Grassi Lakes Hike (Canmore, AB)

It was a while since we had visited the mountains, which we seem to have fallen in love with since we first saw them back in Aug’09. We had seen the Rockies a few times in summer and in fall. We loved it each time. Winter was just about setting in and we wanted to check how the Rockies looked in snow. More importantly we had just invested in our snow boots and wanted to try them out to ensure we made a sensible spend. So we chose to go on a hike to Grassi Lakes - just off Canmore.

So we set on the morning of 22/Nov/09, a Sunday. We decided to leave early and have breakfast in Canmore town – we anyways had to go to the visitor’s information centre to confirm that the trail is still open after a heavy snowfall during the week. We didn’t get enough time the previous day to research on a restaurant, so we ended up walking down the main streets of Canmore in the cold before settling on a Coffee Shop specializing in Bagels. We gulped down the hot coffee and bagel sandwiches quickly. The information centre was closed, so we went to another centre in the outskirts. We got a confirmation on the trail and the helpful lady behind the desk gave us a couple of maps as well.

As we approached the base, we saw how well winter had set in the mountains. Snow was allover and the lake at the base was already frozen. There are 2 trails to Grassi Lakes which is found around 200 meters from the car park. We had read and were also told at the information centre that the more difficult route had all the views - of Canmore and the Bow Valley. The more difficult route is not really very difficult but one has to watch their footing. Though there is a series of stairs to make the climb easier, the snow and ice made the path extremely slippery. Moreover it had completely covered the path in many places and we were clueless on where to go next. We were lost for about an hour with no signals on the phone as well. At one point we contemplated on retracing our steps. But we got stuck in a particularly difficult spot.

The spot was difficult because a brook running down the mountain had frozen and the whole place was just ice. We fell several times between the 2 of us. The situation was more hilarious than we thought – am sure we looked like bowling pins getting knocked down regularly. We managed to catch a glimpse of a lovely and quite big waterfall over the next mountain amidst our falling act. Luckily an hour into this falling and searching madness, a group of hikers came along. One of them had been to the place before so knew the “hidden” path. We followed them all the way to the top.

There are 2 lakes (springs really) at the top and a beautiful view of Ha Ling Peak. The 2 lakes atop the mountain have been named after the guy who discovered it. The lakes themselves are a sparkling sight. The water is so clear that a good reflection of the mountains, tree and snow falls very well on it. A steep but short climb at the end of the upper lakes leads to a canyon where a genuine petro-glyph can be found on a large boulder. We heard that the area was popular sport climbing as well. We didn’t climb that part as it was getting late – we had lost a lot of time earlier on trying to find the path to the lakes. But it gives enough inspiration for a re-visit at least. We got back on the easy route after the interesting incident we had on the other route. This route was quite boring comparatively. It looked like a truck route and just cut through the trees blindly.

We were thankful to come back home and that too in one piece. But despite the episode we loved the hike – it was enchanting and charming nonetheless.

Here is a link to our album: http://picasaweb.google.com/akshatakaranth/GrassiLakesHike22Nov09

More information on how to access the trail and the trail itself can be found at:

http://www.trailpeak.com/trail-Grassi-Lakes-Trail-near-Canmore-AB-6066 or

http://hikealberta.com/hike/grassi-lakes-trail

Visit to the Emerald City of USA – Seattle, WA

This has been a long overdue trip for me. My brother has been in the US for over 11 years and I had never visited him when was studying in ASU or working in Dallas or Seattle where he currently lives. I also never get quality time with bro/sister-in-law when they come to Blr as they have numerous obligations and priorities – fair enough as their visits are limited to once in 2-3 years. But with me becoming an Aunt in Dec’08 and my move to Calgary, I didn’t want to delay my visit any further. So off we went 6-16 Nov’09, though Sharan returned back in 5 days.

My brother and S.I.L ensured that either 1 of them took off and gave me company throughout my stay. It was indeed very thoughtful of them. I got to spend a lot of time (but never sufficient) at home with my nephew Nikhil this way. He is in a very adorable age where he is trying to walk but crawls at a very high speed. Just playing with him for 2 months I think I could loose weight – like how his parents have. He also talks in baby-gibberish, which is absolutely lovely to hear. I enjoyed playing with him, making him eat, putting him to sleep and watch him do his antics.

We got to meet a few other folks and friends:

~ Anand & family – Sharan’s close friend from Blr

~ Lakshmi– Lakshmi is Sharan’s cousin. She has a lovely apartment in downtown Bellvue

~ Champa Aunty & Shelly – Sharan’s Aunt & her daughter. They have a fabulous house on a hill.

~ Genie & wife – Another of Sharan’s close friend and ex-colleague from Blr.

~ Brother’s gang of friends – I finally got to meet the whole lot whom I always heard of but never met: Sanjay & Shwetha, Sam & Bharath and Indira. Thanks to Sam & Bharath for organizing a potluck so that I got to meet everyone.

Since it was slightly longer trip, we got to see around the place as well. Though we did our share of research on the place, we went with my brother’s recommendations. Some of the popular sight-seeing visits we went to were:

Pike Place Market – famous for the pike fish place. Its also a lively market which spans more than 3 floors. One can find absolutely anything and everything there – food, drinks, accessories, paintings, fruits, vegetables, meat, vases, clothes and other knick-knacks. This place also has the first ever Starbucks coffee shop and the only shop with their original logo, which is no longer, used.

Seattle Public Library – Its building is unique and vaguely shaped. A 10 floor library with an auto-book sorter is easily the largest library I’ve seen at least.

Harbor Cruise – a 1 hr cruise that shows you Seattle downtown by water. A pleasant experience – you also get to see many ships docked in the Seattle harbour with some of them being really HUGE.

EMP & SFM – The Explore Music Project (EMP) showcases the rock history of Seattle which housed music greats like Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix and Pearl Jam. This place also has an installation with hundreds of guitars which are connected to play automatically. A music history enthusiast can easily spend days together in this place as it has lot of artifacts and music history to go through. The Science Fiction Museum (SFM) is in the same complex as EMP. It takes one through the journey of Sci-Fi from when it started either through books or movies. Like EMP this museum has a lot of artifacts of famous Sci-Fi movies and books.

Microsoft Campus and store – How can one go to Seattle and NOT see the campus?

Snoqualmie Falls – Away from downtown Seattle, this place is very picturesque with snow-clad mountains as a backdrop. With a height of 268Ft and width of 100Ft, this falls is quite majestic and creates a blinding spray.

Museum of Flight – This Boeing museum gives a good history of aviation with sections dedicated to World War I and World War II planes. It’s also got a section dedicated to Space and NASA where you can try landing a plane or a space shuttle in a fun simulator. You can also enter a portion of the international space station which has also been simulated.

Alki Beach – This calm and serene place overlooks the lovely Seattle Skyline and downtown.

Some of the off-beat places we got to see were:

Bruce Lee’s Grave – Yes the Kirate King was from Seattle. So both he and his son Brandon Lee have been buried next to each other

Bodies Exhibition – This traveling exhibition showcases human nervous system, circulatory system, respiratory system, skeletal system and muscular system with real bodies (dead ones before you wonder). A very informative and highly recommended exhibition if it comes to a city near you.

