Yipee!!! Made it to TOP 100!!!

The Credit for placing us on the TOP 100 list goes to our Parents and Friends. Our boat has crossed the first level and sailing towards TOP 9 list. Keeping Fingers Crossed.....

Cheers!!! to GDC for providing such a lovely Podium.

A much deserved break – Coonur

Coonur has been on my to-do list for 16 years now. My Uncle and Aunt stay there and the last time I visited them was 16 years back. Ever since they have been inviting me over and some how the trip never happened till 19th Jul 2009.

It was an impromptu trip. Decided last minute, called and confirmed with my aunt, booked tickets and I was off. My sisters were coming with me so I expected to have a good time. While Ashraya was travelling with me, Akshaya would join us in Ooty a little later.

Though we had heard about roads being blocked due to heavy rains, our journey was uneventful till Ooty. About 8 kms from Coonur a fallen tree lead to the road being blocked for an hour. Eventually we reached Coonur by 8:30 am.

We were greeted with sumptuous breakfast of Appam, Stew, Egg Bhurji and Toast. We quickly polished off most things on the table. We then decided to rest for a while. Restless souls that we are, within 30 mins the urge to do something started to nag us.

We decided to explore Sims Park. This turned out to be a wise decision. The park has some exotic trees, botanical names of which I can’t pronounce. We also spotted lots of birds that I had not seen before. The main attraction for us was the Rudraksh Tree; we searched the whole park for it and but couldn't find it. Finally by lunch time we gave up and headed back.
Lunch again was delicious spread. Must say my aunt is a terrific cook. The plan after that was to drive to Ooty to pick Akshaya up. Since we arrived early we decided to explore the Wax Museum that a friend of mine Akshata had mentioned. All I can say is that it’s a good attempt. Next stop was the Thread Garden opposite the Ooty Lake. I was amazed how they could make it look so real and that too by just using thread, very impressive.Once we picked Akshaya up we shopped for some Ooty chocolates at King Star (Oldies in the business) and headed back.
The dinner was another memorable experience. We went to a place called Blue Hills, the signature dish here is Wellington Parota (a must try). Having stuffed our selves here decided we had done enough for the day so headed home for some good night’s sleep.

Day 2 – to be continued…

Plea for votes….Heave friends under one shelter.

Sending mails, Hours on conference call with friends, knocking each desk at office and our close friends running around there friends circle and at office for votes. What all we didn’t do to get Votes!!!!
Thanks to all my Friends, Relatives and to all who supported us. It Feels great crossing 1000 mark :)

The Plea for votes brought group of friends under one shelter celebrating and partying. One of my closest friends KV campaigned for us at his office and friends circle. Mail chain used for getting votes…was also used as a plinth for party. After ages all those friends on the mail chain planned to meet up. They even invited me….despite the fact that they don’t know me : ) they say the credit goes to us for getting them together. It was immense pleasure to see these people Greeting, Sharing and enjoying every moment on the party day.

But all I say is “The Credit goes to GDC for making it happen”.

Our Travel Plan - GDC

We had a tough time sketching our circuit on Google map. Finally after lots of break ups on the Net, combating challenges on Google map and grinding our brains…We Got the right circuit and right places on the screen… : ) Ultimately feels Great: )

We Googled and researched so much on the travel, stay and the exact distance, that My friend after seeing this plan commented
“Mate; If you had spent so much time on your project works…believe me you would have been my manager” Quiet a compliment and felt weird as well.
Never mind, I have always been utilizing my time. Its just I go deep into subject of my interests…obviously its Travel, Music, Dance and Adventure.

Here comes our Travel plan and circuit detail.

