all sides. Visibility was poor which made Ram apply less pressure on the accelerator. We took time to click snaps on the way (shall update this post with good snaps soon) and reached Madhugiri (which also happens to be a district). We had to go past Madhugiri onto Hindupura Road for 17 Kms to reach Puravara village. I tested my Kannada skills. And every single board in this route is in Kannada which I dint attempt :-) After a few odd Kms, we had to leave the tar road behind and there started the stress test for the car and our backbones. Inspite of directions, maps, pictures of board signs with us, we had to continue asking the villagers for help, who were not only enthusiastic, but also wrong many times. A self-proclaimed forest guard wanted lift and asked us to go back from where we came! In short, we were lost and amidst people who confirmed that the forest was a few kms ahead. That motivated us to go ahead and entered muddy roads(?) and slopes. We had entered the forest without realising. Soon, I got to see a lake with few birds and the scenery was beautiful. Stopped every person who passed us asking for the black bucks. We were told to go near the shed which was 2 kms from the lake and so we continued. We reached a point beyond which the car cannot go because of a ditch and so started walking. After a few metres, we could see a house and grazing cows. How can there be a house in a reserve area, we thought and spent some time bird watching and returned to the car. The time was 9.30 and all were hungry. We decided on a pool-side breakfast and drove back to the lake. Bread, butter, jam and ready made rotis made a smooth way inside our foodpipes. Meanwhile, we were researching the footmarks on the lake side - if they were of goats or deers ! I took a count of chances which were 3-2 with me offering to be the third vote on spotting bucks! Once, the food was in, energies shot up and caught hold of more villagers who swore that our earlier route was correct and that we simply had to go beyond. They asked us to go straight - but where is straight when you are inside a jungle without any road tracks? Well, we went ahead to the same ditch and Muku started filling it with large stones so that we could drive over them. 15 minutes later we were on our way again. Suddenly, Ram exclaimed that the fuel tank was getting emptied fast and we all looked down to check for leaking petrol. Though being an offroader, Honda CRV gulps almost a litre for each km on a road less road in the first gear. Now, the priorities shifted from animal spotting to getting out of the jungle. And that's when, we saw a shed and got down. After enquiries with the shed owner who spoke flawless English, Kannada and Tamil, we came to know that the reserve area was only a km away. We left the car there for saving petrol and trekked our way through the thorny bushes towards the fence he showed. He told about a watch tower and guards whom we dint meet till the very end. We had to cross moats to enter the fenced area(it was fenced on one side only). I wore cotton trousers and thin shoes. The bushes started poking me with their needles and I had to stop every now and then to remove them. When I say jungle or forest, please do not imagine a forest covered with dense trees that keep the sunlight away. This is a forest with only Eucalyptus trees, cactus and acres of bushes. We walked for another half an hour and reached a denser part of the forest, where we finally spotted the black beauties. We saw two of them who dint blink for a second, but ran and disappeared in no time. They were huge in size and from whatever I could see, they had amazing horns that seemed to be the work of skilled craftsmen. Only the belly was white and rest was dark brown (or black?) in color. A new rule came after this - not to speak or make noise! We went further in and was getting more holes in my body. We walked along the path of an erstwhile stream, which had dried long ago. Some of us were lucky to spot 2 more black bucks - fawns this time, but they were equally fast if not faster. It was a bit disappointing that we could not see herds of them or take pictures of the animals. We could not locate the watch tower or any human beings. There were many snake hills and were scared as we had read that there were 14 different species of them in the forest. After some more waiting and hesitation, we started our way back. We took a short cut and so got lost only to find our car soon. We quenched our thirst and went to the shed-house and used his toilet. The guy had a poultry farm earlier (that explained the shed) and was running a brick factory then. He said that there was a guest house under construction and it should be possible to stay after that. To see what, I dint ask. He talked in length about his life, snakes, scorpions, pets, politicians who promise roads and infra without delivering and offered us tender coconuts. We politely refused and thanked him for the hospitality. He suggested a shorter route to Blr via Gouribidanur. We took his suggestion and took the mud road towards Gouribidanur. A good 2-25 km stretch was difficult after which there was tar road to Dodballapur and a good ride to Yelahaka and Blr then on. We saved around 30-40 kms and also avoided the Tumkur road traffic. This is definitely a recommended route, except for the 20 km mud-road stretch. The total distance covered was around 270 kms. To summarize, it was a good drive and we were lucky enough to see the 3-4 animals and some colorful birds near the lake. Issues : Bad road conditions, missing road directions, not so green forest cover, absence of a guide or boards in the forest area and above all, it is disappointing after the real long drive. Not recommended for families with children or for lone trekkers. Even in Dec, the temp was around 27 degrees, so summers will be hotter(the probability of spotting animals is high, as they may not find grass anywhere else). The photos in the referred blogs are nice and beautiful, but I don't think Mydanahalli is worth a long drive. Well, that's my opinion :-) FULL STOP

