Sri Lanka trip :
pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/ashwinivg/Srilanka#

Naveen and I decided at the last minute to utilize our 10 day holiday; the cheapest as to Sri Lanka. 7000 bucks round trip from Chennai. We hopped on a Shatabdi from Bangalore and set off.

Our first stop was at Colombo, a late night crash at the Intercontinental Hotel . We were hardly impressed by the hotel or Colombo; the army is everywhere and passports will be checked every few meters. Besides that, there is not a whole lot to do in Colombo.

We met a travel agent who promised to take us around Sri Lanka for a lumpsump. The plan entailed being driven around in a car , getting out at scenic points, taking out our cameras and clicking pictures. Finally, after much deliberation............we decided to venture out on our own with the Lonely Planet as our guide and with the intent of keeping our budget to a minimum. Which, we actually managed; the entire trip including airfare for 2 of us, cost us 60K (of course, including the activities - rafting / snorkelling / water skiing ... etc and shopping).

First stop was at Kandy. We took a bus from Colombo bus terminal, it is a long windy route, and travel by bus is definitely cheaper, but it takes double the time. This was also the case throughout the trip, the commute which frustrated me most was a 27km stretch which took 1 hour!!! The bus driver stopped at every 50 yard interval for anyone who wanted to get on the bus.

Now........ I am digressing, Kandy was also pretty much a washout, we visited a temple and decided not to enter. Entrance charge for foreigners at all places of interest is atleast 100 times higher than for the natives! The best part of the trip was that we met Dimuthu, who helped us plan our trip from Kandy. BTW, he is also mentioned in the Sri Lanka Lonely Planet.

The fun starts now...................

First stop from Kandy was at Kithulgala where we went white water rafting. Both of us had a blast, and jumped into the river for some body rafting as well. Next stop was at Nuwara Eliya, called the Little England of Sri Lanka. And, it surely lived up to its name, it was damp and cold and miserable! Nuwara Eliya was a pit stop to Horton Plains; Horton plains is beautiful, it is a UNESCO preserved site and has diverse flora. The trail in Horton plains is about 10 kms and winds its way through World's end and mini world's end, a 800ft sheer drop, which we weren't able to see thanks to the mist and Bakers Falls.

Next stop was at Ella, a sleepy little town facing Ella Rock. There are little hotels dotted along the road looking upto the rock. Ella is a quaint little place, with tea plantations and nice hiking routes. Naveen and I, with the help of the map provided at the guest house, lost our way and ended up at Ella Rock. The view from the top is spectacular with mountains surrounding us.

Finally, we got to Bentota and beach life. Since we were not visiting Sri Lanka during peak season, the party scene was non-existent. Bentota did not hold much appeal, except for an hour long snorkeling session. The coral was beautiful and so were the fish, we also managed to get spooked by a sea urchin.

On the last day of our trip, which was the best, we landed in Unawatuna for some water sports. We took the tube ride thrice and I had the best time of my life. And then, there was the water skiing; after a short beginner course, both of us managed to stand up for a few seconds on the skis!!!!

Chiang Mai/Krabi/Phuket - 3rd to 11th November 2007

Bangalore-Singapore

Need a desperate break from work, it is almost maddening to deal with one issue after another without a break. Absolute madhouse without a sign of relenting and I need an escape.

And........... promptly flew to Singapore to seek shelter and get away from my computer, my nemesis. Felt great to be flying after such a long time, actually got time to read the newspaper at leisure, felt like I was back being with my best friend, flying.

Singapore-Bangkok-Chiang Mai

Gracious! something needs to be done about the visa on arrival formality at Suvarnabhoomi airport.

Chiang Mai is a quaint little town tucked away in the North of Thailand, and is an ideal spot for doing some trekking. Ashika was waiting for me in one of the backpackers hangout perusing the Lonely Planet with great intent. We decided to book ourselves to a 3-day adventure trip for 1500 baht with one of the many travel agents in Chiang Mai.


The 3-day adventure trip

Wild plantains, marigolds and lush green trees greeted us on our way from Chiang Mai to the Elephant Safari. We climbed onto the backs of the elephants and took a leisurely tour of the forests for about an hour. The elephants were quite demanding, and expelled air out of their trunks onto our faces demanding for food (now, let me tell you, smelling an elephant‘s breath is not something you want to experience). After some food and a few hours of trekking we ended up in a small village where we stay for the night.

