BapatsBlogCorner

OrissaTrip2010

2010-11-22T03:35:00.000-08:00

A rich heritage of medieval history, that takes us back across 3 dynasties from the eastern coast of the Indian Peninsula. Yes we are talking about the golden triangle in the state of Orissa comprising of Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark. We planned this trip about 3 months back and we are extremely satisfied with our choice of the destination and the timing of the trip. Sterling Resorts has a made a came back in the level of service and resort upkeep in the last 2 years is what I realized from this experience. And we have been very glad of being able to utilize our timeshare from Sterling Resorts after a really long time.

So the principle is to first secure the timeshare resort booking and then plan everything else around it.

So here goes our story of this memorable trip –

Day 1 (11-Nov) – Pune to Bhubaneswar by train is a long drawn journey which takes 36 hrs and hence this option was ruled out at the outset. I must say that booking early helped get a really good deal with Indigo Airlines which had a return ticket for Rs.7K from Mumbai to Bhubaneswar via Hyderabad. So we took a Tavera from Pune to Mumbai domestic airport. The Mumbai domestic airport and its world class infrastructure makes one feel very proud as compared to its international counterpart. The free unlimited Wi-fi and complementary newspaper at the airport are valuable facilities at this place. We took the flight journey of only 3 hrs to cover about 1,364 km which includes a 45 min stop at HYD. On reaching the Bhubaneswar airport we took a Cool Cabs taxi to Hotel Venus Inn located in the heart of the city at Bapujinagar. We had made advance booking due to the holiday season. This hotel had a well known Veg restaurant and hence our evening dinner choice was easy. Do not expect much from his hotel but is sufficient for a short night stop over at a reasonable price.

Day2 (12-Nov) - We checked out of the hotel in the morning after a short South Indian breakfast termed as tiffin in most of South India. There are a lot of sweetmeat shops in this area known for a variety of sweets made with cottage cheese and jaggery.Channa Pol is a recommended sweet famous in this area. We had made an advance booking for a Tavera for our city sight seeing for the day followed by a drop in the evening to the Sterling Resort at Puri.

Our first stop was to see the Udaygiri Caves which date back to the 2^ndcentury BC made by King Kharavela of the Cheti Dynasty. There are about 36 caves and the caves give a nice view of the city from the top. Some shapes are very interesting and the various levels of these caves are well planned, some to house elephants as well and hence known as Hathigumpha. Bang opposite this is a temple of Lord Shiva atop the Khandagiri caves. Beware of guides who try to extract lot of moola which is not worth it. An elaborate story has been carved on a stone in English and Oriya (the local mother tongue) near the caves. After spending over an hour, we then headed out to reach 20 km north for our primary sightseeing destination of the day – The Nandan Kannan Zoological Park. I must say that this is probably the best comprehensive Zoo that houses a wide variety of wild life and fauna. Some of the highlights worth mentioning are White Tigers from North East India and Lions found in the Gir Forests of Gujarat. We were lucky to spot a tiger perched atop a tree and another one quenching his thirst in the water filled moat.

There is a section that houses various nocturnal animals like Barn Owls. as well as birds from different global geographies like colorful Macaws from South America and rarely seen Vultures from South East Asia. After completing a big walking loop of about 4 km, Tanvi and Aai were a bit tired. we decided to wait in queue for a Lion and White Tiger Safari. However this was disillusioning and there is only 1 tiger and pair of Lions that are far away that you get to see.

That too we could get a better sight due to the powerful binoculars that we carried and this is a must to carry on such trips. So I would not recommend this to others. Post that, we spent an elaborate hour in the Reptile Park which has vivid collection of pythons, cobras, vipers, other snakes, tortoises, crocodiles and other rare species of reptiles. There is a huge model of a dinosaur at the entrance as well. Further onwards, Atharva and Tanvi were treated to a small toy train ride which took us into the thick foliage where bright peacocks were perched. After a quick snack break, we all enjoyed time watching hordes of deer, sambar, rare “neel gai” (blue buffalo) and a colorful cassowary. The kids and even Aai-Baba were blessed by a small Baby Elephant about 4 months old and another little one was overjoyed to see so many visitors and started rolling over and nudging Atharva.

Beware of the groups of monkeys that roam freely all over the park’s walkways. They can snatch any type of food that is held in the hand and visible to them. There is a 3-D show just where you exit the park which is not worth recommending too. It was 5PM by the time we finished the zoo and after that we headed back south to Bhubaneswar and onwards 60 km south to reach the Sterling Resort at the southern tip of Puri. In fact the last path of 4-5 km leading upto this resort is a rough one and that is the only negative I see with this resort. However, this strategy seems to be adopted by many such timeshare resorts at tourist locations for various reasons. We stopped briefly in Bhubaneswar at the 1200 year old Lingaraj temple which has a big size “ling” stone carving that is bathed daily with huge quantities of milk and honey. It is worthwhile mentioning here that no cameras and footwear are allowed inside such and many other temples, hence as a rule of thumb we used to keep these in the car itself. We were greeted at the Sterling Resort with a warm smile, “teeka” on the forehead and a welcome drink. The rooms were spacious and each had an extra child bed and small kitchen set. We slept well after having a sumptuous candle light dinner on the resort lawns right off the Beach.

Day 3 (13-Nov) – We took it easy on this day and had a heavy and massive breakfast in the resort restaurant which had an array of continental, south and north Indian menus. Of course, we skipped lunch and headed out to see the famous Lord Jagannath (an avatar of Lord Krishna) Temple in downtown Puri. Though we had timed this holy site visit at an offpeak day and hour, we saw hordes of devotees squatting all over the place. There is a lot of security around as well as inside the temple. When it comes to such temples, there is one species of humans all tourists need to be aware of. These are the priests called as Pandas. They keep on pestering till you oblige to pay them some ransom with which they short circuit the crowded general entrance and take you near to the deity to get a better view for the “Darshan”. Many times these Pandas may not completely fulfill their promise and it feels a bit unethical to bribe such priests for a noble intention.

There is a Temple trust that also sells ticket for a better and closer view but that queue is also huge. Overall our experience was OK and I must say that the hygiene in the overall premises needs to be viewed with a pinch of salt. Also, it is advisable to leave the tiny tots in rotation with one of the elders. In our case, I stayed outside the temple with all the belongings and then Baba came out and I went inside till the rest waited at a designated place. Another thing is that mobile phones and cameras are strictly prohibited so you may keep them with you in case of emergency but do not venture taking them out unless you are lost and need help. One also finds groups of ISKCON devotees in and around the temple. Finally after we all regrouped outside the temple, we traced our steps back to the Sea Beach main road taking about 3 hrs along the way doing various kinds of shopping. In Puri, one has to hone his skills in bargaining since everything is priced at least twice, if not more, for tourists. Good bargaining however does pay off most of the times. Items like clothes, toys and collectible handicrafts are worth spending that time.

While my better half as well as my mother were engrossed in shopping till late evening, I and Baba opted to take the kids to the Beach front and I must say that I spent quality vacation time playing Frisbee with Atharva and Tanvi enjoyed running and in and out of the waves that caressed the shores while Baba was happy with his 3 or may be 5 cups of tea while watching over all of us. We concluded the day with a dinner parcel from one Hotel Suv Palace and took an Auto to the resort for Rs.120 for 4 kms ( and I must admit that this was cheap). We also booked a local cab for the next day to take us for a day long trip to the Chilka Lake which is about 60+ km to the SouthWest of Puri. This is cheaper than taking a cab + driver for the entire duration of your week long vacation trip.

Day 4 (14-Nov) – The kids were very happy with the indoor activities available in the resort. Atharva especially enjoyed playing Table Tennis with me and other guests while Tanvi was content with the roll of dice on a Horse Race table. The driver of the hired Cab (a brand new Indigo) – one Mr. Santosh was very kind and drove us safely through the rural hinterland to Lake Chilka.

Along the way we stopped at a point to admire the Red and White Lotus flowers in full bloom in a village marshy pond. The family boat ride for Lake Chilka costed Rs.1600 for a 3.5 hr trip. Atharva tried his hands at steering the speed motor boat and we enjoyed spotting the Dolphins in the vicinity as the boat made its way across the shallow lagoon waters.

