Bali - 3

Parts 1 and 2 be found here and here.

The rest of the second day was spent in visiting a couple of temples and watching a performance of the Kecak dance. The first temple we visited was the Goa Gajah temple. Goa means cave and Gajah means elephant. So, it translates to Elephant Cave. There are carvings on many menacing looking creatures at the entrance of the cave and one of them is believed to be that of an elephant. Hence the name - Elephant Cave.

Like most temples in Bali, one has to be dressed in a traditional sarong (a wrap around) to enter the cave so as to respect the religious sentiments. Everyone is provided with a  sarong at the entrance (which is included in the 10000 rupiah entrance fee), which has to be returned later. It is said that this temple was built more than 700 years ago but was discovered only in the 1920's. At the entrance of the cave, one can see many pieces of ruins arranged in a small field. The local guide told us that this was from the entrance of the cave, which was damaged due to an earthquake. One can also find huge pieces from a status of Buddha nearby, which is also believed to have been destroyed by an earthquake.

We then went to visit another temple, but I have completely forgotten its name. You see, temples are generally not high on my 'must-see-things' list when I am on a holiday. But, then again each of the temple we visited had this serene atmosphere, where one feels that he/she can think in peace. A place where one can contemplate on his/her life without getting distracted by the trivialities of everyday life. I don't know how most temples manage to have that atmosphere.

By now, it had started getting dark and we ended our sight-seeing day by watching a performance of the kecak dance performed at one of the local institutions. The speciality of this dance performance is that they don't use any musical instruments. Instead the entire background music is provided by the chants of many men, who seemed to chant many variations of the sound 'cak'. The dance is actually a musical drama which depicts some of the prominent scenes from the Ramayana. Now, the Ramayana is not new to Indians and hence we were able to understand what is happening. We were also provided with brochures which explained the scenes which were being enacted for the benefit of the non-hindu or a non-Indian audience. There was even a fire dance, where one of the dancers danced on a burning dry coconut skins. That kind of freaked me out a bit. Just imagine, this guy does it almost every day.

The day ended with a hearty dinner at this restaurant called Simpang Cafe, which is located quite close to where we were staying. Infact, we ended up going there for dinner on both the nights we stayed at Bali. Not only did they serve fantastic food, they had a vegetarian menu. They did great with the vegetarian versions on Nasi Goreng and Mee Goreng. One word - YUM! My dinner there on both days were accompanied with a glass of orange juice. I was pleasantly surprised that the orange juice tasted a bit different from what we generally have here in Singapore. It was like they had added some special/exotic herb to the juice. I thoroughly enjoyed it. My friend told me later that it was the natural taste of the oranges grown in that region and that no herb was added to the juice as such. It was fantastic! One should definitely try out a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in Bali. The dinner marked the end of a hectic day for me. While my friends continued partying at one of the clubs, I retired early to catchup on some much needed sleep. It was bliss.

The next day was spent shopping for souvenirs and getting a relaxing massage at one of the massage parlours around the hotel. Like I had mentioned in my first post on Bali, Jln Legian is a great place to stroll around and shop. Lovely stuff!

I will definitely visit Bali again to look at many places which I missed out on during this holiday due to lack of time. On my list are the black sandy beaches in the north of Bali and the towering Gunung Agung.

Bali - 2

Part 1 of the series can be found here. 

While the day was spent in a quiet way, we all decided to make the night a happening one. Plans were promptly made to check out the club(s). My friend, who had visited Bali previously suggested that we had to visit Kudeta. But we couldn't get reservations since it was a weekend I guess. So we went to checkout the other places. As long as I got to drink alcohol, be a bit high and there is good music and company around, I didn't care where we went to :P

Looks like Bali has some of the most hip and happening nightlife and restaurants in south east Asia. They are all so chic and classy that its quite easy to get mesmerized. I just couldn't get enough of such places and was quite in awe! Not that Singapore doesn't have such places, but I had never imagined Bali would be that way. Not that I am complaining. I have always been a sucker for class and sophistication ;)

After partying most of the night away, I woke up quite sleepy-eyed. But there was no time to go back to bed. I was in Bali for just about three days and there was no way I was going to spend it sleeping in a hotel room. After a nice and refreshing breakfast, it was time to hit the road and soak in the other sights that Bali had to offer.

