Savandurga, Magadi Taluk, Bangalore, India | May 8th, 2009

“Beep beep” sound of phone woke me up. I saw with my not-so-willing-to-open eyes that it was still dark outside. Watch read 5:45 AM. I checked my phone, LCD panel read “1 message received.” Message content was, “Get ready Sreenath”. Sreenath is our Boss and and I realised that we had a plan to go for trekking to Savandurga.

I made a quick dip-tea for myself and had a few cookies. By 6:20 AM, my colleague Kanchan Joshi was at my place. And we went together to our meeting point, M G Road, Bangalore, on his Apache bike.

Indraneel & Amul were already at M G Road. We met them and had some chit-chat before our boss Sreenath came along with Praveen, another colleague of ours, in his Red color Tata Indica. We all left our bike at M G Road and were on-board car. It was around 6:45 AM when we started off to Savandurga.

We passed by Vittal Mallaya Hospital, Kasturba Road to Town Hall and soon on Mysore road. It was 7:45 AM and we had already crossed 40 KM. We took a break then for breakfast and went to a place called Woodlands. We ordered all kind of dosa’s and idly. Alas! Breakfast wasn’t that good. Not a perfect start to trek.

After a break of 30 minutes, we again hit the road. One needs to take right from Ramanagaram on Mysore to reach Savandurga. This place is approximately 25 KM from Ramanagaram. Road was good all through the while except a few unwanted spead-braker (read speed-stopper) on the way. Also, last 2 KM of road wasn’t that good also.

During this 25 KM drive, most of us felt a little sleepy. Indro took a quick nap, Amul put on his iPod and we all lazied on the back seat of Tata Indica. Ya ya, we four were packed on the back seat. 9:10 AM, we could see a big monolithic rock right next to us. Within 10 minutes, we put our first step on the mighty rock of Savandurga and the fun began.

Sun was moderate and we had plenty of water with us. Ascent was not so steep and initial 200 meters was just a cake walk to us. We had first break then to have a breather. Kanchan was ecstatic and was trying to capture as much in his camera. He has taken some wonderful shots. All the photos on this blog are from his camera and we must thank him for that. Very soon we resumed our march to victory. But even sooner we released that “dilli abhi door hai [Delhi is far away]”. There was fun talk on the way, each of us sharing some of their experiences. The frequency of breaks increased and distance travelled between breaks reduced. Sun was no more soothing and we all were sweating profusely. Nonetheless, it was fun climbing a rock.

Around 11:00 AM, We were almost mid-way to our destination. There were a few trekkers ahead of us and a few others starting their journey. There was a small fort-wall like structure on the way to top. The air was really fresh and clean at that height. It was scenic sight. Beautiful hill covered with patches of green and an azure sky to cover all.

My Nokia 6610 FM player was on and entertaining us (or this is just my assumption) on the way. Not to mention the pleasure we were having by being not in home on our weekend. On the way up to the peak, we came across a water body. It must be 15 by 25 meters in size. There was a shed very close by to it and we all stopped by to relax some more. This time we took a long break. In fact, we talked and rested for more than 30 minutes there. Actually, shed was really comforting and we were somewhat tired by then.

We resumed again and soon were on the top of the Savandurga rock. The top is marked by a temple with a hanging bell. It was indeed good feeling up there. A vast view was waiting for us. It was as if the world was beneath us. We could spot few other small rocks nearby. Through out the way, Kanchan and Praveen were taking some nice shots. We had a group photo here. Sreenath takes climbing Savandurga as his health measurement. He comes here every year and this time also he was happy to find that he could still climb Savandurga.

It was 12:50 PM, when we started back. If ascent was a test for calf and thigh muscles then descent was for knees. However, climbing down was relatively less strenuous and easy. Within few minutes, we lost all the height attained through our hard work and was at ‘Ground Zero’.

Around 1:25 PM, We started back our journey to Bangalore. After the days hard work, we were really hungry and was waiting for food to hog on. On Mysore road, we stopped by a road side restaurant to have food. I don’t really remember the name of this place but this was the only place we found worth having lunch. We had a sumptuous lunch and a lot of talking. It started drizzling when we resumed back to Bangalore. We reached M.G. Road around 5:00 PM. It was very pleasant weather then as it had rained. Soon, we dispersed to our respective ways. I had a lot of fun on this trip. Thanks to all the fellow trekker and especially to Sreenath for conceiving the idea of this trip.

Udupi, Manipal & Mangalore, India | April 25-26th, 2009

This blog has all the information needed to make a complete trip to above-mentioned three places. I started my travel from Bangalore. But this blog would be equally informative for people traveling from different part of the country or coming directly from abroad. Do drop in a line of appreciation if you like it and otherwise also.

