Kabini - The Watering Hole Of Karnataka

Yet another Weekend and the same old routine of visiting a mall watching yet another flop and finishing off with an expensive dinner was on the cards but hell no!! We visited a Jungle watched the wilderness in its true majestic beauty and dined on the banks of the splendid water hole of Karnataka - Kabini

Kabini is situated in the southern part of Nagarhole Forrest dividing Nagarhole national park and Bandipur national park which is the main reason Kabini is a popular wildlife destination of Karnataka. Based on a documentary made by Mr. Ullas Karanth leading tiger expert of Karnataka the density of tiger is highest in Nagarhole national park. The Documentary was shown to us by the resort and is mandated by the Karnataka government to all the resorts to play this 50 minutes documentary for all the guests so that they are aware of the rich density of wild life that exists in the Nagarhole national park and are inspired to play an active role to preserve this rich population of Flora and Fauna so that our future generations can experience and enjoy the same.

  

Kabini River

So getting to the details of the trip. One of our friend was back from the US for a short vacation and so we decided to Head to Kabini for a weekend trip. We were a total of 5 people. After much research on Google we zeroed in on Water woods resorts and lodges which is just 100 mts from Jungle lodges kabini. Initialy we were a bit sceptical about the type of resort and if it was worth the money 3.5k Per person per night Jungle lodges was 6k per person per night. But once we reached the destination we were taken aback by the beauty of this resort. The resort is located right at the Kabini river bank and was a perfect setting for a weekend romantic escapade. They have a huge property spread over 10 Acres. The resort is not as popular as jungle resorts and the Owners did not want to market the resort and keep it a low-key until the new block is built. The resort was worth the money and I only hope they don't increase the tariff like the other resorts in its vicinity. The staff of the resort were very friendly and we enjoyed hospitality in its true sense.

  

 

Water Woods Kabini

We left Bangalore at 7 in the morning and reached Chanpatna by 8. We had a sumptuous breakfast at kamat and headed to Mysore. The plan was to take the Mysore - Manandanwadi(NH33) road. We reached the Nagarhole forrest gate by 12. The road through the forrest gate to Kabini was closed and we had to take the diversion before the forrest gate. the 12kms stretch from the forrest gate to Kabini is in a pathetic state and you need a 4X4 to do this stretch . My car tyres took a beating in this stretch  and I was cursing myself as to why did I chose to come to Kabini until we reached the resort. Once we reached the resort we were thankful that we chose Kabini for the weekend getaway :) .

We freshened up quickly and the lunch was served. The food was really yummy at the resort. After the lunch we took a stroll at the banks of the river inhaling the fresh air which is scarce here in Bangalore. Surprisingly none of us wanted to take a nap and we headed to the Jungle for the wildlife safari. The owner of the resort joined us for the safari and hence we were lucky to be taken to the Core Area- B of the jungle. We all were excited about the safari and desperately wanted to sight a Tiger. But as the saying goes it is not about you wanting to spot a Tiger it all boils down to the Tiger's mood if it wants to see you :) . We couldn't spot a Tiger in the safari however we had a close shave with a herd of Elephants, The young Male Elephant in the group charged at our safari vehicle twice and it was super exciting :) . We spotted Bisons, Wild Boars, Some Indian Sambar and Deers.We also spotted few exotic birds and watched an Eagle feeding on another bird. So overall the Jungle safari wasn't all that disappointing. We reached the resort by 8 in the evening and the Hotel staff played the Documentary of noted Zoologist Ullas Karanth about Nagarhole National Park. We were intoduced to the wild life existing in the park and were truly mesmerised by its beauty. After the documentary the resort arranged for a camp fire right at the banks of the river. It was an amazing experience for us. We partied and gossiped till late in the night and retired to bed.

Elephant Herd

The young male on the right that charged at us

Wild Boar

Camp Fire organised by the resort

It was 7Am next morning my roommate woke up looked out of the window and let out a loud cry of WOW!! and ran out of the room with the Camera. For an instance I thought he spotted a leapord or a Tiger. When I looked out of the window the scenery was simply mind blowing. It was a Breathtaking view of the sunrise illuminating the lake.I too exited the room to experience this breath-taking view. The hotel staff served us Tea. Cool winds, Back waters, clear blue skies and amazing view of the sun made a perfect Sunday morning. Breakfast was served and as usual it was yummylicios. I took a quick swim in the cool water and did some boating with Wifey.










