I have been meaning to blog about this amazing hotspot in Bangkok for a long lone time ... finally doing it as i recently visited the place after 2 good years.. thankfully somethings never change !
Welcome to a Thai club... nah no thai women and kathoys to lure you ... no sleaze ... its plain unadulterated fun !!!
Located on Rachada Soi 10 , Hollywood is like huge stadium with a capacity of more than 1000 people .
You can buy a bottle of whiskey for a reasonable price , so you don’t pay the entrance. We found ourselves a table but the waiters, i guess were so engrossed in the music that they dint bother to even look at us .. heheh, i forgot a bit of tipping always helps in thailand !! but anyways.....
Finally the action ... some 20 skimpily clad women set the stage on fire ...i think this should be called bollywood not hollywood . In true bollywood style,there were costume changes and major hip shakes .. Must say, some of the dancers were disasterous ... but they were really enjoying themselves ..and i guess that makes all the difference ..
Now the best part... if the crowd gets escatic about a performance they offer a bottle of whiskey to the artist and the way a 90 ( or mebbe more ) is gulped down, just leaves you stunned - yes mouth wide open !!!
So if you are in bagnkok the next time .. do check out hollywood ..
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sunday, November 04, 2007
its not always a HAIRY TALE !!!!
every morning when i wake up .. i see her longer ... she stands up and smiles at me .. i wash her and hush her.. she wants to breathe . she wants to play... yet she sits calmly watching the world while she is all curling up into a young lad ...
she had lost her identity for a few years ...she hated it ...
they would pull her all over.... she would cringe as she was put to test ... hot winds and hot iron passing through her ...it had almost become a routine ... she would scream in pain... she would fall in protest ....
she wanted the love .. she wanted to be nurtured .. she wanted to be let loose... finally one day i gave her the freedom .. i let her be !!!
yes i let go of you for your sake ... and now i look at you everyday like a mother sees her child...a child so pretty .. a child that needs all the love ... i see how you add to my personality .. everyday you make me look like a different person ... I promise you child for all the sacrifices you have made i shall give you the tender care and all the affection that you deserve ....
she had lost her identity for a few years ...she hated it ...
they would pull her all over.... she would cringe as she was put to test ... hot winds and hot iron passing through her ...it had almost become a routine ... she would scream in pain... she would fall in protest ....
she wanted the love .. she wanted to be nurtured .. she wanted to be let loose... finally one day i gave her the freedom .. i let her be !!!
yes i let go of you for your sake ... and now i look at you everyday like a mother sees her child...a child so pretty .. a child that needs all the love ... i see how you add to my personality .. everyday you make me look like a different person ... I promise you child for all the sacrifices you have made i shall give you the tender care and all the affection that you deserve ....
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Ice Ice Baibay !
Yeah it was the perfect finnnissh ! bees saaal baad it happens .. three drivers fighting out for the ultimate position and it was none other than the ice man !!Kimi ended the season with 110 points from Hamilton and Alonso, who both finished on 109.
British rookie Hamilton having started second , allowed Kimi to pass him at the first corner and then let his teammate Alonso overtake him as well and finally dropped off to the 18th position due to a mechanical failure.
All in all, McLaren paid for their poor kimi-cks after a poor start.
What a weekend ... starting with india's 20-20 win against aussies on saturday and then then kimi winning the championship
Yippeee !
British rookie Hamilton having started second , allowed Kimi to pass him at the first corner and then let his teammate Alonso overtake him as well and finally dropped off to the 18th position due to a mechanical failure.
All in all, McLaren paid for their poor kimi-cks after a poor start.
What a weekend ... starting with india's 20-20 win against aussies on saturday and then then kimi winning the championship
Yippeee !
Sunday, September 02, 2007
The unborn me...
I am envisioning a faceless future.
Wait…there is a face but its blur... obscure...
May be I m lost in the battle for the share of voice...
Is that why I try hard listening to my own unsung songs.
Living at the edge of precipice.
Feeling a bit intimidated by the vastness that surrounds me that is pulling me in, like a whirlpool......
Not fear..not emptiness... not even loneliness...
I sing loud ... but I realise its just me and no one else that can hear me...
My throat goes dry and I suddenly feel I am screaming on top of my lungs ….
They are oblivious to the screams.. Unaffected by the songs I sing….
They probably can’t hear...
And I scream louder and louder..
Till I can scream no more...
I realise I m singing songs that are yet to be written...
Songs of wars that are yet to happen..
Of dreams that persist...
Of my own tryst....
May be its not time yet.
May be the words are not right...
May be I am non existent.. still unborn …
Is that why I try hard listening to my own unsung songs..
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Mun-aaah-r
I had been to Munnar 10 years back ... After having spent 2 nights at Thekkady, we had then decided to go for a day excursion to Munnar . Today, after having visited and spent more time there, I realise why i didn't fall in love with this place the first time. Also, we were stuck en route in a jam due to a rally the last time... so it was quite an ordeal .
This time we made no mistakes and it was undoubtedly one of my best experiences.
We left Cochin at 6:30 am by a KSRTC bus to Munnar .The drive was pleasant as we passed through some amazing landscapes. Soon there were cardamom plantations and streams springing from everywhere. The weather was perfect .. it must have rained a few hours back .
A little more than 4 hours and we were there in the main town area.. We stepped into the first cafe that we saw called " Cafe Au lait " and we were very amused by the creative menu on display .. One thing that i realised in kerala is words are spelled as pronounced. For starters we had Lazzy ( lassi) . Some water Melan Juice, chocklate, egg fruit ( wonder what that is ) and for the adventerous soul in you - But butter !!!
We met Mohan, my contact in Munnar who took us by surprise with his amazing hospitality. After having a good meal at rapsy's we went to Eravikulam National park . The park ticket cost us about 80 rupees and we were taken in a bus around the park . we stopped after a while and we were allowed to walk around. We went past a huge waterfall and also saw the Anaimudi peak from a distance , which happens to be the highest peak in South India. Eravikulam Park happens to be the the home of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr. Our group managed to spot a few Tahrs...
After spending an hour there we were back on our to Munnar. We were lucky to spot a a herd of elephants. We could just stand there and admire the pachyderms for ever until a group of Punju uncles landed there and completely ruined the tranquility there.
Back to the base we were all set for a trek . The driver dropped off us at a point from where we were to begin our trek. The trek was through a tata owned tea plantation. Leaches on the way were not very kind to some of us , while some of us were lucky to have made it without donating a drop of blood.
our camp site was thick with vegetation which meant more leaches...It was freezing up there and we had fire to warm us ... Dinner was served at the glass house which was used in case of emergency or if campers weren't comfortable spending the night in the tents. The glasshouse also had a little kitchen and a room.After Dinner, we decided to zip ourselves in our sleeping bags and call it a day as we were exhausted after all the trekking.The skyline was absolutely breathtaking with the stars shining above us ... and we could see a lit up town called Theni far far away.
