Chikmagalur - Coffee estates, superb weather and awesome hills

Chikmagalur which literally means Younger Daughter’s town, is close to Bangalore and is on most people’s travel list as it provides a wide range of travel and trek possibilities. The place is known for its coffee estates, lush green hills of Baba Budan Giri, Mullayanagiri and the Kudhremukh National Park. It is also very close to the world heritage center “Belur and Halebid” that celebrate the intricate detailed sculpted work of the Hoysala Empire.

Chikmagalur makes for a great weekend or long weekend trip for people living in and around Bangalore or even visiting it. 

How to Reach:

By Road – You can drive down , it is about 240 kilometers from Bangalore and can be scaled in about 5 to 5 ½ hours, the roads are mostly good.

You can also take a bus to Chikmagalur from Bangalore or whichever place you want to start from.

By Train : The nearest Rail head is at Kadur

By Air: Nearest Airport is at Bangalore

Driving down is the best option as the journey to and also in and around the place is beautiful laden with green on all sides, if it’s a monsoon drive even the better.

Things to Do :

There are plenty of places to see and things to do in this region. If trekking is what you love then Baba Budangiri, Mullayangiri and Kudhremukh have many trails to scale. If a short climb and watch sunset on the ridge is your thing then just stop pick a hill and climb it, Mullayangiri is just spectacular and you don’t need to reach the very top to get a great view, where ever your legs start to ache stop there and take in the view, it’s absolutely gorgeous.

Sunset at Mullayanagiri

You can visit the Kudhremukh national park and Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, drive down to Hebbe Falls, Ayyanakere lake, and Kalahatti falls. Do not forget to visit Belur and Halebid Temples on your way back to Bangalore it is exquisite and an Indian Architecural/ artistic marvel. 

Beautiful Temple Architecture and Relief Sculptures at Belur

You can walk around in some coffee estates, the possibilities are limitless, all depends on what you love the most, in chikmagalur you can afford to pick and choose that.

Things to Remember :

1. If you are traveling during monsoon, the monsoon here is heavy rain with fog filled roads and valleys. So carry a poncho or an umbrella always. If you are driving down , fog lights may be a good idea, especially if you have plans of off roading.

2. If you plan to trek in any of the hills, carry water and wear floaters or good shoes as the terrain is full of grass growth and rubble.

3. The hill tops are always windy and a little chill so carry warm wear.

4. If you are an ardent photographer carry a telephoto lens, and keep your camera at the ready always, you could spot something while trekking, walking or even driving which you wouldn’t want to miss.

5. Book your accommodation in advance in one of the many home stays and resorts, weekends most of them get filled quite easily.

Parinitha Konanur

Shravanabelagola – The Magnificent Monolith

 Karnataka is a place to visit, for people coming from all walks of life. Those of you who want to see the beaches, the mountains, the rain cladden roads, villages, heritage sites, cultural hot spots, food specific people, all kinds of travelers will find something to match their taste in the this vast and wonderful state.

Shravanabelagola is the place any traveler would want to visit. It is one of the most important heritage sites of Karnataka and has been well known for centuries for its magnificent Monolith of Bahubalai also Known as Gomateshwara. This place has the spiritual aura, magnificent architectural memoirs signifying the rich history of the place. Bahubali was a jain “Arihantha”[ someone who has reached the stage just before the state of “Siddha” ]

The Monolith was built in 981 AD in the Vindyagiri Hill, it is a gigantic 57 feet tall, it was built by “Chavundaraya” who was a military commander and minister in the court of the western Ganga Dynasty of Talakad. He was also known to be a poet. 

Shravanabelagola has two hills, Chandragiri and Vindhyagiri. Chandragiri is known to have been the place where Chandragupta Maurya did penance, and the great king Asoka built Chandragupta Basadi to commemorate it, on this hill. Chandragiri is also known for its other memorials of several Sravakas [ Disciples]  who meditated there from the 5^th century AD.  It is considered as one of the most important Jain pilgrimages.

