This was the third holiday we took this year. I don’t remember a year where I had taken so many trips to places I wanted to see. It was thanks to my wife Preeti and my parents who suggested the idea. Our earlier trips were to Arakku valley near Vizag and Allapey in Kerala. However for the distance and the no of days (7 nights) we spent this was the longest trip of the year.
Shimla!! I still remember the days when we I was young, my parents used to talk about snow fall in India and they wished we can go to Shimla someday. It took almost 25 years to realize this dream of seeing Shimla for us.
We took a flight from Hyderabad to Delhi and my parents joined us directly at Delhi from Chennai. My dad unfortunately had a viral infection on one of his eyes. Most of the trip he wore sunglasses and applied drops. It was also the first time we took a trip as a family after 20 months of our marriage.
Delhi
We were received at the Airport and checked into a hotel at Greater Kailash a locality where my father’s chairman lives. Preeti and I decided to venture out into the market of Greater Kailash where supposedly bomb blasts happened few months back. It was amazing to see the shops and shoppers frolicking in the national capital. Preeti was delighted to see so many shops and clothes. Shopping is always a woman’s delightJ. She loves small shops and bargaining with all the shopwallas. She finally managed to buy a brown woolen scarf and Hat that looked very good on her. We must have spent a few hours before returning to our rooms. We got ready to visit Navin uncle’s house with whom my dad has worked for almost 30 years now. Their family was extremely hospitable to us and we ended up having a very heavy dinner. Preeti also got pocket money (She can shop more!!!) from them after getting the blessings of elders in the family.
We went to the Delhi airport next day morning for our flight to Shimla. We were in for a rude shock. Our flight to Shimla was cancelled and all other flights going to Chandigarh were full. The kingfisher airlines staff told there was a technical snag in the flight and they had informed our travel agent of the cancellation. There was inconsistency though on the real reason why it got cancelled. Perhaps they cancelled it for lack of passengers. We ended up taking a cab from Delhi to Chail a small hill station near Shimla. It was an 8 hour drive on cab and we struggled to locate our resort after we reached in Chail.
Chail
Tarika Jungal resort was on a hill top cut off from the rest of Chail. It was beautiful indeed and our room was a round glass room. We felt very cold at night because of the glass and moved to the wooden room where our parents stayed. It was a very enjoyable stay at Chail. Beautiful hills on all sides, a jogging trail and several other amenities for relaxation. Preeti is extremely religious about fitness activities and she made full of the gym and the jogging trail. She also motivated me to go walking with her in the mornings. The only worrying factor there was the no of monkeys in the resort. They were living in the wild ignoring the human encroachment on their territory. We also visited the highest cricket stadium in the world and a palace which is now converted into a hotel. After spending two days in Chail we headed to Shimla.
Shimla
I never realized Shimla was a highly commercialized capital of Himachal Pradesh. Busy roads, heavy traffic were common sights. We checked into Cecil Oberoi, a wonderful hotel with all the amenities required. We loved the ambience inside the hotel and the staffs were very courteous to us. We took it very easy in Shimla and went walking to places of interest close to the hotel. We visited the state museum which has historical collections and artifacts including Gandhi’s letters during the freedom struggle. We went to Viceroyal House which was the home to the officials in the government those days. In fact Shimla was the summer capital of India during the British period. It was a beautiful place surrounded by gardens. My dad and I have a keen interest in history and studying the eventful stories around the Viceroyal house. By the time we reached our hotels my parents were very tired from the uphill walk. We took a cab to visit few other places including temples and parks. The pick of the lot was Mall Road a commercial street in Shimla which has all leading brands. It was simply amazing to see the crowd and dazzling lights on the street. After the usual shopping of salwar, shawls and jackets we came back to the hotel totally exhausted.