After watching the dolphins, on the return path, we had a brief stop at the land mass where the lake meets the sea. Here we saw a fisherman taking out a fresh pearl from a sea shell. Our boatman showed us his skill in catching the red crabs that swarm this area and one of the shanties had live stock of a variety of crabs/prawns and fish that one can choose from to buy and cook fresh right over there. Finally we headed back and enjoyed a quick bite at the only decent restaurant near the Lake before heading back to our resort. We again picked up tasty Veg biryani and raita for dinner on the way. Since this was Children’s Day, the Resort Management had organized some party games in the Open Lawn Area where we got prize for the best dancers among the motley group that had formed. The resort manager – Mr. John and his team do a really good job in hospitality to all the guests.

Day 5 (15-Nov) – On this day, we had hired another cab through a local travels company to take us to the World Heritage site of the Sun Temple at Konark, which is about 35+ km to the North East of Puri. The drive itself is right along the coastline and is good clear road with cashew nut and date trees lining our path all the way upto Konark. All parking and entrance fees are topped up by these cab drivers so be a bit careful. The Konark temple is to be seen and admired only from the outside since the inside is all cemented and sealed out in the year 1903 by the British Governor of erstwhile Bengal.

This is a series of 5 temples built 800 yrs back in 12^th century by King Narasimha. Hence this and most of the temples in this entire area have giant statues of a Lion face on top of an elephant head called Gaja-simhas. The Konark temple history is very interesting and intriguing as well. The Sun temple (also called Ark over here) is probably the only such temple in India where the Sun deity was balanced in air using a strong magnet. However this strong magnet was destroyed and large precious diamonds from inside the temple were allegedly taken away by the Portuguese since the magnetic waves used to destroy the compasses of the passing ships and thereby damage and sink them in the shallow waters.

The temple edifice makes one think of the evolved culture as well as social life structure that prevailed in this time period. Various sculptures tell different things like the killing of Hiranyakashyapu by Narasimha (avatar of Vishnu), Chinese warriors, different dance postures, trade, marriages, court trials, battles and many sensuous and emotional figures. The main temple that is preserved is the chariot drawn by seven spirited horses on twelve beautifully carved wheels on each side of the chariot. The other beauty is that the line of temples all face exactly in a single line directed eastwards. So the wheels are also acting as a measure of the time based on the sundial principle. A Government appointed guide is a must for this place but be careful to not tip him more than what is recommended on their identification cards. While we were there, the president of Mauritius also visited the temple and the security guards immediately cordoned off small areas as he made his way through.

The sweet fresh water from a ground borewell in these premises was very refreshing and Atharva helped draw water for many tired visitors with glee. After spending about 4 hrs at this site, we did some shopping in the local market (cashew nuts are half the price as compared to Pune) after having a round of sweet coconut water.

After returning back to the resort we spent the evening at the Resort Beach front and then myself and Atharva took a dive in the swimming pool. After a sumptuous resort dinner on the garden lawns, we relaxed in the room watching cricket highlights of the ongoing 2^nd Test Match between India and New Zealand.

Day 6 (16-Nov) – Myself and Manisha treated ourselves to an Ayurvedic Spa massage at the resort. We had contracted an Auto rickshaw driver to take us to a nearby Golden Sand Beach which was inside a restricted Forest Area. We were expecting to see a Tortoise Farm here but some months back they had moved this Tortoise bredding ground to a far away area.

However we spent some time at the deserted beach and finally returned back to the Sea Beach front market area to do more shopping and then relaxed at the Beach front. Atharva made friends with a local seller who was off for the day and enjoyed playing Frisbee. Eventually he also displayed us his skills with the sand by making a face of a Orissa dancer which was very proportionate. Many beach visitors admired his creation. Atharva promised him to come back again some day to play more Frisbee since this was our last day at Puri.

Day 7 (17-Nov) – We had contracted Santosh, the same cab driver (Mobile No - 9937247364) to take us back to the Bhubaneswar airport and he arrived early morning at 6AM.

The Resort Staff bid us a warm farewell. The sun greeted us warmly from the beach as we left Puri. The Indigo flight back from Bhubaneswar was very comfortable and on time. Eventually we comcluded our trip by 5:30 PM when we reached back to Pune from the Mumbai domestic airport with an arranged Tavera Cab. Another well deserved vacation came to a happy and memorable end.

SaputaraAndNorthMHTrip2009

2010-07-05T04:38:00.000-07:00

The classic runaway for urban animals in Mumbai-Pune has traditionally been the hill stations of Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani and Lonavala-Khandala. However, there is a one other less exploited location which is known as the Mahabaleshwar of Gujarat, called Saputara.

After quite a few changes in our vacation plan to Dahanu (i shall cover this in a separate trip blog some day later), we finally ended up making this week long trip with my in-laws right at the time of Diwali to escape from the urban hum-drum and enjoy nature at a tranquil place. And Saputara impressed the hell out of us ! No kidding !! So here is the travelogue -
13-Oct-2009 - Day 1
As responsible citizens of a democratic state, we cast our votes for the ongoing Maharashtra State Assembly elections early in the morning while the kids were asleep at 7 AM. Aai-Baba arrived after casting their votes and we were on our way by about 8:30 AM. The old Mumbai-Pune Highway has now been widened significantly and brings back old memories of the industrialization/manufacturing era as one zooms past till the Nashik Phata. We hit the Pune - Nashik State Highway and drove on this stretch for about 2 hrs before halting at a decent breakfast joint called "Khavaiyagiri". I had made up my mind on the breakfast menu already - Misal Pav, however I was dissapointed since they had no pav (double roll). After some south indian breakfast and a mandatory cup of hot tea we surged northwards passing through Khed, Manchar, Sangamner and finally reached Nashik by around 2 PM. From there we took the road leading North towards Surat. On the way we purchased some varieties of dried grapes aka raisins. Nashik is best known for its produce of grapes and wineries. Our road was lined with many vineyards with large tracts of grapes grown on both sides. The other interesting thing on this route was the hordes of tomatoes that were simply thrown on the entire road side. This was due to the late and heavy rains that lashed this area a couple of weeks back. Due to this a large part of the crop was damaged and farmers had no other resort but to dump this produce. Whatever crop was salvaged was also being stored in large warehouses and we saw big wholesale tomato farmers marketplace in the villages on the way. It was saddenning to see such a large crop of tomatoes being dumped but there is only so much one can do to protect from the vagaries of nature.

We finally neared the Maharashtra-Gujarat border and the rising altitude brought with it a nice cool breeze and a lush green carpet opened out in the valleys reaching upto Saputara. When we reached the hotel - Hotel Toran Hill Resort run by the Gujarat Tourism Development Corp (GTDC), it was evening and there were hardly any guests. The season started from the 15th when the room rates would get doubled (still cheap at Rs.1100 per room with double occupancy including breakfast and lunch or dinner).
We checked in to possibly the best room which had a grand outer view of the valley on the Gujarat side of Saputara. We immediately fell in love with the tranquil and virgin beauty of the overlooking valley from this location. After refreshing we decided to do boating at the Saputara Lake which is the heart of Saputara. Atharva and Tanvi were very happy to get a lot of time paddling the duck shaped boat and take a dig at learning some steering skills round the lake. The ropeway chair cars in the frontdrop of the elegant sunset made for a memorable evening. Just outside the lake was a small funfair where the kids made merry on the funjump and other tiny rides. What a nice way to end the first day with a piping hot supper in authentic Gujarati style. The khichadi-kadhi combination was very tasty and we all went to bed soon after.

14-Oct-2009 - Day 2

The day started at 5:45 AM, with a short trek to the top of the Jain Mandir hillock which arguably gave us the best view of entire Saputara from the sunrise point. The silver lining on the cloud cover made for a beautiful snapshot as the sun came shining out over the single peak. The tranquility of the surroundings and fresh clean pollution free atmoshpere is something amiss in our urban lives and we were so glad to have made this choice for our vacation.