We woke up before the break of the dawn and viewed one of the most spectacular sunrises .. The sun hiding in between the hills and slowly changing from crimson to red.
The sun was out .. we were all set for short trek to a hill nearby which would give us a 360 degree view of the mountains. And it did .... we managed to trek through despite being attacked by different sizes of leaches.. we had entered their territory and they were hell bent on destroying the invaders.But then it was battle of size and they succumbed to our might.
The view from the top was great . After spending some time, we were back in the battlefield. We had few more strategies this time or perhaps the leaches were quite disappointed with the adulterated blood that they let us go quite easily.
Aloo Poori followed by chaya .. and we were ready to trek down with bag and baggage. we came across a number of tea plantation labourers and had some funny moments on the way back down ..
We were dropped to the Kundala lake where we went on a boat ride. The place was unusually touristy with loads of shops around and that was a bit disappointing but we nevertheless had a great time paddling and clicking ourselves.... We caught a local bus back to the town from there..
We were lucky to find a nice quaint place on top of a hillock for the second night and it turned to be quite cheap too. We were all totally knocked out so we decided to chill and take it easy . Next day we left at 11 for Cochin.. It was a close call as out train departed from Ernakulam at 5 . We just about made it on time and as we entered the railway station, we realised we were at the wrong station and it was 10 minutes to 5. More drama .. we caught an auto and rushed to the other station which was 4 kms away.
Watch this space to know if we did manage to get on the train the same evening ......................................
This time we made no mistakes and it was undoubtedly one of my best experiences.
We left Cochin at 6:30 am by a KSRTC bus to Munnar .The drive was pleasant as we passed through some amazing landscapes. Soon there were cardamom plantations and streams springing from everywhere. The weather was perfect .. it must have rained a few hours back .
A little more than 4 hours and we were there in the main town area.. We stepped into the first cafe that we saw called " Cafe Au lait " and we were very amused by the creative menu on display .. One thing that i realised in kerala is words are spelled as pronounced. For starters we had Lazzy ( lassi) . Some water Melan Juice, chocklate, egg fruit ( wonder what that is ) and for the adventerous soul in you - But butter !!!
We met Mohan, my contact in Munnar who took us by surprise with his amazing hospitality. After having a good meal at rapsy's we went to Eravikulam National park . The park ticket cost us about 80 rupees and we were taken in a bus around the park . we stopped after a while and we were allowed to walk around. We went past a huge waterfall and also saw the Anaimudi peak from a distance , which happens to be the highest peak in South India. Eravikulam Park happens to be the the home of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr. Our group managed to spot a few Tahrs...
After spending an hour there we were back on our to Munnar. We were lucky to spot a a herd of elephants. We could just stand there and admire the pachyderms for ever until a group of Punju uncles landed there and completely ruined the tranquility there.
Back to the base we were all set for a trek . The driver dropped off us at a point from where we were to begin our trek. The trek was through a tata owned tea plantation. Leaches on the way were not very kind to some of us , while some of us were lucky to have made it without donating a drop of blood.
our camp site was thick with vegetation which meant more leaches...It was freezing up there and we had fire to warm us ... Dinner was served at the glass house which was used in case of emergency or if campers weren't comfortable spending the night in the tents. The glasshouse also had a little kitchen and a room.After Dinner, we decided to zip ourselves in our sleeping bags and call it a day as we were exhausted after all the trekking.The skyline was absolutely breathtaking with the stars shining above us ... and we could see a lit up town called Theni far far away.
We woke up before the break of the dawn and viewed one of the most spectacular sunrises .. The sun hiding in between the hills and slowly changing from crimson to red.
The sun was out .. we were all set for short trek to a hill nearby which would give us a 360 degree view of the mountains. And it did .... we managed to trek through despite being attacked by different sizes of leaches.. we had entered their territory and they were hell bent on destroying the invaders.But then it was battle of size and they succumbed to our might.
The view from the top was great . After spending some time, we were back in the battlefield. We had few more strategies this time or perhaps the leaches were quite disappointed with the adulterated blood that they let us go quite easily.
Aloo Poori followed by chaya .. and we were ready to trek down with bag and baggage. we came across a number of tea plantation labourers and had some funny moments on the way back down ..
We were dropped to the Kundala lake where we went on a boat ride. The place was unusually touristy with loads of shops around and that was a bit disappointing but we nevertheless had a great time paddling and clicking ourselves.... We caught a local bus back to the town from there..
We were lucky to find a nice quaint place on top of a hillock for the second night and it turned to be quite cheap too. We were all totally knocked out so we decided to chill and take it easy . Next day we left at 11 for Cochin.. It was a close call as out train departed from Ernakulam at 5 . We just about made it on time and as we entered the railway station, we realised we were at the wrong station and it was 10 minutes to 5. More drama .. we caught an auto and rushed to the other station which was 4 kms away.
Watch this space to know if we did manage to get on the train the same evening ......................................
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
While the days slipped by from my window watching.........
Yes, finally after all the planning, we made it to Alleppey for the much talked about Boat race - the nehru trophy which takes place in the Punnamada Lake that is held on the second saturday of August every year coinciding with the independence day.
We couldnt manage direct tickets to Alleppey- so we caught a train from Bangalore Central to Ernakulam, from where we were taken in a Sumo to Alleppey. We just about managed to reach on time.
Without delaying any further, we hopped on and got ourselves comfortable. The Houseboat was rather small and we were 10 of us plus 7 staff members .. Pheww !! Wonder how it didnt capsize!
Quick freshening up followed by a sumptuous grub, we were sailing already towards the race venue and yeah the excitement building up slowly . As we got closer, we realised that we were late and all the good spots were already taken . There were many houseboats and we could see the overcrowded stands from the lake. After making a lot of noise, we coaxed the manager to get us closer to a decent spot..There were many types of boats very beautifully ornameneted and the participants in colorful mundus and lungis added to the whole festivity.
There was a spirit of festivitiy in the air ..We could see a lot of spirits had gone in as well as we saw the locals dancing , singing and drumming and getting into a total frenzy! Some of us got on top of our Houseboat to get a good glimpse of the race. We managed to get some pretty decent shots from there . Good Chaya followed by horrendous banana fritters and hoots from neighbouring boats were the highlights.
Felt like an F1 GP stand where you could feel all the excitement of being at the race but not knowing what was happening. Anyways , since none of us had any idea about the participants and the teams, it was all taken well.
The cordination and the colors and the whole setting was simply outstanding - definately a great experience.