Below are some pics of the spectacular morning sunshine.....

 

Beautiful Sunrise

The sun illuminating the River

Fresh cup of tea a perfect Sunday Morning

Boating with Wifey

We had to check out by 12 but really did not want to. This was the first time that I have ever enjoyed Hotel facilities. Usually I booked hotels just to dump our luggage and head out to explore the place. We checked out by 12 and reached Bangalore by 5.

Kabini was a truely amazing experience an enriching experience for me. I would definitely recommend Kabini for a memorable Weekend.

Credits:-

A great vacation is not possible without a group of like minded people and I am thankful that I had great friends accompanying me on the trip.Also A great Vacation is not possible without good hospitality and I am thankful for Water woods Kabini to make our stay comfortable and easy  .

Bangalore to Goa by Road

Hello travellers,

It is festive season again, the time to Rev up your engines and head off for a long drive from the hustle and bustle of city life and I know the Numero Uno destination in your list is Goa. So here is a list of routes that I have taken to travel to Goa from Bangalore.

This information will be helpful to all the folks planning for a long drive to Goa. I have also mentioned about available routes to Udupi and their present condition. Hope this piece of information will be useful for you all.

Bangalore to Goa routes

Route :- Bangalore - Hassan - Chikmagalur - Shimoga - Sagara- Panaji

Distance :- 673 KMS

Roads are good till Sagara after which you need to calm down your adrenalin and drive slowly :) since there are few unexpected potholes after Sagara. I had flat tyres on this very stretch and it was a night mare. These roads never completely heal from the monsoons.

Route    :- Bangalore - Hubli - Karwar - Panaji

Distance :- 700 kms

This is one of the best available routes to Goa. Great roads, 120km/hr - 150km/hr can be done easily for most part of the road till you reach the Hubli-Karwar junction ( NH63 - NH17 junction). NH17 is good till Goa border and amazing from the Goa border. The only disadvantage about this road is that it is 80kms longer than the other available routes to Goa.

Route     :- Bangalore - Kittur - Ponda - Panaji

Distance :- 613 kms

This is the shortest route to Goa. As usual it has its own positive and negative points.

as most part of this route is NH4, one of the best available roads in India, you can easily cover 500kms in 6 hrs till Kittur. However the road leading from Kittur to Ponda is in a very bad state, huge potholes and mud roads. Even then I prefer this road over the other routes as this route will take you to Goa in less than 10 hours and the bad stretch of road is minor compared to the great NH4. Also the mining near Ponda, which was one of the major drawbacks in this route, has stopped and there are no iron ore trucks on this road anymore.

Bangalore to Udupi/Manipal routes

Route    :-Bangalore- Sakleshpura - Dharmasthala - Karkala - Udupi/Manipal

Distance :-401 kms

Good roads till Sakleshpura then bad roads then again good roads from Dharmasthala

Bangalore - Sakleshpura - Mangalore - Udupi (Bangalore Mangalore Highway)

Distance :- 407 kms

Good road till Sakleshpura after that it is a nightmare.

Bangalore - Sira - Belur - Mudigere - Charmadi ghats - Karkala - Udupi

Distance :- 451 kms

Happy Driving!!

Have a safe journey :)

Techie and the GMAT

These days when I read an article I try to dissect it into tiny bits called The Argument, Premise, Supporting Information, Assumption and finally The Conclusion. If you are wondering what the hell am I talking about then it is high time for you to start preparing for your future, The GMAT.

My manager replaced one of my colleague today as his salary was double of mine and we both work for the same technology. He was not needed anymore.

Being a techie with 5 years of wasted life or I must say IT experience a thought passed my mind, tomorrow if my Manager finds another resource whose salary is 1/3 of  mine having similar technical skills as mine he is surely going to show me the door. Such a scary thought!

When I spoke to my seniors with 6+ years of experience they told me that they were not getting any Job interview calls.

This is why I say 5 years of wasted professional experience. Your experience has no value add to your future or your company. If your situation is same as mine shift your ass from the god damn couch and start studying for the GMAT.

Now the GMAT dissection of the above paragraph ;)

Premise of the above argument: - "My manager replaced one of my colleague today as his salary was double as mine and we both work for the same technology. He was not needed anymore."

Assumption: - People with high experience in the IT industry have no value

Supporting information: - When I spoke to my seniors with 6+ years of experience they told me that they were not getting any Job interview calls.