A beautiful weekend getaway from Bangalore

Since it rained bombs in Bangalore on Friday, we friends decided to beat the terror fear by heading towards a village called Kaiwara.
Kaiwara is a nature-blessed, picturesque village near Chinthamani town in Kolar district and 60+ Kms away from Bangalore. Six of us spent our Sunday there and we enjoyed every bit of it. On Sunday morning, when we wanted a place that is within an hour’s drive, I suggested Kaiwara and few of us made calls and surfed a bit to find the route and other details of this little-known village.
How to reach: Bangalore -> Hoskote->Kaiwara. Go towards Old Madras road till Hoskote and take the left at the arch where the road forks into 3. (If you go straight, you’ll reach Kolar). Kaiwara or Kaivara (as the tourism name plate reads) is 29 Kms from this arch. On reaching the village centre which is symbolized by an auto stand and few shops, continue straight for 9 Kms. To reach the cave temple, take right where there is a Kannada board directing towards Narasimha temple.
Initially, we did not take this right turn, but proceeded ahead. You get to see lush green trees (being July end, rain gods have been blessing), boulders and hillocks of small, medium and large sizes.
We parked our car in one of the plains nearby a hillock and started our trek towards the boulders. It was a calm, quiet and very silent place – cold winds blew and soothed the body and spirit. The soil was red and the boulders were thrown all over the place. It seemed as if it was a school playground only that the game was to roll the boulders to any desired spot. There were a few trees and lot of thorns all over the ground. After a 10 minute trek, the place turned dark (it was 12.30 noon) and before we could look up to the sky, the clouds started coming down and they came down heavily. There was no time to think and all six of us started running back to the car, as there was no tree nearby. But the rain bet us and we all got drenched from top to bottom before reaching the car. Our clothes and shoes turned red with mud and still we got into the car and colored its interiors with red.
Within a few minutes, the sky cleared and after a bit of musing, we re-started the trek. By the time we reached the boulders, the clothes had partly dried thanks to the winds and we felt better though the shoes were spoiled. Dor removed her slippery wet slippers and braved trekking on bare feet and Muku had to carry them back- he was happy to play Bharatan for his wife’s padukas. We conquered few boulders, climbed those with step-like stones and had a good time. It is a very scenic place and all you can see around are hillocks and boulders. It is a visual treat for the human eyes and camera lens. Ram was engrossed in clicking snaps. No other humans were around till we spotted a shepherd with his 65 goats grazing. After moving a bit forward, there was a woman collecting wood and a boy, probably her son sat on a boulder and was staring at the rocks for a long time. Two of them were tired by now and enjoyed a smoke from the hillock. Some of the rocks were big enough for rappelling. On the rock that we stood, there was enough space for spreading the picnic basket. Since the rock was wet, we decided to return to the car for lunch!
Again, the clouds overtook us and the sky opened up once more with full force. Mahesh took us to a six-foot rock behind which 3 of us took shelter. From there, we could see the beauty of the big ground that lay ahead of us, the hillocks etc. Soon, visibility was reduced to few meters and a white smoke replaced all the big objects. It was a good 15-minute rain that paved way for a clear sky. The drizzle continued and since the rock that sheltered us started getting wet on our side, we started our return journey. The rocks looked cleaner and I keep wondering why there were yellow patches on them. A stream from the rainy waters started gushing and it was a nice sight with sun turning bright again.
It was 3.30 pm when we had the aloo and mooli parathas that Mahesh& Satish had picked up for lunch. The tiring trek, rains and the beauty of the place made the parathas tastier. Dor’s Lindt chocolates turned into desserts. Since it was wet, we could not spread the picnic blanket and used the boot of the car as the table counter. Well, it started drizzling again as expected and we rushed indoors and further soiled the car. We could not avoid it this time as we had to drive to the cave which was shut by the legendary Bheema.
We took the same road down and proceeded to the Kannada board and took a left (Remember to go right if you are on the way from village). After a few hundreds of meters, the white temple building can be seen at the basement of a big hillock. As you can expect, monkeys ruled this area and they still are. Some of them stayed back to dry themselves and the rest proceeded towards the Narasimha temple. You have to climb around 100 steps to go up and this temple is different from the usual structures. Wondering how? It has a terrace from which you get wonderful views. There is a Yagna mantapa which has lot of small idols including the Dasavataram series of Lord Vishnu. A 8-foot statue of Lord Narasimha and Lakshmi(my guess) can be seen against one of the walls. Next to the mantapa is a very small entrance which is formed by the edge of the cave rock. One has to sit down or kneel to see a small idol of Narasimha inside the cave rock. Probably, it is a symbolic representation that mankind has to kneel in front of the super power. Well, aarthi and pooja was being done by a priest who was also accepting donations and giving receipt bills. We spent some more time and hurried back to the car when the rains came down again.
We were told that the road ahead has a picturesque view and a big solo rock and so drove up the cliff. The views on both sides were awesome. After a while, we returned in the same route and there was a spot with a raised single track with small pond in red color on one side and lush green bushes on the other side. Ram went down to click some pictures with Satish protecting the camera with the umbrella. Once inside, the camera was wiped clean and dry and waited for the next click which happened a few times on our way back.
The return journey was equally wet and I was continuously reminding Ram to reduce the speed, who was enjoying the good road inspite of the waters. Temperature has reduced drastically and the AC did not help either. It was 6.30 pm when we reached the Marthahalli Coffee day to warm ourselves.
It was a memorable day full of exotic views and wet experiences and would recommend Kaiwara for those souls who want a weekend away from the maddening crowd.
Food : We carried our lunch and except for the small shops at the village centre, did not find any restaurant.
Road: 60 Kms from Bangalore. Very good road. It is NH is our guess.
Best time to visit : Monsoon and post-monsoons, winter too. Expect it to be hot in summer.
Ideal for: Mild treks, picnics.
Request: It is a very beautiful place and help it to remain so. Please do not litter and carry back all your carry-bags and plastic containers