Improv Show – Don’t ever miss this if you like Improv (yes, like Whose Line Is it Anyway). Improv greats like Ryan Style come to perform at this theatre under Pike Market called Unexpected Productions. It was a laughing riot and Sharan got a chance to go on stage to help them with their show as well. Wowvy! The tradition at this place is to stick a chewing gum at the entrance wall, at least the 1st time you visit it. So we did. It’s quite a sight – a wall FULL of chewing gum stuck on it. Thanks to Lakshmi and her friend Pankaj for taking us to place.

Beaver Lake – This may not be an obvious choice of place to for all travelers but it is very close to my brother’s place and is extremely pretty. It has also got a small hiking trail, which is totally wooded. Once you are on this trail you’ll really wonder if it is in the middle of the city or if you’ve been transported into a forest somewhere.

One other off-beat place mentioning is the Ye Olde Curiosity Shop which has all kinds of odd knick-knacks that’ll make you …..curious. You’ll find all kinds of old gadgets (coin makers, 1900s game machines, odd creatures like 8 legged pig, mummies, etc).

We didn’t go to many restaurants as we either ordered in at home or simple ate scrumptious home food. 2 places worth mentioning were:

La Campagne: Near Pike Place for some awesome French wine and food

Spud: At Alkai beach for some good fish and chips. Though not close to the ones you get in UK, its one of the best I’ve eaten outside of UK.

Thanks to bro and SIL, who are great hosts, we already feel like visiting them once again. There is lot more to see around Seattle. So we have saved it for our next trip.

Here is a link to our photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/akshatakaranth/SeattleTrip616Nov09

Bow Pass and Mistaya Canyon

JJ wanted to go the mountains for the last time as a Calgarian and before he relocated back to London. JJ, Anne and we set out on a Sunday morning (18/Oct/09) having a quick Cafe Beano's coffee. It had just started snowing in the mountains. So we could see the snow capped mountains. But it hadn’t yet snowed enough for the Skiing season to begin. The tracks hardly had any snow.

We first went to Bow Summit which is a viewpoint for Peyto Lake and glacier. It’s on the Icefields parkway road within Banff National Park - around 30 minutes from Lake Louise. We drove up to the Bow Pass/Summit. The lookout point is a short trail from the parking lot. The path was icy and slippery. Sharan and I didn’t have shoes which could be used on this terrain. JJ being the English gentleman that he is, very kindly offered to help me walk. Sharan was on his own with his Camera. The viewpoint is that of Peyto Lake and Glacier. The lake is turquoise blue and shaped like a dog (or that’s what it looked like to us). It was stunning. We could also see the half melted glacier which forms the source of this lake. We hear it in the news and read it elsewhere but really the affects of global warming is clearly seen around these areas with glaciers melting. The lake is surrounded by lush coniferous forests. Behind the forest are the Rocky Mountains. The place looked absolutely enchanting. As we hung around having hot “Chai” (tea) brought by JJ in a thermos, it started to snow. So we quickly drank up and left for our next destination - Mistaya Canyon

Mistaya Canyon is also on the same highway as Bow Pass. But it’s further up and took us another 30 minutes to drive to that place. A trail off the highway led us to the Canyon. One cannot miss it as it is well sign-posted. Along the trail we saw the wrath of storm that lashed this region last year. Trees were uprooted and ripped apart. Mistaya Canyon is formed by the Mistaya River whose source is a glacier around Peyto Lake. The white water of Mistaya River roared down the Canyon and a spray of water surrounded the place. The Canyon was really deep and one could easily notice the path the river had taken, eroding and curving the rocks along the way. We hung around the place for a while enjoying views of this boisterous river in a tranquil background before heading back home.

We had seen the mountains in summer and fall. It was our first time in the mountains after it had snowed. The 2 places were exquisite in their own way and nothing like what we had seen before. I suppose it was a good day for JJ - to say goodbye to the mountains. I guess he’ll miss the proximity of the mountains the most for he'd be back for the skiing season(s) but that's a different matter.

More Information on these 2 destinations:

http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/visit/visit1c_E.asp  

http://www.colonialvoyage.com/viaggi/canadabanffpeyto.html  

Link to our Picasa album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/akshatakaranth/BowPassAndMistayaCanyon#  

Thanksgiving Weekend at Vancouver, BC

Canadian thanksgiving is more than a month earlier than that of the US. But decades ago US and Canada celebrated Thanksgiving in October - yet another brilliant marketing strategy to cash in on the holiday season. Our choice of Vancouver was natural. Firstly it was the fall season and Calgarian Fall is not as exquisite as the rest of Canada. Secondly Sharan had his US Visa but I didn’t and the earliest date available in the Calgary US Embassy was mid-Nov. We got an appointment with the Vancouver US Embassy on the day after Thanksgiving. Lastly, we had heard so much about my Grand Uncle and Aunt staying just off Vancouver, in a town called Langley, we wanted to visit their country-side home. So we fixed the trip for 10-13 Oct'09.

After our customary research, able advice from my brother and grand uncle, we froze on our itinerary but kept it open to juggle it around:
DAY 1:
We spent the entire day with my Grand Uncle and Grand Aunt at Langley. We got a good perspective of how to lead retired life – keeping oneself busy, meaningful and yet enjoy luxuries of life.
DAY 2:
We visited North Vancouver – to see the top tourist spots of Vancouver: Capilano Bridge and Grouse Mountain. Capilano Bridge is a suspension bridge built 230 FT above the Capilano River. Longer than but like the India Laxman Jhulla, this bridge sways as people walk on it. One can approach Grouse Mountain using a Gondola (Sky Train/Cable Car) from its base – a bit over-rated. Of course the joys will be completely different if someone hiked to or from Grouse Mountain. Oh but we did “sight” 2 grizzly bears in a large enclosure which also had a pond. Once we returned to downtown, we walked around China Town (yes, it has to be there in every city) and Gastown of Old Vancouver – a lovely area with cobble stone paths, old buildings, great shops and popular restaurants.
DAY 3:
It was thanksgiving on this day. We visited the Vancouver Aquarium, Granville Island and generally walked around Vancouver. The highlights of the aquarium were the beluga whales, otters and spotting a raccoon which DIDN’T belong to the aquarium.

Granville Island is a MUST VISIT for all. It’s mostly known for the Public Market – a farmers’ market where you’ll find the freshest, choicest and most exclusive farm produce. Mind you its not just limited to fruits, vegetables and meat – you get spices, home made chocolates, jams, confectionaries, etc.

We then headed to English Bay Beach – you have a lovely view of the mountains, Pacific Ocean and some yachts. An Inukshuk also stands tall on the beach – a stone landmark made popular by native Indians of the Tundra region.
DAY 4:
After spending 4 hrs at the US Embassy, we quickly visited the Capilano Fishery before heading to Stanley Park. This is a HUGE park (5 mile circumference) bang in the heart of Vancouver. It’s a fantastic place to walk around, picnic and also see the park’s attractions like the Totem Poles, Lighthouse, lakes, etc. We spent the entire afternoon soaking in the striking fall colors. We then quickly visited Gastown and Granville Island once again (worth it) before heading to the airport.

