Wednesday 23 November 2016

Bike trip to Lepakshi and Avalabetta - 19th November 2016

Lepakshi has been alluring me for a long time, and I decided to visit it on a free weekend, on my Activa. Round trip would be approx 250 kms, and I was waiting for a chance to make it. And when I got a free Saturday, I made a decision to go all by myself, and then Guru, my friend, was stubborn to not let me go alone, and he convinced me to cover even Avalabetta and Gudibande if I went with him. I had to accept, since he wouldn't listen to me.

We started at Hebbal junction at 12:20 PM. (Both of us had work in bank and we had to finish it and then leave) Giving a break of about half an hour for lunch near the airport, in an hotel where Idly vada was just too tasty, we resumed our drive to Lepakshi again without wasting much time.

The drive was good as always, reaching a speed of 126 kmph :-P We reached the temple at 2:20 PM. The temple was a little crowded since it was a weekend. Though it was peak noon, it was cool inside the temple- thanks to those huge stones. Though not very huge, the temple is good, but it hasn't been maintained that well. There are paintings on all the ceilings, and most of them are worn out. Guru also showed me the floating pillar (which otherwise I would have missed). We then went and sat in the shade for a few minutes before moving to our ext destination. If we had time, I'm sure i would have taken a nap for a while there, since it was cool enough and soothing. (No pics taken at Lepakshi)

We started again, realizing we had 2 more places to cover. We switched on the map, and started toward Avalabetta. I said him to chuck the plan of Gudibande, since it didn't look that interesting, and also because of the shortage of time. We passed right in front of Gudibande fort, and it looked interesting. But I thought of visiting it some other time, and said Guru to continue without stopping. We drove past and reached the hilltop at around 5 PM.

I had Avalabetta on my list for a very long time, and was very fascinated seeing the pictures. Guru said me that the entry has been banned recently, and he wasn't sure of the news. When we reached there, the disappointment was waiting. It was indeed banned since 15 days. Reason being, a girl fell from a rock for about 25 feet and hurt herself badly, and while taking her to hospital, she breath her last. Since then, the entry to the temple is banned. That moment was very disappointing for me, since I was missing the chance to visit that place in just a matter of 15 days!

Now the interesting part starts: Me and Guru started convincing the forest guard, but he was stubborn and wouldn't listen. But Guru didn't give up, He built a story that he was leaving the town in the coming week and wouldn't come back to this place, and that I had never seen it at all, and requested that at least he let me go see it. After a few minutes of this story narration, knowing that we wouldn't give up, he agreed to let us, but only after a few more visitors who were there around left. We waited for another 10 minutes and we were let to go.

After a climb of about 10 minutes, we reached the view point where a lot of DP's have been clicked. The moment I saw it, I was awestruck, and also felt bad that this place was no more accessible to public. That place was just wow!! The projection of the rock was something unnatural and different. It kinda looked artificial. I went and sat there and got a few pics. I wanted to sit there for a while, but due to lack of time and also remembering the guard's warning to come as soon as possible, we started back towards the temple at the peak.








The beautiful place where you get a beautiful view!

Another climb of about 10 minutes, we were at the top. No wait, a little down to top. Behind the temple, there was a small rock and the peak of that rock was the highest point. To reach there, you have to climb the rock which was carved lightly on the edge and on the side to support your leg and hand, as you climb. At the first sight, the climb looked easy, but when you take a closer look, the climb is a little risky and a little scary too. I started to climb, and it was pretty tricky. You need to be careful, and even a small mistake can cost you big. I made it to the '5 feet below top' point, and getting on that last small rock was too risky and I didn't go there. Guru also climbed after me. I again wanted to stay here for a while but... :(

Climbing down


Anyway, I was just too satisfied and excited that I got to see it finally!! I was just so lucky to have gotten here in spite of the ban. I thanked Guru a lot- without him I would have missed something big. First Guru climbed down, showing me how to actually climb down and then I followed. Climbing up and down this rock was an awesome experience, though it takes a very short time. We then ran down towards the base where we had parked our vehicle.

