Something about Nothing

Whenever I go somewhere, I enjoy the journey as much as the final destination. This time the destination was Melghat but the journey till there had pointers to a bad trip. Well the pointers were misleading and it was an amazing trip. Melghat Reserve Forest is located in the Amaravati district in Maharashtra. The AP State Transport bus took us to Amaravati from Hyderabad. In Amaravati we booked the Forest Guest House at Kolkas and we were on our way to the reserve forest. Being ignorant of the place, we took State Transport buses to Semadoh (the entry point to the forest, all the necessary permissions are to be taken from here). On reaching the guesthouse we (Arun [as usual the planner ], Alosh [the pro photographer] and me) came to know that without our own vehicle it is impossible to do anything. And the guest house at which we were staying had no phone connection (forget about cell phone connectivity, that would be an alien concept in the jungle); and being at a distance of 2 kms from the main road - where the ST buses ply - it was not easy to go the 12 kms to Semadoh to find some transportation. It was already 5 in the evening and darkness was descending fast. As I was ruing our bad luck, the watchman of the Rest House helped us find a bike, and Alosh went with him to find some wheels. Two hours later we had a Jeep for the journey, albeit a bit expensive, but at least the trip was not heading towards the trash-can.

Next day morning we were up at 5 in the morning as the jeep was to come at 5:30. The jeep did not arrive till 7:30, but the two hours were spent fruitfully with the photography extravaganza. All three of us were avid photographers with the other two being proper pros, and me having a simple point-and-shoot I made as optimal use of it as I could. Anyways the jeep was almost two hours late, and we immediately set out to find the elusive tiger. The tiger remained elusive, but we were able to spot a bison. That was the only success story of the morning, although I could attribute hearing the tiger’s call as a semi-success too. We waited for a long time for the tiger to make an appearance, but it disappointed us. Back to Semadoh we had a breakfast, visited a small waterfall, did proper mountaineering and set out to visit Chikhlam Point - a watering hole. The jeep-top ride was sure fun, but that was the extent of it. Our guide found an acquaintance of his, and their talk at the top of their voices would have driven away any animal. Next we visited Bichchu Kheda Fata. Without a doubt it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Next on agenda was the evening jungle safari. The start was great with two bison saying “Hi” and immediately saying “Bye” by running full gallop across the road on the behest of false monkey calls. To see two 900 kg animals accelerating to over 40 kmph within seconds was scary. The bison is anyways much more scarier than a tiger, as it would attack without provocation. A tiger needs a reason to attack a bison does not. The evening drive through the jungle was hugely successful with multiple sightings of the bison and a stag sighting. Trying to shoot good shots with one hand while trying to steady yourself with the other hand clinging to the carrier on jeep top was impossible, and I had no good shots of the evening safari. Though the highlight of the day was spending better part of the day on top of the jeep driving through the forest.

Next day we planned a trek through the jungle. The guide asked us how long would we be willing to walk, we decided on 15 kms. The only animal we saw through the 15 kms of jungle was Man. the villagers from the adjoining villages were inside the jungle cutting the grass. That being the core area, it was illegal, and our guide warned everybody. But because of the villagers the plains that would be filled with deer, was empty. The trek took us through beautiful scenic places with us being at places that could be only termed as wallpaper-material. During the trek we heard the calls of the stag and our guide saw the Barking-Deer (all three of us missed it). We met people who were repairing the road and they told us they had seen a bison few hundred meters from where they were working few minutes back. We made our way quickly to the place of the sighting, but no bison was to be seen. Through the trek we could see the paw-prints of many chital, stag, bison, and a leopard family. But that was the extent of the sighting, only the trails left behind. We completed the 15 km trek in about 5 hrs. Our jeep awaited us at the end of the trail. The lunch did prove to us that Cricket is indeed a religion in India. In places where there were no telephones, every house in the village of around 200 people had Dish TV installed. We were having lunch in one of the houses in the village, and the small room apart from being a host to us, was seating 5-6 more people all glued to the idiot box where the Pakistani bowlers were bowling to the Indian openers. Every shot, every ball was analyzed comprehensively. The lunch done, we went for our last safari through the jungle. The bison were now normal to us; we wanted to see a tiger. The bison we did see, but what we heard was the call of the hunting tiger. I have never heard anything as scary and as strange as that. It sounded like someone is in extreme pain, and trying to scream but unable to do so. The guide was scared on hearing the call and asked us to leave the place as soon as possible. Coming between the tiger and its prey could be nothing short of being extremely foolish. Even though we wanted to wait, the guide insisted on leaving the place. We listened to him and left the place immediately.

