Aye Captain! WOW! What a fantastic weekend it was or was I only dreaming?
We were walking in the places where heavens met the earth with kiss of the clouds.
Chickmagalur being only 250 kms away, we chose to leave late from Bangalore. Everyone dropped into our house, parked their car, and loaded into a common vehicle. Reshmi, down with a severe cold and depressed about dropping out the last minute, wished us a teary farewell & a happy journey!
To wile away more time we took a long break at a Coffee day near Hassan! Yet we reached Chickmagalur in the wee hours. We freshened up at a lodge and had idly with many servings of piping hot yummy sambar!
We started the trek by 7:30. Perfect weather helped the pace. Furious winds were blowing our way almost pushing us off the pathways. Looking down was as exciting as it was dangerous. Rain Gods ensured our safety by not pouring. The National Geographic 1 & 2 went clicking their cameras and capturing the divine beauty in their lens.
The rocks in this terrain were totally different from anywhere else. They were naturally sculpted; multitude of colors & patterns shone from within the rocks. Further, up the hillock, we came to a huge crevice, almost forming a small cave. Here was our first big break. The sunny weather changed its mood. Strong winds brought clouds our way. We found ourselves cutting through the mist. The visibility dropped to 10 ft. Afraid it would rain, we quickened our pace. The weather changed its mind again, the sun shone bright, and we took an apple break. The self designated Captain, Yogi, marched orders to his soldiers. The weather was playing a game with us. Heavy fog enveloped us and visibility dropped to 3 ft. It was very exciting. We were almost close to the peak, when we heard a rumble. A land slide was happening. Thankfully, we were not in the way and were amazed spectators. The winds had picked up speed. We saw birds flying, the winds were so strong that, the birds were pushed back and dropped their feed. WOW! What a sight!
We managed to reach the peak without much difficulty. It was very relaxing. The temple of Mullaina Swamy or Shiva, was being renovated. There were many workers involved in the construction. The priest agreed to feed us. While our lunch was being prepared, we went to explore the caves.
Giri, Anand & Mahesh, first timers to Mullainagiri, went into the smaller cave. Their excitement knew no bounds when they were shown the deeper cave. The beautiful natural patterns on the rocks inside held us enthralled. The torchlights lit up the pitch-dark caves and opened a new world of wonder to us. The cave was clean and the bats flying past us had us ducking our head more than once. Karuna, Mahesh, Anand, Giri & I went at least 50 ft deep. Yogi refused to be tempted to try this adventure and relaxed at the cave entrance.
We then had simple, hot lunch at the priest’s place. Rice & potato sambar with buttermilk satiated all of us. Thanking the priest and getting more directions, we started our descent. Fog engulfed us again. We thought we were lost. Taking left & right direction in wilderness was confusing. After losing the path once, we were back on the correct trail. The scenery changed before our eyes. Every minute, the cloud magic waved by the winds changed the color of the hills. We were all so taken with the ambience, it was difficult to go back to concrete jungle. Anand and Giri took many pictures of the landscape. We completed the trek by 1:30. Though, it felt like 5 in the evening. All of us were famished despite the lunch just a couple of hours before. We made some fabulous sandwiches with tomato, cucumber, onion, ketchup, lime & chips. Yummy!
Our drive was waiting for us at the designated spot. We decided to skip Bababudangiri & go to Kemmannugundi. The bumpy drive could not stop us from dozing off. Captian Yogi, was awake, watchful of the road and the driver. We lodged into our rooms at the Kemmanugundi horticulture Cottage and ordered food for the night. It was very cold; the temperature had affected my phone too.
Dinner was very satisfying. The long day ended with lots of activities. The next day, Anand, Mahesh & Karuna went to another trek to Z-Point. Giri, Yogi & I took our time, and followed them after a while. We visited the rock garden. Life was back to Kindergarten Park again ;) Seesaw, Swing, etc.
Rose garden at Raj Bhavan did not have any roses, but the view from the highest point at Kemmanugundi was spectacular. Bhadra Reservoir could be seen from here. School children on picnic were playing gaily.