Then it was the women... There were three snake boats and women dressed in white mundus and colorful blouses took the oars to create some Upr-oars!
Finally, the race was over ... the trophies were handed ... there were tears and there were smiles...
We were back in action and were already moving towards a supposedly "lonely island" to anchor the boat . Well, the island didnt seem lonely at all ... correction , it didnt seem like an island at the first place but i guess that's how tourist suppliers sell dreams ! hehe !
We were 10 of us and collectively we were loud ! so we made more noise and got them to take us for another quick sail bofore the sun set ...
Layers of mosquitto repellents and coils were applied which kept us away from falling prey to flying creatures such as the mosquitoes.
Dinner was followed by entertainment .. we had inhouse artists who mesmerised us with their fantastic performannces...
After a good night sleep , we woke up to the morning sun - nice and bright...
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
those were the best days of my life....
Watching kids grow is truly a delight.
Since the time Mitali ( my niece )was born, things have completely changed in our lives.
She is such a bundle of joy. Every expression of hers is watched so closely. I am beginning to realize that a smile truly brings so much joy and when she cries and makes those instant messenger look alike sad smiley faces - auuwwwww its like some national tragedy has struck our country.
Guess what .. She is turning out to be a real brat already!!!!
Interrupted wails which quickly transform into a smile - makes us feel that she has all that takes to be a drama queen .. as we talk hours about her antics, My parents get completely nostalgic and they had some of our funny stories to share.
I thought it was a good idea to blog about it.
As narrated by my parents :( have kept the masalas to the bare minimum :D)
The 2 brats !!!
Dad was those days stationed at Dibrugarh in Assam. He was giving medical cover to an NCC unit. I was 2 plus years old.
I do have some faint memories of the place such as the green rickshaw that we would go to school in . the rickshaw wala.. my prep school ..our apartment and our neighbors apartment which had their kitchens facing each other .... our neighbor's son who apparently was marrowing line on my sister( she was 4 and a half years old and so was he ) and he thought I was a kabab mein haddi so I underwent tremendous pressure and had to put up with their idiosyncrasies at that tender age ! I tell ya what all these adult kids make us tiny tots go through and no wonder I did what I did !
I hadn't started going to school yet . I was always inquisitive about where the Romeo Juliet pair would go everyday with bags full of books.And finally push came to shove and I couldn't take it any longer and as luck would have it( for me, at least then) my sister was down with measles and had to miss school .. I had a grande plan. " the bag " had to be taken ... and all I needed was an accomplice as I knew that if were found guilty, it could have serious repercussions on me.
So the chosen one was another one of our neighbors daughters, who was my age . Without much contemplation, we took off with bags and baggages . Man !! I actually ran off from my home at such a young age ! makes me look like rebel which is just not true !
The roads there definitely aren't kids friendly - they are called the zig zag roads and each road forked into another four roads as soon as it felt like, making it a complete maze. Okay, I did warn you about me putting masala every now and then ..so that was half a tsp of coriander powder for you !
We walked about 4 kms ( Dad says so and i believe him ) :D before a dhaba wala on one of the main roads spotted two tiny tots chattering off to glory walking hand in hand ....he suspected something was on .Kaput!! there we see him coming towards us. He did turn out to be a good Samaritan after all - atleast thats what Dad says.
He had many questions to ask .. He offered us some grub apparently and didn't charge my dad for it later - God Bless him.. Free food isn't easy to earn and we earned it .. hehehehe !
Panic struck our colony. Dad took off to the police station to file an FIR . "My daughter has been kidnapped" :D well, he didn't have a phone those days to get a ransom call and don't think anyone would kidnap me !I didn't even have a boyfriend then unlike my sister ! SIGH ! Unfair !
All the families were soon put on task to search.. People went crazy walking on those roads looking for us. Mom was very upset. But they didn't lost hope.
Meanwhile our man was interrogating us like we were some criminals. Confidence was oozing out of us . We had instant ambiguous answers. My dad's name was apparently papa .. Hmmmm wouldn't he be proud of his daughter !! Anyways, he kept us engrossed in conversation and we got carried away and gave him perfect directions.. Saw my dad at a distance walking towards me and before he could say anything, tears rolled down my cheeks.. Not very sure why ! May be I got emotional after the 3 hours of separation or it was sheer guilt.. :D
REST is history....
Watch this space for more stories.... Will try to upload some pictures too.
Since the time Mitali ( my niece )was born, things have completely changed in our lives.
She is such a bundle of joy. Every expression of hers is watched so closely. I am beginning to realize that a smile truly brings so much joy and when she cries and makes those instant messenger look alike sad smiley faces - auuwwwww its like some national tragedy has struck our country.
Guess what .. She is turning out to be a real brat already!!!!
Interrupted wails which quickly transform into a smile - makes us feel that she has all that takes to be a drama queen .. as we talk hours about her antics, My parents get completely nostalgic and they had some of our funny stories to share.
I thought it was a good idea to blog about it.
As narrated by my parents :( have kept the masalas to the bare minimum :D)
The 2 brats !!!
Dad was those days stationed at Dibrugarh in Assam. He was giving medical cover to an NCC unit. I was 2 plus years old.
I do have some faint memories of the place such as the green rickshaw that we would go to school in . the rickshaw wala.. my prep school ..our apartment and our neighbors apartment which had their kitchens facing each other .... our neighbor's son who apparently was marrowing line on my sister( she was 4 and a half years old and so was he ) and he thought I was a kabab mein haddi so I underwent tremendous pressure and had to put up with their idiosyncrasies at that tender age ! I tell ya what all these adult kids make us tiny tots go through and no wonder I did what I did !
I hadn't started going to school yet . I was always inquisitive about where the Romeo Juliet pair would go everyday with bags full of books.And finally push came to shove and I couldn't take it any longer and as luck would have it( for me, at least then) my sister was down with measles and had to miss school .. I had a grande plan. " the bag " had to be taken ... and all I needed was an accomplice as I knew that if were found guilty, it could have serious repercussions on me.
So the chosen one was another one of our neighbors daughters, who was my age . Without much contemplation, we took off with bags and baggages . Man !! I actually ran off from my home at such a young age ! makes me look like rebel which is just not true !
The roads there definitely aren't kids friendly - they are called the zig zag roads and each road forked into another four roads as soon as it felt like, making it a complete maze. Okay, I did warn you about me putting masala every now and then ..so that was half a tsp of coriander powder for you !
We walked about 4 kms ( Dad says so and i believe him ) :D before a dhaba wala on one of the main roads spotted two tiny tots chattering off to glory walking hand in hand ....he suspected something was on .Kaput!! there we see him coming towards us. He did turn out to be a good Samaritan after all - atleast thats what Dad says.