The Vancouver Public Transport requires a special mention. We wanted to experience this as this city has traffic and commuting challenges like reducing commute time on the curvaceous mainland with a lot of water inlets and accessibility to smaller islands which are bustling with business. We were always in awe of London Underground (“mind the gap”) but Vancouver has taken Public Transport to newer levels. Public and tourists have the following options to travel: Rental cars, Taxi, regular Bus, electric Bus, Sky train (metro), Sea Bus (literally) and last but not the least Sea Taxi (small boats converted to taxis carrying up to 10 people at a time). All options are really affordable – obviously, it’s used by common man. Else it would become moot.

Vancouver is a place for foodies or we would like to think so. Most of the places we tried had lip smacking food. Some of the eateries worth recommending are:
~ The Boathouse (West End, English Bay Beach) – one of the best places for sea food
~ Steam Works Brewery Pub/Restaurant (Gastown) – A good place to wind down after a long day of hectic tourist activities. Try one of the BC brewed beer – they are refreshing.
~ House of Dosas (Junction of Kingsway and Kings Street) – For all those Indians living outside starving for good dosas, Indian tourists missing home food and anyone else who love good south Indian food. This is the place to go. Chennai dosas are waiting for you.
~ Tomahawk (Philip AVE, N Vancouver): A family run barbeque restaurant.
~ Templeton (Granville ST) – Most popular diner in downtown Vancouver known for its Sunday Brunches.
~ Trees Café (Granville ST) – Acclaimed to have the best cheesecakes in Vancouver – and we can second that without trying other cheesecakes - a sinful bliss.
~ Granville Island Brewery (Granville Island) – a good place to try variety of local beer

We loved Vancouver as we found it to be a cosmopolitan city – vibrant and cheerful despite perennial rains. We got to interact with locals – really friendly when compared to Calgary. We could see the excitement building up for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Feb’10 as well. Never know – we might return to the city for that once in a life time experience of watching a Olympic event

As always here is a link to our album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/akshatakaranth/ThanksgivingLongWeekendAtVancouverBC1013Oct09#

Dealing with change

As we cross the 2 month mark since our move to Calgary, I thought I’d take stock of what has changed. In a nutshell it’s almost everything – naturally with such moves comes big changes. Apart from stating the obvious – change in routine, new friends, new colleagues (for Sharan), new city, here are my top 3 changes and top 3 new things we have started after our move (no order of preference in either category)

Changes:

• Making use of free time:
  We finally have time over weekends and some weekdays to do things. It may be small things like watching TV (yes we never watched TV in India – except when there was a tournament we follow, or bring home a DVD) or writing regular blog posts. We have also managed to walk regularly, and go on hikes over weekends, something we always wanted to do but never found time out of our errands, chores, visits, hosting, etc. Since it’s a new place, we also have time to explore the place
• Cooking:
  Since our cook did most of the cooking, cooking was limited to weekends when we didn’t go to folks’ house and had parties (and we weren’t ordering out). Even then, the cook was around to help with the preparation (cutting vegetables, grating coconut, making batter, etc) and more importantly cleaning after cooking. We are enjoying (re)learning cooking. Sharan tries a new recipe almost every weekend. I’ve been sticking to basics of Konkani and Kota Brahmin food though. We need our regular dose of regular south Indian food – sambars, rasams, dals. But that’s fine as it simple but yet scrumptious. Sharan has also been able to pack lunch which is great.
• Enjoying bland food:
  It’s true. We’ve conquered this competence (yes it is one). We’ve eaten out once a week on an average and seem to enjoy the food here. The only difference being it is bland - but flavorful, mind you. Even while cooking I have reduced green chilies (8 to 2). I also cooked with just half a chili when Sharan’s colleagues came over for dinner and the food tasted quite right. Golly! I’ve changed

New habits/ conduct

• Black coffee:
  I’ve always wanted to be able to drink any kind of coffee/tea but in vain. Nothing compared to the good old south Indian filter coffee. Initially I could have only coffee with jaggery – not even sugar coffee. Slowly I got accustomed to coffee with sugar. But that stuck on. I actually carried a filter and coffee powder from home during my UK stint a few years ago. I slowly learnt to enjoy a Cappuccino (came closest to strong milk coffee) or an occasional latte thanks to the numerous visits to coffee day, java city or barista cafes while dating Sharan.
  
  Tea was worse – I never could stand its taste. I used to have the milky tea made at someone’s house but it was more out of politeness. I used to just gulp it down and get over with it. Soon after marriage, realized Sharan and his family were obsessed with drinking tea. I had to and learnt to make tea – with lots of water and wee bit of milk. It actually tasted fine. So I got over this hurdle. I love tea now.
  
  So, the only “type” left to love was black - I’ve passed over this after coming here. It all started with our initial days here in Calgary. Since the kitchen wasn’t set up, we used to visit a diner nearby for breakfast (called Nellie’s). Just got hooked on to their black coffee – it’s brilliant. So now I not only can have but also thoroughly enjoy my black coffee (no milk, no sugar) in the morning or anytime.
• Dealing with cold/snow:
  As they say – it’s all in the mind. Honestly. I’ve been mulling over this ever since our Calgary move got finalized. Sharan said I had to deal with it – one way or another. I couldn’t reject the cold. I would be miserable and would hate the move. The whole point of learning to live in a new place would get lost. I keep telling myself that
  a) its not really that cold
  b) winter will be far worse
  I’ve managed quite decently so far. Ask Sharan. Yes I’ve felt cold no doubt. But I have just stopped making a big deal of it. Just layer myself and get on with it. Dealing with extreme dryness is another matter. Gosh – with the amount of static generated, we may have alternate means of electricity around here.
• NFL/CFL:
  We have started following NFL for 2 reasons:
  a) It’ll give us something speak about with people here.
  b) Its really interesting. Like football (or should I now start saying soccer)
  Come on Calgary Stampeders!
• Sharan’s new look:
  Those who know Sharan, know that he had a ‘virgin mush’. I always wanted to see how he looked without one and obviously I never got the privilege. In some arbit moment he had agreed to shave off his mush if we moved abroad, so that way he’d have lesser people to deal with. Haah! How could I forget such things? I promptly reminded him once we moved, and so he very sweetly obliged.
  
  Which “version” of him do I like? I must admit the resemblance to Siddhu (his brother) is more than ever now. I refused to go near Sharan initially J But frankly mush was never a/the factor for me so it was just a matter of getting used to his new look. But folks and friends have been giving feedback. His new look seems to be more popular.
  
  I know I mentioned at the beginning of this post that there will be a top 3, but can’t help having a 4 top 3s in this case.

So we have another 10 months to go. Should see what else we’ll do - Cross country skiing? Rodeo? Or fast food junkies!

First Snowfall

You’ve seen it in photos, you’ve seen it in movies, you’ve also seen it on (some) mountain tops but your first snowfall experience has to be unique. Seeing everything around you in white itself is exhilarating. You also let out your hand to catch the falling snow and then examine the structure of snow. You eventually make a snowball to throw it at something or someone. Everyone who has had a first snowfall must’ve done this. But the experience is still unique for all. 3 things took me by surprise - I really didn’t know snow was shaped and sized. Snow is extremely light weight (my science knowledge shows). The white around can hurt your eye.

