Konark

Sep 27, 2009

Don't forget to see the pictures of this album; click Jp's Picasaweb.

Something has changed - I have become an impulsive traveler! This time it was green Orissa I had ignored in the past because it is just a bit too far from Hyderabad. Luckily, I had a long weekend to kill, my friend Smruti in Bhubaneshwar to arrange hotel and car, and a new 4GB SD card to click away. I took the sat evening flight instead of friday (to save to some $$$) :). 

Next morning I started my day in an old Indica at 5.30am! Another change in me - I am starting to dig the idea of going early to avoid the crowds (or even small numbers of people). First stop was at the Khandagiri and Udaigiri Jain caves 15 minutes away from the hotel. I did a leisurely walk around drawing little attention from the many "exercise/yoga" groups. Other than a little monkey, no one troubled me. I guess he was irked because I was climbing on rocks off-the-path (his domain) to check some angles for my shots.

Few minutes later, I arrived at the very old Lingaraj temple. In the able company of a Pundit, I checked the wood-burning kitchen (where they make free food for all 8 times everyday!); got tricked (kinda willingly) in front of the god to pledge 1/4 kilo of rice for the Pundit for a few months; admired the temple architecture (no camera allowed); whispered in the powerful Nandi's ear about my wish (sorry, can't tell you); and left with a small dry fruit prasad parcel.

Next stop was at the Raja Rani temple; 15 minutes, as many photos. And this temple started building up for the Konark fever. After a brief stop back at the Hotel (Royal Midtown), a quick tour of Dhauligiri (8km away from BB where Ashoka embraced Buddhism after witnessing the Kalinga war in the plains below), I reached Konark around 2.30pm. Checked in at the OTDC Yatri Nivas, ate a thali lunch and went to da temple. A guide latched on at the entrance (the guy turned out to be very good!).

What an impressive structure! All the pictures in the world cannot tell you how huge the temple is and how intricate the stone carvings are. My plan was to do the guided tour (I took about 2+ hours), do the evening under-the-lights walkabout and watch the sun-rays hitting the temple at sunrise.

I did all that, and along the way had to settle for some less than desired compromises. For example, the unpleasantness in dealing with the unfathomable rule that prohibits stands for still cameras!  And the mean weather that decided to blanket the sky with rain clouds at the instigation of a low-pressure bubble that arrived overnight. Minor irritants, but I came away filled with awe, wonder and photos at every angle I could think of. Please, I strongly urge you to visit this fantastic place - of course, you have to figure out how to deal with the erotica on the higher reaches of the walls that celebrates what we embarrassingly abdicate to the sneer and jeer today.

After my 5am beach visit (which was less than spectacular) I was overjoyed with my 6am peaceful visit to the Sun temple, that boasts 24 10-ft dia wheels. I was the first person to enter and the only tourist inside for about 20 minutes. If only there were a bit more sunlight...

We drove toward Puri in moderately heavy rain only stopping at a few places in the Balighai area to admire the scenery that you just cannot ignore. Very beautiful deer sanctuary. And soon I was at Puri - this time a bit  more savvy (and wet). The Puri temple was quite interesting - many, many architectural and actual statue similarities with the Konark temple; a different looking (me being a south-Indian) impressive set of deities; quite clean and less crowded than I anticipated. A Rs.5 ticket enabled me to avoid the pray-to-the-closed-door situation. Blessed by the many stick-wielding (yes!) priests, I made my way to the Grand hotel to grab a quick lunch.

Rain was still pouring; and my driver wanted to get back to BB because it was Puja day. And my heart was craving Chilika Lake. I almost gave up, until I realized the driver was making up stuff (like there is nothing, road is closed due to litigation etc); then I had to make the trip. The drive was pretty boring (for me) - I was reminded of the long monotonous drive in south florida that takes you to Key West. Now I know; I am not an open-water guy. I need landscape! The 50km drive to Chilika in pouring rain on a mediocre road came to a halt at the end of the road; but the two pictures of a blue boat I took erased my depression that was competing with the one dishing out rain in sheets. Without doing the customary boating trip and dolphin sighting, I headed back to BB.