The tour guide and his partners were friendly folks and one of them decided that he was going to use his vocal prowess and skill with the guitar to impress Ashika. And, as is common on these trips, we started a fire and the revelry began with beer, guitars and singing. I don’t think I have ever heard ‘Let it be..’ as many times as I did on this trip.

There were 13 of us on the first day (Indian, Irish, Korean, French, Canadian, American origin), and only the French and Indian population were left out by the next morning. The rest of the folks had booked themselves on a 2 day tour and had to head back earlier. The second day was quite uneventful, we trekked and saw a couple of water falls and headed back to another village to spend the night.

Well, the third day was the most fun, had my first taste of wild water rafting. We had a blast going down the rapids and splashing water on folks in other rafts. Then was time for the bamboo raft ride, where the raft operator decided he would upend all of us into the river (the plan was foiled, as the rest of us caught onto the act and stared unbalancing the boat as well).

And, it was time to head out from Chiang Mai to our next destination…

Krabi

We caught a flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, where we had to catch up with Nidhi. This turned out to be quite eventful as we spent half the night waiting for Nidhi to clear the visa formalities at the airport, and she had decided to go on ahead to the hotel without us.

Krabi is the best location for rock climbing!
This is the second time I tried rock climbing after the Black Cliffs in Boise and it was absolutely stunning. After a short ferry ride we ended up at a thin stretch of beach surrounded by beautiful rock faces. And I met the most adorable rock climbing instructor, he was a sweet faced native with immense patience and encouragement (qualities absolutely necessary in an instructor in my experience when you are rock-climbing). I sucked at climbing artificial walls when I was 16 and had decided that rock climbing was something out of my league. John, who took me climbing in Boise changed my perspective. But, I was still very doubtful about rock climbing in Krabi. But the instructor ensured that all of us felt at ease while climbing.

Nidhi decided she wanted to exercise her vocal chords that night, and joined in with the lived band at a small inn. The rest of the patrons in the inn(4 folks besides us) also decided to join in, this ensured some head banging, cat calls into the late hours of the evening. And, off we headed to

Phuket

Dolly joined us in Phuket and promptly fell sick as a dog. As it had rained the past couple of days, the seas were gray instead of the bright blue-green we expected. And I think I will end my travel log here as Phuket was the most boring leg of the trip, we did what most tourists do, booked us onto sight-seeing trips to Phi-Phi islands, James bond island.

Left late Saturday night to board the 11.30 p.m. train to Delhi. Appa's friend, Ramamurthy Uncle was kind enough to drop me to the train station. Appa, Amma, Ramamurthy uncle and I reached Yeshwanthpura train station at 11 p.m. in the night. The train station was desolate; it was as though we were transported back in time, away from the hustle bustle of the modern day railway station to a sleepy town with clean platforms and the astringent smell of pepper in the air (someone was transporting peppers that day). As usual I was late, though not late enough to miss the train, but enough to give the group leader Sudhakar uncle from the KarnatakaMountaineering Association (KMA) a scare.


Eight of us alighted to the sweltering afternoon heat at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station. Now, that was a typical Indian Railway station with loads of junta, filth and noise. Post lunch, we decided to wait for the rest of the team at the bus depot. The other team members joined us in the early part of the evening bearing delicious litchies, which Jharna and I devoured with great glee. With our bellies full, we decided to try out the Delhi Metro Rail system. The Metro Rails were a delight to ride in; I was pleasantly surprised to see clean and well maintained trains in India. We boarded the comfortable volvo bus to Manali from the Kashmiri Gate around 8 in the night. For dinner, we stopped at a beautiful restaurant; on the left was a fast food joint, the leisurely sit down area was towards the right and in the centre was an open seating area replete with charpais and a well.


The next morning we landed in Buntar and drove down to Manikaran in four wheel drives, the distance is around 38 kms. On our way to Manikaran, we saw the muddy Parvati River mixing with the azure waters of the Beas. Paravati is a tributary of the Beas; we were to trek along the Parvati river valley to Mantalai Lake where river Parvati originates.


After a nice hot meal and quick cleanup we set off to explore Manikaran. Manikaran was the starting point of our trek and is at an altitude of 5600 ft. The small town boasts of a Gurudwara, a Temple, a market place and hot water springs. The hot water springs here are quite interesting, they are said to contain radium and not sulphur which is found in most hot water springs. The main market place was across a bridge from the hotel and catered mainly to the tourists. Our first briefing about the trek took place on the rooftops of the hotel we were staying at; Sudhakar uncle told us about the route, and, the joys and the dangers of trekking. The assembled group was a motley collection of first timers, veterans and trekkers with moderate exposure to the Himalayan terrain.


