VALLEY OF FLOWERS

DAY1: Bangalore to Delhi to Haridwar

We(Myself and Randhir) reached Bangalore airport at 4:30 in the morning.
The Indigo flight was quite good. No refreshments true , but no other fuss. It was correct on time and the take offs and landings were smooth , the crew were not sleepy and overtly friendly.
That was it and we reached Delhi in a whiz. When I awoke in the flight , I could see the beautiful country beneath me and the left wing of the aircraft. I took a quick snap of the aerial view and soon we landed in Delhi , collected our luggage and were out of the airport.
We spent some time at a friend's place in Delhi. Our next destination was Haridwar.

At Delhi we met the rest of the gang Dekar(Sekhar) , Halum(Prasun) , Podu(Avishek) to board the Jana Shatabdi train to Haridwar.

We reached Haridwar in a few hours. Although Jana Shatabdi was very little of Shatabdi quality and mostly filled with insensitive Jana , the simmering heat of Delhi in August was hardly discouraging. When we reached Haridwar it was raining. The station was literally taken over by pilgrims with grim faces. Not an inch of platform was left for movement and it was a lot of careful manoeuvrings between the filth and the platform dwellers that we managed to come out of the station. I do wonder with hundreds of pilgrims why don't they build proper retiring rooms , they can even charge on an hourly basis to keep the premises clean. Stations are lacking in fundamental facilities.

We had booked a hotel before hand. It was a nice hotel a short walk away from the station. After checking into the hotel (where I got a nice map of the place) we set off for an early dinner.Haridwar is a pure veg place and we are pure non-veg travelers. But then we enjoyed a dinner with hot rotis and dal in a nearby hotel which was rally cheap. But then again the notion of cleanliness was void. Haridwar is also a great place for excellent sweets of 'chana' or 'kheer' a processed form of milk. If you can get over the surroundings , the quality is pretty decent, and the price tag damn cheap.

DAY 2: Haridwar to NandaPrayag

We had booked a Tata Sumo in advance . It was scheduled for 9000 Rs to take us from Haridwar to NandaPrayag, RudraPrayag,Joshimath, Badrinath and finally wait at Gobindghat for 3 days for our return from the actual trek.

Singh ji , our driver was very well spoken . His Hindi was immaculate and precise. He was our natural guide on the route. We crossed Hrishikesh (or Rishikesh) , and proceeded towards Joshimath .
The first day journey was as eventful as life itself. It was a bright day with some light showers in between. The road was the best part of the trip , curving and twisting itself as if in the ecstasy of the great Himalayas. Yes , the Himalayas are great. As we ascended , and as the temperature dropped , the surroundings began to change.Greenery was visible everywhere and the mountains on all sides stood like awestruck ghosts. And as we rose , we saw the Alaknanda river en-route flowing down , its fury seemed to be decreasing as it came down from places unknown.
We had to stop for the day in a place called NandaPrayag. They had a decent room in a hotel nearby. The place was very small and with hardly a hotel or two. We bought some basic stuff and had a wonderful dinner at a nearby restaurant. We were on a pure veg track, the rotis were delicious, parathas were stuffed and sabzi was mostly potatoes and cauliflowers blended in different ways.

DAY 3: NandaPrayag to Joshimath to Govind Ghat to Badrinath and back to Govind Ghat: Joy Baba Badrinath

Next day when we started , it was already too late to reach Gobindghat and start the trek. Thats why we decided to go to Badrinath directly. Even 20 years back people had to travel on foot from PeepalKoti to Badrinath. It was a trek of a lifetime in itself. Being one of the most sacred places of the Hindus it attraced thousands of devotees all round the globe in the summer months. But in Winter it was closed and several miles down Joshimath was the maximum reach then. Things have changed a lot, and we were very fortunate that our vehicle almost stopped at the gates of Shree Badrinath. But again we started so late it was getting dark and we had to return quickly .

The temple was to open an hour after and the rule of the land did not allow vehicles to travel at night. I got a cyber cafe at Badrinath where I downloaded all my pics to a pen drive and refreshed my camera memory card.
The Ganges was flowing with awesome speed and the air was moist and the chill was so stunning that I did not want to leave without taking a glimpse of Badrinath.