As an aside, I still am waiting to get the refund from Yatra.com on a botched debit card transfer through my ICICI bank. Nonetheless, I am a very happy and satisfied customer, especially for an unplanned buy I executed. And proud that India has such a wonderful monument (and taking decent care of it). And thankful of the stars that paved the way for this trip.

Kuntala Falls

Sep 20, 2009

Click here to see the pictures from this trip. 

Took off sunday around noon with Mark to Kuntala falls after salivating at the pictures at this site. NH7 was awesome, and we were mostly over 100 kmph except for a 60km stretch. After a brief stop at Sriram Sagar project, we had lunch at the Udipi restaurant in Nirmal a little before 4pm!! Good timing for a 220 km drive in India! We booked a deluxe AC room at the Hotel Krishna Residency next door after inspecting the digs and finding it to be pretty decent.

Soon we drove toward Pochara falls; missed the left turn towards Boath after NeerediKonda because it was hidden in road construction. No road signs anywhere; not surprising though. After some asking around, we reached the place. There was more concrete (to promote the place) than water in the falls. Apparently, it is a seasonal stream; and few weeks back it was gorgeous. My timing script for visiting falls needs some tweaking :)

With a slight disappointment (me more so), we drove toward Kuntala falls. You have to take the road opposite Neelima dhabha right after Neeredikonda (if you come up from Nirmal). Again no signs, so one has to be alert. The one-lane road curves through green fields and small settlements for 8km. You find more cattle than people on the road that leads straight up to the falls. Since dusk was settling in fast, and technically the park closes at 5pm, we made our way down quickly. And were left speechless at what we saw. Fantastic valley and very, very beautiful falls! A small handful of people were hanging around, a few sitting in the water. I was gung-ho for an encore next morning before sunrise.

We made it to the falls at 7am (grrr) and started with the upper section. I cannot describe the feeling of awe staring at the open and hearing the music of water flowing. I hope you can go there someday soon and experience it! In the rainy days, it will be even more breathtaking. We hiked down the rest of the way, meeting two locals coming up with a 18-in long fish they had caught in the deep pools at the foot of one of the falls. Those two and then another two tourist types. Other than that we were the only humans for the entire next 2+ hours we spent in the water and clicking pictures absorbing the peaceful setting. I felt like I was in a backcountry hike in  the Yosemite National Park. I wish I had known about this place last year!

After a late breakfast and checkout, Marc drove us to Basar about 70 km away. Nice little Saraswati temple.  Luckily we made it in and out of the busy temple within 20 minutes. The short stop at the nearby Godavari was just that. Then it was time to escape the blazing sun and head back home via Nizamabad. And we reached by 7pm. Not bad at all for a no-plan trip on a long weekend. By the way, you can read more about other activities around Nirmal at this nice city website.

Srisailam II

Sep 11, 2009

When I found a reference to the Uma Maheswaram temple in this thread, I had made a note to check it out because it fits nicely into a day trip. The temple is at the foothills near Mannanur, 80km before Srisailam. Friday morning, as I was mulling over the possibility of visiting that temple, I noticed TOI said gates 6 and 7 were open. It was enough for me to get into the car and go all the way to Srisailam about 210km away. The lure of the Krishna gushing out was too much to pass. 

We left around 10am from home, not quite the usual early departure I prefer. Nevertheless, using the shortcut through Shamshabad we arrived at the Mannanur check post a little after 1pm. No tigers or fancy wild animals on the road. Just the unsmiling groups of monkeys and a series of poorly marked speed bumps in the long stretch through the Rajiv Gandhi Tiger Reserve.  

