Rover - Magazine

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C Y N O S U R E
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FEATURE
Explore
Himalaya
AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
WITH
Seema Ranjith
2 DAY TRAVELOGUE
Mysuru - Ooty
COVER STORY
A solo ride to
A CROATIAN JOURNEY
Discovering Croatia
Ladakh

“Just for this once,
night seems more alive than the day”
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Editorial
TEAM
There are places in this world that make your heart weep. The places you have
always wanted to go, the places you have never been to but feel a strong connection
when you are there and places you have been to countless times but still
gives you the feeling of the first visit every time.
When our travel team was to Meeshapulimala (An iconic tourist destination in Kerala)
a few months ago we found so many people dumping waste in the tourist place.
The people have no idea that our future generations also have equal rights to enjoy
this beauty as much as we do. What would we feel if we go to someplace where we
have always wanted to go to, just to tolerate the filthy smell near your homestay and
to see the heap of plastic waste beside the viewpoint you wanted to take a pic from?
The concept of ecotourism is yet to be taught to many of us. The government has
foreseen this and made strict rules in many tourist places. But still, there are some
places which do not have any such restrictions.
However, as long as we, travellers ourselves do not take a stand against this and
make our fellow travellers aware this situation won’t change for sure. Even though
how many actions and rules were implemented by our government
So let our motto be to give back what we got to nature. To enjoy our mother nature
ourselves and let others too
Harigobind Pachat
Indrajith K Manoj
Abhishek A
ENJOY RESPONSIBLY
Jishnu Biji
DISCLAIMER
All the photographs and designs used
in this magazine are completly owned
by the contributors and the team
members.
None of these are taken from internet
or any other third-party sources
Aniket Singh
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CONTENTS
42
THE LESSER KNOWN
ISLAND
46
MUMBAI ARTS
08
THE WORLD IN 360°
10
THE JOURNEY OF A
LIFETIME
48
THE LAND OF
MERLION
20
INTERVIEW WITH
SEEMA RENJITH
56
TRAVEL TIPS
26
EXPLORE HIMALAYA
58
DISCOVERING
CROATIA
34
IN THE HEART OF
NATURE
62
2 DAY TRAVELOGUE
38
THE NEVER ENDING
GREEN VIEW
72
THE HERITAGE CITY
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THE WORLD IN
360°
Gopro fusion
is the best
360-degree
camera. Fusion
has 2 lenses one
on the front
and the other
one on the
back. It’s
like having
multiple
cameras
shooting
in all
different
directions.
We are
able to get
beautiful
5.2k footage.
We are able to
capture thing in
impossible angles.
Its waterproof,
mountable, it has
voice control, it works
with GoPro app
How does it work?
The magic behind fusion
is turning multiple images
into a single spherical image.
The stabilization feature is
amazing its got gimble like
stabilization but its inbuilt
in camera. We are capturing
everything at once and pick
and
choose
different angles
which we want. With
fusion, we can achieve the
stunning visual effect, little
planet, pano flow, and time
shift.
The best thing is that the
stick which we get along with
it. We can use it has a monopod,
tripod, and selfie stick.
Various modes available
are time-lapse,
video,
photo.
It
has 18
megapixels
using two
CMOS sensors, one on
each side.
The colors are pretty good at
it but sometimes it does overexpose
and in some areas,
it will be very bright. It can
shoot well in low light condition
because I have gone
around and experimented on
it. The images are very sharp
and it handles strong light
sources very well We can
connect this GoPro to the
phone which is so helpful so
that we can frame it before
capturing and we are able to
control all the modes from
it. The fusion doesn’t have
self-timer
If we are capturing the
whole 360 views will be
covered in one stretch
and later we can fix
it and decide which
area should be
projected. That’s
a nice concept
when compared
to other 360
cameras. We can
shoot on raw files
also. I love the
burst mode because
we are able
to capture 30 photos
in 1 second. The
photos look very incredibly
sharp but not
like DSLR but it is getting
close. and it has the best
dynamic range We. Will get
a good exposure picture with
beautiful crystal clear colors.
The photos and videos look
like very realistic
We can find an option called
protune it acts as a manual
mode and because of the inbuild
stabilization, the outputs
looks insane. So when
we are working with difficult
lighting situations this will
help us. The recorded footages,
as well as the photos,
can be edited with the help of
GoPro studio. we can do the
color correction.
It is mainly good for sports
and adventure because it has
excellent stabilization. So
when we move around with
a camera in any directions
we are able to capture it in an
excellent way.
We are able to do excellent
time-lapses in it it can be can
photo time-lapse with 1000
of photos or we can do video
time-lapse where it combines
all of them together in one
shorter video file
It is waterproof up to around
15 feet. The problem which I
faced when I experimented
in water is about the visibility
because when the water hits
the lens it causes refraction
so the stitching looks very
worse.
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A JOURNEY OF A
LIFETIME
“A dream doesn’t become a reality through magic, It
takes sweat, determination and hard work
Neeraj Krishna sets
out on a journey from
Kannur district in
Kerala to Khardungla
in Kashmir on his
Bajaj Avenger, An
Odyssey of exploring
unknown places and
self-discovery, travelling
distances through
highways, byways
and trackless tracts of
incredible India.
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Ladakh, the dream
destination of
each and every
biker in India.
It has always beckoned
the spirit of a true biker,
amateur as well as experienced
kinds. The magical
Mountain vibes or whatever
it might be the reason,
Ladakh is visited by
Thousands of adventure
seekers around the globe.
The Dream Called,
I Answered
The dream of Ladakh
haunted me for so long.
The beautiful mountains
and hairpin bends of Leh,
literally made me lose my
sleep for months.
It all started in 2016 June
when I bought the mighty
Bajaj Avenger Street 220.
Unlike others, I got into
my passion only after I
bought the bike. Slowly
I got addicted to the divine
bliss of riding and
started to set out for long
journeys. Before accomplishing
the Ladakh
trip, I have completed so
many rides throughout
South India. I have also
travelled solo to Mumbai
twice and to Goa once.
The first Mumbai ride
was just after six months I
bought the bike.
As I progressed from one
adventure trip to another,
I gained the confidence
to go on my dream solo
journey to the top of
Khardung La. The dream
was obviously a herculean
task. Despite so many obstacles
and discouraging
from the people around
me, I didn’t see giving up
as an option. The main
problem for the trip was
money obviously. In the
determination to make
the dream come true, I
spent four months working
manual labor and
daily wage jobs to make
money for the trip. My
parents and cousin sister
also contributed for the
trip Seeing my hard work.
Inspired from one of my
friends who covered Kerala
to Khardungla under
a 25000 Rs budget, I took
the challenge to complete
my dream ride under a
budget of 25000 Rs
Dream Into Reality
I Started out on my
dream journey to every
biker’s heaven, the Ladakh,
on July 10th, 2018
from Kannur, Kerala. It
was finally the start of
a journey which some
people could only dream
about. The solo trip was
once in a lifetime experience
for sure. The route
map and schedule were
all pre-planned much
before starting the ride. I
had the best time of my
life so far with my Avenger
on that trip. Even
though I can say that I
had an incredible ride
with not much horrible
events, some unpleasant
incidents happened along
the way due to the hurry
to cover as much distance
as possible in a day and
trying to reach far-flung
destinations
When riding through
Ahmedabad, My bag
went missing. I didn’t
notice the bag falling
down from my luggage
as I was riding at high
speeds. The missing bag
had my DSLR camera,
my driving license and
some other valuables
in it. One truck driver
found my bag and
tried to get away with
it. Fortunately for me,
An Auto driver saw this,
chased the truck and
took the bag. He later
called me on my number
which was on the
bag and gave it back.