Reflection in a small pond near the rock point

We thanked the guard and started the drive. It was close to 6, and the combination of cool breeze, dusk light and country side road was just awesome. It was another 20 minutes till we reached the highway. We decided to stop again near the same hotel for dinner and then start the final stretch of the drive. We came to the hotel around 7 PM, and Masala Dosa and Hot Coffee was a perfect meal. We started again, taking another 25 minutes to reach the Hebbal junction, from where we departed in different directions to our home.

In a nutshell, It was a great drive of about 250 kms for the day. It was close to 8 when I started from Hebbal junction, and about 8:45 when I reached home. The day was awesome, and all credits goes to Guru- Thanks a lot dude!!! :)


Wednesday 16 November 2016

Badaami Hampi Trip- November 4th to 7th, 2016

How can I not take a trip on my birthday, when I love traveling so much? What else can be a better gift for me, from me? I thus decided to go Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole and Bijapur. I initially thought of going solo, but then Akshata and Shreya also wanted to come along. Akshata insisted to add even Hampi in the list, thus extending it to a 4 day trip, which initially was planned for 3. Shreya couldn't join us for first two days due to some personal work, and thus Akshata and I boarded the GolGumbaz express from Bengaluru at 7 PM on 3rd Nov.

Day 1, 4th November: (Full day Bijapur trip)


We got down in Alamatti station, and walked towards the highway and booked a room in Ashoka Hotel. The rooms were decent and we got ready quickly. After having breakfast, we inquired and found out that we would get buses right in front of the hotel to Bijapur. We thus waited for not more than 10 minutes, and we boarded a bus.

It was 10:45 AM when we started, and it was already very hot. This part of Karnataka is too dry and hot compared to the south. We reached Bijapur at 12:30 PM and we walked towards Barah Kamaan, which took just 10 minutes. This was an unfinished building, just with the basement being done. We went to the watchman there and asked him to explain about the significance about this place. He said us the story about this and Gol Gumbaz, and how the king who constructed the Gol Gumbaz killed his own son, who had started building this monument. The reason why it's called Barah Kamaan was that it was supposed to have 12 floors, and this building was designed to such a height, that its shadow would touch the foot of Gol Gumbaz during sunset. (Distance between Barah Kamaan and Gol Gumbaz is about a km). The father was jealous that his son's monument, if completed, will gain much more publicity and fame than the one built by him (Gol Gumbaz) and thus he killed him when the construction was just being started. There is also a tomb of his queen in the same place.

Barah Kamaan entrance

Tomb inside the monument

Barah Kamaan


We took a lot of pics here and spent altogether an hour, and then started to walk towards Gol Gumbaz. It was hot and we had cane juice on the way, and we reached Gumbaz in 15 minutes. There were many people here than in Barah Kamaan.

We entered and climbed those 7 floors to reach the highest floor, where people were shouting to hear the echo. This was particularly nuisance and it was unbearable. They were all acting like uncivilized people, shouting at top of voice and making weird sounds. Without able to bear it, we climbed down quickly and came out of the compound. We went to the hotel just opposite to the monument and had our lunch. We then took an auto to the bus stand, since we were tired to walk and also, it was too hot. We thus reached the bus stand and boarded the bus at 3 PM.

Gol Gumbaz

A monument next to Gol Gumbaz


We got down near our hotel at 4:30 PM. The entrance to Alamatti dam was next to our hotel, and having nothing to do sitting in the room, we chose to go to the dam. We went to those parks there, and it was not very attractive. We came out quickly and went near the huge building complex near Mughal gardens, and sat there, watching the sun go behind the dam gates. It was a huge dam, and the water level was full.

A well constructed building near the dam

Red sky behind the dam vbidge


It was getting dark, and we had a few chats. We inquired people around there about visiting Badami and other places. From what they said, it was clear that the public transport was not to be relied on, for it's frequency was too less, and it's impossible to cover all those places in one day.  They suggested that it's better to hire a car, but that was going out of our budget. Seeing our confusion, one uncle there got us an auto driver for 1200 Rs for the full day trip. We thought it was a better option than all other and we agreed. We said him to come near the hotel at 5:30 AM and we started to walk back to hotel. We had dinner and went to sleep, since we had to get up very early the next day.