He had many questions to ask .. He offered us some grub apparently and didn't charge my dad for it later - God Bless him.. Free food isn't easy to earn and we earned it .. hehehehe !
Panic struck our colony. Dad took off to the police station to file an FIR . "My daughter has been kidnapped" :D well, he didn't have a phone those days to get a ransom call and don't think anyone would kidnap me !I didn't even have a boyfriend then unlike my sister ! SIGH ! Unfair !
All the families were soon put on task to search.. People went crazy walking on those roads looking for us. Mom was very upset. But they didn't lost hope.
Meanwhile our man was interrogating us like we were some criminals. Confidence was oozing out of us . We had instant ambiguous answers. My dad's name was apparently papa .. Hmmmm wouldn't he be proud of his daughter !! Anyways, he kept us engrossed in conversation and we got carried away and gave him perfect directions.. Saw my dad at a distance walking towards me and before he could say anything, tears rolled down my cheeks.. Not very sure why ! May be I got emotional after the 3 hours of separation or it was sheer guilt.. :D
REST is history....
Watch this space for more stories.... Will try to upload some pictures too.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Rode on the steel breeze !!!!!
Finally after weeks of planning, my biking day trip to Devarayanadurga happened.
As usual, couldn't wake up early enough to leave early....Thanks to my saturday binge ...
It was Father's day . I picked up some flowers and headed home after my work out and saw Dad. He was kinda furious as I went out the previous night and didnt stick to my Cinderella time .. But he saw the flowers and melted ! Gave pa a hug and wished him happy Pa's day ! Sweet na !!! :D
I left for Forum at 11 which is where i was to meet my friend. We left Bangalore at about 12. The weather wasn't bad ... The sun playing hide and seek .. was almost sure that it would pour and not a drop fell
It was a lovely ride.
After we crossed Nelamangala Peenya , it was a smooth ride devoid of jams.
We finally reached a point - where we had to take a detour to go to Devarayanadurga and trust me the ride after that wasn't pleasant at all . The next 10 kms was pathetic... thankfully the bike dint give in . We finally made it through the kuccha road and made it to some tar look alike .. The roads were decent after that till Devarayanadurga.I wanted to ride the bike and finally did ... Maybe about 2-3 kms .. I wasnt bad for a first timer at all.. and carrying the weight of a 138 kg Pulsar wasnt a joke .
Finally made it to the temple ... As we were ascending, we confronted a priest ... On seeing us, he got into this vociforous chanting mode and he wouldnt stop . He put the longest teeka ever on my forhead with the red and white paste ... Thank god for non receding hairlines... :D
After the customery chakkar, we were out to admire the view, which was absolutely breathtaking. My only regret was the timing of the day . The sunrise would really have been spectacular . But nevertheless , the place was calm and very serene. We went down to the foothills of the temple and i pigged on some churmuris as i was famished . We left for Bangalore after about an hour .. The ride was interesting .Fatigue followed by sleep .. My first pillion sleep on the bike !!! yes , the headbanging to an extent kept me awake .. wasnt an out of the world experience but i think a good way to spend a sunday !!!
Please do carry water and some eatables if you get pangs every now and then like me !!!!!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Let the Aero-Force come in !!!!
Yeah the Boston boys are in Namma Bengaloooru....and the blue army is gonna take over the palace grounds on the 2nd of june ....and i surely dont wanna miss a thing !!!!
Indian hospitality at its best ..The band will be served some authentic desi grub .. i just hope they dont overdo and have some stomach disorder tommorow...
And then we have the rains ... which are expected to hit this part of the globe tommorow . Damn What's with the day ??? We gotta get more rain-novative !!!
Ohhh gowd did you hear the latest ...Accenture has come up with an initiative targeted at recruiting potential employees and retaining existing employees, during the Aerosmith rock show to be held in Bangalore on 2 June ...hope they dont lure the boston boys to join em !! alternative careers they say !
Trivia about the band
In 1970, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Tom Hamilton decided to start a band in Boston.Although many people see Aerosmith as a Boston band, none of the band members are actually from that city.
The band was formed when Steven Tyler met Joe Perry in an ice cream parlor.
Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" won an Academy Award for best soundtrack from the movie "Armagedden... Steven Tyler's daughter, Liv, starred in the movie."
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were known as "The Toxic Twins", because of their notorious abuse of drugs on and off the stage.
Their fanbase is known as the Blue Army...
They are the second best-selling American rock band of all time, after The Eagles.
Indian hospitality at its best ..The band will be served some authentic desi grub .. i just hope they dont overdo and have some stomach disorder tommorow...
And then we have the rains ... which are expected to hit this part of the globe tommorow . Damn What's with the day ??? We gotta get more rain-novative !!!
Ohhh gowd did you hear the latest ...Accenture has come up with an initiative targeted at recruiting potential employees and retaining existing employees, during the Aerosmith rock show to be held in Bangalore on 2 June ...hope they dont lure the boston boys to join em !! alternative careers they say !
Trivia about the band
In 1970, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Tom Hamilton decided to start a band in Boston.Although many people see Aerosmith as a Boston band, none of the band members are actually from that city.
The band was formed when Steven Tyler met Joe Perry in an ice cream parlor.
Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" won an Academy Award for best soundtrack from the movie "Armagedden... Steven Tyler's daughter, Liv, starred in the movie."
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were known as "The Toxic Twins", because of their notorious abuse of drugs on and off the stage.
Their fanbase is known as the Blue Army...
They are the second best-selling American rock band of all time, after The Eagles.
In Zaghi and Out goes Gerard's dreams !
"Gimme Red " shouts Inzaghi !!!!!
Despite all the energy ...Liverpool gets knocked out at Athens as Pipoo avenges the 2005's epic defeat at Istanbul.. First it was Bayern , then Man uni and finally Liverpool , AC MILAN does it with ELAN
Despite plenty of ball possesion , the reds failed to deliver the same magic that they did in Istanbul in 2005.. When Inzaghi doubled his score, it looked like the game was over then came Dirk Kuyt's header which could have changed things for Liverpool but it was tooo late !!!
Kudos to Inzaghi and Kaka !!! and Milan for a sooper come back !
Saturday, May 19, 2007
of rivers and waterfalls... of quaint villages and beautiful people Sikkim Trip Part II...
They say when in Rome, be a Roman . Staying at an army mess did instill some kinda discipline in some of us... we were up and ready and we assembled at the dining hall in true fauji style for Breakfast ..and guess what despite getting up early , we cdnt manage leaving the mess early enough.What a mess I tell ya !!!!!!
We had an awesome dude for a driver called Dawa and his assistant Vishnu....Dawa stopped every now and then for us to take pictures and he had little funny stories to narrate .....