Lunch was another satisfying affair. We decided to try another route to avoid bumpy roads and left soon after. On the way, a signboard displayed Kalhatthi falls. Kal is stone, hatthi is climb, and one has to literally climb the stone to get to this falls. Another horticulture guesthouse very close to the falls inspired us for the next event. Yogi also promised to find information about kayaking in Chickmagalur. Next time!
Karuna, Giri & I went to see the temple. We had to wade through calf length water from the falls to reach the temple inside the stone caves. There were a lot of stone carved idols here, the water from the fall was flowing in a very different way from behind the idols.
We saw a strange event here. A young boy of 14 years of age was carrying a very heavy looking huge plate with an idol, flowers and things of worship on his head. A couple was pestering him to answer their questions and resolve their problems. Many people were dancing around the boy with more idols. The Goddess was supposed to descend into the boy’s body and speak. We did not stop to see the consequences and were back on our way.
I bought some very sweet local citrus fruits, the orange variety. Only Giri braved to try one, the rest declined and stuck to mineral water. We had avoided all bumpy roads and were fast approaching the city. The conversation in the cab moved from diverse topics, a debate about internet as a medium to arrange marriages; how Giri, Mahesh, Anand, Karuna & I decided upon our life partners; Nuclear Reactors and Nuclear Plant; Hasiru Usiru; etc. Very Interesting! Avoiding all crammed roads of the city, we reached home well ahead of scheduled time. The icing on cake was the Rainbow we saw at Tiptur. Our pot of gold on the other side of this rainbow was Mullainagiri!
TAG India, based in Bangalore is a community for adventure enthusiasts. The experienced team of TAG India's Bangalore Chapter organizes outdoor events including trekking, Camping, Jungle safari, White Water Rafting, Rock climbing, Skiing, Para sailing, Para gliding, Scuba Diving etc.
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Monday, November 24, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Scuba Diving in India
We were to start at 8 sharp as advised by Lost & Acknowledged Rahul. As only destiny could dictate, we could leave the city limits only by 11. Some roads seem to be cursed and will never get repaired. Tarikere stretch towards Shimoga is one such road. That one and the Shiradi Ghat Road towards Kumara Parvata give me nightmares. We somehow sailed by and reached Murudeshwara by 11 am. Road Builders in Karnataka should take a leaf out of the books of Road Builders in Ladakh!
We did not lose any time changing into swimming gear and getting to the pool. Ajey was already waiting for us. An introduction and a brief theory session, we found ourselves in the pool. Ajey trained us thoroughly batch by batch on using equipment , being comfortable inside the pool for a long time, disaster & risk management till we were all super confident of the dives next day.
Pool was also the place to relax and play a pool volleyball, throw & dunk!
By 5:30 pm all of us were done with the training. Getting food at Murudeshwara was really a big deal. With lacks of visitors thronging the place every day of the year and with limited number of hotels and restaurants catering this small town, getting food/room was the biggest problem of a visitor.
The ancient cave temple of Shiva, with legend of Ravana depicted inside the temple in murals was beautiful. The tiring day ended with a long dreamless sleep.
Sunrise on sea shore was one of the most beautiful sights of the journey. While photographers of the event went click click click, non camera people captured the fantastic view with mind & memory! I close my eyes now & think and am transported to the beaches of Murudeshwara
We all took a Domistal tablet to keep seasickness at bay. We were to embark on 19 km journey on sea to reach the beautiful Netrani Islands. After breakfast, we awaited a motor boat at the shore to pick us up. Transferring equipment & people took minimum time and we were off cutting through the waves and racing past other fishing boats on the sea.
The bonus was seeing Dolphins frolic on the waves! It was an unexpected sight
We took nearly an hour and a half to reach Netrani. We gained a lot of knowledge about buoyancy devices and life jackets and art of snorkeling on the journey. The view and the weather were fantastic. We seem to enjoy the best weather on all TAG Trips!
Reminded me of Mauritius; we had snorkeled in the sea around the dolphins. Amazing view inside the sea of corals and dolphins. We couldn't do if here though.
Crystal clear aqua green waters with hundreds of fish dancing at the surface greeted us. We could peer and see the sand, fish and stones bottom of the sea. WOW!