We had engaged a driver and a car to show us around and hence didn't bother to find out about the public transport options available. We started off with a visit to Sanur beach, which was just about ok. The beach seemed to be quite shallow and it looked like one could walk quite a bit into the sea with the water level still below the knees. But, the beach offered nice views of flights approaching a landing at the Ngurah Rai International airport. 

It was quite a hot day and we were more than happy to get back into the cool confines of our car and proceed to our next destination - Ubud. Enroute, we stopped at a Batik art centre, where we could see the local crasftmen making Batik prints. I was under the impression that batik was an exclusive Indian art, but apparently its not. A quick look at the wikipedia entry on Batik tells that it is extensively practiced in Indonesia too. The Batik art centre even had a huge showroom adjoining where one could buy shirts and other items of clothing with batik prints.

We stopped for lunch at this wonderful restaurant called as Adia Asri. Oh, what a fantastic place with a fantastic view and serving up some fantastic fare. YUM YUM YUMMY! They even had a separte Vegetarian section in the menu. I think I almost jumped up and down with joy. 

Whenever I visit a new place, I always do some research beforehand on the different types of food available there, the specialties, exotic stuff. But, somehow on this trip, I was not at all excited about the food. Probably because I knew that there would hardly be any vegetarian options other than gado-gado perhaps. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. Every restaurant we went to happily obliged us when asked for vegetarian versions. One more thing which I noticed was the way in which food was presented. Almost in every place, it was neatly arranged and so visually appealing. Perfect!

Karala Special

Ubud is the cultural capital of Bali. I believe there are quite a few museums but we didn't visit them. We spent most of our time looking around Puri Saren Ubud or the Ubud Palace. It was a cute and charming place. Somehow, I had a very relaxed feeling when I was around the palace. While my friends we busy taking snaps, I was quite content with observing the palace through my own eyes (Ah! The advantages of not taking a camera). I don't know much about the history of this palace, but we were told that some people still reside in the palace. Wow! Imagine that. It would be so lovely to stay there.

And oh! We also happened to meet a very very friendly and adorable dog, who seemed to enjoy all the attention that the visitors were bestowing upon him/her. Awwww! I think I almost dissolved into a puddle. If ever in my life I have a dog (maybe I should, Hmmmmm....), I want him/her to be just as friendly as this dog. I had always been scared of dogs my entire life, but ever since this happened, I have developed a soft corner for them.

We later visited the market situated next to the palace. It was a typical touristy market selling many souvenirs and other such stuff. It was very reminiscent of India with prices being quoted more than double. Significant bargaining is expected.

More in the next post.

All photos are by Srivats.

Bali - 1

Ah! Bali. How do I even start writing about my whirlwind trip to the charming island? A place which is special to me now, for various reasons. 

I have been meaning to visit Bali from almost the time I came to Singapore. I had heard much about its beauty, exotic locales and the beautiful people. Needless to say, I was itching to see for myself this paradise, which conveniently is just a 2.5 hour flight from Singapore. Its things like these, which makes me feel very happy about staying in Singapore. Singapore is located in such a strategic location in South-east asia that any place is just a short flight away. You name it - Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Hong Kong & China. Even the western parts of Australia also for that matter. Strong presence of three budget airlines - AirAsia, Tiger and JetStar serving most of these destinations ensures that it is not hard to clinch a good deal on the airfare from Singapore.

So when my friend sent me an message informing me of 70 dollar (all inclusive) return fare to Bali, I jumped at the chance and booked tickets almost immediately. Initially I was a bit apprehensive about going on a trip with people whom I did not know all that well, but then isn't that how friendship grows from a formal "Hello! How are you?" to a casual "Stop eating me head you ass!" :P Anyway, I am so glad I did go on the trip.