After having a hot breakfast, we headed out northwards of Saputara through the dense forest areas of Ahwa, lined with fern, sal and other thick trees. This was a state highway road which had quite a few rough patches due to just finished monsoon. The resultant slower speed of our car was a blessing in disguise as we were able to appreciate the wild flora and fauna all along the way and stop at a few places to gulp in the jungle beauty. The Ahwa forest area also had a river running all along the meandering road and it had cut its way through many boulders and rounding them off. We finally reached our target destination - The Gir Water Falls near a place called Waghai. What a splendid sight this is, tucked away deep in the interiors of the rural hinterland. We went near the water front but were immediately called back by some locals sighting reasons of crocodiles in that area. The Gir Water Falls reminded us of our trip down south to Kerala which is home to the Niagara Water Falls of India aka Athirapalli. Sweet tender coconut water is a refreshing drink that one must have at a spot like this. We then drove 2 km further to arrive at the Waghai Botanical Gardens. This is a government run entry free garden that boasts of a wide variety of plants and shrubs. There is a specially cultivated medicinal plot which has different plants used in ayurvedic and household medicines. This is a good educational experience where the uses of each plant are explained. Atharva and Tanvi played a lot in the children's play area and then we traced our way back to Saputara. By the time we reached, it was late afternoon and we sped all the way to reach the Vaity Valley Ropeway Resort.

They have constructed a horizontal hanging ropeway between two mountain peaks pulled by powerful motors. We all enjoyed the ride in the colourful chair cars of the ropeway. The other side of the ropeway end houses a nice little garden with a wide variety of roses. The evening sunset from the ropeway was a treat to watch. After having another delicious Gujarati supper, we took a small walk around the resort.

15-Oct-2009 - Day 3
After checking out early morning from Saputara resort, we reached back south at a fork in the road called Vani, about 30 km north of Nashik. From here we took an east ward route to pass through a road lined with numerous marigold fields and then took a toll road through a very scenic mountain to reach a famous pilgrimage site called "Saptashrungi". This is a temple of an avatar of goddess Durga which is worshipped a lot in this part of Maharashtra. Atharva counted the number of steps leading upto the temple dome and that magical number was 552. The view from the top was breathtaking. After offering our prayers and taking "prasad", we took the route back to Vani and then reached Nashik. We checked into a decent hotel - Panchavati, in the heart of the city. In fact this entire area is also called by the same name and has lots of shops selling various wholesale items for grocery, dry fruits, spices and household items. After having a delicious rajasthani meal in the hotel's restaurant, we spent the evening visiting various temples along the banks of the holy river . Many pilgrims visit this place to have a holy dip in the waters and conduct death anniversary rituals. We also visited a big marble temple - Muktidham Mandir , which was the most impressive of them all. It has many idols of deities coming from various parts of the country and it is pretty clean and well maintained. Photography was not allowed in any of the temples.

16-Oct-2009 - Day 4
We started from the hotel at around 9 Am and the better half of the day was spent on the road travelling eastwards and we travelled almost 300 km to reach the world heritage site - the famous Ajanta Caves which are 110 km North east of Aurangabad city. Though I have been born and brought up in this state, I never once had visited this place and I was longing to see this for quite some time. There are 36 caves built in the 2nd century B.C. as part of the Buddhist dynasty. One has to park their vehicles in designated area about 3 km away from the caves site and take the state operated buses to reach the place. This was done to achieve a zero pollution environment for preserving the restricted area around the caves. There are hordes of monkeys all around this area and one has to be careful not to annoy these beasts. The main buddha fresco painting in one of the caves is a permanent reminder for all who studied in Maharashtra State Board pattern in the nineties since this was the cover page of our English reader text books for many years. Ajantha has a good mix of wall paintings aka frescoes and carved buddhist statues and stupas. We enjoyed the beautiful exteriors as well and there were a lot of monks visiting from Vietnam and Thailand at this place.

We then drove back to Aurangabad city and camped at a reasonably good hotel - Nandanvan close to the railway station for just 700 bucks for room with 2 double beds. There is also a decent restaurant just next door.

17-Oct-2009 - Day 5

Today was the last day of our trip and the most important day of the Diwali festival - Lakshmi Pooja. After checking out of the hotel we had our first stop at the "Taj Mahal of the poor" - aka - Bibi ka Maqbara. This is a Taj Mahal look alike built by Emperor Akbar's son in memory of his mother. The bottom part of the monument is made using marble whereas the entire top dome and walls are made using limestone. This is also now a national heritage site and there is a lot of restoration work done by the Archaeological Society of India. We then drove about 60 km to the North west of the city passing aside the Daulatabad Fort. We probably missed seeing this hostorical fort since we did not hear much about this one from some of my friends, but may be that is for another trip some another day.

Our destination was the Ellora Caves which is also a collection of caves, however this one is a bit different than Ajantha. Here you find 3 sets of caves belonging to Buddha, Hindu and Jain styles.

It was almost noon when we had finished our sightseeing and we straightaway headed southwards taking the Aurangabad-Pune National Highway.
The stretch of this highway upto Ahmednagar is such a marvellous track to drive on (reminds me of the US I-5 and 280 highways in California). We crossed many large daffodil fields.
There was one hotel that we stopped at on the highway (all hotels were closed due to the Diwali festival) and we were treated to some authentic rural Maharashtrian cuisine (Pithla/Bhakri/Vanga/Kanda/Thecha). Mmmm !!

As we started nearing Pune, it was already late evening and as our car navigated the final stretch, we were treated to bursting visual delights (fire crackers of various sorts that are lit on the occassion of the Diwali festival).
A pretty good and satisfying trip I must say. I think the timing of the trip was probably the most important thing that brought out the vibrant colors of nature at this place.

RajasthanTrip

2009-01-25T23:03:00.000-08:00

Rajasthan Trip Blog [25-Dec-08 thru 04-Jan-09]-
After visiting Thailand at the start of the year it was time I took a break from the hectic work schedule at the end of the year. The last week of December was a perfect time to visit the north western hub of our rich Indian culture – Rajasthan. Going on a vacation with my parents and 2 small kids required quite a bit of planning. The last week of December is when most of the US/EU Clients have a shutdown week and this makes it more convenient.
We did most of the hotel bookings through a affiliate network – Highland Holiday Homes Pvt Ltd in early November. Most of the hotels were average with AC Deluxe room bookings.
With both parents now senior citizens, the train fares were discounted and our total train journey cost us peanuts and was very enjoyable and convenient. My intention over here is to not focus on writing the details of the various destinations, one can get that information on many tourist websites but pen down some lively moments that I and my entire family will cherish forever. Hope u enjoy them as well and can help u plan your vacation-
Day 1-
We took a cab on the 25th from our home to the Bandra Railway Station. There we boarded the Bandra-Jaipur Superfast train at 4:30 PM. The train was on time at most of the stops. On our way we also passed Dahanu Road which had been a school summer vacation getaway at my Aunt's place for all bapat cousins.
A long distance train journey in India is always a great experience to binge on a variety of snacks, fruits and beverages and we all enjoyed this to the hilt. First was Dal-seng near Palghar Stn; followed by delicious chikoos and tadgolas at Vapi Stn; next was crisp peanuts in the Bharuch-Vadodara patch. We had also carried with us a Marathi trip favorite snack - “Tikhat Mithachya Puryaa” (spicy hot purees) in that lasted for the first 3 days. The night in the train was a bit colder than expected and we tucked the kids in warm blankets with all the head/hand/foot gear.
Day 2-
Early morning we reached Ratlam which is known for its spicy shev. At least 4-5 cups of tea helped put out the early morning cold. Our train stopped for some time at a small station where we saw a flock of parrots. About a decade back, one used to get tea in small mud cups in this area. People used to drink the tea and then compete to break the cups on the railway tracks. Finally we chugged into Jaipur Railway Station at 11 am (only ½ hr behind schedule). The driver was waiting for us with a placard. He was going to be with us for the next 10days. Our vehicle was a Toyota Qualis. We checked into Hotel Shalimar near Sindhi Chowk. Atharva-Tanvi were fascinated with the large size aquarium at the frontdesk. We refreshed and then left for sight-seeing; stopping briefly for delicious lunch at one roadside Balaji Veg restaurant. We had a quick glimpse of HawaMahal enroute to the Jaipur City Palace and by the time we finished, it was 5pm.
I captured a photo of the Sabha Niwas palace guard who was dressed in an authentic dress and was talking away on the cell phone w/o worrying about checking the tickets.
We then had our driver take us to a chai-tapri where we enjoyed some masala chai and the kids loved the hot milk that is kept constantly heated in a large vessel in such places. We then visited the Birla Mandir and returned back to the hotel post dinner.
Day 3-
We had a tourist guide for today's day and he turned out to be a pretty gentleman – Shiv Singh. He showed the place where one of the bomb blasts had occurred last year and told us that Jaipur was known for 6 Gs – Gai(cow); Gobar (cowdung); Garmi (heat); Garibi (poverty) ; Gandagi (garbage) and Guide. After stopping for a quick photo shoot at the Hawa Mahal (which looks magnificient in the early morning sun), we went to the Am(b)er Fort.