The group was divided! Excited & tensed first time divers on one side, obviously they were entering unknown territory; relaxed snorkels in the comforts of their buoyancy jacket on the other side. Giri, Naveen & Praveen the swimmer went down first. Each dive lasted for nearly 40 minutes. These guys emerged with AWE and enthusiasm that made me envy and want to dive in immediately to see what they saw that had them dancing with pleasure. Sameena, Anindya, unmarried Praveen ;), Brave Vidya, Rohit, Chethan launched themselves to form a group of happy snorkelers. Prithvi who was seasick rested in the boat, promising to dive successfully in the next event.
Anand, Praveen, Roopesh followed by Girish, DP (DURGA PRASAD) completed their dives successfully. The divers after each dive joined the snorkelers. No one wanted to get out of the water.
Netrani Islands stood majestically in the beautiful waters. I was tempted to trek up the island. But we had taken a large boat and anchoring it was an issue. We could trek up, camp on the island and come back the next day Neat!
Bananas, cookies, biscuits and loads of water kept us away from hunger and dehydration. Glucose & electrol gave extra energy.
We packed up at almost 3:00 PM; almost everyone was dozing on the journey back to the mainland. No dolphins on the way back.
Done with shower & lunch, by 5:30 everyone was ready & packed to come back home. We bid adieu to Rohit, who went to his native and were on our way to Bangalore.
Antakshari was ON with the databases Anindya & Praveen Nampoorthri digging into 18th century collection. Old is Gold indeed! DP won a 5 rupee bet with me over the song ‘Is mod se jaate hain’. I also owed everyone a coffee at a coffee day for the delay. Tarikere stretch kept me awake again. Giri & Prithvi kept four eyes on the eyes of the driver.
We stopped for dinner at Shimoga. By 6 we had hit the morning traffic at Nelmangala Peenya city limits. We took the Nice Road again to avoid entering the city.
Monday Morning! Life was back in chaos, traffic signals, horns, office doors chattering, files, laptops, colleagues, con-calls, STRESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS …….
The aftereffect of the trip – I can feel the gentle waves rocking my boat
POST NETRANI
On Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 9:41 PM, Naveen Belkale wrote:
Yep. Had a great time. Thanks to Giri and Roopa. Hope to see you all ppl in another trip :-)
-Naveen
From: Anindya Shankar [mailto:anindyashankar@gmail.com]
Sent: 04 November 2008 10:33
yup.. excellent trip..!!
re-lived my Thailand moments ;)
moments with nice new friends... were exciting & refreshing... keep replying and be in touch..
Thanks..!!
anindya shankar
Praveen Sebastian wrote:
Thank you very much Giri and Roopa for arranging such a wonderful trip...
Cheers
Praveen.
Gisish wrote:
Looking forward for more trips like this,
cheers,
Girish
On Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 1:41 PM, Roopesh Nambyatil > wrote:
Thanks a Million Roopa and Giri ...it was great...something we
will cherish for life time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice meeting you all..look forward to more meetings..:)
Cheers
Roopesh N
We met up for a Coffee at forum, Scuba Diving Cards with TAG Signature were distributed to successful Divers. The divers were also entitled to Rs 500 Discount on their next open water dive with us. Thus began a spate of new friendships
Photo Album
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/tagindiateam/ScubaDivingSnorkelingNov08
Best Regards,
Roopa Sreedhar
We did not lose any time changing into swimming gear and getting to the pool. Ajey was already waiting for us. An introduction and a brief theory session, we found ourselves in the pool. Ajey trained us thoroughly batch by batch on using equipment , being comfortable inside the pool for a long time, disaster & risk management till we were all super confident of the dives next day.
Pool was also the place to relax and play a pool volleyball, throw & dunk!
By 5:30 pm all of us were done with the training. Getting food at Murudeshwara was really a big deal. With lacks of visitors thronging the place every day of the year and with limited number of hotels and restaurants catering this small town, getting food/room was the biggest problem of a visitor.
The ancient cave temple of Shiva, with legend of Ravana depicted inside the temple in murals was beautiful. The tiring day ended with a long dreamless sleep.