Travelites: Deepak and Aishwarya
Travel Circuit: Mumbai – Goa – Mangalore – Pune - Mumbai
Total Number of Kms to travel: 3000 kms
Planned Circuit Kms: 2700 Kms…Will explain on this bit: )
Number of kms per day: not more than 350 Kms
Stay: Mentioned at end of each day
Google Travel Map:

http://maps.google.co.in/maps/ms?source=s_d&saddr=Mumbai&daddr=Guhagar,+Ratnagiri,+Maharashtra+to:Goa+to:Om+Beach,+Uttara+Kannada,+Karnataka+to:Kundapura,+Udupi,+Karnataka+to:Mangalore+to:tirthahalli+to:chitradurga+to:Ranibennur+to:Kolhapur,+Kolhapur,+Maharashtra+to:pune+to:mumbai&geocode=%3BFYfECgEdJtRcBA%3B%3BFXuK3QAdTBBuBA%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B&hl=en&mra=ls&num=10&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=109967319542418289792.00046ebe5a42ec4a0f545&z=6

Note: Explanation on the Planned Circuit Kms
We have kept a reserve of few Kilometres…which would include travel with in the destinations mentioned in the plan and for local sight seeing. On Day 8 and 9 we plan to explore the culture of hidden villages (distance for which we are not aware of).
But again as said “Promise to complete 3000 Kms at the end of the journey and bring you some unseen photography and videos” Watch out.

Travel Details:

Our Cedia sports will tap on our Music at these places along our travel.

Mumbai -Alibag - Murud - Guhagar- Ganpatipule -Ratnagiri- Bhatye -Malvan -Tarkali -
Panjim -Karwar - Om beach - Honavar - Murudeshwar- Bhatkal - Udupi -Mangalore -Thirthahalli - Chitadurga - Hubli -Kittur -Pune -Back to mumbai

The Journey Begins….Vroom Vroom Vroooom!!!

Day 1
Head out from Mumbai to Alibag which is about 96 kms. Alibag is popular for beaches around it and the Kolaba fort. While we are there we will also visit Nagaon Beach, Akshi Beach and the 150 years old Magnetic Observatory which is also supposed to be worth a visit.

Next comes Murud which is 51 Kms from Alibhag, while we are here we intend to visit Janjira

The next destination would be Guhagar 216 Km from Murud. This will be our first pit stop for the day
http://www.modyvilla.com/

Day 2
After exploring Guhagar we will head out to Ganpatipule. This is about 146Kms from Guhagar. This place is also famous for a 400 Year Ganapathi Temple. For here we head to Ratnagiri and hope to stop at beaches like Bhatye, Malvan, Tarkali and Calangute. On Day 2 we intend to stop over at Goa and enjoy the Goan food and lifestyle
http://www.cidadedegoa.com/

Day 3
Explore beaches of Goa and its history. From here we will head to the next set of destination Karwar and then Gokarna. This would be around 350 Kms. The places likely to be covered are Rabindranath Tagore Beach and Warship Museum at Karwar, Mahabaleshvara Temple and Om Beach at Gokarna.
The break in the journey that day will be at Gokarana
http://www.ombeachresort.com/

Day 4

We plan to leave early and reach Kumta which is 32 kms from Gokarna. Kumta houses one of the longest beaches in India. And then see the sights around Honavar and Murudeshwara temple a famous Shiva temple a scenic mountain that has breathtaking view of Arabian Sea.
The break in the journey that day would be either at http://www.nivalink.com/turtlebay/ or at Kundapur.

Day 5

Today we will explore places around kundapur like Kollur, Agumbe. And if possible Varaha electrical plant. Many more places around kundapur.

The break in the journey that day would be either at http://www.nivalink.com/turtlebay/ or at Kundapur

Day 6
Again, We start this day early to reach Udupi 32 Kms for breakfast and to stop by at the Krishna Temple. On the way stop by at Saligrame and visit another ancient temple. Our next destination would be Bekal-Fort which in 130 Kms from Udupi. From here we head to Mangalore and then to our next pitstop Tirthahalli.
We would want to stop here and stretch our legs at Kavishila home of the Legendary poet Kuvempu

Day 7
After finishing local sight seeing at Tirthahalli we head out to Shimoga which is about 62 Kms. The plan also includes stop at by at Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. We will stop over at Chitradurga (about 175 kms) and drive another 102 kms and we stop at Ranibennur for the day.

We would stay at forest guesthouse situated in the buffer zone of the sanctuary called Gnagajala Read more: http://www.itslife.in/2008/12/ranebennur-blackbuck-sanctuary#ixzz0LKiuWK2q&C


Day 8
We start our Micedz and head towards Hubli which is about 105 Km. We stop at Kittur to walk through the fort there. Explore few of the village life around Kittur and Hubli.