Day 2, 5th November: (Badaami, Banashankari, Mahakoota,  Aihole, Pattadakallu and Sangama)


We were ready by 5:30 AM as promised to the auto driver, but he was late by half an hour. We started the journey at 6 AM, and it took 2 hours to reach Badaami. He went through a shortcut, and it was a countryside journey which was pleasing to our eyes. We reached Badaami at 8:15 AM.

There are 4 caves, and only the first one has some carvings and structure, while the rest are mostly empty. The lake next to it was looking good, and we didn't have much time to go around and explore. Also, it was already sunny and we were too hungry. We left there at 9:15 AM and asked the driver to stop at a hotel for breakfast. He drove to Banashankari temple, where there were quiet a few hotels, and we had our breakfast there.

Badaami caves

One of the structures in badaami caves

Man made lake next to Badaami caves

Temple in the lake


This one is an old temple, and was nice too. There were quiet a few people, and we finished the darshan in 10 minutes. We then started again to stop at Mahakoota after a few minutes. This was a relatively big temple, with a Kalyani as well. There were no much people here. We were done with darshan quickly, took a few pics, had some guava and started the journey back, now towards Pattadakallu.

The roads were not that good here, and they were being constructed in a few places. It was thus very dusty, adding to the uncomfortability of the hot sun. We were glad that we did not come here depending on the local or public transport. In 30 minutes, we reached Pattadakallu.

This was very well maintained by the government, and it was a group of temples. The green grass all around accentuates the beauty of the red stoned structures. It was only 11:15 PM and it was very hot. We visited all the temples, though few of them were empty. All structures look mostly alike, but the minute designs are different from one another. We took quiet a lot of pics and spent more than an hour. We then left there by 12:30 PM. We were hungry, and we decided to have lunch and then resume the journey. We thus went to KSTDC hotel, and the lunch served was good.

Pattadakallu

One of the structures in Pattadakallu

Pattadakallu

Pattadakallu

Pattadakallu

Pattadakallu


We started the journey at 1 PM and reached Aihole in another half an hour. The structures here also looked very similar to Pattadakallu. We spent an hour here, visited all the temples and started again.

Aihole


We now headed to Kudala Sangama, and it was a little far. It took us 90 minutes in all, and we went directly to the temple. Here River Malaprabha confluences with Krishna, and this is also the sacred place where Basavanna gave up his life. Though the river was huge, it looked calm and the view was pleasant, since the sun was making its way to sign off for the day. We visited the temple and got the darshan, and then went to the Basaveshwara Aikya Mantapa, to see the place where Lord Basavanna breath his last while meditating. From this point, the view of the river looked beautiful.

Koodala Sangama temple

Aikya sthala inside the river

Krishna river


From here, it was only an hour's journey back to our hotel. We thus relaxed for a while near the river before starting the journey again. We had ice cream and started the journey back. We asked the driver if we can somehow reach the backwaters of Alamatti dam, and he said he will take us there.

It was 5:30 PM when he took us to the backwaters. Since the dam was full, it looked like a sea, with no land seen beyond the waters of the dam. The sun was almost near the horizon, and the sky was a beautiful orange color, with it's reflection in water. We took a few pics, and asked the auto guy to drop us back to the dam. He did so, and we paid him and thanked him for the day's trip.

Alamatti dam back waters

Sun setting behind the dam bridge


We went and sat near the complex again, for the evening was getting cool and we needed some relaxation as well. Sun had not set yet, and we waited till he went down and then the lights of the dam were on. We didn't have any interest in Musical fountain that was to happen at around 7:30 PM, and thus we walked back to hotel after having a round of chats and dinner in the hotel. We watched TV for a while and then slept.

Day 3, 6th November: (Reach Hospete and Visit Hampi)


We got up and got ready quickly, to leave for our next destination. We had found out that it will take about 4 hrs to reach Hospete from Alamatti, by bus. Shreya would join us in Hospete, taking a bus from Harihar.