Wet snow was predicted in and around Calgary for the 3-4 Oct weekend. Sharan’s office had organized an “away day” and we were to go to Rafter 6 Ranch in the Kananaskis countryside for this. The snowfall there was supposed to be heavier. So we left in anticipation, as we drove out of Calgary and neared the mountains; we saw patches of snow over the prairie grasslands. The ducks were still wading in the ponds and lakes though. So it’s not that cold to freeze we thought happily, warm that we were inside the car. As we continued driving, the snowfall started. I tried curtailing the grin on my face by looking sideways, outside the window. It was beautiful. Everything… every thing was white. It was indeed a calendar picture sight. But we couldn’t stop to take any photos as it was the highway and we were warned to take it easy on these slippery roads.

The ranch looked lovely as we approached it. Sharan and I quickly got off the car to capture the moments. The ranch had 2 main buildings and some cottages around. A chapel was to one end and horse stables at the other. There was a ring nearby for those who wanted to ride horses. Though we thought we were well dressed to embrace snow, we slowly realized the cold embracing us. We hurried indoors as we had to be up for a long day ahead.

All through the day we were busy with various sessions Sharan’s office had organized. But I was constantly staring outside the window – With the woods and mountains nearby, the horses running around, the view was very scenic anyways, the fresh and heavy snowfall just made it more magnificent.

Late afternoon Avanti and I decided we had enough of indoors and decided to go for a stroll outside. It had stopped snowing. I realized that everything was so white around me that I actually found it difficult to keep my eyes wide open. But still we played in snow, walked around the ranch, went by the ranch horse and donkey (only because the owner was with us), and took some pictures before heading back indoors – satisfied of being in/with snow. Hot coffee inside was equally tempting.

I may still be awed when I see snow again in the near future. But my true love for snow will show in Feb-Mar when winter is darkest, coldest and harshest.

Here are some moments captured:
http://picasaweb.google.ca/akshatakaranth/FirstSnowfall3Oct09#

Waterton National Park

The first thing anyone in Alberta tells you about Waterton is the wildlife spotting. So when Mujir and Avanti suggested we accompany them and Avanti’s mom, we happily agreed. Moreover Sharan colleagues let out the secret – it’s the pre-hibernation time for the bears so they’ll be out there gorging on berries before they disappear for winter. That nailed it for us. We have been fairly luckily in Bandipur and Panna in India. So definitely wanted to check what it was here.

As always we decided to leave early. Waterton is a minimum 3 hr drive (borders USA) and if wanted to make the most of the day in the place, we had to be there early. We got up late making others wait, so we were running around scampering for things. In all the early morning commotion, both Sharan and I forgot our camera – A blunder and not just a mistake we found out later.

We reached our 1st destination – a hiking trail just before Waterton Village called Bear’s Hump around 9:30. As we got off the car, we heard girls screeching and screaming. When I turned around to check what the hullabaloo was all about, it was our first bear sighting for the day. It was a fully grown black cinnamon bear 12 feet away, looking straight at us. Thanks to all the noise it scuttled away before Avanti or her mom could get the camera. That pretty much defined the rest of the day for us.

We happily started the ascent to the Bear’s hump. The board read that it was short but steep. Knowing our fitness level both Sharan and I got instantly cautious. The climb was quite sharp but we trudged along slowly. We reached the hilltop within an hour. And it was the windiest I’ve ever seen – Sharan was almost knocked off his feet, so one can imagine the plight of the rest J But it was all well worth it as the view of Waterton lakes (upper and lower) and the village was stunning. We missed our camera but 2 other point n shoots were available atleast for witness. The downhill hike was much faster as always but not as fast as it would be for the Canadians. We met several hikers who were on the way up when we were going downhill. The entire lot crossed us again and we hadn’t reached the base yet. Speaks a lot about our and their fitness and speed, huh?

We decided to have packed brunch on the banks of the river nearby. Though there weren’t appropriate seating available, we hungrily devoured the sandwiches. The mood got even better after a stomach fill. We decided to head to the village and see if we could get onto the cruise around the lake. On the way back from the river to the village, we saw that the car in front of us had stopped. We weren’t sure if it had broken down or they were lost, looking at maps. We were in the middle of nowhere – with the valley on 1 side and forrest on the other. The driver then pointed out to a nearby hillock. It was our second bear sighting for the day. It was another fully grown black cinnamon bear looking at down at the car in front of us – just 20 ft away. This time we were able to capture it on camera. Oh but there is a difference - it wasn’t our camera. Anyways, guess there was another bear nearby (we couldn’t see), so this one ran back into the jungle.

By now everyone agreed that luck WAS on our side - we reached Waterton village in time for the cruise. The cruise was quite good – the commentator was even better. But I’d not recommend it for the 2nd time. The 2 highlights of the cruise were –
A. Part of Upper Waterton Lake is in the US, so we crossed borders with NO FUSS.
B. Spotted bald eagles nesting.
The other interesting point we noted was that the 7 hour difficult hike up to Crypt Lake, the most popular hike of Waterton, started in the middle of nowhere and the only way to get to the starting point was this cruise.

Once we were off the cruise, we roamed around the main streets of the village. We spotted some wild deer roaming around just like us – that definitely was an unusual sight. It was almost 6pm and we hurriedly got to our next destination – red canyon. The drive up to the place was very scenic. But the canyon itself was disappointing because the river was almost dry. But it was definitely red – due to the color of the mud and the dusk. We headed to our last destination for the day - bison paddock. A vast space where wild bisons are found, fenced though. We saw more than a dozen of them – quite ugly creatures I must admit.

On the way back, just as we took a turn into the highway I spotted a coyote trotting along a farm fence (I thought it was a fox till I looked it up the next day). Unfortunately since it was the highway we couldn’t stop. And by the time others saw it, we had zoomed past L

We stopped at Pincher Creek Village for some gas and a quick bite. It also had gotten much cooler. We reached Calgary late evening, tired and sleepy. That was the end of a satisfying trip. All of us did have a smile as we went to sleep dreaming of bears but not bulls for a change.

More info on Waterton is available at:
http://www.watertonpark.com/
http://www.watertoninfo.com/

Photos: will be uploaded/ updated once I get the pictures from other cameras.

Johnston Canyon – Banff National Park

Sharan informed me that we would have the car over the weekend. Since the office rental car was shared between 4 colleagues, we had to wait for our turn to take the car. I suggested that we go to Lake Winniwonka (yes, sounds like it’s from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, isn’t it?). Sharan’s colleague Mujir had suggested Johnston Canyon. We finally decided to take a call after we reach Banff. We initially wanted to go on Saturday – but with all the cooking, cleaning, groceries, etc – the plan didn’t materialize. So it was Sunday, 20th Sep’09.

It was drizzling all the way through making us wonder if we chose the wrong day. It would be a good drive if not anything we agreed. We stopped at Lac De Arc (lake) – the 1st “viewpoint” you see when you approach Rockies/Banff from Calgary. After a couple of quick shots, we left to our next destination – Banff National Park gates to buy a pass. We now have a year around pass – given that we were going so often and with all the promised visits from folks n friends, we thought might as well.

