Reflections of Time

Matheran

2012-01-03T22:07:00.000+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 2611.2011

The road between Chowk (on the old Mumbai-Pune highway), Karjat & Neral is patchy.

The last 6 odd kms, the road twists, turns and climbs some 600 odd meters. Upper sections of the road are pretty steep.

The second gear on the Swift diesel is sluggish to start with. Sluggish changes to aggressive as the turbo kicks in at about 1800 RPM. Shifts to the first gear are frequent on slow climbing turns.

Rail tracks running across the road have the potential of scraping the car’s bottom if not negotiated carefully.

Doesn’t take long to realize that the place is pretty popular as soon as you reach Dasturi Naka – the point up to which vehicles are allowed.

Parking at Dasturi Naka is jam packed and haphazard. Cars are parked at any angle at every nook and corner. The area is dusty and uneven.

Be warned about the moneys at the parking lot. Fellows can get pretty aggressive scavenging for food. eMpTy gets a slap on the leg from one as she tries to shoo it away. Before we know it there are two fellows sitting inside the car!

Matheran Toy Train

The Market Area is a 45 minute walk from Dasturi Naka. Walking along the rail track is a better option. It’s quite and scenic. Unlike the main track which is horded by horses and mules.

It makes a lot of sense to hole up at a decent place like Lord’s Central Hotel, Verandha or Fleetwood and enjoy the quiet of the premises rather than go point hopping along horse tracks.

Lord's Central Hotel

Cavalry Tank Museum, Ahmednagar

2011-10-31T15:01:00.003+05:30

The Cavalry Tank Museum, an outdoor museum, established by the Armoured Corps Centre and School, Ahmednagar, in 1994 is one of its kind in Asia.

Been raring to get a dehko at the Tank Museum since I learnt of its existence almost a year back. A long drive only added to the excitement.

Captains Log; Star Date 2910.2011

Wheels roll at quarter to seven. Nuvi points to the Tank Museum Co-ordinates - N 19° 4’ 28.60” E 74° 44’ 58.57” and plots a course via Pune.

A check sometime back revealed Pune could be by-passed via Talegaon-Chakan toll road and then head on towards Nagar on the SH 60 via the Shikrapura – Shirur toll road. These sections are not on Nuvi’s map!

The open, flat Expressway is as inviting as ever. Take the Chakan exit at the Khalapur toll. Chankan, being an industrial area, heavy traffic slows down progress. Fuel up at Chakan – Rs. 44.30/litre of diesel (as compared to Rs. 44.12/litre on the Express Way and Rs. 45.19/litre in Navi Mumbai). The roads right up to Nagar is superb tarmac, traffic is generally light. Paying the toll (totaling to about Rs. 238/-, one way) at each of the toll booths along the route took about 5 to 10 minutes. The distance of 249 kms is covered in about four and a half hours.

Last mile Nuvi plots a course through alleys and an open field to the Tank Museum. The correct way to get to the Museum is to take a right from Chandini Chowk.

The Armoured Corps Centre motto – “Desh ki shanti, Tank me”.

Cavalry Tank Museum

At the Museum we were delighted to see the German 88 mm anti tank gun – originally designed as an anti aircraft gun.

German 88mm Anti Tank Gun

The Museum houses about fifty exhibits of vintage Armoured Fighting Vehicles of American, British, German, Chez, Japanese and Russian origin. Most of the vehicles date back to World War II. Some, like the Rolls Royce Armoured Car, date back to World War I. Some tanks like the Centurion (Bahadur) and Vijayanta have seen action during the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars.

Centurian / Bahadur

The Patton’s, Sherman’s, Stuart’s, Centurian’s, T-64’s, Half Tracks drew instant recognition – all from being avid watchers of classic world war movies and readers of Commando comics!

As you go along, one realizes how the tanks continue to evolve from the type of armour, size, suspension / tracks and guns – perhaps guided by their expected battle conditions and the technology available.

Patton

The Tank Simulator at the Museum wasn’t working, which was disappointing. The inside though gave a good sense of the Tank Driver's environment.

Picked up some souvenirs from the Canteen.

Head back at about 1430 hrs via the same route.

Hotel Udayanraje, one of the more expensive hotels in Ahmednagar, seemed to be a decent stay option from the outside.

Route – Mumbai Pune Expressway – Chankan Exit at the Talegaon Toll – Chankan – Shikrapura – Shirur – Nagar – Chandini Chowk – Tank Museum.

View Larger Map

Camping at Big Red Tent, Khopoli

2011-09-04T17:55:00.001+05:30

Big Red Tent, off the road to Palli near village Usroli, is a five acre property where one can set up a tent under one of their canopy’s and enjoy the thrill of camping within the safety of a private estate, with some basic support infrastructure – food, water & washroom’s – all under pretty spaced out tents.

Pretty eager to test our new gear (look up Avi Industries for camping and hiking gear), Big Red Tent (BRT) seemed just the place to start.

Captains Log; 0109.2011

About 55 km from Navi Mumbai, the drive on the old Mumbai-Pune Road (NH 4) up to Khopoli is pretty decent. The monsoon’s seem to have eroded the state highway, heading to Pali, of most of its asphalt.

The last 2-3 kms, beyond village Usroli, being off road, the Garmin Nuvi drew a straight line to the site (GPS co-ordinates 18° 44’ 21.1114” N; 73° 15’ 34.2558” E) through rice fields and over a hill off the road to village Usroli!

BRTs directions came in handy thereafter, though with the Nuvi, I at least knew my position with reference to the site.

The sites excellent, lush green all around, a small lake on the north edge fed by waterfalls about a km to the east.

Pitching up the Quechua tent was exiting and took all of fifteen minutes. Foam mats evened out the gravel. Lunch was a basic dal-roti affair which sort off adds to the ‘basic’ appeal of the place.

The mini trek up to the waterfall and around took us through slushy grass lands, wooded area and past numerous gurgling streams.

Birds spotted:

White-Browed Fantail Fly Catcher
Water Hen
Red-Wattled Lapwing
Cormorant
White-Breasted Kingfisher (edit)
Egrets

Yet to identify:

Maina size, carbon blue belly of a Malabar Whistling Thrush, but was slatey grey on top, rusty red under root of tail, black bill.
Sparrow size, black on top, with white chin and an off white belly.

Birding in and around Kharghar, Navi Mumbai

2011-05-16T12:15:00.013+05:30

Kharghar Hills

Star Date 1809.2011

Spotted Munia
Golden Oriole

Star Date 1508.2011

Brown Fish-Owl
Dusky Crag-Martin

Star Date 2407.2011

Malabar Whistling Thrush

Star Date 0805.2011

White-Throated Thrush

Star Date 0404.2011

Tawny Eagle
Asian Koel
Common Iora, Male
Jungle Babbler
Red Whiskered Bulbul
Red-Vented Bulbul
Rose Ringed Parakeet
Roufous-Backed Shrike
White-Breasted Kingfisher

Earlier

Coppersmith Barbet
Greater Coucal
Indian Robin
Purple Sunbird
Rufous-Backed Shrike
Water Hen

Kharghar Hills, Artist Village Side

Star Date 0210.2011

Grey Hornbill
Common Iora

My Verandah

Star Date 2009.2011

Barn Owl (fly past at 600 hrs!)

Star Date 2006.2011

Black Shouldered Kite

Star Date 0805.2011

Oriental Magpie Robin

Earlier

House Swift
Rufous-Backed Shrike
Spotted Munia

Kharghar Creek

Asian Pied Starling

Central Park, Kharghar

Black Drongo
Wire-Tailed Swallow

Note: Recorded first instance of spotting only.

Panchgani

2011-03-14T11:46:00.001+05:30

Panchgani has been on the travel list for some time now. A few days off from work and we’re off.

Route

Navi-Mumbai-Poladpur-Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani: Fuel up at Belapur. Stop at MacDonald’s for a quick breakfast. The burgers are stale. That’s the last time I am going to stop here. Idli-vada at Kamat, Panvel or at Open Umberalla, Mangaon on the NH17would have made better sense.

Been hearing and reading that the route via Poladpur on NH17, though adventurous, is rough and patchy. Adventure scores, so decide to take NH17. Star Date 03032011; 830 hrs, heavy traffic keeps progress slow. Tarmac and traffic improve after Nagothane. Snack Break at Kamat, Mahad. Turn on to SH72 at Poladpur. The road is narrow, steep and curvy (as compared to the section on the other side between Surul & Panchgani). Pretty patchy but improves significantly after the Pratap Gad intersection. Paid the Pollution Tax of Rs. 30/- and Passenger Tax of Rs. 20/- each at Mahabaleshwar. Il Palazzo Hotel, Panchgani 1311 hrs.

Distance Covered – 219 Kms
Toll paid – Rs. 15/-
Time taken – almost 5 hours

Panchgani-Wai-Surul-Pune-Navi-Mumbai: Star Date 05032011; With tummy still digesting the delicious keema-pao, it’s time to roll at 1100 hrs. The sun is bright and warm. Para gliders soar around Harison’s Folly. Swifty glides down the gentle SH72. Tarmac is smooth. Hit Surul and turn left towards Pune on the super smooth NH4. Fuel up at the HP station on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Home 1512 hrs.

Distance Covered – 219 Kms
Toll paid – Rs. 200/-
Time taken – about 4 hours

Time & Distance

Route Map

View Larger Map

Stay

Zero down on Il palazzo Hotel for our stay. The Hotel is behind the Agiary (Fire Temple) just after the Panchgani Town while coming from Mahabaleshwar.

The Hotel is run by a Parsi family and you get that ‘Parsi feel’ when you enter the premises – colonial structure, well maintained, dated furniture. I am surprised to see the India Post letter box just outside the Reception.

Il Palazzo Hotel

The property (about seven acres) is broken into two parts – the main building and the annexe. All of the property is overshadowed by tall Eucalyptus and Sliver Oak trees. The Tableland cliff, right behind the hotel, gives the set up a pretty imposing background.

Apart from a small swimming pool, gym, skating rink, basketball court, TT table and some indoor games the Hotel offers a chance to laze in a well manicured garden.

The carom board in the gallery, just outside our room, catches our attention.

The room’s large with a high ceiling and equipped with a dish TV, refrigerator, A/C and a safe. The rooms very well kept, the linen clean and crisp.

Food

With the kind of food that gets served here, there’s no way you’d even go try something outside. Rich parsi cuisine, each of the dishes’s the kitchen rolls out – right from the soups to the main course to the dessert, is just lip smacking superb. At the dining table you’re really spoilt for choice. Service is excellent, the attendants well mannered.