On the next day, a short ride from Manikaran to Barsheni got us to the starting point of the trek; Barsheni is a huge activity hub because of the Parvati river hydro electric power plant coming up there. As it was the first day of the trek, we decided to take breaks at regular intervals to adjust the load and get used to wearing a rucksack. The route began with a slight descent over loosely packed soil (resembling dry clay) and winded through small villages where, houses are built on poles. We trekked through green forests to reached the waterfall where Jharna lost her glasses. In all, we gained about 3000 feet in altitude that day. At Kheer Ganga, our first campsite, Sudheendra uncle found a foreigner, dressed as a sadhu and living in the mountains. Now, Sudhee uncle was keen on obtaining the sadhu's blessings but was refused (well, the story goes that he later received the blessings of the sadhu).


The time we spent trekking that day was quite short, about 3-4 hours; we started around 8 in the morning and reached Kheer Ganga around 11-12 in the afternoon. Post lunch, we lazed in the shade and I received a valuable lesson on true left and right of a river and different types of tents from Sudhakar Uncle.


Surprisingly, we saw a lot of Israelis in Kheer Ganga. The Israelis are not a very popular bunch as there is wide spread use of drugs and they are reputed to take advantage of the poverty of the hill folks. They marry young local girls in exchange of money, gaining the ability to stay on longer and also buy property, and slink away after a few years.


We were late getting ready the next morning and had to swallow a piece of toast in great hurry and hear a dressing down from Sudhakar uncle. The gain in altitude from Kheer Ganga to Tunda Bhuj, the campsite for the night was about 300 meters. It was a long trek through rolling hills, log bridges and, at the very end, we faced a steep uphill climb. Though the gain in altitude was paltry compared to the previous day, most of us agreed that it was a harder trek due to the distance.


We camped for the night at Tunda Bhuj; a beautiful campsite built in two tier fashion, with waterfalls on the mountains across the river. Well, now I completely forgot about the campsite arrangements; all of it was made by Khemraj (one of Sudhakar uncle's friends) and each campsite was equipped with tents, sleeping bags, kitchens and cooking staff. Tunda Bhuj derives its name from the Bhuj trees surrounding the area. The trunk of the Bhuj trees peel like a paper roll and were used for writing in the olden days; the Bhuj trees have a whitish trunk and sparse green limbs.


Some of the folks went rappling that afternoon;it was pouring cats and dogs by the time they made their way back to the campsite. All of us huddled into tents, and over cups of hot chai we heard great mountaineering tales from Srivatsa uncle and Sudhakar uncle. The skies cleared up towards the evening and provided great light for photography, the photographers in the team, Padmanabhan and Srivatsa Uncle set off to take advantage of it.


The third day all of us were ready on time and were raring to go. It was a short day's hike through green forests into open plains. We crossed the famed Pandu bridge that day; Pandu bridge is a natural bridge formed by two massive rocks wedged next to one another across Parvati river. The previous day during briefing, Sudhakar uncle told us about these massive rocks which form a natural bridge. I was quite curious to see it and was unable to visualize two massive structures which, could cut across a river so wide. Sadly, the reality was a let down, the bridge is along one of the smaller tributaries of the river and the width across which the rocks cut across could not have been more than 30-40 feet. Prashanth Aradhya a jolly good samaritan helped Negi (the guide) and the porters (Milind and Himalay) in helping us cross the naturally occurring bridge safely.


After crossing Pandu bridge, we crossed yet another bridge and faced a steep uphill climb. Now, uphill climbs are definitely not my forte and every time I see one of ‘em, I have a panic attack and wonder why I ever do this, but nevertheless I set forth with the thought that if I kept putting one foot in front of the other, I would eventually make it . And voila, so I did to meet the glorious vision of a lovely downhill climb along plains to the campsite. And, to add to it, a hand pulled cable car ride awaited to ferry us across the river, to the camp site.


Now, the cable car ride is one of the rare moments in life I want to go on forever but sadly gets over in minutes. The experience of riding in a small car above wildly gushing waters crashing into rocks and looking up at giant peaks with the wind wreaking havoc with my hair is an indescribable experience.


At Thakur Kuan campsite that day we found hot water, a most cherished commodity after days of no bathing and rushing through clean up because of the icy cold waters. Some enthusiastic young guys Kiran and Ravi decided to go trudging over mountains that day.


