2015 Ke Beach Beach Mein

I had planned the trip to Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari (Dec. 27- Dec. 30), almost 4 months back. More so to get good enough discounts because New Year eve can be very expensive. Since the time I  tied the knot (Some might call it 'dreaded'. My reference here is open to interpretation for all about my own personal take ...) more than 5 years back, the number of blog posts have plummeted. This will be an earnest effort from my part to change that pattern. Fingers and toes crossed.

The plan was to board the Nagercoil express train from Salem (my better half's native), to Nagercoil and then visit places around including Kanyakumari (20 odd kms from Nagercoil) by bus. Two days in Nagercoil and then on to Thiruvananthapuram. I normally mix and match my trips to cover one day in a good resort and the other day or two in a normal hotel. This keeps the trip on the economical side (or so I believe :)). Getting big discounts from sites like Yatra (45%), Makemytrip (50%) or Goibibo is a big bonus too. This time it was Sahana castle in Nagercoil and Over the hill resort in Poovar.

I was asked multiple times what I would do for two days in Nagercoil. I only had a plan for one day to go to Kanyakumari. So I had to find a plan for the other day. I have always believed, a trip is about enjoyment and fun without the stress and pressure of having to cover all the historic places. My belief is, in the hurry to cover all the places, one just mounts unnecessary tension on oneself and sacrifices the whole purpose of the trip. So I am always very happy to choose off beat locations which are sparsely crowded.

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Coastal Course near Chidambaram

A tonsuring tour for my 30 month old daughter. Initially we had planned to do it in Tirupathi, but logistics and the fact that our daughter is growing up hastened the next possible place. Vacation plans always hinged around Hampi for the August 15th weekend. However, the tonsuring plan coupled with unfamiliar territory around Hampi meant we were looking for alternatives. Vaitheeswaran Koil was the immediate choice for the tonsuring. But what would a trip be without an element of fun mixed with a pilgrimage in camouflage.

Vaitheeswaran koil was ideal in many respects. Close enough to Chidambaram to explore the seashore beside it. Also providing visit to the famous Chidambaram temple, Sirgazhi temple among others. The distance from Bangalore is around 400 kms which can be done in one go. But with a toddler beside, things can get tricky, especially when driving during daytime. Fortunately we had strategic halting places in Salem and Mecheri. While my maternal aunt stays at Salem, my in laws are in Mecheri, which is also part of Salem.

The plan was to visit Chidambaram on day 1, Pichavaram and Tharangambadi on day 2 and Vaitheeswaran Koil on day 3. We stayed on 12th night at Salem, packed food for onward journey to Chidambaram and checked into Nataraja Residency. The visit to the Natarja temple in Chidambaram on the same evening was peaceful. The next day we were off to Pichavaram, which was always the highlight in my mind to be covered during the trip.

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Going Down Mullayanagiri Lane ...

Since my post way back last year about my memorable experience at Thekady, I haven't been on any trekking sojourns for various reasons. Prime amongst them was my vulnerable health which ebbed and flowed with the summer and then the winter season. Other personal and professional reasons did come in the way.

But what struck me as very demotivating was the lack of trekking companions which I had made over the past few years. It is difficult to replace a set gang of trekkers who tend to be on the same wave length and set off for on the fly treks. I lost such companions either to marital bonds or an increasing workload. It looks like an unavoidable transformation, as one gains in experience at the workplace and finds oneself at the altar of marital life (pun intended).

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Periyar - Profusely Nature's

Thekday was calling loud and clear on the Ugadi weekend. I reached Kumily, which is the town nearest to Thekady by bus from Bangalore on the morning of 28th March. It is at the Tamil Nadu/Kerala border and very close to Kodaikanal and Munnar. The plan was for the old Reflections (a collegiate magazine team of ours during Engg college days) to meet and have a look around. Sujith, Rahul and Thomas ettan apart from me were the participants for this trip. Sujith had booked an Inspection Bungalow (IB) at Kumily, which is where the stay for the next 2 days had been planned for. Kumily being just 4 kms away from Thekady, this was the perfect place to halt.

After the gang arrived, we told the IB caretaker of the previous DFO being Sujith's close acquaintance, and enquired about the availability of a room or 2 at Edapalayam Island's Forest Guest House. This is an island within the Periyar Lake in Thekady, amidst all the flora and fauna of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Fortunately, there were no bookings, and we changed our plans and decided to stay at the island instead. It is difficult to get accommodation here, and one needs someone higher in Forest Division circles to get accommodation. If one gets it, it is well worth at 1300 for a double bedroom.

A boat ride took us to the Edapalayam island in Thekady, and we were awestruck by the beauty of the surroundings. Though end of March is not peak season, the beauty of the island, encompassed by the lake was mesmerising to say the least. There was still lot of greenery, and the lake was still and reflective of the tranquility surrounding the island. Gaurs and Barking deers came out of the wilderness on the other side of the lake, to munch on the green pastures. During December time period, the surroundings would look much greener and prettier.