I love traveling with AirAsia. I haven't had any problems with them so far and I think the combination of Red with Black upholstery inside the cabin looks very classy. Yes, that is how I choose which airline I want to travel with - choice of colours :P

Anyway, I am digressing. Lets get back to Bali. It looks like the runway of Ngurah Rai international airport at Bali has actually been built on reclaimed land. The runway almost entirely juts out into the sea. So, when our flight was approaching the landing, it looked like we were going to land right over the water. Its just at the last moment, I spotted the tarmac below. Perfect landing. The buildings of the airport have been built in the typical Balinese architecture. Infact most of the houses and old buildings in Bali have a conical roof. A unique thing I noticed about these conical roofs is that the base of all these  cones were squares. I hardly ever spotted a rectangle. Err.... I just reread what I have written and it sounds so geeky. No wonder things like this happen.

Indians are eligible for an on arrival visa to enter Indonesia. I was already mentally prepared for long queues at the immigration. Surprisingly it was super fast and very efficient. Btw, do you people know what is the coolest thing in the whole wide world? Its the automatic immigration machines at Changi airport. Oh dear lord! God bless Changi  airport and Singapore. It took me less than 10 seconds to clear immigration.

We had already booked our accommodation. Our hotel was very conveniently located along Jln Legian, which has shops and restaurants on either sides, is a very charming place. It has many famous brands lined up alongside quaint little shops selling artifacts and other cutesy stuff. I would personally love to walk along Jln Legian on a day just randomly looking around and wandering around such shops at my own pace. Perfect for a relaxed day with nice weather. Speaking of weather, Bali has a very tropical climate and is quite hot during the daytime. But the humidity is much less when compared to Singapore.

The first day was spent just roaming around our hotel, visiting the beach and restaurants. Actually, Bali is a great place for surfing. One will find lots of people doing that. Kuta beach is the place to be to see people surfing. Infact, many famous surfing brands have a presence in Kuta/Legian.

More in the next post. In the meanwhile, here is a teaser.

Singapore.... Yea.... whatever!

Sigh! The vacation got over so soon! I wanted to be in Bali for some more time. Its such a beautiful and charming place.

I am definitely going there again! And this time I am gonna spend more time there and see as much as possible.

Bali.. Yeeeeeeeeeah!!

Am off to Bali for a much needed vacation. Will be back soon!

I promise to blog about the trip. Incase, I don't, please feel free to kick my ass!

Bangalored!

It was just about three months since my last visit to India. But then on the night of 8th May, I found myself back at the swanky Bengaluru International Airport. After all, it was my yaar's wedding. And since both of them are close to me, it was inevitable that I had to attend the wedding. A bunch of other close friends also joined the dulha and me, and we flew down together from the hot and sweltering Singapore to the hot and happening Bangalore.

Now, when Viv is around, Dumbcharades are all the more fun. After some non-family friendly enactment in the plane, I was successfully able to decipher which hindi movie title Viv was trying to mime. It was Saajan Bin Suhaagan. Oh! How we laughed. I think Sash will put up an entire post on that. You will have to wait till then for the details. Ahem!

We had exactly 7 days in Bangalore and most plans were already made. The plans mainly comprised of food places that we must all eat at :P Sash had already mentioned that she would be quite happy if she got her daily dose of road side pani puri. Food street was one of the highlights of the trip. We ate so much there. Urv and Ved had joined us and all of us hogged as if we hadn't eaten in days. We started off with dose, followed by holige, jaljeera flavoured with kalakhatta, gobi manchurian, pani puri and ended the meal with some butter-gulkan. What a meal that was!

Then came the wedding and it was another eat session. Viv did proper justice to the food and even the cooks at the wedding seemed very pleased with him. I don't think he ever said no whenever he was asked for second helpings. Apart from eating, we also managed to enjoy and take part in the wedding festivities. It was quite sometime since I had been to a traditional tam-brahm wedding. What made it even more special was that it was two of our close friends getting married.

