• Sridhar Kanakaraj
  • Sridhar Kanakaraj

Chikmagalur

Un’avventura bella ma breve di Sridhar Leggi altro
  • ETTA For FUN

    3 maggio 2015, India ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Thanks to my Instinct, I lifted my head to see what is in front. Sheesh.... I can't believe what I see infront of me. We men walked, the ladies walked and the Kids walked too... all the distance... and all the pain didn't go waste. A Slender white line in between all the greens. But for sure the sound didn't match with the faint white line, which assured there is something bigger hidden inside. No more words....Leggi altro

  • ETTA For FUN

    3 maggio 2015, India ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    And another bigger stream on our way. But still we see a Red Marking ahead of the stream. Now my excitement had a spark. I got curious. What is it in there ? We have already covered close to 2.5 kms on foot but The red marking doesn't seem to have an end. The pathway is getting narrower and bushy. All of us had to keep our heads and eyes down so that we don't slip.Leggi altro

  • ETTA For FUN

    3 maggio 2015, India ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We set off on foot with no idea how long the trek is going to be. For some reason, from the time we set off from the resort I was hopeless. One major reason being the Kalahatti Falls and the other being the dry weather unfavorable for a possibility of waterfall. I was sure we were wasting all the money, energy and time. But it was for the Kids. We hyped them about the waterfall previous day which was a flop. Unless they have some real fun, this trip is not productive for them. So I was praying atleast a lean stream running, with lesser crowd, will help us giving the kids some sort of enjoyment and fun. On our way we came across a lean stream as I prayed for. Aha, The harsh ride and tiring walk all the way for this ? But looks like we have to go further.Leggi altro

  • ETTA For FUN

    3 maggio 2015, India ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We were told, the way to hebbe falls is not for the cars, we need to hire a High Ground Clearance vehicle. The Resort manager got us a vehicle immediately and we are ready to set off. I was recollecting about a similar trip to Berijam Lake in Kodaikanal. The Kodaikanal resort manager told us it is a high risk to drive our car to the lake. But the roads through out were so good to drive a car, resort manager tricked us to get a business for the travels. I was expecting something similar to that but then I was proved wrong. If we had driven our car, the car would have been doing a see saw. Such a slow transformation from good roads to worse roads to no roads. The terrain was so rough and unpredictable. The ride became more painful at a point, I thought we shouldn't have opted for this place. With the impact of previous day visit to the Kalhati falls, I was thinking we are going see something not worth all the pain. Then the Vehicle stopped near a gate and the driver asked us to walk all the way till the waterfall. He also added, follow the "Red Marking".Leggi altro

  • ETTA For FUN

    3 maggio 2015, India ⋅ ☀️ 41 °C

    May 1. We had no Idea of how we are going to spend the day. Three more families are starting from Bangalore to join us. So we decided to sketch a plan for today based on their arrival time. It was 9 o Clock, we called them to check their current location. "Gah.. they are still trying to get out of Bangalore." The whole Bangalore was squeezing out of the city through all the available city exits. Long queues of Cars waiting at the toll plazas. Hopeless. They are not gonna reach here anytime sooner. Now we have to decide if we are going to wait for them and then start for the outing or the outing for today happens only for our two families. We picked the later and decided to cover the 'Hebbe Falls' for today and get back to the resort by the time the other gang arrives. I wasn't much agreed to do the waterfall with only two families but Mohan insisted there cannot be a worst idea than waiting for them. It ended up as one of the valuable decisions by Mohan.Leggi altro

  • ExcitemenTTA

    3 maggio 2015, India ⋅ ☀️ 41 °C

    By the time they get the rooms ready, we decided to visit the Kalahati falls which was 7KM from the resort. The kids, after a tiring ride all the way, the waterfall plan energized them and they were hyped about a plunge. Getting to Kalahati falls was easy but the state of the waterfall was pathetic. A beaten up tourist spot, dirty all over and the water flowing down was brownish. I didn't even bother to switch on the camera. The kids were deceived since they couldn't have a dip.

    The evening was spent shifting the rooms, drinks beside the campfire, dinner and a drive to Kemmangundi hills in the night assuming it as a night safari. We badly needed good sleep.
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  • ExcitemenTTA :

    3 maggio 2015, India ⋅ ☀️ 41 °C

    Somehow reached the resort "The Last Resort" at 1 PM. Not bad though. 5 hrs of travel for ~300Kms on the worst roads of Karnataka. The resort was located in the foot hills of kemmangundi hills. Though I expected the resort to be located in the hills station amidst the wilderness, this wasn't any bad. The property was nicely planned and doesn't give a sense of being in the foot hills. Ample space for parking and for kids to play around. Atleast the resort didn't let us down. The rooms were not ready but the need of the hour, the lunch, was ready. Done with the lunch, the rooms weren't still ready and we were given a smaller rooms as temporary arrangement.Leggi altro