The “Mahamastakabhisheka” is held every 12 years , where hundreds of liters of milk, honey, saffron, KumKum and turmeric is used to wash this gigantic sculpture, it’s a spectacle and definitely should be experienced once in a life time. 

Many inscriptions can be found here, dating back to the 600 AD, most of these inscriptions are in Haleganada – or Old Kannada, describing the rise of the Western Ganga Dynasty, the Hoysala empire, and the Wodeyar Dynasty.

This place is filled with such historical relics and would please an historian, traveler or a person with interest in art and history.

Sharavanabelagola is about 158 kms from Bangalore, and can be reached by Bus, or own transport easily. The bus you will have to take in case you decide on a bus is the Hassan City bus , Shravanabelagola will be the next stop after Chennarayanapattina. The place can be visited in all seasons but best season is between October and February. 

Parinitha Konanur

Kolli hills

This  is the water falls at Kolli Hills, a hill station in Tamil Nadu, it is around 300 km from Bangalore. a Superb weekend destination with a number of activities to do , pleasant climate and not that far from town. Take the Hosur road , pass Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Salem and You can ask for directions once you reach Rasipuram.

Activities - Mild treks, walk to waterfalls
Good place to lounge and relax
Climate is very pleasant

Parinitha Konanur

Kodaicanal – A Good Getaway

Kodaicanal is a place I had visited long ago , like many people in Bangalore, during school days. I quite remember it well, as a cool place with lovely weather and awesome flowers. It had been ages since I went there last and on a long weekend me and two of my friends decided to try it out. Taking a bus to Kodai, we reached there in the morning around 9.30, a lovely stretch of Ghat section woke us up, as soon as we got down there we were surrounded by travel agents, cab drivers and such.

The cab drivers informed us that place has no auto rickshaws, which came as a disappointment as we love autos for many reasons, best way to see a place, its airy, cheaper than cabs and not as suffocating as buses. My experience with auto rickshaw drivers away from Bangalore has always been fun, with their personal experiences colouring my travel experience, their preferred “Chai Kadas” their stories of how they came there and started work, even where they live . I think these stories are what makes a trip worthwhile.

We took one of the taxis and asked him straight out for a place that had a view, with shoe string budget and that we dint require luxury inside the room what so ever. We were shown some fancy places with a decent view and options of having a private bon fire, but all that came at a cost we weren’t happy with. Hence we pushed him to move more away from the main city area and show us a place that was more suitable to our nature loving tastes. Finally we did arrive at a nice little place, with a decent view. There was a homely feel to the place especially with the food being prepared at home. The view was of trees and some floral plants blossoming . We relaxed a bit ate well and it was late afternoon by the time we were actually ready to go out to check out the place. We walked to “Bear Sholay” falls which was less than 15min away from our room. It being summer there was very little water, but the walk to the place was enchanting. The roads that lead us to the falls was really good, with quaint houses, enthralling gardens in front of the houses, loads of flowers in bloom everywhere and the most pleasant weather , with a chill in the air and a warm sun.

When we reached the gated area through which we were to walk towards the falls we were more than happy to see the thick woods surrounding us, the evening light upon us we walked on, there is a stretch of the walk that is bar wired, and we thought that would be to keep some animals away, wondering what kind of animals though. There were absolutely no other tourist or soul in the vicinity which suited us well, and soon we were at the dry falls. Spending some good time there we headed back to the main town , walked around the lake and headed to our room, where good food was waiting for our time under the stars. We picked up a few bottles of sweet wine to go with it. 

The next day started early we walked towards the main town and took a taxi and cut a decent deal for the whole days visits, the route up was awesome, like most hill stations was filled with rich green growth and curving roads. We first reached the “Pine Forrest” which was unfortunately buzzing with loud and garish tourists, the driver loved his knowledge of movies, his explanation of any place had something to do with which song, which film was shot there, or which actor walked down which path and such. 