Adventure at Kufri
The following day we took the cab to visit Kufri, the most visited tourist spot in Shimla. It took us almost an house to reach Kufri where was the first time in my life I saw snow in Indian soil. For my mom and Preeti it was the very first time they are seeing snow in their lives. It was very entertaining to see their excitement. We went to a Helipad location to see a beautiful view of surrounding hills. The cab driver told us this was the first snow fall of the year and we were very lucky to see it. We got back into the cab and drove to another place which has a horse ride to a hill top. We could see traces of snow throughout the journey. We negotiated with the horse trainers and took 4 white horses to start the ride to the hill top. My mom was very scared as it was her first time on a horse back. There were thousands of horses carrying tourists to and fro. Our horses were very skillful in negotiating the bumps, ups and downs of the hill. It was a little scary though close to the edges. At one point the horses stopped and started grazing on the grass !!!! We finally made it to the top and what a sight it was. It was breathtaking view of snow covered peaks and it started snowing vigorously the moment we reached there. Preeti, my mom and dad were enjoying the snow falling on us. We had some hot tea from a vendor and would have stayed there for 30 minutes before returning back to the base. The horse ride down the hill was even scarier than climbing up. It was fun filled adventure by the end of the ride. It will surely be remembered for a very long time.
The following day at Shimla was spent relaxing. Preeti and I visited mall road again to do more shopping since it was our last day at Shimla. The next day we started to Kalka by the ‘Himalayan Queen’ a toy train that was built over 100 years back. It was equally exciting because the train goes through 92 tunnels through the hills including the longest one almost a KM in length. We reached in 5 hours viewing the lovely valleys of the mountains. Reached Kalka station by evening where we took a cab to reach Chandigarh the most planned city of India.
Chandigarh
I have always heard a lot about Chandigarh being a planned city but after landing there I felt it was not just a planned city but had one with excellent infrastructure, gardens, roads and undoubtedly the best city to live in India. Every other road is a four lane with less of traffic signals. No area is named after politicians and its all called sectors with numbers. Each sector “area” has its own park which is well maintained. All major roads also have a service lane for pedestrians and cyclists. We visited 17th sector a huge market complex having several blocks of buildings built some 40 years ago. It had all the leading brands and had parking space for more than 5000 cars. It reminded me of some city in the west. We visited Rose Garden, Rock Garden and the lake the following day. Rock Garden in particular was too good. The entire garden was made out of re-cycled pots, used ceramics, bangles, cast iron etc. Preeti was in her elements as usual clicking as many photos as possible. It was almost the end of our holiday and we took a connecting flight to Delhi and then back to Hyderabad that night. My parents went to directly to Chennai from Delhi. After a flight cancellation scare we were re-scheduled to take another flight thankfully.
This trip will remain one of the best I have ever taken so far in my life. Not only were the places beautiful we were able to spend quality time with my parents. With global recession affecting all sectors I really don’t know when our trip will be. I hope it will be as eventful and enjoyable as this one. The most regrettable part of any holiday is the agony of going to work again :-)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Kerala Trip
June/July are wedding season in India. Preeti and I attended the thrid wedding in a month and second in Chennai. My cousins got married in June and this time it was Preeti's cousin Kathir who got married in July. Kathir's wife Binu is from Kerala and her family organized a reception in Angamally a small town close to Cochin. The 10 hour train journey from Chennai to Angamally was very comfortable. There were nearly 12 adults and 2 kids on the trip and it was very exciting to visit "God's own country - Kerala". Thats the way the Kerala state government promotes tourism in their state. I felt the term "God's own country" was going a little overboard in describing a place but all that changed after i came back from that trip. It is a beautiful place indeed, even if you are an atheist like me you will tend to agree with the slogan.
The reception was a simple and sweet ceremony. We relished the typical kerala cuisine and the warm hospitality extended to us. The first part of our sight seeing started at Athirapally waterfalls an hours drive from Cochin. The van driver gave us an adventurous start to the trip, was very scary on the roads. Soon we reached the falls and what a sight it was!! It seemed like a mini Niagra to me. The water was flowing down forcefully from over 80 feat above. The sound of water and the mist it created below was simply amazing. Binu's brother-in-law led me and two other british women (Binu's friends) to the bottom of the water falls. We walked through slippery rocks and mud to reach close to 50 feet from the water falls. Guess thats the closest we could get, we were getting drenched even at this distance. Preeti had a field day taking pictures every minute. Before leaving the falls we had tender coconut water. They are vey big and tasty in kerala.