On reaching Banff village we headed to the information centre. The lady said it was beautiful day to hike up the Johnston Canyon. The sun was coming up after all. So we took a map and headed for some breakfast. Once we got done with that as well, we headed to Johnston Canyon. The drive up to the trail was a long one – amidst dense coniferous forests. The sky cleared up and the sun was out in all splendor. With the fall having set in and all shades of green to yellow colors splashed across the place, it was beautiful. One could teach shading and mixing colors to aspiring artists from just here I think.

We finally made it to Johnston Canyon parking lot. Surprised to see that there were lots of hikers there, we started our ascent. The trail itself was well laid with wooden/metal railings on and off. This is something a trekker from India isn’t used to. The trail had the mountain towering on 1 side and the river down the canyon on the other. So sometimes it was great to have the railings after all.

The hikers were accommodating – followed “right of way” even while walking/hiking. Received an occasional “hi there” or “hello” (they got to be Brits – who else would say that in today’s world? But it’s great).

We saw many cascades all along the way. The water was crystal clear – well after seeing all those ads on glacier fed mineral water bottled, we can now say it could be true. In some sections the water was deep blue and in other sections it was turquoise blue – effect of the stones beneath we were once told. But Johnston Canyon has 2 main waterfalls – upper and lower. You hike longer for the upper. It’s also the bigger one. You need to walk through a cave tunnel for the lower one – very exciting. The ice-cold water just sprays at you. It actually is a welcome feeling after the hike for unfit people like us. Though the trail promised, sadly we couldn’t spot any birds except A raven.

We decided not to climb further up to Ink Pots as it would get late. So we headed back to Banff Village for a late lunch (or early dinner). We decided to try the tex-mex restaurant. It was worth it. With yummy fruitless Sangria (yes you get fruitless sangria here), quesadillas and salsa dips, it was a perfect ending to a wonderful day. A good drive, a good hike and good food definitely makes a good Sunday.

More details are available at: http://www.banff.com/hiking/johnston_canyon.shtml

Link to our picture album:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/sredir?uname=akshatakaranth&target=ALBUM&id=5386734871504858417&authkey=Gv1sRgCI-V5KSFlKn9OA&invite=CNvXlscN&feat=email

Edmonton

The Labor Day long weekend (5-7 Sep’09) was just a week away and we weren’t even aware of it. After a frantic search, we nailed down on visiting Edmonton. Sharan’s colleagues assured him that it was a bad choice. “There’s hardly anything in Edmonton”. they said. But we were determined to go and more importantly, have a good time. Sharan did most of the research by burning the midnight lamp. I just booked the hotel from the shortlisted ones for 1N-2D due to the high costs of last minute booking. We packed our bags in the last minute as usual. Sharan took hazaar (1000s) print outs of maps (which was extremely handy in the end). Luckily for us the company car was also free.

We started around 7:00AM. With a couple of brief stops, the drive to Edmonton was more or less peaceful. We reached outskirts by 10:00am and headed straight to the Queen Edmonton Cruise (not quite straight as we lost our way inside the city). Since we hadn’t had any breakfast we ordered a sandwich and some coffee/beer (you can guess who had the beer) on the cruise. It was a pleasant day, with localities either jogging along the river, or musing over life at the banks, or even playing with their pets in the water. We spotted many ring billed gulls basking in the sun as well. The cruise lasted an hour and wasn’t really money’s worth (CAN$18/- per head, http://www.edmontonqueen.com/) as it was not only slow but the path was too short because of the slowness. We would recommend canoeing or kayaking down the river as a better option for those interested.

After the cruise we checked into the hotel (very good rooms) and quickly freshened up and headed to Whyte Avenue. This place seemed to have all the buzz. We chose to have lunch at a much recommended Greek restaurant called Yanni’s. The food was indeed outstanding but with a farily slow service. But I don’t really blame them because of the rush they had. We then headed to the Winston Churchill Square. It’s adjacent to the city hall and is a huge open space with beautiful landscapes. They also have a small open air amphitheatre and in evenings a large screen is put up for viewing movies on the square for free. Most of the time latest animation movies are played here. The art gallery is close by as well.

We then headed to the Beaumont Blues Festival after a short stop at the hotel for freshening up. The festival was located in a picturesque place – in the middle of farms just outskirts of Edmonton. There were grasslands till the horizon in every direction. It started to get cold in the evening with the open surrounding and wind. The festival had some stalls at one end, a beer garden at another end (surprising to see how popular Beer is despite the cold). Most people had got foldable chairs (a must buy for us now) and fleece rugs to keep themselves warm. Though we had a mat and fleece rug, we had to drink lots of HOT coffee to keep ourselves warm. Music was of superior quality. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. (http://www.beaumontblues.net/)

Next day, checking out of the hotel early, we went to a popular breakfast joint by the high level bridge in downtown Edmonton. The food was again note worthy. After a scrumptious meal, we walked up to the legislature building which is on the other side of the high level bridge. It was a very enjoyable walk across the Saskatchewan River and back. We then visited the famous West Edmonton Mall (WEM, http://www.wem.ca/). It supposed to be the largest mall in the world. I don’t have a doubt. Hosting over 800 shops, it also has an amusement park and water park inside the mall apart from host of other things (ice skating rink, sea lion show, a ship replica, etc). We strolled around for an hour or 2, tried a hand at adventure golf and saw the sea lion show. We finally reached the water world park. This park has some amazing water slides. Slides are marked as beginners, intermediate, advanced and dangerous. I tried mostly the last 2 categories. It was tiring to climb stairs for each of the rides but it was well worth it. The wave pool was also good and the hot tub relaxed our aching bones.

We left back to Calgary after a quick and short meal around 7:30pm at Funky Pizza (nothing worth talking about). We managed to keep ourselves awake through out the return journey despite being exhausted from all the stair climbing and adereline pumping water slides. And for all those people who said Edmonton would be boring, we had a splashing time.

Link to our photo album: http://picasaweb.google.ca/akshatakaranth/LabourDayWeekendAtEdmonton

Fact File:
Edmonton is the capital of Alberta Province in Canada. The Saskatchewan River flows through its centre dividing the city into half. Though known mostly as the home of the largest mall in the world, Edmonton has more to it than just the mall. The Old Strathcona area and Edmonton Oilers (NFL) are popular as well.

Getting there: Edmonton has an international airport. Greyhound Canada buses also ply to and from various destinations. Edmonton also has a small train station. Edmonton is 300 kms from Calgary by road.
Transport: Edmonton has city buses running every 30 mins and a 10 stop LRT. Taxis are plenty.
Attractions: Old Stathcona, Royal Alberta Museum, Murrat conservatory, North Saskatchewan River, Alberta Legislature, Edmonton Art Gallery, Ukrainian Heritage sites, Alberta railway museum and West Edmonton Mall (WEM)
Getting away: Red deer, Yellowhead Hwy & Elk Island National Park are nearby places of visit.
Know more from: www.edmonton.ca or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton

First visit to the Rockies

Our new friends Mujir and Avanti were really keen to go out of town since they just got a car. We instantly jumped at the idea. Always ready to go somewhere, see a new place or do something different. So we met on Friday over some really sad Chinese dinner to plan it out. We decided to go for the GlobalFest’09 on Saturday and to Lake Moraine/Louise on Sunday.