But we had to leave because the gate would be closed after 4 o clock. ( That was a good decision else we would have been stuck for a few days there. There were major landslides all around)It was a beautiful journey back to Gobind Ghat . The sky suddenly cleared and the beauty once more showered on us. We bought some apples from a local vendor.
Then we spent the rest of the evening in Gobind Ghat . We were tired and as usual there was no geysers, so it was a chilling story of bathing , of organs fighting to stay fit.

DAY 4: Gobind Ghat to Ghangria ( 13 kms )

This is the actual trek. The initial part of the trek was quite tough. The body warms up too quickly. It is necessary to slow down and take rest. We were huffing and puffing even before crossing 1 km. There are several places to rest here and there. Most people enjoyed this part of the trek , it was almost a concrete road.

There is no need to carry bags. There are lots of mules around. We put all our bags on one mule, a few hundred rupees is the charge. The mules go fast and so does their owner. They drop the bag in Ghangria.

After a few kilometres the trek starts becoming more beautiful. The noise of the river adds to the jingle. There are numerous tea shops and little shops where one can get anything from a cup of tea to maggi , parathas, samosas, chewing gums, biscuits etc ,all at slightly premium prices.

Towards the end , there is a bridge to cross the river and continue the trek on the other side of the river. The bridge is stout , but because of incessant rain the path near to the bridge was almost washed away.

After the bridge and a slight mild ascent the final ascent is again quite steep. It passes through a small forest and a clearing.

After this day's trek there is hardly any chance that anyone will be able to go around Ghangria. But if someone wants there are quite a few small restaurants , a Gurudwara , telephone booths and small shops and lots of shabby ,smelly hotels to stay.
We stayed in such a hotel. Electricity is available only for a couple of hours during dinner time and early morning 4-6 am for people to get ready for the treks.

DAY 5 : Ghangria to Hemkund Sahib and return to Ghangria ( 12 kms total)

This is the trips toughest trek. If one has the capacity to make this trek easily then can do a lot I believe. There are mainly two reasons for the difficulty. There is a lot of altitude change, the trek is short but quite steep. At some places there are a few shortcuts , which I would suggest people to avoid. There are ascents that will test the knees and ankles. The other reason why this part is slightly treacherous is that if the weather is not good there are several parts which will send a shiver down he spine.

Mules are available in this stretch also and lots of people make good use of them.

I reached Hemkund Sahib, but a bit too late in the afternoon. My friend's told me that the Lake was sparkling in the sunlight and a treat to watch. The Gurudwara welcomes everyone. We had tea and khichdri to our filling.

This place is so heavenly that one would not feel like going down. But if weather is not good its better to try to come down , breathing becomes easier. I had no problems with the breathing but there were a few who had to be escorted down on mules.

Hemkund is also mesmerizing because of the exceptionally beautiful flowers, kamals or brahmakamals . There are different colored flowers which makes this trek very fruitful.

One must be careful while coming down from Hemkund as there are numerous twists and turns which are quite treacherous on the knees .

DAY 6 : Ghangria to Valley of Flowers ( 3 kms -Inside the valley 4 kms ) --> Return to Ghangria --> Return to GobindGhat

This is the most beautiful part of the trek for a nature lover. One of the reasons is that mules are not allowed in this trek and so no shit on the way. Its pristine.

The second reason is that very few people actually go to Valley of Flowers , only a small fraction of those who go to Hemkund Sahib. We did not repeat the mistake of the previous day and so we were the first ones to buy the tickets into the Valley of Flowers.

After entering the National Park we had to cover a long distance , a leisurely walk and then cross a river. There is a nice bridge built on the river. After the bridge the path starts becoming slightly difficult. But after Hemkund trek we made it very easily.

Then came one of the major roadblocks. There was a huge sheet of ice on the road , that came down right from the top of the mountain like a glacier and it went directly into the river to form a huge canopy of ice on the river.

With great patience, very slowly , one by one we managed to cross this ice block. I would say people should have walking sticks to help them balance.

But this was not the only difficulty. Right before entering the Valley there is a small bridge made of joined Tin sheets . The water lashes against the sheets and it seems like it'll fall apart any moment.

But the valley is simply awesome. There are very few words to describe it. Hundreds and thousands of variety of flowers. The grass is so green , the colors are so vibrant that it seems to be the garden in heaven.

We spent a lot of time in the valley and one can go 5 to 6 kms inside the valley and have a visual treat of a lifetime.

There are no shops here, no mules , no noise, just the mild hum of the river and the breeze. Within a few hours we saw few more tourists and photographers. Needless to say everyone was awestruck.