Another instance where
I really got to know the
love from strangers is
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when I was near Khardungla,
The tire got punctured
and there was no
way to repair it. A stranger
saw my helpless situation
and offered help. We
took the bike on the back
of his pick-up truck to
his camp in Nubra Valley
and got it repaired. I fell
sick so badly due to Acute
Mountain Sickness and
He made me stay with
him until when I was able
to continue my journey.
That kind man didn’t
even tell me his
name and when
I got better
the next
day,
I couldn’t find him anywhere
and I left without
getting a chance to say
thanks as I had to continue
my ride as per schedule.
During the ride, I met
with a minor accident
in Mumbai. It could
be fatal as I was
not using
safety
gears
due to my tight budget.
When I reached
Ahmedabad,
another
stranger
I met,
scolded me
for not using safe
ty gears and
lent me
his own
jacket
and safety
pads and told I
could send it back to
him when I complete
the ride. The low budget
ride was made a reality
with planning well ahead
on every little thing. The
expenditure on food was
reduced to a minimum
as I was relying on Chocolates
and Glucose powder
mostly when I got
hungry. I had food from
restaurants only once or
twice in a day as the food
was very expensive in
almost every places
while
travelling
through
highways.
The feel of
reaching the
dream
destination
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is
something
I couldn’t put into
words. I felt immense
joy and was on cloud
nine for sure. I took
So many photos and
videos standing near
the Milestone in
Khardungla top, the
highest motorable
road in the world.
That feeling of being
on top of the world
with your bike is
something which I
had always dreamed
of. I felt content making
the dream come
true. It was not at all
easy, in fact, it was
much harder than I
thought. This couldn’t
be made possible if it
was not for some people
who stood with
me from day one and
along the way also.
The Do’s And Don’ts
I completed this
extreme adventure-packed
ride
successfully under a
budget of 30000 Rs.
Many people doubted
if I could even reach
Ladakh with just
30000 Rs. The plan
was to complete the
ride under a budget of
25000 Rs but had to
compromise and had
to increase the budget
as the mileage of my
bike fell short as I was
riding at high speeds.
I suggest one should
maintain a moderate
speed to keep up the
mileage and avoid
over speeding to
make the rides pocket-friendly.
I spent
around 18000 Rs only
for petrol during this
L
A
D
A
K
ride.
Another key tip is
that one should have
a proper idea about
the route you’re travelling.
I ended up being
stuck in a remote
colony in Haryana
by relying too much
on the google maps
for directions. It took
me some time to get
back to the highway
by asking directions
from the localites.
Usually, there will be
sign boards all along
the way and we can
rely on them.
The importance of
using safety gears
while riding is something
we all know.
Nobody should
have to remember
you that. But, if the
budget is too low
and there’s no way
to spend money on
them, it should not
stop you from riding.
There are so many
people who don’t let
money stop them
from riding. Even
though many people
ride without using
safety gears, it is a
must to use proper
and good quality safety
gears ultimately.
While riding, yours
and the bike’s safety
must be the top priority
ever. You should
park your bike only
where you are completely
sure it’s safe.
While riding through
Delhi, I stayed with
an Army officer at his
place. Even he wasn’t
sure that the bike
won’t be stolen by the
next morning. Always
keep a face wash
handy to wash off
the sleepiness during
H
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the ride. If you still feel
sleepy, no problem in
taking a little break and
sleeping for some time.
The necessary items to
keep with you include an
extra set of clutch and accelerator
cables, extra engine
oil, puncture kit and
first aid kit, power bank,
plastic covers, torchlight,
etc. Not to mention the
medicine for AMS. The
key for a successful ride
is knowing to take care of
yourself and the bike by
knowing all the necessary
repair works.
The night stays during
the ride was arranged in
friends’ and other riders’
places throughout the
ride. This helped so much
in reducing expenses
on stays. When booking
hotels online, I used
the Goibibo app which
helped me get nice hotel
rooms at very cheap rates.
The content heart and
soul
I headed back home with
a happy face and even
happier at heart. The ride
was completely worth it.
Thirty days of extreme
riding through different
terrains of our incredible
India. Different cultures,
different foods, different
lifestyles, all made me
realize how simple our
lives are. The only things
that will remain with us
are the experience we
had. How lucky I was to
experience all of these.
When I reached home,
the home was still the
same, the people I love,
everything was waiting
for me. It was me who
changed, The travelling
always made me
speechless and never
failed to make me see
things better each and
every time.
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19

Interview with
THE QUEEN
OF
TARMAC
The love for riding should have no
gender. Yet, our society still haven’t
learned to accept the woman
who ride even in this 21st century. The
stereotype that bikes are only for men
is still strong in the minds of people.
Seema Ranjith, a small town girl from
Pathanamthitta, Kerala is proudly breaking
this stereotype on her Bajaj Avenger,
riding throughout our India and collecting
experiences. It would not be possible
if it was not for her father who supported the
crazy life his daughter is going to embark. He
supported his daughter despite the criticizing
from family and friends, for all her ridesand
never stopped her from following her passion
just because the mindset of others. Seema
Ranjith has completed so many rides throughout
India, short and long, covering many destinations,
that too solo.
Let’s ask the lady herself about her glorious life
behind the handlebar.
“The wrong roads always takes you
beautiful destination
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Q) How did you get
into riding
A) I don’t remem
ber that, from Child
hood bikes fascinat
ed me. When I grew
up I learned Bajaj
Chetak and then
moved to bikes with
gears. Yamaha RX
100 was the first bike
I rode.
Q) First riding experience
Q) What or who
inspired you to
ride
A) My father taught
me Bajaj Chetak.
Who inspired...? I
guess none. I al
ways wanted to
ride and that was
my inspiration
A) Still, I feel all my rides as my first rides. It’s
been a long time since I have been riding.
And still, the roads thrills me
Q) Crazy things you have done
during driving
A) I am not a dangerous rider
that way. I don’t do any stunts
on roads, I believe it would
be the most irresponsible
thing to do on roads. So no
craziness on roads. Riding
itself thrills me.
Q) Current bike and why did you
choose that
A) Now I ride Bajaj avenger street
220. The basic reason to select
the bike is, it perfectly matches
my height and it is made in
India
Q) Most memorable moment in riding
A) All the rides have been memorable for me. In the city the experience
was not so good. People still stare at me as if I am some alien. But when
I ride in villages the experiences were awesome. Women look at you
with admiration and respect. I had very good experience with men too
in villages. Recently on a trip to gandikota, a woman invited my friend
and me to her house, as if we were some superstars. On highways when
ever I stop for a break I get a lot of request for selfies. I guess that’s my
autograph
Q) How many rides so
far
A) I don’t remember
the number of
rides. It’s just going
on. All the time, I
feel the roads are
calling me
Q) What’s next
Q) Your words to the bidding riders
A) Next planning to
ride to Ajanta Ellora
caves. The date
is yet to be finalized.
Before that there are
small trips for sure.
A) I would say just love your bike, it will love
you too. And ride by the rules of the road,
you will be safe. Be safe and enjoy your life
and riding. Life is beautiful.
Q) How was the Support
from family
A) My mother is my big
gest fan I should say.
She has been a big support
always. My husband
is always there
for me to achieve all
my dreams. And my
son calls me a supermom.
Yes, my family
is all supportive and
there with me in this.
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What remains in the midnight with you,
remains with you forever
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THE MIGHTY
KHEERGANGA
“ Himalayas – the land of peace and serenity ”
It all started off as a dream,
snow-covered peaks, cold
weather, green mountains,
just by seeing the photos and
videos I was mesmerized by
the beauty of the Himalayas.