Conclusion: - Stop watching that damn TV and start preparing for your Future :)

Seychelles - An Exclusive Paradise

Seychelles can be described using all parts of speech in the English language. It can be described using adjectives like Beautiful, magnificent and breathtaking or nouns like Heaven, Wonderland and bliss. I describe Seychelles as an "Exclusive Paradise" paradise because of its beautiful Flora and Fauna and Exclusive because of its extravagant cost of living which gives even the rich a jolt.

                                                              Anse Royale

 

My wife chose Seychelles as our honeymoon destination and I totally agreed to her plan because a quote next to a famous personality in a morphed internet picture once said "Always agree to your woman else every discussion will be an argument" ;). Apparently Prince Williams Grandson of Queen Elizabeth II celebrated his Honeymoon on this very island. So how could I say no to this plan ;) . So I decided to forget my salary for the next 4 months and splurge on my honeymoon :) .

When I shared this info with my friends I found out that not a single person knew about Seychelles.So here is a quick intro to this Exclusive paradise.

Seychelles is an island country situated far below the African coast. Seychelles constitutes of 115 small islands Mahe being the biggest island and most inhabited island in Seychelles. Mahe houses the world's smallest capital city, Victoria. The other famous tourist islands of Seychelles are Praslin and La Digue. Hence we decided to visit these three beautiful islands of Seychelles.

                                                    

We took a flight from Mumbai to Mahe. We reached Mahe at 3PM and checked into our hotel.

Our hotel was situated bang opposite to the beach. We had booked a beach view room and as the name suggests we had a beautiful view of the beach from our bed room.The beaches in Seychelles are clear blue in colour with patches of corals covered with sea weeds.The water is crystal clear, the sea bed along with the beautiful fishes are clearly visible from the water surface.This makes beaches in seychelles an ideal destination for snorkelling.

We rented a car the next day to explore Mahe. We could just afford an i10 for 50 Euros ;) . Apparently it was a national holiday in Seychelles and all the shops in Seychelles were closed.But as the saying goes, only an Indian can help another Indian, an Indian supermarket "The Kumar stores" was open. The store was bustling with tourists.Indians(Kumar superstore) never miss an oppurtunity to capitalize on such occasions ;) . We packed our bags with chilled beer, potato chips and snacks for the drive and headed off to explore MAHE. I was amazed by the infrastructure in Mahe. The roads were wide, clean and well maintained. The scent emanating from the flora coupled with the fresh air of seychelles and wify's company ( Had to mention her somewhere in the blog ;) ) made an awesome drive.We literally stopped every kilometer to click photos of the breathtaking surroundings. The entire city of Mahe looks like it is picked straight out of Picasso's paintings. We drove along the coastline and visited few beaches like Anse Royale and Beau vallon.Beau Vallon being the most crowded as it is located in Victoria, capital of Seychelles. Behind the Beau Vallon beach there was a lane with small tents serving street food. We hogged like crazy as the food was cheap around 50SCRs i.e., 250 INR. We had spent a whooping 2350 SCRs (12k INR) :| the previous night for dinner. Now you know why I call it an exclusive destination. after a stomach full we visited the clock tower and other attractions in Victoria this ended day 2 in Mahe.

our i10 ;)

                                                              Beau Vallon Beach

                                                    city straight of Picasso's Painting :)

New Day, New City, New Plans....  We booked a day long water excursion for 200 Euros thru Mason's the most popular travel agency in Seychelles.

We got into a weird looking speed boat which took us to the underwater national park. We sighted some blue, yellow green fishes. Excuse me I don't know the names of fishes except for Prawn, Pompret and Seer fish ;). We fed these fishes bread. The ship stopped around 300mts from the shore for snorkelling. We were the 1st people on this planet to Snorkel using life jackets ;)... Indians leave their mark everywhere you see ;). After Snorkelling the Boat took us to a beautiful island inhabited by giant turtles around 100 of them. We took photographs of these giant magnificent creatures. After the island visit we broke for lunch and after a quick swim in the beach we headed back to the hotel ending day 3 in Mahe.

                                                     Currency check - 500 Euros spent in 3 days ;)

                                                              our snorkelling site

                                                         The turtle island

                                                                       The turtles

Day 4 - Praslin, A Scary ferry ride to one of Nature's best kept beaches...