Post wedding, we went on a small trip along with newly married couple. Sumanth has promised us that he would show us around rural Mangalore and also take us to visit a few of his relatives. Morning coffee and tea was at relative-1's house. Breakfast was at relative-2's house and lunch was at relative-3's house. We ate and we ate and we ate. And just when we thought we couldn't eat anymore, we ate again. It was exhausting!! Sash even said that she wouldn't eat pani puri that day :O The amount we have eaten in that one week in India, we wouldn't have eaten the same in two weeks in Singapore. Now that we are back in Singapore, we have to exercise with a revenge.

It was one heck of a memorable trip and it all seems like it got over too soon. Trips to India are always special and close to heart. This was my second trip in this year and I don't know when I will be visiting next. Maybe in the end of this year. Or maybe not.

Yet another holiday...

I am of to Vietnam and Cambodia for a long pending holiday! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! I have been :D :D :D since the past couple of days. Will be back in a week. Till then, all you children behave ok? ok.

Bangkok at a glance

1. Its just like any other city in India. Only the language and the faces of people are different
2. Lovely temples. "Wat Arun" (Temple of the Dawn) in particular was awesome!
3. The sunrise and sunset happens on the same time as in India unlike Singapore. In Singapore the sun rises at 7 and sets around 19.15-19.30, confusing me many a time.
4. Thai food is my new favourite! It has such an amazing flavour. My mouth is watering thinking about it. You can read more here and I will be putting up an entire post on the lovely breakfast we had at the hotel.
5. I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of finding vegetarian food. Although most of the dishes were not vegetarian, the chefs were more than willing to make them with only vegetarian ingredients. They also easily understood what is meant by vegetarian unlike Singapore and Malaysia where vegetarian food is apparently not referred to as normal food :O
6. I have no idea where we get Indian food in Bangkok. Didn't even bother finding out! To all those people who say non-Indian food is bland and does not have any flavour, I have only one thing to say - Go to Thailand and eat Thai food. Ofcourse, its just called food there :P
7. Was not at all impressed with the new Suvarnabhumi International airport. It was quite crowded. Changi International airport is way better in my opinion.
8. The dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya river is a must do!
9. So is shopping at the Chatuchak weekend market.
10. Errr... was that a wooden dildo that they were selling in one of the roadside stalls ?
11. Massage parlours are almost everywhere.
12. Multi coloured taxis. I could spot green, pink, red, orange and blue coloured ones.
13. The MRT, Skytrain and the river taxis are the fastest means of transport.
14. Traveling by the BTS sky train is not exactly cheap.
15. They have two-wheelers which serve also as public transport (speaking in a broad sense). You engage one of the riders and he drops you where ever you want to go. Ofcourse, you have to pay :P Such riders can be easily spotted wearing an orange sleeveless jacket.
16. There are so many westerns touring Thailand. I had no idea it was that popular. I saw more Americans/Europeans that what I see in Singapore.

I shall leave you with this picture as a preview to what is coming up next.

Is the keyboard wet already ? *wink*

The Big Bang

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!! Off to Bangkok! :D

Idhar Chala Mein Udhar Chala

Traveling around is one of the things that I love to do. Exploring new places, seeing different and lovely sights and eating new stuff is something which gives me an all time high! So, when I saw this tag on this post, I decided to tag myself :D

As per the tag, I have to list down three destinations from the list of the new wonders of the world that I would like to visit and also the ones that I have visited so far.

So, Here we go......

List of places among the Seven Wonders of the world that I have visited -

1. Taj Mahal, India


Visited the Taj, when I had gone for trek around Dalhousie about 1.5 years back. Also took photo sitting on the marble bench infront of the Taj. Apparently it is a very famous spot to take your picture with the Taj in the background. I was also very lucky to have seen the Taj just before and after the sunset. It was lovely!!

