A hike to Neer Garh waterfall Three more people came to fill the void left by the German lady and the South African guy. If there wasn’t anything interesting or something obstructing my voyage, I knew that it would be my last day in Rishikesh. I am not a religious person and find very little … [Read more…]
Towards Haridwar I woke up quite late—9:00 AM to be precise. Although I was done with my sleep at 5:30 in the morning, I found my quilt to be of greater comfort than the darkness accompanied by chilly winds outside. I wouldn’t lie, but the views at that point of time, just when the Sun … [Read more…]
Commotion of Bangalore to the Silence of Jolly Grant One of the toughest things to do is to actually escape Bangalore on any day that is not a Sunday or a public holiday—something that I have experienced innumerable times and have become well accustomed to. After a few failed attempts at booking an airport taxi, … [Read more…]
I was invited by my bandmates Korak and Shounak to join their gang from IISc for this trek. An upcoming trip of mine demands considerable fitness. I took up this opportunity to prepare a bit for the trip and test out few of my gears. Other than Korak and Shounak, I had the company of … [Read more…]
There was nothing else to do in Udupi. In order to utilise the entire day, I had asked our hotel to arrange for a cab at 8:00 in the morning. However, the cab wasn’t ready until 9:00. We decided to finish our breakfast in Udupi before checking-out and leaving. A nice Udupi style breakfast joint … [Read more…]
From Mangalore to Udupi The Saturday following Diwali was Bhai-Duj. My sister was ecstatic — it has been about ten years that I haven’t been with her on this occasion. We did the usual ritual in our hotel room at Mangalore. Custom dictates that we both eat something sweet afterwards. To our dismay, even at … [Read more…]
This time for our trip (it has almost become an annual ritual), we took an overnight bus from Bangalore to Mangalore. I was warned by the regular electrician at our apartment that the road would be bumpy. (He lives in northern part of Kerala and frequently commutes via Mangalore.) I had no choice. Although I … [Read more…]
Today, I woke up with a sore throat. I am happy that it happened after TfN was over. Most of us are leaving for Bangalore at 10 am. I will collect my bike at Taj, Yeshwantpur and go home. Here are my thoughts on the whole experience. A note about the organisers and volunteers I am yet … [Read more…]
One final luggage drop, one final briefing, one final climb We were asked to get ready for breakfast and drop our luggage by 7:00 am. Satish gave the day’s briefing and sang a song. We had one final climb of about 15 kms. It was the same route that we had taken yesterday past Aliyar … [Read more…]
A constant uphill Palakkad heat was uncomfortable even at 7 O’Clock in the morning. The temperature wasn’t that high but the humidity made me slightly uneasy. We had a challenging course ahead. After dropping off my luggage and having a sub-par breakfast, I patiently waited for the trip to start. I did not want to … [Read more…]