We started back to the hotel from Athirapally dropping by at Binu's place for tea. Such a huge house, it seemed like a farm house to me in the midst of trees and plants. Binu's family were very hospitable to us and i couldnt help envying their lifestyle. Had a good sleep back at the hotel that night and we all started to the most anticipated part of the trip - Boat House @ Allepey.
I have arranged boat house trips to 4 of my friends in Kerala but have never experienced it myself.
It took us 2 to 3 hours to reach Allepey and saw our beautiful house boat. "Welcome to Allepey - The Venice of the east", announced my Father-in-law in the van as we neared the town. There were hundreds of house boats docked there waiting for people. We climbed into a 2 bedroom boat, it had a big drawing room with dining table and TV. Each of the bedroom had AC and attached bathrooms. The boat also had a wonderful kitchen with stove. It was all exciting to be on the boat, the kids were even more excited. The boat started on a cruise for 3 hours on the back waters. We played cards, dumbsharads and other games all along the cruise. There were sign boards and boat stops on the banks of the river. Boats were ferrying people to their destinations. There were scenic beauties all through the river cruise, lush green and yellow paddy fields and coconut trees.
I have to mention about the delicious lunch, fresh fish and prawns along with few vegeterian dishes. Its a pity that i became a vegetarian unable to taste all the sea food served. Fish is considered non-vegeterian in India unlike in the west. The boat came to a halt by 6 in the evening. Boating is strictly not allowed after 6 because of fishing. Two other boats joined us in a while all parked close to each other on the banks. Preeti, her cousin sister Vanna Malar, her hubby Kannan and their kids Iyal and Kavin all had a dip in the water. Preeti's dad and younger uncle started swimming first followed by others. I am not a very good swimmer and weary of swimming in rivers but it was too tempting. I didnt want to be left behind and hence took the plunge. It felt really nice to swim in fresh water, my earlier experiences have only been in swimming pools.
After having a full course dinner we all sat together to chat. We were all throwing questions at Kathir and Binu asking them how they met and how it all started. They had a tough time answering our questions. Preeti's uncle the eldest in the family had a few words of wisdom to share with the newly weds. We were ready to hit the bed by then and went to our respective boats. Kannan's family and us were in one boat, left the senior citizens in the other two boats !!!
We slept really well that night, never imagined it would be this comfortable.
We woke up the next day and the boat started back to the destination. We bid farewell to the boat and started our drive back to Cochin. By afternoon we were getting ready to take our flight back to Hyderabad. We took a cab to the airport by late afternoon after saying goodbye to everyone. I was thinking this trip will be very memorable for a long time to come. It has been over 3 months now since we been to Kerala and its still staying very fresh in my memory. I told myself this will definitely not be my last trip to the God's own country.
The reception was a simple and sweet ceremony. We relished the typical kerala cuisine and the warm hospitality extended to us. The first part of our sight seeing started at Athirapally waterfalls an hours drive from Cochin. The van driver gave us an adventurous start to the trip, was very scary on the roads. Soon we reached the falls and what a sight it was!! It seemed like a mini Niagra to me. The water was flowing down forcefully from over 80 feat above. The sound of water and the mist it created below was simply amazing. Binu's brother-in-law led me and two other british women (Binu's friends) to the bottom of the water falls. We walked through slippery rocks and mud to reach close to 50 feet from the water falls. Guess thats the closest we could get, we were getting drenched even at this distance. Preeti had a field day taking pictures every minute. Before leaving the falls we had tender coconut water. They are vey big and tasty in kerala.
We started back to the hotel from Athirapally dropping by at Binu's place for tea. Such a huge house, it seemed like a farm house to me in the midst of trees and plants. Binu's family were very hospitable to us and i couldnt help envying their lifestyle. Had a good sleep back at the hotel that night and we all started to the most anticipated part of the trip - Boat House @ Allepey.
I have arranged boat house trips to 4 of my friends in Kerala but have never experienced it myself.