List of three places among the Seven Wonders of the world that I would like to visit -

1. Machu Pichu, Peru


As per wikipedia, this ancient and deserted city is referred to as the "The Lost City of the Incas". I would love to visit this place and check out the amazing architecture. The location and the breathtaking scenary around is tempting enough to plan a trip to this place.

2. Christ Redeemer, Brazil


The view from the top and Rio De Janerio are reasons enough. I don't think I have to elaborate on this.

Well, just interested in the above two for now.

Apart from these places, I would also love to visit these places -

1. Bora Bora


The white sandy beaches just look so inviting. I want to go there now! Total bliss. Just sitting on these beaches and sipping on some orange juice sounds so relaxing and refreshing.

2. New York City


Very curious about what the fuss is all about this city. Watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S, few episodes of Sex and the City, Kal Ho Naa Ho and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna are reasons enough.

3. The Grand Canyon


I am an ardent admirer of nature and would love to visit these natural wonders known for their sheer size and landsape. In particular, I want to stand on the newly constructed Grand Canyon Skywalk and view the canyon.

4. Kenya


Aah! The thrill of visiting a wildlife sanctuary and where else but in the place where it all started - AFRICA!!!

5. Lakshadweep


Once again, the white sandy beaches. Plus it is much closer to home and a cheaper option than going to Bora Bora ;)

6. Greece


I have heard a lot about their culture and very curious to check the place out. Once again, the many secluded white sandy beaches are a huge attraction for me.

7. Switzerland

The Alps, the picturesque European countryside, the view from the train and Snow! Thank you very much Mr. Yash Chopra.

That's all I can think of right now. In return, I am tagging Pills (who, btw is one heck of a travel companion. We had a blast on our previous trip together), Amaunet and of course Shub!

Also, inviting applications for a travel-mate who is equally enthu about visiting all of the above places :D

Dharwad Trip

There is some kind of thrill in deciding for a trip impromptu. I have always had loads of fun on trips decided like that. My Singapore trip was one such kind(although we decided and booked tickets one month before the actual date of departure, we decided on it, got leave and booked tickets in a day or two... you get the point?). Trip to Dharwad was also one such thing. Decided on it, booked tickets almost instantly and luckily even got confirmed tickets :D

It was supposed to be a two day trip, but eventually turned into a three day one. We left Bangalore on a saturday night and reached Dharwad on Sunday morning. The ongoing journey by train was very pleasant. Surprisingly, the train was quite empty. My friend, lets call him as 'S' and I were up quite late and were generally talking. The train was to reach dharwad at 6.45 am and since we were up quite late, were wondering if we would get up on time to get down at Dharwad. Nothing of that sort happenend though (it would have been fun if that would have happened). Woke up quite early and it was still dark outside. Saw the sunrise after a really loooooooooong time! God knows when was the last time I saw one. A friend (who also happens to be my colleague and boss) had come to receive us at the station and he took us to his home. It was such a pleasure to be out of Bangalore. The life there went on at its own pace and I was totally enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and lifestyle. Not that I hate the lifestyle in Bangalore, but everyone likes change every now and then.

I ate lots of new stuff. There is such a marked difference in the food between Bangalore-Mysore region and Hubli-Dharwad region, the latter being very much influenced by maharashtrian cuisine. Even Chaats also tasted quite different to the ones available in Bangalore. Enjoyed that too. :D

We visited quite a few places around. The first was a village called Saundatti. Its quite famous for the "Yellamma Temple" and also for the devadasi system. Nearby there is this dam on the Malaprabha river. Its built mainly for irrigation purposes. We visited it in the evening, just in time for sunset. Spent more than an hour over there taking photos and soaking up the serene environment around. The other major place we visited was the Magod Falls. Its about 80-100 kilometres from Dharwad. Its quite popular and I realised why after seeing it. The falls are extremely magnificent, cascading down in two stages. I dont know if there is path leading to the waterfall. The actual viewing spot is at a distance from the waterfall. The waterfall is amazing!!! I could not help but stare and be awed by the sheer power of water and the beauty of nature and forests around. The only sound was the roar of the waterfall. The photo below definitely does not do justice to the actual waterfall. It looks even more spectacular in real.

