Bhopal

Bhopal - Sanchi - Bhimbetka

• Most of the spots are around the lake, be it the museums, the mosques or the magnificent Van Vihar. So better stay somewhere near the lake.
• Weekends are crowded specially near the lake and at Sanchi so plan for a hectic Friday and an easy Saturday before leaving on Sunday.
• Bhopal can be hub for visiting Sanchi, Bhimbetka and Panchgani. Bhimbetka and Panchgani are in same direction but not possible to visit in one day.

We reached Bhopal early morning and quickly settled for breakfast at the Shahnama restaurant of our grand stay - Jehan Numa Palace Hotel. By the time we finished, our plan had been formulated to cover both Sanchi and Bhimbetka the same day.

Upper Lake,  Bhopal

Mathura

Agra - Fatehpur Sikri - Bharatpur - Mathura - Vrindavan

Mathura was calm and bustling at the same time, as expected. The birthplace of Lord Krishna is one of the oldest cities and hence narrow lanes were crowded when we hit the city on a Monday. We parked our car near Holi Gate and entered the realm. Our first destination was Dwarkadheesh Temple. It is on the bank of river Yamuna and draws hundreds of worshippers every morning. We sat there for some time and admired the old structure.

Dwarkadheesh Temple, Mathura

Vrindavan

Agra - Fatehpur Sikri - Bharatpur - Mathura - Vrindavan

Vrindavan is the city of temples. While Mathura is birth place of Lord Krishna, it is Vrindavan which has the mythological advantage of hosting the childhood of Vishnu avatar. We reached the city through Yamuna Expressway and quickly settled in a subsidized Jain dharamshala (a religious establishment). Since it was early noon, we decided to first visit something little far and chose Pagal Baba Temple.

Pagal Baba Temple, Vrindavan

Kovalam

• Best time to visit Kovalam is Dec-Jan. Christmas and New Yr celebration here is grand and looks exotic given the number of foreigner tourists.
• Beach is shallow and among the most playful in India. Hotels are numerous so a deal is possible on last minute booking.
• Dont miss top view from lighthouse. It closes down early. Dont miss the Poovar Island trip. It adds to the charm of Kovalam.

Last time I came to Kovalam was with college friends on the eve of new year of 2008. It was a short and not so sweet stay at this lovely beach town. The way foreigners, specially white people, are preferred by restaurants here will give you a pretty good feeling of how apartheid felt like in South Africa. This time around the plan was to stay longer and experience a little more. Kovalam is more of a landmark in the 5000 miles long sea shore that belongs to India.

Sea View from Lighthouse @ Kovalam

Kanyakumari

• Sunset is among the most beautiful I have seen anywhere. The crowd throngs at the main beach to watch the sea gulp the sun slowly.
• Ferry ride to Vivekanand Rock has pros and cons. While the island and adjacent Thiruvalluvar Statue are worth the visit, the queues are a killer on both sides.
• There are several food joints along the beach facing the sea with authentic south Indian cuisine worth trying.

Trip: Bangalore > Kanyakumari > Kovalam > Trivandrum > Rameswaram > Bangalore

Kanyakumari is like one of those beautiful Russian spies. Allow them to nudge you and you will bleed dry. Stay game and you will be allowed to play a little. Fate let us arrive at this southern most tip of peninsular India on a Christmas morning.

Vivekananda Rock & Thiruvalluvar Statue

Baijnath

Trip: Delhi > Nainital > Kausani > Baijnath > Delhi

We reached Baijnath at around 10 from Kausani. Breakfast on the way was complimented with a breathtaking morning view of Nanda Devi range from our table and that made our day. Baijnath was the bonus.

Fishes in the flowing river @ Baijnath Temple

Gwalior Fort

Trip: Delhi > Gwalior > Khajuraho > Raneh Falls & Delhi

Gwalior was a quicky. We were on our train to Delhi from Khajuraho when we saw the fort palace and decided to pay it a tribute. We had to look for a hotel or take Shatabdi @ 7.

View from right flank @ Gwalior Fort

Raneh Falls

Trip: Delhi > Gwalior > Khajuraho > Raneh Falls > Delhi

We reached Khajuraho by overnight train and booked a comfortable room in Ramada Hotel. The day had begun well but temperature was soaring. We were told about a majestic waterfall and we quickly went for it. Although the choice was simple, the route was deserted. We were in MP for the first time and it did scare us. The last part of road is dark into a jungle.

