Skies come alive....

I was up in the sky, high high above it all.. after ages.. This time, I got upgraded and travelled in plush seats, with wow level leg room. And so I did not have to excuse myself every time I turned or twisted in my seat... That apart, the windows seemed bigger as well and I could see all the way beyond with ease... 

There was a bit of turbulence, but wasn't too bad. I watched a few episodes of downloaded show, read a while, chit chatted with my co-passenger and dozed a bit as well..Here are some shots I clicked during the flight from Bombay to Chennai...  [Psst- haven't edited any of the images]

Sidi Saiyyed Mosque, Ahmedabad...

There I was, in the city that held so many fond memories- Ahmedabad. My first visit was back in 20015, when I spent a whole week here, just that back then I wasn't into this kind of travel mode and so did not explore the city too much.. Plus the agenda was different... 

This time around, I was here with nothing but travel and curiosity on the agenda... I was gonna spend two days in the city before moving on towards Bhuj and beyond!! On the 1st day, after breakfast and settling in, we decided to check out the International Kite Festival. While it was fun, it was quite hot and we walked around the place for an hour before making our way towards The House Of MG [Mangaldas].. A friend wanted to go check out the rooms and food, she had guests coming down in a few staying and staying at the property. The other 3 of us decided to wander the property and explore the area around before coming back for a cup of cool lime soda or chai. 

As you enter The House of MG, the first thing you see is the Menstrual tree installation and on the right side is the Tree of life.. Both are quite impactful, and on the tree of life , there was a board that spoke about the Jali work from the Sidi Saiyyed mosque. When we googled the place, we discovered it was right across from where we were standing. 

We hopped across, and entered the mosque premises, took off our shoes and wandered about the place. It is a fairly small space, and there is a marble board near the entrance that talks about when it was built and by who etc... 

The Sidi Saiyyed Mosque was built back in 1572-73 AD by Sidi Saiyyid....  The mosque is entirely arcuated and renowned for the ten intricately carved stone latticework windows or jalis as they are known. You will find these on the arches both inside and on the rear side. The intricately carved window with the Tree with intertwining branches is the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad's logo. The workmanship is just wow, mesmerising and almost looks like filigree work... The one surprising element was the small window in the center which is plain and has just a wall on it. I also heard that the place was not completed, as the Mughals invaded Gujarat by then. Even though this mosque is much smaller than the Jama Masjid, and does not have the huge courtyard, the craftsmanship and details across the structure is unparalleled.  

As we made our way out of the campus, we heard prayers from the speakers and people slowly piling in. I sent an image of the wall with the Tree on it to a friend who is from IIM and he replied "wow, I have heard of this place, but not visited in even once during my years studying at the campus".. :-) 

The traffic was crazy, and it took us a good few minutes to cross the road and take shade at the cafe in The House of MG and wait for our friend... 

Anantya Resort near Kanyakumari... The birthday getaway

I started this tradition few years back.. For my birthday I would get away, be away from Chennai... Over the years I have been to many different places.. Invariably, it would be a place I haven't been to before, unless there was little time or not much options cos of the time constraint. 

Last year, I was in a bit of a dilemma.. I knew the birthday was coming, I knew I wanted to get away, its like the itch knew when to appear and I was lost wondering where to go. I ran through a multitude of options in my head, ruled out most of them, cos they needed atleast 5-10 days to do justice.. I picked up the phone and sent a message to my bestie about this and within an hour I had arrived on one decision- I was going to indulge and do a holiday like none I have done so far...  

For those who know me, know that most of my trips are budget trips, under 20-30k [for a 10day trip, including travel accommodation food etc... ], and so this time when I zeroed in on where to go, I was excited.. While breaking my head on where to go, I remembered this place a friend had visited about a year earlier.. hunted around on Instagram for their photographs, messaged him and that was that, my mind was made up!

I was headed to Anantya Resorts, Kanyakumari. The property was located within 100 acre Rubber plantation and along the Chittar lake and was on TN- Kerala Border.. It is one of the few properties that has a brilliant Instagram feed/stories and a property that I wish I could go back to... 

