Andaman: Hidden Jewel in the Bay of Bengal.

As our flight from Chennai approached Portblair, the view from the plane window seemed like an intricate pattern of land and sea...  the Andaman - Nicobar archipelago contains over 150 islands spread out in the form of banana. The islands forming Andaman group consist of North, Middle and South Andaman popularly known as Great Andaman. These islands are separated from one another by narrow straits Each of the Andaman Islands have dense rain forest and hills  in the center and the peripheries are dotted by beaches or mangroves. Out of these numerous islands only about 30 are occupied by civilized society.

Our first stop was Portblair, which is popular for the "kaala paani"- cellular jail having housed Veer Savarkar for a over a decade. Besides the jail Portblair does have some beaches and some shopping options, but its a largely touristy. If you are on a time crunch minimize your time here....

Place to stay: Nicobari Cottages at Megapode Nest (Excellent view of the port)

Sea food lovers must visit: Annapurna lunch home (Most amazing crab & prawn biryani)

On the next day, we started our journey for Bartang which is in Middle Andamans. We need to cross the Jarwa- reserve forest in order to get to Bartang; Parts of Andamans are reversed for the native Jarwa's who are one of the indigenous people of the Andaman Islands. They are the last few tribes on earth who have shunned interactions with outsiders and chosen to live within their designated forest as result many particulars of their society, culture and traditions are not know to us. The government allows cars & buses to travel through the forest only in convoys at specific time. Each convoy is escorted by a police car. Our convoy entered the the forest at about 2pm; half way through the forest we see a group of playful children, watching the cars in sort of fascinated manner, but still pointing their bamboo sticks at them. Just round the next corner we see a young man with deep yellow-ish eyes and dark complexion holding a wooden bow aimed slightly above our car. Our guide informs us, the Jarwa people are very skill full archers; but will not attack the convoy unless provoked.

The charming island of  Bartang is sustained on fishing, farming and now little bits of tourism. Bartang also houses India's only Mud volcano; which looks like a large over-baked mudpie. Bartang has a dense mangrove cover around it; which houses the famous "Parrot island" home to thousands of parrots which fly in at dusk almost in unison.

From Bartang we traveled to Havelock via Portblair by ship. Havelock is a diver's pradasie ! The corals reefs surrounding Havelock are absolutely mind-bogglingly. We spotted some amazing clown fish, a lion fish ready to attach, a shoal of parrot fish and a friendly octopus.

Havelock has several PADI certified agencies which help you organize snorkeling and diving trips along with courses and certifications. Havelock's Radhanagr Beach (Beach Number 7) is considered one of the best beaches in Asia ... The sea is crystal clear, the waves are huge and if your lucky , you can spot dolphins jumping far off :-) . Also this is  the beach where the famous swimming elephants of Andaman come for a dip in the ocean !

Food options:

• Nirvana seeking foreigner run cafes which offer fancy world cuisines
• Bengali aunties who will grumble if you don't finish your desert, but do provide yummy meals.
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Note of caution:

• Andamans is a slightly rustic location, there are not many fancy hotels/services even though they maybe rated 3/4 star..
• Sea crocodiles and sea snakes consider most of these islands their home...

Escape Route: You can flee to Burma in six hours by a boat.

When you want to splurge:

• Sea planes and helicopters are available to charter between islands.
• Rent a yacht

Desh ka Mel, Baratiya Rail

As I result of my long distance relationship, I have been travelling between Ahmedabad and Mumbai more than once a month for whole of 2010. Last night, after numerous journeys I finally managed to sleep even on the chinese sized side-upper berth of the super fast Ahmedabad-Mumbai Duranto Ex.  That's when I realized how grateful I am to the Indian Railways for helping me bridge a chasm of 491 KM comfortably when I sleep. If I had to do this in America, I would have to spend my day light hours to drive the distance, which would have made my precious weekend trips not-so -feasible. I have made close to 25 journeys this year and my average delay has not been over 10 mins as opposed to over 40 minutes when I have flown down.

Salute the Indian railways:

A Train ride I recommend for the fun of it, Mumbai -Ahmedabad Shatabdi AC chair car: 

Leave Mumbai at 6: 25: The scenery when the train goes through Vasai Creek early in the morning is photo worthy and the rest of the journey is equally interesting!

All Inclusive ticket includes all the following meals: 

7:30: Coffee and breakfast is served 

10:00 Fruti/coffee is served again

11:00 Soup with bread

12: Full fleged meal with icecream served again

I almost feel treated like out on a picnic ride, when I take this journey :-) 

Pictures taken from Mumbai- Ahmedabad Shatabdi :

Coorg: Hills of bliss

As we approached Coorg from Mysore a mystic fog began to appear as we climbed down the Kodava valley..... which brought a surreal feeling to the forest, but the most mesmerizing was the rain, which splattered on leaves of the diverse rain forest to create a music of its own. Coorg has something to offer everyone.....the hungry traveler, the adventurer, to soul seeker, the birdwatcher, everyone.

Coorg has many verdant trekking routes in the midst of forests and hills, and it's best to go in the months from October to February. Some of the known trails are in the hills of Brahmagiri, where you could trek your way to the Irrupa Falls. You could also consider trekking to Pushpagiri, the second higest peak of Kodagu and Tadiandamol (the highest peak).
The Vancahal range has multiple trekking routes which land up at a breathtaking ridge. It's a windswept place and the ridge area gets very breezy, naturally the  route starts from Galibeedu (Village of Wind).
Club Mahindra has a good trekking center, but you can also contact Cats Adventure(+919900777377) for trekking guides. It is considerably dangerous to trek without a local guide as routes are not marked, jungles are leech filled and the tribal people are very wary of outsiders.