Innovative Film city @ Bangalore

Last Sunday, we had been to the newly opened Innovative Film city just outside Bangalore(or probably part of the greater Benaglooru) with friends. It is a huge area of fun and entertainment for the whole family. Though it is open for public, one can see everywhere that there are lot more coming up and many barren structures and make-shift arrangements. Guess, the phase1 has been opened to get money inflow to sponsor the rest of the phases. That could be a reason for the sky-high entry fees for any of the attractions once you enter the campus. That does not deter Bangaloreans from crowding this place in the weekends, esp. the kids and college students!
The main entrance has a nominal fee of Rs.50 per person and this means that you can enter the complex and do widow sighting/ shopping and only that! For each attraction inside one has to shell out an average of Rs.100 bucks per person. (The tickets vary from Rs.50 to Rs.150)
Attractions:
Ripley's Believe it or not! Its worth a visit esp. for children in 7-15 age group and the curious souls. As I haven't been to any international Ripley's exhibit, I am not in a position to compare it. My rating : 3/5
Louis Tussad's wax museum: We get to see few Indian and more international celebrities in wax statues - only that the quality is poor. Only, Dalai Lama was realistic and others were badly done and most of them had brown skin tones. The worst one was a disfigured Diana! The height ratio was incorrect in almost all of them :-( Missing were prominent Indian celebrities like Indira Gandhi, Ash or SRK who stand tall in Madame Tussads in London. A casual look at Prince Charming's hand reveals flowing/melted wax/colors! Lot of scope for improvement when compared with its counterparts across the globe. My rating: 1/5
Dinosaur park:It comes across as a basic/ primary park with plants and a dozen creatures with minimal animations. An unrealistic dinosaur who can wag its tail or open its mouth can be interesting for the first timers or very small kids. If you want to look up in awe at the mammoth creatures, this is not the place. And its definitely not worth the entrance fee! My rating: 1/5
There is a fossil museum next to it which we dint go and don't regret also, after the Dinosaur experience.

Artifical beach: This is what I would call as total scam! After paying 150 bucks per head, you enter only to see a very small wave pool and beach sand with benches, but a few hundreds of people on a sunday! The 'waving' happens once in half an hour and does not last beyond 5-10 minutes. The waves are too mild to have any impact!

Good things abt the beach: Nice benches to lay lazing(Might be good to prevent the heat and light of sun on summer days)! Fine palm trees and the environmental design and setup are good. Pool has no swimming costume requirements which is good for families, but at the same time doesnot give a clean look or hygienic! We could see the cleaning staff in action throughout and the guards whistling at the children left to play by themselves. Lot of balls, tubes etc to play inside water. Then, there is a mini volleyball setup. My rating: 2/5 Cartoon city: This is free to enter zone and pay-for rides where there are interesting rides for kids. I liked the cartoons at the entrance :-) My rating: 3/5

Mirror maze: Heard that it is very good, but the length of the queue throughout the day deterred us from venturing in!