We stopped at the Tashi view point to catch the glimpse of Kanchenjunga .. as usual Kanchenjunga was playing hide and seek ..We managed a decent look and then we took off to Chungthang which was about 95 plus kms from Gangtok.
The drive was gorgeous ...Teesta had become our permanent companion ... gave us company all the way through ....she looked absolutely stunning...
Some of the highlights of the drive...
Our strange Hen-counter ... Every time we passed a little village , we would encounter hens who would time themselves to cross the road.... You run over a hen and u pay Rs 500 and guess what , you don't even get to keep, eat or admire them.. what a teaser I tell you !felt like a scam ...
We reached Chungthang by late afternoon after halting midway for lunch. Lunch wasn't very exciting. We had oil curry which had a few pieces of chicken and some daal- chawal.
At Chungthang, we stopped for chai and then carried on.The road then bifurcated into 2 - one going to Lachung and the other one to Lachen .. The names sounded like some Franco-Chinese cocktail..Ce'st Lachen Ce'st Lachung and Ce'st Lavie ! hehehe
We reached Lachen after sunset.. and the driver took us to a hotel which looked shady yeah like one of those patli gali types....We tried to talk ourselves into adjusting but yeh dil maaengey more took over .. We managed to coax the guys to take us to another hotel and as we walked through the narrow, dark, dingy, dilapidated galli, we were getting more and more convinced that it wasn't happening.
LACHEN STREET
We reached the second hotel which looked like one of the fairy tale buildings ... could almost visualise Rapunzel with long hair at the window . New building ... new beds .. new quilts .. wowzie .. what more cd one ask for??? We parked ourselves there.. Subu had bought some local beer called Danzberg and Hit . After the beer tasting ceremony, we went down for Dinner. Grub was decent and Lachen was frigging cold and thankfully I had retained my several layers of clothing..
Post dinner, we slept. Had an early morning drive to Gurudongmar. As usual we got out late and Dawa was pissed !! He gave us a piece of his mind.We were getting used to being labelled recalcitrant...
The drive to Gurudongmar was surreal.We passed a number of Army posts and also the Border Road Organisation (BRO)kept us entertained with their peppy innovative patriotic writings ...
We stopped en route at Thangu . A beautiful quaint village... We had steamed bread and jam with hot tea at this little shack .The people there were really sweet. We chitchatted for a bit and took off.
AT Thangu Village
We were kinda late and Dawa had a point. The road was rocky and quite deserted and it would be quite a situation if one got stranded in the middle of nowhere . There wasn't any sign of civilization let alone any flora or fauna !! Dessert-ed in the true sense !!
To our utter dismay and to add to the drama, the vehicle stopped ! Our man quickly got under the SUV and fixed it temporarily.
We resumed and made it finally.
Yes, this is what they call Heaven... The lake looked so still and calm .. hues of blues and green with certain portions frozen.
I was stunned by the beauty of the place .It was freezing there.. Damn we were 17100 ft above sea level...
I got myself a spot .. i lied down by the lake on the stones and just stared .. Speechless!!!!!!!!!!
We were forewarned by Dawa and we had deadlines to keep. But as usual we were late and this time the dude lost it and we felt like school kids who were being reprimanded by a teacher......hehehe
We went past the Chopta valley back to Thangu on our way to Lachen. One more halt at Thangu. We went back to the same shack ...more hot tea ..we also got a taste of the local fermented bamboo beer called Chang which is served in a traditional bamboo container and is to be consumed with a bamboo straw....they should rename it as straw- beer(y) . While some of us stayed put in the shack socialising with the locals, Subu decided to try out some gully cricket with the kids . Well, he wasn't allowed to go beyond bowling but he sure had a "ball" literally .. heheh .
We had a quick lunch at Lachen and then we were back on the road. Our next stop was Lachung which meant back to Chungthang and we had to take the other road at the fork.
We reached Lachung by late evening. We got ourselves shelter in a homestay.The place was construcetd of wood .. one kick and it would fall apart .. every time anyone moved , the squeak would scare the shit out of us. It was quite an adventure .
Dinner followed by Uno and it was sleep time. Woah What a day that was !
We had an awesome dude for a driver called Dawa and his assistant Vishnu....Dawa stopped every now and then for us to take pictures and he had little funny stories to narrate .....
We stopped at the Tashi view point to catch the glimpse of Kanchenjunga .. as usual Kanchenjunga was playing hide and seek ..We managed a decent look and then we took off to Chungthang which was about 95 plus kms from Gangtok.
The drive was gorgeous ...Teesta had become our permanent companion ... gave us company all the way through ....she looked absolutely stunning...
Some of the highlights of the drive...
Our strange Hen-counter ... Every time we passed a little village , we would encounter hens who would time themselves to cross the road.... You run over a hen and u pay Rs 500 and guess what , you don't even get to keep, eat or admire them.. what a teaser I tell you !felt like a scam ...
We reached Chungthang by late afternoon after halting midway for lunch. Lunch wasn't very exciting. We had oil curry which had a few pieces of chicken and some daal- chawal.
At Chungthang, we stopped for chai and then carried on.The road then bifurcated into 2 - one going to Lachung and the other one to Lachen .. The names sounded like some Franco-Chinese cocktail..Ce'st Lachen Ce'st Lachung and Ce'st Lavie ! hehehe
We reached Lachen after sunset.. and the driver took us to a hotel which looked shady yeah like one of those patli gali types....We tried to talk ourselves into adjusting but yeh dil maaengey more took over .. We managed to coax the guys to take us to another hotel and as we walked through the narrow, dark, dingy, dilapidated galli, we were getting more and more convinced that it wasn't happening.
LACHEN STREET
We reached the second hotel which looked like one of the fairy tale buildings ... could almost visualise Rapunzel with long hair at the window . New building ... new beds .. new quilts .. wowzie .. what more cd one ask for??? We parked ourselves there.. Subu had bought some local beer called Danzberg and Hit . After the beer tasting ceremony, we went down for Dinner. Grub was decent and Lachen was frigging cold and thankfully I had retained my several layers of clothing..
Post dinner, we slept. Had an early morning drive to Gurudongmar. As usual we got out late and Dawa was pissed !! He gave us a piece of his mind.We were getting used to being labelled recalcitrant...
The drive to Gurudongmar was surreal.We passed a number of Army posts and also the Border Road Organisation (BRO)kept us entertained with their peppy innovative patriotic writings ...
We stopped en route at Thangu . A beautiful quaint village... We had steamed bread and jam with hot tea at this little shack .The people there were really sweet. We chitchatted for a bit and took off.
AT Thangu Village
We were kinda late and Dawa had a point. The road was rocky and quite deserted and it would be quite a situation if one got stranded in the middle of nowhere . There wasn't any sign of civilization let alone any flora or fauna !! Dessert-ed in the true sense !!