That was the end of the trip. I would term Melghat as a combination of a forest and a hill station. The hilly terrain makes it really difficult to spot the animals. But I would love to go back there in April during Buddha Purnima. That time the census takes place and you are left in the middle of the jungle with a guide and forest official for the night. Our guide told us that in this year’s census he had counted nearly 80 animals in one night. I’d surely love to go back that time

Technorati: Melghat, Melghat Reserve Forest, Travelogue

The best-laid plans generally dismantle themselves without a hitch. And then the impromptu plan that was the result of a drinking binge falls into place seamlessly. Well this trip to Kuntala Falls was not the result of a drinking binge, but it was planned on Thursday evening, and we went for the trip on Saturday.

Kuntala Falls are the highest falls of AP and are about 250 kms from Hyderabad. There is no proper place nearby to stay, and hence the trip was only one day. Covering almost 500 kms on a bike in one day would have been nothing short of foolhardy, and so we booked a taxi. (Reminder to self: Buy a car soon, so you can frequently go on these aanan-faanan trips) We started early morning, aiming to reach the falls by around 10-11 am. But en-route we saw a huge dam on Godavari - we had heard and surfed about it, Sriram Sagar Project. So we thought of giving it few minutes of our valuable time, and took the turn. It is just 5-6 kms from the highway, and really a great place with amazing breeze, and a huge expanse of water. There were just a few specks of land at the horizon to belie that this was not a sea. The ‘few minutes’ turned into almost an hour and half, and after that we resumed our journey to Kuntala Falls.

Rakesh had informed us about the scarcity of food near the Kuntala Falls, and hence we bought fruits before turning off the highway (NH-7: the Nagpur route). Actually after leaving Nirmal (the closest town to the falls, 40 kms away), we hardly met any civilization till a kilometer to the turn. 15 kms more, and we could hear the sound of the fall. And then the rain decides to drop in. For a few minutes our march to the fall was stalled, but not for long. After descending more then 1000 steps, the beautiful Kuntala Falls greeted us. The greenery around refused to let us have a peek at the falls while descending, and only when we were at the foot of the falls, were we able to see the falls. Unluckily four JNTU students had drowned in the falls few days back, and hence there was tight security. We were not even allowed to touch the water, although after seeing the force of the waterfall bulls would have been needed to pull me to the waterfall. Due to the incessant rains, the water was very muddy and so the steady water was also not inviting enough. Anyways just getting close to the water is an arduous task - proper hiking was needed just to get near the water. By the time we started the climb up to the place where the car was parked, we were exhausted, and famished, and parched - all water and food had been consumed long back, and a mere 1000+ stairs removed the replenishments. Somehow made it to the top, and went straight for water. The water has never tasted sweeter.

We started our journey back and stopped at Reliance A1-Dhaba for lunch. While the lunch was not much to write about (except the dal-fry), the location was amazing. Just as the ghat ended, Reliance A1-Dhaba was visible. We had lunch while seeing the clouds slowly descend the mountains, and soon the showers started. On the way back we again stopped at the Sriram Sagar Project, as it still was light. We hoped to catch the sunset, but the heavy cloud cover impeded our view. After that, barring a small break for tea, it was just a long drive back to Hyderabad with the rains accompanying us throughout.

Technorati: Kuntala Falls, Andhra Pradesh, Sriram Sagar Project, Godavari, Travelogue

Saturday’s great weather was used optimally for a mini trip to Sanghi Temple. At a distance of about 25 kms from Koti - which means first a drive through the city full of traffic and then last few kilometers driven in peace, it does induce severe back ache but with the appropriate weather and more importantly the right company it is a good outing.