There is an elephant ride that one can take from the base of the fort but that is not advisable for aged visitors and is time consuming too. The guide explained to the us the various details of the Fort, the 40 km wall that runs round the fort and old city is considered the 2nd longest wall after the Wall of China. He also showed us an underground alley that was used to escape to a nearby fort in times of war. Here a big family of bats have made their den. Some other peculiarities here is the texture of the garden which matches exactly in shape and proportion to the wall decorations and the larger than life sized vessels used to cook food for the entire fort staff in the olden days.

We then stopped briefly outside the Jaigarh fort which houses the larget cannon of that era. The interesting thing here was the vendor standing outside the gate who was selling gigantic size papads. This is another peculiarity in Rajasthan. Tanvi liked the papad and wanted more.
We moved on to visit the Nahargarh Fort which is not so popular since it is not commercialized to the Foreign tourists. The view of the Jaipur city from the top of the fort was amazing. Retracing our steps back into the city, we stopped briefly at Jal Mahal ( which was built first and then the artificial lake was created around it by building a dam in the vicinity). Lunch was taken at Hotel Annapurna – decent place.

Late afternoon, we visited Jantar Mantar next to the City Palace. This was an interesting place where the biggest sun clock is situated (it has a least count of 2 seconds). It also houses a sun sign based clock which was used in conjunction with other dials to understand a person's horoscope. Baba was exhausted at the end of the day but what made our day, rather night, was the mouth watering sumptous dinner we had at a Thali House near Sindhi Chowk. Authentic Rajasthani food consists of Dal-Bati; Churma; Papad; Dal; Bajra Roti and a vegetable known as Ker Sangri.
Day 4-
We checked out of the hotel; had a good breakfast by the roadside of Poha and Paratha followed by Pyaj Kachori at Rawats and then zoomed on the National Expressway to reach Pushkar, the only place where Lord Brahma's temple exists. The natural lake at this place is claimed to be holy but what we saw was a mossy green cover with plastic bags. No cameras or cell phones are allowed inside the temple and one has to hand these over to the outside shopkeepers who expect you to purchase something from them. Gulkand (crushed rose petals in sugar syrup) is a famous product to be purchased at this place.
We then went to see the Ajmer Sharif Dargah (mosque) built for Moinuddin Kishti. The way leading upto the Dargah is jampacked with small shops that sell all kinds of sweetmeats and prayer caps that one must wear while entering the dargah. Also lined up are a lot (I mean a lot) of beggars who try their level best to coarse you into giving them alms and keep on asking for more. There was a mad rush inside the Dargah since it was a special day and we got a bit scared. A similar rush at the Chamundi temple in Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur a few months back had led to a stampede where 60 young teens were killed. Sometimes I wonder how devotees in the name of praying God end up reaching God's doorstep due to such unfortunate incidents. A word of advice here, avoid taking small children to places where there is a mad rush on special festival days.
By the late evening we reached Jodhpur and checked into a hotel right in the heart of the city near the Clock Tower called Jee Ri Haveli. We had booked only this particular hotel thru an internet booking site hotelpushpak.com; I am sorry to say but we were forced to pay extra at time of check-in due to a mistake on the part of the intermediary website broker agent. We called the broker but he was non-committal and we had to finally pay an extra Rs.300 for each room per night. The hotel was owned and run by a family that had converted their home into this 3-storey hotel, they were very nice and tried their best to cover up for the intermediary's mistake by being nice to us. Never ever use this website for doing any hotel reservations; do bookings directly with the hotel sites or by calling them up. The place was well maintained and we were served a delicious dinner on the roof top restaurant. The Clock Tower was sparkling and well lighted. The fountains of the Lake were also very refreshing.
Day 5-
The view from the hotel room was magnificent. The hotel was situated next to the Gulabsagar lake fountains, with the Mehrangarh Fort standing out in the backdrop. There was a big coincidence that happened at the Mehrangarh Fort. My son, Atharva ended up greeting the current Maharaja – His Highness Raja Gaj Singh II in person on his birthday. He had come to seek blessings of their Kuldevi (the dynasty goddess at the temple inside the Fort) and we happened to reach the point where his jeep was parked at the same time. This fort gives the visitors a glimpse of the rich taste and the lavish lifestyle enjoyed for generations by the rulers of this Marwar kingdom. Some of the views of the old city from the Fort showed a specific area of the city where all houses are painted blue on the outer walls. Audio Tours are also available at Fort Museums and the local guides can speak and cater to most of the foreign language visitors that flock to this place. Many foreign tourists are amazed by the fluency of these guides that make you feel at home and impress them with the charm and information of the rajput and moghul era. We then visited briefly the Jaswant Thada where all photos of the Rajput kings are housed in a big marble edifice. As soon as you step onto the marble floor you can feel the difference in temperature on the inside of the building. We were not able to visit the Maharaja's City Palace (called Umed Bhavan) on this day since it was closed for his birthday.
The evening was spent shopping at the National Handloom Emporium ( a one stop shop for all shopping) on the busy market place road. Jodhpur is cheaper than all Rajasthan cities and one should plan to do most of the shopping here.
Day 6-
We checked out of the hotel and hit the road to Jaisalmer via Pokhran. On the way, we stopped to see a beautiful set of temples at place called Osiyan, where we met a big group of Jain people who had come from Pune. Outside this temple there is a unique shop that sells various dry food items like pan masala; suparis; different kinds of papad and a sweet called Til-papdi (wafer thins made of sugar and sesame seeds). The stuff is good and cheap here.
Our next stop was for lunch near Pokhran (this is the place where the BJP govt undertook the successful testing of the nuclear missile blasts in 1998). We then reached Jaisalmer and checked into Hotel Priya. However the front desk told us that we were supposed to reach the desert camp at the Sam Desert which was a change in plan than what was booked for us 2 months back. After figuring out that we would miss our desert sunset if we kept on arguing about it, we decided to hurry up and the driver breezed us through to reach the desert tent camp at Sam Desert which is just 60 km away from the Indo-Pakistan border. The sunset view in the sand dunes was a memorable sight. Here to the camel ride vendors keep on pestering you and making false promises of showing the border etc, beware of them. The evening was another memorable experience. We were treated to tea/snacks and a folk music and dance night around a big camp fire followed by hot dinner. The weather gets biting cold at the night progresses in the desert. Our tents were well equipped with a neat bed and toilet arrangements.
Day 7-
We rose to the first rays of the rising sun in the early morning. Some enthusiasts (I mean really motivated to wake up before sunrise and take a camel ride to the top of the sand dunes) had reached the place where one can take great pictures of the sunrise as it swells over the golden sand dunes. Both the kids enjoyed a hot glass of milk and we too enjoyed good masala chai in the morning cold. After breakfast we took the kids for a camel ride. Beware of the outside camel ride vendors they are very demanding and keep pestering you and making false promises of showing the Indo-Pak border which is 60 km away from this place. Go with the camp package camel ride that is sufficient to get a good view of the sand dunes. Tanvi rode with me and Atharva was with Manisha. The names of our camels were funny – one was Babloo and the other – Raja. Both kids enjoyed the ride, while getting down one gets a big push forward and then backward – the camel first bends on its front legs and then swoops back on its rear ones.
Leaving the camp, we deviated from the main road to reach a place called “Kuldhara”, this is a must visit place which many tourists, especially Indian, miss out. This was a village that was abandoned by the brahmins of Pali 300 yrs back to save their self-pride. All houses have an underground chamber that was used to store grain and hide to escape the atrocities of the weather and the ruling kings of Jaisalmer. Once covered with a floor tile, no one can make out this hidden room below. The village architecture is such that it takes you back into the times like other well preserved historic ruins. The morning sun makes the yellow sandstone glow.
We then went back to Hotel Priya in Jaisalmer, checked in and took some rest. We took lunch at an authentic style restaurant “Apni Dhani”. In the late afternoon we visited the Patwaoon Ki Haveli – another beautiful 5-storey architectural residence built by a rich and prosperous merchant family. The rooms are well decorated and speak of the lavish lifestyle and abundance of all material pleasures and luxury that was enjoyed by this merchant family. Their trade empire was significant in the north western part of India in those times. If you have to do shopping, there is one vendor sitting right below the Haveli who sells printed T-Shirts at reasonable prices here. We discovered after lot of bargain hunting that he was the most reasonable. This was the last day of the year 2008 and we all took it easy at the hotel. 2008 will go down in history as an year which shook the entire world economy which saw the debacles of many financial powerhouses. I wish Alan Greenspan and all these MBAs from Harvard and Wharton had a little more vision, but alas, hindsight is always 20-20 ! Lets hope the new year ushers in a better world to all us to live and enjoy with peace, health and harmony.
Day 8-
We checked out of the hotel early morning and headed straight to the Jaisalmer Fort. We were lucky to have found this great option to see the Jaisalmer Fort. We took an autorickshaw from the entrance and it took us all over the narrow lanes of Jaisalmer Fort, this helped us cover and see the entire fort in about 1+ hr and was not taxing for my parents to climb the steep grade stone roads. The fort and its narrow lanes speak of the tremendous commercialization that has been embraced by the residents of the Fort. The Fort has over 5000 residents and the fort is said to be sinking down with any seismic activity in the region. All residents here are not wiling to move out of the fort to prevent its degradation even thought the Govt tried thrice to evict them. The posts (in Marathi we call Buruj) that are constructed on the Fort helped the King of Jaisalmer fend off the seige by Allauddin Khilji of the Moghul Empire for 9 long years. One can see the big size rounded stone balls that were used to kill the enemy climbing from the mountain sides. Though simple this tactic was very productive. There are many Jain temples inside and the marble carvings are intricate. After this we started our journey to Jodhpur. On the way we stopped for lunch again at the Government Tourist Bungalow restaurant. Not only is the food delicious it is reasonably priced as well. Avoid going to the standard Dhaba on this Pokhran highway where exorbitant rates are charged and the drivers earn a commission too. We also visited the Army Museum at Pokhran called as Shakti-Sthal. The museum provides lot of detailed information and also houses a “charkha” spinning wheel used by Mahatma Gandhi and some historic pre-independence as well as the Indo-Pak war pictures. Most important of all is the monument depicting the nuclear weapon history of India's defence sector. The first tests were conducted in Indira Gandhi's reign here in 1974 and then came the 11th and 13th May, 1998 blasts by BJP Govt. At that time about 22 tons of onions were used to absorb the underground nuclear test blast heat which led to an artificial scarcity of onions in the country thereby jacking up the prices for a short term. Quite interesting !! All the roads in Rajasthan are excellent and we cruised to Jodhpur in about 6+ hrs. Along the way we stopped to enjoy flocks of peacock, pheasants and deer that were grazing in the fields lining the highway. Atharva/Tanvi enjoyed milk and we had some good tea on the roadside “thelas” along the way. We tasted the authentic Mawa Kachori at a famous shop called Janata Sweets on the bustling Nai Sarak Road at Jodhpur. The Clock tower is well lit up in the evenings.
Day 9-
We visited the Umaid Bhavan in the morning. About 80% of the palace is leased out to Taj as a luxury resort, 10% is occupied by the current maharaja Gaj Singh II and the rest is for the public at a Palace Museum. The lavish style of the Raja Udai Singh and his successcors is worth watching in the various photographs, tableware, cutlery, antique clocks and paintings. After this we started our journey to Udaipur. On the way we stopped to see the magnificent and huge (I mean really big) Ranakpur Jain Temples. The property houses a lot many Jain temples collectively called the Ranakpur Jain Temple. There are a lot of monkeys on the hilly terrain leading to this place and onward to Udaipur. There is one more place in the vicinity which we did not visit where the historic battle was fought by Maharana Pratap Singh. We reached Udaipur in the evening. Our hotel (Baba Palace) was situated right in the heart of the city and was right opposite the Jaswant Temple. After checking in and refreshing up, we visited the Temple and then treated ourselves to the various delicacies on the street shops and vendors of the marketplace (Aloo Tikki; Udaipuri farsan and hot gajar halwa, malai doodh).
Day 10-
We spent about 3.5 hrs watching the Udaipur City Palace, this was a bit taxing for the patience of the kids and for the parents. There are zillions of paintings depicting the rich Mewar culture, festivals, fights, animal hunts and one gets overwhelmed after a while, especially this being the last day of the 10-day trip. The peacock balcony in particular was very articulate. The views of the city were splendid too. The most famous Mewar king -Maharana Pratap Singh rode a valiant horse called Chetak. The peculiar thing here is that Chetak's face was covered with an artificial mask of elephant head during the wars which helped the King defeat the enemy warriors atop real elephants. After lunch we went to relax at a garden called “Saheliyon ki Badi” which has a lot of landscaped gardens and fountains. Water fountains are a favorite for all kids and Tanvi was specially jubiliant in playing with them. The water that is supplied to this garden using a gravitational method from the FatehSagar lake , was planned in the medieval times and speaks about the architectural proficiency and planning during those times.
After seeing the sunset at the FatehSagar lake, we visited one of our Rajasthani Jain family friends who shifted back to Udaipur from Pune a few years back. The home made dinner at his house was the icing on the cake to our 10day stint at Rajasthan. We boarded the Udaipur SuperFast train at 9:30 pm and reached Bandra on the 4th at around 3pm. After reaching home by cab, we felt a sigh of happiness and satisfaction. 10 days with 2 kids and parents, covering 3000 km by train and about 1800 km by road was indeed a life long experience to engrave in our memories.