I was off to Kempegowda Bus terminal after finishing my work on busy Friday evening on April 24, 2009 (happens to be SR Tendulkar’s and my cousin sister’s birthday). It rained like hell in Bangalore on that day, so it was difficult reaching to Bus station. I was on-board just in time by 9:10 PM. Bus left in another few minutes and I was soon out of Bangalore limits. The ride was not that comforting but good enough.

I reached Udupi Bus Stand by 6:00 AM, April 25, 2009. I slept on and off during the overnight journey and was decently placed for the day. I enquired my co-passenger who gave me directions to good hotels around Bus Station. I went to Hotel Udupi Residency, Hotel Kidiyoor & Hotel Sriram Residency hotel and found Hotel Sriram Residency to be best among three. Charges were quite competent at Rs 450 for non-A/C double bed room & Rs 800 for A/C double bed room. Humidity is generally high in Udupi being close to seashore and I thought of putting up in an A/C room. Unfortunately none of them were available.

By 8:30 AM, I had freshened up, charged my mobile phone and had a cup of tea. I marched out of hotel room looking for Krishna temple, which is one of the most famous places to visit in Udupi. The temple was just 5 minutes walk from my hotel. There was no rush and I visited Krishna temple along with Ananteshwara & Chandramauleshwara temple, which are adjacent to former temple. Right next to Chandramauleshwara temple, there is a restaurant with the name Mitra Samaja. This is quite famous place and one can have best of idly & dosa here. The filter coffee is another specialty of this place.

It took me around 2 hours to cover all the three temple and a little bit of eating. I moved on to City bus stand to board the bus to Malpe, a famous beach in Udupi. First thing first, City bus stand is not same as Udupi bus stand. While former is used for travel in and around Udupi, later is for intercity traveling. Both bus stands are adjacent to each other though. I thought of hiring an Auto (a three wheel taxi widely available in India) but then it’s fun to travel in local transport. I boarded bus from City Bus Stand to Malpe, which costs me just Rs 6. To my disappointment, Malpe beach is no special beach. People who have been to beaches of Goa may not like anything about this beach. Not much crowd, not many activities. Just next to the beach, there is Tebma Shipyards Ltd Company, which repairs & constructs ships. Adjacent to this company is a harbor. One can see plethora of ships setting up for their voyage and others returning back from sea. One can board a medium size boat to St. Mary’s island from this harbor. This ride costs one Rs 70 both ways and takes approximately 30 minutes to reach island. There is nothing much to do on that island either. A beach and few soft drink vendors.

I return back to my hotel room after visiting St. Mary’s island. I was very tired after all the exhaustion and to make me feel worse, humidity was at its best. Despite all this, I must say I was having fun.

For lunch, I went to Woodlands. It is approximately 100 meters from Sriram hotel. Lunch comprises of North Indian, South Indian & Chinese dishes. Dishes are reasonably priced and food taste is good. Lunch timings are from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Only Chinese and basic south Indian dishes are server after 3:00 PM. I had not-so-filling lunch with vegetarian sweet corn soup followed by main course. There were few desserts listed in the menu but I wanted to try an authentic desserts parlor instead of just munching something sweet after lunch. So, I went to Diana, a very well know place for desserts and was just 200 meters from Woodlands. They serve a dessert with the name Gadbad that is like the best of best dessert here. You could actually see a lot many people coming to Diana for Gadbad only. I too followed the suit and ordered one for yours truly. It was good with three layers of ice cream, fruits & jelly.

Manipal was the next on destination. T. M. A. Pai transformed Manipal from hill town to a great educational paradise. It boasts many colleges and supports state-of-the-art infrastructure. Again, I went to the City bus stand, which was 500 meters from Diana, to board the bus to Manipal. It took me 20 minutes and cost Rs 5 to reach Manipal. I went to End Point, a place worth seeing in Manipal, right after having a feel of the campus. I was right opposite to Kasturba Medical College (KMC) when I hired an Auto to End Point. It was 2 Km from KMC and I had to shell of Rs 25 for the ride. There is no tar road to End Point. I spent more than 30 minutes there. It was more a jogging track for Manipal students and picnic spot for others. There was three lush green full size football ground and I missed my football shoes seeing bunch of guys playing soccer.

I came back to KMC and spent some more time there. I dint find much to do in here Manipal. So, I started back to my hotel by retracing the path that I took to reach here from Udupi. I was in my hotel room by 7:30 PM. I took a quick shower and was ready for dinner. There is place called 7 Bees, which is known for its fast food specialty. I had some sandwiches and ginger lime soda to quench my thirst. It was difficult to keep my eyes open by then. It was a long day for me with so many activities. As soon as I reached room, I set in the alarm and dozed off.