He did tell a number of songs that were shot there but the shouting tourists drowned his voice. The place was beautiful but noises don’t compliment such beauty and hence we were off to our next destination without much time lost, the next destination as told by our driver was called” Guna Caves” where the “Guna” was shot, the story goes that it was earlier called “the Devil’s Kitchen” as a lot of deaths had been witnessed there, who ever went in got into fatal accidents and such. But later the movie was made there, they actually constructed some temporary wooden staircases and barriers for the shoot. The famous south Indian Actor “Kamal Hassan” acted in the film. As soon as we got to the place all I could see were huge number of monkeys and vendors selling dry flowers, etc . There wasn’t much to eat and we hadn’t eaten anything since we left our room. We got a few bajjis which were promptly taken away from me by monkeys that intimidated me to throw them. I then learnt from a localite that I should intimidate it back to save my bajjis. I learnt the trick quite well and used it again on a trek. I assure you it worked. We were so exhausted by all the tourists and monkeys that as soon as we saw another path that lead to some nice growth of trees where there were no tourists we took the opportunity to explore the place and relax. We don’t know how long we sat there, then we headed to the Guna Caves. 

The sight was a mixture of disappointment and wonder, the climbing and walking lead us to a “Large Grill” which was the biggest disappointment ever because I thought a cave actually meant a cave and not grill. Then we realized that for the safety of tourists this was placed and there was no way of crossing over but only the view from there was to be had. When I went real close to the grill is when the wonder happed it was an exact replica of a “Chinese Painting” mist everywhere, sloping hills with protruding trees and branches, view stretched real far with tiny houses at the far end, we stood there in awe for a long time clicking photographs and with earphones plugged in tight to drain out the nasty, loud jumping tourists who wrent even bothered with the view but seemed more than content just with photographs of themselves being taken in front of a tall strong Iron Grill.

After all this we headed back to find our driver blowing steam from his ears running to us and yelling in Tamil, that he was worried we were lost and its dangerous and everything and a long drawn to and fro of words ensued with my broken Tamil and his fast Tamil. We cleared our differences and headed out, after all that we were in no mood for more touristy places, so we instead stopped to buy plants. Some small “Chadi” as they call it in Tamil, we had some food to keep us from dropping dead and headed right back. Stopping at some view points and shopping places. The driver unfortunately never understood our craving to see a nice place and non enthusiasm for shopping , but well we did shop for chocolates – home made delicious ones at that, spices , oils and all of that.

We headed back to our room with stomachs filled with chocolates and Dosa. The next day all we did was relax and not move an inch, sat in the open and just enjoyed the breeze.

The place has a lot to offer, but it is better to go by your own vehicle to be at ease, there are many places to see and some are called the “Valley tour “ and some are called “Forrest tour” with hell a lot of places jammed into the itinerary. If you don’t go by your own vehicle then make sure you have one person on the gang who knows some Tamil and explain your preferences before boarding the taxi.

Parinitha Konanur

Anthargange – A Cavernous Exploration

I just got back from an amazing trip/trek to “Antharagange” . I had heard the name many a times but this time I was just hoping for a nice ride and a laid back time on a hot summer Saturday. But what I found instead was a day full of activity, fun, sun and loads of climbing.

 Anthargange is about roughly 65 to 70 kilometers from Bangalore, you will need to take the NH 75 to Kolar. And just as you reach Narsapura ask for directions to “Anthargange”. The ride started early at 7 in the morning, the weather was pleasant and having had a short stop for breakfast and to load up on munchies and water, we headed straight to our destination. 

Then we reached the temple a little way up, a quaint temple structure with few tourists and priests about. The place is infested with monkeys , so you might want to keep those chips packets, chocolates and even water bottles tucked deep into your back pack. Then just a short while later we were traversing through a rocky climb up, filled with an array of boulders, thorny shrubs and plain dry heat. My distaste to climbing and to heat did not help or motivate me, but my fellow trekkers were absolutely hopeful and helpful, lending me a hand and putting up with my atrocious pace. With my plenty pit stops we reached the top or so I thought. The view was absolutely splendid, a nice expanse of hills and little villages nearby, a nice pleasant breeze, we even spotted a well and some stagnant green water that just added to the already amazing view. 