Then head towards Kolhapur explore the food and culture of this part of Maharashtra.
Our day would end at Kolhapur and we would stay in Hotel Shalini Palace, Kolhapur.

Day 9
Heading towards Pune, Today we like to build some awareness about HIV and Pollution. We would like to visit rural areas and explore the food, culture of villages along with the awareness programme.

Our day will end at Pune and would stay at any good hotel provided by GDC.

Day 10
On Final day , We would like to explore parts of Pune, lonavala, kandala and head towards Mumbai (155 Kms) and if time permits and we are left out with few more Kms...We would like to explore Mumbai as well.

The Time, Our Hearts, Our Brains and Our Souls are ticking and getting excited every moment. The Big Day is nearing!!!!!

Note: We haven’t incorporated much information on the places we visit. Watch out for our blogs about this places during our travel. : )

Shinning Red Hot Micedzzzz

Taking you for a ride AROUND Cedia Sports. Still waiting to go on ride IN Cedia Sports:(

Here Comes the first look of Micedzz ( Mitsubishi Cedia sports ) at southern motors - Bangalore. After long waiting week to get a look of Micedz we finally got to see it. However still waiting for the test drive... :( the showroom test car has met with an accident and they are still in process of replacing it.

I did not find any car at southern motors except pagero. Agent took us to the garage behind the showroom to show us Cedia sports. The reason : waiting for the latest Sporty version of Cedia sports..sounds weird ain't it.."Sporty Version of Cedia Sports" Actually he meant..newer version of Cedia sports has few stickering on the body and few more added features to it to make it look more sporty. So he will place the King car ( Cedia sports ) inside the showroom , after this features are added to the car.

King Cedia sports Car was hidden under a sheet, he opened the car cover... and my eye balls poped out seeing the gorgeous Car..its here "Mistubishi Cedia Sports"

"Love at First sight" is what i felt after seeing this red hottie.

Each feature reflects the passion of Mitsubishi Cedia Sports. Lets take a closer look at mitsubishi Cedia Sports.

Sporty look

Amazing Sporty Styling combined with luxurious comfort inside...Wow feels like my bedroom;)

LCD screen & Navigation system

Built in GPS and LCD screen adds delight. Now we wont wander around searching for right path ...GPS helps us :)

Sporty Steering wheel

The Moment i put my hands on this sporty steering wheel, i felt kingsize and marvelous.

Lustrous Front Grill

Alloy Wheels and Fish Eye headlamps.

Few things to know about this powerhouse Cedia sports.

Great Performance
Red Hot's Engine is powered by 2 L petrol with advanced ECI Multi ( Electronically Controlled Multi-point fuel Injection).
5 Speed Manual Gear box----> Smooth, Controlled and Superior feel.
Higher Ground Clearance-----> Ideal for Indian roads.
Rally Proven suspension system.
Minimum Turning Radius----> 4.9m

Safety
Reinforced Impact safety Evolution provides car occupants in-built safety.
Dual Airbags and 3-Point Emergency Locking Retractor seat throws of fear from the passengers about safety.
ABS and EBD System make sure a smooth halt and safety too.

Cedia Sports Shades
White Speed
Black Flash
Rally red
Cyclone Yellow
Blue Streak

Lovely Color combination by HML, the cars used for Great Driving Challenge comes with 3 colors - Black,White, and Red. I would have suggested Cyclone Yellow instead white...it gives rally look...:) However still love Cedia..what ever color it is.

Got to know all the information about cedia sports, felt the lovely car and decided to drive back home.

But was reluctant to come out of the car... :( untill the showroom guy dragged me out of it.Everytime i hold the steering wheel..i try to ignite the engine and feels like running away with the car. I JUST LOVE Micedz...

Here's my Gloomy look...while the showroom guy dragged me out of the car....

All the way along...thinking of my love Cedia sports.. Cant wait to drive this Cedia sports, i could buy one but dont have enough money (11 lakhs). If i win GDC, i would buy..but again..committed to Charity, parents and friends. But one fine day will definetely own Cedia Sports.

However,GDC is offering a golden oppurtunity to spend time with my love...;) Cedia.. Hoping and praying to be 1 of 3 finalists....

Wait for Us...We are coming....

Winning Combo For Great Driving Challenge

We will make a Difference!!!!!