I was eager to go to the Himalayas
from childhood but
could not get the right set
of people to go with. Until
recently I ganged up with my
friends and planned the most
amazing trip of my life.
We planned to go to the
hippie villages in
the
Himalayas, It was a trek from
one village to another and
the endpoint was the beautiful
Kheerganga. Kheerganga
which is said to be the abode
of Lord Shiva for more than
3000 years. It is quite famous
for its natural hot springs,
we were really excited to go
there.
We started off our
journey from Mysore heading
towards Bangalore International
airport, our flight
was early in the morning, we
booked our flight tickets
through making my trip.
We got the best
deals here.
We
reached the airport and our
first stop was Chandigarh.
The flight was pretty amazing
with a beautiful sunrise,
though we were quite sleepy
we just couldn’t miss that
sunrise. After reaching Chandigarh
airport it was quite
small and silent compared to
other major airports. After
coming out we booked an
uber to the bus stand, Chandigarh
is quite amazing as it
is one of the first planned cities
in the country. It is neat,
cleaned and organized. After
reaching the bus stand we
went straight to have breakfast.
We had a proper Punjabi
breakfast. The Aloo Paratha
and lassi were
just mind-blowing.
After finishing
our break
fast
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he headed out and started to
speak to some travel agents
to get Royal Enfield bikes but
for our fate the Weather was
not good and the company
policy was that they would
not give the bikes if the
weather was bad, But we got
a car booked to go directly
from Chandigarh to Tosh.
We started our journey
from Chandigarh and headed
towards Himachal
Pradesh, The road is
really nice and the people
are really friendly. Our
driver Bedi Ji was a quite chill
and friendly person playing
Punjabi songs on the road.
Once you reach the border
of Himachal and Punjab it is
like going to another country
where Punjab is full of
plains, Agricultural fields
whereas Himachal is full of
mountains and hills from the
border itself. As soon as you
enter Himachal, you start
to get the breeze, the view is
like never-ending mountains.
The total travel time from
Chandigarh to Tosh is 13
hrs so it was a long journey.
We stopped few times just to
enjoy the view .it was almost
evening we stopped for lunch
and had hot cup of tea with
it, it was starting to get cold
we again started, after driving
for some time we started to
get many rivers on the way,
I tell u I haven’t seen rivers
so clear and blue ever you
can just see the rocks below,
as it was evening we entered
a tunnel it was almost 2km
long, when we got out of the
tunnel we felt like we entered
a refrigerator, the temperature
suddenly dropped,
we were going higher and
higher, after sometime we
stopped for dinner somewhere
150kms before tosh.
Now it was our final stretch
to tosh, as it was almost 8:30
we could see stars which were
really clear, but the stars were
matching up with the lights
on the mountains, the view
was like endless mountains
on the sky. We reached hunter
or Kullu airport it’s almost
60km from here, there are
two diversions from here
the left one will take you to
Manali and right goes towards
the hippie villages. It
was almost 1:30 in the night
when we reached tosh, I tell
you I have never
felt this cold in
my life, when we
reached tosh we
passed many famous
places like
kasol and manikaran
but the road
to tosh is until
some extent only
you have to trek
1.5km to reach
tosh, we asked our
driver whether
we will get stay at
this time he told to
go to pinky didis
you’ll get everything,
when we
got down each of
us were wearing
more than 3 layers
of clothes, I had
forgotten to wear
shoes at that point,
when I stepped out
of the car it was
an electric shock
for my feet, you
could see snow
packs around you,
we went to tosh
and asked about pinky didis
they told it is the last place
on the village, we went and
got rooms for ourselves and
quickly got under the warm
blankets, the next day when
I woke up it was 4 degrees
and damn cold I just couldn’t
keep my feet on the ground I
wore 2 socks and slipper then
I was able to keep my feet
down, when coming out
of the room it was my
life’s best morning till date
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I could see snow peaks all
around me it was just magical,
at 2400 feet tosh village is
the last accessible village on
the parvati valley, it is surrounded
by mountains from
all the sides, tosh has the
most splendid views whether
it is snow-clad peaks, waterfalls
or green hills tosh has
it all, we never knew that we
were in a hostel with café attached
, the café is called 360
café tosh, it is the best placed
café in tosh with a breathtaking
view and balcony. We had
our breakfast there, I tell you
Maggie and coffee never felt
that good in
my life, just taking one
bite of the hot Maggie is
completely out of the
world, after finishing our
breakfast we planned to go
to kalga which is our first
stop on the trek to kheerganga,
first we have to trek
down from tosh and reach
barsahini dam, we started
our trek we could see many
hippies and foreigners in tosh
all smiling and happy, just
when getting down we get
the view barshaini dam, I say
the water was more blue than
the sky and some of the top
layer was frozen, it has the
most magnificent view, after
getting down you have to buy
trekking sticks, these sticks
are very important on the
trek, so we started our climb
to kalga, you have to take all
your luggage up until kalga
and trek till kalga is like hell,
its full steep and up this is the
most difficult part of the trek
carrying all the luggage, once
you reach kalga it is a very
small village with very few
people, almost covered with
apple trees, we had booked
our place in kalga through
internet, it was lost and found
café, we reached that place
it is almost on the edge of
the village, the owners name
was ani, he had shifted from
Kerala and settled down here,
when we reached we were
greeted with some refreshing
lemon juice, se we had
to keep our luggage and take
only what was most necessary
on the trek, this hostel
was very lively, foreigners
also work here, after keeping
our most of the stuff here we
started our trek, kheerganga
is almost 13 km from here it
was almost 11, we started, oh
the vibe you get when you
are trekking up the mountain
with full freedom and no one
to stop you is ecstatic and
some of the most important
thing on this trek is good
shoes, rain coat, trekking
sticks, water and a good portable,
you need good music
on the trek, at the start you’ll
feel that the trek is easy but
as you go more higher it gets
difficult and more dangerous,
you have to be
really careful
on the trek as
you will cross
some really
dangerous
paths, one
place there is a
steep fall and
you have to
cross a waterfall
only with
the support
of an old torn tree trunk,
you see many local people
on the trek , going up, coming
down, the trek gives you
in-explainable happiness after
some 1.5km you get a café,
do get energy drinks they will
help a lot on the trek, it was
almost 1:30pm we had just
covered 1.5km till here, after
resting here for a while we
picked up our pace and started
to climb, you would not
believe that the trek from this
point is more difficult as the
route gets slippery because
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of the melting ice, the trekking
sticks help a lot in these cases,
climbing up you’ll
get many waterfalls where you
can refill your water, water
from these waterfall is so pure
co mpared to bottled water,
the trees here are just gigantic
it’s like you’re in a fortress
of trees, after reaching about
5km we started to get snow on
the ground it was not snowing
though, the view of the snow
covered landscapes is something
extraordinary, we did some snow
fighting on the trek, after 7km
we get a half point which is a waterfall,
we stopped to rest it was
almost 4:00, we still had to climb
almost 6km more, the people
were saying that it is better to go
back and not trek in the night
as it is quite dangerous, but we
were confident that we could do
it, the other side of the waterfall
was completely cover with snow,
the view was like your were in
Iceland, we started of climbing
the snow part of other side , now
everyone were starting to feel
chilly , it was getting really cold,
there were some parts were we
had to help each other to climb
as some parts were really steep,
we were just 3km away when
it was almost dark, we trekked
slowly from that point it was
dark we used flashlights from
this point, all the trekking trail
was covered by ice, all the snow
had converted to ice, it was even
more difficult. Somehow we
reached kheerganga at almost
6:30, it was almost sunset, but
when we entered kheerganga we
could here groups screaming,
partying , dancing around bonfires,
we rushed to our tents as it
was damn cold it was around 6
degrees just around the sunset ,
we saw a great view of the sunset
colors, we had some snacks
while trekking down so we were
full, we freshened up enjoyed
the sunset around kalga, it was
one of the coziest place ever,
we ordered pizza, the owner
ani bhais wife was German she
made us some amazing pizzas
and some chocolate pudding
we had a great time getting
to know the people they were
sharing their stories we were
sharing ours, it was almost 9 we
went to our room packed our
stuff it was our last night in kalga,
the next day we got up had
some pancakes for breakfast,
anis wife made some handicrafts
and souvenir like precious
stones, bracelets, handmade
bands and many things, we
got something for each of us
and said goodbye to kalga, we
trekked down to barshaini we
had booked a cab on the phone
day before, the cab guy dropped
us till manikaran from there we
got onto another cab and we
were on towards Chandigarh.