I booked myself for 2N/3D at their Chakra Cottage [ they also have a Siddhi Villa which comes with its own small pond of sorts and a gazebo] , and had reached out to them asking about transport [pick up/drop]. The property is an hour from Nagercoil station, and about the same from Trivandrum Airport as well.  I love trains, and train journeys, so booked myself on the train headed to Kanyakumari. The property was sending me a cab... Ta da... I was set.. ;-)

There was this adrenalin rush and excitement like I had never felt before.. Maybe because my earlier birthdays were all kinda spent on the road going from one place to the other, or had been in places I had heard off/read about plenty and this place held some mystery element to it.. 

After a fun train journey, where I scandalised a few fellow passengers [who have never seen a girl travel alone...], I was out of the train and on the road towards the resort. The cabbie was a chatty guy, and asked if I knew Lakshmi madam [who's the owner of the property], he went on to share that she was currently in Chennai and asked if I was here on her recco.. We then chit chatted about the places around that I could visit, enquired about the distance to Kanyakumari and lo behold we had reached. 

The reception area is near the main gate, but the cottages are a short hop skip away, the path is rugged but the view ahead is what caught my eye. I was in Chakra Cottage #101 if I remember right [ I did lose my way once or twice but was happy to just be lost and wander about...].. 

The cottage was a few steps from the lake, as were all others. I was told all Chakra cottages on one side, and Siddhi villas on the other.. the lake was like a U around the property.. Am not gonna go on about the room or the property, it will make me go all nostalgic and so am gonna let the photographs tell the tales.... 

All I will say is if ever you are looking for a place to getaway, no signal [atleast no Airtel or Vodafone], and want to do nothing but walk, chill, eat good food, swim, get a massage or two then this is the place for you!! Totally worth every single paisa... 

During the 2nd morning breakfast, connected with a fellow traveller who was there for a quick getaway with her family. Rather she initiated the conversation seeing me alone at the table. Was surprised I was travelling alone that too for my birthday! Came to know she worked in Bangalore, in an IT firm and was into CRM, specifically Salesforce. She infact suggested I sign up for a course at one of the best centres that offered salesforce training Chennai if I was looking for a career shift. Her husband had apparently undergone salesforce admin training in Chennai and today was a VP at a company in Bangalore as well. Her parents chit chatted a while, they too were surprised I was alone, and asked if I wanted to join them for the rest of the day. I politely declined and told them I enjoyed my own company and headed out for a walk along the lake....

This is one of the joys of travelling, meeting interesting people from various walks of life and getting a sneak peek into what the other part of the world lives like... :-)

The sprawling open space around the cottages along the lake..

My Cottage...

The game zone, and the dining area beyond along with the pool and spa..

Artwork on a wall..

Greenery everywhere you see.

 

My cottage...

The lake as the sun sets..

The sit out area from the room...

The dining area..

Gaming zone,, chess, scrabble, books, pallankuzhi and more..

Walkways..

Breakfast/meals with a view...

Now that you have feasted your eyes, let me tell you it is a place you can go alone or with friends or family and will definitely have a blast.. They also have a court that you can use for tennis/shuttle or if basketball is your thing head over to the next space.. There are fun sitting options along the way- a low hammock or a funky hanging chair of sorts.. And if you wanna get some fitness in, grab a cycle and bike around.. You can also request a tour of the plantation, which takes about 1.5-2hrs and is good fun tour..

Address: 

Anantya Resort 

State Highway 45, Kaliel Village, Chittar Lake, Kanyakumari District, Alancholai  

Phone: 044 2823 2013

Conversations about Travelling, & more...

I have been travelling for a few years now, more so in recent past. Infact, the love for travel began back in junior school. Luckily my parents let me go on every single trip, be it day trips or longer ones to new destinations. Even though they weren't big on travel, I got to explore the country-- Yayy for me! 

