Let's start to re-write!!

Thinking about writing again about my experience. It's been 4 years that I haven't written any blogs, so this is special to me, hopefully, to reclaim my writing spirit henceforth. 

While there have been a lot of things that happened in the past 4 years, I would like to capture most of it in my post in the coming days. But in this post, I would like to mention the motivation for rewriting. 

Back then, I was busily occupied with my work and travel. Yes, I didn't quit anything, just that I didn't capture them as I thought it was not essential and wouldn't benefit me in the future. Well, today I stand on that argument on the opposite side, as I would hope that the writing-down memories hold meaning in the coming future even though it is not perfectly written. 

So what benefits I will get if I write down my experience in the blog. Firstly, It will encourage me to improve my vocabulary and cognitive skills leading to be a better communicator in the English language. This is a pre-requisite in today's world where English is slowly dominating the world languages. Secondly, having the memories written, it gives pleasure to read them in the future or hopefully gives the motivation to travel as before. Finally, it is one of the hobbies to have. There is no harm given that we are not so busy, and thus the overall benefits outweigh the drawbacks. I hope you will also plan to write about your experience and share it with us. It might help each other as well. 

Have a Good Day!

Andaman – The Untouched Paradise

The Gang : Me - Ajay - Salman - Sujit

Best part of our pre-planned trip was only Fight Tickets. Nothing else was planned.

Day 1 : 15^th Oct 2016

Flight from Bangalore to Port Blair.

We reached Port Blair around 5:30pm, then headed to the Cellular Jail Light Show program @7pm. It was informative light show as the details were crisp on the history of Andaman.

We got a room nearby Cellular Jail for 900rs!

Beauty!

Day 2 : 16^th Oct 2016

Morning, we again visited Cellular Jail, this time it was time to see the structure and the history on the walls of cellular Jail.

Afternoon, we had a ferry from Port Blair to Havelock.

Reached Havelock around 4pm.

We had been to Radha-Nagar beach for the sunset. We could not get the sun-set view as the sun sets early around 4:30pm. We had been in the beach till 6pm and then headed to Havelock market in search of place to stay.

Twilight

We checked in Saurav Lodge. Got a 5 bed room for 1500rs, again cheap and good deal.

We had dinner in the Havelock market no-3, we had Lobster here. This was one of the bucket list in this trip.

The owner of Saurav lodge was very helpful.
We got offer for Scuba for 2300 rs/person - this was tariff for 15mins Training + 40mins Scuba Dive. 

Day 3 : 17^th Oct 2016

We did scuba in Havelock. It was my first scuba experience for me.

I enjoyed it but it was less than my expectation. I would rate it as 3/5. But the best in India.

We got vehicles to roam around Havelock. Vehicle – Activa, Cost – 400rs/day.

RadhaNagar Beach

Havelock Places :

Radha-Nagar Beach –

This is one of the finest beach in the world. Had a great time here. Water is very shallow, so great place to swim.

Dolpin Beach/Kala-Patar Beach -
Happening place! If you are planning to stay in a resort, I would recommend Dolphin Resort.
Beautiful place to spend the evening.

Drinks are cheap here as there is no tax.

After the party, we roamed the market. Unlike Goa, Less happening place, More peaceful place.

Day 4 : 18^th Oct 2016

We had been to Elephant Beach.

There are two ways to go to Elephant beach.

One is via package, where you will be taken in the ferry to the beach and Elephant beach is known for water sport. The other one is through a short trek of 2kms.

Since, we did not wanted to take any package as we were well aware that the packages cost are un-necessary more and its not worth. So we decided the trek.

It was the one of the best experience of our trip. We took nearly 45-50mins for 2km. Mind you, I have completed 10km in 52mins :P .

The journey was through the forest and the rain god gave more challenge for this trek.

We had to trek though the flowing water too. It was shallow though was challenging.

We did not do any water activities as we did not have time and also no interest for water activities.

Afternoon, we left Havelock to Neil Island through ferry.

Neil Island is small with notable 3 beaches and a small market at the center of the Island.

We booked a 2 vehicle for our transport as soon as we reached , Cost – 400rs.