This trip was something else
to me, it changed my thinking
completely going to these great
mountains shows us that how
small we are in this huge world,
when you come back from trips
like these you’ll feel like your
reborn all your problems will
seem so small, I would just like
to tell that every person on this
planet must witness the purity
and greatness of the Himalayas.
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Coorg is an ecstatic place, a little town
in southern Karnataka cradled in the
IN THE HEART OF
western ghats. Coorg is renowned
for its lush green fields, coffee estates, rivers.
As a result, it just resembles a paradise. The
inhabitants of Coorg are called as Kodavas.
NATURE
Coorg’s climate is split into three seasons
Summer, Winter, and Monsoon. During
summer time in Coorg, the temperature
ranges between 20°C- 40°C. During the
months of April and May, the entire town of
Coorg is full with a pleasant aroma of coffee
blossoms. Hence a lot of tourists choose
Coorg as their summer destination. Coorg
receives a good amount of rainfall during
the rainy season. The rain, however, gives
the splendid greenery and a fresh look to the
place. In the rainy season, the rainfall leaves
the weather of Coorg humid, wet and cool.
Rainy season is also a holiday spot for tourists
because the beauty of seasonal waterfalls
of Coorg is best experienced during this season.
The term ranges between 23°C-29°C.
the winter in Coorg begins in December and
lasts till February. The term ranges between
11°C-28°C. The winter time in Coorg is
chilly but quite pleasant.
The perfect time to visit Coorg is in the
month of August as one can plan a stay in
mids of coffee estates and visit different waterfalls
and ones gets to experience the serenity
in the air and cool breeze all around.
It is the perfect time for Adventurous people
as this is the season in which river rafting is
in full swing.
Summertime also is the best time to plan for
a holiday as the tourist will get an opportunity
to see, feel and know the culture, festivals
and different customs followed in Coorg.
Madikeri Dasara is one of the popular
festive which is celebrated in the month of
October and a large amount of tourist will
take part in the festival and enjoy.
Coorg attracts a pretty good amount of
tourists all around the year. Best season to
visit Coorg will be from October to
May.
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“Dive deep into the urban jungle”
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THE
NEVER ENDING
GREEN VIEW
Karighatta is a beautiful
place which is
situated 30Km from
the Mysore outer ring. This
place is situated in between
the Mysore -Banglore road.
Reaching to this place is quite
easy that there is transportation
of bus available all the
way till top. The quick glance
look of karighatta at a far
from place is very beautiful
scene that all layers
of our mother nature can
be scene. The bottom part is
covered with stream of rushing
water which has a bridge
which connects to the middle
part of beautiful bended cuts
and turns of road with land
which looks like driving us to
the heavenly sky. The rushing
water at the bottom is
very beautiful and this water
hasn’t been dry in quite a few
years, there are spots where
people had made where we
can sit relax keeping our legs
into the water and it feels like
heaven. People often come
here to wash their bikes and
other vehicles. The road to
the top is just amazing that
on each and every turn we
can see some amazing beautiful
landscape. The scene at
one turn is full of landscape
filled with roads and coconut
trees whereas the opposite
turn has a landscape view
filled with mountains and
water streams. There are
around 9 turn and every turn
are quite wide enough which
makes the driver to take wide
turns and the number of accidents
to occur is less. There
is also a step way of reaching
to the top which is starting
from the very bottom. This
steps are just located outside
the road. At the top there is
a temple where most of the
people on this location visit
every morning or eve and
back to the temple there’s a
view point. The viewpoint
mainly has 3 spots. The first
spot is really amazing that
the view can take your breath
away. The view is filled with
vast view of horizon filled
with greenery, water streams,
far away hills, highway and
everything. This spot reaches
to the peak of beauty during
the golden hour time. Golden
hour is the time that is
just before the sunset. At this
time all the trees and greenery
will be backlighted by
the beautiful golden rays
from sun. This will illuminate
each and every point
and shows the extreme
beauty for it. The sky will
also be colourful and the
give a dashing sun rays.
There are big rocks which
we can sit at our own risk
but worth sitting there by
just putting out legs down to
the deep height. This can literally
take away all the stress
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“Travelling makes you to see the unseen, hear the unheard and
feel the beauty of it
that we are going through. If
out nature has a medicine of
curing the stress and problems
of a person that can be
just watching the goes down
sitting back at a rock relaxing
and enjoying this view of
karighatta. The other 2 spots
are also pretty amazing that
we get a view of landscape
view of vast horizon with the
beautiful greenery but what
makes the other one differ
from these is the beautiful
sun rays which is dashing at
the back. Standing at the view
point and listening to the
nature can make you hear all
the sounds of beautiful birds
like peacock and eagle. Peacocks
are everywhere at this
place that we can easily spot
on from there and most of
them are female peacocks.
This place is not much well
known among people that
this place is always less
crowded. Most of the people
who comes to this view point
and other part are the people
who are coming to the temple.
One problem with this
place is that there’s no dustbin
kept at any place that it
increases the human tendency
to throw the plastic bottles
or other garbage to this place.
Polluting place like is making
this place ruining its serenity
of calmness and purity. The
downside of the view point is
getting filled with the plastic
bottles. Since people always
have a tendency of throwing
away bottles, it’s very necessary
to keep a dustbin at
places like these. This is a
beautiful place with literally
all elements of nature. As
much we are enjoying it, it’s
out duty to preserve it like
that for the future generation
also. Let’s give this place to
the nature as it is.
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THE LESSER KNOWN
Lying in between the
confluence of Ashtamudi
Lake and the
Kallada River the beautiful
island of Mundrothuruthu
also known as the Munroe
island is heaven on the “God’s
own country”. It is rich with
flora and fauna and is also
an attraction for tourist from
around the world. Coir retting
process, coir weaving,
migratory bird watch, fishing,
prawns feeding, narrow canals,
lagoons, coconut farms
on the lake shore, mangrove
plants and the beautiful tiny
islands of Pathupara are the
main attraction of this beautiful
island. One day I decided
to see the sunrise from
this beautiful island. It was
a one fine morning and sky
was dripped with the orange
ISLAND
tint. Everything at there was
so calm and it felt like the
whole place was lifeless as if
it was waiting for the sun to
rise from the horizon so that
it could come back to life. All
I could hear was the beautiful
chirps of the birds. Nearby I
saw a boat resting on top of
the beautiful lake, as soon as
I saw that I had an urge to
travel on that. Near the boat,
problem with that and he
asked me to lye down to
the boat, with little amuse
I followed his order and
the bridge passes near me
and I terrified a lot. Then
the boat passes under
the bridge and continues
the journey this event
has been amused me a
lot. Then I happen to see
so many boats are doing
the same procedure there
so I realized that it is a
common thing here. The
boat happens to passes
through so many bridges
and I followed the order
of the fisherman. One of
the side I can see small
shops and roads that gives
a realistic experience of
the village. The green lush
and natures sound will
give us more relief and
very peaceful to the mind.
