Day 15 started with us getting up on the banks of river Krishna and another quick South Indian breakfast at the Hotel. After that we were on our way to Bangalore with Vinay on the steering wheel.
Our first stop over was at Nellore for Lunch. We went to this, apparently very popular, Andhra style restaurant called Mayuri. The food was just about ok. I guess the Andhra food served in Bangalore at Nagarjuna, Nandini, etc..., is better than whatever is served elsewhere including Andhra Pradesh. Anyways, after the lunch I took over steering and drove till Bangalore.
We tried to bypass Chennai on the way but were caught in traffic on a small stretch. We saw a huge demolition drive happening at Ambattur and found it a little depressing to see so many people made homeless in a few hours. Some of the building being demolished still had a few residents staying there. Looked like most of them were caught by surprise.
We got out of Chennai in around 45-60 mins. After that it was a pretty much a smooth and fast drive till Hosur. At Hosur we slowed a little adjusting ourselves to the slow traffic awaiting us at Bangalore. Right then a modified (Petes) Verna zoomed past us. I think God chose to answer our prayers at the last moment.
The next few mins (I don't remember how long it lasted) were probably the most exciting part of the journey. We had an amazing race with the Verna, made a little more interesting by the fact that our car had some kind of bug wherein if we tried to accelerate a little hard it just loses all power and has to be restarted. Anyways, even with this handicap we managed to keep the Verna behind us till Electronics city where we took the expressway and he zoomed on the road below. The Trip ended in the best possible high for us.
Day 15 of our trip was the last day too. Just 2 weeks back we were all excited to start the trip and now that it was all coming to an end we had mixed feelings about it. We were looking forward to be with our families again but were also finding it hard to believe that this fun on the road is not going to last.
We've liked this trip so much that we plan to make it a regular affair. We were already planning our next trip (this time with family) during the last 2 days. I wont divulge too much, but looks like that trip will cover multiple countries instead of multiple states. Will keep you guys posted on that.
PS: Now that we are in Bangalore we will be updating all the blog entries with a lot of pictures and hyperlinks. Do come back once we are done with that.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
02-03-2010
Day 14 was the penultimate day of our trip. After our first South Indian Breakfast since Day 1, we were on our way to Borra Caves. We were there in a couple of hours of drive through the mountains. If you have not seen pictures of this place, you'll be surprised to see how humongous this place is. We took a guide with us who gave a brief on its history and also showed some of the unique formations which resembled real life objects, Gods, animals, etc...
We took a lot of pictures there and then left for Vizag so that we could be there for Lunch. We went to Daspalla Hotel for some good Andhra style lunch. Once again we were sorely disappointed with what we were served there. I guess the restaurants which are generally popular and cater to the masses are not the ones which can surprise you with their food. Anyways, after eating just enough to get over the hunger we went to the seaside of Vizag.
Maybe we did not see the whole of Vizag, but whatever we saw, especially the seaside, impressed us a lot. Nice, wide and clean roads with sea on one side and apartments and other buildings on the other side. An ideal place to stay. Our first stop was the submarine museum. The museum is inside a decommissioned submarine with most of its interior kept the way it was when it was functioning. This was a very interesting experience and gave us a glimpse of life in deep-sea. Recommended for everyone who visits Vizag.
The next and last place we visited in Vizag were the Kailash Hills. We took a rope-way from the foothills to the top of the hill. The hills are right next to the sea and make for a very picturesque location. We took a few pictures of the sea, beaches and the city below and then took to toy-train ride around the hill. After that we were back in our car and on our way to Vijayawada.
By the time we reached Vijayawada it was already 10:15 PM. My cousin Garima didi, her husband Arun Jijaji and their nephew were waiting for us at the Hotel Ilapuram for dinner. After a quick dinner with them we headed towards the hotel.
The place were we stayed was a hotel run by Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) on the banks of river Krishna. In fact our initial plan was to stay on of the cottages at the island but those were cottages were non-functional after last year's floods.
This will be our last night of the Trip as we planned to reach Bangalore by next evening. We have had a very good trip so far, far exceeding our expectations. The only thing we missed was any racing action during our entire trip. Hopefully we would get some game on the last day.
We took a lot of pictures there and then left for Vizag so that we could be there for Lunch. We went to Daspalla Hotel for some good Andhra style lunch. Once again we were sorely disappointed with what we were served there. I guess the restaurants which are generally popular and cater to the masses are not the ones which can surprise you with their food. Anyways, after eating just enough to get over the hunger we went to the seaside of Vizag.