As we reach Neil Island we went to Laksman-Nagar beach for the sunset. It was beautiful view. Coral was visible as the tide was low. We spent time till 6pm enjoying the nature.

We checked in Amullya Lodge for the stay in Neil Island.
Decent Place . Cost – 1800rs/day (3-Bed)

Day 5 – 19^th Oct 2016

Natural Bridge

Morning we had been to Natural Bridge Beach then to Bharathpur Beach.

We did Snorkelling in Bharathpur Beach, it was best experience. I liked it more the the Scuba experience as the water was more clear compared to Havelock. Also had a swim in the middle of the sea for some time under the observation.

If you know to speak well, you will get best deals out your trip.

Rasgulla was best in Neil Island and we had plenty of them. Its cheap too @10rs/piece.

One can try the variety of Bengali sweets here. Most of the people in Andaman are from West Bengal then from Tamil Nadu.

We left Neil Island to Port Blair at 4pm. We reached Port Blair around 6pm.

We again searched for the room but now for the better one as we were planning to stay for 4 nights in Port Blair. We got Govt Guest House for 1200rs, it was 2BHK. Again Damn lucky, best deal for cheap price.

After freshen up, we went to Sujits friends house. We were treated with Dinner J

Chicken Biryani + Puri + Paneer + Rasgulla.  It was a homely taste and good experience.  

We headed back and reached around 11pm.

Day 6^th : 20^th Oct 2016

We had to go through “Experience Andaman” website to book ferry. We had booked government ferry so we had to book a package as that was the mandatory while booking ferry.

We bought a package for Baratang – 1500rs/person.

We got up at 3am L

We had a bus at 3:45am to Baratang.

Baratang is a located at 100km far from Port Blair. It took us 4hrs to reach Baratang.

Baratang have tribal people also so we were instructed to behave. No Photography, No talk, No Mischief Behavior with them. 

We visited Mud Volcano and Lime Stone Cave in Baratang.

The Journey for these was through Jeep and Speed Boat which was a good experience, especially journey through mangrove forest.

Mud Volcano is almost saturated as there is no much active happening. Lime stone was a good experience. We did not see any tribal people which we missed but we were told they live in the middle of forest and are rare sighted.

We reached back Port Blair around 6pm. It was day filled with journey.

We went to room to freshen up and then walked 3km to find good restaurant.

We finally found Ananda Restaurant. It was good – worth the walk :P

Day 7^th : 21^st Oct 2016

Today we planned to visit Ross Island and North-Bay Island.

On the paper the cost of the package for the ferry for these two Island was 550rs/person. We got contacts through Sujits friend's friend and got the package at 300rs/person – Almost Half J .

Blue Water Shining

Ross Island was a place were British Officers had stayed. Most of the building were broken due to age. Peacock and Deer are local animals here as they were visible everywhere. Overall Ross Island was good.

North-Bay is known for the Coral. We had see many Coral Beach so this was not so attractive for us. North-Bay also have Scuba – Snorkeling , but we were not interested as we had done in Havelock and Neil.

We reached back to Port-Blair around 4pm.

Had our snacks + Lunch in Light House Restaurant in Port Blair. Good Food. Must visit once at-least.

After which, we booked the Vehicle to roam around the city. Cost – 400rs

We did some shopping, like Andaman T-shirt as the trade mark of our journey.

Hunted some Bengali sweet shop but not satisfied with the sweet as compared to Neil Island.

Day 8^th : 22^nd Oct 2016

Today we had been to Chatham Island which is attached to Port-Blair though a Bridge. Chatham Island is a Saw Mill Industry and was started by British in 1971.

We also visited a museum here and hired a Guide. The Interaction with guide was informative and got to know the connection among the places we visited. Saw mill was huge with heavy machines, good place to visit.

After the Saw mill, we visited Corbyn's Cove beach. It was 10km far from Port Blair. It was decent beach though, we did not stay long here and we left after some time to Chidiyatapu – The Sunset Point.

Chidiyatapu is located around 30km far from Port Blair.

We had lunch on the way to Chidiyatapu in a local restaurant and the food was amazing. Almost better than the costly restaurants.

We reached Chidiyatapu around 2pm, we visited the Biological Park. It was a good time pass as we got to see Crocodile, Eagle, Big Lizard and many more animals.