Singapore Travel - Day 2 & 3

On the second day, we set off to Sentosa Island after a late breakfast. We caught the MRT and went to Harbour Front Station, from where we went to sentosa by the cable car. The view from the car was absolutely awesome. Got a lovely view of the Singapore harbour, the sky scrapers of Raffles place and Sentosa Island. During the first half of the ride, I was too busy taking the pictures. It was only during the second half that I decided to be selfish and shut off the camera and enjoyed and soaked in the great view :D

Sentosa Island is a nice place. Lots of tourist attractions around, but felt that it is kinda over hyped.. For lunch, we had taken Rava Idli and some pudina chutney made by Shub. I must say, I have never relished eating idlis some much as I did that day. Not that I was very hungry or something, but the idlis and chutney was really good. After the meal, we went to the Dolphin Lagoon at Palawan beach to watch the dolphins. Must say kudos to the trainers and the animals for the amazing show !!! This was followed by an hour of kayaking at Siloso beach which was lots of fun.... After the kayaking experience, we spent time by playing in the beach. I learned how to float :D. Must try improving on that at one of the pools in Bangalore. I was told that the beach was man made. I believe that the sand was imported from New Zealand!!!


Once the night set in, we went to Underwater World. In the entrance there is a touch pool, where you can actually touch some of the fishes. Ended up toughing a catfish. It was not at all slimy as it looks. Quite rough actually. There was also a Sting ray which apparently is safe to touch. When I went to touch it, I got quite scared.. Kept remembering the documentary I saw about sting rays on Animal Planet. Never thought I would feel like this. Anywayz, we continued our tour and saw many amazing underwater creatures like sharks, huge fishes, etc... Infact I dont remember their names...

We stayed over that night on the beach. Late night walks along the beach and much more catching up with friends followed. It was totally great !!!! Slept quite late, but woke up quite early the next morning. The beach was really good in the morning. There was a peacock just roaming around on the beach!!! We then boarded a bus back to the mainland and went to "Little India" for breakfast :D

Later in the evening, we paid a visit to the SunTec City Mall.. Huge place with four huge skyscrapes surrounding it. Managed to sneak upto the top floor of one of those towers and got a sneek peek of the view from the top. And what a view view it was !!!! Totally breath taking... I really envy the offices which are present on the top floor and the people who work there... It would be a great view from your office window... A view to take out all the stress away.. Trust me !! Its a pity could not click a picture. :(


Visited the "Bar None" at the Marriot hotel later.. Nice place and met one nice person ;) Lots of Good music and leg pulling by friends, returned back at around 1 am.. What a nite !!

Singapore Travel - Day 1

The day started by landing at Changi Airport in Singapore. I was totally awestruck by the structure. It is huge and so well maintained. There are so many flights in and out of Changi everyday. Had to wait for my friends to come and pick us up. So after the formalities we wandered around the airport and were just looking around for sometime. Once my friends arrived, we went to have breakfast. Breakfast and some catching up later, we boarded the MRT to proceed towards Boon Lay station, from where we had to catch a Bus to NTU. My friends are students there and accommodation had been arranged for us over there.

On the MRT, we got a nice view of Singapore. There are mostly apartments. Independent houses as in Bangalore are hardly present. The roads are so well maintained and clean. Infact you could lick them ;) Although I had hardly slept the previous night on the flight, I was in full josh and was in awe of what I was seeing !!! Sleep seemed to be the last thing on my mind.. More catching up on the MRT :)

The rest of the afternoon was spent in cooking lunch, yakkity-yak, eating, catching-up and relaxing, etc..