Thailand Trip - 2008

2008-01-28T08:22:00.000-08:00

A people focused dynasty ruled over generations. A kingdom that has avoided the British colonization successfully. An Asian kingdom where tradition and culture have been guarded over generations and at the same time, have taken giant steps to built a long-lasting infrastructure that fuels the economy. A country that has immense gold and natural resources. Yes we are talking about Thailand. As part of the Club Mahindra membership, we had received 2 international weeks thru the RCI tie-up. We finalized our plan to visit Thailand 2.5 months back. The flight bookings and information collection went well and finally the day, rather night, arrived. Atharva and Tanvi were excited. We took a cab that picked us from home and dropped us to the airport. Our Cathay Pacific flight was at 5 am, so, we had planned to reach early and check-in the luggage so that we all got a good 2+ hrs sleep at the airport lounge. After a good nap and delicious breakfast on the flight, we landed at Suvarnabhumi International airport in Bangkok at 11 Am. We had opted for the visa-on-arrival option (1000 Baht aka BHT per person; 1BHT = 1.28 Rs), Atharva and Tanvi, being US citizens no visa was needed for them.
Day 1- (20 January, 2008)
We figured out right from day one, that, in Bangkok tourism industry is extremely commercialized. Local people quote any price for foreigners (especially the white skin ones) and one has to negotiate and arrive at an agreeable price for anything and everything you want. We took the taxi from the public taxi terminal point and paid 400BHT to the hotel but other taxis were quoting 800-1200 BHT. Our hotel – The Grand Tower Inn - was a 25-storey building located at the northern tip of Bangkok on Rama VI Road. I wish the rooms had a microwave, however, they provided only a hot water electric pot. Except for 2 bottles of drinking water/day, everything else is exorbitantly charged in the hotels. Eg. Intl phone call to India was more than 150 BHT/min whereas outside phone cards were ranging from 10-26 BHT/min. Also the exchange rates in the hotel for 1$ was 31 BHT whereas outside we got 32.8 BHT for a dollar. We had our first lunch at a hotel right next door to the hotel. It was a challenge to explain to the local chef that we were vegetarian and finally we ended up showing him all the things he can/cannot put in the customized fried rice that we ordered. The Tom Yup soup was good and Atharva is a big fan of mushrooms. Thai Papaya Salad was another tasty discovery. This one has grated raw papaya that has a unique sour taste.
The hotel has a RCI member's corner and we got some good information and advice from the RCI helpdesk Ms. Noora. Bangkok has big weekend markets and we were located close to the Chatuchak weekend flea market.This flea market is really really big and I mean it. We took a local autorickshaw (called as Tuk-Tuk in Thai) and reached the place at 5pm. The market closes at 6:30 pm and it was overcrowded. Narrow lanes lined with all kinds of wares, clothes, jewelery, art and craft, zillions of eating joints, this market was indeed a vibrant experience. I purchased a RayBan goggle since my previous one was absconding since the last few days.