Then we moved to Munda-Pahar beach , it was the pleasant. I took a nap for 30mins with cool breeze running through you. Once thought of settling there :P

Sunset was beautiful!

We reached back Port Blair around 7pm. Roamed around and returned the vehicle.

We had a great Party as this was the last night of the trip. That Good Feeling!

Day 9^th : 23^rd Oct 2016

We got up around 8:30am.Checked out the guest house around 10am and left for Airport.

We had flight at 11:25am

We had a quick breakfast and reached Airport at 10:40am.

Everything was fine and reached Bangalore safetly.

This is one of the best experience trip for me as most of the decision were taken by us and interaction with variety of people made us connected.

Our Budget for 9 days with 4 People was 35,000 rs/person :D

Photo-Credits : Sujith Bhat

Jai Hind.

Cycling : Shimoga to Gokarna

Travelling is always fun as usual. This time we decided to go for a Cycle Trip.
Before embarking on this trip, this was our plan :
13th Thursday : Leave Bangalore to Shivamogga
14th Friday : Pedal from Shivamogga to Jog Falls (Appox : 100kms)
15th Saturday : Pedal from Jog Falls to Gokarna (Appox : 120kms)
16th Sunday : Relax in Gokarna and then travel back to Bangalore.

We were 5 members who finally made it, - Jimit, Abhishek, Rohan, Sumanth and Myself.  Ricky and Shantanu had to opt out due to their sudden personal work. Ricky was the one who planned the trip, route and stuffs. Unfortunately, we had to move on. Since we were well prepared for this trip we did not wanted to back out.

There were news of heavy rainfall in Shivamoga but we stick to our plan of Cycle trip.

We planned to ship our cycle via train for on-going journey and while coming back we thought of putting it on the bus. Yes, this was amateur ride. We knew there will be lot of learning as we have to manage on our own, no support vehicle too. We were all excited.

We had our train on Thursday at 11pm, but we had to be there near Luggage counter around 9pm for shipping the cycle. Jimit and I left marathalli to Majestic around 7pm, similarly Rohan, Sumanth and Abhishek left for Railway station to reach there by 9pm. And by 9pm, we were there at Railway station. We had little introduction of each other . After booking the tickets for luggage we went to have dinner to near by hotel. We came to each other well and decided the road plan for the next 3 days.

We reached Shimoga around 5am, after un-loading the cycles we got freshen up in railway station itself. We were all set to ride around 6am.  After some 10km, we had tea and Banana so that we have keep our energy level.

Sumanth had a cramp on the way. He had to rest and have to do stretches. We were in Ghat section and that did not seem to be good idea to rest. So, we were waiting for a tempo and truck so that it can carry cycle along. Thankfully we did not have to wait for long, a truck passed by and he agreed to drop 10km far. He was diverting from there. Anyways 10km was sufficient to get recovered.

We 4 continued our ride and reached Anandapura where Sumanth was waiting. We had breakfast here. And resumed our journey to jog.

The journey was amazing, the scenic view made us to love cycling even more. The road from Shivamoga to Jog was ultimate, the only issue was with truck and other vehicle, being a cyclist we had to follow the lane properly.

During our journey we experienced heavy rainfall, we rode and it was a great feeling. Greener along the sides with rain can made us happier.

As per the plan we had to ride from Shivamoga to Jog on the first day. And to our surprise we reached Jog by 3:15pm. The jog beauty was absolute classic. We enjoyed the beauty after which we decided to stay nearby Jog. Managed to get a room which is big enough for 5 of us for 1500rs. This was pretty good deal. We had the snacks in Jog. Room was large enough and we were comfortable.
The stay was approx 2km from Jog, we thought of re-visting the jog in the night. Since it was raining we did not wanted to go again and hence decided to pass time in room itself. We spent time talking and watching Saina's Semi-Final match and later pro-kabbadi. We ordered dinner from the stay itself.

It was an awesome first day of our trip. We slept around 11am and decided to start the ride by 6am.