Some of the dishes that we really enjoyed:

Breakfast

Aaletey Palety (mish mash of mutton & chicken)
Mutton Keema
Strawberry Jam – in-house stuff with the whole fruit!

Lunch

Cream of Chicken Soup
Palak Soup
Mutton Dhansak
Fish Fillet and Tartar Sauce
Mutton Biryani
Dal Khichri
Caramel Custard

Dinner

Carrot Soup
Manchurian Soup
Chilly Chicken
Mutton Do Payaza
Shami Kabab
Chicken Sali Botti
Bombil Fry
Strawberry Mouse
Mango Mouse

Sightseeing

Town: As you walk around Panchgani you’ll realize that there’s a school every 50 odd meters. 6 o’clock in the morning the kids, chaperoned by their PT instructors are out for their morning PT.

Nothing much catches my attention in the town except the Shivaji statue and the two bakeries – Lucky and Roach. The tantalizing aroma of freshly baked bread that wafts around the bakeries draws people in for a snack. Picked up a loaf of freshly baked bread and cup cakes from Lucky, on the way back.

Mobile Pan Shop!

Tableland: A 10 minute walk from the Shivaji statue will bring you to the Tableland. Be prepared to be inundated by horse ride and horse-cart fellows as soon as you get close. The chaos just short of Tableland is just like any other popular tourist place.

But 630 in the morning the place is dead quite. The Sunrise wasn’t anything near spectacular, but the light cool breeze made for a nice walk.

Evening is a good time to be here to take in the view of the Krishna Valley, the sunset and the soaring para gliders.

Krishna Valley

We, however, had our own flying to do - Kites!

Harisons Folly: This is the place if you’re looking for some para gliding action. Phone numbers on a board just outside Hotel Ravine on the SH72 just outside Panchgani (another good stay option) can get you to people who’ll take you out for a spin. If you’re an expert – you get your own glider. Met a German who had come down with his glider for a spin and was waiting for the right wind conditions. His advice – if you can’t handle it on your own, stay on the ground!

Dhom Dam: The drive past Wai to Dhom Dam and beyond is pretty decent. Both sides of the road is cultivated – could see cabbage, sugar cane, bajara and wheat.

Drove up to Mugaon, some 12 km from Wai. Some off-roading brought us to the Krishna River Bank.

Birding

The section along the western cliff of the Tableland is pretty green and rich in avian life.

Birds spotted around Tableland:

Brown Headed Barbet

Brown Headed Barbet: Numerous, you can hear them calling out throughout the day. Spotting takes some time as they perch up in the thicket. With two-three calling about the same time, spotting becomes that much trickier.
Rufous Backed Shrike
Black Drongo
Brahminy Starling
Jungle Myna
Rose Ringed Parakeet
Red-Vented Bulbul
Red-Cheeked Bulbul
Black-Lored Yellow Tit
Heard Coppersmith Barbet’s and Coucal’s call
Some I am yet to identify!

Birds spotted around Mugaon

Grey Francolin

Small Blue Kingfisher
Grey Francolin – fellows run first and see later. This one though posed for a photo-op.
Common Iora – amazing call – a low drawn out whistle!
White-Browed Fantail-Flycatcher

Amba Ghat Safari

2010-12-02T11:57:00.004+05:30

An urge to travel and explore a new location brought up Amba Ghat in our sights. Amba Ghat, located midway between Kolhapur and Ratnagiri on NH 204, promises a long drive on the butter smooth NH 4 and a jungle rich in flora and fauna.

Captains Log; Star Date 2411.2010

Wheels roll at 630 hrs. A light drizzle brings down the morning temperature. The Mumbai-Pune Expressway (National Highway (NH) 4) is as inviting as ever. The rainbow in the RVM adds that extra zing.

Traffic in Pune is just about waking up when we pass by. Fly past Satara, tea-break at Karad at about 1130 hrs.

Both sides of the highway are lined with sugarcane fields.

A few kilometers out of Karad, a signboard just before a flyover, points to Kale and Pachad Villages. Get on to the Service road to take the right at Kale Phata under the flyover.

Pass by Undale, Yenpe, Shengdewadi and Kokrud on a curvy State Highway (SH) 80 and hit Malkapur which is on NH 204. For an NH Malkapur is disappointing – narrow road passing through a small bustling town that slows down traffic considerably.

Turn right from Malkapur for Amba. The stretch is patchy – probably damaged in the rains. The sun disappears behind clouds.

Rain drops hit the windshield. Get on to a kuccha road about a kilometer out of Amba village, to head to Jungle Resort. Starts raining.

Jungle Resort, a five acre property is housed under a canopy of eucalyptus and pine trees. The food is good, the staff helpful, the accommodation though is rugged.

The other stay options here are:

Amba Resort (along the highway).
Hornbill Jungle Resort (along the same kuccha road, just before Jungle Resort).
Pawan Khind Resort (along the Amba-Manoli Dam Road).
Manali Resort (closer to Manoli Dam).

Spot a Brahminy Kite sitting high up on a eucalyptus tree.

A long walk behind the Resort and beyond the little stream reveals an open grassland, grazing cattle and an abundant bird life.

Rain, later in the evening, adds a chill to the breeze.

Hopes of spotting the Great Indian Hornbill rise as the owner mentions that the bird can been seen in the trees in the Resort. Hopes quickly fade as he adds that that generally happens in Jan-Feb.

Birds Spotted:

Brahminy Kite
Greater Coucal
White Breasted Kingfisher
Bee Eater

Captains Log; Star Date 2511.2010

After an early morning walk in the dew soaked grasslands, shoes and sox are damp.

An omelet-bread breakfast and we’re ready for the Jungle Safari.

Our ride is a Mahindra Jeep fitted with a mattress and a canopy on the roof. On the kuccha road, the ride actually feels like an elephant.

Turn right from Amba village towards Manoli Dam and the Amba Jungle. This road passes by Manoli Dam and heads to Paavan Khind and Vishalgad (after an intersection) through the Amba Jungle.

The jungle catches up on both side of the road as Manoli Dam disappears. The run up to Pavan Khind is about 20 odd km. The road is generally good, but pretty patchy at places. Traffic is restricted to jeeps ferrying tourists or village folks, motor bikes and an occasional Karnataka Roadways bus running between Vishalgad and Belgaum. Mile stones on the road have a red band.

The Countryside

Paavan Khind

Paavan Khind Ravine

Late in the afternoon we have some excellent lunch laid out in the jungle itself.

Nachini being dried

Back at the Resort, the evening is spent lazing in hammocks, until we catch a flutter in the eucalyptus trees. Crow + size, grey plumage, long white and black beak, small casque, long grey tail - our reference book – The Book of Indian Birds by Dr. Salim Ali, helps identify the bird as the Indian Grey Hornbill!

By the time we realize that we’ve been graced with an appearance of a pair of Hornbills, the birds have moved on.

The Pandhra Rassa or White Gravy (made out of mutton stock) served with dinner is great.

Captains Log; Star Date 2611.2010

530 hrs its pitch dark. Dew drips off the trees. A Barn Owl hoots into the quietness, somewhere far away.

Drive down to Amba Ghat (towards Ratnagiri from Amba) to catch the sunrise.

After a hot cup of tea at Amba, we head to the Amba Jungle and manage to locate the machan that overlooks the Manoli Dam. While the view is great all the action is below the tree line.

View from the Machan overlooking Manoli Dam.

Get down and look up into the thick clump of trees and quickly spot a male Paradise Fly Catcher pruning its long white tail.

Also catch a drongo, golden oriole and a lot of other birds.

It’s bright and sunny on the way back. Slam the brakes when I notice a large bird with a fat, long yellow beak in a tree alongside the road - the Great Pied Hornbill!

A part of my mind wants to get hold of the binoculars and camera, but I let myself get a good visual – there’s two of them – you’d believe the size only if you saw it, large yellow beaks doubled up by a large casque.

Just as I get a shot, both of them fly. The flight is noisy – whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Manage to get another shot as they head further away.

Follow them on foot for a while, though I am pretty chary of getting my feet wet with the dew in the grass and more importantly stepping on to something like a snake or a scorpion. But getting another closer look at the rarely sighted Hornbills gets the better of us, until the Hornbills head across a stream.

Extremely overwhelmed by the sighting we head back to the resort pretty mesmerized.

After a heavy breakfast we’re looking forward to the second leg of our trip – Shalini Palace, Kohlapur – the only heritage hotel in Maharashtra.

Birds Sighted

Great Pied Hornbill
Asian Paradise Fly Catcher (male)
Black Drongo
Eurasian Golden Oriole (male)
Rufous Backed Shrike
Indian Treepie

Captains Log; Star Date 2611.2010

NH 204 opens up after Malkapur. Pass by Panhala and reach the Panchganga Ghat. While heading to Shalini Palace, I notice the sugarcane fields on the right of the road, the Rankala Lake on the left and the cityscape beyond. I don’t recollect another city that has agri and town mix so close.

Shalini Palace, on one corner of the town, overlooks Rankala Lake. The architecture is grand, the gardens well manicured.

The Palace is built of intricately carved black stone and Italian marble. Rich decorative wooden doorways fitted with etched Belgium glass bearing the crest of the Maharaja of Kolhapur add to the regal grandeur. The majestic black stone arches forming the verandah and the porch are beautiful.

The front office staff greets us pleasantly as we enter. The Princess Suite is grand and almost as big as the flat we own in Navi Mumbai, the linen crisp.

The Pandhra Rassa served with the Maharastrian Thali is superb.

Captains Log; Star Date 2711.2010

Early morning I am at the verandah to capture the morning and Grey Hornbills – sight about a dozen of them.

Walk down, past the Rankala Lake, to the Mahalaxmi Temple to pay our respects to the Goddess and pick up some pedas.

1115 hrs its time to head back home!

Birds Spotted:

Indian Grey Hornbill
Brahminy Kite
Asian Koel
Great Tit
White Wagtail
Indian Robin

Route

Map

Bhandardara

2010-10-09T11:29:00.001+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 0210.2010

Wheels roll at 746 hrs. Traffic on NH3 is moderate. Diversions every few kilometers merge traffic onto one side of the NH, which slows down progress. Once the toll section starts, Kasara Ghat, Igatpuri & Ghoti go by in a breeze. Glimpse of a passenger train coming out of a tunnel at Kasara Ghat sort of tingles old childhood memories.

The second right after the Ghoti toll points to Bhandardara. The road (SH 21) on the bridge ahead looks promising but turns real patchy in no time forcing a roll at 20 to 40 km/hr. The 30 Km to Bhandardara via Varangushi and Bari Village takes an hour. (Take a right at each of the villages. There are enough MTDC and Yash Resort boards to keep you on track).