Just around lunchtime we bid adieu to Valley of Flowers and started our return to Ghangria.

The return to Ghangria was short and swift. People almost outpaced one another. Perhaps it was the fun that the trek was over. After having a late lunch in Ghangria we started off towards Govind Ghat.

Initially we thought that just like the Valley of Flowers we will make this swiftly. But that was not to be. This route is mostly mild, but takes time.

It was almost evening when we reached Govind Ghat. Singhji was ready with the car, I had a few huge blisters ( My shoe came off in the last 5 kms. I tried to manage with that and that resulted in monster blisters. Must carry quickfix )

When we reached Joshimath it was already dark. For the first time in last 3 days we took a proper bath.

DAY 7 : Josimath and Auli and back to Joshimath

We were supposed to start back from Joshimath today. But there was a huge landslide when we were in Hemkund that cut off Joshimath from Rudraprayag in 3 places.
So we decided to enjoy the day in Auli.

Auli is famous for skiing in winter. There is a ropeway from Joshimath to Auli. There are several different trek routes that start from this point.

Auli is very beautiful place and one can see the mighty mountains if the sky clears up.

DAY 8 Joshimath --> Rishikesh --> New Delhi ( by bus)

This was a busy day. With incoming news that the roads will clear today all vehicles were on road and all hotels were empty. Soon we discovered that it will take several more hours to clear the road. Everyone was waiting on the road while our great road was finally done. Vehicles were allowed to ply one at a time , and finally after a long wait we crossed the hurdles. The jam spread across several kms , but drivers were so careful and reasonable ,never once did it result in any deadlock.

It was evening when we reached Rishikesh. Singhji did not want to drive after some place saying it was getting too dark. We somehow convinced him with some talk and cash and finally with a Rs1000 extra he delivered.

Since we already missed the train at Haridwar , we took a bus at Rishikesh itself and started off for Delhi. That was one of the most horrible bus journeys I ever had. Somehow we reached Delhi at midnight and went to Kalibari( rooms were booked earlier)

DAY 9 Finally 'New Delhi' --> 'Bangalore'

Kalibari is a wonderful place. The food is excellent and so is the ambiance. We roamed around the place a little and soon it was time to catch the flight back to Bangalore.

Munnar Thekkady and Kodaikanal

Munnar - Hotel Misha /Le CassaThekkady - Hotel Lake Queen / Mahaveer RestaurentKodaikanal - Hilltops Restaurent
Route Map : Started 11PM from BangaloreReached Mysore around 1 amMysore to Nanjangud via Bandipur National Park took road towards Kozhikode(Calicut)After breakfast in calicut started towards Cochin Took a bypass towards Munnar
Reached Munnar in the afternoon of Saturday
Map of Munnar


Next day after sigtseeing took road towards Thekkady
Reached Thekaddy in the evening of SundayNext day went to Periyar Tiger ReserveBoating in Lake Periyar
Reached Kodaikanal in the evening of Monday
Roamed in Kodai Lake in the morning sightseeings after breakfast till late in the afternoon .
Started from Kodaikanal at 4pm towards BangaloreBack to Bangalore at 2 am in the morning.

Traffic on Hosur Road

For people to follow traffic sense there must be adequate infrastructure in place . Taking an example of Hosur road Bommanahalli faces a huge jam every day ,at some hour or the other , and scores of people are trying to cross the road in various directions . there should be proper foot over bridges or subways for people to move freely and safely .
I come by bike quite often and faced another problem .. there is simply no proper signal all the way from electronics city to silkboard . At night I have often screeched to a halt at the signal directly from 40 to 0 barely catching a glimpse of a traffic police waving from nowhere ( someday will simply get hit by someone from the rear for stopping like that on a road ) .... now I stopped at a decent distance but another car just stops say one metre in front of me .. no finite line of stopping .. no zebra crossing , white lines etc.. the 3 lane road suddenly tapers to a 2 lane crossing ....
There has been a lot of activity .. at least they are closing the dangerous ditch on either side of the road . But the patchwork is very poor , the extended part of the road is dangerous for riders .. while driving you will feel your rear wheel slipping at points just because the road is very unevenly tarred .
One of the biggest problems and risks for commuters is that there are no definite bus stops . Cannot blame bus drivers for stopping anywhere because there is simply no definite and sufficient place to stand .
On top of that there are strange diversions .Any diversions should be properly marked and well lit . At night I have just whizzed past some of these diversions just at the right moment . A slightly careless driver , and you will be very sorry if you live to see your injuries. At some points the diversions are so poorly done that whil driving straight you may simply fall in a pit . Aggresive driving is a result of the frustations of driving through these roads. Either you wait endlessly in a jam created just by traffic mismanagement or you are driving on a roller coaster ride. Day in and day out after paying such hefty road taxes , such high taxes for oil , the vehicle normal citizens can expect some decent amount of infrastructure in place so that they can commute safely . Stretches of the road have no tar ,whenever a vehicle passes it is only dust that it leaves behind . See the leaves of the trees near the Hosur road and you'll get an idea of the amount of pollution in that area. Very little of this is contributed by the vehicles I would say. It is the cutting down of trees , a proper landscape or the lack of it has contributed to the pollution. I will keep this thread alive for venting the frustations of Hosur road travel or rather travelling in bangalore as a general .

