The Leela Kempenski, Goa

Its not often that one gets a taste of luxury in the form of The Leela Kempenski Hotel. However, an anniversary also does not come along so often ;)

We managed to find an excellent offer online on our favourite travel site Travelocity. The offer included three nights at the Leela Kempenski Hotel and also return tickets from Bangalore to Goa.Naturally, we jumped on it. The fact that it was off-season for hotels, did help our cause.

So, off we were on our trip to Goa. Of course this trip was not planned to be like a normal Goa trip where one goes, hires bikes and roams around on the beaches. This was planned to be a totally relaxing holiday, lazing in the amazing Leela property and on the private beach. We started off with us having to catch an early morning flight to Goa. The aircraft was not the normal Airbus 737, but was a smaller aircraft, an ATR-72.

It was quite an interesting ride in a smaller aircraft, one in which you are closer to the runway. The seats in this Kingfisher Red aircraft were super comfortable. Although, the noise of the engines can get a bit too loud. The flight IT-4611 departs Bangalore at 6:15am and lands in Goa at 7:45am. This meant that we were well in time to check-in to the Leela.

The Leela did send a vehicle to pick us up from the Goa airport and take us to the hotel, about 20 kms away. They sent a Mercedes Benz Sprinter to pick us up as there were more families that were arriving at the same time.

We were welcomed by the hotel like royals, with garlands and a refreshing coconut water each.

Now what does one say about The Leela Goa? Its a fantastic property, very well and smartly built and its huge beyond belief. Each of the rooms is along three man made lagoons, making for a great evening sit out.

The Leela also has a very nice spa, gym and swimming pool. All in all its a complete resort with even a private beach patrolled on both sides by guards. One just needs to see some of the photos of the property to understand how words cannot describe what a wonderful resort the Leela Group have built in Goa.

 

The property is so vast, that they have golf karts to transport guests across the resort.

They even have a beautiful golf course, which is frequented by beautiful birds when not in use.

The Leela has a separate agency employed to provide water and beach sports to their guests. This agency is also responsible for the safety of the guests on the beach and in the water.

The Leela has put up rows of beach beds on the beach for the guests to relax and enjoy the beach. The sunset view from here is mesmerizing.

 

They also have a cute bar and restaurant right on the beach.

The Leela is very helpful in organizing recreational activities. One can even request to play directly against a trainer.

Of course, food in the Leela was very expensive! However, the breakfast was a very very lavish buffet, so one could not resist eating there in the morning. They had all types of cuisines for breakfast, and great variety too. Each day we stayed there, they had a unique buffet menu. However, we ate all the lunch and dinners outside. Just 2 minutes walking distance from the Leela is a wonderful seafood restaurant called the “Fisherman’s Wharf”. Truly tremendous authentic Goan food.

Fisherman’s Wharf has a great view of the fishermen going about their business.

  

The items on the menu were very reasonably priced and the helpings of each dish were very generous! They do also have a bar, so drinking Fenny here while eating seafood is a must.

As soon as The Leela came to know that it was our anniversary, they went out of their way to make us more comfortable and make our stay more enjoyable. They had a complimentary cake sent to our room on the day. Later on for dinner, they gave us complimentary champagne and another wonderful cake!

So, for three days we did nothing by relax and get rejuvenated. It was a truly memorable holiday for us, and definitely our best holiday to date. We can’t wait to get back to The Leela Goa for another relaxing holiday.

Hampi – 24th to 26th Jan 2009

We have been on all kinds of trips: Nature, hill-station, romantic, adventurous, get-away-from-it-all-and-relax, beach, home-stay and hotel trips. So far we had never been on a historical trip. Trying to change that, we hit upon the idea of going to Hampi for this long break of the Republic day. So far, we had avoided it ‘coz it takes 7 hours one way. However, with our well-planned Ooty trip in mind, we realized that 7 hours is not that big a deal.

A word of advice here: if you’re not into history, then this place is really not for you. You will find nothing here except ruins, rocks and the sun beating down on you.

So, we set out at 6am on 24th morning. Getting out of Bangalore itself, we got stuck in truck traffic on the Tumkur road at a railway crossing.

We couldn’t find much along the way except a CCD at the 68th km from Bangalore.

After that it was a looooong long drive on the NH4. There are 4 toll booths along the way, hence 4 different kinds of road till Chitradurga at the 214th km. After that it’s one big mess on the NH13.

Interestingly, once you are near Chitradurga, you will see a lot of Windmills on either side on the hills.

If you are lucky you might even catch some trucks carrying the huge blades of a windmill. Below is the route map from Bangalore to Hospet.

View Larger Map

Traffic wasn’t very heavy and there were hardly any passenger cars, only many trucks. The going was ok till about 30kms before Hospet. By this time the road had turned into a two-lane road, one for us and one for the oncoming traffic. At that point, there was a long line of trucks. Most of the drivers had gotten off and gone for refreshments. A few brave passenger cars and us moved ahead in the gaps that came while driving on the opposite side of the road. After about 15 kms of stop-and-start-and-overtake, we came onto the ghat road, which is where the problem lay. An accident had happened and there was utter chaos. The good part about having to stop-and-go here was the amazing view that we managed to catch of the Tungabadhra River along the highway road.

Somehow, we managed to get through and were on our way to Hospet, one hour behind schedule. Finally, we checked into Hotel Malligi at 2pm. The hotel was very comfortable, service was great and the food was also great.

After a good lunch, we set out towards Hampi. Hampi is about 20kms from Hospet. The road is a good one taking you through fields. But nothing prepares you for the rockiness of Hampi. As soon as you drive up a hillock and take a sharp left turn, you are in the midst of many many rocks. There are huge boulders balanced precariously on other boulders. And in the middle of this are the many ruins of Hampi. In case you are planning on going to Hampi, make sure you are adequately armed with the Hampi map prepared by the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) and also do your background reading on the history and sites.

Hampi ruins are divided mainly in two centers. One is the Sacred centre. This is close to the old Hampi bazaar, which is also the current nerve centre of Hampi. Here one can park their vehicle and hire various other modes of transport. This market also has some eateries, but don’t expect value for money. Nor can you expect it to be dirt cheap. But the places are clean. On one end of the Hampi bazaar is the Virupaksha temple. On the other end is the beginning of the ancient trek to Vittala temple.