 

We had taken a localite with us to guide us to the caves, we had heard that there were a couple of them on top and we were hoping to explore them, the guide turned out to be an egoistic, knowledge less guy who was hoping we would give up half way through so he wouldn’t have to show us the entrance to the caves, the route to which he never knew.  Then we went through fields and then reached even more rocks, the place of entry to a cave was non existent, this disappointed our team to great degrees, we got rid of the guide and took the task upon ourselves to find the cave. We happened to bump into some local kids who said they knew the route , we had to take the chance, after all the climbing we had done, it would be a waste to let go of the caves having come that far. 

This time around it was a pleasant surprise, we not only found the cave entrance, it also had water inside it. It was too precarious to get in and hence I left it to my more agile team mates. They all went in , tasted the water and came out looking triumphant, happy and content. I was feeling low that I couldn’t get in and with that came another surprise, another cave large and awesome. We were all quite famished, with a few biscuits and water at our disposal, but we were very intent on exploring the other cave. The entrance was a deep slide and then it was superb fun, we sliding, and jumping, it was absolutely enthralling. There were places where I had no clue how to propel myself out , through a small hole , vertically upwards, with nothing to hold, but we all did it all the same, there were places pitch dark where we had to slide across a slimy rock, with a deep crevice below us. This entire experience was fantastic. 

After all this we got out of the final cave at 4.30 in the evening, we headed down, without a pause. My climbing down skills have always been exceptionally good, as good as my climbing up skills are bad, my stomach had  stretched to its ultimate hunger tolerance, all I could think of was food. After a very fast and easy climb down, we had loads of fresh cucumber and started to the main road to stop for lunch. By the time we reached the Shanthi Sagar it was already 6 in the evening. We belted on “Bisi Bele Bath” which was absolutely delicious. After the food we were all quite sleepy and tired, but we still had to do a 70 km ride back. The ride back was very pleasant, with a cool breeze, low traffic on the high way. Though the harsh reality of lights, pollution, dust, noise and traffic hit us as we entered Bangalore, we were still very happy with our little exploration and rest was the only needed thing now. 

Parinitha Konanur

Indian Food Hot spots for the Hungry Traveler – North India

As we have been talking about the food hot spots of the South now lets turn our attention to the North. When I say North I am basically going to cover the entire North.

We had stopped at Andhra for the south, Lets start the north food Hot Spots with Maharashtra Bombay or Mumbai as its known today has always been known for its street food, its vada pavs, its pani puris and such … But what actually is the thing that you shouldn’t miss when in Maharashtra ? “Batata Vada” and “Kande Pohe”.

 Okay now moving a little to the east and Northwards, many of you might not know is that oriya food is one of the best in India, though it isn’t as hyped as Andhra food, Rajasthani or Bengali food, it has its charm and some of the best delicacies are found here. Whether you are going to the Puri Jagannath Temple or to Bhubaneshwar or to Konarak make sure you eat some of these “Mitha Dali” which is cooked Toor Dal in Jaggery , ghee and bay leaf, and non vegetarian delights like “Chungdi Malai” which is fresh water prawn cooked in coconut milk and added spices. And along with these do have some famous Sherbaths like “ Bel Pana” made with the pulp of Aegle Marmelos along with milk, sugar and black pepper. 

Lets go to the west side of the country to Gujarat, whether you have those famous Thalis or not make sure you eat enough and more Guajarati Snacks the best of them are “Khandvi”, “Dhokla”, “Dhahi Vada” and “Kachori” and the sweets you should hve after all this is “ Sutarfeni” and “Basundi”.

Now moving on to the centre or the heart of India , state wise atleast, Madhyapradesh, when you plan your visit to Khajuraho, the ancient city of “Ujjain” or even to “Bhandhavgargh National Park”you make sure you taste these “Sabudane ki kichiri”, and the non veg must haves are “Rogan Gosh” “Biryani Pilaf” and “Keema” and Ujjain, Indore and Ratlam are known for their “Samosa” and”Kachoris”.