Raneh Waterfall near Khajuraho

Khajuraho

Trip: Delhi - Khajuraho - Gwalior - Delhi

• Khajuraho can be planned as a weekend getaway from Delhi. Overnight trains at convenient time run but travel need to be planned at least a month given limited seats.
• Temples should be visited early morning or in evening. Noon is hot unless its winter. Be ready for couple of miles walk around the complex.
• Raneh Waterfalls and Pandav Cave are nearby attractions that one may cover. Hotels are aplenty and affordable. There is an airport also under construction.

Khajuraho happened to us so quickly that we were neither ready with appropriate duration nor with a camera fitting for the occasion. One fine morning we were just there. We reached this legendary temple city by train one morning. Hotels are in abundance near main temple complex. We settled in Ramada Khajuraho and freshened up quickly. Plan was to have a brunch near main temple and then start off.

Poses, Khajuraho

Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram)

Tiruvannamalai - Pondicherry - Mahabalipuram - Kanchipuram

• Mahabalipuram is small but still there is enough walk needed. Be ready for that. Main section is Panch Rathas (Five Chariots) around which the most famous monuments are carved.
• Pandava's Penance and carved pillars are most impressive art work here. Climb to the top of the lighthouse and have a top view of this city of ruins.
• Beach is one made for surfing, such are the waves. Stay at one of the beach resorts to completely enjoy the city including the sunrise and sunset.

Mahabalipuram offers an interesting combination - archeological monuments beside a beach. Hence on a bright Saturday morning we were on  Bangalore - Kanyakumari highway. The road has one of the most picturesque settings in south India.

Carved pillars @ Five Rathas Temple

Om Beach, Gokarna

Jog Falls - Gokarna - Murudeshwara

• The landlocked Om beach is the place to stay in Gokarna. Two more beaches are adjacent although less fun - Kudle beach & Gokarna main beach.
• Namaste Cafe is famous for seafood and fresh juices although everything else is equally tasty. The place even has few rooms for stay although you need to book in advaance.
• Murudeshwara and Jog Falls are a day trip from here. Both can be covered if one starts early. Mudureshwara holds the largest Mahadev statue while Jog is the tallest waterfall in India.

The bright morning sun was blazing in front of us when we reached Namaste Cafe Hotel in Gokarna. Earlier we had booked SRS Travels Sleeper bus from Bangalore and the journey was not disappointing. Namaste Cafe is located right on the Om beach but to reach here either you have to trek 3 miles or pay 150 bucks to the autowala.

Gokarna Main Beach

Pondicherry

Tiruvannamalai - Pondicherry - Mahabalipuram - Kanchipuram

• Pondicherry can be covered as part of circuit that starts from Bangalore and goes through Kanchipuram & Mahabalipuram.
• Stay near the beach and enjoy the French architecture that is reminiscent of the alien occupation of this beautiful beach town.
• Beach near the main area is stony. Go for nearby Paradise beach or sit near Gandhi statue with a pint of beer. Pondicherry University area also has a beautiful sandy beach.

The decision was so whimsical that I was typing my leave application in the middle of journey sitting at a McD some 40 miles before Krishnagiri. Road between Krishnagiri and Tindivanam is in tatters. Hence we reached Pondicherry by 2 only.

Sand Coast near Senghazunir Temple, Pondicherry

Mudumalai

Trip: Bangalore > Mysore > Bandipur > Mudumalai > Ooty > Bangalore

Mudumalai is the Tamil portion of a large forest reserve that spreads in hundreds of sq kilometers at the foothills of the Nilgiris. The part falling in Karnataka is more famous - known as the Bandipur National Park. There is Kerala too in the frame with Wayanad being at the centre.

Elephants on the Highway, Mudumalai

We started from Bangalore at 8 AM and were comfortably seated at the lunch table of Jungle Hut Resort. Food was great and gave the right kick to start for a jungle safari. We moved back to Theppakadu for the hour long minibus ride into the forests. I had already done it with Vivek and Sumeet when I was last here at Bandipur. Still it was fun with a 33 people strong office crowd.

Nilgiris in the morning, Mudumalai

We reached back at resort at 7. Our rooms were good. There were deers grazing at the backyard which merged with the reserve. The room itself was large, clean and utilitarian. All possible luxuries were made available here. The Nilgiris loomed large from our window and made the whole ambiance marvelous.

