2020 Breakthrough

 

An extraordinary breakthrough for all our family members in getting connected with each other in this pandemic era. The year 2020 started with a relaxing trip to Andaman, and is ending with a breakthrough trip to Chikmagalur. 

Happy to share the experience of a get together trip to Chikmagalur that we did in this week. My heart still sinks in disappointment as my list of places to visit in Chikmagalur is still incomplete. Four families in four cars were all set to hit the road to reach one destination.  

An eye-catching coffee and tea estates, favourable weather, mesmerizing hills, off-road drive, transparent river, friendly host, innocence of children (of course drama as well), and most importantly connection with family are the highlights of this trip.

Getting up at 4.30 A.M for me in this peak winter season is a challenging task, which was done successfully by Mahesh, and managed to reach Nelamangala highway-Mangalore junction point by 7.30 A.M. It would have been a mistake if we would have thought that we are the only family who is coming out of home for a trip. The highway was no more a high way as it was completely jam packed with four wheelers, oh yes! It would be injustice if I do not add bikers and bicyclers.

Forget about the distance between vehicles, there was no social distance between people around in the hotels on the highway. With great difficulty, had breakfast at hotel Sambram and joined with all family members to continue the journey towards Chikmagalur district. So here goes the list of milestones with the good road condition.

Bangalore > Yediyur > Hassan > Belur > Mudigere (Banakal)

We crossed Belur and took an entry to Mudigere by 1.30 P.M. A fresh coffee at Malnad café at Banakal, Mudigere gave an instant energy for driving in the Western Ghats to reach the destiny, Balekhan estate. The temperature drops when we cross Kottigehara as we were driving upward the hill with more greenery and scenic beauty to enjoy the ride.Yes, here goes the small milestones. 

Banakal > Kottigehara > Balur > Javali > Kelagur > Hirebyle > Marasanige > Balekhan estate

The Balekhan estate is just 6 km behind Kalasa. We reached here by 3.30 P.M as we had taken almost 2 hours break in the middle of the journey. I would recommend this homestay for a friendly hosting and delicious food with comfortable stay.

Rian, a young host was a part of our team in guiding us throughout the two days trip in his homestay. We had a wonderful experience of walking in his coffee estate in the dusk. We walked in the rivulet and some had an experience of blood sucking leech. The night ended with a warming campfire and a chitchat session.

Day 2 started with a good breakfast, and headed towards a hill view and tea plantations. Since children were least interested in these places, we were forced to move to see clear Bhadra river as they all wanted to swim and play in water.

The rush by children was worth enough to spend more time in “Amba theertha”. The transparent Bhadra River gushes out from the black rocks and flows as gentle streams etching the rocks.

Amba Theertha is named after goddess Parvathi, and is one of the five major water spots of Kalasa.

No wonder that my hubby enjoyed a lot more than children in this place as always he is fond of water. Look one of the pics down 😉

 

 

Nothing would have conquered our time as does the Kyatanamakki hills did. We all were stunned to see the mesmerising beauty of the lush green hills. A beautiful scenic view of Western Ghats.  

An hour of off-road 4X4 jeep ride to the Kyatanamakki hill view was a thrilling experience to watch the sunset. The hills are situated at an altitude of 1400 m above sea level. A wonderful breathtaking off-road drive experience ended in an upland of round-topped green hills and cool breeze of air.

We wouldn’t have moved from this place if the sun wouldn’t have hidden in the hills surrounded by us.  This place bagged the crown of our two days trip. I am sure that you will be in agreement with me by seeing these photos!

Next day morning, we had a visit to Annapoorneshwari temple in Horanadu followed by Kalaseshwara temple in kalasa by 11.30 A.M and headed towards Bangalore. All managed to reach their home by 10.30 P.M even in peak traffic of vehicles starting from toll booths to Bangalore.

It’s going to be a week now since we visited these places, but still I can feel the freshness and cool breeze of Kyatanamakki hills, which keeps pulling me to explore Chikmagalur completely into contentment.

Kudos to my bro-in-law, Prasanna for yet another well-planned and coordinated trip.