And now going to the wonderful Rajasthan let me tell you it is the vegetarian heaven. There is so many varieties of food , that you will not be left wanting more. But here are a few things that you just must have “ Lassi” in Jodhpur, a very spicy version of “Bhelpuri” and don’t miss having a wholesome Rajasthani Thali, and if you do come across “Mewaa Roti” do try it it’s a sweet tasting roti that is absolutely delicious when hot and with ghee on top, sinful ? yes…

Okay who doesn’t know that Delhi is a foodie’s Mecca? So the obvious things you just must do are go to Chandni Chowk and have “Jalebi” and “lassi” and have the famous Mughalai Style Biryani anywhere in delhi, also try a variety of milk teas that you get there , if you are there in winter you will remember having it all your life.

And now we are at UttarPradesh the yummiest concoctions are “ Zamin Doz Machli” and “Shami Kabab” for the Non Veggies and “Paneer Pakora” for the veggies, it is known that Chaat has its roots in UttarPradesh.

And going all the way to the Northmost and one of the most beautiful places on earth Kashmir, the must have veggie delights are “ Ladyar Tsaman” and “Nadeir Yakhean” which is lotus stem in yogurt base, and the simply must have non veggie food is “Rogan Gosh” and “Syun Qaliya”.

That is the slurpy list of must have in the hopt spots for a hungry in India in the North, the next blog will cover in detail the eccentric varieties in the North east …

Parinitha Konanur

Indian Food Hot spots for the Hungry Traveler – South India

We are all visual creatures and hence we travel and most of us visual creatures are also big foodies. India is known for its cultural variations and with cultural variations comes a huge variety of food. Every state has a unique cuisine and what is better is that even the smaller towns and cities have their own versions of food.

Now I thought I will map out the food Hot spots for all the “Hungry” Travelers –

If you were to start from Karnataka – If you were to go to North Karnataka don’t miss the “Jolad Rotti” which is Roti made of maize, If you were to go to Hassan side then do drink those tender coconuts in a countryside and ofcourse eat the “Ragi Mudde” or the Ragi Balls with Chicken or Mutton Curry, for the veggies Ragi mudde is awesome with “Soppina Saaru” which is a curry with greens, then if you were to go to Mysore then have the “Mysore Masala Dosa”, and “Pineapple KesariBath” and yeah how can I forget “Davangere Benne Dose” in davangere ofcourse though it is available even in Bangalore.

Then there is Coorgi specials like “Pandi Curry” which basically an awesome pork curry.  Mangalore, Udupi  and its surroundings are known for their lovely vegetarian food remember the “Udupi Krishna Bhavan” ? and do not miss the “Gud Bud” ice cream in Mangalore. 

Now if you go to Tamil Nadu you got to try out as many varieties of “Rasams” as you can, it is also known for Dosa , let me tell you the Tamil Nadu Dosa tastes quite different from its Karnataka counterparts. Then there is the famous “kotthu parota” that you get in most parts of Tamilnadu. And then there is the very very famous spicy “Chettinad” food from TamilNadu.

Then moving a little more down south if you go to kerala , it is mostly a non vegetarians heaven, the must tries are “Neer dosa and Prawn curry” or even fish curry, sea food is major here for obvious reasons and they are delicious.

Now let us map our way up a little to the North and enter  Andhrapradesh, now this is a state that satisfies both vegetarians and non vegetarians equally so you will do yourself good if you order a “Andhra style” Biryani, Andhra style Chilli Chicken or even a wholesome South Indian Thali that comes with chutney pudi, papad, rice, roti, sambar, rasam and loads of “Pallya”/ side dishes . Hyderabad as most of you know is a hot spot for Biryani and it has a lovely mixture of both Andhra spices mixed with Nizam or the Muslim influences.

Now moving a little more to the west coast is the world famous travel destination Goa. What most travelers do is that they prefer to lie back on the beach and eat at the restaurants adjacent to the shacks, this is a good idea, but you need to remember to have that “Cashew nut Fenny” and along with this a must not miss is eating a “Pav bun along with chicken curry”, this is usually not available at shacks, and you might want to spend an evening at Mapusa for that. It is totally worth it. Goa is also known for its “Pork Vindaloo”.