There also a other activities such white water rafting and fishing available within a fifty km radius, but the trekking routes are a must do!

Like many regions, the Kodava valley has its share of local festivals, when we we around there was a day when all the women of the house hold shot a boar and celebrated the feast, however to be privy to such an event one needs to be invited to a local's house, If you lodge at a homestay, your chances are better.


Typical festivals:

• The 'Festival of Arms - Keilpoldu' is held in the months of June to September. During this festival the weapons are polished and worshipped before resuse. 
• Cauvery Shankaramana is based around the river Cauver is held in October. 
• The harvest festival 'Puthar' is celebrated in November or December. The festival is accompanied by folks songs and dances, performed by the different villagers at their temples. 

Grub & Grog..
Traditionally Coorg has had a drinking culture, even for women. As a outcome there is a host of wines as well as grogs (cocktails) locally produced. Different fruit wines such such as apple, gauva, cashew, banana are found in the local market. Not all are palatable to traditional tastes but worth a try (Apple was quite good!).
Grogs are essentially a blend a local spices such as honey, pepper, clove etc. and some alcohol content. My favorite ones where Admiral Grog (Brandy, honey; Pepper and cardamom), Arbica Grog ( Local coffee with Brandy and cinnamon) and a Mint - Rum based cocktail. (Also available in non-alcoholic versions). A good barman will grind the ingredients fresh before concocting your drink (Planter's Bar at Club Mahindra recommended). 




The reputation of kodhava valley cuisine has already spread way beyond ....The Pandi (Pork) curry and chops are truly delicious! The best version I tasted was from a road side tea stall, which incidental had a make shift kitchen for the plantation owner...who made pork curry everyday. 
Other interesting options include Kodambittu (Rice balls), Palak dal, bembla curry and some pachadi.

Of course one has to absolutely have the filter coffee in Coorg, grown in neighboring plantations, it has the power to create a brand new coffee lover :-)


Other places of interest:

• Tibetan Monastry near KushalNagar (The largest one in south India), 
• Abbey Falls with a lovely suspension bridge.
• Talcauvey Basin
• Drive through known elephant routes 

 Must buy: Spices & Coffee beans

Where to stay: Club Mahindra, Orange County & Local Homestays

Reason to return: Pandi curry, Vanachal hills & Goorg

Social etiquette of the virtual world....

This train of  thought generates from one simple action...  A long lost school friend of mine, who recently found me on Facebook,  and then immediately asked for my blackberry pin ! I am almost angered ... how dare he? doesn't  he know.. blackberry messenger is only for co-workers and close friends and then.. ...it struck me this classification is my head, it may or may not be a norm its written out  mentioned anywhere? but by and large everyone get this ... you add every single person you have interacted with as Facebook friend, you share your email with most people you know, phone number with one rung closer group, instant messengers like gtalk, msn, is nearly on the same level as phone and more instant methods such office email and bbm... which connect instantly are an exclusive group. 


Is this classification deliberately crafted by the technologist ? Our we are just naturals at creating rules and social etiquettes? In theory, everything can be treated as a all -important medium, depending the number of them you use.... but i guess we just love to create rules....

Symbol of dreams..

It is matter a great pride for all Indians, to have such a well though out symbol for the Indian rupee....  


It is a perfect blend of Indian and Roman letters: a capital ‘R’, and Devnagari ‘Ra’, which represent rupiya... and the two lines are taken from the Tricolour flag (two lines and white space in between)

Kudos to Udaya Kumar!  Hope this new symbol add more value to our currency :-) 

Happy Feet :-)

My pair of highly personalized canvas shoes....

Harihareshwar

Reason to visit again: The cove formation coupled with a moon rise view is too romantic to resist.

Distance from Mumbai: 231 Kms, google says you can make it 3hrs 42 minutes but realistically takes close to 5.5 -6 hrs.

Road conditions: Not too good once off the mumbai- goa highway, avoid journey after dark.

Local fare:

• Fish & Fish. Some households offer home made delicious meals, ask for local "Khanavals"
• Mangos when season
• Try the karvanda (Local Berry) syrup/soda

Place to stay: MTDC- best location as always, but leave behind your luxury yearning....

Things to do:

• Visit the "Kalbhairav" temple make a big "Pradrashana" around it, beautiful views from the hillock behind.
• Drive from Harihareshwar to Dive Agar is very beautiful and of course you can view the "Suvarna Ganesh"(Golden Temple) in Dive Agar
• Visit the Bagmandala killa (Tiny fort). The fort is quite hard to access but the sunset view from the fort is quite worth it :-) Cross the creek at Bankot to reach the fort, If have the inclination trekking-up will be easier as the car road is very narrow and steep.

3 Views

On an engineer's drawing board, all objects are represented in three views, to bring out different details. 'Third Angle' is one of the simplistic ways representing an 3d object on a 2D landscape... The purpose is dual, either to reverse engineer something already in existence or to define a new object.

As an after effect of engineering and design education, I tend to redistribute everything I perceive into analytical grid. The outcome is more often than not an amusing but perfectly useless insight.

This blog is about the little and not-so-little things that get dissected on my mental drawing board.