4D Movie Theater: It was crowded all the time. The booking software had glitches(like any other s/w) and dint let us book in advance. Whenever we join the queue just before the show timing, there were no tickets. So missed this one as well :-(

Mini-Golf : Too mini !

Go-Karting : Too small to try! (Though, I am a not a pro!)

Food courts: Good variety of food - veg, non-veg, North & South Indian choices. Quality of food was good in 3 outlets that we tried. Only the place was not at all enough for the weekend crowd. My rating: 3/5

Parking facilities: When we reached the place (it is close to Toyoto @ Bidadi and a few Kms after Wonderla on Mysore road) around 10.45am, we had to park the car 300m down the entrance. And in the evening, I could see cars parked even beyond 700m and offered me solace!

The upcoming structures at the entrance are huge and definitely a way-forward among other Bangalore attractions. Model of an old theatre(talkies, should I say) showed a peep into past and the hut-shop was 100% realistic ! Overall I would rate this place 2/5 and its worth a visit, especially in groups and for the entire family members, though you might find the wallet screaming out loud later. If possible, avoid weekends (which is difficult while planning in groups). BTW, why is it called film city ? any clue will be of help.

(Added a few pictures, on request)

Why we love animal / bird-watching?

For a moment,I thought it is counter-intuitive for humans to go miles and miles for a hobby called bird-watching or crossing moutains and seas for a jungle-safari or a forest trek for hours together in search of bisons, elephants, wild cats and feel disappointed on spotting only the herbivorous deers and rabbits! Shouldn't we feel happy that we are safe to be out of the vicinity of the man-eaters or the other perils of the forest. Why do we take our children to crocodile or snake parks , when we know that they are the most dangerous creatures?
If you think through these questions, I expect the answers to vary across! Some of the probable prominent reasons are:
1. Humans are curious to know about nature and her creations
2. Search for proof of evolution theory
3. The happiness we get in connecting with nature, by spotting the wild animals which we think as pure forms
4. We are amazed by their characteristics and appearance
5. We are inspired by Nat-Geo and Discovery Channel journalists & photographers
6. The process or journey to the destination in equally interesting
7. Educational reasons
8. Business reasons - Poaching or hunting or harming
9. Journalism
10. Anything else?

These are some of the reasons I can think of!
I had been to a bird sanctuary last weekend and felt immensely happy to see so many species of birds. The mere sight of them brings in cheer and lights up the spirits!
Let me try a travelogue with the pictures I took in a separate post, soon.

Cities and associated feelings

Have you felt that we tend to develop a prominent feeling to any place we visit. For example, when I think of 'hosptial', the word that immediately pops up in my mind is 'smell' and for 'school', it is 'homework';
These are not only words, but also description of what that place means to us.

Here is an attempt to write my immediate feelings towards some of the places I have visited, worked, lived etc. Might have forgotten a handful of places I have been to - but again, this is an immediate list.
Its fun making one - try it to know !

Amsterdam Enjoy life
Bangalore liveable
Belur, Halebed Sculpture
Berlin Fun
Chennai Dirty and dry
Coimbatore Rich
Coorg Refreshing
Coutrallem mighty water
Hague Governmental
Karaikudi clean
Karlsruhe peaceful
Kerala backwaters
Keukenhof Lovingly beautiful
Kodai water pollution
Madurai crowded
Mauritius beach
Munich Romantic
Mysore Over hyped
Nainital lakes
Ooty Romantic
Paris Too much to do
Ramnad desert
Rotterdam Built differently
Salsburg musical
Shravanabelagola -Lost its height
Swiss chocolate
Tiruchendur Filthy beggars
Tirunelveli Mannin manam
Trichy Brahmins
Uttarkhand Kumoan range
Versailles home gardens

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In the journey of life...

I wanna be a globetrotter and visit 75% of the countries in my lifetime!
That's the objective of my being in the world and currently in the beautiful Netherlands. Though I had been to this country seven years ago, I did not realise the beauty of this palce.
After visiting the Dutch villages, the world famous windmills and the most lovely and beautiful Tulip gardens, I stand corrected on my views.
Another amazing factor is the cheese and milk products- never expected them to be as delicious as they are here! (Need to check my weight!)
Planning to write a few blogs on the sights and experience I am having in Holland!
Life is an enjoyable journey, isn't it?