We checked out of our hotel in Mahe and headed off to the port. We boarded a weird looking boat again however this was a bigger boat. With just 100 people on board I wondered why do they require such a big boat.... but as the saying goes surprise always comes in big packages to screw you ;)As we set out for our journey all the famous quotes in the English language like "my heart was in my mouth", "The wave scared the S**t out of me", "WTF" etc. were flashing in my head. The boat was literally bouncing on the waves.... The waves were huge and the boat was being thrown from one wave to another seemed like the waves were playing catch-catch ;) . After an hour of a roller coaster ride on the Indian ocean we reached the port of Praslin and were welcomed by some hot transport folks (Seychelles standards)who transferred us to the COCO de Mer hotel. It was like we had won a victory over the mighty Indian Ocean and welcomed by pretty ladies with garland ;). Coco de mer hotel like other hotels in Seychelles was located on a private beach with a beautiful view of the Indian Ocean. However unlike the other hotels the Coco de mer had a Jacuzzi in the hall :D and we Indians love such crazy things ;)... So I knew it was going to be a great evening and the details of which I am not gonna share ;)

We visited the private beach and enjoyed the hotel facilities and that culminated day 4.

                                                           view from our room

Day 5 - La Digue Bicycles ox and turtles....

I almost cancelled the plan to visit La Digue as it meant taking the horrible ferry again. We took the 10AM ferry to La Digue... it was the same story but this time it was for just 15 minutes. The Island of La Digue is 7Kms long and 4kms wide and houses one of the world's most famous beach Anse Source D'Argent. What makes this island unique from the other islands of seychelles is its mode of transport. Bicycles and Ox carts are the only means of transport in La digue which makes this island pollution free. We rented two cycles and headed off to explore the island. We visited the Copra(coconut) factory. It is not the normal coconut. It is Coco de mer which is the national fruit of Seychelles and looks like the human Arse ;) I am not joking.. Google for the image :) . We visited the Vanilla plantation and fed the giant tortoises. After which we spent 2 hours at the Anse Source beach. After lunch we headed off to the port and were back in Praslin and that meant end of day 5 our last day to explore this beautiful country Seychelles.

                                                          turtlezilla :)

Day 6 - Abhi na jaao chod kar ke dil abhi bhara nahin ...

It was a sad day in our lives as we were about to leave this Paradise a gift to our planet, a paradise of beautiful flora and fauna, a place that will remain in our hearts forever....

"Seychelles" / "Seychellewa" - The exclusive paradise

Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana

In today's fast paced life I often come across disheartened people. People whose future plans have taken a hit as their promotion was stalled or they did not receive a pay hike. In this world of Facebook showbiz people are willing to go that extra mile by sacrificing their personal life just to stay ahead in the rat race. Peer pressure is dictating an individual's morale these days & yes I am one of them. Bheed toh dekhi hogi na usi se ek aadmi chunlo main wo hu ;)

I am Sandeep Dubey; a 30 year old team lead of an IT company.  I am a person full of dreams and ambitions, cribbing every moment.  
Just like others around me I craved for all the luxuries in life and the very thought of not getting what I want made me disheartened. I was dejected and broken. Life did not make any sense to me until one of my friend suggested me to meet a person, a person who later changed my entire perspective of life. Dr. Shradha Sharma, Life counselor, one of the greatest philosophers of the modern times, a person who could cure you from all your anguish and pain. She was dubbed as the reincarnation of Swamy Vivekananda.

I sat down in a 20 * 30 clinic on a Monday morning. I got an appointment with Dr. Shradha Sharma after almost a week. The attendant called out my name and I was supposed to be the next subject of Dr. Shrada Sharma. As I entered her cabin she greeted me with a pleasant smile. There were some inspirational quotes framed in her cabin. Each quote suggesting, life is a present and how lucky we are to have it. However, nothing made sense to me at that time as I was dejected and severed by the pain inflicted upon me by life. She seemed to be a very nice lady with a contagious smile. She had a general conversation with me. She was trying to understand what was bothering me and what has caused my current misery. After a brief discussion she jotted down something on the paper.

She looked at me with a smile and said “Sandeep there is nothing to worry, you are absolutely fine. What you are undergoing is very common these days.”  She passed me the paper on which she had written down something after her conversation with me. There was a word written in bold letters.

"EXPECTATION"

I looked at the sheet confused. Wondering as to how did she deduce what I am undergoing for past couple of years in a matter of few minutes? She quickly cleared the air and said, "Sandeep, you are not my first patient with such a problem. I get around 10-12 patients in a day with the same disorder".