More elephants, Mudumalai

The six of us planned for a treasure hunt for the rest while others enjoyed the various recreational activities available at the resort. Treasure Hunt proved to be entertaining and was the fitting start to a long merry night. Bonfire was alive. People seated themselves around. Someone started playing a guitar.

Bonfire @ Jungle Retreat Resort, Mudumalai

Then started Antakshari and we all submerged to the tunes of half memorized hindi songs. Booze was flowing wide and soon we were all dazed. There were snacks of different variety pouring in. It must be around 2 that we dispersed to our respective rooms.

Coimbatore sky, nearest airport to Mudumalai

I had to wake up early at 6 as with a colleague of mine, I had booked a cab to Coimbatore. We were not sure but it all ended well as the driver took exactly 3 hours to take us through scenic Ooty to the airport. We were well in time for the 11.45 direct flight to Delhi. At 4 I was home and was still dazed with what happened in the last 24 hours.

Kasauli

Trip: Delhi > Chandigarh > Kasauli > Shimla > Delhi

A digression from Parwanoo lead us on a bumpy curvaceous drive towards Kasauli. Evidence of early Monsoon were everywhere as we passed through the lush green Lower Himalayan Range. As we moved up, the clouds would play hide and seek with us making it all the more difficult to drive on the lonely MDR.

Kasauli is a sleepy town in the middle of nowhere. We asked people walking by for a good accommodation. Some dwellers were surprised that we came from Parwanoo instead of Dharampur as the former was supposedly dangerous. With little guidance we managed to reach an HP Tourism Hotel and settled for a brunch.

Post brunch plans were simple - trek around the town-market to burn some fat and cover few landmarks as part of the tickmark tourism. We had two days and Kasauli is not more than a mile from one end to another.

The highest point in Kasauli is Manki Point. It is in the middle of an Air Force camp. Lord Hanuman had put his feet at this place before jumping towards Dronagiri mountain to fetch Sanjivani according to mythology. There are several restrictions to enter the area but it is worth the view from the top. Clouds turn kaleidoscopic here and the ever-changing landscape mesmerizes.

Two days of leisure that was intermittently disturbed by small treks, trip to market to grab eatables and once a customary visit to nearby pub, completed an extended weekend escapade. We returned by the wider roads through Dharampur and managed to have our breakfast at a roadside McDonalds.

Return to Delhi was quick through the newly made bypass expressway from Parwanoo to Pinjore. The roads are really good in this part of Himalayas - not to forget that it links two capital cities - Chandigarh and Shimla.

Coorg

Trip: Bangalore > Coorg > Bangalore

Coorg happened at the end of a most entertaining team offsite at the Golden Palms. We gathered few more, booked an Innova and started off for a weekend at the hill station. The seven of us made sure the noise never die inside the vehicle.

We stopped at a crowded CCD on Bangalore Mysore Expressway for late dinner before taking a diversion from Srirangapatna for Hunsur Road (a radial road from Mysore  which would take us to Coorg  We slept for a couple of hours each. A Home Stay had been booked in advance. The host was prepared with a sumptuous home-made breakfast for the seven of us.

After a good long sleep which was followed by equally filling lunch, we started for Madikeri which is the central district of Coorg.  It had a view point and a toy train taking round a small hillock. We managed to find things of our requirement and started back to our Home Stay.

The arrangements for our night long party was done by our hosts in a fashion that exceeded our expectations. There was a variety of regular as well as regional snacks arranged around a bonfire that complemented our drinks perfectly. The Champions League Finals was due late in the night. It was already a perfect set-up for a highly entertaining weekend.

We woke up with a hangover and quickly settled for another round of awesome breakfast before starting back. Our next halt was Dubare which is famous for elephant rides. There was a shallow river to be crossed on foot which proved to be more than adventurous as many of us slipped and got wet.

It was not before 1 that we reached by that time the lunch-time had started. The several Dosas were to be blamed which we gulped down at the bank of Dubare. We were able to reach back at Bangalore at 10 in the night.

Patna

A campus recruitment trip to my home town proved to be another opportunity to revisit the golden memories of  childhood. I started with a walk to the Zoo just to remind how I used to run or cycle to this place every morning with bhaiya.

The Zoo was crowded for Tuesday morning which was unexpected. Watching closely I realized most of the crowd was couples who found the controlled wildness more suited than polluted high streets. Moving out quickly, I took an auto that took me directly to Gol Ghar. It is as representative to Patna as Jantar Mantar or Hawa Mahal is to Jaipur.