SH 21

Yash Resort looks pretty inviting. The rooms are clean and roomy. The verandah opens out to green paddy fields. The top of the mountain on the north east horizon is lined with wind mills.

Yash Resort

Paddy Fields

All meals at the resort are served in a buffet style with a good Indian spread. The chicken in a local malvani curry accompanied with malvani vada (mix of grain – rice, wheat, jowhar and deep fried) is excellent.

The other stay options here are:

MTDC – Affords an excellent view of the Wilson dam and the lake, however booking is a pain and the accommodation didn’t look to inviting.
Anandvan – Super expensive.
Few low budget hotels in Shendi.

Shendi village, just next door, is pretty nondescript except for a marble Shiv temple and Hotel Kaka that serves Gujarati Thalis. A Gujarati family at the resort, that wasn’t too pleased with non vegetarian being served and consumed in their vicinity, would have perhaps headed here for their meals.

Locals here eagerly offer their services as a guide to various points – Spillway, Randha Falls on the Pravara river, Ratangad, Amriteshwar, etc.

Bhandardara is a trekker’s heaven. The huge reservoir – Bhandardara Lake or the Arthur Hill Lake is hemmed in by the Shayadri range with peaks like Paabalgad, Ghanchakar, Ajoba, Ratangad, Kalsubhai towering over it.

Wilson Dam & Arthur Hill Lake

The Wilson Dam on the north end of the lake was built by the British to store water for irrigation. The height of the dam is about 720 feet from the bed at the deepest point.

Sunset at Arthur Hill Lake

Water’s clean. A fishing line can hook a decent sized Catla. Row boats are available for boating. Adding kayak’s, paddle boats and other water sports facilities would perhaps enhance the tourist appeal of the place.

Captains Log; Star Date 0310.2010

To catch nature in all its splendor, you have to traverse the Major District Road (MDR) 19 early in the morning. MDR 19 which is about 55 km long, runs right around the lake. You can get onto it just after the Wilson Dam spillway. In fact the open area just after the spillway is an excellent spot for camping.

The road is narrow, curves, rises, falls and is really patchy for most of the stretch. Traffic is sparse but you need to be careful of the occasional motorbike, cattle and children playing on the road.

MDR 19 - 55 km run around Arthur Hill Lake

MDR 19 takes you around the lake through numerous little villages and affords an excellent view of the mountain peaks. Rantanvadi Village which is home to the old Amriteshwar Temple is 20 km from Shendi, down the MDR 19.

Amriteshwar Temple, Ratanvadi Village

Incidently, the river Pravara orginates from Ratangad, flows down besides the temple, and then into Arthur Hill Lake, and again flows out the Wilson Dam Spillway.

Amriteshwar Temple

In case you do the full round trip on MDR 19, be careful to take the right when you see the Ghatgarh Dam to get back to Shendi, unless you want to head to Konkan Kada, which is about 4 Km from the fork.

Numerous peaks around Arthur Hill Lake

Birds spotted :

Oriental Magpie Robin
Indian Robin
Black Lowered Yellow Tit
Red Vented Bulbul
Red Whiskered Bulbul
Rufous Backed Shrike
Small Bee Eater

Terrain Map

Kundli, Kamshet

2010-09-23T13:05:00.002+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 0201.2010

Spotted - Pradise Fly Catcher, Male.

Navi Mumbai Airport – CIDCOs Nefarious Plans

2010-07-09T11:21:00.001+05:30

Letter to Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Environment and Forests

July 9, 2010

Sir, as a resident of Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, I have been watching, with anguish, the developments on the proposed Navi Mumbai Airport.

I found it extremely disheartening to see senior officials of CIDCO blatantly accepting the fact that 400 acres of mangroves will be affected and still pushing for the development of the airport at the proposed site.

CIDCOs suggestion of destroying the mangroves at the proposed location and planting mangroves elsewhere, is extremely bizarre and shows their utter disregard for nature.

I wish to thank you for your concern for ecological issues and exposing CIDCOs nefarious plans.

Thank you.

Kali Ghat, Patna

2010-05-27T11:28:00.013+05:30

Captains Log 25052010

Kali Ghat, 1730 hrs, as the sun sets, the mighty Ganga seems to flow past peacefully.

People come here to pay their respects to Goddess Kali and the venerated river. I am sure even someone who’s stepped down here, just to watch the river flow by, doesn’t leave without saying a prayer.

Public transport in Patna, is dominated by shared autos, that run from point to point and cycle rickshaws.

So to get to Kali Ghat from Boring Road, you first take an auto from Boring Road / High Court to Gandhi Maidan (Rs. 7/-) and then take another auto to Kali Ghat, off the Ashok Rajpath road (Rs. 5/-). A short walk, down a narrow lane, brings you to the Kali Temple and the river.

Cycle rickshaws are a decent mode to get around short distances in Patna. A 3 to 4 km distance costs about Rs. 15/-. Though it does leave you open to air and noise pollution – it turns out that fellows in Patna love to honk.

While the autos and cycles, move at their own pace, fellows with the latest bike or hatchback, honk hard to get around the slower traffic.

Spotted an 'Indian Roller' just before take off.

Plant & Flower Show - Navi Mumbai Festival (Jan '10)

2010-01-26T08:38:00.006+05:30

Navi Mumbai Festival - Plant & Flower Show

Hyderabad

2010-01-24T22:42:00.007+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 20012010
Charminar

Incredible India

Samosa's

Hussain Sagar

Ganapatipule

2009-11-26T16:27:00.019+05:30

Captains Log; Stardate 22112009

Wheels roll at 550 hrs. It’s a little chilly and foggy, traffic is sparse and NH 17 looks as inviting as ever. Stop for tea at Vadakal Naka and then at Open Umbrella, Mangaon. Riverview, Chiplun looms up at 1030 hrs. We decide to have breakfast here and then get off NH 17 and onto Marg Tamhane to Guhagar and detour to Velneshwar and Hedvi on the way to Ganapatipule via the Rai-Bhatgaon bridge.

When in soul kadi land you don’t drink water, you only drink soul kadi! So after soul kadi, thalipeeth, and wada sambar for breakfast followed by some lounging around in the well maintained Riverview garden we’re back on the road. A km. down the NH 17, brings us to the cut for Marg Tamhane.

The road’s good, curvy and doesn’t carry much traffic. A 27 km sprint brings up a signboard pointing left for Velneshwar. This road is patchy and rough at places and so progress is slow. The roadside keeps alternating between shaded tree cover to dry grass to agri fields. Paint has peeled off most of the road signs here, which makes it difficult to tell directions. Did look up Google earth, but these internal roads aren’t visible / mapped. A wrong left or a right can really put you in a spin, luckily for us at times instinct pays off and at other times someone’s around to give directions.

Velneshwar, a quiet village by the Konkan coast is home to an old Shiva Temple. The Temple is quiet and peaceful. The beach with a small fishing village to the south looks pretty untouched.

The MTDC resort at Velneshwar has a pretty good location at a height overlooking the beach. The caretaker tells us that all the villages around here don’t have electricity after cyclone Phyan brought down trees and electricity poles and cables.

Check for directions for Hedvi and the Rai-Bhatgaon bridge and move on. The tarmac gets pretty rough, and the road turns, twists, climbs and falls.

The Swift Diesel really earns all the respect here. You can’t but admire the way the DDIS engine pulls and the steering is extremely responsive. Point and this car will go with aplomb. With all that terrain and A/C running full time, returning an average of 20 km to a litre, I think is fabulous.

The JSW power plant at Jaigad, on the other side of the creek, looms up on the horizon now and then is pretty reassuring in terms of direction we need to head in. Much after Hedvi we are back on the road that runs between Marg Tamhane and the Rai-Bhatgaon bridge. This road’s decent and improves substantially as we get closer to the bridge.

The other side of the bridge, the road’s superb. We go past Rai, Jakadevi and Chafe to get to Ganapatipule. A glimpse of the Ganapatipule beach below is alluring.

Check in at the MTDC resort at about quarter to five. The infra here is pretty decent, the resort is spread over a large area and is bang on the beach. The food dished out by ‘Tarang’ their in house restaurant is average; the soul kadi and poha is good.

The evening is spent lazing about on the beach admiring the various hues thrown up by the sun set.

Day 2 starts with a long walk on the beach early in the morning. There are people just opposite the Ganapatipule Temple. I noticed that, that part of the beach tends to be crowded as people jump the beach right after offering their obeisance to the revered Elephant God. Too enthralled by the sea, they really don’t check out the beach left or right. And that leaves the north (MTDC side) and south end (Ratnagiri side) of the beach pretty untouched.

After breakfast we decide to check out ‘Prachin Konkan’ short of Malgund. It’s a quite place; we go about the place at our own pace without a guide, which I think, was wise. The curio store on top is worth a look and don’t miss the thalipeeth, modak and whatever else that’s dished out by their food stall. The area is pretty vegetated, so you may need a lot of ‘Odomos’ cream to ward off hungry mosquitoes.

Head back to Ganapatipule and decide to explore the road up to Ratnagiri. Take the right fork just after Landmark Hotel. This road runs along the coast and is a pleasure to drive on. Pass by Are, Bhandarpule and other small villages. A nice clean beach looms up every time you take a turn around a hillock.

Turn back about 12 km short of Ratnagiri. Stop for lunch at Krishnalli Beach Resort, Bhandarpule. The surmai in malvani curry is decent and so is the soul kadi. The resort location is terrific, right by the beach and spread over a decent acreage but Rs. 6,000/- bucks per night for a couple, I think is steep.

Evening we head to Jaigad to check out the fort and the light house. There are two routes to get to the Fort. One via Malgund which is a 15 km drive and the other via Chafe is about a 30 km drive. We take the route via Malgund. The route runs along the coast, turns, twists, rises and falls and bits of it though is rough.

The fort’s in pretty decent shape (compared to Cabo De Rama, Goa and may be even Pratapgad, Mahabaleshwar, but way smaller) but isn’t being maintained. The fort overlooks the sea and the creek over which the Rai-Bhatgaon bridge has been built further in land.

The Jaigad lighthouse is on the other side of the JSW power plant and is open to the public between 1600 and 1700 hrs. The last odd km. is superb tarmac along the coast. Set up in 1932 by the British, the equipment is still in good working condition.

The caretaker there explained the ‘character’ of a light house. The Jaigad light house, for example, flashes 4 times in 20 seconds this way a sea farer can tell any light house from its distinct ‘character’. He also explained how three 150 watt bulbs are able to set up a flash that’s visible up to 37 nautical miles.

The caretaker suggested a visit to the nearby Karhateshwar Temple, but I am more enthused about catching the sunset with the old L&T Poclain parked off the road.