In the evening, we went to the Central Business District. Its called as Raffles Place and is full of skyscrapers !!! Lots of photos were taken and the eye-candy around was admired ;). We then went to this place called as Boat Quay. There is a river, on the banks of which are lots of restaurants and pubs.. We were feeling quite hungry, so we went to this coffee shop called "The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf". I ordered a cheese cake and it was total drool material !!! I have never tasted such an amazing cheese cake in Bangalore. Yummy !!!

This was followed by generally walking around the area. We then went to "The Esplanade". Near this there is a small statue of "The Merlion". More photos. Was learning how to use my new Digicam in a complete manual mode, like setting the exposure, shutter speed, etc, etc... We then went hunting for a restaurant to eat dinner. ended up going to "Lau Pa Sat".. Its basically a huge food court. There are not many places serving vegetarian fare... Chanced upon an Indian stall (the only one serving veggie). This was followed by a bite of a Yummy "Banana Split" and a not so yummy "Mango Ice Kachang".



Once dinner was over, we got on the MRT and headed back to NTU for catching up on some much needed sleep.

First Flight Experience

I totally enjoy travelling to new places and exploring it. Last time ended up going to North India and Dalhousie as a part of a trekking camp. This time, myself and Mahesh ended up embarking on a trip to Singapore. Two of my friends, Shub and Danny stay there. It was a total fun experience . Full masti !!!!!

It was first trip outside India and the also first trip on a flight. So was extremely excited about it. We decided on the trip in such a short span of time and almost booked the tickets instantly. I should say that we were quite lucky to find a good offer on the flight tickets. So did not end up spending a huge money on the tickets, which meant that we had more money to spare for sight-seeing !!!

We landed up at the airport quite early in the hope of getting good seats on the plane. We managed to get window seats, but unluckily they were above the wing. So the view was quite restricted. Also, the flight was at night. :( But it was a good experience. I was quite excited about the flight journey and at the same time started feeling quite nervous. Right from the time I was a kid, When I used to hear news about flight crashes, I would internally resolve that I would never travel by flight. But over the course of years that disappeared and was replaced by the excitement of flight travel. But I guess some fear of the plane crashing still remained. To make matters worse, I regularly watch the program "Air-Crash Investigation" on NGC, which I find extremenly interesting. So, after the plane taxied onto the runway and got into position to accelerate down the runway, I started feeling quite nervous and excited at the same time. The plane started accelerating and it was not at all smooth as it looks on TV. The plane was shaking and I could feel the vibrations from the engines... I was like shit !!!! and was internally screaming in my mind. The feeling at that time was quite exhilarating. And then the plane took off and I relaxed after that.. whew !!! Now I feel like laughing at myself recounting that experience.

The rest of the flight was quite uneventful. I had never expected the jerk on landing. Felt little nervous at that moment, but then felt OK once the plane slowed down....

The food was quite good on the plane. Before the food was served, we were handed a menu detailing the food that would be served. What surprised me immensely was that it was in both English and Kannada !!! Now that was something I had never ever expected !!! It was a total surprise. I dont think such a thing is even there on any of the airlines in India. FYI, I travelled by Singapore Airlines :D Plus there ware individual entertainment units (LCD TV + remote) for each passenger. Ended up watching the movie "Rumour Has It" on the flight. I mean, I had to watch the movie, cos it starred Jennifer Aniston, who happens to be one among my favourites :D

Totally enjoyed on the trip. More details in posts to follow.

Travel Chronicles - 3

Our next stop after Mt. Abu was Delhi. We had booked dorms at the International youth hostel. We set off to see the Akshardham Temple. Enroute we happened to pass through "Rajpath". We also saw the India Gate. The roads which we happened to pass by were really huge and there was not that much traffic either. It was quite cold though inspite of it being 2.00 pm. There was a huge rush at the temple. We had to go through some security checks before we entered the temple. The Temple complex is huge !!! The main temple building in itself is quite impressive due to its huge size and the carvings. The carvings have been done on a pink coloured marble. The carvings were quite good and I am sure lots of hard work must have gone into. But I felt that the temples in towns down south like Belur, Halebid and Somnathpur are much better and they seriously deserve more attention than what they are currently getting. There is also a food court in the temple complex which caters to the needs a cosmopolitan crowd. Down south, there is generally no food court in the temple complex and even if there happens to be one, they definitely dont serve pizzas and burgers !!!