Maybe we did not see the whole of Vizag, but whatever we saw, especially the seaside, impressed us a lot. Nice, wide and clean roads with sea on one side and apartments and other buildings on the other side. An ideal place to stay. Our first stop was the submarine museum. The museum is inside a decommissioned submarine with most of its interior kept the way it was when it was functioning. This was a very interesting experience and gave us a glimpse of life in deep-sea. Recommended for everyone who visits Vizag.
The next and last place we visited in Vizag were the Kailash Hills. We took a rope-way from the foothills to the top of the hill. The hills are right next to the sea and make for a very picturesque location. We took a few pictures of the sea, beaches and the city below and then took to toy-train ride around the hill. After that we were back in our car and on our way to Vijayawada.
By the time we reached Vijayawada it was already 10:15 PM. My cousin Garima didi, her husband Arun Jijaji and their nephew were waiting for us at the Hotel Ilapuram for dinner. After a quick dinner with them we headed towards the hotel.
The place were we stayed was a hotel run by Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) on the banks of river Krishna. In fact our initial plan was to stay on of the cottages at the island but those were cottages were non-functional after last year's floods.
This will be our last night of the Trip as we planned to reach Bangalore by next evening. We have had a very good trip so far, far exceeding our expectations. The only thing we missed was any racing action during our entire trip. Hopefully we would get some game on the last day.
01-04-2010
The Day 13 of our trip started early. We were done with our breakfast by 8 in the morning and were on our way to Taptapani. It is a hot sulphur spring located on an altitude of about 700 Mts. I was the only one to take proper dip there and the rest of the guys just wet their legs. I found the water too hot for comfort initially but it was alright after a while. Rohith, who had hurt his knee in Kharagpur, found the warm water very soothing for the pain.
After the hot spring we went to a Buddhist Monastery at Chandragiri in Gajapati district which was around 20-30 Kms away. We visited the Temple there which was very colorful like the usual Buddhist Temples. At the time of our visit there were a few monks reciting some Hymns and Prayers along with some drums and trumpets. We were pretty hungry by now and went to a Tibetan canteen in the premises there.
It was already 3:30-4:00 in the afternoon. We were looking forward to some Tibetan lunch but the Lady running that place told us that they had run out of Momos for that day. So we settled for Rice with Dal and Subzi. It tasted quite good and made for a satisfactory Lunch. After this we were back in our cars and were looking to reach Vizag by evening. But immediate concern was to get out of the Jungles and Mountains before it was dark as that place might not be very safe because of the Naxal activity recently.
I tried to drive as fast as possible in the ghat sections but the narrow roads didn't help much. The last part of the drive was in the dark. We were in Andhra by then but still not out of wilderness. Another hour of drive and we finally rejoined the Golden Quadrilateral.
While driving we were also making our plans for the next day. One suggestion which came from different corners was to visit the Borra Caves. What we realized that if we were to visit Borra Caves the next day we would have to come in the reverse direction from Vizag. So we decided to stay at Vizianagram instead. We went to this hotel called S.V.N. Lake Palace. It was a decent accommodation. We had our dinner in one of its restaurant and then retired for the night.
After the hot spring we went to a Buddhist Monastery at Chandragiri in Gajapati district which was around 20-30 Kms away. We visited the Temple there which was very colorful like the usual Buddhist Temples. At the time of our visit there were a few monks reciting some Hymns and Prayers along with some drums and trumpets. We were pretty hungry by now and went to a Tibetan canteen in the premises there.
It was already 3:30-4:00 in the afternoon. We were looking forward to some Tibetan lunch but the Lady running that place told us that they had run out of Momos for that day. So we settled for Rice with Dal and Subzi. It tasted quite good and made for a satisfactory Lunch. After this we were back in our cars and were looking to reach Vizag by evening. But immediate concern was to get out of the Jungles and Mountains before it was dark as that place might not be very safe because of the Naxal activity recently.
I tried to drive as fast as possible in the ghat sections but the narrow roads didn't help much. The last part of the drive was in the dark. We were in Andhra by then but still not out of wilderness. Another hour of drive and we finally rejoined the Golden Quadrilateral.
While driving we were also making our plans for the next day. One suggestion which came from different corners was to visit the Borra Caves. What we realized that if we were to visit Borra Caves the next day we would have to come in the reverse direction from Vizag. So we decided to stay at Vizianagram instead. We went to this hotel called S.V.N. Lake Palace. It was a decent accommodation. We had our dinner in one of its restaurant and then retired for the night.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
31-03-2010
We tried to start Day 12 as early as possible from Kolkata as we had planned to visit Bhitarkanika and Chilka Lake on the same day (which, we later realized, was extremely ambitious and naive of us). We started by around 8 in the morning and had our breakfast at Sher-e-Punjab Dhaba on the way.