It was almost 12 noon when we met her at the bus stop. From there, IB was a km's walk. We walked in the hot sun, and settled in the room. We thought of going out for lunch, and planned to have dinner in the IB and thus freshened up quickly and left for Hampi, which was about 20 minutes by bus.

We reached Hospete bus stand, had lunch and took a bus to Hampi. We first went to Virupaksha temple. It is a very huge temple and when we went, it was closed. We were informed that it will open in a while, and thus we took a small tour around the temple. We saw the inverted reflection of the gopura of the temple, which was shown by a pandit there. We also clicked a few pics, and then got the darshan of the god. It was around 2:30 PM, and we made a deal with an auto driver to cover important places before evening. He thus took us to some 8-10 places, which included Ugra Narasimha temple, Kadlekalu Ganesha, Lotus Mahal, Stepped tank, among which the last one was Vittala temple. It was almost dark when we were dropeed back to bus stand, and we took a bus back to Hospete.

Virupaksha temple
Akka Tangiyara Bande

Lotus Mahal

Queen's bath



Stone chariot in Vittala temple



Near bus stand, we went in search of rotti's, since the IB caretaker asked us to get just the rottis and he will take care of the rest of the things. We then took another bus and then an auto to reach IB. Food was ready, and Yennagayi palya was too good. We ate to our full and settled on our beds. We were tired and thus slept quickly.

At 12 AM, both of them woke me up with a cake and gifts!! Shreya had made a card for me and Akshata gifted a couple books. We were tired, and thus slept again within half an hour.

Awesome and tasty food @ IB

Birthday celebration! :)


Day 4, 7th November: (Full day at Hospete)


We didn't really have much to do today since we had covered Hampi the previous day. None of us were really interested in architecture and temples and thus we decided to spend time resting. Shreya's dad's friend was a government official (with whose influence we had got to stay at IB) and he visited us in morning around 9, and he took us in his car for Hospete dam visit. We got a chance to go till the other end of the dam, where there was another IB. From here we could get a bird's view of the whole dam and it was worth a sight. We thanked him for taking us there, which otherwise wouldn't have been possible for us to go there. He dropped us back to IB around 12 noon.

Hospete dam, as seen from Vaikunta Guest House


We then took bath, and these girls had plans of dressing me up in a suit and click pictures!! A terrible idea, and I was feeling a little too awkward in the suit, wearing the heavy jhumka and all that. Well, I had to listen to them and I was glad that it all got over in 30 minutes. We then spent next few hours lying lazily on bed and chatting.

Shreya had to leave around 6 PM, and our train was at 9 PM. We went to the bus stop and sent her off. While walking back to IB, we decided to spend some time near the dam, and when it was about to get dark, we went to the IB, and packed our things and got ready to leave after dinner. After a simple meal provided by IB caretaker, we thanked him for his hospitality and left to the station. After an overnight journey, we reached Bengaluru at 7 AM next morning.

Sun set seen from dam

Dam waters, and IB also seen upon the small hillock


Another birthday was spent well in a new place, and a long waited destination on my list was thus striked off! :)





Kodachadri Trek- October 22nd and 23rd, 2016

After our first event Kuduremukha that turned out successful as organizers, we now planned our second one to another famous trek destination Kodachadri. Suchith and I both hadn't been there and since we had all the contacts, we decided for this place. As usual, we left on Friday night, with all our friends - 27 in all including us. I had asked everyone to be on time since the distance to be covered was a little more, to reach the Kodachadri base on time. But still, we ended up leaving late, by almost an hour.

Day 1, October 22nd: (Trek to the peak and back to base, stay in home-stay)


Though we started very late, the bus driver was fast enough in taking us there at 7 AM, just half an hour late than we thought. We had talked almost whole night and hadn't slept. We went to the home-stay, freshened up and gathered for breakfast and packed lunch. Since we were a big group, it took more time. We were all set to start our trek by 9:30 AM.

Our home-stay owner had arranged a guide for us, and we only had to take forest department permission on the way. We were opting for forest route, and we had to be fast since we had started late. We wanted to spend some time in Hidlumane falls as well. Initial 2 km was jeep route and then the deviation came, taking right inside the forest.