It took us 2 to 3 hours to reach Allepey and saw our beautiful house boat. "Welcome to Allepey - The Venice of the east", announced my Father-in-law in the van as we neared the town. There were hundreds of house boats docked there waiting for people. We climbed into a 2 bedroom boat, it had a big drawing room with dining table and TV. Each of the bedroom had AC and attached bathrooms. The boat also had a wonderful kitchen with stove. It was all exciting to be on the boat, the kids were even more excited. The boat started on a cruise for 3 hours on the back waters. We played cards, dumbsharads and other games all along the cruise. There were sign boards and boat stops on the banks of the river. Boats were ferrying people to their destinations. There were scenic beauties all through the river cruise, lush green and yellow paddy fields and coconut trees.
I have to mention about the delicious lunch, fresh fish and prawns along with few vegeterian dishes. Its a pity that i became a vegetarian unable to taste all the sea food served. Fish is considered non-vegeterian in India unlike in the west. The boat came to a halt by 6 in the evening. Boating is strictly not allowed after 6 because of fishing. Two other boats joined us in a while all parked close to each other on the banks. Preeti, her cousin sister Vanna Malar, her hubby Kannan and their kids Iyal and Kavin all had a dip in the water. Preeti's dad and younger uncle started swimming first followed by others. I am not a very good swimmer and weary of swimming in rivers but it was too tempting. I didnt want to be left behind and hence took the plunge. It felt really nice to swim in fresh water, my earlier experiences have only been in swimming pools.
After having a full course dinner we all sat together to chat. We were all throwing questions at Kathir and Binu asking them how they met and how it all started. They had a tough time answering our questions. Preeti's uncle the eldest in the family had a few words of wisdom to share with the newly weds. We were ready to hit the bed by then and went to our respective boats. Kannan's family and us were in one boat, left the senior citizens in the other two boats !!!
We slept really well that night, never imagined it would be this comfortable.
We woke up the next day and the boat started back to the destination. We bid farewell to the boat and started our drive back to Cochin. By afternoon we were getting ready to take our flight back to Hyderabad. We took a cab to the airport by late afternoon after saying goodbye to everyone. I was thinking this trip will be very memorable for a long time to come. It has been over 3 months now since we been to Kerala and its still staying very fresh in my memory. I told myself this will definitely not be my last trip to the God's own country.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Arakku Valley
This was the very first holiday we took after our honeymoon. We have been visiting our parents in Chennai and Bangalore but never had a proper holiday. What better way to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary than a short trip to AP's only tourist destination.
Arakku valley is 3-4 hours drive from Vizag the second largest city of AP. We took a 10 hour train journey from Hyderabad and reached Vizag. Our parents, aunts, uncles called us that morning to wish us on our anniversary. My old college friend Loknath received us at the station, it was nice to see him after 7 or 8 years. He took us to his place before booking us a cab to Arakku Valley. The best of Arakku trip is through train from Vizag which goes through 40 tunnels on the hill. Unfortunately we were too late to take the train and had to settle for a rough cab drive. There were too many hair pin bends and a bumpy ride before we reached the scenic hilly station. Preeti was busy clicking away throughout the 4 hour drive (half of them had to be deleted later :-) Preeti can be pretty possesive about her camera)
The valley is also prone to Naxalite attacks and hence lot of cops at the station and on the hills.
We checked into the AP tourism hotel which was a pretty decent place to stay. After getting ready we decided to see the water falls which was a very wise decision afterall.
I always loved waterfalls however small they were. The sight and sound of water flowing lights up my heart. I took some good pictures of Preeti who has a very photogenic face unlike me :-)
Both our phones did not have signal from the valley, which was a blessing in disguise. The only way of communicating would be to use the public telephones. We also visited a nice park that evening and had a romantic walk. We returned to the hotel that night and hit the bed totally exhausted.
Arakku Valley is a protected tribal area where the Govt had curbed commerical activities. It was definitely refreshing after the hectic city life we were living. We got up early and got ready to visit a tribal handicraft museum. We had also checked out from the hotel by then.