This one I purchased for 100 BHT after finding that the exact same piece was priced for 200 BHT in most of the other shops. The evening was hot and steamy and we enjoyed cold watermelon and lichee smoothies.

After this we took another Tuk-Tuk to reach a super departmental store called Big-C market. This place was a big departmental and grocery chain store. We purchased all essential groceries and had dinner at a Pizza shop since this was the only vegetarian option we could find at this location.

We reached back at the hotel and had a good first night's sleep.

Day 2- (21 January, 2008)
RCI organizes a free city tour for all guests at this hotel. Our guide was a very polite person – Mr. Meng who took us to our first destination for the day – Wat Traimit near the main Railway Station of Bangkok. This is a unique temple built of Italian marble. The marble lions outside the temple symbolized as guards that protect the Golden Buddha inside the temple. This temple houses the biggest Buddha statue in meditation (nirvana) position and made of pure gold weighing 5 tons. By tradition, the thread in the hand of the Buddha is extended to outside the temple so that all devotees can touch it and pray for the calmness and peace that Buddha symbolized.

Then we were taken to see the temple of standing Buddha, Wat Intharawihan. The local thai people also worship an incarnation of God Vishnu over here. Also, there are 4 postures of the Buddha monk that Thai people offer lotus flowers, incense sticks and gold paper for - There are different representations of the Lord Buddha. He is sitting, standing, walking or reclining. 1) Sitting Buddha: a) Teaching dharma (the essential function or nature of a thing). Buddha's hands are turning the Dharma wheel (left hand in lap, right hand gesturing).b) Stop fighting (left hand in lap, right palm raised). c) Meditating (both hands in lap, palms up, and right hand on top). 2) Standing Buddha: a) Stopping a flood (both palms raised). b) Calling for rain (both arms down at the sides, palms against thighs). c) Meditating (both hands in lap, palms against the body, and right hand on top). d) Giving alms holding a bowl with rice or other food. 3) Walking Buddha: Walking around in order to teach the Dharma (left hand raised). 4) Reclining Buddha: The Lord Buddha has reached Nirvana. He is sleeping and waiting for death.

Meng actually showed us the quality of the pure gold by poking his finger in one of these golden statues and the gold was very ductile.
We then stopped shortly at the Government's first ISO-9002 certified Gems and Jewelery Shop and Museum where all the precious stones were carved by skilled craftsmen to make bracelets, pendants , earrings and rings. Then we were shown the Museum of Jade where the clipping on the 2 varieties of Jade and their history was very interesting. We ended up purchasing a Jade pendant and they provided a certificate for the same from the Govt. of Thailand.

The last stop in our free tour was Wat Pho or Wat Phra Chetuphon– the temple of the Reclining Buddha.

This is very giant statue of the Buddha which is ~80 metres long. Outside this temple were statues of Ching dynasty warriors from China. Also the surrounding buildings were various Chedi's displaying exquisite Thai architecture, including Spires of Phra Maha Chedi Si Rajkarn.

We then requested to be dropped off near the Tha Tien Pier market place (on the Chao Praya River that flows right thru Bangkok), where we had another negotiated vegetarian lunch, followed by sweet coconut water (called Singha in Thai) and then went to see the No.1 religious attraction of Thailand – The Grand Palace.
Built in 1782 by King Rama I, when he shifted from the other side of the Chao Praya River (where we have Wat Arun), this palatial complex has several buildings that showcase the rich traditions, gods and other religious characters of Thai Dynasties from King Rama I thru the present King Rama IX. This includes a marvellous golden Chedi, a miniature Angkor Wat and the Royal Pantheon in which statues of past sovereigns of the ruling Chakri dynasty are enshrined. Scattered around the terrace are statues of elephants and mythical beings.

The other unique thing was the floor to ceiling murals that adorn the interior walls of the various buildings. These murals depict the story of the Ramayana where the Rama of Ayotthaya (this is the previous capital of Thailand located about 100 km north of Bangkok) waged a war to rescue his wife Sita, who was abducted by Thotsakan (Ravana), king of Longka. The murals depict many wars waged betn the various kin of Ravana and Rama's army.
After this follows the Phra Maha Monthian Group of Buildings which had the residence of KingRama I, II and III. Towards the end is the building built during the Chakri dynasty reign of King Rama V in 1882.

Finally the last stop in the palace was The Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha – enshrined on a golden traditional Thai-style throne made of gilded-carved wood. (taking photos inside was not allowed, so I clicked one from the outside). The sacred image is clad with one of the three seasonal costumes (summer, rainy and winter season). The costumes are changed thrice every year in a ceremony presided by over by His Majesty the King.
The Emerald Buddha was in fact carved out of a block of green jade and was first discovered in 1434 in a stupa in Chiang Rai. At that time the image was covered in plaster and later discovered to have the green stone beneath and was mistaken to be emerald, hence the name Emerald Buddha.
Another character that is prominently seen in Thai history is the Garuda or Eagle that is displayed on most of the Royal and Govt. buildings. After an exhaustive tour we took a Tuk-Tuk and reached the PhyaThai district at the BTS Sky-train station. Here we had dinner and then boarded a sky-train to get down at the Ari station near our hotel. This is a better option especially during the peak traffic hours in Bangkok where one gets stranded wherever u go betn 5-8 pm on weekdays.
Day 3 - (22 January, 2008)
This was a day dedicated to Safari World – a primary attraction for kids. The Orangutan show was spectacular where we witnessed a Boxing fight followed by a grand musical band presented by about 12 orangutans. We then entered an aviary that hosted colorful parrots by the hundreds. A few stopped for a while on Dipti's head and one parrot liked the Cognizant symbol on my cap and tried to peck at it.

Tanvi was so overjoyed to see so many birds near here and her smiling face said it all. This was followed by a gallery of various birds, lizards etc.
Then was the time for the Sea Lion Show where 3 sea lions enthralled the wide audience with their high jumps, dancing and many tricks. This was followed by another stunt show that involved use of many pyrotechnics. Kesari Tours had also organized a tour over here and we met a few folks from Pune too. Lunch was served in a big buffet room that had various buffet menus including Indian Vegetarian. We also relished some good Ceasarian Salad and Thai Dessert of Jelly Noodles in sugar syrup, topped up by delicious Thai fruits – guava, pineapple, papaya etc.

The last show was the Dolphin and Whale show. The big Beluga whales were a treat to watch and the trainers have done a splendid job at communicating with these giant fish.
Meng then took us in our van to the adjacent Jungle Safari ride where we saw openly roaming wild animals that included Indian deer, American antelopes, wild beasts, Australian fowl, Rhinos, Giraffes, Zebra, Camels, Pelicans, Flamingoes, Peacocks. Finally we entered an enclosed area where we came face to face with a family of lions and tigers that were freely playing with each other as we calmly watched them from the interiors of our van. It was a unique experience which one may not get to see even in the National Parks where u can watch not one or two but an entire family of lions or tigers that are unbonded and close to nature from a close angle. The last point before our exit, we saw a few black bears gazing lazily at us and one bear that was having a swim to avoid the afternoon heat.
We reached back at the hotel by 5:30, freshened up and again went to see Chinatown. We dared to have lunch at a Chinese eating joint where all the waiters were Thai girls that played with Tanvi. The taxi driver became our friend and he agreed to take us to Ayuthaya at a much cheaper price than the RCI tours, so we booked him for Thursday.
Day 4 - (23 January, 2008)
The Indian tailor at the Hotel's shop also helped us by arranging for a day long taxi to see the Damnoen Sadauk Flaoting market about 110 km to the SouthWest of Bangkok. The river bridge on the expressway and adjacent high-rise buildings were a fitting example of the blending of modern architecture.