My Next Blog will be about all the delicacies of Northern and Eastern Indian ... slurp Slurp !!!

The Folk Culture of Rajasthan ...

Rajasthan is known for its rich traditional history its cultural uniqueness and for its folklore. We experienced it all first hand, but the most spectacular of this all, is in Jaisalmer, we had just witnessed the best sunset of our lifes amidst the dunes, and had just ridden a camel on the sands. The beauty of it all capturing our mind heart and soul, after this what were we to expect , a lovely evening with the Rajasthani folk music and dance performers. We not only sat back and saw this awesome performance, we decided to even join in on the fun, with our own down south special "tappanguth" done along with the spectacular beating of the drums. The male performers were full of energy, cracking jokes, telling stories, performing music, all at once. The female performers were elegant and so graceful were their moves, especially as it got accentuated by their bright and colourful attire.

Speaking of which, let me just tell you a little about Rajasthani folk dances. There are many folk dances in Rajasthan , "Gowari Dance" is a dance drama done mostly by the "Bhil" tribe, they usually perform around a central point which is of a deity, and then a "Madal" and "Thali" is always there while performing. The performing troupe usually travels from village to village doing performances. Then there is the "Ghoomer Dance" which is probably the most well known and famous dance form of Rajasthan, it is a comunity dance done mostly during festivities and fairs.

Then there is the "Chari dance" - if you have ever wondered why they do these dance moves along with brass pots on their heads, is it only to display their balancing skills ? no it is done to rejoice the fact that they found water, the women of Rajasthan had to walk miles just to find a pot of water, and when they did find it they would dance with these pots on their heads and add graceful hand movements along with this.

The other dance forms are " Kalbeliya dance", "Gair Dance" and "Bhawai Dance".

If you are planning a trip to Rajasthan do not miss the dunes in Jaisalmer and do not miss the dance and music performance in the desert under the stars.

Parinitha Konanur

Tips on what to carry for Travel Photography

All travelers love to travel - to see, feel, experience and also capture what they see. So travel photography becomes pretty much part of the travel experience be it a DSLR user who is an amateur/pro or a point and shoot user wanting to take back home memories.

The most important part of photography is [ whether we like it or not ] the equipment. Travel photography needs depend on what kind of travel you do, if you love to go to sanctuaries and national parks dont travel without a telephoto lens. Though it adds to your luggage and weight there is no point in trying to capture a bird in the morning light with a 18-55 lens. And a telephoto will also help you get some close up shots of all those monuments and architecture details, or even the close up on faces. Telephoto lenses also give you a shallow depth of field and thus will help in bringing many of your subjects into proportion.
The next must have lens is commonly used 18-55 lens - these are good for pretty much everything you want to capture on your trip, from people to trains, to mountain top views. It not heavy and is less cumbersome. You could also take a 50mm lens along, its not heavy and could give you some great shots of people and happenings. It gives a very ethereal quality to all photographs.

The next you need to think of is you battery back up and storage. DSLRs come with a charger for their batteries, DO NOT forget to pack this [ should be first on your list ] without this all efforts are in vain. Then for the point and shoot users get a good quality rechargeable batteries, carry atleast one extra pair [ fresh unused ones] and a good quality charger for them. I would also suggest you to carry a multiple pin plug point . This is my personal MUST HAVE. This way you wont be worried what all to put to charge and fight for your turn to charge your phone, I-pod and camera Battery. This is important because most hotels and budget rooms provide only one Plug point. This is also good because in case the wiring is not good at your room or on your train, or waiting room, this will take the brunt.

Next is your camera bag, there are many options in the market the best thing to do is carry a not so conspicuous bag and keep your lens, may be your video camera and other accessories in it and then a sling kind of bag for your main DSLR. This helps you to take out your camera fast as soon as you see a subject of interest. Also lets you keep the other accessories from catching the public eye [ thieves and shy people who dont like to be photographed ] ...