And over the years, I found joy in travelling alone. Initially it was because friends were busy and couldn't take time off but over time it has become something that is all mine. I infact even hesitate to tell people am travelling for fear that they will want to come along or latch on.. Maybe I am just being cautious, because I firmly believe that if you can travel with someone, then that relationship is set for life- be it a friend or otherwise. 

And the one big takeaway for me with the whole travelling alone is that I have learnt so many lessons, discovered so many things not just about myself but about how to travel smart and wise, considering am into budget backpack travel and not the lavish kind. 

Few weeks back, I was working out of a cafe, rather editing pictures from a recent trip when a friend pinged me on chat. We hadn't spoken in a few months, and it was a pleasant surprise to hear from him. We started chatting and here is how the conversation went..

He - Hey, how are you doing? 
Me- Hi, am good, whats up.. This is a surprise. ;o) 
He - Ah well, I do think about you woman, just that life happens and then work happens, etc etc.. 
Me - Hmmm.. 
He- So, are you in town or somewhere new/exotic? Gotta say, am so jealous of you/your life...
Me - hahah.. shuddup... dont put kannu now... 
He- Nah, never.. am happy you are doing what you Love.. back in Chennai? 
Me- yes, been 3 days since I got back. 
He - So where all did you go this time?Spill the beans.
Me - I was exploring in and around Gujarat this time.. Familiar places and few new ones as well. We started with Ahmedabad, then explored the regions around- Adalaj, Patan & Modera before moving ahead towards Bhuj and Rann of Kutch. It was a fun packed road trip alright. Also combined plenty of textile based village/NGO visits.
He - Oh wow, sounds exotic alright. How do you manage finances when travelling? Am assuming you went through a group and they charge a fee + taxes... 
Me - Well, this one was actually a reccee, which means we were checking out the region, the accommodation etc so we can put together trips and bring people. But yes, when we do that we will charge them a fee plus what is called GST. 
He- Wait, what is this GST? 
Me - Uff, well unlike earlier when we had million different kinds of taxes, today it has all been consolidated and we pay just GST [Goods & services tax]..   If you wanna understand this better, head over to the GST section on the site, it has all the info you could ask for... 
He - So, you pay GST on pretty much everything.. 
Me - Yep and you gotta file GST returns periodically as well.   
He- Ooh., interesting~~ Things seem to have been streamlined in India now... 
Me -  Ya, and what is cool is that when booking hotel rooms, if the tariff comes to under Rs8000, then am charged only 18% whereas if it is beyond this rate the GST is around 28%.. This way you can look at staying at high end hotels that give you good deals as well. ;-)
He - Hmmm, and what about food? does GST apply there as well?
Me - yep, in that you will see two components at the bottom- CGST and SGST- one goes to the center and other to the state, the total GST percentage is divided up equally between the two.. And on top of this, some places add Service charge[10%] as well- which is basically tips. 
He - oooh. okok.... Wow, so much has changed since my last trip home... What about flight and train tickets? how do they work these days?
Me - they work the same as before... you can choose your mode of transport based on the travel duration, your comfort and fears.. hehe
He - Shuddup monkey.. I mean how expensive are they these days? 
Me - ahh that.. well, if you book ahead they are cheaper... Under the new taxation laws, the tax on the economy class is 5% while business class is 12% when it comes to flights ...  For trains, GST is applicable to all categories of tickets at 5%.. 
He - Gosh, okay!!   
So, how do I find out about GST returns filing? 
Me - That is for businesses, but then you can check the site I mentioned earlier. It is quite indepth and easy to follow. Infact, they even do the needful for you, all you gotta do is provide necessary information and documents. 
He - Wow, good to know... Ok, this is enough for today, more later.. head is swimming with info... What were you upto when I buzzed? 
Me - Cool.. Was editing pictures from the recent trip..
He - Lucky bug~~ 

Chasing tigers again... Panna National park, Madhya Pradesh..