Actually Sanghi Temple is a good place to show to your relatives, once they are done seeing the Ramoji Film City (Sanghi Temple is adjacent to Ramoji) - yeah, I know the plight of people living in Hyderabad; everybody who comes to Hyderabad has to see Ramoji Film City - fake buildings and all! Well, even I enjoyed the Ramoji Trip, but then who would not enjoy a trip when 28 friends are in it together! That was a great trip, and not for obvious reasons

[Click on the collage for photographs on Flickr]

A maniacal drive in the auto whose driver thought he was Schumacher and Alonso rolled in one and we were off to Kolkata and then Sunderbans.

We started off from Kolkata in a Qualis and were at Sonakhali after two hours; a boat awaited us there to take us to island Bali where we had booked our accommodation. Sunderbans comprise of 102 islands, out of which homo-sapiens habit 54 - the rest are off limits, wildlife rule the others. There are no roads in Sunderbans; all transport is through the water. Boats are the only way to move around, and all boats sport the Indian Flag - being so near to border it is mandatory. Frequently we would pass by the Border Security Forces boats. Two more hours on the Hogol river and we alighted at Bali. We were actually living in cottages in a village. There was no network, the only phone booth on the island relied on an antenna, and to top it off - there was no electricity. Solar cells generated electricity, and once the stored electricity ran out, lanterns were the only source of light. Got a taste of life in village, and I must say even though it is difficult, I loved it. All days I woke up to the chirping of birds and cry of rooster - it sure is a different experience.

It was already afternoon when we reached Bali, after a hasty lunch (being a vegetarian we ate lots of rice and lots of potato all the days) we went off to Sanjekhali - the place where we would get permission to enter Sunderbans. There is a watchtower there, but it is total waste, it has just 3 floors! And that day being a Saturday the whole place was very crowded and very noisy. There was no chance of spotting any animal or bird in such noise. We escaped as soon as possible, and had to return back as the other watchtower was closed and sun sets at about 5:00 - it is dark by 5:30… The only significant spotting that day was of the Common Kingfisher. We also saw Wild Boars and Cheetal, but I was not able to get any good photograph.

6:00 pm and it was pitch dark. Armed with a lantern we went ahead to explore the island. The total visible area was about 1 foot around the person carrying the lantern. The road that we had taken was actually a sort of dam built around the island. Floods lash Sunderbans every year, and hence all islands have a mud dam built around to prevent the flooding. On our way back a pup followed us to our guesthouse, a family of dogs living in the guesthouse became our pets for three days. After dark we had to tread very carefully lest we step on any dog. Since there was no electricity, and stored solar energy had also been used up, there was nothing left to do but sleep. It has been years since I last slept at 9 p.m.

After a sumptuous breakfast, we packed our lunch and left. The plan was to roam around whole day in the boat in Sunderbans, spot as many birds and animals as we can, and be back by 5:30, the closing time. Never had any inclination that the day had much more in store for us. The day started off well.
Spotted
a Pied Kingfisher (very rare),
Lesser Adjutant Stork,
a pair of White Bellied Sea Eagle,
many Black Capped Kingfishers,
Whimbrel,
plenty of Egrets,
Brown Winged Kingfisher (again rare; did not get picture), many Green Bee Eaters (they were really tiny, very colourful - I would have loved to click any photo of them - and very fast, so was not able to get any photo), White Breasted Water Hen, White Throated Kingfisher, and Whistling Duck

After lunch (I had no idea bird spotting was such a tiring job, I was famished - two platefuls of food disappeared in minutes), I was eager to spot a crocodile. We passed kilometers of mud flats, but we were not able to see any crocodile. Finally our guide suggested a creek that is accessible only at the time of tides - Sunderbans being a delta, lots of activities are dependant on the tide. So we went in the creek and many Indian Cormorants, and Eastern Curlews greeted us. Within few minutes we were able to spot a small crocodile - just about 4 feet long. But by the time we slowed and turned the boat around, the croc had slipped into water. (This is one major disadvantage of spotting wildlife from boats, no reverse gear, and no brakes that will stop you instantly.) Emboldened by this small success, we surged ahead and hardly 5 minutes later we spotted a big crocodile (not huge, it was just about 10 feet long). It is next to impossible to spot a tiger in Sunderbans (our guide had seen four in four years), but at least we spotted a big crocodile and were able to see it from near. And then lady luck deserted us.