Next morning we woke up around 5;15am and were ready by 6:30am to explore the ghat section. To our surprise Sumanth and My cycle were having flat tyre. Luckily for both of us it was the front wheel. But Unfortunately Sumanth's tube was broken at the tip and had to replace with the new tube. Rohan was an expert in fixing this and made the fixes quick. We left Jog around 7:30am.

Now we were about to cross Ghat section with terrrible up and down's. yes it was indeed a great experience. After riding some distance we had tea and biscuit. As mentioned the CYcling in the ghat section was amazing. We encountered the rain too. It was all fun. Finally reached a village where we planned to have break fast. The break fast was delicious. We had atleast 2-3 dishes. The Sun was coming out brightly and we were coming out of Ghat section as well. The ride till Honnavar was really challenging. Up hill and Sun never seemed to be off.

Finally we reached Honnavar. We were sweating bad. Luckily we found an AC restaurant named Romanancia. The food was Ok but the environment was the best. We sat nearby AC machine and enjoyed the cool weather which we were badly missing. We spend almost 2 hours here.

Around 3pm , we planned to leave to Gokarna. The route to Gokarna was almost flat. Due to Sun, the ride was bit challenging. Since, we were getting later to reach Gokarna, we decided to halt near Kumta. Kumta to Gokarna is 30km travel distance and we did not mind going next day morning.
Also, Sumanth had flat in his tyre , so we decided Kumta.

We visited Kumta beach, had cycled over the beach, shore and had fun in beach. We found a good hotel in Kumta and it was pretty decent. We had a beer and good food to close the day.

The last day of our trip, we left Kumta around 7am to Gokarna, we reached Gokarna by 10:30am. We visited Om Beach and spent time in Namaste Cafe. A good place to hang out. We spend entire day here.

Since we did not book Train ticket, we had to put the Cycle in Bus luggage counter. It was difficult to accomodate 5 cycle in bus, hence we had to dislocate each and every part possible and put over the luggage. Finally we managed to do.

We reached Majestic, Bangalore around 7am. Fixed our cycle and dispersed to our locality.

It was an awesome experience. Love Cycling :-)

Ramzan in Bangalore!

Ramzan is celebrated after the holy month of fasting and prayers. Ramzan is the ninth month of the Islamic calender and a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quoran.

Our Muslim friends will keep the fast from morning 5am till evening 6:50pm after the prayer. It was the month of the Ramzan and the end of fasting was approaching.

Frazer Town in Bangalore is known for having wide and special range of non-veg counters in the road side. Here we have Mosque and as soon as the prayer ends the frazer town will be filled with customers for the delicious food.

This was the first time in Bangalore and I definitely did not wanted to miss the chance of having this delicious food also being a core non-vegetarian.

So, we (colleagues) decided to visit Frazer town after office on Friday.
We were a total of 6 members. We reached the Frazer town around 7pm, since the prayers were already offered the roads were full of food stalls. It was like a cloth bazaar as we usually see across many part of India.

We were already excited for batting the non -veg food. Initially we were confused of which way to take. We choose one way and decided to roam before jumping into any stall.

The varieties of Chicken, Mutton, Beef, Bird (Don't know which), Fish Items were present.

We started with starters enjoying most of the variety and finished with Shaddi-Ki biryani.
Splendid day for the food lovers. Enjoyed to the fullest.

Cycle Trip

1. Chicka-Tirupathi :
Being a cyclist, I had made friends with similar mind set people. So, here we were 3-4 friends planning for a sunday morning trip for about 70-80km.

The destination was planned to Chicka-Trirupathi, 35km from Marathalli. Jimit, Ricky, Sreekanth and I planned this ride.  We were from Marathalli (Roughly 5km radius) and started this ride around 6am.

The route was beautiful but the weather was not that pleasant. It was hot and we had to sweat it out o reach Chicka-Tirupathi. Chicka-Tirupathi is a temple where lot of devotees visit.

We reach Chicka-Tirupathi around 9am. After having a good breakfast here we headed back. We took a nap in the nearby village for half an hour and then resume our ride back to Marathalli.

We reached back around 12:30pm. The weather was harsh but was a great ride and great time with friends.

2. Janapadaloka:
This is 140km ride trip, organised by Anil S Kadsur. The destination was Janapadaloka, this is mid way of Bangalore and Mysore. From Bangalore it is 55km and 80km from Mysore. The route was scenic and with minimum traffic.