The drive back with headlights piercing the darkness is fun. Unfortunately all the villages along the route have no electricity because of damaged cables.

Bahu Joshi just outside MTDC serves good vegetarian fare. The soul kadi was good, the behedi fry and the dal fry was cooked in a local style perhaps.

Day 3 starts with paying our respect to the Elephant God followed by pradikshana along the ‘Pradikshana Marg’ which really takes you around the hill just behind the temple. Different birds can be spotted in the vegetation along the marg.

After a quick breakfast, we’re off, headed back home. This time though we hit the NH 17 somewhere between Sangameshwar and Ratnagiri at Niveli via Chafe and Jakadevi.

The HP petrol pump right after Sangameshwar is a good place to tank up and pressure up. They also have facilities for a quick bite and clean loos.

The detailed route guide and distance covered along with the road condition, is as under, courtesy Co-Driver :).

Map

Mindrolling Monastery - Dehradun

2009-11-19T22:48:00.006+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 20102009

Malshej Ghat – A Recce

2009-09-02T14:33:00.005+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 29082009

Malshej Ghat – nestled in the lofty rugged hills of the Western Ghats, dons a green hue during the monsoons.

The usual route from Mumbai is NH 3 up to Bhivandi and then on to Murbad and Malshej ghat on the NH 222 that runs from Kalyan to Ahmednagar.

From Navi Mumbai we decide to recon the route from Shilphata > Ambernath > Badlapur > Barvi Dam > Murbad > Nane Ghat > Malshej Ghat.

The route from Badlapur to Murbad via the Barvi Dam is superb. A narrow well mettled road running through a forest and offering a glimpse of the reservoir behind the Barvi Dam. The road climbs, falls, twists and turns till it hits the NH 222 at Murbad. Traffic on this route is sparse, but you need to watch out for that occasional vehicle that looms up fast.

Murbad to Malshej via the Nane Ghat is again fantastic – lined with paddy fields and saal trees. The last 5-6 Km of the route was shrouded with thick fog. The tunnel at Malshej with a jagged surface is wow! Don’t bother to count the number of waterfalls and don’t miss the sweet and juicy corn on the cob just after the tunnel.

In the thick fog, we just about manage to see the MTDC board and the cemented road leading to the resort. The resort is pretty well located on a small plateau, short of a cliff, the facilities offered are pretty ok, though I think I’d carry my own bedding.

An owlet month:

About 4 km ahead is Su-Shant Resort which has the Pimpalgaon Joga Dam as its back yard. The stack of liquor bottles on display at the dinning area immediately turns us off.

The lake and the Pimpalgaon Joga Dam in the background:

I guess a future endeavor should include a night stay at MTDC, a long walk on the road along the Pimpalgaon lake combined with some bird watching and may be a drive over the Pimpalgaon Dam up to Harishchandragad.

Time & Distance:

Shirawta, Kamshet

2009-08-18T11:10:00.004+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 15082009

Shirawta, Kamshet

2009-08-01T15:05:00.006+05:30

Captains log; Star date 25092009

Fauji Brat

2009-06-10T16:06:00.002+05:30

You know you’re a fauji brat if:

1. You know a tank doesn't refer to a water tank.
2. You relate ‘caliber’ to a weapon and not IQ.
3. You can differentiate between an SLR, AK 47 and an INSAS.
4. You know gun oil is different from engine oil.
5. You know chindi’s and pull through’s.
6. You can pick guys with a services background in school / college.
7. You can tell ranks, regiment, medals and division from a soldier’s uniform.
8. You can tell the rank of an officer from flags and stars.
9. You understand formations - platoons, companies, battalions, brigades and divisions.
10. You're familiar with call signs - pigeon, sparrow, lamb, tiger, etc.
11. You’re familiar with abbreviations like MT, DQ, DAAG, BM, MS Branch, DGMO, COAS, ICBM, AWWA, DSOI, BMP, APC, SLR, LMG, RCL.
12. A sand model instantly brings up an image of a bed of sand showing the actual ground topography of an area with strategically placed tanks, field guns, marked field positions and flags.
13. You refer to everybody else as ‘civilians’.
14. You scoff at army scenes in hindi movies.
15. You’re able to relate to movies like Dirty Dozen, Commando, Guns of Navarone, etc.
16. You can tell leeches, scorpions and mongoose.
17. You've been to school in a jeep, jonga, one ton or a three ton.
18. You know Langar food is better than Mess food.
19. You’ve used a ‘pithu’ to lug your books to school / college.
20. You think you’ve seen it all.

Palolem, Goa

2009-04-26T17:59:00.014+05:30

Captains log; Star Date 11042009

We’ve zeroed down on Palolem for a short break from our hectic routine of work-home-work. Palolem is a small beach town in the Canacona taluka in Goa. NH 17 which starts from Mumbai and crawls across the Sahyadri & Karmali Ghats towards Cochin, Karnataka passes through Chaudi, the district headquarters. A right just before Chaudi brings you to Palolem.

Research threw up places like the Palolem Beach Resort, Café Del Mar and Ciarans for our stay.

We’ve taken the Mumbai-Margao Super Special, which leaves Mumbai at night on Friday’s only, to get to Margao at 7 in the morning the next day.

We notice the pre-paid taxi booth and hire a cab to get to Palolem, which is about 30 km south of Margoa. An hours drive on the NH17 takes us through a hilly and forested area where cashew trees grow wild.

Café Del Mar turns out to be a big disappointment. The place reeks of beer. Perhaps the only people who would appreciate this place are people who would want to booze and dance through the night.

Palolem Beach Resort is better but we have to wait until 12 pm for a booking confirmation. We may not be able to get an A/C room and may have to settle for a non A/C room or tent accommodation. After an omelet-bread breakfast we decide to walk along the beach and see if we’re able to find a better place to stay.

Even though Ciarans told us in the morning that there weren’t any rooms available, we still walk in to give it another try. The set up is very inviting with beach beds, an open air bar and a library at the entrance facing the beach, a nice garden in the centre, huts on the sides and a bungalow at the back. To our luck, Mervin, the caretaker shows us to an A/C room in the bungalow! At Rs. 2,500/- a night it’s the most expensive around here, but without any doubts, it’s the best. The staff is an all Nepali crew who are extremely welcoming and helpful. You can see them greet guests, chat a little in English, explain the menu and go about their chores without any instructions being shouted across. The bungalow doggie – Megan, a great dane can be seen lolling about the garden or snoozing in a corner. The general atmosphere here is of peace and quiet.

The beach though is a beehive of activity. The beach is a 2 Km curved stretch with Neptune’s Point at the south end and an Island at the north end. The beach slopes gently into the sea and is therefore safe for a swim. The waves though, get pretty pushy when the tide is rising.

The beach is lined with shacks/huts/cottages which are pulled down just before the monsoons in June and are put up again just after the monsoons around September-October.

Most of the crowd here is foreign and you can see people walking, jogging or enjoying a dip in the sea or sun bathing. There are body boards and kayaks that can be rented for about Rs. 100/- an hour. If you can handle the sea, I would strongly recommend renting out a Kayak.

For off beach activity there’s the flea market near the entrance of the beach. You can also rent out two wheelers from here for about Rs. 200 a day – ask for a guy called Nikki. Two wheels is the best way to explore places nearby – Agonda and Patlem. Fuel here costs Rs. 50 per litre and is generally bought from a shack in a marketplace.

The day is spent enjoying excellent food at Ciarans and a dip in the sea in the evening.

For lunch we order Stir Fried Calamari (Squid) which is served on a mint-coriander salad and a tropical fruit salad topped with grated coconut and honey and sprinkled with peanuts. Tandoori Jumbo Prawns makes up dinner.

Captains log; Star Date 12042009

Up early we’re exploring the island side of the beach. This side of the beach is quite and rocky and during low tide one can walk up to the island. The island itself has a pretty green tree cover and you can hear forest insects humming with activity.

After a dip in the sea and lounging around in the beach bed, being Easter, we decide to head to St. Teresa’s Parish Church in Chaudi.

Thinking that we’d be zipping around a city kind of terrain I decide to hire a gearless Honda Activa. After a Pulsar this feels really different – my feet are in front of me and I want to shift gears right after accelerating.

After the church we head to Patlem beach for a look see. The gradient of the beach slope is higher here and therefore the sea a tad rougher than Palolem. There are sale boats available here for hire.

From Patlem we head to Agonda. This beach is longer than Palolem, a tad rougher and therefore less commercialized.

Greek Souvlaki opposite St. Annes Church is a must stop for a bite for some Greek street food. The set up is run by Kosmas Loumakis. We first start with a Chicken Souvlaki and then down a Paneer Souvlaki all the while chatting with Kosmas.

We are now looking for directions for Cabo-De-Rama fort which is about 15-20 Km from Agonda. The road to the fort is a dream for a biker. The road climbs, falls, twists and turns through a fragrant cashew forest. I would have been more comfy with a geared bike on this kind of a terrain for better control especially on slopes and gravel.

There’s a kucha road that heads to Cola beach which I am told is pretty good. I believe there’s even a Pepsi beach that’s equally good.

Nothing great about the fort but the view of the coast and the sea below from the fort battlements is superb.

For dinner we dig into a bar-be-qued Red Snapper.

Captains log; Star Date 13042009

I can see Megan sniffing around on the beach in the morning. A whistle and she’s off for a walk with me towards Neptune’s Point.

About 830 hrs we hire a fibre glass boat for Rs. 500/- for a ride into the sea. The boat heads around the Island towards Butterfly beach and back. We’re lucky enough to get a glimpse of a dolphin.

Back at Ciaran’s we lounge around in the library and take it easy.

1600 hrs its time to leave. The Konkan Kanya express drops us off at Panvel at 415 hrs. the next day.

AMD Phenom II X3 720 - Black Edition

2009-04-22T14:13:00.004+05:30

Technology has moved at a fast pace, as usual, bringing Core 2 Duo and Quad Core processors to the home segment to support software like the Microsoft Vista 64 bit edition and hardware hungry games.

Initially I thought of upgrading to an Intel Crore 2 Duo Processor like the E8400 or the E8500 or a Quad Core Processor like the Q6600 or the Q9300. Even considered the i7 processor announced by Intel.

The E8400 looked like a decent upgrade in terms of price and performance. This processor comes with a clock speed of 3 Ghz, 6 Mb L2 cache, 65 watt TDP manufactured under a 45 Nm Fabrication Process. However, with Intel announcing the i7 architecture, future upgrade for a LGA775 socket processors becomes limited.