We picked up Rohith from Kharagpur and then were on our way to Bhubaneshwar. En Route we called up the Bhitarkanika guys and figured out that it takes one complete day to visit that place. After Bhitarkanika off our plan we wanted to make up for it in Bhubaneshwar. We stopped just once on way. It was on a river bank which had a lot of Banyan trees. I tried to play Tarzan with it's hanging roots and was almost successful till I realized that when Tarzan swings with those roots he invaribly has roots of another tree to hold at the end of the swing. I didn't find any and so started to oscillate instead. I could some how avoided hitting the tree on my way back but couldn't hold on the roots for long and came crashing on the ground. Luckily the ground was soft and i wasn't at a great height either. I few scratches on my palms and I was alright. I don't know what I'm going to be in future but I do know that one thing that I'll not be is Tarzan.
After this (mis)adventure we were right back on the road. We made a few calls to colleagues/friends/relatives to find out some good authentic Oriya restaurant in Bhubaneshwar and made a note of them all. We reached Bhubaneshwar by 4:00 PM and realized that like most places in India, food is not served at that time. We checked out atleast 7 to 8 restaurants but were disappointed everywhere. Then we decided to stop at one the roadsides eateries for a quick grab. Even they seemed to taking a break during these hours but we finally found a vendor who could serve us some basic vegetarian food. We were pleasantly surprised by what he served us. We don't know if it was our hunger, but we found the food to be really good.
Next we headed to Gopalpur, a small beach town, for the night halt. We stayed at a place called Swosti Palm Resort. After checking in, we headed to the beach. Took some weird long exposure snaps there and then were back to the resort for our dinner. After the dinner (again disappointed to not get Oriya food) we headed to our rooms and crashed into our beds.
I am writing this blog on the last day of our trip. The post for the last 3 days will be updated after we reach Bangalore. We will also upload all the snaps we had taken during our Trip.
We picked up Rohith from Kharagpur and then were on our way to Bhubaneshwar. En Route we called up the Bhitarkanika guys and figured out that it takes one complete day to visit that place. After Bhitarkanika off our plan we wanted to make up for it in Bhubaneshwar. We stopped just once on way. It was on a river bank which had a lot of Banyan trees. I tried to play Tarzan with it's hanging roots and was almost successful till I realized that when Tarzan swings with those roots he invaribly has roots of another tree to hold at the end of the swing. I didn't find any and so started to oscillate instead. I could some how avoided hitting the tree on my way back but couldn't hold on the roots for long and came crashing on the ground. Luckily the ground was soft and i wasn't at a great height either. I few scratches on my palms and I was alright. I don't know what I'm going to be in future but I do know that one thing that I'll not be is Tarzan.
After this (mis)adventure we were right back on the road. We made a few calls to colleagues/friends/relatives to find out some good authentic Oriya restaurant in Bhubaneshwar and made a note of them all. We reached Bhubaneshwar by 4:00 PM and realized that like most places in India, food is not served at that time. We checked out atleast 7 to 8 restaurants but were disappointed everywhere. Then we decided to stop at one the roadsides eateries for a quick grab. Even they seemed to taking a break during these hours but we finally found a vendor who could serve us some basic vegetarian food. We were pleasantly surprised by what he served us. We don't know if it was our hunger, but we found the food to be really good.
Next we headed to Gopalpur, a small beach town, for the night halt. We stayed at a place called Swosti Palm Resort. After checking in, we headed to the beach. Took some weird long exposure snaps there and then were back to the resort for our dinner. After the dinner (again disappointed to not get Oriya food) we headed to our rooms and crashed into our beds.
I am writing this blog on the last day of our trip. The post for the last 3 days will be updated after we reach Bangalore. We will also upload all the snaps we had taken during our Trip.
30-03-2010
Day 11 was the last day for me to fill in as much of Kolkata and it's food as possible into Sreejith and Vinay. To give them a head start, I took them to Burrabazar. We reached Burrabazar at around noon time. We started with a packet of Jhal Muri. It wasn't the best I've bad, but wasn't too bad either. Next we tried some Raj Kachori and Papdi Chaat. Both of them were awesome. In between, I showed them the old and famous Kaligodam. This place serves Jalebi in the morning and Boondia in the evening. Though their Jalebis are good, their Boondia might very well be the best found anywhere else. However, since we were crossing this place at noon, we weren't fortunate enough to taste either that day.
After this we took a break and went for some shopping. An old neighbour of mine from Silchar had setup a Saree shop close by. We went there and ended up buying three Sarees. Now, I'm not going to say who bought how many Saree for whom, as it might put some of us in trouble.