We started our day 1 by hiring bicycles and checking out the trek end of the Hampi bazaar. It contained a big sculpture of Nandi and a few mandaps.

The bazaar is being renovated and probably going to be used as a crafts bazaar. Since it was too late to start trekking that day, we went on to check the nearby places of interest. We headed over to the temples on the Hemakuta hill. These consist of primarily two images of Ganesh, Kadalekalu (Bengal gram seed) and Sasivekalu (Mustard seed).

Kadalekalu Ganesha - This giant statue of Ganesha was carved out of a huge boulder at the northeastern slope of the Hemakuta hill. The belly of this statue resembles a Bengal gram (Kadalekalu, in local language) and hence the name. See below

Sasivekalu Ganesha - Thanks to the resemblance the giant monolithic Ganesha statue is locally called Sasivekalu (mustard seed) Ganesha. In Hindu mythology Lord Ganesha (also known as Ganapathi or Vinayaka) is notorious for his food habit. One day he ate so much of food that his tummy almost busted. He just caught a snake and tied it around his tummy as a belt to save his tummy from bursting. See below. If you zoom in, you can see the snake tied to the tummy

Apart from this, Hamakuta Hills also contained several clusters of some really impressive temples.

From here, one can also get a really good view of the Virupaksha temple complex (which we did not visit), since we had to return our cycles by 6:30pm. After that we headed to the hotel and planned for the next day :)

Day 2 dawned bright and sunny (unfortunately!). We were in Hampi by 9:30 am and armed with better bicycles from the day before. Our plan was to check out the Royal centre, which was 5 kms away. This centre contained the living quarters of the royal family and promised to be more intriguing.

First of all, we wanted to check out the Archeological museum which was further off than the Royal centre. The museum was like any other historic museum. On display were several stone sculptures that were recovered during excavation. They also had some coins, weapons, pottery, manuscripts from that era. But the most amazing thing were the map models they had made. One was inside the building itself which showed clearly the areas of historic sites and the probable city structure. The one outside in the courtyard contained models of the hillocks as well and marked out the nearby areas containing the other points of interest. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside (though of course, some people had to break the rules).

This entire exercise went on till 11:30 and we were running late for our visit to the Royal centre. Hence, we speeded up and cycled away to our first stop, which was the Bhojnasala. It’s an eating place which actually had plates and katoris carved out into the rock. There were two kinds of carved plates, round and a banana-leaf shaped. The banana leafed plate had a small channel at its base for the water to flow down! In the middle of the two rows of plates was the famous aqua duct system of Hampi.

After the Bhojnasala, we headed across the road to the Octagonal water pavilion. It was what it says, an octagonal water pavilion!

It was time to explore the Royal centre now. We cycled over to the Queen's bath. The bath was surrounded on all sides by a nallah and had one small entry at the back from where one could enter. The bath did not have any water, but one could see the aqueduct pipes which fed the bath. The bath had small jharokas on all sides.

ASI had done much to restore the lost carvings of the jharokas. After seeing the bath, we cycled towards the next section of the Royal centre. This consisted of the main buildings of interest to the King. At the start was the Mahanavami Dibba. This was a rectangular structure with three layers to it. The east facing wall was heavily carved.

Moving on from that, we walked amongst the ruins of many buildings which consisted of the King's underground secret discussion room, granaries and other important rooms.

We then climbed onto the podium of the King's audience hall. The first step is a little wider and has a shallow trough in the centre, possibly for holding water to wash one's feet.

The podium overlooked onto a large platform which is where the audience used to sit. The platform has slots for holding wooden poles and the shamiyana. One can get a very good view from here of the entire Royal centre.

Just outside the audience hall is a large stone trough. It is carved out of one huge block of stone and was used to hold water for the horses to drink. On one side of this trough is a small drain hole.

Following the aqueduct, which went underground in places, we arrived at the Stepped Tank. This tank was fed by the aqueduct which was raised above the ground. The stepped tank is uniquely made of black schist and was assembled after having the stones carved out and brought from separate places. It is beautifully preserved.

Walking on, we followed to aqueduct to the very large public bath, which was like a huge swimming pool with steps leading down into it. The aqueduct was raised primarily to supply water to this bath.

It being around lunchtime, we decided to go back to the Hampi bazaar and eat some lunch. On the way, we stopped to take pictures at Akka Tangi Gundu. Two big boulders lean against each other to form an archway. It is believed that two sisters ridiculed the place and hence, a curse was placed on them and they were turned to stone!

After racing down the slope, we ate a hearty, if slightly uncooked and a bit expensive, lunch. Advice is that you should stick to the local food like dosa and idli, as that is freshly prepared. Everything else is stale. After lunch, we decided to return our cycles and explore the rest of Royal centre by our car. The sun was high up and it was getting really tiring.

Starting out at the Royal centre, we started Phase II with the Underground Shiv Temple. Curiously, it is built several meters below the ground.

Hence, its inner parts and the core parts of the temple are always under water.

From here, we drove over to the Band tower. Its a two-storeyed hexagonal lookout tower. From the tower, one can get a good view of the royal enclosure, some parts of which are still being excavated. Next to it is the Mosque which historians say might not be a mosque as it has Hindu motifs on the plastered wall. Just a short walk from this is the Mohammadan watch tower.

Across the road, are the Noblemen's quarters. This is where the aristocrats of Vijayanagar lived. One can still see the foundations of their houses.

After seeing the view of the quarters from a tall rock, we headed to the famous Hazara Rama Temple. It is so called because of the various carvings of Ram. Inside the temple was a square platform with ornately black stone carved pillars on all four corners. In the temple complex were several corridors which had unstable roofs! The aqueduct could be seen passing through this complex as well. At the back of the temple were two carved elephant heads. Water from inside the temple flowed out through their snouts.

Across this is the Pan Supari bazaar which was said to be have been a very popular bazaar. Currently there is only a large pillar in the bazaar!

Just a short walk from the Hazaa Rama temple, we came to the paid complex housing the Lotus Mahal, Women's Guard's quarters, Water pavilion, Queen's palace basement and three fairly preserved watch-towers. Next to this Zenana enclosure are the Elephant's stable and Archeology and gallery office. The ticket bought here can be used to gain entry to the Vittala temple for the same day. The Zenana enclosure was a private place for the royal women. The area consisted of a gated and walled area holding the Lotus Mahal and the basement of the queen's palace and a large water pavilion.