AMD recently announced their triple core processor – the Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition, a AM3 processor, which exhibits a unique combination of good single-threaded performance (thanks to its high core clock speed), good multi-threaded performance (thanks to its third core), and easy-as-pie overclocking (thanks to its unlocked upper multiplier). That means it's competitive with the pricier Core 2 Duo E8400 in single-threaded apps, but it's generally quite a bit faster in both multi-threaded apps and multi-tasking scenarios. I also saw reports where this processor was overclocked to 3.5GHz with a modest voltage boost. The processor clocks 2.8 Ghz (default), has a 1.5 Mb L2 Cache, 6 Mb L3 Cache, manufactured under a 45 Nm Fabrication Process and has a TDP of 95W.

Going with an AMD platform at this stage also makes sense from the upgrade point of view. The Latest AM3 processors are compatible with AM2+ mobos. Therefore, as DDR3 prices come down in the future, you could just move to a mobo that supports DDR3. AMD, unlike Intel, builds the memory controller into the processor and therefore the AM3 processors can handle both DDR2 and DDR3 memories.

So that settled the processor choice – AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition.

The Gigabyte Ultra Durable GA-MA790-GP-UD4H looked like a good mobo for the Phenom. This mobo comes with a AMD 790GX chipset with an integrated ATI Radeon HD3330 graphics, supports Dual Channel DDR2 1200+, has a Built-in 128MB DDR3 1333MHz SidePort Memory, provides for a 2 PCI-E 2.0 x16 interface with ATI CrossFireX/ Hybrid CrossFireX support, Blu-ray playback supported by high quality 106dB SNR ALC889A HD audio, support for Dolby Home Theater audio, integrated HDMI/ DVI interface for Full HD 1080 Blu-ray playback with HDCP, Patented DualBIOS with dual hardware BIOS protection.

Prime ABGB in Lamington Road gave me the processor-mobo combo for Rs. 17,500/-.

While I was looking for the Corsair 550 VX CMPSU, I had to settle for the 450 VX as the 550 was out of stock. The 450 looked better than the 650 watt Tagan as the 450 gave more amps on the 12V rail. I also liked the sleeved cables in the 450.

2x2GB Crosair DDR2 800 Mhz memory, a 500 GB Segate SATA hard drive along with my existing Antec Super Lanboy cabinet and Asus 16x DVD writer completed the set up.

Took me some three hours to put the rig together. Around 8 in the morning I was pretty thrilled to see the Gigabyte BIOS screen.

Khandobachi Jejuri

2009-04-10T08:41:00.004+05:30

Captains Log; Stardate 07042009

Khandobachi Jejuri is located in Jejuri about 50 Km south east of Pune, a little beyond Saswad. The temple is covered with haldi (turmeric) as the devotees offer haldi to Lord Khandoba.

Kala Ghoda Art Festival - 2009

2009-03-15T05:09:00.005+05:30

Kala Ghoda, Mumbai
Stardate 14022009

Aamby Valley International Aeromodeller’s Meet 2009

2009-01-17T18:53:00.010+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 17012009

Props and jets of different sizes and engine capacities. They flew 'em level, upside down, sideways (knife) and even let 'em tail spin and "circuit role".

Some even went so far as to stand 'em up in the air and touch the runway with their ailerons. But the guy who took the cake was a Kiwi who maneuvered his craft to music!

Sombebody flew in to take a look.

Psst! I also learned how to pan the camera.

While the right eye stays just off the camera viewfinder, the left eye stays open and follows the target. Before shooting quickly check the viewfinder to ensure centering and focus of target. – Apache AH 64 Longbow estyle!

Very Berry Strawberry

2009-01-16T21:14:00.002+05:30

MAPRO Garden, Mahabaleshwar.
Star Date 09102008

Mumbai – Peace March

2008-12-04T09:56:00.004+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 03122008

Mumbaikars gathered at the Gateway to pay homage to those felled by terrorists a week back.

The atmosphere was charged. There were people from all walks of life. Lots of sloganeering – “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and a call for our politicians to wake-up.

The Pakistan bashing was inevitable. But I think, Pakistan will keep doing what it wants to do, our focus should really be to put in place systems to secure our own interests.

Some pictures of the electric atmosphere:

Uran – a quick getaway

2008-11-26T09:50:00.005+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 24112008

Uran, about 30 km from Navi Mumbai, is easy to reach via the Belapur – JNPT toll road.

You would have to keep asking locals for directions to Hotel Uran Plaza once you reach Uran. The last 500 meters is a narrow tree covered gravel track. As you park near the Beer Garden, you can hear the sea hit the beach pretty vigorously.

Hotel Uran Plaza, spread over about 20-25 acres of land, is located right on the beach. It has A/C and Non A/C rooms, open air sitting area, hammocks and a tennis court in the midst of a coconut grove. The food was pretty decent.

Several bird species can be seen here - Pintail, Hoopoe, Kingfisher, Egrets, Indian Bee-eater, etc.

The property is owned by a retired Vice Admiral. Reservations can be done on phone numbers – 022 - 2722 2318.

Strawberry Country – Mahabaleshwar

2008-10-16T11:50:00.010+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 09102008

After a long journey through the night via Pune, Wai and Panchgani, the Neeta Volvo rolls into Mahabaleshwar at about 700 hrs. As the morning chill hits us, we hope that our rooms at the MTDC Resort are well equipped with blankets.

Get a cab to drop us off at the MTDC Resort, which is about 2 Km. from the Mahabaleshwar bus stand. The Resort is spread over a large area, about 40 acres and is surrounded by thick green cover. The room, at the resort, is scrubby but equipped with necessities like a clean bed, blankets and a geyser.

The restaurant at the resort is good only if you order basic stuff like idlie’s, dosa, chai, bread-omelet, chicken tikka, dal and rotti.

But what really sets the resort apart from any other is it’s location. Being 2 km from the city, it’s quiet, and is surrounded by a thick tree cover. You actually have monkeys jump down from trees onto the tin roof foraging for food in the morning and lazing and grooming in the afternoon.

The view from the garden a little beyond the cottages is superb. You have a green carpet laid out in front of you, clouds floating in the valley far below, and the sun chipping in with all its magnificence when it rises and sets.

After breakfast we head to town, ignore all the taxi guys on the way, browse through some curio stores and settle down at Imperial Stores for a Strawberry Shake.

We decide to head to the Mapro Garden about 15 Km. away on the Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani Road. Ignore the taxi guys again and take a state transport bus from the bus stand.

More than any thing else I am delighted to see all the flowers in full bloom in the garden.

Elephant Head, as seen from the Mapro Garden.

By the time we finish our sandwiches and coffee it starts to pour really hard.

The rain eases up a bit by the time we’re through with the luscious strawberry cream. Quickly pick up some strawberry crush and chews from the sales counter and head back to the resort.

Captains Log; Star Date 10102008

After breakfast we head to Pratapgad Fort which is about 20 Km from Mahabaleshwar on the Mahabaleshwar-Poladpur state highway.

Pay our respects at the Bhavani Temple and head to the Shivaji statue on top.
The view from atop the fort is superb.

Evening, I am waiting at the MTDC garden. Waiting for the sun to come out from behind the clouds so that I can catch the sunset in all its monsoon glory.

Captains Log; Star Date 11102008

Load up and walk up to the Bus-stand to catch the morning Volvo back home.

Catch three para gliders floating atop the Panchgani table top.
The Volvo glides down the state highway.

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands

2008-07-07T14:15:00.003+05:30

Preparation

After deliberating over various locations we zero down on the Andaman’s as our getaway destination.

Research on the net is followed by calls to people in Port Blair to check things on ground. The Water Sports Complex continues to be out of operation after the tsunami. We find the staff and the travel desk at Hotel Megapode Nest, a three star, govt. run set up, pretty helpful and book a bay facing deluxe room.

Research throws up the following locations that are worth a visit – Ross Island (former British HQ), Viper Island, Red Skin/Jolly Buoy Island, Samudrika (Naval Museum), Fisheries Museum, Corbyn’s Cove, Cellular Jail, Chatham Saw Mill, Mount Harriet, Chidiyatapu, and Radhanagar Beach on Havelock Island.

We manage to get only a brief map of Port Blair from the net. eMty’s efforts to find a more detailed map and guides at various book stores are fruitless.

Since I am an avid swimmer I am pretty keen on snorkeling and so go buy my own equipment – a mask, snorkel and flippers – all from Speedo. I try it out at the pool and realize that I get pretty unnerved when water starts seeping in through the mask. And that makes me wonder about how I’d handle a swim in the sea?

Captains Log; Star Date 27112007

We are at the Chennai airport at 530 hrs for the 720 Simplyfly Deccan flight to Port Blair, which is on the east coast of the South Andaman Island. Take off on time. The two hour flight is uneventful. We have to hover over the Andaman’s for about half an hour as Port Blair can handle only two aircrafts at a time. That lets us get a decent glimpse of the islands below through the clouds. All of the islands have a thick green cover.

As we get down onto the tarmac at 1130 hrs., the 27 degree temperature, a moderate breeze and sunshine create a pleasant feeling.

As we move from the hotel reception to our room we get our first glimpse of the bay. We are so exited that we want to just stop and gaze out into the expanse of the sea. The view from our room’s porch is nothing short of mesmerizing. Towards the right is the Phoenix Bay Jetty and towards the left is the follow through for the Haddoo Jetty and in front – the bay, expanding into the sea.

1630 hrs we decide to walk down to the Naval Museum – Samudrika. The Museum has sections on corals, shells and fishes, the history of the Andaman’s and a large skeleton of a blue whale.

After a Prawn Masala dinner, it's time to settle down.

Captains Log; Star Date 28112007

After a South Indian breakfast we leave for the Aberdeen Jetty to take a ferry to North Bay. At the Jetty it’s windy but the sun feels warm we can’t help but stare into the deep green waters in front of us.

The ferry (Mt. Indira Gandhi) chugs away from the jetty with its load of tourists headed to North Bay. Ross Island (erstwhile British HQ) passes by on the right.

North Bay presents a postcard like sight with calm green waters, a small coral beach disappearing into a forest of coconut trees and a light house on a hilltop. The ferry stops some 100 meters off the coral beach. Another set of smaller boats ferry us to the beach. These boats have a glass bottom that allows a view of the marine life below. For people who are hydrophobic that’s about as close as they can get to the world below. I intend getting closer.

As I get into the waters with my snorkel gear the first thing that hits me is the salty water that leaves a slight burning feeling in the nostrils and the waves tend to pull me away from the beach. In time though, I start enjoying the swim. Marine life is a good 20-25 meters away from the beach. Today I am not too comfy swimming that far into the sea.

While climbing up to the North Bay light house, Iam wondering why the rucksack feels heavy. While I’ve been swimming eMTy’s been gingerly collecting coral and stuffing ‘em into the rucksack!!