As an end note, this trip to Western Ghats is just a beginning, and a lot more to explore. The list is already getting pinned!

A true inspiration statement of Karnataka as "One State Many Worlds" indeed 👌

Blue Serene Andaman

Beach, Beach, Beach, Beach… ahaa.. what else is required for a long and relaxing vibes. Yes, the blue sea as clear as mirror made us to unwind for five days. The five days just flew in the Andaman Islands.
An amazing experience of beautiful, different shapes, and different size corals, breath-taking scuba dive, under sea world view, children enjoyment, and finally a lovely family get together. A perfect start of the year, 2020 with a successful trip. A very good weather, enthusiasm, and good co-ordination by Satish with the trip agent made the trip successful.
You know what? There are 572 islands in Andaman. Each with different identity is scattered all over Andaman just like an unsolved puzzle. The serene beauty of Andaman attracts 5000 tourists in a day in the best season time.
Let me summarize the five days trip as a day-wise breakdown.

Day One in Port Blair

Flight from Bangalore to Andaman at 6.30 A.M. I hate the flights only for the reason of getting up in an odd timings. Hmm, we got up at 2.30 A.M. and made sure to reach airport by 4.45 A.M to avoid sudden rush.
Andaman is just 2.5 hours far from us. We reached Port Blair, Andaman by 9.30 A.M with the aerial view of islands filled in our eyes.

As I mentioned earlier, the perfect co-ordination of Satish with the travel agent made us comfortable and facilitated to reach the already booked hotel known as Megapode Resort. Having breakfast in the hotel, we were all set to visit the Fisheries museum and the Anthropological museum. The fisheries museum exhibits huge variety of underwater species. The Anthropological museum has the display of  handicrafts, tools, weapons, photographs, and clothing of different tribes of Andamans. There are many tribes like Jarawas, Sentineles, Shompens, and the like in many islands of Andaman.

The historical landmark in Port Blair is the cellular jail. This jail was built for 10 years by 300 prisoners. It has 7 wings diverted from the main tower with 700 cells. Hence it is known as cellular jail.

Do not miss the light and sound show in the evening to get to know the history and the pain of the prisoners.





The sunset point at the Chidiya Tapu on the way to Munda Pahad beach is an awesome experience.

Day two in Neil Island

We reached Shaheed Dweep also known as Neil island by ferry at 12.30P.M. The Pearl Park beach resort is at Lakshmanpur beach. Staying in this resort made us easy to spend more time in Lakshmanpur beach. Our children enjoyed the whole day in the resort swimming pool, then beach, and then back to swimming pool. We also had a candle light snacks at the beach, which was located in the common place of the beach. An evening walk from the beach to the resort to see the full moon trying to pose himself in between huge trees above the sea is the memorable one.


Day three Neil and Havelock island

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and were all set to Bharatpur beach for the most awaited Scuba diving. I am the one who was the most scared to do it, but finally I managed to do it with strong determination. Darr ke aagye jeet hain 😊 This Mountain Dew quote made me to dive into sea and explore the wonderful world under seawater. This is one of the must do activity in Neil island to see and experience the beautiful fishes and corals around you.

We boarded the ferry and reached Havelock island in the afternoon to a private beach resort known as Havelock Island Beach resort. The cottages in both the beach resorts that we stayed were simply superb.
We spent the rest of the day in Radhanagar beach. The sunset over there was mesmerizing to see, and yes it is one of the seven best beaches in the world.

Day Four Havelock island

The last beach of our trip, and the most enjoyed with the beautiful scenic beauty is Kaala Pattar
We enjoyed a lot in Kaala pattar beach by trying out different photos, Games like kabbadi and kho kho.
Later we boarded the ferry from Havelock and reached Port Blair by 5.30 P.M in the evening. We spent some time for shopping and reached Megapode resort.

We missed Elephanta beach as two of our family members had already developed ferry sickness. We are suppose to travel by boat to Elephanta beach.

Day Five to Bangalore

Got up early in the morning as we had a flight to Bangalore at 9.30 in the morning. We successfully completed our trip and reached Bangalore by 12 P.M with lots of fun filled experiences and mesmerizing beauty.