Travel to Pondicherry

Travel Pondicherry
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Oft I had thought that I would put down in words the wonderful experiences that I had on my various travels in South India . Perhaps it will make a whole book like 'chronicles of my travels in South India'. But I realized writing is indeed a difficult task and it is much more difficult when you set expectations. I traveled with my friends, colleagues , have lovely memories , have taken innumerable pictures but beneath all that lies the salient missing point , what did I really see ?
Memories are sweet, and especially so when the recollections are not so vivid and you try to knead the thread and join the events and the laughter, to compose the whole journey. And when your old friends have gone away , some by choice ,some by company and some out of reach you may stoop down to wonder why even write such a blog of memories , when the real appreciation of your co -travelers is absent , when they've moved so far that even recollection fails the brilliant. But it’s actually the meaningless chatter, the subject less debate or the obstinate hypocrisy of megalomania and magical touch of the sweet pain in quarrels that is more important than recording the minutes of meeting or reporting the chronicles in travel and living. Because life is not recording the minutes or reporting the memoirs. Life is not making business out of your life. It’s about living .STOP.

Thus we suddenly planned to go to Pondicherry. It was Su, me, Mia and Su's friend. On Thursday Mia booked the cab as usual. But it was a Indica this time 'cause we were only 4 people. Initially I was a bit weary of the thought of traveling 300 kms by an Indica, for that’s the cool journey between Bangalore and Pondicherry. It seems that if it hits a speed breaker at even a moderate velocity then the impact can be fatal and the next day local newspaper headlines will mourn the bereaved who were supposedly traveling at a breakneck speed and they have no necks to hold their heads and they kept their brains inside their pockets before they started the tour. No one draws the fact that 99% ( can even give a reliability ranking ) of speed breakers are actually local people or overtly motivated individuals or workers of telephone et all and others who have dug up the precious tar to put some cable line or whatever . If you try to intervene or comment on this irrational or probably unplanned digging on arterial roads and lanes then they'll suddenly act Hebrew and spew venom as if untouchable bongs, the fish to flesh eating dickheads are the worst specimens of humans walking on earth. But no, I have no intent of putting my finger in other people's noses. So I just stayed calm and finally on Friday I scampered back from work to collect my luggage and rations for the journey. Mia finally arrived at 9 o clock when I was starting to get a bit smoked out. We had a hasty dinner expecting the car to be at the door by 10 pm. However I got engrossed in a History Channel Telefilm ' Escape from Sobibur' where they were subtly showing the grisly events of Sobibur a Nazi post during World War 2.
But then, finally, at last the cab came, me and Mia got on to pickup Su & her friend. I jumped in to capture the side seat of the driver cause I didn't want to sit in a yogic position all night beside 2 gals. However Mia was lucky, we found Su's friend was not coming. Her Dad advised her to remain away from unknown guys in a private vehicle. I wonder with a little more respect she must have dreamed of planet (M) being a little worthy of trust. Soon our expert Sathisha (our driver) launched us on a short cut directly from ITPL to Anekal via some prehistoric road, whose ruins we witnessed quite a bit through the laborious journey. Finally around 12:30 or so we reached Anekal junction, our very own Hosur Road.
Soon we were on the TN(Tamil Nadu) border. We smoked and labored to make ourselves comfortable inside the vehicle while Satisha went to pay the TN state entry tax of 250 bucks. He returned a good 40 minutes late.