Specifications on the foot of the light house say that the light house is powerful enough to be seen from 12.5 nautical miles. The view from atop the light house is fascinating.

Captains Log; Star Date 29112007

We have a passenger vessel to catch forHavelock Island. The island is a good 2(1/2) hour run from Port Blair. The intra-island vessels are run by the Shipping Corporation of India and tickets are better booked in advance. While a ticket costs me Rs. 150 each way an islander pays only Rs. 18.

We’re up early – 400 hrs. Dawn starts to break at 530 hrs. After three loud toots, the vessel (MV Jolly Buoy) leaves the Phoenix Bay Jetty at 615 hours. As soon as the vessel leaves port, I am restless to get out on the open upper deck.

With the two 662 kw engines turning at 12.5 knots the vessel literally thunders its way through the waters. We go past the North Bay lighthouse in a north-easterly direction. I find me a place on the wings and enjoy the wind in my face, the surf being kicked up by the vessel and the expanse of the sea beyond.

The flight of flying fish off the vessels bow almost has me fooled into believing them to be a bird. They ‘fly’ a good 10-15 meters before diving back into the dark green water.

At the island we make our way to the Dolphin Resort – a 10 minute drive from the Havelock Jetty.

The Resort is a dream – bang on Vijay Nagar Beach or Beach No. 5. With its white sands and pristine green waters, it makes for a mesmerizing sight.

Again our room faces the waters, with the beach barely 10 meters from the porch. After a quick breakfast, I am out on the beach with my S3.

After lunch we leave for Radhanagar Beach - Beach No. 7. We drive for about half an hour on a lonely narrow road lined with rice fields and then forests, with beetle nut and coconut trees growing wild on the fringes, as we get closer to the beach.

The beach is un-mistakably the best I’ve ever seen with its white grainy sands, thick vegetation just off the beach, hermit crabs with their armoured tank track like trails on the sand and green shallow waters. When I get into the water, I realize the beach is flat, may be for another 100 odd meters. That gives me all the courage to swim the length of the beach. The waves bob me lightly, up and down. I swim.

By the time I am out of breath, the sun’s starting to set. Set my S3 on the tripod and shoot.

1630 hours the sun’s down. 1700 hours its getting dark but we stop for some coconut water and malai. We make our way back to the resort on the lonely narrow road. 1730 hours its pitch dark.

Back at the resort its prawn fry for dinner.

Captains Log; Star Date 30112007

I am up early, on the beach at 500 hrs with my S3, ready to capture whatever hues the rising sun throws up.

After a bread-omelet breakfast we’re ready for Elephant Beach. This beach is the best location for snorkeling.

The beach is a 25 minute boat ride from the Havelock Jetty. Two young boys – Sameer and Lokesh gun the boat along the Havelock coast.

Elephant Beach is a small strip of fine white sand that emerges from the waters and disappears into a thick forest. In fact about 80% of the Havelock island is reserved forest.

After a walk on the beach, its time to get down to do what we’re here for – snorkeling.

I slip on my gear and a float across my waist (that gives me all the confidence I need to swim into the sea). Sameer tugs me into the waters. I can clearly see the surface below me change from sand to rocks to corals! A myriad of fish – red, black, yellow - go about their lives, least bothered about me splashing about on the surface and peering at them through the glass mask. I mistake some carbon colored stuff to be a piece of cloth until I see more and see some open and close!

Back at the beach I take a breather and assimilate the experience that I’ve just had.

At Havelock we have about two hours before our vessel “MV Hut Bay” leaves for Port Blair. We settle down at Nala’s Kingdom and strike a conversation with the proprietor Mr. Malik Arjun and learn a little more about the Island. The President of India has planned a visit to the Island later in the month and that explains the day-and-night repair work on the lonely narrow road to Radhanagar Beach! During December-January there are at least 1000 foreigners on the island!

We are served hot piping dal, vegetable, rasam and a local fish – cokari. The food is par-excellence. We leave the restaurant floored by Mr. Malik Arjun’s hospitality.

The sea is a little rough today. It even makes a huge passenger vessel like the Hut Bay roll. But that doesn’t stop her from powering ahead at 12.5 knots! The power being thrust out by the two 662 w engines makes the whole vessel shiver.

The North Bay light house looms up and we turn into the Phoenix Bay Jetty a while later at about 1530 hrs.

Captains Log; Star Date 01122007

The day starts with a long walk to the Chatham Saw mill and the Hadoo Jetty.

After a Allo-Puri breakfast we’re out shopping at Sagarika – a government emporium in Middle Point. We pick up a lamp shade made of shells, assorted shells, a shunk (after blowing into many) and a scorpion shell. We also grab a booklet on Andaman’s that has a pretty detailed map and a brief on its history.

Volcano Prawns and Deviled Fish for lunch at the Light House Residency, past Junglighat at the outskirts of the Aberdeen Bazaar.

One thing great about auto-rickshaw’s in Port Blair is any destination is 20 bucks away. Stop an auto guy and he’ll invariably blurt out 20 bucks. Anything more, you can safely wait for another auto. After dark, which is as early as 1730 hours, though its 30 bucks.

In the evening we make our way to the Cellular Jail (KalaPani) for the Sound and Light Show. We’re awed by the Prison Compound and my first reaction is “where’s the screen?” We love the way the show is conducted and are pretty educated about the history of the island. On the way out as we pass by the Banyan Tree that stood witness to all the happenings in the prison compound, something makes eMty pick up a leaf and tuck it into the rucksack.

After some night shots of the jail we walk down to the open air New Light House Restaurant near the Fisheries Museum. We are greeted by a young chef behind a tandoor and an assortment of local fish, squid, live crabs and lobsters on display. He suggests we try the Barracuda, bar-be-qued, continental style.

While our Barracuda is being bar-be-qued, I am wondering about the irony of the restaurants location – “see ‘em in the Fisheries Museum in the morning and come and taste ‘em right next door in the evening!”

We relish the Barracuda, thank the chef and head back to the hotel.

Captains Log; Star Date 02122007

Early morning we’re busy packing all the shells and corals we’ve collected. The memories though are happily tucked in our heads.

As we near the airport, the name hits me “Veer Sarvarkar Airport” as I recollect the significance and history behind the name from last nights sound and light show at the Cellular Jail.

The Simplifly Deccan flight leaves on time.

Zenith Falls, Khopoli

2008-07-03T12:49:00.004+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 01072008

It’s rained pretty heavy in the morning and we’ve had to skip office. We’ve lazed the morning and are planning to go out for a short walk when our neighbor happens to mention Zenith Falls, Khopoli. In about 15 minutes we’re rolling.

Khopoli is a 30 km ride from Panvel on the Old Bombay-Pune Hihgway. The tarmac just after Panvel up to Khopoli is plain fabulous. Since the roads are wet I ride easy with speedo between 60 and 80, try and anticipate braking and brake early before a curve. Traffic after Panvel, is light.

Check for directions at Khopoli and turn left off the Highway just after the Bus Stand.

The falls can be seen from the highway – a thousand meter high rock-face with umpteen water falls off its face. A railway bridge high up in the rock fold is also visible. The name Zenith comes from a manufacturing company nearby – Zenith Limited.

A small hike across a stream gets you to the base of the fall.

Best to get here early before local crowd starts pouring in.

10° Cooler

2008-05-19T16:41:00.008+05:30

For the past few months I’ve been wondering why the Barton Core (Athlon XP 2500+) has been running hot at 60° when idle. Five minutes into C&C, AOE or COD and the system freezes. The only game that the Barton can seem to handle is Spider Solitaire! Sheesh! What a disgrace!

This even after the all-aluminum Antec Super Lanboy enclosure with two 120mm fans. This even after I keep the Lanboy’s side panel open! I figured may be the thermal compound between the Barton and the stock heat sink may have gone dry and thereby affected the level of heat dissipation. And yep the system was due for a dust-up.

So it’s off to the Mecca of Computer Land - Lamington Road, for some thermal compound. I pick up Arctic Cooling MX2 from Prime ABGB for Rs. 300/-.

Captains Log; Star Date 18052008

Sunday morning, 500 hrs, I unscrew the thumb screws of the Lanboy, remove the RAM, TV Tuner, power cable, IDE, HDD and front panel cables and the mobo (Asus A7N8X-VM). Slowly unclamp the heat sink and stare wryly at the dry compound over the exposed core.

Wifi’s nail polish remover comes in handy to clear the dry compound from the Barton and the heat sink.

Spread some of the Arctic MX 2 over the core, smother some on the heat sink and put everything back. Call in R2 to vacuum clean the dust I’ve brushed off the components.

After I power on the comp, I bring up the Asus Probe to get processor temp. reading - 50°.

800 hrs, it’s already hot outside but Barton is now running a good 10° cooler.

Flowers of the Doctor

2007-12-28T09:38:00.000+05:30

Star Date 25122007

Star Date 25122007

Doctor's Farm, Kolad

2007-12-28T09:23:00.000+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 25122007

Situated on the banks of River Kundalika, Doctor’s Farm is a decent weekend getaway. Two igloos house the rooms and the common dining area that overlooks the river. You could paddle about in the calm river waters for as long as you want, go fishing or take a dip in the swimming pool that is flooded with running river water, follow it up with caroms or just sit and chat by the river bank.
December –January is a good time to be here, with the early mornings and late evenings being pleasant. River-rafting and trekking are the attractions during Monsoons.

A map at their website (http://www.doctorsfarm.com/) is a must look up for directions. Essentially, the Farm is 6Kms off the NH 17 – the Bombay-Goa highway and is a few kilometers short of Kolad, which is about 100 Kms. from Navi Mumbai. The stretch, between the highway and the Farm, through a forest is a lovely drive. The last Km. though, is un-mettled and rough.

The queen of hill stations - Mussoorie

2007-10-04T09:49:00.000+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 24092007

We leave Dehradun at 530 hrs for Mussoorie – a 35 km twisty drive. The comfort of a car shields us from the outside chill. With sparse traffic at that hour we’re at Lal Tibba by about 700 hrs. and park near the church. The walk up to Sisters Bazaar, beyond the TV station, is lovely. The sight of pine covered mountains, clean fresh air and the morning chill makes the walk really great. As we come around a bend we see folds of mountain ranges ahead with the furthermost fold covered with snow. The snow capped peaks glisten in the early morning sun. We come across an old Moris parked along the path and immediately settle down for a picture.

After the two hour walk I am cold and hungry. Back near the church we order for Alloo Parathas (a must have in Mussoorie) and Chai. Feel energy levels come back after downing the sumptuous Parathas with a blob of butter.