It has to be the Right Time and Right Place for Things to Happen....
We believe The Time is Now The Place is TGDC...
Presenting "The Winning Combo"

Our Route + MiCedz + Us = "The Winning Combo"

Struggle for Votes to qualify for Great Driving Challenge

The day we decided to register for Great Driving Challenge, Deepak was all excited and I was being pessimistic. The rules said the first round would be based on number of votes received, how would be do that was the question.

We sat together over a cup of coffee and decided on the action plan. The first targets were friends. We made a list of people we were in touch with, whom we could just drop a note and they would visit our profile and vote. That was the easy bit.

Then came people whom we had to get back in touch with, we spent hours on the phone as it felt weird to just call them and ask for votes. We also decided to post updates on Orkut and Facebook. Conferenced among friends and had long calls and thanks to our friends. Check out the Votes ticking high on the right hand pane.( If u havn't voted..Plz Vote!!!)

Some friends called us some messaged but votes started to pour in. Some friends went one step ahead, comments on their profile carried appeal for votes.

Soon realised that was not enough, our next step was to ask our colleagues. This was the weird and fun bit. We personally walked up to people at their desk and requested for votes. Some were people we had seen on the floor but never talked to. Some who occasionally acknowledge our presence. Our managers very good sports they campaigned for us. We soon had our number of votes moving on top gear.

And now that we are out of all strategies we are at our wits end thinking what else we can do… Will an ad in the radio help? It would I guess but who has the money?

On the whole the experience has been a good one. If not anything we made new friends and got in touch with some who were just a memory from the past.

However, We are still in process of Collecting votes...Incase, if you have missed voting or faced any problem in voting..Plz take some time out and plz vote..:)

The Good Old Nandi Hills

It was very early in the morning that Sunday. I still hadn't slept as I was at my friends place partying. Just as everybody started find a place to sleep, someone suggested we drive upto Nandi Hills. It seemed like a good idea to me. Having been in Bangalore for 10 years I had not once visited this place.After quickly freshening up we got into our cars and headed to Nandi Hills. Just 2 people knew the way. So we decided to follow those cars. The tough part of our journey was not finding the way but keeping awake.

Since we started at 5.00 am we missed watching the sunrise from the hill. Stopped at the base to take some shots. It was a pretty sight, the vineyard and the golden sun.When we reached the top a group of monkeys greeted us. One could see monkeys every where and they were creating a havoc.

Just to stay awake and get some energy we decided to first get some coffee and then walk around. There are lot of vendor selling cappuccino there. After gulping some hot coffee each of us headed in different direction to explore the place. I went with some bird watcher friends of mine. We found lots of different birds and spent time chasing them.We then visited the old temple and walked over to Tippu’s drop.

The view from here is superb. The temple itself is a small one and doest have too many carvings on it.

Another thing that’s memorable about this place is the flowers ones finds all over. Some wild and some home-grown ones. They give a different charm to the whole place.

After spending some time here we decided to head back but not before eating some hot Maggie.

Remembering Forgotten Cultures and Traditions - Janapada Lok

Every time we stopped at Lok Rucchi for breakfast I have wanted to visit this place. If one travelled on the Mysore Bangalore Road he would notice sign boards saying Janapada Lok. I had seen it too and wondered what was special about the place.

So this time when we stopped at Lok Rucchi I decided to visit this place. After all it was literally next door.

After paying an entry fee of Rs. 10 at the entrance I walked towards the museum. I guess it was my lucky day; I was the first visitor for the day. As I walked in to the museum the care taker walked in and he was quite happy to give me a guided tour.

The first part of the museum stored items that are used in day to day life, the only difference was that these items were really old. The Founder of the place had collected it when he visited rural Karnataka. There was also written information about the all articles that were displayed.

The next building was filled with pictures of different tribes, their culture, festivals and ceremonies. Since we showed interest the caretaker took time to explain each one in detail.

The next building had musical instruments and things used in rural Karnataka for entertainment (leather puppets, life size dolls, games etc). The open space next to this place has sculptures recovered from some villages.

The last part that I visited was the livelihood section. Here one will find potter making pots, old jaggery moulds, equipments used by blacksmith, fisherman, farmer etc

The place is a good attempt to capture the fast fading charm of rural life and culture. It can take about 2 hours to really see the place and personally I think its time well spent.