We got stuck. The creek we were in was accessible only during tides, and as luck would have it, the tide ebbed away - leaving us stuck in a boat in the center of a dry creek. Five minutes back we were surrounded with water, and now we were grounded. There was another boat about 200 meters away; so we had two options. One to wade through the knee deep mud banks, swim about 5-10 strokes and reach the other boat, or two - to wait till high tide comes in and rescues us - a wait of about 6 hours in pitch dark. The guide suggested waiting, as walking in that mud was akin to giving a invite to animals - and Sunderbans is famous for man-eating tigers. We agreed, and started our 5-hour vigil. We got stuck at about 4:00, the sun set at 5:00, and it was dark and very cold by 5:30. We had two candles, one lantern, and one torch. Both the candles had been used up by about 6:30. We kept on flashing the torch around us waiting for animals to make an appearance, but the few lights and many sounds (surprisingly we were getting very good reception of Radio Mirchi there) seems to have kept them away. It was so dark that I was not able to see who was sitting just beside me; it could have been very well any animal. Sadakkhali (the place where we got stuck) remained true to its name; the sadak (road) was khali (empty) throughout. I had a great sleep waiting for the tide to come - trust me to sleep anywhere, anytime; I had a nice nap at the edge of the boat too. Finally the tide came up, and we started towards Bali at 9:00 p.m. A five-hour wait in pitch dark, and then a boat ride in pitch dark for 2 hrs, and we were back at our base Bali Island at 11 p.m. The only thing on our mind that time was sleep.

Next day morning, I was up again early - this time with no help from the rooster. A morning tea, and we went off bird spotting within the island. Apart from the aforementioned kingfishers spotted Babbler, Oriental Magpie Robin, Jungle Myna, Drongo, Chestnut Headed Bee Eater and Flameback Woodpecker. After gorging myself on the omelets and alu-parathas (I know a weird combo, but it tasted good!), it was time for the last bird-spotting venture. This time we went off in a small rowboat so that we could be as near to coast as possible. I tried my hand at rowing, and it really is very difficult and very tiring. I experimented with taking photographs through a binoculars (holding the binoculars with left hand, the camera with right hand, and focusing through the eyepiece), surprisingly I was able to take proper photographs. This time around we spotted the common Spotted Dove, Indian Pond Heron,
Eurasian Collared Dove,
the elusive Black Hooded Oriole,
and the only breed of kingfisher we had missed -
Collared Kingfisher.
Sunderbans has converted me to a bird lover, and bird spotter. Back to cottages, we packed our bags, a quick game of Cricket in the village, and we were back to civilization again in few hours - wish I could have stayed there forever.

Help Tourism - the people who were our hosts - have a great system of ecotourism. Instead of blatantly commercializing the tourism, these guys help in developing the Bali Island. They buy all the raw food materials from the villagers; they have setup a school for the kids there, have setup a hospital, and are working in tandem with the habitants of Bali to develop it. It really is a great initiative by Help Tourism. And to add to it, they are awesome hosts. All our bookings were done through IT Nature Club, and everything worked seamlessly. Thanks to Arun for initiating, and organizing the whole trip

All photographs are here and here.

Technorati: Travelogue, Sunderbans, Bird Spotting, Kingfisher, Birds, Crocodile, Photographs, Wildlife, Ecotourism

After a flurry of mails & phone-calls, the venue had been decided - Pondicherry. A three-day weekend was to be converted to an unforgettable experience. Last minute bookings, rescheduling of flights, and Tatkal tickets later, our group (minus a very important heavy-weight personality) met at Chennai.

Some haggling later, we were at CMBT to board a bus to Pondicherry. A hasty climb into the bus to get good seats, an even hastier descent - owing to some unavoidable circumstances, some “Hi’s” - resulting in a company of Blonde & Red-Head Hi, craning neck at unbelievable angles to catch a glimpse of the sea, an old lady shouting at us in Tamil while we understood zilch, a flat-tyre, much hand waving to stop the taxis, some more haggling, and we reached Pondicherry at around 4 p.m. instead of the 1 or 2 p.m. we had planned.