Next morning, I got up at 6:44 AM despite setting alarm from 6:00 AM. I quickly took shower, packed my luggage and was out of hotel room by 7:30 AM. I planned to visit Kaup beach and Mangalore. Kaup beach is on the way to Mangalore from Udupi. I went to Udupi bus stand and there were express buses to Mangalore every 5 minutes. I boarded one such express bus and paid Rs 12 for Kaup beach. The bus driver was in real hurry and romped 25 Km in just 35 minutes. From bus stand, I hired an Auto for Rs 25 to reach Kaup beach. I reached the beach a little too early. There was no one at the beach. It was relaxing and boring at the same time. As I enquired the local crowd, I came to know that Kaup beach is a common hang out for students from Manipal. On Sunday evenings, the beach would be jam packed with students and it would definitely be fun. Alas! I was there on Sunday morning. Nevertheless, I had my share of fun. There is Kaup lighthouse, adjacent to beach, which is still functioning.

I was on my way back to Mangalore soon after. I boarded express bus to Mangalore costing me Rs 27. I was well in the Mangalore limits by 10:25 AM. So, I had approximately 11 hours to know the city and to have fun before rapping up the trip by boarding bus to Bangalore.

I was dropped at Inter-city bus stand a.k.a. State Bank bus stand. I soon realized that I have to board bus to Bangalore from KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) bus stand, which is 4 Km away from this bus stand. I was hungry as I dint have breakfast yet. So, I went to a place called Taj Mahal, its quite near to State Bank bus stand. Taj Mahal is famous for idly and special filter coffee. I tried both of them. Coffee was really good making me go for one more cup.

I hired an Auto from Taj Mahal to KSRTC bus stands. Auto’s starting fare is Rs 13. I spent Rs 25 to reach KSRTC bus stand. I deposited my luggage in cloakroom and was free to feel the city. I went to Balmatta road by hiring an Auto. There were some nice places to roam around. I was in no mood of shopping but was just checking out the local trend and fashion. I spent some 2 hours by the road. I found out location of some of the best place to eat in Mangalore. They were Phalki, Kudla, Maharaja & Gold Finch hotel within 50 meters of each other. As it was hot outside, I kept hydrating my self with Soda, juices and water.

I decided to have lunch at Phalki. I ordered soup, rotis, vegetable kohlapuri and lassi. I was served quite promptly. I liked the food and the ambience. The lunch cost me Rs 300. It was optimally priced considering the services they provided.

After over stuffing myself, I was on my way to Ulala beach. It is also known as Ulala beach or Someshwar beach. This beach is 11 Km south of Mangalore. I boarded bus no. 44A from the bus stand right opposite to Phalki restaurant. Bus passed through busy and dusty Mangalore rural lanes. Bus dropped me at Someshwar beach at around 4:30 PM. It was a little hot and humidity was making me uncomfortable. I went on to take a stroll along the beach. The beach was never ending. I could feel beach getting busy as the sun reduced angular distance with horizon. Within 1-hour time, beach was filled with a lot of people. Mercury has gone down substantially as it was pretty comfortable now. A cool breeze was coming from sea reducing the effect of humidity. It was much easier to look into sun than earlier. I put on my music player and spent some time in introspection. It was the best time of the trip. This beach did not boast a lot shacks or shops. But one could find water bottles, ice cream, tea etc.

After having some of the best time at the beach, I was on my way back to KSRTC bus stand. I was at Saibeen complex, which is on the same road as KSRTC bus stand, at 8:30 PM. I really wanted to have some good ice cream after having such a good time at beach. I went to Pubba, which is an ice cream parlor, just a few meters from Saibeen complex. I placed an order for Pubba’s special ice cream and got it parceled since I was running short of time. I reached KSRTC bus stand by 9:00 PM. I ate the ice cream quickly and got back my luggage from cloakroom. They dint charge me anything for using cloakroom. I waited for 5 minutes before my bus was parked at the stand for boarding. This bus is called Airavath bus service by KSRTC. It is air-conditioned and has Volvo engine. By far, I have found it as the best mode of transport from KSRTC. At 9:40, I said good-bye to Mangalore with all the pleasant memories of my trip.

I reached Bangalore the next morning around 6:00 AM. I hired a pre-paid Auto from Kempegowda bus stand to Indiranagar, the place where I stay in Bangalore, which cost me Rs 100. I reached my rented place by 6:50 AM. Within a few minutes, I was getting ready for one more day at office. But there was a difference. I was much happier and charged up for the day’s work.