  • ExcitemenTTA

    3 maggio 2015, India ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Apr 30. Unusually the Alarm at 5 AM sounded so sweet, I woke up with no hesitation. After collecting the packed breakfast from Divya's parents, 8 AM we started our journey in two cars. The destination being very new to both me and mohan, we got the route planned in Google maps in our androids. On the Tumkur highway we pulled over the cars for those awesome home made poories and side dishes. We once again checked maps for the route to not miss any diversion & resumed. Today my Car felt bit more heavier. Guess what ? the EXCITEMENT in us added to the weight of the Car. He He...Not minding the heaviness, I started driving faster so as to reach the resorts early, We crossed tumkur by a good distance, which means I missed the diversion and still driving on the 4 Lane highways. I was expecting the Maps to show a diversion in some distance, but nothing happened for the next 100 KMS. And here shows the map, we have to deviate left. We had a stop there and still didn't realize we are not moving in the best route to the destination. After another 20 - 30 KMS, The road started getting worse and that is when we realized we missed the best route. Still the map ensured, the way leads to the destination. Unfortunately we were driving through some of the remote villages in Karnataka and the roads were real painful. Not painful for us alone, but for my cat too. A Tractor Trailer hit the right side mirror of the car. Luckily only the outer cover was thrown away to some distance. Collected it back and a gentle push, the cover was back to its position. Thanks for the build quality, the mirror survived.Leggi altro

  • The Resumption Of ETTA

    3 maggio 2015, India ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Wednesday April 29 5:30PM, reached home from office. This time, I left the Car at service station the previous day to avoid last minute surprises. But still had some issues with the alignment but nothing to worry. So, for good, Uncertainty was missing. Packing and Loading the luggages happened as quick as possible. By 7:15 PMwe were out of the city. The Plan was to halt at bangalore in Mohan's house and start early at 6AM next day. I was driving faster to reach as early as possible so I can get some good sleep for the next day driving. But I was slowed down by heavy rain from krishnagiri. The Krishnagiri to Hosur streach was not rain friendly. Speeds above 60KMPH sounded suicidal. And the other thing that slowed us down was finding the route to mohan's house through the city. Finally all the fast driving till hosur made no sense. We reached mohan's house at 2AM. Got into a deep sleep immediately.Leggi altro

  • The Etta

    3 maggio 2015, India ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    ETTA @ Chikmagalur. This place has all the potential to impress the visitors provided the visit happens at the right time with right amount of Stamina. Highest peak, Wilderness, beautiful waterfalls and what not ? this place has got a right mix of tourists spots and travellers spots. So did this ETTA @ Chikmagalur happen with the perfect ingredients ? NO. We didn't get the 'Right Time' right. The time I visited this place, all I could remember is the Heat. At the foot hills or on a peak, couldn't feel the chillness that I felt when seeing the chikmagalur pictures in google search. That is what I meant a visit at right Time and April May is not the right time. And why do we need Right amount of Stamina ? Most of the beautiful places are not straight below your Car Door Sill. Either a rough terrain drive in a High GC vehicle and / or a long trek up and down the mountains is required to witness the hidden beauty of this place. If both the right time and right stamina comes together, with a proper planning, a visit to this place will ensure a long lasting memories. Just a zeal to explore the places wasn't enough. An Important and basic lesson learnt: before looking for a Stay, get to know about the weather pattern of the place.

    But all above doesn't mean, this ETTA was dry and full of displeasure. The Rain God had some mercy on us. I intentionally had to start this with a negative note; to bring the expectation level of the readers in to my hand, believing the previous ETTA Story has set a higher benchmark for this story. Similar to the previous ETTA, this ETTA too is comprised of same chapters except the uncertainty replaced by resumption and a detuned adventures chapter. Let me list them down. Resumption, Excitement, FUN, Misspend, Adventure and Yearning.
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  • The ETTAquipments

    3 maggio 2015, India ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    The new addition to the The ETTAquipments...

    The B-Grip Camera Belt Holder. So happy to have purchased this, it helped me a lot to carry the camera while climbing the rocks, while crossing the pond infront of the waterfall, while driving the car, while carrying Kavin and what not. The Camera always stayed on my hip and I was able to carryout many other activities. Such a valuable addition to the ETTAquipmentsLeggi altro

  • The ETTAnniversary

    3 maggio 2015, India ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    It has been precise 1 Year after the first ETTA. Whoa, First Anniversary !

    For those wondering what is ETTA please read through this link and come backhttps://findpenguins.com/theetta/94554658/munnar

    An 'ETTA', on the 'First Anniversary of the ETTA' is the best way to celebrate.

    Going back to the last year, it was Mohan & Divya's anniversary to which I allied the ETTA.

    This year it is ETTA, Mohan's Anniversary and FiiG. Wait ! What is FiiG ?
    FiiG denotes "Families Together" ( F stands for Families, (ii) Stands for 2/to and G stands for Gether). FiiG is nothing but a family get-together of my college friends.

    I think this is more than enough for an introduction. Let me ignite the Etta Story
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    Fine del viaggio
    3 maggio 2015