We had booked our guest-house without even seeing it, since no other accommodation was available, we took what we got. Family Guest House turned out to be a great place to stay at a very cheap price. A much-needed bath was taken and off we went in search of some place that would abate our rumbling stomachs. After passing numerous bars and even more numerous liquor shops we finally found a place that had only “Restaurant” written across its board, instead of the usual “Bar & Restaurant” - which was generally Bar and few snacks. Food came and out came the perennial rescuers - Salt and Pepper. Every restaurant we went to in Pondicherry had food especially made for the foreigners. All of them were very bland, almost no spices. The non-veggies had a gala time (including one amazing dinner when they had the most unforgettable Prawn Soup!); while we veggies had to eat everything with oodles of salt and pepper.

First day we hardly had anytime and just went to the beach within the city - well that could hardly be called a beach. On one side of Beach Road is the endless sea, the Bay of Bengal awaited us; but unluckily there was no sand, just rocks, and then the rough sea. We could not even go to the water, the rocks nearest were covered in moss and going there would have been a sure-shot invitation to death. We went as near as we could without taking any major risks and waited for the big waves, so that the spray could reach us. Within 10-15 minutes, the tide had built up appreciably and we had to return back. But that rocky beach played host to the beautiful mornings, both the days I was up early and one day I able to catch the sunrise too

Next day we hired Kinetic Hondas (unluckily all bikes had already been hired ) and headed towards Paradise Beach. It is connected to land, but we went to it by a boat, and we felt as if we are going to some Hawaiian Beach. Beautiful palm trees escorted us to the golden sands; few cottages, and a beer shop awaited us, but that was later. We jumped into the blue sea. Earlier I had heard that the beaches in Pondicherry are dangerous, on just seeing the beach it did not feel dangerous - granted that the sea was a bit rough, but did not seem dangerous. My allusions of safety vanished within 5 minutes. The beaches in Pondicherry have a very strong undercurrent. The waves that hit the shore, when they are receding, they pull you back with them. On the lines of ostriches, but instead of our heads, we dug in our legs and hands in the sand to stop the sea pulling us in.

The other major beach of Pondicherry - Auroville Beach - was again dangerous. It also was not as beautiful as Paradise Beach, but stand-alone it was amazing. There was quite a steep descent to the water, and even this beach had very strong undercurrents. This time around the max we could get into water was knee-deep and even then we had to dig our legs into the sand. I sat in ankle-deep water for a long time and had to dig in deep to stop being pulled in by the waves. The power of the waves and the sea cannot be fathomed unless you experience it first hand.

Pondicherry as a city is very relaxing, well structured, and well maintained. The MG Road runs through the length of the city. We had no idea about the roads, but reached any place without any problems. The rue de Bussy has many good restaurants lining both the sides. The antique shops in the side-lanes add to the charm of Pondicherry.

Well that was all tourist stuff, now to the main thing - the booze. Two nights in Pondicherry, and eight bottles were finished off - and we are not heavy drinkers. No taxes make the liquor very cheap and we used that to our full advantage. Finally after eons, I drank properly and was on a high. Red Wine, Port Wine, Vodka, White Rum - and since the Guest House we were staying in had a refrigerator, everything was chilled. No better time, place and company to drink

Some Memorable Moments:

• We developed a full-fledged business idea revolving around toilets. ****** International Toilets were designed, and commercials were developed… There is still an on-going discussion on whether it should be pay-per-minute, or pay-per-download.
• The Hi’s. One of us learnt to say Hi and has been using the technique very effectively. But as soon as the Hi turns on hearing the Hi, he starts talking with us starting every sentence with Hi. The best moment was when he said Hi without turning and the Hi turned out to be a guy.
• The Magic Show - enough said.
• Actually the whole trip, it is total stupidity trying to make a list of most memorable moments…

MAZAA AA GAYA!!!

Some pics:

More pics here

Technorati: Pondicherry, Travelogue, Pondicherry Trip