The Floating Market boat ride was another unique experience where we shopped on the canal side shops as well as other boats that were selling various merchandise and fruits. One thing over here that reminded us of Pune was traffic jams. We are used to the traffic jams in Pune, not that Bangkok is any different, but to be party to a floating market boat traffic jam was funny experience.

We then went to see the Samphran Elephant and Crocodile Zoo. The Magic show, the Elephant Show and Crocodile show were all enthralling. Tanvi offered a few Cheerios (cereal) to an elephant who gladly embraced her and me with his big trunk.

The kids had fun in the play area after the shows and also enjoyed the feeding of the caged Bengal Tigers at the entrance of the Zoo.
On our way back we stopped at Phahurat – an Indian market place where we packed Indian (Punjabi) dinner that was spicy and we all enjoyed it at the hotel.
Day 5 - (24 January, 2008)
Our new found friend – Taxi Driver – Wichian arrived at our hotel half an hour before and was waiting for us. We started for Ayutthaya at 7:00 pm. Ayutthaya was one of the previous capitals of Thailand couple of hundred years back. The big expressways built all around Bangkok as well as as the many universities and industrial areas along the way signify the development of this nation. The first place to visit was Wat Yai, which houses a large and old Chedi surrounded by Buddha statues, at least 50+. The main temple in front of the Chedi has a big Buddha statue and was home to a big buddhist monastery. In the compound are also old Stupa's built before the Chakri dynasty.

We then went to see the Wihan Phramongkhon Bophit which has a very large bronze cast statue of Buddha just outside the Grand Palace to the east. The Grand Palace, a UNESCO world heritage site, houses the ruins of the Ayutthaya Period (15 thru 17th century) that have many Chedi's and stupas.

We then had lunch at an authentic Thai restaurant – Vegetable Green Curry with rice.
After returning back to Bangkok we stopped at the Royal Barges Museum which has the richly decorated boats used by the royal family for the processions in the Chao Praya River. Our final vist was at The Temple of Dawn, Wat Arun – which paradoxically looks magnificent at sunset. The towering prang with its four smaller siblings was started by Rama II in the early part of the 19th century, and completed by his successor Rama III. The prang is not only unique in its design, which is a blend of Khmer and Thai styles, but also in decoration. Over the brick core, a layer of plaster was applied and then decorated with bits of Chinese porcelain and glazed ceramic tiles. Like the bell shaped chedi, the central Prang represents Mount Meru, home of the gods. The four smaller prangs symbolize the four winds. High up on the four smaller towers, you can see a statue of Pai, god of the winds, on his horse.

The steps to the upper 2 and 3 levels of the central prang were drastically steep and we had a big problem while climbing down. Both kids started crying looking down. I had to bring down Tanvi first, then climb up again and bring Atharva, boy, what an exercise this was.
After this we returned back and packed dinner on our way to the hotel.
It cost us only 1500 BHT for the Ayuttaya tour whereas, we would have paid 1200 BHT per person had we booked thru RCI. I would recommend hiring a day taxi for visiting places near Bangkok for 1-day trips as compared to costly RCI/other package tours.
Day6- (25 January, 2008)
It was Friday and we left our hotel pretty early by 6:30am. Today's plan was to visit Pattaya and the Coral Island – Koh Lorn. After collecting various members from other hotels we finally reached Pattaya at 9:30 am. Our tour guide who was also very kind and helpful, helped me with exchanging currency before we embarked on our boat ride to Coral Island.

On the way, we stopped on a platform where Manisha and Dipti enjoyed a para sailing ride while I gladly shot them on video. The skyline as well as the shallow turquoise green waters made a perfect background for photo shoots. The sky was clear and the sea breeze was pleasant.
After we reached the Island, Dipti embarked on a separate tour which took her on a boat to descend down to see corals on foot underneath the waters by cladding a oxygen mask. It was an enriching experience to feed coral water fish by hand and see the rich colors of the corals and surrounding fish.

We (myself, Manisha and the kids) embarked on a submarine ride. This was also a one-of-a-kind tour where we descended to about 30m below the sea. As we descended gradually we saw a variety of fish with amazing colors that gradually made way to only black color fish since the spectrum of light gets absorbed as u go deeper below the waters. A Scuba diver had accompanied us on this tour and he was on the outside of the submarine, he was catching some rare poisonous fish and showing them by hand to us from outside the submarine windows. We were thrilled with this experience. Back to the main island by 12:30, we were served a fantastic full-course vegetarian lunch of soup, fried rice and several vegetarian dishes, appetizers followed by watermelon for dessert.

We then clad our swimming costumes and ventured into the shallow green waters. Both kids enjoyed playing in the water and jumping as the waves hit the shores. Our journey back to the hotel gave a first hand experience of the traffic jams, we reached the city by 6pm and evetually our hotel by 8pm. Yes, 2 hours on the Bangkok roads inching towards the hotel.
Day 7 – (26 January, 2008)

The final day had arrived, we had done our final packing and we checked-out early and kept our luggage in the lobby. We then took a “tuk-tuk” to see the Vimanmek Mansion – the world's largest golden teakwood mansion. Along the way we also caught a glimpse of Thailand's democracy monument in a big square.

This is very big building that has 62 rooms in all. We took a tour that showed us 31 of these rooms. They have different colors for different areas of the mansion depending on the area assigned to each member of the royal family. The crystal and glassware on display has been primarily received as gifts from other kings and governments of Europe. It has many pedestals and giant elephant ivory tusks located in one-third of the rooms. This tour gives a glimpse of the unimaginable wealth and luxury that the royal family has achieved over the generations and the rich tradition and taste upheld and passed on from generation to generation. (taking photos inside was prohibited).
Our final stop was for delicious fried rice on a nearby gourmet alley and we then reached back at the hotel. Wichian was smiling and waiting for us for the final drop-off to the airport for 300BHT.
Bangkok Intl Airport is another modern day architectural marvel I must say with its well laid out plan having wide variety of shops, exchange booths, restaurants and information kiosks and telephone/Internet terminals.
Our final journey on the Cathay Pacific flight was thru turbulent wind currents and tea/coffee was not served due to this, however the meal was very good.
As we disembarked at Sahar airport, I could see the stark difference in the airport infrastructure and up-keep. I am sure that Mumbai/Pune definitely needs an international class airport. Even the renewed domestic airport at SantaCruz is way better than Sahar. I hope that Maharashtra's leaders do something about this soon. If we are to reach the stature of Shanghai city, then an international airport infrastructure with at least 4 terminals and about 40+ gates is the first necessity. Mr.Sharad Pawar, pls read this and do something about it.
A final stop for delicious Wada-pav at the food mall on the expressway and we finally hit home at midnight. A different way to enjoy the republic day holiday.

Nisarg Farms, Mulshi

2007-10-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

(Aug 2011 Update)

Last Sunday was the Annual General Meeting held at Nisarg Farms, Mulshi where I am a member since 2007. There have been many developments in the last 3 years. More than 50% of the members have been allocated their plots. Members come from diverse backgrounds, quite a few of them are retired SBI Bank Officers as well as Doctors/Artists and Engineers. We now have a new Clubhouse with family rooms as well as big dormitory, the main hall can be used for meetings/get-togethers and also has good play equipment like TT Table/Carrom and outdoor children equipment.

One of veteran members Mr. S.V.Kulkarni has toiled hard to build his farmhouse as well as a Guesthouse, which interested groups can rent for weekends/nights as well. It has 2 full-size rooms with attached bathrooms.

Arrangements for food(veg/non-veg) are also available. At 40 km from Pune (1 hr drive) with scenic Mulshi Dam catchment area, lushing green fields, laden with 40 ft waterfalls, this is an ideal getaway to be with nature and feel its tranquility. Guys, believe me, this is not a marketing stint, but we all members are very proud of this place, which is away from the commercial rumble that one can see in adjoining Tamhini Ghat area.

Do visit this place to experience for yourself what I have captured in some of these snaps. For room availability. For further information Contact Mr. Suhas Patwardhan (Chairman of Nisarg Farms) - 9422004701.

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Post#1 (Posted in 2007)

Last saturday we had been to Nisarg Farms located in the catchment area of the Mulshi Dam.Nisarg Farms is a society by the name of "Nisarg Krushi Lagwad and Samwardhan Socy".