The next few hours of the journey were mostly monotonous. Our car left the Hosur road for NH 66. From then almost the road was almost a scary one. I was hardly able to blink and I glanced left and right to find out how the road ahead was. Fortunately we got a welcome break at a road side tea stall. We all had a tall glass of tea, really tall. I suspect whether they same glasses in summer to double up to serve juice.
Finally around 5.00 AM in the morning we finally entered the long cherished Union Territory, Pondicherry whose new name is PUDUCHERRY.
We decided to go straight to the beach hoping to catch the elusive morning sun. It was not long before the sunrise happened behind the low lying clouds and we caught the first sight of the morning light almost with a trance. We sat there on the rocky sea shore amidst a few bottles of coke and chips packets I say which provided a pissy stench. However as soon as we were out of the trance and turned back we noticed the city has bustled up to life and screaming honking autos are making the most of the marine drive.
We then started on the most difficult part of the trip, finding a proper accommodation. We went to hotel Suguru and some other hotel where Satisha took us ( ask him I was a nifty bit scared from the appearance of the hotels – it put up an appearance of too obvious thriftiness which I suspected will burn a hole in our pockets ). We were lucky ‘ol bastards when we found these to be fully booked. Finally we got a fairly budget hotel White Residency where we paid 550 rupees for an AC double room.
Then we got refreshed and had some real nice Masala Dosa at the hotel restaurant. Although I should say they waste too many onions to make us cry over the Dosa, in an effort to make it spicy I guess. Most of the smelly part of the Dosa was hence left aside by all three of us. Next we helped ourselves to some wonderful tea and then we started strolling lazing in an effort to catch the essence of the life of Pondicherry. However we chose a wrong route to the bus stand and finally reached there after a laborious walk in the sizzling morning sun. Then we hired a ride on an auto and finally reached a Botanical Garden which we found to be one of the nearest places to visit.
However the Botanical gardens opened a good 45 mins after we reached there. Thanks to the ‘Wholesale liquor house’ in front of the gardens and opens at earthly hours that we managed to get a bottle of aqua to quench our thirst.
Finally the gates opened and we found surprisingly no entry tickets to the gardens. However we soon realized there was indeed nothing much too see. We were just like a group of honeybees who were least interested in the specimens of the gardens but to view the nature at its best. Surprisingly it seemed as if the gardens were host to some Ministers birthday party with bottles and food packets and every bit of trash thrown awry at every bit and part of the gardens. There were workers working and lazily removing the nails on the bamboo structures.

After a short while and some pics in the gardens we went back to the residence and shortly thereafter Su’s bro arrived with his friend.

We got ready around 1 pm in the afternoon and set out for lunch. Fortunately White Residency had a pretty good A/C Restaurant. We had some really nice fried rice and chicken. Although I would have preferred to take a pure S. Indian meal which is very satisfying to me especially when the place is unknown I am quite sure that it will have a few basic things to beat the heat of the day. While returning from coorg I remember having an excellent meal for just 15 bucks and that too with an omlette as a supplement.
Nevertheless the restaurant did not disappoint us. After a hearty meal we set out to see the ‘Aurobindo Ashram’. I never saw any pictures or read anything about the ashram. I had only heard a bit from people but nothing much. I was surprised to find that it was a very quiet nice place where the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo is kept. We had to leave our slippers & shoes outside. As we entered it appeared me that this was the house Aurobindo had stayed and lived his life after his retirement from active politics of the Indian National Movement. I saw the place where the Samadhi was kept. People were kneeling and praying and flowers were kept on that. Although I was not very comfortable with the idea of praying someone, when I had in reality prayed no one in life like this before. I believe he was in the hearts of people who followed his principles of life and his teachings. I had also visited Vivekanada rock earlier, that also in Tamil Nadu but I did not observe the phenomenon of praying there.
Anyway putting aside my questions I moved on to a little house library which now doubles up as a bookstore where I found an interesting book on Gita written by Sri Aurobindo himself . I also bought a small book of stories of a cat told by Sri Mata, about whom I had no idea, but I guess she was the most prominent disciple of Sri Aurobindo.

Next we saw the living room of Sri Aurobindo which still holds some basic furniture. After that we just moved out with a nice serene feeling.