The boat travels through
the narrow water to bigger
water and I happened
to see the mangrove forest
it is more fascinating that
it adds more color to nature
and also it cheers my
mind. Then the boat drove
through the water and joins
the main lake as my boat
reached the destination I
could see the sunrise and
the sun rays are directly on
to my face I felt so refreshing
it was one of the best
days of my life. I saw the
real beauty by which nature
beholds.
After the sunrise fisherman
unpacked and start fishing
I helped him with his work.
And also I rowed his boat
and we talk so much and
he told one thing that this
Munroe island is slowly
sinking due to global warming
and so many families
have been left their birthplace
because of it.
a person was getting ready
for fishing.
I guessed that his boat
was his and I asked him
to get a ride on it, and
he agreed. Thus, my journey
starts from the Munroe
island to the lake.My boat
travel along narrow canals
beside me there was the
green lush of the island it was
magical. As the boat passes
I happen to see a bridge
coming to us I terrified and
ask the fishermen how to
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The journey is the destination
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ART AT IT’S
BEST
“If you want to understand
the core of a city,
learn their art
The streets leading up
to and surrounding
Fort transform. The
otherwise, formal business
district loses its sense of sobriety
and takes the shape of a
carnival-like atmosphere. The
lawyers in their white robes,
black coats, and poker faces
are outnumbered by those in
colorful attires.
Kala Ghoda festival is that
time of the year when Artists
from across the country
shed their corporate suits
and bring out their creative
sides. Emotions on canvass,
Indian handicraft, memoirs
and trinkets, all colorfully
scattered around Jahangir Art
Gallery is what Kala Ghoda
is about. When I attended the
Art Festival at Kala Ghoda.
down the spine. Another piece
of art which particularly stands
out in my memory was a piece
of work depicting corruption
in Indian Government Offices.
The set up was simple and yet
the message it cut across was
was the Art at Kala Ghoda and
such was its splendor. I overheard
few Mubaikars say that
“The Art is minimal and the
messages they carry don’t sting
the conscience like they once
did”. Probably true, I noticed
cialization has forced its way
into the narrow and quaint by
lanes of Fort and has reduced
religious person, but when
I spoke to him I discovered
he was an atheist and his
Every piece of artwork carried loud. The artist had placed a young students defiled the art
our once adored Art Festival paintings did not depict
a unique message. I especially wooden table upside down. On by climbing on it for the mere
to a crowded Flea market. mythology but the idea or
remember a piece of art which the surface of the table, hanging purpose of a selfie. The crowd
It also introduced me to message behind it! Blew
displayed imperceptibly, the inverted were files, documents near the ‘theory behind the
various art genres, various your mind didn’t it? Oh,
ill effects of smoking. It was and an upside-down portrait of art’ is sparse and the crowd ‘on’
logos of free charge than pieces
types of people and beautiful this is just one of the few I
an ashtray made in the shape Mahatma Gandhi. Under the the art is more. It is unsettling
of Art. Art has been pushed to
philosophies. I remember met that day. This! This is
of a blackened lung. This lung table, in an upright position to see the utter disregard we,
the sidelines and the festival
one particular painter called exactly what I’m carrying
was decaying and the bones were currency notes, electronic
gadgets, and gifts. What a work. However with this agen-
as a society, have for an artist’s
is dominated by food stalls
Harshavardan Kadam who with me along with a bunch
and blood surrounding it had
and shopping kiosks. Wasn’t it
had painted mythological of paintings. Kala Ghoda is
lost their lackluster. The splendid way to subtly put forth da the festival is stepping more
supposed to be an Arts festival?
characters with strong and surely flamboyant
artwork, while beautiful in what happens under the table towards advertising than to
The disease called commer-
vibrant colors, looking at than I thought.
depiction, sent a chill of Government offices. Such cherish real art. There are more
which I thought, Wow, He’s a
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THE LAND OF
MERLION
Trip itself is an exciting
word which can cherish
any pale soul. So
yes even I had been on a trip
on this holiday of mine. This
trip was a very special trip
for me as it was my first fly
to abroad as well as the first
experience in flight moreover
with the best people in my
life which made it even more
awesome. The early morning
I landed up in the ‘Lion city’
was a total bliss for me. The
Changi airport is known as
one of the best airports in the
world which surprised me
with a ‘wow’ factor as it has
amazing interior plans and
beautifications. As I stepped
out of the airport the cool
early morning breeze hit my
face I could think nothing
other than cherishing the
moment on my whole way
to the apartment. The day
passed, I wanted a one whole
day to come out of the jetlag!
Singapore is less a country
but more a city. The city is
very clean and disciplined in
all the way. I always assumed
that foreign means, a city full
of buildings and buildings.
But even after being such a
small country I was surprised
to see a balanced diversity
maintained there, which is
a great positive factor for
the country. I can overall
say it is a very well planned
city. They say Singapore is a
costly city, yes! I agree at the
same time there are places
to hang out with an average
budget too. Well then, there
began my journey to discover
the beautiful city. We started
from Singapore zoo and
then followed by the Universal
studio, Sea Aquarium,
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Madame Tussauds (wax museum), Sirosa
beach in Sentosa Island, Garden by the Bay,
Boat Quay, Biaggi Street, Merlion, and Marina
bay sands.
Here I will pen down my experience and
views of some of them I loved the most. As I
told my first place to visit was Singapore zoo.
It is an amazing place for all age group of
people from children to old ones to explore
and enjoy. The zoo over there is soo much
different from here of ours. They have converted
an existing natural habitat into a zoo
which gives a more natural feel of a green
diversity to the visitors. They have exiting
various activities that include Night Safari,
River Safari etc. One more exciting and
special feature of the Singapore zoo is, they
have open theatres which will have different
shows throughout the day at specific timings
such as Elephant show, tropical rainforest
(performed by all the animals and birds from
different parts of the world), Splash Safari
(show of a sea lion) which was a lit and that
became my favorite one of the day, and many
more. Singapore zoo also has a cold
forest recreated where the entire envi
ronment is turned into a real cold for-
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est with the same temperature maintained
inside along with all the birds and animals
left free un-caged. The animals are kept in
spacious, landscaped enclosures separated
from the visitors by dry and wet moats.
The zoo also offers various modes of rides
available within the premises: trams, animals,
boat, pony and horse carriage rides.
Strollers, wagons can also be rented. There
provide event venues for celebration on
various occasions such as birthday parties
weddings etc. There three such event venue
inside the zoo: Forest Lodge, Pavilion-
By-the-Lake and Garden Pavilion. There
are also cocktail venues named Elephants
of Asia, Tiger Trek, and Treetops Trail.
They have a big food court inside with all
variety of foods including Indian, Thai,
western Japanese, Chinese etc. Overall it’s
a great place to explore in Singapore. A
one whole day plan will work
out to the Singapore zoo.
Sentosa Island became my
favorite one! A day or two
is not at all enough to enjoy
the whole world of Sentosa.
This island is one of the
main attraction spots to the
tourists of Singapore who
just want to have all kind of
amusement and entertainment.
Within the island, we
can find universal studios
which itself need more than a
day to explore completely. So
my journey to this island began
with the cable car which
was an awesome kick start
to my day. The experience in
the cable car was just wow!!!
I was able to see the whole
city at a stretch above all the
forests, islands, buildings,
water land etc. the island has
the equal balance of greenery
and manmade stuff. The sea
aquarium there is one beautiful
place to check out. They
have a huge number of aquatic
animals showcased;
the specialty is they
have turned bought
all natural habitats as
it is into the aquarium.
