Friday, August 1, 2008

Travelogue : Ladakh






















Finally, I made it to my dream destination with the help of WOW (Women on Wanderlust) club. We were 18 of us from different parts of the country who met at Delhi airport on 18th Aug to fly to Leh. The first thing you notice is the barren-ness of the Mountains. The Mountains are so bare and so do the plains. The beauty of this place, probably lies in this.

At Leh, we checked into Spic N Span Hotel, fairly decent hotel with all basic amenities (hot water, STD/ISD, restaurant, hi-fi connection etc). As is required, all of us chilled out at the hotel on first day to get acclimatized to the altitude. In the evening, we strolled to the bazaar, though it was not easy walking with normal breathing pattern. Most of us had to halt every few steps to catch up on our breaths !

Ladakh is a Mountain Desert, all around one gets to see only huge mountains in amazingly different hues & colors. When you look down from the airplane on landing in to Leh, the Mountain tops look like the surface of Moon.

On day two, we went up to Thiksey monastery, Shey palace, Sindhu Ghat, Sankar Gompa, Leh Palace & Shanti Stupa. The highlight of the day was the morning prayers we attended at Thiksey, view of the mountains from Shanti Stupa and the beautiful Sindhu Ghat (Indus Valley)

Day three was a drive to Khardung-la pass, the highest motorable pass in the world. The place is cold. We did not stay too long and quickly made our way back to the hotel. To make better use of the day, I suggest one should proceed to Nubra Valley from here and probably stay overnight at Nubra.

Day four was the most amazing experience of the entire trip. We went to Pangong Lake, which is 5 hours drive from leh. The drive itself has many things to offer to the tourists, in terms of the different shades of Mountains around. The pristine lake, untouched by human beings is just out of the world. Two-thirds of the lake is in China, we are told. The water is so pure and transparent that you could see through to the bottom. One would love to spend the whole day at the Lake but since we had to get back to the hotel, we left the place early. My personal suggestion would be to camp somewhere close to the lake, if possible. On our way back, we went to the Hemis Monastery which is tucked behind a mountain, 50 kms from Leh.

Day five was a trip to the Lamayuru Monastery, famous for its spectacular setting amidst a lunar like landscape (see the pics). We had lunch on the way at Khalsa and then proceeded to Alchi where we stayed overnight. Alchi is a little hamlet by river Indus with its own share of Monasteries. At Alchi, we went around the Ladakhi houses and even managed to visit one family, just to get an idea about their lifestyle. Evening we strolled near the Indus river, which was another wonderful experience.
On day six, we visited the Alchi monastery, famous for its exquisite wall frescoes. On our way back to Leh, we also saw the confluence of river Zanskar with Indus. For lunch, we relished the Langar at Gurudwara Pathar Sahib (Langar is served only on Sundays) after which we went to the Spituk monastery.

Our last day was fraught with excitement as we went river rafting in Indus. Needless to say few of us were sunburnt (even after applying loads of sunscreen lotion !). Anyone interested in rafting should ensure they wear something which covers their hand and legs completely ! The main attraction of the run is that one gets to go between beautiful mountains. Most of the river along this route had grade 1 or 2 rapids, though we also got to experience grade 3.

Overall, it was an amazing experience to be on top of the world, though the drive through rough terrains is not easy. The best way to travel around is to hire a Scorpio. I must add that BRO(Border Road Organisation)has done exceedingly wonderful job in building roads across Ladakh. One cannot miss the eye-catching messages posted by BRO team on side of the roads.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Sterling Mahabs - Indeco Hotels





Since we had a discount coupon for this eco-hotel, thought of using it during one of the weekends. Place is tucked away behind the mahabalipuram main bus-stand. It is a nice and cozy place with its own swimming pool, pool-side restaurant and beach. The present owner has a fascination for antiques which is quite evident from display in the lobby and restaurant

The rooms are small but is good enough for a family. A good weekend getaway for those looking for relaxation and some fun.

Travelogue :Annapara, Wayanad





















This time thought of trying out Homestays instead of hotels/resorts. Tourism dept seems to be encouraging homestay concept which benefits both the traveller and the host. Tourists get a feel of the culture & tradition and host gets to make the extra bucks. I had seen the blog on Annapara in Wayanad and decided to experience the same with my family. Annapara (elephant rock) is in the midst of mountains and tea plantations.

We are welcomed by Shibu and Praveen who go out of their way to ensure guests are comfortable. Food prepared by the cook couple is awesome. We ended up over-eating every day and had to find ways of burning up the calories after every meal ! Thankfully, being in the mountains helped us to burn those calories much faster.

The place is not cheap by any means but advantage is that you get to move around on your own or with Praveen whenever you feel like it. Place is nature's bounty so one can easily relax just being with nature. There is good enough space for children to run around. They can play badminton or read books (a small collection) or just listen to music (own ipods, please).

The best thing (for some it would be the worst) about the place is that there is no electricity and you get power only from 7 to 11 Pm in the night. Rest of the day can be spent enjoying the breeze from the trees all around.

Our days were spent enjoying a shower under waterfall, swim in the natural pool, visit to eddakkal caves (prehistoric), a drive through the sanctuary to see elephants, wild boars, bisons and deer and to the nearby tea factory.

The place is amazing and a visit is definitely worth the money you spend. Word of caution - the food is mainly Kerala cuisine, therefore one needs to be prepared to accept that and relish every bit.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Weekend Getaway from Chennai : Yercaud












I never ventured on trips by road which called for more than 4 hours drive. The main reason being my fear of speed on highways, especially the speed with which men drive. Considering the fact that it is India and we have different kinds of people with varied moods and behaviour (the don't care attitude), it becomes extremely difficult to be "safe" even though you try your best to drive safely. Anyways, after some sort of an understanding (on the speed limit) with my hubby who was going to drive, we set out on our trip to Yercaud.
We drove through Poonamallee, Sriperumbudur, Vellore, Krishnagiri (where you have to turn left for Dharmapuri), Salem and then Yercaud. The climb up was pretty OK. There are about 20 hairpin bends but we were able to reach our resort in 40 mns.

I think the best of properties in Yercaud is Hotel Lake Forest (500mts from the Lake). The rooms are really good with antique furnitures. Yercaud in itself does not have many "popular sight-seeing" places but one needs to enjoy nature and the drive through the woods. It is best to have one's own mode of transport in Yercaud as public transport didn't look too great. As for food, there are not too many places where you can enjoy good food.

Some of the interesting places could be the Montford school and just behind that "The retreat" (a college with a good view of Salem city), the drive through the woods while climbing up to Annamalai temple, drive through the teak forest etc. Word of caution - the road is very narrow to the temple. If you happen to see another vehicle on the opposite side, you have to be ready to go reverse gear downhill and find yourself a place to park to let the opposite vehicle go. Boatride on the lake would be another good option in the evenings. The children would especially love that.

While coming back from Yercaud, our Club Mahindra staff at Lake Forest asked us to try another route which he said would be more interesting and lively compared to the one we took to reach Yercaud. From hills take the road to Pallipatti, Harur, Uttangarai, Kunnathur, Tiruppathur and then Vaniyambadi. This route goes through many villages, so you have a good scenic view and some action. From Vaniyambadi, you are back on the NH4.

On the whole the trip was quite memorable !