Sunrise on sea shore was one of the most beautiful sights of the journey. While photographers of the event went click click click, non camera people captured the fantastic view with mind & memory! I close my eyes now & think and am transported to the beaches of Murudeshwara
We all took a Domistal tablet to keep seasickness at bay. We were to embark on 19 km journey on sea to reach the beautiful Netrani Islands. After breakfast, we awaited a motor boat at the shore to pick us up. Transferring equipment & people took minimum time and we were off cutting through the waves and racing past other fishing boats on the sea.
The bonus was seeing Dolphins frolic on the waves! It was an unexpected sight
We took nearly an hour and a half to reach Netrani. We gained a lot of knowledge about buoyancy devices and life jackets and art of snorkeling on the journey. The view and the weather were fantastic. We seem to enjoy the best weather on all TAG Trips!
Reminded me of Mauritius; we had snorkeled in the sea around the dolphins. Amazing view inside the sea of corals and dolphins. We couldn't do if here though.
Crystal clear aqua green waters with hundreds of fish dancing at the surface greeted us. We could peer and see the sand, fish and stones bottom of the sea. WOW!
The group was divided! Excited & tensed first time divers on one side, obviously they were entering unknown territory; relaxed snorkels in the comforts of their buoyancy jacket on the other side. Giri, Naveen & Praveen the swimmer went down first. Each dive lasted for nearly 40 minutes. These guys emerged with AWE and enthusiasm that made me envy and want to dive in immediately to see what they saw that had them dancing with pleasure. Sameena, Anindya, unmarried Praveen ;), Brave Vidya, Rohit, Chethan launched themselves to form a group of happy snorkelers. Prithvi who was seasick rested in the boat, promising to dive successfully in the next event.
Anand, Praveen, Roopesh followed by Girish, DP (DURGA PRASAD) completed their dives successfully. The divers after each dive joined the snorkelers. No one wanted to get out of the water.
Netrani Islands stood majestically in the beautiful waters. I was tempted to trek up the island. But we had taken a large boat and anchoring it was an issue. We could trek up, camp on the island and come back the next day Neat!
Bananas, cookies, biscuits and loads of water kept us away from hunger and dehydration. Glucose & electrol gave extra energy.
We packed up at almost 3:00 PM; almost everyone was dozing on the journey back to the mainland. No dolphins on the way back.
Done with shower & lunch, by 5:30 everyone was ready & packed to come back home. We bid adieu to Rohit, who went to his native and were on our way to Bangalore.
Antakshari was ON with the databases Anindya & Praveen Nampoorthri digging into 18th century collection. Old is Gold indeed! DP won a 5 rupee bet with me over the song ‘Is mod se jaate hain’. I also owed everyone a coffee at a coffee day for the delay. Tarikere stretch kept me awake again. Giri & Prithvi kept four eyes on the eyes of the driver.
We stopped for dinner at Shimoga. By 6 we had hit the morning traffic at Nelmangala Peenya city limits. We took the Nice Road again to avoid entering the city.
Monday Morning! Life was back in chaos, traffic signals, horns, office doors chattering, files, laptops, colleagues, con-calls, STRESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS …….
The aftereffect of the trip – I can feel the gentle waves rocking my boat
POST NETRANI
On Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 9:41 PM, Naveen Belkale
Yep. Had a great time. Thanks to Giri and Roopa. Hope to see you all ppl in another trip :-)
-Naveen
From: Anindya Shankar [mailto:anindyashankar@gmail.com]
Sent: 04 November 2008 10:33
yup.. excellent trip..!!
re-lived my Thailand moments ;)
moments with nice new friends... were exciting & refreshing... keep replying and be in touch..
Thanks..!!
anindya shankar
Praveen Sebastian wrote:
Thank you very much Giri and Roopa for arranging such a wonderful trip...
Cheers
Praveen.
Gisish wrote:
Looking forward for more trips like this,
cheers,
Girish
On Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 1:41 PM, Roopesh Nambyatil
Thanks a Million Roopa and Giri ...it was great...something we
will cherish for life time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice meeting you all..look forward to more meetings..:)
Cheers
Roopesh N
We met up for a Coffee at forum, Scuba Diving Cards with TAG Signature were distributed to successful Divers. The divers were also entitled to Rs 500 Discount on their next open water dive with us. Thus began a spate of new friendships
Photo Album
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/tagindiateam/ScubaDivingSnorkelingNov08
Best Regards,
Roopa Sreedhar
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