The aquariums
are soo big that we
feel we are beneath
the ocean in the
midst of all the huge
aquatic species. It
was the first time I
saw the jellyfishes in
real that was the
most mesmerizing
ones for me in the
aquarium. They
were not one kind
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but different type within the jelly
species some plain white in color
and in the other tank completely
colorful ones. Looking into each
and every creature there, more
beautiful than one another made
me wonder about the God’s
creation in the world. How is it,
possible man!!!
The last day of mine in that
beautiful city was in ‘Marina
Bay’. I reached there around 4 in
the evening. That was the final
destination of the trip. Traveling
to Singapore and going
near ‘Merlion’? Impossible! Finally, I was
there beside Merlion, woh!!! It was a total
happiness for me when the water splashed
over me from the fountain of the Merlion
every time the wind blew hard. And yeah a
picture there was a must! Sun disappeared
moon lit up his way. Sharp 8pm, I was there
waiting for ‘SPECTRA’, a captivating light
and water show like no other. It was a magic
that appeared all of a sudden. As the story
unfolded before my eyes, I was immersed
in a beautiful symphony of music, water,
and light that was powered by lasers, fountain
jets, and visual projectors. That was a
mesmerizing moment made me feel that
nothing could have been a better way to
end my trip. It was completely a different
stunning world for me. At the end of the day
soon after spectra, took tickets to the Sky
Park which was on the 56th floor of marina
bay sands. As I reached up and came out of
the lift, I couldn’t believe my eyes …I could
view complete Singapore all at one stretch!
The entire place I had visited and explored
for all those days were visible to me altogether.
It was the best view. The whole city
lit up with lights cherished me to the fullest
with the cold breeze hitting me over again
and again. Uff! That was a perfect end to my
visit to the Lion City.
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Watching a sunset gives hope for a
better tomorrow
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TRAVEL
TIPS
Things to take care while travelling
Trip with your college besties
will always be part of bucket
list for most of them.so I got an
opportunity to give a tick on my
bucket list. My college besties
and I went on a trip to Kodagu
during our vacation. As one of
my friend’s hometown was Kodagu
we spent good time there
traveled around and explored
different places. Kodagu is famous
for its coffee, so we were
really keen to go to the coffee
farm. It was the rainy season.
Kodagu was at its best with lush
greenery.so we went into one
coffee farm and explored there.
We did not get to see any coffee
beans as we went there in an odd
season. By the time we came into
the Jeep after a long walk, we
saw some sort of creepy black
worm was stuck on our legs and
we were a little taken aback to
see the blood oozing out of our
skin. Later with the help of localities,
we got to know that those
black worms are leeches and the
best way to get rid of them is by
putting salt on them and eventually,
they will get off our skin. We
followed the instructions and our
legs were leech free! So always
carry salt or matchsticks when
you visit places like Kodagu and
protect yourself from leeches. Do
not pull them out because it will
cause serious damage to your
skin. Take precautionary measure
seriously.
Traveling with people you love
was always be an amazing
journey. One of the famous destinations
we went to Pune was
Shaniwar Wada. My cousins and
I are big fans of Baji Rao Mastani
movie so we were very excited to
go to this famous historic destination.
When we went there we
parked our vehicle in some roadside
as the parking was full in
the parking lot also we were very
excited to see the place so we
did not have the patience to give
The capital city of Andhra
Pradesh, Hyderabad is famous
for Hyderabadi biryani
apart from which it is also famous
for beautiful pearls. Since
I was aware of the fact I was very
excited to buy those pearls when
I had gone on a trip to Hyderabad.
Some of the localities guided
me that I will get best ones in
Laad Bazar at Charminar.
So I went there, probably it is
one the busiest place in Hyderabad.
I was fantastic by seeing so
many verities in so many shops.
so I visited most of the shops
to see all the verities. I got into
one shop where I decided to buy
the pearls. I opened my bag to
take money but my purse was
missing. Probably someone in
that ocean of people might have
picked it up. I was really disappointed
as I lost my purse and
also I could not buy those amazingly
attractive pearls. So whenever
we travel we should take
at most care of our belongings
especially when we go to busy
places like Laad Bazar.
a thought on the place where
we have parked. So we went in
and we were mesmerized by the
beautiful architecture of Shaniwar
Wada.After spending the
good time we headed back to our
car to our surprise our car’s tier
had a jammer. We were all scared
as to what to do and whom to inquire.
Later we saw traffic police
and asked him about the jammer,
he then told us that we have
parked the vehicle is no parking
area. For which we paid a huge
amount of fine and got those
jammers removed. So from our
next destination, we made sure
that we follow the traffic rules
correctly.
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DISCOVERING
CROATIA
An escape into the best of European tourism
The never-ending
thirst of mine for
travel has now got
me to the land of the world
famous TV series Game of
Thrones. Croatia is home to
magnificent coastlines, stunning
lakes, and wild jungles.
The country also leaves the
tourists wondering about its
fascinating history and the
unique culture. My trip to
Croatia was nothing less than
wonderful and left me with
a lot of memories. Touchdown
I travelled all the way
from Bangalore to Dubrovnik
airport on two connecting
flights. The 15-hour long
journey left me a little tired
but when I saw the exquisite
beauty of the urban jungle of
Dubrovnik, the tiredness was
long gone and I was ready to
start exploring the country.
I took a cab from the airport
to my hotel room which was
booked well in advance to
the trip and settled my baggage
and got fresh. The city
of Dubrovnik is so majestic
that it will leave you speechless
with its massive stone
walls encircling the city. Its
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well-preserved buildings range from
baroque St. Blaise church to Renaissance
Sponza Palace and Gothic Rector’s Palace,
now a history museum. The limestone
paved roads of Dubrovnik is lined with
beautiful shops and restaurants. Explore
begins Baroque Dubrovnik Cathedral,
which is at the heart of the city, displays
a polyptych (multi-panel painting) by
renowned Venetian artist Titian artist as
well as more than two hundred gold and
silver reliquaries from 11th- 18th centuries.
Exploring Dubrovnik would not be
complete without a visit to the beaches of
the city. Many of the beaches are pebbly,
with crystal clear water. The nightlife of
the city revolves around these beaches in
its beach-side clubs and late-night bars.
The cultural aspect of the city comprises
of Orchestra, modern art museum and
many art galleries. The Dubrovnik summer
festival adds to this with open-air
music, theater, and dance shows. What
makes this city unique is the walls surround
the city which was constructed
centuries ago. These are a series of defensive
stone walls and are constructed
during 14th and 15th centuries but they
were continually extended and strengthened
up to and including the 17th century.
The next stop was a town named Split,
which is the second largest city of Croatia
and the largest city of the region Dalmatia,
with about 200,000 people living in it.
Split lies on the eastern shore of the Adriatic
sea. The city is said to be one of the
centers of Croatian culture. The spot that
which excited me the most in this city was
the Cathedral of St. Domnius. It is a complex
of a church, formed from an imperial
Roman mausoleum, with a bell tower. The
church is dedicated to Virgin Mary and
the bell tower to St. Domnius. It is regarded
as the oldest Catholic cathedral in the
world that remains in use in its original
structure. The cathedral consists of many
Romanesque sculptures. The wooden
doors of the cathedral are the best example
for this. Two wings of the wooden
door contain 14 scenes from
the life of Jesus Christ. The
centuries-old building is no
less than a treat for a tourist’s
eyes. Another landmark that
caught my eye in Split is the
Diocletian’s Palace which
was built in the 4th century.
The structure resembles a
large fortress rather than a
palace. This is marked as one
of UNESCO world heritage
sites. I also visited the town
of Porec, which is on the
coast of the Istrian Peninsula
in western Croatia. The town
is known for housing the
Euphrasian Basilica complex
built in the 6th century. The
beautiful views in this town
draw visitors from all around
the world with its camping
areas, marinas, and beaches.