After that we decided to go to Matrimandir which is a short distance outside the city. After taking directions from a few locals and a brief travel via the marine drive we were on our way to the Matrimandir. Somewhere we got soon and found that passes (i.e. free tickets) to the Matrimandir are already given and we have to come back on Sunday the next day. However we decided to spend a little time in that joint which seemed was hosting a Music Band that night and the band members were setting up their gear. I moved on to the first floor of the restaurant and boutique complex to capture a good view of the place. It seemed like a new entertainment complex far from the maddening crowd with foreigners (read as mostly Europeans & Americans maybe) thronging to get an essence of Indian life and culture. It still did not make sense to me why they were there and what they were actually doing. Doesn’t it sound like ‘Chilling out in Chennai ‘, probably one of the biggest oxy-‘moronic’ statement of modern times. Anyway after a rapid photo session we returned to the vehicle crossed the road and reached a very dirty sea shore. I was informed that the better part of the shore and the way to reach the sea shore was reserved for foreigners (read who paid sufficient) through another way maybe some sort of beach resort.
After a quiet photo session there too we returned to the main City and found a nice Café shop just on a lane beside the main sea shore. We spent a long time even after our tea was finished and enjoyed the sea breeze.

Then we walked a little to see some street theatre going on, Ramayana probably. The guys had dressed up like girls and were really making some melodramatic moves. I do not know how to describe that but in Bong language we call that a ‘Khemta naach’ now understand what you want.

There was sort of a fair also going on with only food stalls here and there. It seemed the whole city had come here to vacation. Reason – unknown. Anyway we walked a short distance and I took a few photos here and there and we returned to the shore again, sat on the beach and enjoyed the night breeze.

After satisfying our stay on the beach we returned to our residence and went straight to the rooms. After a brief rest we again had a hearty dinner in the same restaurant. Although this time I suspected they were in much hurry to prepare the meal and so forgot to wash the basic items.



Day 2 began with a bang. For me it was a Big Bang because I managed to see a movie till 2 am in the morning. Then I had set the alarm to 6:30 in the morning to wake up early and see the sunrise. But forgot that my ‘Repeat Alarm ‘does not include Sunday. Fortunately Mia got up early, thanks to the innumerable number of naps he had the last day. We got ready in a hectic manner and checked out of the residence.
Then we headed for the same breakfast that of Masala Dosa and tea which was refreshing as ever before and we were all set to go. Initially we thought we’ll go to see the Pondicherry Museum but it was too early for that. So we decided to go to the boat house. Remarkably enough the boat house opened at 9 is in the morning and soon we were on a boat ride to a nearby island called the ‘Paradise Island’. I was as cynic as before because I was not really happy to pay 60 Rs for a short boat ride. But it proved to be excellent as the morning sun was rising and the heat growing, we sailed through the backwaters to reach a nearby land which was really amazing. It was clean and unpopulated, at least the stretch of the beach we went to. I was really ruing the idea why we didn’t bring a football to play with for there lay a vast stretch of awesome beach with clear sparkling sea water. I decided to make the most of it by clicking photos and taking a video. Then I lazed on the beach gazing at the number of other guys and girls who were there.
After a long stay, long more because the sun was really up and we could feel the heat of it on the sands as we returned. I took several snaps of the boat passing the nearly landscape which was green and provided a strange solace to the heart within just from the view of it.

We then took a short rest in the Boat house garden, had a few cool drinks and then moved on for we had to see the Matrimandir. Retracing our way we again went to the Matrimandir but unfortunately we were late again and missed the deadline to take the pass. We however thought we will see it from outside so we took our vehicle to that place. And lo. What a sight there was a round shaped structure which seemed to have cost a fortune to make; I wondered who sponsored such a building. Doubtless that the Matrimandir and the organization involved had some activities must be of noble concern, otherwise who would be so dandy to make a building like that.

Anyways we were pretty hungry by then and so we set off for lunch. Unfortunately Satisha trying to find a suitable restaurant of our choice circled the city once and ultimately landed to some ‘Sooraj rastaurant’ which seemed to be updating to a Heritage building . We ordered 3 biriyanis and a fish finger plate, each item being quite costly. But considering the ambience of the place and the quality of the food and service we were extremely happy and indulged ourselves in some delicious food.

After a beautiful lunch we started returning to where we came from. The return journey was not as eventful as we hardly slept. And Satisha drove very well and when we reached Hosur road the sun was just setting.

So we covered more than 800 kms in 2 days and one night and even caught a fast glimpse of the wonderful architectures of the Infosys buildings from outside .

We returned home satisfied and tired after a great journey. Pooh! Finally.