To our utter dismay and to add to the drama, the vehicle stopped ! Our man quickly got under the SUV and fixed it temporarily.
We resumed and made it finally.
Yes, this is what they call Heaven... The lake looked so still and calm .. hues of blues and green with certain portions frozen.
I was stunned by the beauty of the place .It was freezing there.. Damn we were 17100 ft above sea level...
I got myself a spot .. i lied down by the lake on the stones and just stared .. Speechless!!!!!!!!!!
We were forewarned by Dawa and we had deadlines to keep. But as usual we were late and this time the dude lost it and we felt like school kids who were being reprimanded by a teacher......hehehe
We went past the Chopta valley back to Thangu on our way to Lachen. One more halt at Thangu. We went back to the same shack ...more hot tea ..we also got a taste of the local fermented bamboo beer called Chang which is served in a traditional bamboo container and is to be consumed with a bamboo straw....they should rename it as straw- beer(y) . While some of us stayed put in the shack socialising with the locals, Subu decided to try out some gully cricket with the kids . Well, he wasn't allowed to go beyond bowling but he sure had a "ball" literally .. heheh .
We had a quick lunch at Lachen and then we were back on the road. Our next stop was Lachung which meant back to Chungthang and we had to take the other road at the fork.
We reached Lachung by late evening. We got ourselves shelter in a homestay.The place was construcetd of wood .. one kick and it would fall apart .. every time anyone moved , the squeak would scare the shit out of us. It was quite an adventure .
Dinner followed by Uno and it was sleep time. Woah What a day that was !
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Imagine.......
You may say I'm a dreamer...................
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us.....................
And the world will live as one
Searching the world.....
BUTTERFLY
TAKE A STEP OUTSIDE YOUR SHELL
TO DRINK THE SECRETS OF THE WELL
NO LONGER WILL YOU FIT INSIDE
THERE'S NO MORE NEED TO RUN AND HIDE
IT'S EASY NOW TO BE YOURSELF
AND SET YOUR FEARS UPON A SHELF
TO CLOSE YOUR EYES FOR JUST A THOUGHT
AND RECONSIDER ALL YOU'RE TAUGHT
WISHES MADE WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG
CAPTURED IN THE SONGS YOU SUNG
FREED YOUR HEART TO LAUGH AND PLAY
REMINDERS OF A FORMER DAY
SO NOW YOU LOOK THROUGH OPEN EYES
TO ASK THE HOWS, THE WHENS, THE WHYS
TO SEARCH THE WORLD TO FIND YOUR PART
AND FREE THE DREAMS WITHIN YOUR HEART
Monday, May 14, 2007
Seek-him or else someone will .....
Sikkim originates from "Sukhim" meaning new house.. New house or old house , we definately felt welcomed!
The journey began at Bengaluru . We boarded the much dreaded and feared Air deccan . We werent too worried as our connecting bus was much later in the evening so we had plenty of time even if our kind pilot decided to taxi for a few hours...
We landed at Dum Dum Airport and coutesy Subbu got a fundo orientation of the city of Joy(s) and Mukherjees.... Took a taxi to Flurry's where we caught up with one of our travel buddies for a what i call a perfect "Breakfast" .
Post breakfast ,we headed to Paligunj which is where we stayed.
We ventured a bit during the day to taste some LO-KOL cuisine (puns are flowing today ).. fish in mustard sauce and poori aalloo. hmmmmmm.. we shall talk about food later....
And late in the evening, went to new sharma hotel to have some yum safron tea served in an earthy kullad..
Fought the Kol traffic to make it to the Bus stand where we boarded the bus to Siliguri and whatta a ride that was. I seemed to be the only one in the bus safar-ing!! Cdnt sleep a wink and to add to my woes, we were stuck in a traffic jam in the middle of nowhere for three hours .. we were mobbed by trucks and buses on all sides and yes i was awake despite the snores and the roars... almost seemed like the bus was in coma !!!!!!aaaahhhhh Finally, it moved... yeah seemed like a baby in a mother's womb... yes it moved... it kicked off and seemed like it was a neverending bus journey...
We were 7 hours late !!! Got off at siliguri and without wasting time fixed ourselves a taxi to Gangtok. Quickly grabbed a bite and and we were ready to burn some serious rubber..
Siesta time for few ..and teesta time for few..... while i was busy fighting for the window seat ..teesta was flowing peacefully on one side .. all i cd catch glimpses of, were heads of my fellow mates .. arrggghhhhh .. the table turned after a few hours and i did manage some breathtaking views. AMy recent Canon S3IS acquision was about to bear fruits .. aahhh life seemed exciting all over again.....
With a few Pee-it stops , we made it to Gangtok by late evening. Got ourselves 2 rooms in the Army mess ..
Gangtok
The capital city of Sikkim, Gangtok in the local language means " the town on a hilltop". This commercialised urban town is an ideal hop stop for most of the travels across the state.
Gangtok is more of a sightseing destination with the typical touristy flavor such as the usual view points, temples, ropeways and gardens.However...... Its a perfect hub to plan adventerous activities around the state.
What did we do ?? We researched .. yeah !
Early morning took off to Nathula : Nathula is 60 kms from Gangtok and is situated at a height of 14450 ft at the border of India and China. The border had a barbed wire saparating us from China...If Amitabh and Tabu were there , they would have screamed Cheeni ( here we) Come ..... hehehe
Also, we found out that the pass is open only on Wed, Thurs, Saturday and Sunday and a special permit is needed.Thanks to one of our friends who had Army liason , we managed a pass without any difficulty.
Nathula was part of the famous silk route ...Hey btw one quick trivia .. did you know Marco Polo, the italian explorer took Pasta from China to Italy ?????? the reason why I mentioned his name is for 2 reasons. He traveled extensively on the silk route and also little did we know that pasta is of chinese origin..
Our next stop was the Baba Mandir : Built by the soldiers, in the memory of a sepoy named Harbhajan Singh. Legend has it that he appeared in someone's dream a few days after he went missing while patrolling and expressed a desire that a monument be built in his memory and the same was built which has over the years acquired the status of a pilgrim center.There is a cafe and an ATM here. The cafe is maintained by the Indian Army . its called cafre 13000. wonder y ??? heheh !!!
Finally , it was Tsongo Lake or Chongo lake.. About 35 kms from Gangtok on the way to nathula, at an altitude of 12400 ft,this is a must do and requires a special permit..What's interesting is that this lake remains completely frozen during the winter months... when else would it freeze ???????????
The place was totally mesmerising. The lake looked placid and very tranquill.Around the lake, there are a few souvinier shops and restaurants which obviously ruin the beauty of the place but since they serve hot tea and momos, i will not complain. Those interested in Yak rides can hop on the yukky yaks too.
