Belum Caves, 1 day , 700kms.
This is a trip from 2007, dug up from the archives. I lost quite a few pics and videos from this trip when my laptop hard-disk crashed and only a few pics could be retrieved. Going on to the travelogue: Ever since I moved to Bangalore in 2001, I have been doing the Bangalore-Hyderabad route [...]
My brush with the ‘Yamdoot’ :-)
There are bikes that I love, there are bikes that I hate… and then there is a bike that I respect – The Yamaha RD350 aka the Rajdoot RD350; or the ‘Yamdoot’ as it was nicknamed in India. The RD350 is not something that you can buy off the shelf, it is a part of [...]
7 days of driving around Karnataka – Temples, Hills, Forests, Caves, Ruins, Forts and Highways
The three of us returned on 2nd Jan after another wonderful road trip! [Sanjay, Sangeetha & Santro ] We started out at around 7.00am on the 27th of December and parked back at 10.30pm on 2nd Jan 09, making it a 7 day trip around Karnataka.. 7 days of sheer driving pleasure. Day 1 – [...]
Chamundi hills, the big Nandi and Lalitha mahal palace
This is a trip from the 9th of Feb, 2008. It was just another lazy weekend when we decided to head out towards Lokaruchi for a leisurely lunch. During lunch we were discussing about Chamundi hills and the big Nandi… on a whim, we decided to drive up to Mysore post lunch. There wasn’t much [...]
Abhaneri, Rajasthan – A Sunday Drive from Jaipur…
Step wells (Baoris) are fascinating. In the days past, not only were they sources of water; they were also used as rest houses by weary travelers, as temples and as community centers. Gujarat and Rajasthan have some of the best step wells in India. We had seen some amazing ones at Adalaj, Patan and Modhera [...]
An incomplete guide to Hoysala temples ;-)
From the preface of the “Complete Guide to Hoysala temples” by Gerard Foekema: “For me, enjoying Later Calukya and Hoysala temples is one of the great pleasures of life. I love these temples because their plans are so logical and natural, because their architecture is so ingenious, and because their execution is so rich…" We [...]
Tirumala, Tiruchanoor, Vellore and Sripuram.
Parkinson’s Law goes something like "Work expands to fill up all available time" and so it had been for the last couple of months. With work often spilling over into the weekends, we had not gone out for any serious long drive after our Hoysala Temple trip in March 09. It was also around two [...]
Angsana Oasis Spa & resort.
A couple of weeks ago (Feb 2009) I had been to Angsana Spa, on Doddaballapur road. This was no pleasure trip though… it was for an offsite training and team meeting. Angsana is located in a residential gated community called ‘Northwest Country’, a Prestige group property. There are a couple of villas in some of [...]
London Dreams ! – London, Warwick, Windsor, Stratford, Hampton, Cotswold, Oxford – Jan 2012
My Trip to London in Jan was a memorable one. Though I missed Sanjay, I planned to not miss any places in London. Since it was a Business Trip, I had to make the most of the 2 weekends in hand and made full justice to the time I could spare for sightseeing. The serviced [...]
Trek from Mullayanagiri to Bababudangiri… after 13 years!
This was our last trip/trek in 2009, done over 26th & 27th of December. It was again with our regular TT & driver Kumar and a group of friends. The itinerary of the trip was to… – start from Bangalore on the evening of the 25th Dec, – drive to Kundadri peak early in the [...]
IIMA Campus – Nature Walk.
On Sunday I went to the old campus for some bird watching… and saw quite a few of em.. Birds of the feathered kind I mean. Honest! It started with a mail… ” Prakriti – The Nature Club of IIMA is organising a nature walk to observe and appreciate the beauty of flora and fauna [...]
The shore temples of Mahabalipuram
In early 2007, we had to go to Chennai over a weekend for a family function; this was the first time that me and Sangeetha were visiting Chennai together. After the function we had some time on hand and post lunch we headed out to Mahabalipuram, which is included in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage [...]
Hathi Singh Temple, Sidi Saiyyed Mosque & a Haveli in Ahmedabad.
Ever since I landed on the IIMA campus in April 2010, life has been mostly following a regular pattern. A normal day revolves around the classroom, dining hall, syndicate-room and the hostel-room… An occasional ‘highlight’ in the routine would be a visit to the Big Bazaar @ Himalaya mall. After stumbling through yet another hectic [...]
Belief – A trip to Kebre
“For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don’t believe, no proof is possible."-Stuart Chase. A very good friend of mine underwent a brain surgery late last year. Though the tumor was removed, he has not recovered his vision even after 9 months. Initially the doctors were somewhat positive, saying that though [...]
5am to 5am – Uchangidurga, Santhebennur, Shantisagara, Koolahalli, Bagali
Synopsis of the trip: Started from BLR at 5am on 2nd Aug 09. Returned to BLR at around 5am on 3rd Aug 09. Total distance covered on the Odo: 823kms Main places visited: Huchangidurga, Santhebennur, Shantisagara, Hallimallapura, Davanagere, Kulahalli & Bagali. With Sangeetha off to Chennai for a couple of days, I had planned to [...]
Brahmagiri , Irpu falls – A trip and trek.
The trip/trek was done on the 8th Feb 09. Brahmagiri is a hill in the Western Ghats (1608 mts). It is situated in the Brahmagiri wildlife sanctuary on the border between Wayanad District of Kerala and Kodagu district of Karnataka. The Brahmagiri wildlife sanctuary is a restricted area, featuring a rich variety of wildlife including [...]
Hampi – The city of victory…
Over the past couple of decades, both Sangeetha & me have been to Hampi several times – as part of our school trips, during our college days, with family and friends… But given the fact that there is so much to see, you can go there on multiple occasions and each time you’ll see something [...]
Andaman & Nicobar, Port Blair & Havelock Island – 2009 Big trip – Part I
This is Part I of the 2009 Big trip – covering Andaman & Nicobar, Port Blair & the Havelock Island trip Part II of the 2009 Big trip where we covered the Temples of Tamilnadu is at this link It was time for one of our annual holidays and the planning started from the first [...]
A DIY Story: Home Audio Speaker Boxes in a Car ??? Yes!!!
Before starting off with the DIY story, let me clarify a couple of things… [1] Every DIY has its own inherent risks. I considered the ‘worst-case-scenario’ and decided that if I ended up with damaged speakers / blown HU or Amp, I was ready for it. [Acceptable risk] [2] I have been using the setup [...]
Search for the perfect sand dune – Osiyan, Khimsar and Nagaur trip.
Till we actually moved to Jaipur and explored Rajasthan, any thoughts of Rajasthan would evoke visions of Camels, Sand dunes, Forts and Palaces. While finding Camels, Forts and Palaces is quite easy, finding a Sand dune is not so easy. Especially dunes that look like the ‘perfect’ ones shown in movies… While researching on [...]