"I would not call it a disorder as it is just a state of mind". I still did not understand what she was trying to convey and sensing the confusion on my face she smiled again. "Sandeep, I know it may sound clichéd but let me tell you, Life is a beautiful present. We need to cherish what we already have and shouldn't crib over what we do not have"."People often take it for granted what they already have and crave for more and when they do not get that extra thing they get disappointed. And that is the exact thing that has happened to you. This disorder or state of mind is called expectation".  "These days people are influenced so much by materialistic luxuries that they have forgotten about the little things in life that bring happiness". "Spending a weekend in an exotic island is more important than spending the weekend with their children in a park, watching them play". Things started to make sense to me now. She continued "Sandeep, let me ask you one thing; when was the first time you felt disappointed in your professional life and what was the reason behind it?".

'Dr. it was few years back when I was working in one of the IT giants in Bangalore. I worked hard, burnt the midnight oil got appreciations for my hard work. However, my colleague was promoted instead of me. Not that he had worked harder than me or was more intelligent than me; he was promoted because he used was the favourite resource of my manager. He used to run errands for my manager and inform the manager what each person in the team  was up to and what was the latest gossip making rounds in the team'. 'That was when I was very disappointed. I could not even retaliate I was helpless'.

"Ok Sandeep. Now let me ask you another question. What if it was recession time and you did not get that promotion. Would you have been disappointed then?". 'Not at all Doctor.  My job security would have been of utmost importance during recession'.  "That is exactly my point Sandeep. People do not value what they already have and instead crib for what they do not have". What Sradha just said made perfect sense to me.I continued listening to her like a small kid. "In the first instance you took your job for granted and were disappointed about not getting that promotion and missing out on the 20-30% hike in your monthly salary. But what if you had lost your job?  You would have stayed payless for months together". She paused making the surrounding a little intense. "All I ask from you is to value what you have. People value things that they take for granted only when they lose it". "I am not saying do not dream. All I am saying is try your best to achieve your goals but do not have any expectations. Because if you have expectations and you fail to achieve your goals you will be disappointed and your life will go into depression mode like it has now. If you don't achieve your goals in life just remember that  things that are not meant to happen will never happen. As Lord Shri Krishna once told to Arjun "Karmanye vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana" Which means, you perform your duties, give your 100% in everything you do but do not expect anything in return. Things will come to you at the right time". "And Sandeep, if you follow these words sincerely in life your life will be full of joy".

With this Dr. Shradha had concluded. I was touched. Something inside me changed that day. I cursed myself as to why didn't I meet Dr. Shradha few years back? Why did I not follow this simple principle of life? But better late than never. I changed as a person after that one meeting and I owe my changed life to Dr. Shradha.

A Painful Illusion

I choke as you smother me.

I weep at the pain you inflict on me.

I can feel a lump building in my throat,

Breath seems to elude me.

Why are you so elusive? Why do you trouble me?

I have waited for you for so long,

I have longed for you forever.

Now you turn around and walk away

Why are you so elusive? Why do you trouble me?

I don't know if I should stay afloat or

Drown in the tide of my sorrow.

Once a joyous person, now a down-trodden loser

Whatever I do I will make sure, you will never trouble me.

Trip To LEH - Biking Gear And More.....

I am often asked by my fellow bikers about the things that need to be carried for the bike trip to Leh. Hence I have made an exhaustive list for the benefit of everyone. These are the mandatory items that need to be carried if you are planning for the bike trip to LEH.

·         Carry your own helmets

·         1 pair of gum boots

·         2 pairs of biking gloves and 1 pair of thermal gloves (you will need it in snowy conditions)

·         Scarf to cover your mouth

·         1 ear plug

·         Sun glasses

·         Tablets - DIAMOX, METROGYL, DOLO650. You need to consume Diamox only when you feel dizzy.

·         1 glucose packet, biscuit packets and dry fruits to support you for at least 3 days.

·         Rain coat and umbrella

·         1 Thermal wear

·         Water proof bags or polythene to cover your bags in case it rains.

·         5 pairs of socks

·         Toiletries

Most of the above items are available in Manali. However it is better to buy the items before hand to avoid any last minute surprises.

More than anything else you will need to have an attitude of  " darr ke aage jeet hai " :)
Have a safe journey :)