After spending a few hours at Khajuraho, we headed towards Panna National park.. Time for more tigers, atleast hoping to sight a few!! :D Checked into the Panna Tiger Resort, which is located right next to river Ken [original name is Karnavati, which the British changed to Ken].. It is a beautiful property, with tents and rooms beyond the reception area. They have a restaurant on the top floor and a canopy area to chill in the evening, that faces the river. We switched rooms [moved to a much bigger room for the same rate, as we were three & needed an extra bed plus some space to walk around], to one that had a view of the river as we stepped out and settled in as our safari was only in the evening 3pm.. 

Soon, we had changed into safari gear [T-shirt, pants, cap/hat for the head, shawl for the neck and sweater/shrug to keep us warm].. Even though it was afternoon, it was cool and there were strong winds ... We reached the safari gate entrance and waited for the formalities to be completed and a guide to be assigned. And soon we were inside.. 

What is unique about Panna is that few years ago all the tigers here had been wiped out, thanks to poaching.. In 2009, a Tiger [T1] was brought here from Bandhavgarh..and then one more.. all this initiated by Field officer Sreenivasamurthy.. They then brought a male from pench.. but he ran away from here [nearly 450 KMs away]... The hunt began, and finally heard of a cow killed .  The tiger must have run 60-80kms a night. He was brought back and kept in enclosure and now lives in Panna. Of the 40 odd tigers at Panna today, about 12 have collars, so the officials can track their movements and ensure they are protected. There is T141 [a tigress who has cubs], T152, and few others... The numbers have been assigned in this format, if the code name is T111- The tiger is from another park[translocated], first tiger first litter first born [Mom number, litter number, baby order number] 

Each park is different - the landscape, the layout, and of course the way animals are tracked. Here too we did quite a bit of birding, while listening for calls and watching out for signs to tell us there were tigers around. But alas, that evening we saw none other than deer and the usual monkeys... We did spot quite a few exotic specie of Vultures, I even spotted few Indian grey hornbill and other birds which made it worthwhile.. The terrain here is very different from Corbett- some parts are open and dry, some with tall brown grass, while others are thick with trees and then some parts are green all over... 

We decided to do a night safari, a very spur of the moment decision. Had about an hour to refresh before heading back on the road. This time though the area we drove into was different from the morning one. We were 3 of us plus a guide, another forest safari official and the driver.. It was pitch dark, jeep headlights and powerful torch was all we had and we scouted around for anything that flashed and was red [ animal's eyes].. Spotted quite a few Wild boar, Jungle hare, 2 Civets but nothing more.. It was exciting, and there were moments when we stopped the jeep, turned off all alights and just sat still. The sky above was gorgeous, lit up with stars, it was like a carpet with little drops of silver... 

Wow, what an experience it was... 

The next morning we were again out and ready for the Safari, and that morning proved quite lucky. Within minutes of entering the park we saw an animal hop across, knew it wasnt a hare/rabbit, and well, it was a Jungle cat.. Such a cutie, did not scurry away...We managed to stop and click a few shots of it drinking water and sitting around waiting for something to snack on...  After about an hour inside, we heard from the tracking guys that there was a Tigress out on the prowl within a 3-5km radius... And then we saw a jeep drive ahead and stop. Pausing near them, we spotted the Tigress walking in the tall grass, she was well camouflaged and we could see her through the binocs. There was some movement in the grass indicating that she was walking along towards the thick portion of the forest. We watched her go and soon she disappeared into the thicket. It was then that the guide suggested we go see near the watering hole , as we drove along we saw fresh paw prints and heard animal calls as well. We waited for quite a well, until it was almost time to head out to the exit. As we drove down towards the exit gate, there was a open piece of land from where we got a full view of the water body below. We spotted another jeep and the guide called us over saying there was a tiger below. 

Woah, it was an amazing sight to see- the Tiger stood near the water and within a few yards from her stood a Nilgai, both absolutely still. After a few minutes, the tiger began drinking water and the Nilgai slowly moved away, inching literally. We stood there staring at them for a while, but had to make a move as it was time to exit the Park. The parks are all fairly strict about timings and if you default, it might not reflect well on the guide or the driver... 