The Basilica was built in the
second half of the 4th century.
Because of its exceptional
value, the Basilica has been
inscribed on the UNESCO
world heritage list. I’ve had
this vague idea of exploring
Croatia for a long time, and
this trip far exceeded expectations.
I fell in love with
this country instantly. It was
the perfect combination of
glimmering water, rich history,
winding streets, beautiful
sunsets, and sweeping
landscapes. Croatia is the
true rising star of European
tourism. Croatia offers much
more than just sun and sea. It
gives you the experience of
a lifetime filled with culture,
nature, sports, scenic beauty
and much more. It is an
adventure that needs to be
discovered.
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It’s always nice to have a
friend who is interested
in traveling and I have a
friend who is not only just
interested but also addicted
to traveling. It was on 7th
September that we planned
to go on a trip to Ooty, as
none of the things we plan
would never go as it is. So
we planned on starting our
journey at 3am as we could
reach our destination as early
as possible. Even though
we thought we could get up
early, we ended up getting up
at 5am. We didn’t bother
much as we had
our stay
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booked in Ooty and the
check in time was at 12pm.
We reserved our room
through OYO rooms and it
was a really helpful move as
we never had to bother much
about our stay in Ooty. We
started our journey at 5am
with all the luggage which
mostly included cameras
and other gears. Honestly,
we never had any other places
in mind before leaving
for Ooty, but it was not the
same throughout the journey.
We kept on getting down at
different places whenever we
saw beautiful locations. We
would stop here and there
to click photos as my friend
was a very good photographer.
We got down at a location
which was not even in
our radar. It was a road side
view of a beautiful sunrise.
Since I had a new phone and
my friend was an instagram
addict, he wanted to post
his story telling that we had
started our trip to Ooty. We
got down at some place in the
highway and clicked some
photos and got back on the
road.
The cold weather was literally
piercing my skin even though
I was wearing a sweatshirt.
Again we got tempted to get
down at different locations
whenever we saw beautiful
sceneries. After some more
time on road we could see
some beautiful mountain
range which we were not
sure about the name exactly.
It was then we saw the
beautiful hill ranges of Himavand
swami temple and
it was the accurate sunrise
time. We again clicked
some photos and hit the
road. Around two hours
from there we reached the
Karnataka-Tamilnadu border.
The police checking
all over the border checkposts
were so strong. We
entered Tamilnadu and by
ten thirty in the morning
we reached Ooty. We had our
breakfast on the way from
Ammas mess, a not so good
looking restaurant which was
really expensive. Nevertheless
we reached our destination
way too earlier than expected.
Anticipating this situation
earlier, we stopped at two
different beautiful locations
on our way that is the kalhatty
waterfalls the place was so
beautiful. Even though we
were not sure about how to
reach the waterfalls we never
gave up our desire to see
those beautiful hidden places
in the forest. We had to park
our bike around one kilometer
away from the falls and
walk through the forest. In
between there was a broken
bridge and we crossed it with
a little fear in our minds. We
literally risked our lives crossing
that bridge as there was a
deep canal flowing right under
the bridge. We somehow
managed to get over all those
obstacles and reached the
falls. The water was so cold
and fresh, we had washed
our faces and legs clicked
a few photos. The magnificent
view and the good vibes
around completely changed
our mood and gave us such
wonderful positive energy.
We literally never wanted
to leave that place but we
couldn’t delay it anymore as
we still had a few more hours
of travelling left to reach our
destination. From there, we
stopped again at some hill
range to click a few photos
and spent some time there.
The best thing that caught
my eye was the scenic beauty
of the place. It was the best
place I have ever been to my
whole life considering all the
places that I have been to in
south India.
As our reservation was at
12 noon, we couldn’t go
to the hotel. In the meantime,
we thought of visiting
the tea park as soon we
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reached Ooty. We did as we
had planned and reached the
tea park. The place was full
of all sorts of tea plants as we
couldn’t find anything much
other than those plants. We
had spend almost one and
a half hour clicking photos
and planning the rest of our
trip. We didn’t know it was
almost 12 pm until I looked
at my watch and realised that
we were late for our check in.
We rushed to the hotel and
checked in. The room was
really nice and we had some
second thoughts of leaving the
room. The room had such a
cozy mattress, TV and a bathroom
with hot water. Everything
was just perfect. After
being there
for a few hours, we started
exploring different tourist
spots. As my friend was so
fond of hill tops we headed to
some of the hill tops which we
saw on our way to the tea park
that day morning. We visited
the railway station which said
something about taking us
through the woods, but unfortunately
we were not able
to make it as there was some
problems with the tracks. We
had our lunch on the way to
the railway station. On our
way back to the parking lot
after having lunch we were
stopped by two transgenders
and asked for money. I almost
sent them off by giving 10 Rs
but a second one came to us
and asked more, my friend unfortunately
took all his money
from his wallet so as
to give some coins.
Watching him
taking out
all the
money,
one of them snatched about
200 rs from him and told
him that “think that you have
given this money for the poor
children” both of us being
so helpless just nodded our
head at them and they left as
soon as they got the money.
With all sorts of emotions
flowing inside us we just left
the place as nothing has happened.
We stopped over at
some lake just because there
were no other places worth
to visit. From there we went
to the pine forest and that
place was really beautiful.
We had this particular scene
of my friend’s short film to
be shot over there and by
that we spend over 4 hours
in the woods shooting and
experimenting with different
types of shots. It was around
5 pm we noticed the time
and by then all the shots were
completed. Then we rushed
towards a hill top as there
was another scene to be short
over that place, we sucessfully
completed the
shooting and
thought of
reaching
some
other hill top to
watch the sunset.
Fortunately, we reached there
on time and we were really
lucky to spectate a beautiful
sunset, we took some photos
and then slowly started our
way back to our room.
The weather was really getting
cold and we were sure
that the more time we spend
over the mountains the colder
it would become. We were
trying to get back to the hotel
room as soon as possible.
we reached back at around
6.30pm and took some rest
as we were exhausted with
the long journey. We watched
television and took shower
and by 9 we thought of moving
out for dinner. As we
came out we thought of not
taking our bike as we felt it
would be nice if we would
walk to a restaurant. We
started to walk, hoping we
would find a nice restaurant
to have dinner. Unfortunately
for my friend, I was very bad
at leading
the way by reading
maps. It took us
almost one and a half
hour reach a restaurant. We
kept on making the wrong
turns and finally realized that
we lost our way. But thankfully,
we knew our way back.
On our way to the room we
saw a hotel which was almost
getting closed and
somehow managed to get
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some food and made it back
to the hotel room.
We planned to get up early to
watch the sunrise but it was
around 8 am when I woke
up and when I had asked
him what happened to our
early morning plan he said
it was really freezing then so
even he didn’t wanted to go.
Since it was his plan to get up
early and watch the sunrise, I
didn’t feel much disappointed
with it. As soon as we got
up we started searching for
another tourist attractions
nearby and by 11 am, we
had to check out so we were
searching places close to us.
We never found anything
interesting but it was then my
friend told me about a very
interesting place in Conoor
which was not very far away
from us. Without any second
thoughts we headed there.
On our way, we had our
breakfast. The place was a
cemetery which was named
as Tiger hill cemetery. Before
reaching there or even on our
way, I was never so excited
about what’s gonna come our
way. It was indeed the best
place and the highlight of our
entire journey. As we were
nearing to the spot, we noticed
that the road was really
getting lonely. We barely
found any houses nearby and
even the way to the cemetery
was getting narrower, we
could see the spot from about
700 meters away and we
both were really excited. As
we moved further forward,
we saw a car parked right
in front of the cemetery. We
parked our bike and started
walking towards it and found
the front gate locked. For our
surprise, we found some men
standing inside the cemetery,
so went around the place in
order to find an opening.