We planned to leave early so that we could cover both the lakes and also get back into town to get ready for yet another work week. We finally left at 7:00AM. Our first impression of the Rockies was that they were really rocky. It reminded me of one of my most favorite trips - to Uttaranchal. The towering Himalayas seemed just as or rockier. There were hardly any snow capped mountains on this fine summer day, making it look more barren than ever I suppose.

Our first halt was Lake Moraine. The cold hit us as we got of the cozy car. I was shivering to the bone despite having a pull-over and a bandana. So we decided to start with a packed breakfast from home and HOT coffee from the café there. Soon Avanti and I got busy making sandwiches and little did we notice a squirrel quietly sneaking behind us to steal one of the sandwiches. Only when some of the other visitors squealed did we realize. We hastily tucked in our breakfast as the squirrel didn’t seem scared to take more. We then decided to take the walking trail around the lake. As we walked by, the weather seemed to get better and that’s when we realized the turquoise blue color of the lake. It was stunning. Apparently the rocks beneath the lake give the color effects. We soon heard a cascade/water falls nearby. We walked to the end of the trail to realize that the sound was of the white water river which fed the lake. The source was a glacier nearby. We walked on the wild side for a bit and for some photos before retracing our steps to the car.

Our second halt was Lake Louise. This was more “touristy” than Lake Moraine. There were thousands of visitors around. The lake was bigger than the one before. It was blue too – but a deep blue. The lake was surrounded by coniferous forests on 2 sides, glaciers on the 3rd side and we stood on the 4th. It was a spectacular view. We decided to return to this place every season as we are sure each season will bring in a different charm to the place. Hunger and huge crowds made us leave the place soon.

Our final destination was Banff Village. We basically went there just to eat. We found a quite French restaurant where we devoured our Fish n Chips, Veg Pizza (made on a bed of potato, not bread) and sandwiches gleefully. We did realize that Banff is a very picturesque place with lots of eateries and stores showing how important tourism is for the village economy. But we didn’t go around the village much as we had to head back home.

We reached back by 18:00, a day well spent in the Rockies. Hopefully the next time we visit, it would be for camping.

Here is a link to our photo album: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/akshatakaranth/LakeMoraineAndLakeLouise#

Calgary’s 2009 Global Fest

Calgary hosts an annual multi-cultural festival which includes a fire work festival in August. The first of its kind was back in 2003 and it has been growing ever since. Its main focus is to bring about a cultural awareness and the more obvious economic development for Alberta province. This year the fest was held 14-29 August. It had its customary firework competition as well. We managed to go only for the finale on 29th August 2009, which assured of cultural performances from different countries as well as a fire work display at the very end.

We decided to go with our new found friends Mujir and Avanti. Since the tickets weren’t available online, we bought them at the nearst Co-op store (a co-operative provision and grocery store). As suggested by the event organisers, we parked our car at a nearby mall and took the shuttle service provided to reach the place – Elliston Park, East Calgary.

The park was very pretty – developed around a large pond, they had put up tents (pavilions) for showcasing participating countries’ specialities, there was a separate set of pavilions dedicated to food – where each tent was allocated to a participating country. The food was surprisingly good. Though Sharan and I weren’t very hungry, we tried the food Mujir bought – South Indian Kababs (tasted similar to Empire Kababs) and Cuban Samosas (not sure what they are called). The organizers had put up 3 stages to showcase the music and dance of the participating countries. The atmosphere was vibrant – people were really enjoying soaking up the sun. There were many weirdly dressed people as well.

We parked ourselves near the stage in the beer garden. The most interesting dances were the Ukrainian, Russian and the Salsa dances. The MOST terrible was none other than Indian. While all other countries preferred their professional troupes to participate, our Indian association decided to put up a kids’ talent show like you would see in an apartment complex. The dancers had no rhythem, expressions, training and common sense. The “Punju Aunty” who choreographed the whole thing stood by proudly and animatedly prompting the next steps. GOSH! It was such an embarrassment.

After the torture, we decided to head towards the waterfront across which the firework display was set up. More than half of Calgary population seemed to be there too. The max no. of people we have seen since we came. People sat all around the water front. They were fully equipped with portable chairs, blankets and camera. We just had the camera. The display was spectacular – though we have seen lots of fireworks back home, this was something unusual – it was automated – not sure how. More importantly it was synchronized to music. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

At the end of the display, it took us nearly 2 hrs for us to get back to the car park and then home. Though it was a long day we were all excited about our trip next day to Lake Louise and Lake Moraine – our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains.

Info: http://www.globalfest.ca/
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/akshatakaranth/GlobalFest2009?feat=email#

Remembering Shanta

Everyone who knows me well knows about Shanta Cat or rather my love for her.

Sharan’s cousin Gummi found Shanta on the streets of Sadashivnagar bitten by some animal back in ‘99-‘00. After giving first aid, Shanta was in Gummi’s house recovering and that’s when her ferociousness was seen. She started chasing the cats AND DOGs of the house away. They were just petrified of Shanta. So she was handed over to Sharan as he didn’t have any pets at that moment in time. It never occurred to me once during ‘courtship’ that she would come as part of the parcel. I had to look after Shanta, once we got married. I come from a family which isn’t so much into pets. Pets are either outside the house or in the farm. This whole new deal was very over whelming for me. To add to that I was allergic to her fur and Shanta has been 1 FURRY cat.

I set some ground rules for Shanta right from the beginning – no sitting on sofa and no entering kitchen or bedrooms. I could close the bedroom doors but the kitchen never had one. I covered the sofa with bedsheets so that her fur doesn’t fall on it. So she obeyed me – NOT ONCE did we catch her in the act. But the sofa upholstery was torn, there was always fur in the kitchen and some kitchen cupboard or the other was open. It was cute that she thought she wouldn’t get caught if she did things behind our back – she forgot that she had to close the doors behind her or stitch up the torn upholstery. Screaming and scolding her after reaching home from work was a usual story and was of no good. But at least it helped me vent out my anger on her. Was she or office or hunger the real reason? According to Sharan the only person she ever feared was me – BULL I say. Why would she harass me, if so?

It took me around 2 years, a lot of medication and fights to get used to Shanta and her fur. It all boiled down to the question I posed for Sharan – choose Shanta or me – and he didn’t answer that one. So it dawned on me only then that I might as well get used to Shanta.

Otherwise Shanta is easily one the prettiest cats ever with the bushiest tail ever. She is toilet trained and is extremely clean. She eats only cat food (so no mess with fish or milk around). She doesn’t eat/steal food or milk kept in the kitchen. Not once has she broken anything in the house – unlike the sweet monsters of Zo’s (Sorry Zo, couldn’t help mention the 3 Pussketeers). We’ve had people visiting our home exclusively to meet and greet Shanta. They spoke with us because we happened to be there.

We had to find Shanta a new home due to our Calgary move. Though over the years I got fond of her, it’s been truly heartbreaking for Sharan and his cousins. We searched high and low for a new home. A lot of friends and folks mentioned that if no one took her, they’d keep her. Damn sweet - we knew it was difficult for those who offered – they had pets already (Shanta may chase them off knowing her history) or never had pets before (wouldn’t know how to deal with cats). Either ways was difficult with Shanta around. Luckily Sharan’s friend in Mumbai offered to accommodate her.