Initial jeep route


For a few more minutes, the trek was easy. We reached a home in between, at 11 AM, and we stopped for a break. There was a small shop selling refreshments like lemon juice, cool drinks and some snacks, and everyone wanted to relax for a while before moving on. After a while we started again, and now the trek got a little difficult, since we entered the forest. We came across a few small waterfalls, and we walked along with the water stream. It was a little difficult to keep everyone moving, since they were all wanting to take pics all along the way.


Near the home, just before entering the forest 

Water stream



We finally made it to Hidlumane falls at 12 PM. This is the last falls in the forest route and of course the best of all. We didn't have time to play in water, and thus moved on after taking some pics.

Hidlumane falls


Here the group split to two. Few friends went ahead and the rest of us were behind and a little slow. We had many first timers, and the pace was not that great. After 15 minutes of trek from falls, the forest ended and it was an open patch of land. Sun was right above us and it was tiring. I had to lie to a few people that we almost reached to keep them moving. We then got another stretch of forest, which didn't last for long anyway. We couldn't see our friends anywhere ahead, so we decided to stop for lunch, in the shade of that last line of the forest.

After having lunch and a good break of half a hour, we started our trek again at 1:30 PM. There were no more trees to shade us, but the clouds above made it easy for us, shading us from the hot sun. We had to walk for about another km to reach the jeep road, and we finally reached there at 2:30 PM.

Trekking towards Jeep route


Some movie shooting was going on there and though I didn't want to stop there, it was kind of an unannounced break point, since there was a guy selling cucumber and lime juice. Everyone were tired, and wanted some break. We still had to cover half way more to the peak. Since it was jeep route, it would be much easier now. I forced everyone to start again, but getting them to walk fast was not an easy task. Few were very tired and slow, and we had to wait. Thus walking together, we reached the IB at 3:30 PM.

Jeep route, Before reaching IB


Jeep route


There was no way we could go to peak and then go back to base within another 4 hours, if we walked in the same pace. We thus said everyone to think and take a jeep down if they wished to, if they are already too tired and think that it would be difficult for them to walk fast. After 5 PM, even jeeps would be unavailable and they had to decide soon. And thus 9 of them decided to go back, while the rest of us continued to the peak.

We didn't give any break in between while trekking toward the peak. We also visited the Ganesha temple and then continued. We were still not sure of the other friends who had gone ahead after falls; no idea if they had reached the peak or not, and we were not able to reach them on phone as well. After much tiredness, we finally reached the peak at 4:15 PM, and found our friends there, much to our relief.

Almost near the peak


We couldn't spend much time here, since we had to cross forest department office by 7:30 latest. We thus decided to leave by 5 PM, and visited the temple and relaxed. We also took some pics and had some fun teasing each other.

At the peak


We started our trek down, deciding not to take any breaks, since going down wouldn't be that difficult. We had to go in the jeep route till the base, for about 11 km. It was getting darker, and we were trying to go as fast as possible. In between, there were 2 guys struggling to start their RE Himalayan, and Suchith tried helping them, but of no use. Without wasting much time, we walked past them and reached the forest office by 7:45 PM. The guide managed by giving some reasons and we were not queried by the officer. We were relieved now, and a walk of another 2 km took us to home-stay at 8:15 PM.

Sunset while trekking down


Dinner was ready and so was the hot water to take bath. People who had gone down by jeep were already fresh and relaxed, and we were now waiting for the bathrooms to be freed, with everyone reserving their turns one after other. We had dinner, and took bath at around 10:30 PM. Now it felt completely fresh and relaxed, and we went and sat in front of the fire. We were 6-7 of us, and we were singing songs. Specially Uday was singing one after the other, continuously without even a small break. This went on for about an hour, and one by one started getting into the room to sleep. It was 2 AM, with Suchith, Jeevan and I still sitting in front of fire, while Chethan was sleeping there on the other side. We then slept there, on the mats, staring at the million stars at the sky.