The Lotus Mahal was said to be the place where the King may have spent time with people versed in arts and literature. Next to it was one of the watch towers.

Further down the track was the famous Elephant's stable. It consists of several domed structures and a central dome. All the domes are differently carved and are symmetric about the central dome. Some of the stables were interconnected and some had small openings at the back for the mahouts to enter.

Right next to it is the Women's Guards quarters. This consists of a pillared corridor around an open courtyard. Some say it may have been the King's treasury as it has only one door and no windows.

Walking back to the queen's basement, we went to the Archeology gallery passing by one of the watch towers. Apparently the watchtowers are stand-alone structures, suggesting that the wall around it was built later. The Archeological gallery has a series of pictures taken during the discovery of Hampi and pictures taken at similar angles after the place was cleaned up by ASI. The work done by them is commendable though unfortunately, during the process, some structures lost some of their features.

Since, no trip to Hampi is complete without a visit to the famous Vittala temple, we decided to drive over to it. On the way we crossed Bhima's gate which was one of the many gates to the walled city. Next to it was the Ganagatti temple which means the 'oil women's temple'! After turning off the main road, we were on the chariot street of the Vittala temple. On either side we passed the Gejjala Mantappa and the Kuduregombe Mantappa. These were probably used to house the deity during the festival time. The Kuduregome Mantappa is so named due to the carving of horses on the pillars.

Further up the chariot street, we passed long rows of pillared corridors on either side of the road. It is said that these were the places where a thriving bazaar existed during the festival times.

Vittala temple itself is built in a sprawling campus of compound walls and gateway towers. There are many halls, pavilions and temples inside the campus. It also houses the iconic structure of Hampi, the stone chariot. The chariot still functions, but now it is cemented to the platform it stands upon.

The temple itself is an imposing structure with pillars that produce musical sounds if tapped correctly. One could see foreigners pressing their ears against the pillars while their guides tapped the pillars!

We walked around in the campus taking pictures and were ready to end our trip, when we thought of looking around the area a bit more.

From one side of the temple wall, one could see the Tungabhadra river.

A bit further on the temple was the King's balance, where the King used to weigh himself against gold, gems, silvers and precious stones and distribute them to the priests.

Further on, one can get a view of the Chandramouliswara temple. This temple was an important place of worship during the peak of the Vijaynagara kings. One can also see the Puranaradasa Mantapp. It is a small open pillared pavilion with a whitewashed top dedicated to the legendary poet Purandaradasa who lived in Hampi.

Finally, we headed back, exiting the way we came, passing under the Talarigatta Gate. Talarigatta (meaning Tollgate) Gate was one of the main entrance points into the urban centre of the capital from the riverside. This largely damaged structure still maintains its original intent, a gateway on the main road. A tiny shrine of Hanuman is located just in front of the gate.

Definitely the most impressive part about the Hampi architecture is the aqueduct system they had in place. It shows that they had a clear understanding of the laws of physics and also understood the importance of water. The aqueduct passed through every part of Hampi. If you don’t believe us, go check out the mini Hampi build in the Archeological museum.

Having covered 45 out of the 78 sites marked out by the ASI, we headed back home. We had skipped the ancient trek which was to take us through some temples and went from the Monolithic bull and ended at the Vittala temple. All in all, Hampi was a different and unique experience. It is not crowed like any other tourist spot and consists mainly of foreigners or local photography enthusiasts.

In the entire journey, we drove 707 kms and got 37.2 litres of petrol filled in, giving us a whopping mileage of 19kmph. This we believe is thanks to Nitrogen filled in the car tyres. Another effect of the Nitrogen in the tyres is shown below. Please don't try this at home!

Srirangapatnam, Mysore, Mudumalai, Ooty, Wellington, Coonoor, Masinagudi

Yes, we covered six places in 3 days. One set of parents were in town so it was imperative that the trip be economically viable. Hence, staying in expensive hotels/resorts was out of the question. After a lot of research and planning, we set forth on our journey.

Time: 05:55 A.M. (27th December 2008)

Kilometer reading: 0.0 kms

Our first stop, as has now become our routine, was at Cafe Coffee Day on the Bangalore-Mysore highway, at Maddur. There are huge billboards to warn you in advance of the Cafe Coffee Day stop. The advantage is that it has a Pizza Corner on the ground floor. The CCD now has quite an impressive breakfast spread including omlette and toast!

Time IN: 07:42 A.M. (27th December 2008)

Kilometer reading: 91.6 kms

Time OUT: 08:42 A.M. (27th December 2008)

After spending a leisurely hour eating breakfast and drinking hot coffee, we set off for Srirangapatnam. Srirangapatnam is a little town just outside of Mysore, made famous by Tipu Sultan. He had a summer palace built there with the walls depicting paintings of his exploits against the British. Its clear that Tipu Sultan preferred Srirangapatnam over Mysore as both he and his father lie buried there. First stop in Srirangapatnam, just off the highway is Tipu Sultan’s summer palace, also known as Dariya Daulat Bagh.

Time IN: 09:20 A.M. (27th December 2008)

Kilometer reading: 140.2 kms

Time OUT: 09:55 A.M. (27th December 2008)

Dariya Daulta Bagh is a nice small summer palace, now maintained as a Museum. There isn't much to see there, except for the paintings on the walls and the artifacts in the Museum. Interestingly, there is a painting of Tipu Sultan a la Mona Lisa, such that the eyes seem to follow you wherever you go!

Next stop, further into Srirangapatnam was Gumbaz, the final resting places of Tipu Sultan, his father and his mother. The architecture there is quite impressive and the main structure is maintained very well. One thing to mention here is that the road signs in Srirangapatnam are very good. Clear indications of where to go.