We decided to fly with her. We had to get Shanta vaccinated as the airline required us to do so. It took 3 people to give her 2 injections. She was more sour than sore due to the vaccination. We bought her a hard case just for the journey. We decided to stay there for 3 days till she got accustomed to the place. She took one whole day to get used to the new (and hot) environment by starving herself. By day 3, she had taken liking to her new owners. that was a relief to all of us!

Now I don’t have to close bedroom doors or cover the sofa with bedsheets to avoid her fur but I still almost go for it out of habit. I didn’t realize that letting go of Shanta was difficult me too.

Who would I vent all my frustrations on now? BTW, these days I look forward to meeting Sharan in the evening…

Journey to the Centre of... India

In October 2008, we started thinking about the much awaited Christmas Holidays. Since we always wanted to explore India more, we thought of covering length and breadth of any state. We narrowed down our search to – Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. We shot down Rajasthan as it was a tourist hotspot season. Our friends Sapna & Naveen were going to Andaman & Nicobar Islands so we didn’t want to go the same place. So the choice was really between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

Aishwarya (Aish), our well travelled (within India) friend was witness to all this planning and mentioned that she would love to join us if we were going to Madhya Pradesh as it was one of the very few states in India she hadn’t been to. That really sealed the decision. Madhya Pradesh (MP) it was! All that remained was for Aish to get permission from her parents which wasn’t really an issue.

Thus began our research and planning to carve out a suitable itinerary. Being ardent followers of the Outlook Traveler Magazines, Sharan quickly reminded me that the ONLY issue that we DIDN’T have was that of May’08. It was an MP special edition. We then started the hunt for that valuable edition – we asked umpteen magazine stores, friends and folks who may have it – all in vain. Sharan then dared to call the Magazine office in Delhi to find out. It turned out that Outlook Traveler believes in Customer Service and customer satisfACTION. They IMMEDIATELY sent a FREE copy of the much wanted issue. Thank you Outlook Traveler – we used so much of the information given there.

We also thought that the ad by MPSTDC, as part of Incredible India Campaign, was a good point to initiate our research - Hindustan Ka Dil Dekho (See the heart of India). We also used Wikipedia and Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation Ltd official website for our planning (destinations, distance calculator, accommodation, itinerary, etc).

After a lot of discussion, debate, argument and reviews, we finalized and went on an 11 day trip to MP (24/Dec/08-3/Jan/09). The trip was bifurcated into 4 phases:

~ Episode I - covered Western M.P IndorePlaces visited were in and around Indore – Mandu (City of pleasure palaces of Baz Bahadur), Indore, Maheshwar (Narmada Ghats) and Ujjain (including Bhairavgarh)
~ Episode II - covered Central M.P journey Places visited were in and around Bhopal – Bhopal, Bhojpur, Bhimbetka and Sanchi
~ Episode III - covered part of Northern Eastern M.P Places visited were in and around Khajuraho – Khajuraho, Panna National Park and Ken Ghariyal Sanctuary
~ Episode IV - covered part of Northern M.PVisited Orccha (and Nagpur in Maharashtra, which we stopped by for a connecting flight)

We seem to have covered a little bit of everything - heritage/history, geography, nature, wild-life, culture, religion as well as lots of food and fun! We travelled by air, rail and road. We interacted a lot with locals and met some amazing people in our trip (Hope to write a separate post on this). In truest of sense we felt the heart beat of "Incredible India". Planning and research on the places we visited made our trip thoroughly enjoyable.

Since we used MPSTDC for accommodation and sight-seeing, I should have a special mention for them. The hotels & resorts – though very basic – were well maintained in most places. It exceeded our expectation of a “Government” run hotel/resort. Most sites of tourist attractions were clean and well maintained (thanks to ASI – Archaeological Survey of India. also). Moreover the information provided on their website is sufficient enough to plan a trip.
For those interested in our trip journal, Aish’s blog has detailed posts on our trip (not covered the full trip yet but she'll get there some day).

A different usual – Ooty/ Coonoor

We had a long weekend for Ugadi (Hindu New Year) and didn't want to be in Bangalore (27-30 Mar '09). Sharan, in addition, was keen to get back to his photography practice. Ooty and Coonoor – the twin hill stations in the Nilgiri range of the Western Ghats seemed to be the ideal choice given the distance by road and (more importantly) fine weather. On one hand I was skeptical - Ooty had gotten too commercialized over the past years and wasn't a "get-away" in the real sense. On the other hand it was around 9 years since I had been there last. Additionally we had never been to Coonoor. Since we decided and booked in the last minute we got accommodation in 3 different places for the 3N-4D vacation. No cribbing on this one as each place was unique in its own way - First at Destiny's Farm (Avalanche Valley, 30 kms off Ooty), next at King’s Cliff (in Ooty) and lastly at Taj Gateway Hotel (Coonoor).

Note: Destiny Farm and King’s Cliff are part of Little Earth Group (http://www.littlearth.in/)

Fact File:
Distance: Ooty by Road - Coimbatore (80Kms), Bangalore (275 Kms).
Getting there: There are ample of buses and trains from either of the cities. Nearest Airport is Coimbatore.
Best season: February through May, September-October
Know more from:http://www.nilgiris.tn.gov.in/OOTY.HTM or http://www.nilgiris.tn.gov.in/Coonoor.htm

In and around Ooty:
We didn’t go to ANY of the typical tourist attractions (Botanical garden, Centenary Rose Park, Ooty Lake, Doddabetta, etc) as we had been here earlier. Instead we visited the not so popular tourist destinations like the Bee Museum and Green Shop of Keystone foundation. Keystone Foundation is known as an organisation concerned with honey management and marketing for communities (Kurumba and Toda tribes in Nilgiris for e.g.,) without compromising the sustainability of bee's community itself. (http://keystone-foundation.net/web/).

We also visited the Wax World – a private wax museum that has been the poor man's Indian Madame Tussades for years. We had never heard or seen it before. The museum included statues of usual and famous Indian personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, J. Nehru, Mother Teresa, Shivaji, Subhas Chandra Bose among others. Some of the wax statues were hilarious, some terrible and a few were very creative.

We drove around Red Hills and Avalanche Valley – very picturesque hill ranges with acres and acres of tea estates (literally till you can see the horizon) and many unspoiled lakes and ponds all around. But its very disheartening to see that forest area has been cut down for these tea estates.

We tried a couple of very popular restaurants which came recommended – Earl’s Secret at King’s Cliff on Havelock Road (Continental – Very good) and Shinkhow on Commissioner's Road (Chinese – disappointing, may be we didn't order right)

In and around Coonoor:
Acres Wild – is a 22 acre, family-run organic and (homemade) cheese making farm. Their goal is to shape an eco-friendly, holistic and self-sustaining life style for themselves and share this experience with others in hope that others adopt it too. (http://www.acres-wild.com/). This place is run Mansoor Khan and family. His wife, Tina, excitedly explains the process of cheese making. She said she started this only because of her love for Cheese. Cheese can be bought from outlets in Ooty or Coonoor. Mansoor, an avid environmentalist, not only passionately shows around his environment-friendly farm but also keeps you gripped with his views on the global warming phenomenon. Rhea, the darling pet around, is as enthusiastic as Mansoor to show the place.