The view from top of Gol Ghar is worth mentioning. The spread of city along the banks of river Ganges is clearly visible. After taking few pics I descended and walked to Gandhi Maidan area which has most of the cineplexes and eating joints. There I took a bus to my school, walked a bit around and then moved to Station area.

My plan was to visit Patna Sahib but it was thwarted by the short winter day which meant it was dark after 5. Instead I settled for samosas and chandrakalas at my favourite joints near the station.

Rajgir

• Rajgir has two major tourist spots apart from ruins of the great Magadh capital that Rajgir once was. One is the Peace Pagoda atop a hill and other is the famous hot water sulphur spring.
• Rajgir is a one day trip from Patna. Gaya is even closer and with an early start one may cover Rajgir, Pavapuri and Bodh Gaya on the same day.
• Take or rent your own vehicle. Go on a Monday if possible. Don't miss the ropeway. Don't miss to take a holy dip in the hot water spring.

Early morning drives in the fad end of November under the warmth of rising sun is a luxury that Bihar didn't know of until Nitish Kumar happened. So now the road between Gaya and Rajgir is wide & smooth and only an hour affair. We were in Gaya for a cousin's wedding and decided to take advantage of our location.

Four corners of Shanti Stupa@Rajgir

Kolkata

Trip: Delhi > Kolkata > Delhi

Kolkata was a brief official stay but that was never a stopper to explore its riches. From the roadside food to rumbling Howrah Bridge, anything and everything is recommended at Kolkata. More you explore more it intrigues you.

Tram system@Kolkata

The slow tram system, unique to India, fairly represent the casual approach of native Kolkataite. Travel fares are probably the cheapest in world.Our walk to and back from office brought us face to face with the college street area. Poor here are not very poor but their number is significantly more than other cities - an evidence of communist influence in their socio-political life.

Prices are dirt cheap@Kolkata

The other end of this spectrum was Victoria Memorial down south of Hoogly. Placed adjacent to a man-made lake adds to the charm of this massive marble structure. Our early morning expedition (which was an effort given we were around Park Street last night at 12 midnight) bestowed riches here.

Victoria Memorial@Kolkata

Next on list was of course Howrah Bridge and we made sure to cross the entire stretch end-to-end for some experience. The busy cantilever bridge was huge and even shaky. This engineering marvel has stayed the test of times and so we were not to worry.

Howrah Bridge@Kolkata

We were recommended Park Hotel area for dinner plans. Park Street is home to modern food joints and pubs in Kolkata while several areas like Esplanade and College Street have plenty of small restaurants serving local delicacies. We ended up at Barbecue for Chinese and it was worth the money.

Nandi Hills

The last time we visited Nandi Hills, it was an impulsive decision. We were chit-chatting at around 3 AM when it was unanimously decided that we should go for some outing? But where? Nandi Hills was the closest we could think of so we started at around 4 AM for the spot.



Vivek, Sumeet and Shri sat comfortably on my car and we started with a google map to help us on the route. By the time we reached MG Road, we were lost and had to wake up auto drivers to find way to the airport road.



Nandi Hills is accessible through a diversion on this road at around 10 kilometers from airport. We reached Nandi Hills at 5.50 AM. It was critical since the sunrise is the most attractive proposition of Nandi Hills.

It took us no time to realize how wrong we were. Not only the sunrise was not visible but the mist was so dense that few steps here and there and we would have difficulty to retrace our own track. We started in a particular direction based on our instinct. The blowing winds were making scary noises.

Nandi Hills is actually a plateau. There is a restaurant besides a temple to which everyone reaches whichever direction he takes. We enjoyed a Manali weather in the vicinity of Bangalore that day and enjoyed hot cup of tea at the very top. By 9 AM we here back to our campus in time for breakfast and then a sleep which was bereaved from us last night.

This time our plans were clear and the weather was supportive but not Bangalore Police. There was a barrier waiting for us near the entrance to top which was supposed to open only at 5.45 AM. Thankfully we rushed as it opened and were finally able to see the famous Nandi Hills sunset.

We were back to hostel before 10 and realized that Nandi Hills never disappoints.

Fatehpur Sikri

Agra - Fatehpur Sikri - Bharatpur - Mathura - Vrindavan

A trip to Agra is not complete without visiting the capital of Mughal Empire during Emperor Akbar's reign - Fatehpur Sikri  The drive to this small fort town is partly rough partly smooth.

Main Gate, Fatehpur Sikri