Time IN: 10:00 A.M. (27th December 2008)

Kilometer reading: 142.6 kms

Time OUT: 10:10 A.M. (27th December 2008)

After a short stop at the Gumbaz, we were ready to head on to Mysore and see the main Palace there. There are four palaces in Mysore, i.e., The Ambavilas Palace (also known as Mysore Palace), the Jaganmohana Palace, the Jayalakshmi Vilas and the Lalitha Mahal. Since we did not have a lot of time, we decided on visiting the main Palace. What a good decision that turned out to be. The palace is huge and we ended up spending an hour and a half going through the entire palace, admiring the artifacts. Unfortunately, the Romeos and Juliets of today have not spared this palace even, as one room had walls adorned with "Sri loves Lata", "Naresh was here", etc. Disgusting.

Time IN: 10:45 A.M. (27th December 2008)

Kilometer reading: 162.8 kms

Time OUT: 12:10 P.M. (27th December 2008)

The Palace grounds also house a couple of temples which can be visited. Photography is not allowed in the Palace and hence we can only take photos of the exteriors. Shockingly, elephant rides and camels rides are provided in the Palace grounds for a nominal fee.

After a fantastic lunch (at 3:00pm), we left Mysore and headed towards Ooty. There was no other planned stop on the way and we expected it to be a three hour journey from Mysore. Once we reached the Madumalai Sanctuary office, there was a road leading to the left and one road going on straight. From here, people going to Ooty can either take the left (it's a shortcut and takes about 3 hours with 36 hair-raising hairpin bends) or go on straight (longer by about 30 kms and 1.5 hours). Since it was nearing dusk, we decided to go straight on the broader and safer road.

We stopped at Gudalur on the way for a quick cuppa tea before proceeding to Ooty. Unfortunately, we were informed at Gudalur that the drive to Ooty would take another 2 hours!

Time IN: 17:50 P.M. (27th December 2008)

Kilometer reading: 280.7 kms

Time OUT: 18:05 P.M. (27th December 2008)

Night driving on this highway was not difficult at all, as the road was broader than normal hilly roads, and the traffic was also sparse. We reached Ooty quite late and quickly checked into our place of stay. It was very chilly in Ooty and with the windy conditions, we were glad that we had brought our jackets along!

Time IN: 19:50 P.M. (27th December 2008)

Kilometer reading: 334.6 kms

The next morning we planned on going to Wellington and Coonoor. We drove from Ooty and easily found our way to the highway that would lead to Coonoor. In reality, there is a cut from this highway that takes one to Wellington. However, we somehow missed it, and luckily found a route that lead straight into Wellington station!

From there, we went past Madras Regimental Center and onto Gorkha Hill (these things, one can identify with, if one has ever stayed there).

After a few nostalgic hours in Wellington we went sight-seeing in Coonoor.

After a varied lunch buffet at the Taj Garden Retreat, we were back on the road, ready for some more sight-seeing.

First on our list was Sim's park, which is a huge botanical park with all sorts of trees. Finding it is not easy, as the entrance is hidden on the fork of a road.

We saw some really interesting and very old trees in Sim's park. From there, we found our way to Lamb's Rock and Dolphin's Nose.

Beware1: The road is quite thin and not easy to drive on. At one point, while returning, we were stuck as a bus was on the road, heading in the opposite direction. There was not enough place on the road for both vehicles to pass. So, we had to back our car and somehow make way for the bus to pass.

Beware2: There are a number of tea stalls which have sprung up on this road. These are points from where one can see the look-out points!

Proceeding on, we reached Lamb's Rock and Dolphin's Nose, from where the view is simply breath-taking. As such, do not except to actually see a Lamb or a Dolphin's nose. Just enjoy the view and return before dusk.

If the weather is good and the timing of the visit is good (like ours was), you get to see a picturesque panoramic view of the Nilgiris at sunset.

Since it was getting close to dark, we decided to head back to Ooty in time for dinner. We wound our way back from Coonoor to Ooty and settled down in our guest house for dinner.

24.23 liters of petrol were filled at an IOC petrol pump @ 50.41 INR per liter. 422.2 kms, giving a mileage of 17.42.

The night temperature in Ooty was really low. It gets really really cold there at this time of the year. The day temperature, however, can feel quite high as we face the direct heat of the sun.

The next day, we were to explore the sights of Ooty. Two very good products of Ooty are:

1. Tea - Ooty produces some very interesting flavours of tea. There's Masala tea, Chocolate tea, Cardamom tea, Lemon tea, etc.

2. Chocolates - Ooty produces some fantastic home-made Ooty chocolates. Every shop in Ooty can be seen selling "Home made Ooty Chocolates".

As part of our plan for exploring Ooty, we set out in search of the Botanical Gardens. We both have memories of a Botanical Garden with vast open spaces and a lot of greenery and few tourists.

However, there were a lot of people there (this being the tourist season) and to top it all, the trees were not "in season". However, we trekked all the way up to the Toda Village (a small settlement of the Toda tribe, protected as part of the Botanical Garden). The walk through the botanical garden was quite heavy on us, and we were now ready for lunch!

After asking around, we found a decent lunch spot, where all the tourist buses stop. On the previous day, while returning from Coonoor, we spotted a small wax museum in Ooty. This seemed like the perfect after lunch thing to do. The wax museum was not hard to find, as it lies on the Ooty-Coonoor highway. It is a small wax museum with very realistic wax statues. This museum has mostly Indian personalities.

After a nice stroll through the wax museum, we headed to the famous Ooty lake. Once again, we were taken-aback with the sight. We remember (and have photos from childhood) an Ooty lake, bereft of tourists, green grass embankments. Everything has changed. There are now amusement park rides on the lake, and there is no greenery to speak of. We took a ride on a row boat and even when we were on the farthest edge of the lake, we could hear the shouts of kids on the amusement park rides. It was not the peace and tranquility that we had imagined. It was loud and painful.

One good thing about the lake trip was that we noticed that there is a small deer park right next to the lake! Having seen that from the row boat, we asked for directions to Doddabetta from our rower and set off for our next destination.

We had been warned that the entry to Doddabetta closes at 5:30pm, so we hurried as we had only half an hour. The drive up is currently not good because part of the road has been dug up, so really there is place for only 1.5 vehicles to pass on the road. Extremely difficult navigation. Having reached the gates of Doddabetta, we were informed by the guards there that the closing time is actually 5pm! So we turned right around, and headed back where we came from.

On the way back, we saw the board for a "Tea Museum". Unfortunately, that too was closed for the day. So we stopped at a tea stall to try some different varieties of tea. Interesting...