Well, all in all I must say it was good run for me .. Two national parks, 4 tigers sighted apart from a zillion other birds and animals... As we left the park and made our way back to the room, the one thought on my mind was "I wonder what life must be like for these creatures, what they did all day and what they thought of us humans who came looking to spot them"... Oh well, it was time to pack and head to Orchcha...

 Serpent crested eagle

Palm Civet 

 Spot the tigress... there she goes.. ;o) 

The Grey Indian Hornbill

Vultures- Red headed,Himalayan & Long billed

Bear claw marks on a tree..

A Sambar deer duo crossing to the other side...

The jungle cat

The jungle cat

Spot the tiger- Standing on extreme left and then there is a Nilgai on the right side..

Nilgai standing to eat leaves..

 Online Booking for safaris - http://www.pannatigerreserve.in/

To travel or not...

If you were to fill a room with people, a random group of people and ask them the question "Do you enjoy travelling or not?", am sure you would get mixed responses.. Well, that is humans for you.. Each one has different thoughts, interests and methods of dealing with their life... 

When I asked a bunch of people this question, here is what some of them shared

"I love travelling, exploring new places, just visiting the popular sights in that place and coming back with stories.."

"I enjoy getting away, sick and tired of city life"

"I travel on work, and when am away, it is mostly airport hotel office and back. I pretty much live out of my suitcase"

"It is the only opportunity I get being physical and doing stuff, other than staring at the computer. So I plan a weekend trek and test my fitness levels"

"I enjoy running, and so I take my car, drive out to the nearest beach or mountain and run for a few hours... It gives me such a high"

"I dont really enjoy travelling. The thought of packing - my stuff, the kids, etc, is tiring... So holidays arent really holidays for me.."

"My holidays have all been planned by the husband and activities lined up are what he enjoys.. So, I just go along, pretend to enjoy.. Given a choice, I would just go to a quiet place, and unwind"

"My kind of holiday is staying at a resort, lazy lavish breakfast, swim in the pool and chill" 

"I love the hills and would ideally getaway and just cut off from the world"

"I don't travel, my idea of fun is to go to the mall, do some shopping or a movie"

"Travel - Goa, Pondy, Bangkok... these are the places I love... go, grab a few beers, some beach fun and find a hot chick.... *wink wink"

Well, what is your answer to the question? 

As for me, I love to travel - it is all about discovering new places, meeting people, learning about cultures, testing my limits with activities and spending time with myself above it all..  

I don't have a bucket list, but just hope to visit all the states in our country and few outside.. So far all the trips I have been on have been amazing, fun, adventurous and challenging...  

Most of my trips have been solo, and I honestly have no qualms about travelling on my own.. If you were to travel with a friend/partner/family/someone else, it becomes dicey..  You need to have similar tastes, mind set or one person hold the reigns and other tags along.. That said, I have done a few group trips, 2/3 times they were good, and I came back alive... :D 

The most recent one was with women I did not know- connected with one through a Facebook travel group, and the ball rolled on from there.. Met the others at Delhi, and we survived each others' company, had a good time and everyone went back with good happy memories.. 

Infact, one incident I remember from years ago was when my parents were desperately trying to get me married off.. There was this guy who came home with his parents, aunt- uncle and after a while,we were sent off to get to know each other..  After a few mins I realised this guy has lived his entire life in 5km radius in Hyderabad [ pre partition era], and hadnt gone out of that zone at all.. he was puzzled with what I did, he did not understand why I liked going out.. At the end of the day, things did not work out [doh] and it dawned on me there was a whole world of people who were content not stepping out of their comfort zone... 

Another incident was not so long ago, it was with a guy who was also from Hyd, had travelled once to Mumbai on work [ airport, office and back] and wanted to do a weekend away.. He had zeroed in on Hampi. When I asked why, all he had to say was "Friends have been there and said it is a nice place".. I quizzed him on his interests, if he was into history, heritage, and he had no idea about it, but was keen on going there.. We reached Hampi, did an hour around Vittala temple, and he was like "is this what the rest of the town is gonna be like? How boring...! He did grunt and moan when I said lets go to Virupaksha temple, but the minute we reached there, he halted in his steps and said "you go ahead, Its a temple, am not coming inside" Am like "Wtf dude...I have been to Hampi before, but then went ahead spent time wandering around...." The trip was cut shot and i literally couldnt wait to get on the bus and bid his horrible company good bye... Sigh! 