Just before 2pm we were staring at the Krishna river valley from a vantage point, and I tried to hide my disppointment as I saw the silent dam. Apparently the gates were open only for a few hours because the inflow had dipped, but the paper failed to report it. Darn. The view, of course, was spectacular as usual despite the uncomfortable heat index. 

We went toward the river. The path to the banks just before the bridge I took just a year back had been washed away and broken concrete slabs greeted us. Chatting away with a local photographer kid, we cooled our feet in the river. Very picturesque spot (see my album :)). The water was not very clear though, probably due to the rains upstream. 

The day was slipping away; so we drove toward the Srisailam temple, 15km away. We parked and walked in the scorching afternoon heat  and arrived at the gates at just past 3.30pm, only to find out the temple had just closed. We did not have the luxury of waiting :(.

Our stop at the Paldhara and Panchdhara falls was less than interesting. I was imagining flowing water hugging the heights of the steep hillside. The saving grace - surroundings were quiet and green and worthy of any rishi to meditate.  

Next we scaled the few Shikharam steps; the pathway was well controlled with a user-fee collected somewhat forcefully from us in the guise of aarthi-ticket. On top, the 270 degree view of the valley is amazing. You can look between the ears of the little Nandi serving as a fixed telescope to spot the dome of the Srisailam temple. Cool stuff. The gaudy wire prop 60+ feet high obscuring the view is not so cool, especially if you want to capture the scenery in a camera. Add to that the sign that says no cameras are allowed. Sigh.  

We headed back right after that to beat the fading light, this time artfully spotting the speed bumps in the forest. The drive to Hyderabad was not too bad considering the average road. A small handful dipped their headlights proving that there is a considerate bunch on the streets.  

All in all a short, yet memorable trip. Srisailam III is still on the cards - I have to cover Bheemuni Kolanu, Mallelatheertham falls and the 3+ hr boat ride upriver to some caves. Want to join?

Medak

Sep 6, 2009

Click here to see the photos from the trip.

The pleasant memories from the Narsapur trip had me thinking about planning another one in the same direction; of course, the road further leads to the quaint litte town of Medak, home of a famous church. I arrived there in the afternoon after a beautiful drive along Medak road from Balanagar junction and a couple of unforced stops to breathe the fresh air and take in the scenery. The weather and company were perfect as well.

The church grounds were clean and well-maintained, and surprisingly, for a Sunday the place was not crowded.  My friend's theory on clean churches is centered around the lack of abhishekam. I don't buy it though :). There was no way for me to capture the pictures of the nice interiors with stained glass windows depicting events from the Bible. The infamous no-camera rule was posted prominently yet again, grrr. We spent about half hour leisurely doing the pradakshinam (strangely, some were doing that), clicked a few shots and headed toward the market area. 

Off the market, travel across narrow lanes brought us to the foot of the small hill housing the Medak fort (or remains of it). There is a prominent signboard announcing the inauguration of some govt preservation project by the late CM YSR. Other than that, there is no sign of any care of this historic place, held by many generations of rulers. Don't be fooled when you hear someone tell you the car can go half-way up the hill. And yeah, watch out for the human waste lined at regular intervals till you cross the second switchback. Focus on the presence of monkeys and the lush green hillside to keep your inner calm intact. Aaauuummm!

The hill is not big by any standards, but steep nonetheless. A good workout in the humid air, if nothing else. There is not much to see from the fort perspective; there is a mosque at the top like in many of the South Indian forts I have visited. Very little is left today of the fort (or may be there was little to start with?). But the view of the town is spectacular; the distant church reminds one of a castle in an European setting. So, even if you don't care about the fort, I recommend you go to the top, feel the strong breeze and enjoy the view.

We decided to come back on the highway and on locals' advice took the shortcut to Chegunta; which was probably shorter, but the road is good only on a few stretches. We might have been better IMHO to have gone to Ramayampet and taking NH7 south from there. After a fantastic drive on the modern highway, and hunger ignited by the sight of all the family dhabas lining the road around Kompally, we arrived back home satisfied and stoked at the same time.