After the shopping we resumed our eating spree. Well it had more to do with drinking this time. We went to the Ralli's shop on MG Road. Sreejith ordered a Kewra drink in water while I ordered a Blue Rose. Both were delicious and I decided to buy four bottles of different flavours to take back home to Bangalore. Vinay, who has still not got over his digestive challenges decided to skip the drink and the Kulfi that we had next.
After all the shopping, eating and drinking, we thought it would be good idea to head back home for some rest and a shower before we restart our food quest. Our next stop was Radhuni on Free School Street. We parked our car in New Market in a very interesting car park and then proceeded inside the New Market to take a few pictures. Once we were done with that we headed towards the lunch. That the lunch was great would be an understatement. It was a typical East Bengal (Bangladeshi) fare. We totally freaked out on the food there, ordering at least 10 dishes, if not more.
After such a heavy lunch, our next stop was Outram Ghat next to Ganges. We walked around there a little, taking a few pictures of the river and the two bridges on them. We then went too meet my Cousin Pooja and her family who stay close by. We met her, her husband Kunal, her mother-in-law and her daughetr (my niece), Yahvi. In fact Yahvi was the main reason I was there (sorry Pooja and Kunal). She is like the cutest and the naughtiest 6 month old I have ever come across.
We chatted for a while, played around with Yahvi, had some snacks (man, can we eat!!!) and then headed back to check out Kolkata's night life (evening life actually). We went to Shisha Lounge but were turned away as they allowed only stags who are regulars (WTF....What do they mean by stags who are regulars? Gays?). Anyways, it was there loss more than ours as there is another Lounge, Urban Desi, right opposite to to this "Only regular stags" Lounge and they do not have any problems with Heterosexual men who don't always carry their GFs or Wives around with them.
Meanwhile we had some issue with our car. The steering wheel fluid had leaked which resulted in the power steering not working at all. However, we got help pretty quickly thanks to Kunal, and our car was taken care of in a couple of hours while we were at the Lounge.
With this our stay in Kolkata comes to an end. There was so much more to see and so many more things to taste but we were totally out of time. We will be heading towards Bhubaneshwar on Day 12. Rohith, another colleague of ours would join us from Kharagpur for the last few days of our trip.
After this we took a break and went for some shopping. An old neighbour of mine from Silchar had setup a Saree shop close by. We went there and ended up buying three Sarees. Now, I'm not going to say who bought how many Saree for whom, as it might put some of us in trouble.
After the shopping we resumed our eating spree. Well it had more to do with drinking this time. We went to the Ralli's shop on MG Road. Sreejith ordered a Kewra drink in water while I ordered a Blue Rose. Both were delicious and I decided to buy four bottles of different flavours to take back home to Bangalore. Vinay, who has still not got over his digestive challenges decided to skip the drink and the Kulfi that we had next.
After all the shopping, eating and drinking, we thought it would be good idea to head back home for some rest and a shower before we restart our food quest. Our next stop was Radhuni on Free School Street. We parked our car in New Market in a very interesting car park and then proceeded inside the New Market to take a few pictures. Once we were done with that we headed towards the lunch. That the lunch was great would be an understatement. It was a typical East Bengal (Bangladeshi) fare. We totally freaked out on the food there, ordering at least 10 dishes, if not more.
After such a heavy lunch, our next stop was Outram Ghat next to Ganges. We walked around there a little, taking a few pictures of the river and the two bridges on them. We then went too meet my Cousin Pooja and her family who stay close by. We met her, her husband Kunal, her mother-in-law and her daughetr (my niece), Yahvi. In fact Yahvi was the main reason I was there (sorry Pooja and Kunal). She is like the cutest and the naughtiest 6 month old I have ever come across.
We chatted for a while, played around with Yahvi, had some snacks (man, can we eat!!!) and then headed back to check out Kolkata's night life (evening life actually). We went to Shisha Lounge but were turned away as they allowed only stags who are regulars (WTF....What do they mean by stags who are regulars? Gays?). Anyways, it was there loss more than ours as there is another Lounge, Urban Desi, right opposite to to this "Only regular stags" Lounge and they do not have any problems with Heterosexual men who don't always carry their GFs or Wives around with them.
Meanwhile we had some issue with our car. The steering wheel fluid had leaked which resulted in the power steering not working at all. However, we got help pretty quickly thanks to Kunal, and our car was taken care of in a couple of hours while we were at the Lounge.
With this our stay in Kolkata comes to an end. There was so much more to see and so many more things to taste but we were totally out of time. We will be heading towards Bhubaneshwar on Day 12. Rohith, another colleague of ours would join us from Kharagpur for the last few days of our trip.
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