The next is your storage, carry more than one memory card instead of one large sized memory card carry two to three smaller ones, that way you have no tension of a damaged card that will make you lose all your photographs, or losing it. You can also back up your photographs by downloading them and sending it to yourself via mail, or uploading it as you go onto Picasa. 

All this said the most important is to go with a clear head and a never ending enthusiasm to capture the best shots and to try something new every time and move away from your safety zone.

The other things you must carry are a soft cloth to wipe the lens in case it gets dirty and an absolute must carry is a lens blower. Most places have dust and it can prove fatal to your camera and lens.

Parinitha Konanur

Taking the Step into the Unknown :

Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;
Strike the bell and bide the danger,
Or wonder,
till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.
- C.S. Lewis

This poem by C.S.Lewis sets me thinking, isn’t this the most important part of travel? To take a step into the unknown and explore, to explore and wonder at nature’s beauty, the most important part is to take THAT STEP, and to make that move.  

Because if you always played it safe you would never discover a new path, a new route, a new hill. What drives a traveler is his heart, his heart that beats at the sight of a new landscape. This drive is what makes you talk to complete strangers on a train, listen to them and if they say that there is this ONE place that you ought to go to, even if it does not fit into your schedule, you do it. When on a trek, your on your safe known path , but the thrill is from the small route through the absolute thicket that might well just take you to the best clearing that not many other travelers have seen, it might give you the best view of the mountain range, or you might just get caught in the thicket with scratches and might lose your trail, but then, that is the risk you oughta take … aint it ?

When I think back on all the many trips I have done, the ones that went absolutely perfectly I remember, but the ones I remember better are the ones that I hadn’t planned, hadn’t expected, I had just listened to my heart and had set forth. Some of them failed and failed bad, but still its etched on my mind and I still sit back and reminisce that.

 So here is my tip of the month – As much as all of us would like to just “Take Off” without a fixed number of days for a trip and just follow our heart, how many of us can actually get to do that ? I don’t think many, all of us have jobs that need us there, we get a few leaves and so we plan out our trip in such a way that all the best places fit right into the schedule. Yes this is the best way to see the most number of destinations in the given time, but then there are these times when you saw a place and wished you could just stay there a little while longer … that is what this tip is for … When you apply for leaves or take time out of your busy schedule for a long trip, make sure you take two to three days more than your tight schedule plan, your boss might get a little more irked than usual but it would prove worth it.

Keep a few days extra on your long trips, when you like a place so much you don’t want to move use those two days, when you get to know there is a small village near your destination that needs a visit use those two days to visit that place. That way you can still catch your flight/train back as booked, and you will get that time to spend in that place that you want to. And trust me you will reminisce THAT the most …

Parinitha Konanur

Photography Tour to Bhoganandeeshwara Temple

Life is calling organized a photography tour a few days ago. Photography for most travelers comes as an accessory , it’s a package, you want to travel to see new places and when you see new places you want to capture it. Photography has its nuances, its subtleties, its own understanding of the visual in front of you. Photography not only creates memories it can create an artistic portrayal of an exotic place. So we at Life is Calling thought why not club the two and have some fun on the way.

So a renowned Bangalore Photographer Neeta Shankar worked along with us to create some awesome experience with a photography workshop. The plan was to visit the Bhoganandeeshawara temple which is close to Nandi hills, the temple is about a 1000 years old and is known for its architecture and beauty.

The workshop was a superb success with the whole team meeting up and reaching the place by 9am. After about an hour of initial photography the team was given a talk on basics of photography, the main Do’s and Don’t’s the understanding of composition, colour and contour till 1 in the afternoon. Then a sumptuous meal to get them started for the rest of the day and learning. 

The group was filled with enthusiastic people trying out new techniques that they had learnt, trying to capture the temple in all its beauty.

Photography trips are a wonderful way to not only spend a weekend doing your favourite thing but also a great way to meet similar minded people and to experience and experiment and also get expert advice on the go. So we have planned up a few more photographic trips in the same way. Check out our website to know the schedule of the upcoming photography tours, to enroll yourself and join in on the fun. www.lifeiscalling-travel.com

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