The 4 of us got talking and taking pictures, and were discussing how privileged and lucky we were to just get a glimpse of the Periyar Tiger Reserve at close quarters. We did not realise how time just flew by, and had requested the forest guest house staff to prepare dinner for us for the day. The dinner was awesome, and so was the calmness of the island. The Lake Palace at the island is just beside this guest house and they charge a whopping 28000 INR per day for availing its facilities. But we were more than happy with our accommodation and enjoying it every bit.

The next day morning, one of the staff took us for a nature walk, and was narrating incidents of Tigers and elephants during his stint at the Reserve, and in and around the island. We were hoping against hope to atleast sight some elephants. But alas, that was never the case, and we returned back from the island before noon, having witnessed what nature truly beholds.

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Chilling Out In Ooty

After 3 consecutive weekends of trips and treks, a long weekend could not have been spared ! First it was Mudumalai (or famously renamed as Malaigudi by the new age Columbus), then it was the Yelagiri Hills (Bangalore-Chennai Route), and finally Pakshipathalam (Wayanad, the other side of Brahmagiri). Physically taxing was the common refrain by the core group which ventured in all these 'expeditions'. Not surprisingly, I was the common factor in all these trips, and was about to join in the fun once again for the long weekend.

Ugadi, the Kannadiga and Telugu New Year fell on the 19th, a Monday. Though I was adamant and kept making statements "Mujhe Jungle Jaana Hai", I couldn't muster enough support to go on a trekking expedition. All had gone into relaxation mode. My only point of argument was, that if relaxation was the intention, sleeping at home in Bangalore made more sense than packing bags and going all the way to a Hill Station. But, I was willing to go with any plan, since a weekend Getaway was all I wished for.

Alok, Renjith, Anil, Nandini and I set out to make this trip happen. Renjith's suggestion of Ooty was and will remain a masterstroke, since we had apprehensions that the climate in Ooty in the month of March may not be that cold. I could't lay much claim to this theory since it had been more than 6 years since I last went there, and wasn't sure about the weather conditions. But we were in for a pleasant surprise, though not Renjith, who knew all along what he said.

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Blood Donation Camp At Brahmagiri

Such a title wouldn’t be what you would normally associate with a travelogue. But situations, circumstances made us involuntarily volunteering for a blood donation camp at Brahmagiri, where we attempted to go for a trek on the weekend which just went by. More details about this unusual nature’s own donation camp will be covered in the later part of this travelogue.

Bordering the Kerala Karnataka border, in the Coorg district is the Brahmagiri range. It is around 250 kms from Bangalore. To reach this place, one needs to catch a bus going towards Srimangala, via Gonikoppa. We (Suresh,Renjith,Alok, myself) took a Rajahamsa Executive bus booked for Friday night (8th September 2006) 11:00 p.m., going towards Kutta, which goes via Srimangala. The booking this time was wee better than the one which I had done for the Mullayanagiri trip, because, I did this one 6 hours earlier, but still just 2 days prior to the trip itself. Through the last week, we had spoken with the Forest Officer, Pramod (Ph: +919448813835) at Srimangala, to confirm our arrival at the place on Saturday morning.

The plans were extensive. It was to trek up to Narimalai, cover Brahmagiri on the same day, then camp there overnight, then trek to Narimalai/Munekkal Caves the next day (Pakshipaathalam in Kerala side of the range) and return back on Sunday evening. Such plans for camping needed preparations, atleast for food. For camping sake, we purchased Ready to Eat MTR foods, noodles and all. And we were all set to go by Friday night.

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Mullayanagiri - Reloaded (26th &27th August)

Reloaded, because Renjith and I (We) had been there on a partially successful trek on the first Saturday in October 2004, in what was a forgettably memorable trip which we cherish till date. I know the usage of the adjectives in the sentence gone by was nothing short of confusing, but the trip was all about each of those words and I couldn’t find a single word to fit in our experience.

Sanity was restored, when we again started planning for a weekend outing (from Bangalore) in the weekend (just went by) to whichever place held surroundings which would be on a hilltop. That’s all what we had in mind. Freak out and trek to some hilltop. We had been going through a lot of options like Thiruneli/Pakshipathalam, Brahmagiri and Babbudangiri/Mullayangiri. After enquiries at Pakshipathalam at the DFO we were told that it was unsafe after a lot of rain in that region and Brahmagiri too lies closeby. And since we hadn’t quite completed the Mullayanagiri (read MU) trek 2 years back (having lost our way and drenched away downhill in heavy rains!!), we didn’t have any problem in zeroing in on Mullayanagiri.

Sanity restored, because when we embark on such treks we seldom plan, which can have its pros and cons. But we have always been ready for them. Buying 2 tickets at the back, in an express bus, 2 days before the trek, is proof of what I just said. We bought the tickets for Chikmagalur which is where the beautiful hills of MU reside.

On Friday last, we did some quick shopping for food items which comprised of dry fruits, a pair of 2 litre bottles, biscuits, 3 bread packets and some water proof pants (you read it right) knowing its not the best time of the year to trek. But the weather Gods had given us a green signal it seemed, with the Lycos website predicting good to cloudy weather in Chikmagalur for the weekend. We though, were better prepared with 2 umbrellas instead of 1 in the previous trip, and with jerkins which were seemingly water proof.

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