They have a big area that they plan to develop where society members get an acre size plot with access road, water and electricity. The location is very scenic and overlooking the blue expanse of the mulshi dam catchment area.
I am attaching a few photos over here.

1) View1 from the Clubhouse#1 of the land and catchment area. The Mulshi dam is on the far left horizon.
2) View2 from the Clubhouse#1 of the land and catchment area.
3) View3 from the Clubhouse#1 of the land and catchment area.
4) View of the Dormitory1 (total of 2 dormitories that can accomodate 35 people)
5) The ClubHouse#1
6) Sitout Area
7) Farmland and Clubhouse#1 from a distance

One can plan day trips or even a weekend getaway at this beautiful location. It is located in a village called Nandivali. The same road goes to Amby Valley and Lonavla too but I think the road may be narrow and rough currently. MSRTC buses ply on this road too.

Our South India Trip 2007

2007-09-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

After promising to blog various events for the past year, I finally forced myself into initiating it for this one. Hope u enjoy it ! Planning vacations is something most people learn after staying in the US for a long term.We were no different at this. Finally all things came together after we started a new vacation timeshare membership with Club Mahindra. Plan was for 4 days at Munnar, Kerala and 3 at Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu.

We started our journey 100 km north of Pune from the Panvel Railway Station. We embarked

on the Mangala-Lakshwadeep Express train, which travels all along the west coast thru Konkan Railway Line. This route is an absolute treat for all nature lovers as well as an engineering marvel. It has the tallest railway bridge piers in India and tunnels that stretch a total of 20+ km.Interestingly I observed that even the small size roads in Konkan area were pot-hole free and I hope PMC takes cognizance of this and does something in Pune. Food on the train was not great as compared to the Rajdhani express but the home-made parathas more than compensated for this. Atharva-Tanvi were thrilled with this experience of spending a night in the train.

Nevertheless, our train journey ended in 24 hrs and we got down at the Thrissur Railway Station, a bit north of Cochin aka Kochi. Our taxi cab driver was waiting for us with this colorful placard. We packed all our stuff in a black Tata Indica and sped away to our first sight-seeing spot which is the Niagara Falls of India, yes, make no mistakes, this is a magnificient 80-ft fall on the Chalakudy river that is directly comparable to the American Side of the Niagara Falls. The thundering fall emanates white mist that refreshes all souls - big and small. Manisha also captured a pic of monkey sitting on top of an apt sign-post. Beware of Monkeys when u go on vacations. One brave chap grabbed a glass of orange juice from a teen here and gulped it down in a jiffy. I have it all on video....

We then moved onto our destination - Hill Station Munnar in district Idukki in Kerala that borders with Tamil Nadu. The drive was treacherous. Our driver however showed no signs of fatigue in this 5+ hrs drive. Me on the other hand was trying to control the headache from the blind turns that seemed to never stop. The only thing that soothed us in this journey was excitement of Tanvi and intermittent rains that added to the scenic green carpet of this mountaneous landscape.We arrived at around 8:30 pm at the hotel. The Club Mahindra property at Munnar is a splendid resort which has been accredited 5-star gold crown status. Our check-in was smooth and the Studio apartment we got was simply great with a well-equipped kitchenette and dining table with well maintained decor. We freshened up and immediately went down to the restaurant. The food was very delicious and our palate was treated with a buffet that started with sweet corn soup and ended with a desert called malpua-rabdi.

As we woke up the next day, nature greeted us with a sunny and picturesque view right outside our cottage terrace. The hills were laden with lush green tea plants that stretched forever. Tata Tea employs about 12500 workers in Munnar area alone. We visited the Madupatty dam and enjoyed some fresh carrots and hot corn. Next stop was the Tata Tea Musuem where we were enlightened on the orthodox and CTC methods of tea preparation. Man, tea making is no joke. 100 kg of tea leaves produce just 25kg of processed tea. It is indeed a laborious job right in the heart of God's own country, Kerala.

We also enjoyed some artifacts in this musuem like photos of the British Raj, the early telephone, typewriter, telegraph system and rare species hunted by the estate officers like wild boar, wild deer etc. The evening was an icing on the cake for me when India took on South Africa in the Twenty-20 match. Yuvraj and Dhoni brought lots cheers to the win.

Day4 - was a trip 90 km south to Thekkady where we all enjoyed a 1/2 hr ride atop an elephant. He was treated on the way to a entire banana plant stem and gulped it down as it was a tiny morsel. Both kids were super excited and Tanvi learned a new word - aaateee meaning "hathi". We then stopped for a Kerala face massage and authentic kerala meal of rice, sambar, rasam, sweet potato vegetable, pickle and papad. It was delicious indeed and ended with rice kheer - payasam. We then embarked on a 2-hour boat ride in the Periyar National Tiger Preserve. It was a rainy day, but nevertheless we were able to view some wild deer - "sambhar", a few bizon and a family of elephants atop a hill. Our long range Bushnell binoculars made all this possible and I must credit myself for bringing this on this trip. Again the evening provided a memorable event that I wish repeats again and again in the forthcoming months. India defeated Australia in the Semi-finals with Sreesanth all on fire. He hit the timber twice with scalps of Gilchrist and Hayden. Not to forget the cameo knock by Yuvraj of 70 in just 30 balls.

This was a rest day that saw us relishing some mouth watering dosa, uttapam at authentic SArwana Bhawan in Munnar town, followed some shopping for spices, oils and of course banana chips. The cardamom tea at a local side stall was refreshing. We then packed our bags and readied ourselves for the long drive to Kodaikanal the next day. Before we checked out of Munnar, we had a quick stop at the Activity centre where Tanvi and Atharva got glued in playing the various toys and stuffed animals. The facility was gr8 with video arcades, table tennis and pool tables. Fun for all ages especially in the rainy season.

The route to Kodainkanal was probably not as treachorous as the one to Munnar and Thekkady. Moreover it gave us enormous views of miles of acres of coconut trees on the way. We also passed thru a town called Theni where DMK workers burned an effigy of a local BJP MLA on the SethuSamudram issue. The gathering of nearby villagers was tense and we were stuck right in the middle of this violent agitation. Finally police took control and we heaved a sign of relief as we continued on our path via Dindigul to Kodaikanal. As we neared Kodai, we treated ourselves to some jackfruit and pomegranate. Tanvi and Atharva relished on the sweet coconut water as well. The resort at Kodaikanal, Hill Country Resort by Club Mahindra is another amazing property with different beauty in its lap. Cradled between surrounding terraced mountains it offered us beautiful views right out of our cottage suite window. The long journey was not in vain. We reached just in time to view the final betn India and Pakistan. Just as were about to lose in the final moments, sanity prevailed and we won a tense and nailbiting finish. I was the happiest person on earth by this time. Dinner was superb, where we relished vegetable sizzlers and singapore noodles.

The next day started with a boat ride in Kodai Lake alongwith some mouth watering local masala groundnut mix laden with raw mango and spices. This was followed by a ride on a twin bike. Tanvi had a fantastic experience in this one, she was the main attraction for all on-lookers. We then had Gujrati thali for lunch and visited some more scenic points.

This was the penultimate day of our trip and we took it easy by enjoying the resort's children play area. Tanvi and Atharva had a blast with the see-saw and swing rides. We did some shopping and relaxed at the Activity center since rains engulfed the entire area. The evening ws spent in playing table tennis with some other guests followed by several losses to Atharva in the snakes and ladders dice game. The day concluded with another sumptous dinner. We also met the Chef and appreciated his culinary skills.

The final day of our trip was another long drive from Kodaikanal to Coimbatore that started at 6:30 am. After the treachorous downhill ride to Palani we stopped for a coconut water break. After this we sped on the smooth state highway to coimbatore stopping just a bit to collect some tamarind from the trees that laced the road. The route also had lots of windmills and coconut tree plantations. We finally reached Coimbatore airport. The Indian Airlines flight to Mumbai was on time at 2:10 pm and unexpectedly we were treated a fantastic Taj dinner. The domestic airport at Santa Cruz has been transformed into a clean and well maintained state of the art facility and one can easily spot this difference in relation to its international counterpart at Sahar Airport. We finally reach home sweet home at Pune with the arranged cab at 8pm.

7 nights and 8 days - whew what a trip this has been. Memorable indeed.