By the time we got back it was kind off late ... we crashed as we had to leave for Lachen early morning.
On this note .. lemme crash too .. i gotta hit the gym early morning..... :P .. watch this space to find out .. if we actually woke up early enough ...
Friday, February 02, 2007
Why Nod Why Nad ? ;-) a perfect weekend getaway !
They say when you "eat travel" "drink travel" "think travel" ,"sleep travel" and "talk travel" , u can make millions of excuses to get out and do what you desire most ! My friend says - you always land up travelling for fun and not land up doing what you initially planned your trip for .. Hehe so true !
I get an email from an old pal mid january that he s biting the dust !! I thought was time that i rekindled old relationships, met old pals from school and reminded them of my existence.Well, thats how the plan transpired !
So it was 2 nights in wayanad and then a night in Kozikode where the reception took place.I called my travel friend in Kerala and found out accomodation options in Wayanad .The American chic ( Refer. Hampi Travelogue ) was to come along and we were trying to work this out between her other plans and finally it didnt materialise and i was on my own ( AS ALWAYS )..I happened to talk to few other friends and realised that they were planning Wayanad as well ! and some of their travel buddies had pulled out and there was place in the car . Bingo ! there i fit !
So it was decided .We were to leave before the break of the dawn and be there by 10 am so that we had the rest of the day at our disposal .
The group which was four of us met at night for the last minute discussions and the consensus was that we wouldnt sleep and leave in an hour which was 2 am ! Phewwwww we must be real enthu cutlets !Fine ! all decided , freshened up ,packed some sandwiches and we were ready . We left at 2 . The drive was quite nice- decent roads except for some bad streches near Bandipur .But once we touched kerala , "God" had taken special efforts to keep his "own country" roads in good condition ..hehe !
What was very amusing were the Billboards on the way !!! The company Paragon seemed to have bought this part of karnataka or slippers really sold well here ! We saw close to 20 billboards of paragon . And that was not it - soon there was competetion ,there were other footwear companies too . hehe !
It was pitch dark when we passed Bandipur forests and there we spotted a baby elephant ! We reversed the car and as were waiting in ambush,the baby seemed terrified and was desperately trying to hide behind a tree . Looked absoultely adorable ! We dint wanna torture the poor thing so we left him alone and took off.
We burnt more rubber and finally made it to Sultan Battery . Stopped at a local chaya shop and had some lovely tea . Got back to driving . The early morning mist and the whole scenery was abslolutely breathtaking . Each tree had a story to tell . Each tree seemed like it was dressed to kill. Was an expereince to just stare at them and admire them !
We reached Vythiri which is where the resort is at about 8 am after all the stoppages. It was a 5 km drive in before we actually touched the resort.We werent forwarned about the deplorable condition of the roads in ! And we drove in . Soon the car decided not to go any further and hell ! it was stubborn ! We had driven close to 3 kms already . So another 2 seemed easy to walk .So i started trekking. Saw some workers on the way to the top and tried to chit chat in the lil malayalam that i knew .I was told that the resort wasnt too far or atleast that is what i understood..heheh !! after walking 2 kms i realised that i was all alone lost in the jungle and there seeemed no trace of civilization whatsoever ! Hmmmmmm time to turn back ..Heck i wsnt even carrying my pepper spray !anyways decided to get back to the rest and finally made it down .. I called the resort owner and i was told to hang in there and they would send a four wheel to take us to the resort .
After waiting for half an hour the jeep finally surfaced and we were tired and quite ticked ! We reached the resort in 5 minutes and settled down in 2 rooms . Ordered for breakfast and crashed ! Slept for 2 hours and finally woke up and decided to walk around the resort .We played some badminton and then created out own little trek route and decided to have some fun.The resort was quite fancy and also abit pricey.
Then it was some carom and table tennis . We were certainly famised by then . Went to the dining hall to get ourselves some grub . Some good kerala cuisine awaited us . After indulging in food , we went back to our rooms .
Next morning we were up by 7 . It was an action packed day .We were to go to the Chembra Peak. We were taken in a dilaptated jeep to a certain point in midst of tea plantations before we would start trekking . It was undoubtedly one of the toughest treks i had been for. We were exhausted by the time we reached a certain point and we were running short of time so we decided to head back .
CP is the highest peak in Wayanad. The lake at the top of the hill does not dry up even in the peak of summer. Trekking to the top of this peak takes almost a day.And we certainly dint have the time.
It was nevertheless fun to trek . After which we went to a restaurant called Empire at Kalpetta and had some Local food - Kps and lotsaaa meeen !!!! All that we consumed had fish in it !!!! Yummy !
The next stop was the edakkal caves . it started raining as we were driving towards the cave .It was almost 5 by the time we made it there ,time to close down . Well we quickly bought the tickets and got into a jeep which took us to the foothill . We started the climb which was a combination of natural steps and man made steps .What was very disconcerting was the number of people .It seeemed like one of the happening tourist spots for the locals. It being a sunday , there were all kindsa people . School children , elderly people and some monkeys to give us company..
Finally made it to the caves . I would say a tad dissapointed !I mean after all the drama and trekking it didnt meet our expectations as much
Anyways , we walked around and learnt that the scriptures went way back to the neolithic age which was quite interesting .
We walked back to the main road where our jeep was parked and left for the resort .We were exhausted .Took shower and went to the common area to check out some Theyyam performance that was orgnaised by the resort for the guests .Was good .After which we went and fed our hungry selves and came back to the room.
Next morning we got up early and went around the resort trekking and got attacked by the leeches . With some confusion on the mode of payment we had to stick around at the resort till about 5 pm which was quite irritating . There was no lunch and we were absolutely dead by then . I had to call off my Kozikode plans as it was way too late . The drive i was told wasnt very pleasant with the ghats and buses took a good 3 hour . I was totally exhausted so i decided to head back to Bangalore with the rest of them...
We made it to bangalore in less than 5 hours . We had some makki ki roti and sarson ka saag at Ramanashree and headed home ..
In the NUTSHELL :
Wayanad is beautiful- not as commercialised as the much hyped "Munnar" . There are lots of activities that can be arranged there . The place itself is quite picturesque . I believe the waterfalls are very nice which we missed as we were told would be dry .Was a fantastik experience overall and hope to go there again someday and check the places that i missed .
From the foodies desk :
Malabar cuisine is delectable and one can indulge in some great local gastronomical spendour ! Must try - the curry mean and also the malabar biryani
FACT FILE :
BANGALORE – Ramnagaram – Maddur – Mandya – Srirangapatna - Mysore – Nanjangud – Gundlupet (Right turn) – Sulthan Bathery – Kalpetta – Vythiri
Distance in Kms :285 Kms
No.of Hours : 5- 6 hours
Road Condition : Good except some streches near Bandipur
I get an email from an old pal mid january that he s biting the dust !! I thought was time that i rekindled old relationships, met old pals from school and reminded them of my existence.Well, thats how the plan transpired !