We went to straight Borra caves a hour's drive from which was another tourist spot to visit.
I didnt realize there were more people there than in Arakku Valley. It is an ancient stalactite and stalagmite formations inside the cave.
We found it pretty exciting to walk through the dark cave. We could smell of bats all over the cave. Lot of friendly monkeys as well... you got to be careful with your belongings when you are with monkeys..
The local jeep drivers there suggested a short drive to a waterfall close by. Preeti was not too keen but i was too tempted and didnt want to miss a watefall. We decided to go after bargaining a deal with the jeep driver. It was a even more bumpy ride on rocks and mud. After reaching the site, we were told the jeep will not go any further. We had to walk about 30 mins uphill to reach the main falls. Preeti was in no mood to walk in the hot sun. We decided to retreat back to the base destination and take our cab to Vizag.
It was evening when we reached Vizag and our friend was there to meet us again. He took us to a mall and then to submarine musuem on the beach. It was our first experience of a submarine and was pretty interesting to explore it. We were getting late for our train and decided to start. Loknath was kind to see us off at the Vizag station.
It was a rather unusual first holiday after our honeymoon. It was short and sweet. We reached hyderabad after a peaceful train journey. We had the entire sunday to ourselves recovering from the journey.
Arakku valley is 3-4 hours drive from Vizag the second largest city of AP. We took a 10 hour train journey from Hyderabad and reached Vizag. Our parents, aunts, uncles called us that morning to wish us on our anniversary. My old college friend Loknath received us at the station, it was nice to see him after 7 or 8 years. He took us to his place before booking us a cab to Arakku Valley. The best of Arakku trip is through train from Vizag which goes through 40 tunnels on the hill. Unfortunately we were too late to take the train and had to settle for a rough cab drive. There were too many hair pin bends and a bumpy ride before we reached the scenic hilly station. Preeti was busy clicking away throughout the 4 hour drive (half of them had to be deleted later :-) Preeti can be pretty possesive about her camera)
The valley is also prone to Naxalite attacks and hence lot of cops at the station and on the hills.
We checked into the AP tourism hotel which was a pretty decent place to stay. After getting ready we decided to see the water falls which was a very wise decision afterall.
I always loved waterfalls however small they were. The sight and sound of water flowing lights up my heart. I took some good pictures of Preeti who has a very photogenic face unlike me :-)
Both our phones did not have signal from the valley, which was a blessing in disguise. The only way of communicating would be to use the public telephones. We also visited a nice park that evening and had a romantic walk. We returned to the hotel that night and hit the bed totally exhausted.
Arakku Valley is a protected tribal area where the Govt had curbed commerical activities. It was definitely refreshing after the hectic city life we were living. We got up early and got ready to visit a tribal handicraft museum. We had also checked out from the hotel by then.
We went to straight Borra caves a hour's drive from which was another tourist spot to visit.
I didnt realize there were more people there than in Arakku Valley. It is an ancient stalactite and stalagmite formations inside the cave.
We found it pretty exciting to walk through the dark cave. We could smell of bats all over the cave. Lot of friendly monkeys as well... you got to be careful with your belongings when you are with monkeys..
The local jeep drivers there suggested a short drive to a waterfall close by. Preeti was not too keen but i was too tempted and didnt want to miss a watefall. We decided to go after bargaining a deal with the jeep driver. It was a even more bumpy ride on rocks and mud. After reaching the site, we were told the jeep will not go any further. We had to walk about 30 mins uphill to reach the main falls. Preeti was in no mood to walk in the hot sun. We decided to retreat back to the base destination and take our cab to Vizag.
It was evening when we reached Vizag and our friend was there to meet us again. He took us to a mall and then to submarine musuem on the beach. It was our first experience of a submarine and was pretty interesting to explore it. We were getting late for our train and decided to start. Loknath was kind to see us off at the Vizag station.
It was a rather unusual first holiday after our honeymoon. It was short and sweet. We reached hyderabad after a peaceful train journey. We had the entire sunday to ourselves recovering from the journey.
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