Well, I get that many dont like to travel or dont get why others do... it is perfectly fine if you don't enjoy travelling or haven't travelled much, just don't diss others who do things differently...  Do not tell others "whats the point, or why are you wasting money...." What people do with their time/money is their personal choice... 

Why do you travel or what do you do for fun?

Sikkim Diaries... The itinerary for the 9 day trip...

[Clicked this enroute Yumthang valley.. Rhodendron flowers were in full bloom]

Since I came back from Bhubaneshwar, I was busy chugging along life- work and things were happening and there were quite a few day trips and road trips that happened with friends/guys [most of which were unplanned]... And then, one day I stumbled upon Justwravel's insta story mentioning Sikkim. that was it! Within a few days, I had made up my mind and was looking at flight tickets [ which were sky rocketing, but then this sector is always on the higher side, esp cos I was looking at flights from Chennai to Bagdogra and not Kolkatta or other places in between. ] ... 

After quite a bit of deliberation, chit chat with friends and Rohan [justwravel], I finally decided to take the plunge and book my tickets.. Told myself that I rarely indulge and dont overspend on anything, so it was fine to spend 20k on flight tickets... :-) 

What was my agenda in Sikkim? Well, it did not include the typical touristy places which meant the places I was gonna go to would be offbeat and quite isolated.. Yayy!!  Here is the short version of all the places I went to during the 9 days there... 

Bagdogra / NJP/Siliguri to Gangtok ( 125 Kms ) - Overnight at Gangtok
Gangtok to Lachen (107 kms) - Overnight at Lachen
Lachen to Gurudongmar & onwards to Lachung [52 kms]- Overnight at Lachung
Lachung to Yumthang Valley, Zero Point & onwards to Dzongu [59kms]- Overnight at Dzongu
Dzongu local Experiences - Overnight at Dzongu
Dzongu to Gangtok (70 Kms)- Overnight at Gangtok
Gangtok to Gnathang (65 Kms) - Overnight at Gnathang
Gnathang to Aritar (72 KMs)- Overnight at Aritar
Aritar to Bagdogra / NJP/Siliguru and leave for respective home base/destination..

The plan on Justwravel site..

Detailed posts coming up on this.. If you are planning a trip to Sikkim or any of the places up North, do check out Justwravel. They do a lot of treks, and most trips are ex Delhi but completely worth it... I have done two trips with them so far and found them to be amazing.. well organised, planned out and touch wood, the gang has been small + good fun as well. 

Bags are packed... off I go...

Its time to pack my bags and head off to explore a new destination...
Couldn't have come at a more perfect time, especially considering how hot it is here and the fact that am on a full on nostalgic USA trip mode.. :-) 


Got myself a rucksack, about time I owned one, considering the amount of travel I do and my love for backpacks.. And this is the watch I wear when i travel.. Love it!! 

Headed to a state I haven't been to before
It is raining and cold there...
The scenes and sights around here are known to be breathtaking. 
I might get to ride or drink milk off this animal... [ will be yet another 1st time experience]

So, go on, put on your caps and guess. The first 5 who guess right, will get something from the destination!! :) 

See you all on the other side.... 


Clue- it is popular for its hot water springs...... 

Where roots find the path

There are things I spot that just refuse to leave my mind for years after... This was one of those things that happened during our trip to Karaikudi.. 

Our cabbie was taking us to a local hotel where he said we could watch a local dish being made. He parked the car, I got out and this was the 1st thing that caught my eye.. This was obviously a dilapidated building that had gone to the ruins and somehow this tree had managed to find its home here. It was fascinating seeing the roots, and branches sprout out from every possible gap... Talk about being at home anywhere!!