So it was 2 nights in wayanad and then a night in Kozikode where the reception took place.I called my travel friend in Kerala and found out accomodation options in Wayanad .The American chic ( Refer. Hampi Travelogue ) was to come along and we were trying to work this out between her other plans and finally it didnt materialise and i was on my own ( AS ALWAYS )..I happened to talk to few other friends and realised that they were planning Wayanad as well ! and some of their travel buddies had pulled out and there was place in the car . Bingo ! there i fit !
So it was decided .We were to leave before the break of the dawn and be there by 10 am so that we had the rest of the day at our disposal .
The group which was four of us met at night for the last minute discussions and the consensus was that we wouldnt sleep and leave in an hour which was 2 am ! Phewwwww we must be real enthu cutlets !Fine ! all decided , freshened up ,packed some sandwiches and we were ready . We left at 2 . The drive was quite nice- decent roads except for some bad streches near Bandipur .But once we touched kerala , "God" had taken special efforts to keep his "own country" roads in good condition ..hehe !
What was very amusing were the Billboards on the way !!! The company Paragon seemed to have bought this part of karnataka or slippers really sold well here ! We saw close to 20 billboards of paragon . And that was not it - soon there was competetion ,there were other footwear companies too . hehe !
It was pitch dark when we passed Bandipur forests and there we spotted a baby elephant ! We reversed the car and as were waiting in ambush,the baby seemed terrified and was desperately trying to hide behind a tree . Looked absoultely adorable ! We dint wanna torture the poor thing so we left him alone and took off.
We burnt more rubber and finally made it to Sultan Battery . Stopped at a local chaya shop and had some lovely tea . Got back to driving . The early morning mist and the whole scenery was abslolutely breathtaking . Each tree had a story to tell . Each tree seemed like it was dressed to kill. Was an expereince to just stare at them and admire them !
We reached Vythiri which is where the resort is at about 8 am after all the stoppages. It was a 5 km drive in before we actually touched the resort.We werent forwarned about the deplorable condition of the roads in ! And we drove in . Soon the car decided not to go any further and hell ! it was stubborn ! We had driven close to 3 kms already . So another 2 seemed easy to walk .So i started trekking. Saw some workers on the way to the top and tried to chit chat in the lil malayalam that i knew .I was told that the resort wasnt too far or atleast that is what i understood..heheh !! after walking 2 kms i realised that i was all alone lost in the jungle and there seeemed no trace of civilization whatsoever ! Hmmmmmm time to turn back ..Heck i wsnt even carrying my pepper spray !anyways decided to get back to the rest and finally made it down .. I called the resort owner and i was told to hang in there and they would send a four wheel to take us to the resort .
After waiting for half an hour the jeep finally surfaced and we were tired and quite ticked ! We reached the resort in 5 minutes and settled down in 2 rooms . Ordered for breakfast and crashed ! Slept for 2 hours and finally woke up and decided to walk around the resort .We played some badminton and then created out own little trek route and decided to have some fun.The resort was quite fancy and also abit pricey.
Then it was some carom and table tennis . We were certainly famised by then . Went to the dining hall to get ourselves some grub . Some good kerala cuisine awaited us . After indulging in food , we went back to our rooms .
Next morning we were up by 7 . It was an action packed day .We were to go to the Chembra Peak. We were taken in a dilaptated jeep to a certain point in midst of tea plantations before we would start trekking . It was undoubtedly one of the toughest treks i had been for. We were exhausted by the time we reached a certain point and we were running short of time so we decided to head back .
CP is the highest peak in Wayanad. The lake at the top of the hill does not dry up even in the peak of summer. Trekking to the top of this peak takes almost a day.And we certainly dint have the time.
It was nevertheless fun to trek . After which we went to a restaurant called Empire at Kalpetta and had some Local food - Kps and lotsaaa meeen !!!! All that we consumed had fish in it !!!! Yummy !
The next stop was the edakkal caves . it started raining as we were driving towards the cave .It was almost 5 by the time we made it there ,time to close down . Well we quickly bought the tickets and got into a jeep which took us to the foothill . We started the climb which was a combination of natural steps and man made steps .What was very disconcerting was the number of people .It seeemed like one of the happening tourist spots for the locals. It being a sunday , there were all kindsa people . School children , elderly people and some monkeys to give us company..
Finally made it to the caves . I would say a tad dissapointed !I mean after all the drama and trekking it didnt meet our expectations as much
Anyways , we walked around and learnt that the scriptures went way back to the neolithic age which was quite interesting .
We walked back to the main road where our jeep was parked and left for the resort .We were exhausted .Took shower and went to the common area to check out some Theyyam performance that was orgnaised by the resort for the guests .Was good .After which we went and fed our hungry selves and came back to the room.
Next morning we got up early and went around the resort trekking and got attacked by the leeches . With some confusion on the mode of payment we had to stick around at the resort till about 5 pm which was quite irritating . There was no lunch and we were absolutely dead by then . I had to call off my Kozikode plans as it was way too late . The drive i was told wasnt very pleasant with the ghats and buses took a good 3 hour . I was totally exhausted so i decided to head back to Bangalore with the rest of them...
We made it to bangalore in less than 5 hours . We had some makki ki roti and sarson ka saag at Ramanashree and headed home ..
In the NUTSHELL :
Wayanad is beautiful- not as commercialised as the much hyped "Munnar" . There are lots of activities that can be arranged there . The place itself is quite picturesque . I believe the waterfalls are very nice which we missed as we were told would be dry .Was a fantastik experience overall and hope to go there again someday and check the places that i missed .
From the foodies desk :
Malabar cuisine is delectable and one can indulge in some great local gastronomical spendour ! Must try - the curry mean and also the malabar biryani
FACT FILE :
BANGALORE – Ramnagaram – Maddur – Mandya – Srirangapatna - Mysore – Nanjangud – Gundlupet (Right turn) – Sulthan Bathery – Kalpetta – Vythiri
Distance in Kms :285 Kms
No.of Hours : 5- 6 hours
Road Condition : Good except some streches near Bandipur
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Its a beautiful life!
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Promises.......................
I have to say it now it's been a good life, all in all,
It's really fine to have a chance to hang around.
Lie there by the fire and watch the evening tire,
While all my friends and my old lady, sit and pass a pipe around
And talk of poems and prayers and promises
And things that we believe in
How sweet it is to love someone,
How right it is to care.
How long it's been since yesterday,
What about tomorrow and what about our dreams
And all the memories we share
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