After some search, we found
an opening and somehow
jumped over the fence and
got into it. We started wandering
here and there in the
cemetery and our entertainment
there was to find out
the oldest person among all
those tombstones by reading
the birth date mark. The oldest
person we found was Mr.
Robert French with 96 years
of age and all the tombstones
which was there was only
having the names of England
names and one more thing
which we understood after
reading birth mark date from
tombstones are that this cemetery
is abandoned in 2014
as there were no tombstones
dated after 2014. After spending
some great time there we
went to the back side of the
cemetery. The most breathtaking
view of a landscape
was waiting for us there. The
view was such beautiful that I
felt like spending there forever.
The clouds were like a
block of cotton candy and a
deep chest valley with a tea
plantation on the left. We
grabbed our cameras and
start clicking photos and taking
time lapses. After a while
a group people were coming
from the tea plantation place
and one of the them asked
us “how did you guys came
across this place” and the he
continued saying “Nobody
else know about this place
and I am the only guide who
take people to here”. That was
a weird moment. A few localites
who came after sometimes
also asked us the same
question. We decided to go
back even though we didn’t
want to. We were running
out of time since we have
to vacate our room before
12:00pm. The way back ride
was more interesting than
we came because on the way
back it was full of high slopes
and nice turns which always
thrills my friend to ride. We
reached our room on time,
quickly packed everything
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and vacated the room. We
went to a Kerala mess near
the lodge and had a meal
and started our ride back to
mysore.
On our way back we didn’t
used google map like the way
we came because we knew
the route but very unexpectedly
we took a wrong turn
which we realised only after
a while. When we checked
the google map, we found
that we were not literally
taking the wrong route but
we were on the other side of
the hill which will lead us to
the same place. So we chose
to go this new road because
we want to see a different
view than what we saw on
the way. Riding through this
road was much better and
fun that more than 35km we
drove without turning the engine
on since it was slope to
down. On the way we saw a
small carrot shop and bought
some carrots. Who will just
go home from Ooty without
getting some Ooty carrots.
After riding a little bit more
the rain started pouring
down and that was something
which made us panic
because we were concerned
of our cameras and accessories.
We stopped at a small
hotel on the way and waited
until the rain was over. Fortunately
for us, it stopped after
a while. As we continued
riding, we came across the
beautiful Pyakara falls. The
dam was open by the time we
reached there and the water
was flowing under the bridge
which we were standing. After
spending some time at the
banks of the river, we started
our journey back through
mountains and valleys. We
crossed the border and we
were riding at top-speed. We
almost crashed into a pick-up
truck which took a right turn
without any indication.My
friend Hari who was riding
the bike did all he could to
stop the bike, the bike skid
over 50 to 60 meters and
stopped crossing the vehicle,
I still have no idea how we
crossed him as I closed my
eyes at the drifting part. We
nearly missed a major accident
that could cost our lives
and we lived to tell the stories.
That incident had almost
made my lousy mood run
away and I was fresh once
again, which again made
to start blabbering things
while sitting on the backseat.
Our next destination was
Himavand Gopalaswami
temple as we were hoping
to watch another sunset. As
we couldn’t make it on time
to the temple, we thought of
pulling over at a marigold
flower farm. We took some
photos from there and spent
around 45mins over there.
We left the farm after paying
some money to the workers
who treated us humbly and
even posed for some photos.
On the way we saw a spot for
enjoying the sunset and without
any second thoughts we
stopped over there. The view
from there was astonishing.
We took a time lapse video and enjoyed the
sunset. After sunset, we started our journey
back to Mysore without any stops in between
as we were in a hurry to reach home.
The journey was finished off in style with a
feast from Mysore’s famous Khwaja hotel.
I was a guy who was not into travelling and
photos. This trip left me a better person
as I came home with so many memories.
Thanks to my friend who showed me a
different perspective toward this happy little
part of life, travelling. After all, at the end of
every trip, you come back home to find out
your home is still the same, but it’s you who
has changed.
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THE
HERITAGE CITY
Ahmedabad, located
in the heart of Gujarat,
has a character
like no other city of India.
Most of the Indian cities have
architecture influenced by the
Europeans, but Ahmedabad
has a unique blend of Hindu
Muslim architecture, which
completely stands out.
Since the olden days, Ahmedabad
has stayed strongly
rooted in its traditions. This
unique character also helped
Ahmedabad become the center
of freedom struggle under
Mahatma Gandhi.
When walking through
Ahmedabad, most of the visitors
often overlook the Pols.
One may walk right through
them without even noticing
the true heritage of the city.
Pols in Ahmedabad are a part
of living heritage. These pols
are one of the key reasons
that have earned Gujarat an
honor from UNESCO.
Pols are the cluster of various
communities that have lived
and are living in Ahmedabad.
Pols consist of narrow
lanes, which are lined up
by buildings on either side.
These buildings with wooden
facades converge on a central
square. As each pol is occupied
by a different community,
the houses reflect the
architectural styles of that
community. Like today we
have gardens between a concrete
forest, the olden days
had a huge open square, an
open space, which had a religious
structure, community
well and a place to feed birds.
Architectural diversity is the
main attraction of Ahmedabad.
As the business grew,
so did the city had to. As a
result, most of the 15th-century
walls were taken apart,
allowing the growth of the
city. A short section of wall
along with the Sabarmati
river and the original 12 gates
consisting of carvings and
calligraphy still exist.
There is not much knowledge
of the builders of the Jhulta
Minaras(Shaking Minarets),
they still stand as an example
of India’s engineering feat.
If one minaret of one pair is
shaken, the other one shakes
too. The city holds 2 pairs of
these richly carved minarets.
However, demonstration of
shaking minarets and visitor’s
entry in the minar is not
allowed anymore, in order
to preserve the heritage. The
mechanism of the shaking
minarets is still unknown and
stays a mystery.
Sites like Jama Masjid,
Teen-Darwaja, the Bhadra
gate, the king and queen’s
tomb reflect the blend of
Indo-Islamic architecture.
Many buildings from the
time of Maratha period and
British era still stand tall in
the city.
On the west of Manek
Chowk, lies a treasure, the
Jama Masjid. It has a wide
open courtyard, surrounded
by columns painted in
huge Arabic calligraphy. The
prayer hall has a total of 15
domes, supported by over
260 columns. The mosque is
covered with complex carvings.
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On the east of Jama Masjid
lies the tomb of the founder of
Ahmedabad, Ahmed Shah I,
which is popularly known as
Badshah no Harjo. The tomb
and the masjid are connected
by a gate. The four corners of
the central hall have smaller
domed chambers with perforated
stone screens set in
arches. Women are not allowed
in here. Right across
Badshah no Hajiro lies Rani
no Hajiro.
If you are a fan of carvings,
then don’t miss out on the
Siddi Sayeed mosque. This
mosque holds one of the most
delicately carved lace patterns
on a stone.
The walled city also holds
many stepwells, which are locally
called “Vav”. Two of the
most popular known Vavs are
Adalaj Vav and Dada Harir
Vav. Vavs also serve as a community
meeting ground, as
in summers the people used
to gather around the vavs
to beat the heat. Occasionally
people perform prayers
on the finely carved walls
of the vavs. These vavs are
the best example of Indo-Islamic
architecture. Islamic
floral patterns seamlessly
fuse with Hindu and Jain
symbols. Dada Harir Vav,
besides the usual carvings,
also has Sanskrit and Arabic
scripts carved on the walls. If
you ever happen to visit the
walled city, do visit the museums,
they offer a clue to the
heritage scattered around the
city.
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