We never realized that it was Mansoor Khan who was the director of popular Bollywood movies like QSQT, JJWS, AHAT (all with Aamir Khan), Josh (with SRK) and co-producer of Jaane Tu Ya Jane Na (with Imran Khan). Apparently he is Aamir Khan's cousin and Imran Khan's uncle. Shows how much of Bollywood we know. Mansoor moved to Coonoor from Mumbai after being fed up with city life.

We shopped at NeedleCraft (in Singara Tea Estate) - known for its exquisitely hand-embroidered pillowcases, cushion covers, bedspreads, bedsheets and handkerchiefs. Though they are steeply priced, Naaz (the owner) insists that she is just selling on behalf of various local women's welfare organizations and proceeds go to their betterment.

We went to some typical touristy places since it was our first time in Coonoor:
- Railway Station: A quaint little station famous for the Niligiri Mountain Railway. The toy train runs between Ooty-Coonoor-Mettupalyam through the pristine Nilgiri mountain range.
- SIM'S Park: Botanical Garden in Upper Coonoor with trees as old as 150 years and haven for bird watchers
- Laws Falls: 7kms towards Mettupalayam, worth a skip
- Dolphin’s nose view point: 10kms, has a panoramic view of Catherine Falls
- Lamb's rock view point: 8kms, on the way to Dolphin’s
- Droog Fort: 17 kms, Old Tipu Fort of which only a couple of Walls are remaining, drive to Nonsuch Tea Estate and walk 4 kms through it

Note: Take your vehicle to Droog Fort only if it’s an SUV as the roads quite bad. It’s a beautiful 1 hour walk (one way) for those who prefer it.

Unlike Ooty, there aren’t any restaurants in Coonoor. You may land up eating in the resort/hotel you are staying at. But we did ask some locals around for some typical Tamil food and they directed us to a no-frill restaurant called “Hotel Sri Lakshmi Veg” (off Coonoor Bus Stand). As assured by these locals, we had typical and very delicious Tamil Thaalis. It was a welcome break from days of North Indian, Continental and Chinese food we had during the trip.

So the usual destinations turned out to be a good decision afterall. We saw parts of Ooty never seen before and Coonoor turned out to be a "must return to" place. There are too many in that list already and another much much longer list of "must visit before Armegaddon"... Wonder when and how we'll ever cover everything... *SIGH*.

Here is a link to our photo album:http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/sredir?uname=akshatakaranth&target=ALBUM&id=5319718423183780881&authkey=Gv1sRgCIeExsyxmc2EQw&invite=COW4rtoF&feat=email

Chronicles from Wayanad Trip – Part III

2 of the 4 day trip had passed. We decided to make use of resort facilities at least on the following day which was Monday, 1st June 2009. After breakfast, I wanted to hit the pool. After all I had to make use of my newly learnt techniques from Nisha’s classes. Sachin took Vishnu into the kiddy pool. But Vishnu seemed perturbed by the attention he got from other in the pool and got out. So Sharan, Sachin and I headed to the other pool. The rest of them were lazing around the pool. The hammocks were put to good use and so were the novels and iPODs.

Gummi and others then wanted to go for a short trek (more of a nature walk). The guide who was also the Assistant Manager at the resort agreed to take us during his break at 12:30PM. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go – it was hot and also the path was full of Leeches (as warned by the guide). Moreover I had just swum for an hour. But seeing everyone’s enthu, I agreed. Sachin was well equipped as usual with Leech resistant spray and all of us used generous amounts of it all over our feet and even legs. The path turned out to be uphill all the way amidst thick trees sparing us from the Sun but not from the stress and strain. We kept taking breaks to get rid of the slimy leeches which Sharan and I used as breathers. The rest seemed unperturbed with the slope (60-75 degrees). Our guide had thoughtfully carried half kilogram of salt which we kept using. While all of us were cursing the leeches, he assured all of us that the walk would be worth it. And so it did – the view point (as our guide called it) was stunning overlooking greenery, hills and water bodies all over! After a good break, we got back to the resort for a very late lunch.

Tip: Leeches fall off if salt is sprinkled on them

With enough of outdoor activities for the day, we decided to just chill out for rest of the day. A good snooze and everyone was set for the night. We spent time at the “activity centre” celebrating Rafa’s shocking exit from 09 French Open and playing various games. Vishnu was insistent on playing too. But he had only 2 rules – he wouldn’t pick up the ping pong from the floor or play chess on the chess board. So everyone was reluctantly playing with him taking turns. Shruthi and Ramy played table tennis thinking it was a Hodhralli Tournament (their hometown) – only that they thought it was badminton played with TT racquets and at the TT table. I couldn’t play because of a strained back else even I would’ve got sniggered at. I refused to play carom as I am extremely bad at it as well. So Sharan reminded Gummi how bad she was at Carom during a once-off game. I am glad I found a match in Gummi. We both should play the great losers ever tournament to see who is worse. Sachin and Zo completely forgot to stay back till midnight to wish Shruthi for her birthday, ignoring our desperate pleas through different expressions and retired for the day around 11:00PM. The rest of us just about managed to stay awake with difficulty to wish Shruthi who was herself dozing off.

We were to return to Bangalore on 2nd. So after breakfast, everyone quickly packed up, settled the bill and left the resort. There was 1 group who wanted to visit the Banasura Sagar Dam as it is an earthen dam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banasura_Sagar_Dam). The other group wanted to shop for sarees, carpets, spices and what not! We agreed to split and meet in time for lunch before heading back to Bangalore. Sharan, Shruthi and I naturally chose the Dam over shopping. The drive was pretty winding but luckily Wayanad Roads are pretty good at least. It was a approximately 30 KMS from the Resort. When we finally reached, we had to park our car and walk towards the bridge after paying token entrance free (Rs.10/-). The view was exquisite especially with low hanging clouds above the dam. We stayed there for about 15 mins enjoying the scenery and trying various angles with the camera. We met the rest of the gang at a restaurant where we gorged on freshly cooked, aromatic Kerala Thalis.

Sachin suggested that we take an alternate route back to Bangalore which was through Kabini and apparently more scenic than the one we came by. It was then unanimously decided that it would be the route to take. But we all were in for a RUDE SHOCK. We reached the Rajiv Gandhi National Park (turned out to be Nagarahole) to see that roads were extremely bad – in fact I have never seen worse roads till date. The pot holes were more like craters – a foot deep at least. We struggled through this park as we couldn’t drive over 20 KMS per hour. The bad roads led to sharp pains in my lower back which was already strained from before. Half way through the park, I couldn’t take the pain anymore. We had to stop in the middle of the forest to rest it before we resumed our way. We finally reached Mysore late evening but decided to stop at Maddur Café Coffee Day for our break. A quick halt for bite and refreshing, and we were back on the Mysore-Bangalore Highway. We reached Bangalore around 11:00PM dead tired from the horrendous journey. But it didn’t dampen our spirits as we had an enjoyable and memorable holiday.

Here is a link to the complete the picasa album:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lh/sredir?uname=akshatakaranth&target=ALBUM&id=5347875628401692225&authkey=Gv1sRgCP2J-fjl5OKOwQE&authkey=Gv1sRgCP2J-fjl5OKOwQE&invite=CJDbqKMC&feat=email