Day 2, October 23rd: (Visit Kolluru temple and Bheemeshwara falls)


We had informed everyone to be ready by 8, so that we keep up with our plan. But I myself got up at 6, inspite of an alarm at 5 AM :-P By then, few were already up and were getting ready. I expected we would be very late, but we somehow managed to leave by 9 AM, which was good enough. In the bus, some crazy friends had some 'sanmaana' program for me, by putting a shawl (which was mine), for organizing the event :-P

Home Stay


Our first stop was Kolluru Mookambika temple. We reached there in an hour and half and visited the temple. It was very sunny and we were desperate to go to falls, so that we can have some cool time. We started in bus at 12 PM towards falls, which was another hour's journey.

We had to trek for the falls for 2 km from the main road. There is a deviation, and the walk was on a plain mud road. It wasn't too steep anywhere though, so the trek was pretty easy. It was already 2 PM and everyone were hungry. We walked fast and reached Bhattara mane, while few of them were yet to reach. We all decided to visit the falls first and then have lunch. We were waiting for the others to arrive and then leave, but they were all no where to be seen. All my other friends left for falls, which is just a 5 min walk besides Bhattara mane. I waited for them for another 15 minutes, and they all came. They wanted to have lunch first since they were hungry and tired. I then went towards the falls.

The first sight of the falls was mesmerizing. It was very different form all of other falls that I have visited. It was serene, with no much water. Enough water to play safely. My friends were already playing in water and I, without even bothering to take pics, kept my camera aside and ran towards the falls. I just couldn't wait to take a couple pics as well, and I joined my friends who were already enjoying.

Bheemeshwara Falls


I thought I will come back with everyone else to Bhattara mane, have lunch and leave by 4:30 so that we can visit even Jog Falls. But I simply didn't want to leave the place, and just stayed in water
for more than an hour. Then my other friends came, after finishing their lunch. They also got into water and still I was not willing to go out of the water. My friends had to force me, since I was yet to have lunch and to change into fresh clothes before we could leave.

Bheemeshwara Falls - Tanmaya, Myself, Akshata and Chethan


I came back to Bhattaramane at 4:30 PM, with a heavy heart- Wishing I could spend more time in falls (Though I was the one who spent more time than others :-P ) Vatsa, Chethan and I had lunch quickly, while Akshata left with Pradeep and others towards the bus to change to fresh clothes. I settled the payment with Bhattaru and started the walk towards the bus at 5 PM.

One of the funny incidents happened here while walking back. A calf was running towards us, and Tanmaya got scared and she entered a plot of land through a small opening through the fence, thinking it wouldn't enter there. Chethan was already inside the plot with Vijay, next to a water stream. Me and Vatsa stood there near the opening, knowing well that it wouldn't harm us. Tanmaya stood very near to entrance with full confidence that the calf will not enter there, but to her surprise, it entered that plot, running towards her. She didn't know what to do, and she started shouting 'Chethan bachalo, mujhe bachalo'. Vatsa, Chethan, Vijay and I started laughing, seeing her screaming and then she started running towards an inclined land towards the road, trying to climb it with her hands. This was even more funny and we couldn't stop it. Meanwhile, the calf ran away into the plot, and then we guessed that it's home was somewhere inside that land. We reached the road laughing all through the remaining walk until we reached the bus, and for the rest of the two hours, we shared this incident with everyone and laughed until our stomachs hurt badly!

It was 6:30 PM when everyone came back and was ready to start. We decided to simply chuck the visit to Jog Falls and thought of moving to Bengaluru directly. We thus settled down in bus and then we started dancing for the music. The bus even had some special lights which gave a disco effect. We danced for almost 2 hours continuously, until we stopped for dinner at Sagara at 8:30 PM. We had our dinner and then everyone settled to sleep, without anymore energy to dance or enjoy. For the whole night, I struggled to get sleep, and I slept only for 2 hours. We were back to Bengaluru by 5:30 AM, and bid goodbye to everyone, hoping for another such wonderful trip with all of them again.

P.S: Pic credits to Shrivathsa Udupa, Yuvaraj Bennur