The route the next day, was mainly along the plains and, we trekked about 5-6 hours to reach Odi Thad. Odi Thad is surrounded by snow capped mountains and is windier and colder than the rest of the campsites. All of us huddled into jackets as soon as we reached the campsite. The kitchen staff, the locals and some of my team members took advantage of the level plains and enjoyed a game of cricket.


Later that night, it got terribly cold and all of us huddled into the mess tent before dinner. We had one of the most memorable nights of the trek that day. The locals treated us to a fabulous feast of music and dance; they sang about a pretty girl around town and the men following her in a local pahadi dialect. One of the locals was an amazing dancer, I had hard time trying to figure how he was moving his hands and legs. All the team members - Sudhee Uncle, Srivatsa uncle, Mamta, Hema, Jharna, Harsha, the two Prashanths, Padmanabhan, Kiran and Ravi took turns dancing around the center and, it was a hoot, from the jhatkas and matkas to pole dancing to some crazy jumping up and down, the small dance floor saw all the dance moves that night.


On D-day we left early, about 5 in the morning and trekked for about an hour and half to reach Mantalai lake base camp. My shoes and socks were soaking wet by the time we reached the base camp due to all the pebble hopping to cross streams and trudging across marshy areas. We dumped most of our luggage at the base camp; equipped only with the bare essentials and fortified by a cup of chai, we set along to Mantalai lake. Parvati river has a lot mica in it, due to which the rocks surrounding the lake were glinting in the sunlight. Hiking without sunglasses is virtually impossible because of the brutal sunlight (open air, altitude), which was also reflected by the glinting rocks and the snow. We did some interesting climbing over rocks and stomping over snow to reach Mantalai lake..


Mantalai lake is at an altitude of 13,500 feet and is not visible from a distance because of the ridge covering it on its side. Only after climbing up the rock covered path can one see the breathtaking 1 km lake surrounded by snow capped mountains. The lake stretches further into the mountains away from us; turning back in the direction we came, all we could see was a river raging madly, cutting across two lines of mountains on either side. The bright sunlight and the altitude gave most of us a headache. After relaxing for about half an hour, we got into a snow fight. Sudharkar uncle with the help of Ravi and Negi demonstrated us how to build an igloo. After the customary rounds of photo shoot with the KMA banner, we set off to base camp. By the time we got close to the base camp it got cloudy and we had to rush the last stretch to avoid the rain. Jaswinder, who brought up the rearguard that day sadly got caught in the rain. Milind, one of the porters ran back from the base camp to give him a rain coat. That night, all of us were tired to the bones, but at the same time, ecstatic at having reached our goal.


On our way back we skipped Odi Thad to reach Thakur Kuan and had another round of individual photo shoots . The non-vegetarians in the group had their hearts’ fill of local goat (called Rank in the local dialect) that day. From Thakur Kuan, we directly reached Kheer Ganga bypassing Tunda Bhuj. New restaurants had sprung up at Kheer Ganga over the past week. All of us, filthy souls, decided to take advantage of the naturally occurring hot springs at Kheer Ganga. Mamta and I soaked in the hot water bath for about an hour. The hot waters was god sent and rejuvenated us completely. We had a short debriefing session that night and most of the folks praised KMA for organizing a wonderful trek and making it a true pleasure to be in the mountains. As it was the last day of the trek, we indulged to heart’s fill of singing (or screaming out of tune at the top of our lungs, call it what you may).


The next day most of us were reluctant to leave the mountains to head back to civilization. All the rules of bed tea at 6, breakfast at 6.30 and start at 7 (Jharna’s favorite line) were forgotten and most of us were yearning to stay back, especially Sudheendra Undle and Sudhakar Uncle.

It was the first day that we trekked in rain and quite a few of us had the pleasure of a fall or two. Sreenath was nice enough to offer his spare rain-cover for my backpack. We found tiny apples on trees on our way back and most of the apple orchards were cordoned with barbed wire. After reaching Barsheni, we drove down to Manikaran to pick up the luggage we had left behind and grabbed a quick lunch. We reached Manali late in the afternoon that day. A welcome back dinner was organized for us that night by Kheemraj.

The next day we went to Rohtang pass and faced the normal civilization woes of traffic jams and no parking spaces. Rohtang pass is famous for its varied color kabootars (people dressed in weird color bunny suits). The day after we drove down to visit the famous Roerich gallery and were badly disappointed. After a quick stop at Hidimba temple we started shopping and continued shopping all the way from Manali to Delhi till we boarded our respective trains/planes.