After Akshardham, we visited one of my friends cousins house. We had to go searching for her house which took up some time. From there, we went to the nearest metro station to travel on the Delhi Metro. From there we caught the metro to Connaught Place. It was a nice experience travelling on the metro. The entire metro is on international standards, right from the station to the trains. My friends told me that it is exactly the same way as it is in Japan. There is a train almost every three-five minutes. All through the journey, there are announcements on the speaker as to which is the next station and some safety instructions. If such a thing ever comes up in Bangalore (Its high time Bangalore got one), I am sure it would be huge success. The cost of the ticket is also not that high. In Bangalore, for a journey from JP Nagar to Majestic on a BMTC bus, the ticket costs 9 rupees and it takes an hour to cover the distance. On a metro this distance can be covered easily in 15-20 minutes. You will also avoid the heavy traffic. A metro system must come into Bangalore very soon. I feel it will definitely make a difference.

That nite we boarded a train to Pathankot. Next day(28th Dec 2005) we had to report for the National Winter Himalayan Trekking Expedition at Dalhousie. This is an annual trekking expedition that is organised by the Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI). The National Winter Himalayan Trekking Expedition at Dalhousie is for a period of six days. This was an awesome experience. Although the trek was a very easy one, I happened to meet so many people from many parts of India and made some very good friends. In our batch, there were around 16 people from Bangalore. We were a group of four. We happened to get along famously with four other people from Bangalore and one more guy from Mumbai. So we were like this group of nine and man, we had a blast!!!! It was really great meeting this set of people. One of the person we met has written a nice blog about the whole trip. Click here to read it. :D This guy has done an awesome job of writing it.. He has written about many many small but memorable incidents.

Travel Chronicles - 2

Mt. Abu fell very much short of our expectations. Places in south like Agumbe and Ooty are much better in terms of views and stuff. It was very chilly in the nights. We were there for two days in Mt. Abu. Saw places which are part of the itenary of a regular tourist like some view point, temples, sunset point, the Nakki Lake. The place has become very commercialized. Infact, there is a Coffe Day Cafe over there.

Have any of you experienced chill and warmth at the same time ? It was an amazing feeling, feeling cold and warmth at the same time. Its like having cold vanilla ice-cream with hot chocolate sauce. The only diff being, in the latter only your mouth gets to experience the contrasting temperatures but in the former its your entire body which get to experience the contrasting temperatures.

Travel Chronicles - 1

I had gone on a two week tour to North India, out of which 6-days included a trekking camp in and around Dalhousie. It just felt great to be out of Bangalore. We were a gang of four from my office. Our first destination was Mt.Abu. We took a train via Mumbai. The onward journey was quite good. All of us were excited about the trip and were pretty much yakking/cracking jokes and the usual stuff along the way. The first morning in train, I woke to a nice view of sunrise. God knows when was the last time I saw the sun rise... Plus the great feeling that you have two whole weeks to just enjoy. We had to change trains at Mumbai and also the station. The train from Mumbai to Mt. Abu was totally crowded, plus we had RAC tickets. So two of us had to adjust in just one seat. That part of the journey was so goddamn noisy. Even at 11.30 in the nite, people were moving up and down the train.. It was like a mad house!!! Whew!! The journey was quite uneventful. By morning 10, we were at Abu Road station. Mt Abu was abut 28 Kms from the station, so we ended up engaging a taxi to Mt. Abu.

I was quite surprised at what people had for breakfast. It was like samosas/jalebis/bread pakoda/rabdi... I have no idea how people can have such deep fried and oily stuff for breakfast.. We ended up having brunch that day.