Heart of India- Madhya Pradesh

My trip with Akshata and Sharan was for 11 days (24/Dec/08-3/Jan/09) covering a little bit of everything - heritage/history, geography, nature, wild-life, culture, religion as well as lots of food and fun! We travelled lots, interacted with people, listen to their story and ate lots of local delicacies. In truest of sense we felt the heart beat of "Incredible India". The trip was bifurcated into 4 phases:
Episode I - covered Western M.P Indore - places visited were in and around Indore
Episode II - covered Central M.P journey - places visited were in and around Bhopal
Episode III - covered part of Northern M.P - places visited were in and around Khajuraho Episode IV - covered another part in Northern M.P and small part in Maharashtra
Having seen some part of MP, visit to rest of this state is on my to do list....

Glorious Karnataka

When you have the passion to travel, you would normally start by exploring places closests to you. I guess that kind of explains why I travelled so much within Karnataka.

Having born and bought in Coorg I got to see the Scotland of India. I climbed hills, walked through coffee plantations, drove through dense forests and took dips in the rivers. And every time I went visiting one of my aunts I discovered another side of this beautiful place.

Mysore was the closest destination when we wanted to go on one day fun trips as kids. And even now when I visit Mysore I remember time when I was awed by 3-D paintings in the place, excited by the animals in the zoo and enjoyed the ride up Chamundi hill.

Dassera here is again something that I always remember.

Doing my graduation in Bangalore fuelled my passion for travel. It was here I made friends with people who shared the same interest. Whenever we got a chance we would go and explore places close by.

One of the first places we went as a group was Sravanabelagola, Belur and Halebid. The workmanship in the temples is unmatched.

The huge Mahaveer, the attention paid to details, effects achieved without any high tech gadgets, the perfect measurements, I continue to visit these places every now and then and they still mesmerize me.

Since it’s so close to Bangalore I normally advise people to take sometime and go here. And if I have the time I go along.

But this in not the only place where once gets to look at the past, Hampi is another destination that’s a must visit. Music from the pillars, the pinhole camera effect, and the amazing food one gets here just add to the feel. In one of my three day trip here I also stopped by at Badami, Patadkal and Aihole. Though they are all sculptures from the past each one is different from the other. I could spend days here going back in time.

Again the thing about Karnataka is that one is not limited to historical places. An overnight drive can take one to places waiting to be explored. I have been on many trips like this and seen the scenic side. Discovered hidden water falls, trekked up many a peaks, walked through dense forests and wildlife sanctuaries, sighted rare birds and camped at backwaters.


And that is not all, when I think I need a little more of sun and sand I head to costal Karnataka. I could eat seafood all day and lay in the beach, some well-known and some virgin ones. I also make these trips to costal Karnataka for religious reasons. Some of the oldest and well known temples are located here. My fun trips tend to be extension of the religious ones.Though I have travelled through Karnataka extensively I still feel there is lot more to see and I will continue making trips to explore the beautiful State.

Kanwa Reservoir

It had been a while since I had gone on a long drive. The travel itch had started again. I had to get out of the city and spend time away from the hustle and bustle.So I decided to drive to a destination called Kanwa Reservoir along with few of my friends.

I was told that it was a beautiful place about 70 Kms from Bangalore. The plan was to start at 6:30 am. We intended to reach there before it got too hot. But by the time the group got together it was almost 7:00. To save time we decided to take some short cuts only to find the roads blocked. Finally!! after navigating through barely existent roads we reached the Bangalore-Mysore Highway.
The journey from there was smooth; We drove along side children riding to school in cycles. We managed to reach our destination by 8:45 am. Beautiful sights greeted us as we drove towards Kanwa, lush green hills and tons of birds like bee-eaters, kingfishers, Indian roller, spotted dove to name a few.

As we stood watching the reservoir, an old villager offered us some tea made of jaggery. We decided to try it. It was very different from the normal tea one is used to. This had a strong flavour of jaggery and was very sweet. Given a choice I would not drink it again.

As it started getting hot we decided to leave but not before making plans to visit the place to watch the sunset. And when that happens I dont intend to forget my camera like I did this time.