The uphills were tough, it was a good balance between uphill and downhill.

I started from Marathalli at 4am along with Shiva and Mohan. We reached the starting point at wheelsports,Chamarajpette around 5am.

Seera and Water had been arranged by Anil, this gave up bit more energy to our ride. Almost 40 people were present for this ride.

Early Birds'

We started around 5:30pm, the route was tough and beautiful. Reached Janapadaloka, Kamat hotel around 10am. Literally exhausted. Nirav my colleague was also present for this ride.

We had buffer breakfast in Kamat hotel. It was delicious. We choose buffet as we were already tired and we had to go back around 70km.

After having proper breakfast we planned to go back in the same route. The route was challenging now as the Sun was already up and the uphill were almost steep. We finalised that we will be going by the same route.

Yes, It was indeed exhausting. I reached back home by 4pm.

That is, overall I had been 12 hours for the cycle trip. Yes, this was my longest ride. I am happy that I choose cycling for the commute.

Cycling is fun :)

Yo! 100+ km ride

Second Marathon!

Zinnov 10K Marathon :

After TCS Marathon 2015, this is my second attempt to run 10K marathon. My focus of this marathon was to run 10K continuously without any rest.

I have been practising since May to build up my stamina. At-least 3-4days/week was my routine to build my stamina. So, I was bit confident for this race. Zinnov 10K was organised by Zinnov consultant group on July 12th.

I did not want to stress myself too hard as I have heard of bad news such as 27year old guy died during some marathon and 38year old guy died due to heart failure. So, I was being more cautious. Run slowly and stop after the finish line was my motto.

Finally the day had come, July 12th. I did not know anyone participating in the race and I didn't bother about it. I reached around 5:30 am to Kantaveera Stadium, Bangalore. The race was supposed to start at 6am. My commute was by Cycle. The distance was about 12km which was a warm up for the event. Zinnov also had a warm up session. The instructor played Zumba dance. It was fun as no one expected this for 10k or 5k marathon warm-up session. There was mixed response for this warm-up session. I tried a few steps of Zumba dance, it's not that easy :P.

So, Marathon began at 6am. The route was inside Cubbon Park. It was a 5k long loop. For 10k we had to run twice the loop. I was prepared for this run as I had running shoes from Sketchers unlike my first marathon.

This first loop was easy, I could complete it without any break. I had positive things on mind for completing this marathon without a break. Around 7km, I felt exhausted. I thought of quitting, then I remembered TCS 10K run where I wanted to run continuously but I couldn't, so I decided that I will run slowly but will not stop this time.

As I was closing in for finish line, I got more pumped up and last km I ran like a finisher. I was glad that I completed this marathon without any break.

The timing of this 10K marathon was 1hr 1min and 40sec. I am glad that I was better than past. I learnt from past and achieved what I intended to. This small step was a great step was my future :).

Hope I will continue this healthy habit :-)
Next plan : Half Marathon by November 2015.

Running is Fun!

Leh Adventure : 15/15

Summary :
The highlights are 3 States, 14 Friends, 15 Days, 2500 Km bike ride, experiencing First flight, Snow fall, Cold Dessert, Camel with double humps, Dust storm, Sand storm, Meeting new people, expanding the friends group. Yes, this will be in memories for a long time, beautiful place to go.

Here is our Budget  (Per Person):

Rough Estimation :

Budget/Person
Flight	Bangalore to Chandigarh : Two ways	10000
Bus	Chandigarh to Manali : Two ways	1700
Bike + Bolero + Mechanic	Manali to Leh : Two ways	16,500
Fuel	Manali to Leh : Two ways	2100
Stay + Food	All misc charges in the group (Pass entry/Camel ride..)	10000
Adcane buying	Trek Bag,Shoes, Woolen cloths....	5000
Misc	Self sponsord	4700
Total	Not included shopping for self/family members	50000

Picture Courtesy : Rajesh Sivakumar, Aditya P, Rakesh Rao, Vyas V and Tushar.
The photo album is shared in fb:
Rajesh : Leh
Rajesh : Leh2
Prashanth : Leh
Ram Charan : Leh 


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