Next we just drive down to Kempty Falls for a look see. Company Garden, we leave for a next visit and decide to walk down The Mall and take the rope way to Gun Hill. Shoot pictures of Daisy’s swaying in the light breeze and shoot some balloons with an air gun. While I shoot all five blue balloons in five shots, she finally gets the pink balloon on the fifth. Another round of Aloo Parathas and we’re ready to walk back to the Mussoorie Library.
Apart from Mussoorie, Dehradun itself was a memorable experience with a visit to the Chetwode Hall at the Indian Military Academy, a drive past the FRI, the Brigade Mess and our old house in Birpur.

FRI

7 Birpur

The Gun Hill Daisy's

2007-10-02T04:26:00.000+05:30

Exif: Shooting Mode - Program AE, TV - 1/800, AV 1/4, ISO Speed - 80, Focal Length - 6.0mm.

Exif: Shooting Mode - Program AE, TV - 1/640, AV 1/4, ISO Speed - 80, Focal Length - 6.0mm.

Star Date 24092007

Sunflower - Brand New Day

2007-09-03T18:27:00.000+05:30

Exif: Shooting Mode: Program AE, TV: 1/200, AV: 4, ISO Speed: Auto, Focal Length: 3mm, White Balance: Auto.

Star Date 31122006

Lonavala - Chikki Ride

2007-09-03T16:38:00.000+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 03092007

Hit a heavy drizzle on the Lonavla-Amby Valley stretch so the S3 stays ensconced in the bag. Visibility 10 meters! Valvan dam, though a beautiful place, is a disapointment as the guards watch every step and photography not allowed! :(

Picked up Chikki's from A1 and some Almond Choco Fudge from Cooper's. Yipee!

Solo Run - Mulshi - Lonavla - 8 hours, 312 Kms.

2007-05-07T16:47:00.000+05:30

Captains Log; Star Date 100606

I can see clouds but doesn’t look like its going to pour.

Wheels roll at 615 hrs.

Hit a drizzle at Kharghar! Can make out rain happening towards the Bombay-Pune side. Fortunately I am headed Bombay-Goa.

First stop at Kalamboli, Mc Donalds – rations & a coffee. Service is slow early in the morning.

Turn into the Panvel-JNPT toll road to avoid Panvel town – two wheels, no toll!

Hardly any traffic on NH-17 and make good speed. Things are familiar up to Wadakal Naka.

Next stop at Kolad (100 Km.) at 810 hrs to check for directions. I locate SH 60 that goes to Pune and turn into it. The road looks inviting. Hardly any traffic. Nice mettled road lined with greenery on both sides. Starts to get pretty twisty. Underestimate a curve, freeze when I see gravel and wham! Couldn’t pull my right leg out from under the bike. Struggle a little and I am up. A car stops, I wave him past. Try to lift the bike – I can’t. Fortunately a truck comes by. They help get the bike up. Get away with scratches on the faring.

I take it easy after that and enjoy the 79 Km ride to Mulshi – a nice cool breeze for company – stopping often to take snaps.

Check with locals for directions to Lonavla. There’s a narrow road, they point out, that’ll get me to Lonavla. Part of the 60 Km road I am told is rough. Explorer me decides to leave the comfort of the state highway.

The road tests me mentally and physically. Rough is an under-statement and its getting hot. Every time I start thinking about turning around, somebody turns up to say the road would take me to Lonavla and that the patch up ahead was bad but it’ll be good thereafter. Now half way down that rattler, turning around is not really an option.

I guess I must be a novelty in these parts – with a shinny new red Pulsar, Red wind-sheeter, cargo net and a jazzy AGV helmet; I have kids running behind me in one of the villages I pass.

That road finally brings me to (Surprise! Surprise!) the Amby Valley golf course. A few kms on a broad road then brings me to the Lonavla - Amby Valley road. The road feels like heaven after that rattler.

Stop at Tiger Point for a brunch and a sip of water.

Lonavla to Bombay is, well, a breeze.

Distance & Time Line:

Roll 615 hrs.

Kolad 100 Km @ 810 hrs.

Mulshi 179 Km @ 1030 hrs.

Lake view brunch.

Amby valley golf course 210 Km @ 1215 hrs.

Tiger Point view brunch 2.

Lonavla 230 Km.

Home 312 Km. @ 1430 hrs.

Whew!

Petal Blaze

2007-05-01T05:07:00.000+05:30

Exif: Shooting Mode - Program AE; Tv - 1/100; Av - 4.0; Exposure Compensation - 0; ISO Speed - Auto; Focal Length - 6.0mm; White Balance - Auto.

Star Date: 31122006

Trail Blaze

2007-04-30T04:00:00.000+05:30

Exif: Shooting Mode - Shutter Speed Priority AE; Tv - 5; Av - 8; Exposure Compensation - (-)2; ISO Speed - 100; Focal Length - 26.8mm; White Ballance - Auto.

Star Date - 28042007

Video - Fish Auction at Harnai Beach.

2007-03-23T15:48:00.000+05:30

Video - Boat Ride into the Sea - Murud / Harnai

2007-03-22T10:59:00.000+05:30

Day 3 - Solo Run – Dapoli – Murud – Harnai - Anjarle.

2007-03-20T17:31:00.000+05:30

Captains Log; Star date 19032007

Wheels roll at 450 hrs. The beam is doing a good job of picking the road ahead. It’s really dark, chilly and desolate. I can just about see the tree-line adjacent to the road. I know there's a jungle behind the tree-line. And that's not exactly comforting when its pitch dark. With speedo at 40 kmph I am going slow but steady.

Soon after Dapoli I am a little more confident and speedo moves in the 50-60 kmph range. At Khed I check with locals for directions. In the darkness I can hardly recognize the place. I do a 90 kmph dash up to the ghat. The sky’s beginning to lighten up. As the trucks lumber, I zip. With sparse traffic I immediately get down to enjoying the Kashedi twists. Speedo moves in a broad 40-60 kmph range. I love the 4th gear on stretches like this because of the acceleration and deceleration it has to offer. And for the sharp climbing turn, the 3rd gear is just a nudge away.

Just after Mahad I chance a glance towards the rising sun. My God! There’s a solar eclipse happening. I pull over, get my S3 out and start shooting. I stick around for about fifteen minutes then pack and move.

Stop at Open Umbrella at Mangaon for breakfast. They serve piping hot idilis and special elaichi tea.

Looks like I am going to run short on fuel. Turn into a pump only to see a board, garlanded on the pump, saying ‘Petrol Sumplle’. Manage to get fuel at Nagothane.

I have a close call with a Sumo coming from the opposite direction near Karnala. Stupid chap is driving right in the middle of the road while I come out of the vehicle ahead to take a peek for a clear coast to overtake. Phoof.

Home 1010 hrs

Distance & Time Line:

That was fun!

Day 2 - Solo Run – Dapoli – Murud – Harnai - Anjarle.

2007-03-20T17:07:00.000+05:30

Captains Log; Star date 18032007

Six in the morning after a nice sleep, I am on the beach. I set up the camera on the tripod and aim towards Harnai. My objective is to capture the lights at Harnai, especially the light house. Change settings for a slower shutter speed, a larger aperture and click. Manage to capture the red dot like light emitted by the light house.

The salubrious breeze calls for a long walk.

Around quarter to seven I can see two boats park on the beach. They are there to give people a boat ride into the sea. Being the adventurous kind I don’t hesitate and jump in for a short solo ride. The boat is pushed out into the waters and is guided further in by a guy on the bow with a long bamboo pole. They watch the waves to make the launch as effortless as possible. But the tide’s rising. A wave comes in hits the bow and lifts it up. As the wave travels to the rear the bow falls, chhhaap!, back into the water. A little deeper waters and the Yamaha outboard motor is made to kick in. The motor sputters to life and effortlessly steers the boat into deeper waters. The sunrise is picture perfect and I get busy with my camera.

To dock the boat back on the beach they turn the bow towards the sea, shut down the engine and wait for the waves to push the boat towards the beach. The guy on the bow gets busy with the pole. A big wave and chhaap! The roller coaster launch and landing makes me feel a little woozy. Designed more for wheels I guess.

I spend the next few hours on the beach.

At around 1000 hrs after a omelet bread breakfast I decide to ride down to Dapoli. Just before Dapoli I see the mile stone point right to Burundi and I turn in to explore. I pass by the Agriculture University. Another few kms and I hit the best kind of twisties I’ve ever seen. The road curves left, right, goes up and down with impunity. If the side for the road isn’t a ‘khai’ it’s lined with mango trees. This place stands out in sharp contrast to Harnai. While Harnai is noisy with its fish auction, this place is sublime owing to its agri tilt.

Burundi is indeed a lovely beach head. Some shots later I am headed back to Dapoli. It’s a small busy town. Pick up some bottles of water and chocolates from a store.

I am back at the resort by lunch time. After lunch I laze under the pine trees that are within the Kamats resort, just short of the beach. A couple of birds (little smaller than myna, green feathers, one straight pointer kind of a tail, extremely agile) are playing cops and robbers I think.

1700 hrs, I want to get RollyPolly out on the beach for a photo shoot against the backdrop of the setting sun. A road on the other side of the Murud Devi temple leads to the beach. The beach end of the road is soft sand and I have to power my way through. On the beach I can feel a slight drag as the wheels turn on the firm sand. Nice cool breeze hitting the face (no AGV), the puttering sound of the bike and slash of the waves on the beach make for a good mix.

As the sun starts to go red, I get busy with my camera

While I am busy clicking, the tides rising. Suddenly a wave comes up and I move back to avoid getting my shoes wet. I realize the camera on the tripod might take a tumble as the water goes back and takes some of the sand with it. Whoops! Even the bike might take a tumble. The bike tumbles.

I gather all my gear pack up and move before things get worse.

At the beach end of the road the sand looks softer. Baaaaammm, the engine stalls and I am stuck. I am now a spectacle for a dozen onlookers. A local on my 3 O’clock can sense 50 bucks I think. I take a deep breath and tug the bike back while astride. 7-8 more heaves later I am on firmer sand. Start the engine, point towards firmer sand, rev the engine, 1st gear, baaaaammmm and I am out.

Head back to Kamats. Need to pack for my long ride back home. The twisty and desolate roads make me wonder if I should really be leaving early. But the thought of being home by about 10 is tempting. I decide to move by 5 am.

D-Day - Solo Run – Dapoli – Murud – Harnai - Anjarle – 608 Km.

2007-03-20T10:58:00.000+05:30

A three day holiday in March presents a good opportunity for a long ride. A colleague of mine, Jubhi, suggests the Kamat Beach Resort at Murud off Dapoli. I look it up at Outlook’s Weekend Breaks from Mumbai. This would mean a 250 Km. ride on the NH 17 (Bombay-Goa), something I’ve been wanting to do since I read RagingBulls trip log to Ratnagiri at Xbhp and a ride in a tin-can to Chiplun with office colleagues in July 2006. The more I think about it, the more I want to do it.