That was the end of day 2 in Ooty. The next day, we set out from Ooty at 7:20 A.M. and decided to take the shorter route down. This route has 36 hairpin bends and is quite steep and thin. We were very glad that we were taking this route down, and did not consider coming up on this route. The drive is extremely picturesque though, and since it was early in the morning, the on-coming traffic was nearly absent.

We stopped for a short time at a place called "Bison point". Maybe its named such that one can look down into the jungle and spot Bison. The view was majestic.

Once the 36 hairpin bends were navigated, we entered the plains, i.e., the Madumulai Wildlife Sanctuary. We stopped at a small Tamil Nadu Guest House (run by the government) for breakfast. From this vantage point, depending on the time of day, one can either see the elephants of the sanctuary being bathed or see the elephants of the sanctuary being fed. We managed to catch a sight of a few elephants being fed.

After a nice stop, we were once again on our way towards Mysore. Our next stop, for lunch was at another Cafe Coffee Day in Mandya district. This Cafe Coffee Day is part of a petrol pump sponsored by HolidayIQ.

The drive from here to Bangalore was smooth. We were back home by 3:30pm. Not bad for a days work! Kms covered in the return journey: 273.1

After a few days, 25.19 liters of petrol were filled at an Bharat petrol pump @ 51.71 INR per liter. 463.4 kms, giving a mileage of 18.39.

Long overdue

Its been a long time since we set out on a drive outside of Bangalore (of course we do not count the new Bangalore International Airport as being outside of Bangalore). So its time we prepared for, and made a trip within driving distance.

After a lot of research (once again), we shortlisted Coorg, Chikmangalur, Ooty-Wellington-Coonoor. Since we have a nice long break in December, we decided to make full use of it and cover Ooty, Wellington and Coonoor in one trip. They being within 30 kms of each other really helps :)

So we did a lot of research, because the place we stay in is extremely important to us. We need to be comfortable and pampered. We browsed HolidayIQ all night searching for the best resort. We shortlisted a few, but were not totally convinced. As of today, we are still not sure where we want to stay!

That apart, we have done some research on Coonoor (most likely that would be our base). Here are some places to visit in Coonoor:

Sl. No.	Place	Description
1	Sim's Park	It is a 12-hectare park, having a collection of over 1,000 plant species, which include magnolia, pines, tree ferns, and camellia. Incredible variety of flora including the magnolia, pines, tree ferns and camellia, lending a special charm to the park
2	Pasteur Institute	The institute can be visited only on Saturdays. However, on other days, one can visit the institute with the prior permission of the Director of the Institute. The tour of the Institute is guided.
3	Pomological Station	Carries research on different fruits, which are grown here. Prominent among them are apples, plums, peaches, persimmons, lemons, apricots and pomegranates. Surplus fruits are sold to the public.
4	Lamb's Rock	5.5 Km from upper Coonoor is located the extremely charming picnic spot of Lamb's rock. Named after Captain Lamb who made a narrow path to this spot, the Lamb's Rock offers mesmerizing views of the Hulikal spur, Hulikal ravine and the Mountain Railway.
5	Law Falls	7 Km from Coonoor are the scenic waterfalls of Law's Falls, located on the Coonoor-Mettupalayam Road. An alluring picnic spot, the falls gushes down from a height of 180 feet. Huge stretches of undisturbed sholas make the place a veritable paradise for nature lovers.
6	Toy Train	Must do
7	Dolphin's Nose	Another major nearby attraction is the viewpoint of Dolphin's Nose, located 10 Kms from Coonoor. An exceptional rock of incredible proportions, the place offers the marvelous panoramas of the Nilgiris.
8	Droog	Another beautiful picnic spot, which can be visited for a day trip from Coonoor, is the historical place of Droog, once Tipu Sultan's outpost. Situated at a height of 6000 feet the place can be approached only if you can opt for a 3 km long trekking path.
9	Ooty	Ooty also known as Udhagamandalam and Ootacamund. 19 kms from Coonoor, the spectacular hill station of Ooty offers something for everybody.... relaxation, fun, adventure… (a) Ooty Lake (b) Dodabetta
10	Tea Plantations
11	Lady Canning's Seat	Lady  Canning's  Seat  is  about  8  Kms.  from  Coonoor  bus  stand  and  further  along  the  same  road  as  that  to  Lamb's  Rock.  It  is  perhaps  the  loveliest  point  in  the  heart  of  the  woods.  Lady  Canning,   wife  of  the  Viceroy  was  fond  of   this  spot,  which  commands  a  panoramic  view  of   the   numerous  tea  estates.
12	St. John's Church
13	Wellington	Permission might be required
14	Kotagiri

Our planned dates of travel are 27th December to 29th December.

Hotel Sky Roca - Yercaud

You can checkout anytime you like,
But you can never leave...

- Lines from the song "Hotel California", by The Eagles

Those were the first lines that came to our mind when we stayed at the Hotel Sky Roca. But wait, we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let us start at the very begining.

We had planned our next trip for August'08, but there was a lot of time for that to come. We were getting restless, we wanted to travel. We racked our brains to think of a place thats not far from Bangalore, and is a good weekend destination. We also did not want to take any leave. We hit upon two options, Yercaud and Yelagiri, both hill-stations in Tamil Nadu. Both are within about 5 hours of Bangalore and the weather at both places is ideal for this time of the year. I decided to do my research on both places, starting with Yercaud.

Off I went, pointing my web browser to HolidayIQ to check out reviews written about Yercaud. I searched for good hotels to stay in there, and I came upon this. Our decision was made. This was where we would go, and since it happened to be in Yercaud, that became our next destination. I went to the official site of the Hotel Sky Roca, to find out more about the Hotel. It looked majestic. I immediately started the process of contacting the hotel to get my booking done. That was easy. I checked the tarriff, and my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. It was a steal! We had booked ourselves the Roca Royale Suite.

Having booked a room, I started on the research about Yercaud. What were the touristy things that we could do there? I prepared an extensive list of tourist spots that one could see while in Yercaud. You can read about it in this post. It seemed like another great trip in the making. What we were most concerned about was that we wanted to spend as much time as possible in the Hotel, and even planned on reaching Yercaud at 9AM on Saturday, so that we could see some tourist spots before checking in.

We finally left Bangalore at 6:30AM and were headed towards Electronic City. After asking a bit for directions, we somehow found our way to the Silk Board flyover, from where it is straight to Electronic City. Having passed Electronic City, our next landmark was Hosur in Tamil Nadu. We were soon on the toll road, and the toll is Rs. 25 for a one-way trip and Rs. 37 for a two-way trip. This toll is valid for 24 hours. The NH7 is very beautiful in parts and is still under-construction in parts. It's a smooth ride for sure.

Once past Hosur, we came to a BP Petrol pump which had a couple of restaurants and a small, nice park for kids. We stopped there for half an hour and were soon off on our way to Krishnagiri. In Krishnagiri, we were stuck because there was a lot of truck traffic. After getting out of Krishnagiri at a snail's pace, we were on our way to Dharmapuri. From Dharmapuri, we went on towards Salem, once again on a fantastic highway road. At Salem, we had to take a left turn into the city. From there we had to take another left to get onto the Ghat road for Yercaud.

View Larger Map

The ghat stretch to Yercaud is about 30kms and would take an hour. It's a very steep road, with 20 hairpin bends.

Pls drive with care, if you are going to be driving on this road. Once stuck behind a truck or a bus, be extra careful while trying to overtake. The ghat road also offers some excellent sight seeing opportunities on the way, so make sure to park your car properly if you want to see the town below.

The Hotel Sky Roca is at the 20th hairpin bend, about 3 kms before the actual town of Yercaud.

The first gate leads to the restaurant, called Uncle Sam's Kitchen, and is open to the general public and not just for the guests. There are two tables along the glass wall that overlook the valley below. These tables are always booked in advance. To get to the reception, go past the 20th hairpin bend, and enter the main gate (two gates down the road). Watch out, because it is a really steep decline. The first impression of the Hotel was great. It looked like a beautiful setting, and the hotel looked really good while not being over-done.

Total Time Taken - 5 hours, 15 minutes

Total Kilometers Driven - 259.5kms

We checked in at 11:45am, and were taken to our room, one of the three Roca Royale suites available. We went to the room in a glass lift, which gives an awesome view of the valley down below. We remember reading some place that not a single tree was cut in the construction of the hotel. We have heard that the hotel is just built around the natural fauna, without disturbing anything. The room we were in was large. It had a large living room space

and an equally large bedroom space. Just beyond the living room space is an expansive, personal balcony.

We were floored. The bathroom is also extremely comfortable and fitted with a shower cabin and a jacuzzi!

We rested for a while and then decided to go to Uncle Sam's Kitchen for lunch. We checked out the rest of the Hotel on our way to the Restaurant. The Hotel is large, very esthetically built within the dense greenery of the mountains. They have a conference room as well and a skywalk. The skyway is a glass walkway above the valley. It is quite an experience to stand in the middle of the glass walkway with the view of the valley far below you.

After lunch, we relaxed some more. In the evening, we decided to go for a walk and see the hotel in its entirety. We were treated to the most beautiful sight of nature. Down in the valley, in the distance, we could see dark clouds and could also see the rain fall.

We kept our eyes on the rainfall, and we could actually see the movement of the rainfall towards us.


Within 15 minutes, the rain clouds were over us and we were getting drenched. 5 minutes later, it was all over. The clouds had passed over us at amazing speed.

On our way back to the room, we stopped by their library, where they have a Sony PS2 and a good collection of books and magazines. We picked up a couple of books and continued onto our room. We were enjoying the stay here so much that we had not yet stepped out of the Hotel, even for sight-seeing!

Dinner was once again in Uncle Sam's. We tried to get the tables next to the glass wall, but they were already booked. The restaurant was getting quite crowded and the service was suffering. We placed our orders and headed back to the room so we could eat in peace. Even before we reached the room, there was our food waiting for us! The food in Uncle Sam's might seem a little expensive at first, but their quantities are humungous.

After dinner, we relaxed in the living room area, reading our books, watching the Asia Cup 2008 on a great 32 inch plasma TV. The next day, we planned on getting up early so we could catch the sunrise. We were up early around 5:30 and it was dark.

It seemed like the time at which sunrise would take place. We went onto the balcony to see the sight and once again we were treated to a sight of nature. There were clouds in our face. We were actually in the clouds!

We sat on the balcony, trying to capture the scene in our camera and we bagan to notice the cloud cover clearing up. Within half an hour, it was all clear, and bright and sunny. Unfortunately, the sun rose on the other side of the hill, and so we missed that sight.

It was such amazing weather that we decided to go for a walk. We headed out to the main road, which is really the highway heading to Yercaud. We walked in the direction of Yercaud, hoping to maybe hit the city and see what we had missed so far.

We walked for a couple of kilometers, before turning back. It was after-all time for breakfast! Breakfast was once again in Uncle Sam's, a good buffet spread before us. We enjoyed the breakfast buffet, quite heavy I must say, and then got ready to pack up and leave.

We packed up and planned on doing some sight seeing so that we could have something to report back about Yercaud. We got out our list of tourist spots and zeroed in on a couple. We would go to the lake and then to the Shevroy temple. We set out from the hotel after checking-out and we were at the lake in 5 minutes.

Had we walked 100meters more in the morning, we would have reached the lake. The lake, at this time was crowded and seemed like no fun. We instead went to the flower market and picked up a couple of saplings for home.

After about half an hour, we headed towards the Shevroy temple. The road to the temple is quite a sight. It is thinner than the highway and probably steeper, but the views it offers are quite majestic. The Shevroy temple is on top of a peak, from where one can see 17 villages down below. There was so much wind blowing, that it was difficult to walk straight. After clicking some pics, we were back on our way. On the way back, we stopped at Uncle Sam's once again for lunch.

A quick lunch, and we were on the road to Salem by 2:15pm.

The drive back home always seems shorter. This time however, we decided to look for the Dharmapuri bypass. Dharmapuri is a small town that comes on the way. On the way to Yercaud, we were stuck in a lot of truck traffic, and did not want a repeat of that. Parts of the Dharmapuri bypass road is under construction, but it is open for traffic. This road however, does not take you back to the toll road which is part of the Golden Quadrilateral. This road, leads to the old highway to Hosur. This highway road is much thinner (one lane on either side, with no divider in between), but is very green. We enjoyed driving on this road as well, lots of bends and ups and downs.

The old highway road, opens up at Hosur, and meets at the point just after the toll tax booths. So in case you don't mind spending Rs. 25, you can use the new highway. However, if you want to save on that, you can use the old highway.

Once we were in Hosur, we felt as if we were back home. It still took us more than an hour to get home from that point. We were back home by 7:00pm, a drive of 4 hours, 45 minutes. That brought another wonderful trip to an end.

Yercaud, Tamil Nadu

This is a compilation of things to do in Yercaud

The route - Bangalore - Electronic City - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharmagiri - Salem - Yercaud (222kms).

En-route - Just before the road begins to climb up the mountains to Yercaud, do look out for an interesting group of brightly coloured idols to the left of the road. These guardian deities, found only in Tamil Nadu, are worshipped as protectors of villages and are often known as Aiyanars. On the way up the winding hill road with its 20 hairpin bends, stop at a thatched wayside stall selling 'Fresh Garden Produce': packets of cloves and pepper. Then come the coffee plantations before entering cottage-dotted Yercaud.

Sky Roca - is where the lush, verdant delights of nature surround you, where exemplary service and modern comforts are at your beck & call. Hotel Sky Roca is situated on Salem – Yercaud main road at 3 km before Yercaud town. The hotel has 23 rooms with spectacular view of the valley, impeccable privacy and the most modern in-room amenities like Flat Screen Plasma televisions, DVD players, in-room Coffee makers, mini-bars, shower cubicles, etc. Uncle Sam"s Restaurant serves multi-cuisine, there is a mock tail bar and barbeque lawns. There are conference and banquet facilities. Sunset from Sky Roca. Uncle Sam's Kitchen.

From The Hindu newspaper: Buildings that seamlessly blend the old and the new, clouds that glide past, your own terrace lawn, and birds that sing to you from the stately silver oaks around the coffee plantations below – The Sky Roca, has all these, and some more.

The best part is the location. It is so near Yercaud, (altitude 1,500 MSL), but not fully there. So, it happily lacks the hustle and bustle that tourists bring to a hill station. The resort, developed by the Sekar Coffee family, is set amid 60 acres of coffee plantations and silver oak in the Shevaroy hills.

Care has been taken to not fell a single tree while building the resort. So, the rooms are at different levels. Antique carved iron and wood chairs from Karaikudi grace the common sitting areas, while the interiors are tasteful with a lot of wood and glass. Tribal paintings hang in every room, and the bathrooms are very fancy, with a Jacuzzi and shower jet cubicle.

Every room has been built to provide a great view of the still unspoilt hills, and the plains below. So, at night, one gets a breathtaking view of the dancing lights in Salem, on the foothills. A wonderful surprise is a section of glass flooring in some rooms that allows you to look down into the valley below.

Best of all, each room opens out into a private lawn, lush with grass. Benches have been put up on either side, and bamboo screens separate the terraces. Perfect for an intimate party with friends.

On the way to the restaurant is the Sky Walk bridge that spans the deep valley. Sheer glass sections underfoot let you know just how deep the valley is. And, the faint whisper of water greets you everywhere, thanks to the artificial cascades that thunder down in front of the suites, across three levels.

Places to see:
In Yercaud -

The Big Lake Or Emerald Lake: The first thing one sees as you enter the Yercaud town is this placid lake in a wonderful surrounding of hills and natural shoals. Also a beautifully landscaped garden on one bank. It has boating facility. This lake is the only natural lake among all the hill station lakes in the South. A floating fountain is constructed by MALCO, at the center of the lake. The lake is surrounded by a "Deer Park" and " leisure park" and "Tamil Nadu Hotel". Boat services are available at reasonable rate [Rs. 75 /- for 2 seats and Rs. 95 /- for 4 seats ]. Self Pedaling [15 min] and Rowing boats [30 min] are available. You have to pay the same amount as caution deposit. The safety measures are followed strictly. The minimum time can be spent: 20 min.

Deer Park: Situated in the Lake. Suitable for Kids to playground. It will be closed by 5.00 p.m.

Kiliyur Waterfall: This is 3 km from the Yercaud Lake. The best time to visit this place is immediately after the monsoons. The surplus water from the Yercaud Lake and the other reaches of the Shevaroys Hills fall deep into the Kiliyur Valley in the form of a 300 feet waterfall. This delightfully breathtaking water falls is 3 km from the Yercaud Lake and should be visited after the South West or North East Monsoon. The views from the bottom and top of the falls are breathtaking. The view from the top of the falls into the Valley is heart stopping. The trek to the bottom of the falls is only for hardcore trekkers as it takes about one hour from the lake to reach the bottom of the falls which is heavily wooded, but a good 2½ hours to get ones breath and trek back again. 7 km from town.
NOTE: The road to the falls is very narrow and only one vehicle can pass at a time. It is advised not take a vehicle to the falls. If you do so, park it at the big platform after about 3 km. Beyond that the road is very narrow & steep and you cannot turn your vehicle back. The only way back down is to drive it in reverse gear on steep and winding slopes: that is life threatening.

Anna Park: The park is situated next to the Lake. It is typical park used to host the "Flower Show" in the month of May. The "Japanese Park" inside Anna Park is a must see. Children can play around and elders can take rest. The entrance ticket will be Rs. 2/- for adult and Rs 10 /- for Camera. The minimum time can be spent: 30 min for laymen.

The Natural shoal: seen around the Petrol Bunk, Round Tana and adjoining the Anna Park are about the oldest shoals of natural species of trees that one can see around the Shevaroys. Another shoal of this type can be seen adjoining the Orchidarium. In the interests of conservation this last stronghold of original trees should be preserved and replenished for the future.

To the North -
Arthur's Seat: This is a vantage point, which can be reached by taking a steep road going north from the center of the town, 1 km from town. It gives a bird's eye view of the Big Lake, Yercaud Town and the Shevaroyan Peak.

The Servarayan Temple: This temple is situated on top of Servarayan hill. The temple itself is a narrow and dark cave and seated inside are the god Servarayan and the goddess Kaveri representing the Shervaroy Hills and the Cauvery river. The local people believe that the god Servarayan is the guardian angel for the 67 villages in and around Yercaud. It is believed that the temple's cave is so deep it touches the Cauvery river. The local tribes celebrate their annual festival in this temple during May.

Bear's Cave: This is situated within a private coffee estate owned by a Mettur based business man. The main part of the cave is situated about 7 feet below the ground level and contains a deeper gorge which is believed by the local people to lead up to the cave situated in the Shervaroyan Temple.

To the South -
Lady's Seat: This is a cluster of rocks on the south west of the Yercaud hills overlooking the ghat road and the city of Salem to the south. There is a sheer drop of about 200 feet at this point into a private estate in the valley below. It has a telescope house with a panoramic view of distant Salem and the winding road up. On the right of Lady's Seat are Sterling Resorts, Gents Seat and Children's Seat. During the night, the Lady's Seat offers a spectacular view of the lights of Salem city. There is a natural rock formation in the form of a seat where reportedly a white English Lady of yester years spent her evenings viewing the magnificent panorama before ones eyes. There is a mini park and it is a breath taking spot for a picnic. 2 km from town.

Tipperary View Point: One can reach this southern most view point of Yercaud by taking the Tipperary Road. From there one can see the Elephant Tooth Rocks. Which are reportedly said to be the remanants of a meteorite which fell to earth. It is pure white rock compared to the Black Granite available on these hills. The Estate adjoining known as Tipperary Estate was once a posh hotel catering to the elite of British India from 1930 to 1940. The night view from this spot-with the lights of Salem in the distance is mesmerizing. 2 km from town.

White Elephant Tooth: One is located on the Southern Spur of the Shevaroys below the villages of Guntur and the other is located in the east overlooking the Ghat road, above the 60' bridge. The larger one next to Guntur has two rocks about 120' high and consists of pure white quartz, which is in stark contrast to the greenery around and the black of the granite available around. Easy to climb up but hard to climb down as the material is soft and crumbles beneath your feet. 9 km from town, it is a days trek up and down. Alternatively one can trek down to the plains and catch a bus to return to Yercaud. The Smaller one which can be reached on the short cut to the 60' bridge from Tipperary Estate is said to have seen some Gold Mining Activity. It can be reached in about 2 hours time and from there another 1 hour to the ghat road, from which one could catch a bus to Yercaud or Salem.

To the East -
Pagoda Point, also known as Pyramid Point: This is on the eastern side of the Yercaud hills. The name comes from four piles of random stones in a pagoda or pyramid formation, made by the hill tribes. Today there is a Rama temple situated between these pagodas. One can get a grand view of Attur and Ayothiapattinam from this picnic spot. 5 km from town.

And Misc -
Grange: This is one of the oldest buildings in Yercaud, built in the 1820s by M.D. Cockburn, who was the District Collector of Salem District at that time.

Botanical Survey of India: Well maintained Botanical Garden by the BSI contains a rich collection of plants. It is a treat for "Botany" Students. A "Bell Rock" in the BSI campus makes bell sound when you hit with stone. You have to climb to reach the rock. The entrance ticket will be Rs. 3/- for adult and Rs 10 /- for Camera. It remain closed on Sundays and National Holidays.

Horticulture Farm: It has "Rose Garden" and "Children Seat". The Rose Garden is filled with various verities of Roses from Button Rose to Very Big Rose. A "Green Rose" plant is grown along with beautiful rose plants. Saplings of various plants are available at reasonable price. The entrance ticket will be Rs. 2/- for adult and Rs 10 /- for Camera.

Silk Farm & Rose Garden: One can see the cultivation of Mulberries, the growing of silk worms and the method of spinning silk. The Rose Garden – one can see a good collection of colourful Roses and also purchase nursery plants from here 2 km from town.
Kottachedu Teak Forest: The hills tribes who cultivated these lands are said to have abandoned this area after plague struck the area. These lands were than utilized by the Government for a Teak Wood plantation. Vaniar River passes through this Teak forest and leads to the Vaniar Dam. Bisons are frequently seen in the Teak Forest. 11 km from town.

How we prepare for a trip

What with us visiting so many places (averaging one every month), we have developed a sort of mental checklist of things we do before we set off for our travels. Our preparation for a new place goes thorugh many phases:

1. Introduction: Since we are living in a part of the country that we are not familiar with, we usually hear about a place from a multitude of sources -
(a) Friends/Relatives
(b) Travel blogs (especially the rediff travel blogs)
(c) Outlook 52 Weekends from Bangalore
(d) HolidayIQ
Once we finalise on a place, or maybe even keep a couple of places as options, we move to phase two.

2. Research: Kudos to Anshu for that! Extensive research goes into making a great trip. Things like where to stay, what to do there, how to get there, etc. is all done well in advance. Sometimes, an excel sheet is also made :) Apart from the usual research on the place itself, we also pay attention to these pointers -
(a) what is the best route to take. For that, we sometimes refer to Ok Tata Bye Bye.
(b) what we can see along the way. One can refer to Wikipedia or any of the tourist websites or travellogs.
(c) places to eat and catch a break en-route. This can sometimes be tough, but there is always information available on the net.
(d) whats the weather like at our destination. We certainly don't want to be stuck indoors, if theres lots to see and do. For weather, we check weather.com, and other travel sites.
Once again our sources for this research are mainly travel blogs and HolidayIQ. After we have finalised on which hotel/resort to stay in, we move to phase three.

3. Plan freeze: Once we know where we're going, we book our stay and then eagerly count down the days! Since, during our planning, we keep more than one option open, if a place is over-booked, we can always fall back on another option.

4. Preparation: This is my favourite part! Apart from the usual travel stuff, we never leave home without -
(a) Digital camera
(b) Video camera
(c) Charging cable for the video camera
(d) Cell chargers for the the digital camera
(e) Ipod - to hook into the car stereo for places where there is no FM reception.
(f) Jackets
(g) First aid kit - mainly some odomos (mosquito repellent), avil (for allergies), disprin (for headaches)
(h) Snacks
(i) A 5 litre cannister of drinking water
(j) Google Maps/MapMyIndia/Yahoo Maps printouts!

5. Car servicing: For any long drive, it is important that the car be in tip-top condition. If required, we give the car for servicing one week in advance. We fill up the petrol tank, get the tyre pressure checked, and check the coolant and wiper fluid. Once everything is upto the mark, its onto phase six.

6. LIFT OFF!