I am a traveller...

Its yet another beautiful morning! Only that the sunrays have been banned and the city has been taken over by Mr.Fog and Ms.Foggy. How I wish I have come to this city for holidays instead of work! And still, do I crib? Definitely not.
It is a city where you can see people of all colors, different nationalities from all continents speaking so many languages, people practising different professions - in formals, semi-casuals,partywear and what not! Many a time I hear Hindi or Tamil and turn my head only to see that I am in Amsterdam!
Anyone will love this place and everyone would like to be here atleast once. This is my second visit here and I still have got lots to explore. I came here as a tourist seven years ago and what stayed in my mind was the trams, rains and museums. I missed viewing the most beautiful Tulips blossoming then. I sincerely hope to see them in full blooms this onset of summer.

Shivanasamudram falls & Thalakad

Last Saturday, 3 of us decided to cool our heels in the majestic waterfalls. We started from Bangalore by 9.15 am - we started 1.5 hours later than planned because I decided to pack some food since we could not buy any ready to eat stuff the previous night. Shivanasamudram is 115 Kms from Bangalore on the Kanakapura road. We did not expect the road to be as good as the Mysore road or the Golden Quadrangle, but were shocked at the last 25 km stretch which was bad. Inspite of being a tourism spot, the Govt (whichever party) has not paved the road which happens to be the state highways! Such sorry state of affairs.
On reaching the falls, a bigger disappointment awaited us! there were only the majestic rocks and a thread of water. Everyone who had come there was shocked and trying to take pictures with whatever water around! It is only January and I wondered how drier the coming months are going to be! To see some water, we decided to go to Talakad and also to take the Mysore road.
After enquiries, we headed towards Talakad that is 30 kms away and the route between Shivanasamudram and Talakad was even worse.
On entering Talakad, we need to pay 10 rupees each for the village municipality and the forest department so that we get to see Cauvery. To our surprise and delight, there was plenty of water and crowd. Spent some time there and went on the watch tower. We decided to spread our picnic basket at the bank of river, but at a peaceful and lesser crowded place. So, we took the car and came to the place which we noted on our way forward. It was a beautiful place at the bank of the river and with lots of tree and hence shade. Nobody was around and we spread the blanket and started exploring the lunch. Stray dogs came from nowhere and started guarding us. One by one, beggars started coming and before we could wonder, two cars came our way and parked right in front of us. There was one more tempo traveller that followed and from that, I could see that a marriage feast and silver utensils were being unloaded. When I saw 5-6 milk packets, I wondered if they were going to set up stove and cook coffee/tea. We decided to leave the place for all these hungama and got up. Forgot to mention that a sole pig (yes!) gave darshan. When I exclaimed, that it is a "piggy bank", I got stares in my direction!
We wrapped up having a hearty lunch in a peaceful surrounding. We enquired the route to Maddur through which we can reach Mysore and continued our journey. Only then we figured out that there was no road at all in many places and mud was being filled in so many other stretches. I donot know if it is a state highway, but definitely, a stateless highway! And this time, we had to travel around 40+ kms to reach Maddur and that the worst route in the day. So, we went from bad to worse and then to worst. Since there is no more superlative degree, the next one has to be good and it happened to be the best - The Mysore-Bangalore road. We zoomed and reached home by 6.15 pm.
My suggestion to u guys:
1. If u have to goto Shivanasamudram falls, take the Tumkur road as it has only 25 Km of bad strtech and that is bearable than the other route
2. Donot goto Shivanasamudram as there is no water and no good road. Look for a better alternative. If I find one next week, I shall let u know!

Me on vacation

It is relieving, its sheer joy and fun to be on vacation.
I love it ! I am gonna travel...
Let me try posting my travellogues...

We are going to school in an open van ...

My travel takes me to heaven...

Its a good experience to travel and that too I had been travelling alone ... Mc Donalds(I'm loving it!)
Last weekend had been to a place called Kiel near Hamburg..
Its a port city and was good... better known as sailing city! except for the waiting at airports and railway stations when its 1 or 2 degrees centigrades out :-)
Otherwise, I had fallen in love with autumn and dont want the approaching winter to take out the colors from the trees ..
Sun has gone missing far awayyyyy.... U been to my homeland, dear?

Had been to a zoo in Karlsruhe and was amazed by the way the people make interesting events out of the mundane activities.. the seals were brilliant performers during their lunch session and the crowd esp kids were the happiest.. I took some videos too... :-)

Got the fotos but need to get the internet to upload them .... sometime soon ...