I check with colleagues and friends. They evince interest. So I go ahead and book a cottage.

Preparation:

Get down to doing a more detailed research. The attractions are – the ride on the super slick NH 17, Kamats Beach Resort and an opportunity to explore the coastline from Burundi to Anjarle. And with RollyPolly’s Birthday looming up, what a better way to celebrate than, well, to roll.

As it starts to get pretty warm around noon, I would have to start early to beat the heat. The 250 Km route would take me through, Karnala, Pen, Kolad, Mangaon, Mahad, Poladpur, Kashedi Ghat and Khed on the NH 17, and Dapoli to Murud on State and local roads. I look up the route on Google Earth. It’s going to be a really long ride. Stopping every 50 odd kms for a sip of water would be a good idea I think.

As the long weekend nears, friends and colleagues start citing other commitments (how predictable!). So it’s gonna have to be a Solo.

I have RollyPolly serviced a week before the ride. The mech recommends Castrol Power 1 that’s a little expensive at Rs. 231 compared to Rs. 175 for the regular Castrol engine oil. That’s a small cost to keep baby happy. I ensure the tool kit, spare tube, cables, spark plug and the medical kit are in place. A day before the ride I leave office early, I tank up with 11.5 litres and have the PUC and air pressure checked.

Pack in two bottles of water, electral (oral re-hyderation), biscuits, chocolates, apples, dry fruits and canned coffee flavored milk. And of course my S3 and a tripod. The small HP Photosmart would stay in my bomber jacket for shooting while on the road.

Captains Log; Star Date 17032007 (D-Day)

I secure the bag using a cargo net. That’s going to be my backrest for the ride. 435 hrs. I am ready to roll. The sweat that oozed while I struggled to secure the bag, dries quickly as the morning chill hits me.

The gear feels slick. Guess the oils good. The headlight beam fighting the night feels warm. Get on to the Bombay-Pune highway from Nerul. Hardly any traffic going my way but there’s a load coming from the other side. Speedo stays between 40 and 50 kmph. Turn into the NH 17 after Panvel. I open the throttle a little more as I reach the Karnala section but soon realize unlike riding during the day, at night I need to give the beam time to show me how the road ahead curves. And not many vehicles dip their lights for a lone biker.

I make a note of the NH emergency number – 98334-98334 & 98675-98657. Hope they work.

The air’s chilly but fresh and feels really great. The road’s smooth and RollyPolly’s giving me a lovely ride.

Stop at Hotel Open Umbrella at Mangaon. It’s yet to open, so I pull out my canned coffee. My chocolates, O! They are in the freezer back home!

It’s bright now. At 715 hrs Vithal Kamat, at Mahad is yet to start preparing for the day ahead. Move on to Poladpur and stop for a cup of tea at Shudh Shanti Hotel. Pull out an apple. I take a longish break here as the ghat section starts from hereon.

Start climbing and immediately start enjoying the twisties. As the trucks lumber up the Kashedi Ghat, I zip. I stop often to capture the scenery with my digi. Speedo between 40 and 60 kmph.

After the ghat, the asphalt up to Khed is super smooth and more or less straight. Speedo now between 80-90 kmph. Chiplun 36 Km. Chiplun 33 Km. Whoops! I’ve overshoot Khed by about 7-8 Kms. Turn around and turn left for Dapoli from Khed.

The road’s lined with greenry on both sides, it’s twisty and no traffic. 900 hrs and I am starting to feel hot or am I tired. Park and munch on some dry fruits, sip water, take a snap, walk around a little and I am ready to go.

At Dapoli I check for directions to Murud. The roads generally good but patchy at places and is as twisty as it can get. A state transport bus embarrasses me by catching me bang in the middle of the narrow road (he needs all of it). I can see him gesture “Kahe Boss?”

Take a left turn from Asud for the Murud Devi Mandir. This stretch is really patchy.

Home Ruuuunnnnn. 260 Kms and 5.5 hours, I am tired. The resort looks good. The lotus in the pond at the entrance catches my attention.

Check into my cottage. Look around the resort. What I need right now is some breakfast, a shower and a nap. But I can’t stop myself from getting to the beach, so I push the nap to later in the afternoon.

1600 hrs I am feeling refreshed and decide to ride down to Harnai and further on to Anjarle.

From Murud to Harnai the road runs along the beach. The roads patchy.

At Harnai beach, riding on the sand isn’t easy. I can feel a drag and the front wheel doesn’t exactly want to go where you want it to. I see a big crowd on the beach and head towards it.

The scene at Harnai Beach is like time standing still. Suddenly at about 430 hrs there’s a whistle and bullock carts standing near the water charge up the beach. It’s like a cavalry charge. The carts are carrying fish that have been loaded on from small boats on the water front. The small boats in turn have picked up their load of fish from bigger boats in the back ground. The carts rush to the nearest auctioneer and the auction starts. The carts are followed by people carrying fish in tokri’s. The fish are laid out on the beach and the auctioneer starts calling out prices. I do a video of the auction process. I’ll have to check with PowerSlave on how to put it up on my blog.

Today’s attraction:
Those big ones are going for Rs. 400 each.

Those, I am told are ‘Wati’ and are going for Rs. 200 a tokri. The price could be lower at Rs. 180 a tokri if you take all the tokri’s.

The Harnai light house attracts my attention and I decide to ride up to it. The view from up here is exhilarating. The crowded Harnai beach, the Suvarnadurg Fort and the vast open sea.

The ride to Anjarle through Harnai village is rough. The road improves after the village. I climb up and what a view. Anjarle beach – you can have it all to yourself. I can see the Ganesh temple a little behind the beach on the hill. The ride to the temple is lovely. The road climbs, falls, curves – untamed twisties. It just doesn’t straighten for more than 5 meters.

On the way back I stop to watch the beach side mela. As soon as I pull out the camera kiddies start waving and look towards me with a big smile. I oblige, letting the flash fire. Check out the guy pushing that swinging boat. He’s literally flying in the air using his body weight to push all the way down so that the boat comes back even higher. I let the flash fire again to capture the moment.
Back at the resort I down a glass of Solkadi and follow it up with a Chicken Thali. Time to retire.

Phoof! What a day! And that’s just day one.

Karnala Fort – Captured

2007-03-05T12:26:00.000+05:30

Karnala is a bird sanctuary, about 15 Km from Panvel on the NH 17 (Bombay-Goa Highway). A myriad of birds can bee seen here, albeit with a powerful binocular. The sanctuary is dominated by a fort that’s at a height of about 500 meters. The fort looks like a giant thums-up from the highway. It takes a 3 km steep trek to get up to the fort and steep rocks just short of the fort are a challenge to any avid trekker.

Perhaps someone who’s traveled from afar could put up at the rest house in the Sanctuary. For people who are picnicking – Kamat’s just short of the Sanctuary is a decent place for a snack – and kokum sherbet makes for a nice sip.

Captains Log; Star Date 04032007

Early morning 630 hrs its chilly and I am missing my Bomber Jacket. But it’s a short smooth ride from where I stay. This section of the highway between Panvel and Pen is a biker’s paradise with its smooth asphalt and twisties. I tell myself to slow down just when I hit the Karnala ghat section lest I miss the sanctuary in the excitement of the ride. I look hard on the left for a nondescript ticket booth and a board that proclaims the entrance to the sanctuary.

The air’s fresh and mixed with a cacophony of chirps. I start my climb up to the fort. I can hear a tree rustle somewhere on my right. Guess it’s a langoor. After about half an hour it starts to get steepy. Stop to catch my breath, drink some water and down a Mc’Donald’s burger. Soon I am using my hands to latch on to rocks, roots and trees to haul me up.

This is what really makes the climb worthwhile.

I am going to make it point to get back here in the middle of the monsoons. I am sure it’s going to be nothing short of magical.

Yeoor - Poinsettia

2007-02-19T11:54:00.000+05:30

Solo Run - Alibaug-Kashid-Murud

2007-02-13T09:15:00.001+05:30

Captain's log; star date 290506.

Ok, so a 3 day holiday looming up and I am itching to ride. Do some research over the week. Get some tips and directions from fellow bikers.

Started rolling Saturday morning 800 hrs. The Bombay-Goa NH17 is super smooth, and on a bike moderate traffic is fun - weave.

The stretch between Wadakal Naka and Poynad is bumpy. Poynad to Alibaug is heaven. Alibaug-Revdanda is what really wears you down, the road isn't a road it's a rattler. Put Revdanda behind you and you have another heaven waiting for you. Ridding on the smooth asphalt with a beach along side is an experience you have to ride to believe.

A Nizam's palace just short of Murud is a decent place for a stop. The hill top location affords a nice view of the beach below.

The Janjira Fort shows up pretty abruptly as soon as you take that curve on the hill. The sight makes all the tiredness drain away.

Kashid is a nice place to put up for the night. After sun set this place is pitch dark. 1930 hrs, pitch dark, no moon but an amazing number of stars, not a soul in front and nothing in the RVM. Rolly Polly's headlights did its job well and thank-fully no incidents.

Sunday morning 600 hrs. I had Kashid beach all to myself for a nice long walk.

700 hrs I packed up and moved. Nice cool breeze and empty roads for company. Stoped at the Vikram Ispat temple on the way back.

930 hrs I was back home - road ripping speed.]

Total run - 336 Kms.

Kala Ghoda Art Festival

2007-02-12T11:51:00.000+05:30

The 'nimbu mirchi' to keep devils off my blog!

Solution to Mumbai's traffic woes.

Whats a mela without 'firki's'?

Bombay - BEST, crowd and the Dabba wallas.

Hammari Scooter

Street accrobatics.

Katputli (Puppet Show) - by some Rajastani folks - relished by the foreigners.

God to the Katputli's.

Graceful Manipur - Lord Krishna playing Holi.

Dance of the Drums.

Dilli Haat

2007-01-30T15:45:00.000+05:30

Situated in the heart of Delhi, near AIIMS, Dilli Haat is a government endeavor to create a traditional weekly market, offering an amalgam of craft, food and cultural activities with the objective of creating an Indian experience in a microcosm.

You could start early in the morning with hot tea, served in a kulhar, and kachori’s at the Rajasthan counter. Stop at the Nagaland counter for a momo snack. Hyderabadi biryani and pathar kabab for lunch at the Andhra counter. Rosagula for desert from the Bengal counter. And finish of with pav bhaji, kothambir vadi and tea at the Maharashtra counter.

Apart from the food from all corners of India, here’s a glimpse of what’s on offer at Dilli Haat: