The first class trip (17 – 19 Sept, 2010) – Day I.


After 4 semesters of engineering, it was time for spending time, visiting places. After a lot of yes/no, finally 12 guys agreed to be a part of it. Chikmagalur was our main destination.
Members: Jayaram, Wilson, Thejas, Amar, Manjunath, Navin, Reddy, Rakesh, Priyesh, Chetan, Dushyanth and myself.
We decided to have a three day trip starting from 17th and thought we could visit Chikamagalur and nearby places. The vehicle was booked, plans worked out and we were all set to proceed.
Day 1 – 17/09/2010
We were supposed to be out of Bangalore by early morning, but unfortunately we had our first hindrance. :( Reddy and Rakesh dint have hot water to bath due to power cut. So we were forced to postpone the time of departure by around 1 extra hour. Not loosing hope, we started our journey. The vehicle started from Magadi Road picking up Jayram and Dushyanth. Next pickup point was UVCE, KR Circle. Priyesh, Navin, Rakesh and Reddy got in. I got in with Chetan at CBI, Bellary Road. Finally we deviated into outer ring road and had our last pick up point at BEL circle where all the rest got in. We reached Tumkur Road, took a left after Nelmangla to get into NH-48 and were moving away from the frenzy of B’lore. We were out of B’lore by about 8.15 AM. 

Next, we stopped for breakfast at Kunigal. The preferred breakfast was tatte idli, though there were some takers for pulav and poori. :) With our stomach’s full we continued in NH-48 towards Mangalore. NH-48 is in good condition. The only disappointment were the numerous deviations due to the road widening work Our first destination was Manjarabad fort. You come across this on NH-48 just after Sakleshpur, just in the beginning of Shiradi Ghats.
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Few steps to climb and you would reach the fort. The fort looked awesome, covered with wonderful views from all side. The area looked clean, well maintained and actually had security. We were not allowed to climb the walls, which had valleys on the other side. A guy about 50 year old, with an assistant half his age made sure that no one ventured near the walls. :) The funny moment was Reddy scaring Rakesh with the help of a window. :P An unforgettable  moment for everyone present. We spent some more time venturing into different caves, clicking pictures in burst mode and were back into our vehicle by 1 PM. Next we had lunch at Hotel Adithya, Sakleshpura. Nice food!! :) We took a deviation from NH-48 and moved towards Belur. The road was not so great.
We reached Belur by 2.30 PM. As we stepped into the temple, guides leapt onto us, but we refused anyone’s help. We moved about the outer circle looking at the wonderful carvings and also clicking pictures in different poses competing with the poses given by the shila balikes. :P  We went inside the temple. Paid Rs. 20/- for getting a light switched on to display the ceiling which had zillions of carvings inside it. The light was also focussed on a pillar, which according to the person operating the light had all the carvings present in the temple.
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Some information about the temple.
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As we were leaving the premises of the temple, a group of foreigners had assembled. The guide was explaining in English. A translator translated that to some unknown language.A feeling of pride was induced into me. The happiness lasted only for a few minutes, because I remembered about something I had witnessed earlier. The picture would explain better! This is the India we display to our visitors. :( The board is surely edited by some literate, since for an illiterate it would make no sense, with the presence or absence of the word “Don't”. Such things present the sorry picture of our country. When the citizens cant present their country’s tradition in the right manner, its seriously shameful. :(
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We left the calmness of Belur and moved towards Halebid. The road was pretty good. A 30 mins drive and we reached Halebid at about 4 in the evening. We strolled about the area, clicking photographs and having fun. :) We moved on to the nearby park and spent some time there speaking rather very nonsensical stuff, which made absolutely no sense but wonderful fun! :) We decided to get back to the vehicle as darkness had started to engulf us. The moment we stepped out, there were a gang of women waiting to sell us different items like lamps, Ganesha’s made from stone. Quite a few of us obliged to them and after lot of bargaining, some decent amount of business did happen. Never expected others to buy them, but rarely do things happen according to your expectations. The best part of the whole incident was the reduction in prices by other vendors when a person would buy from one vendor.
Finally with memories of the two most exotic temples of Karnataka, we headed to Chikmagalur. We reached by 8.30. Checked into Soundharya Residency. They provided us with a single large room with about 10 beds. There was not much rush since it was not the season for visting  After freshening up, we separated ourselves into two groups. The veggies and the non-veggies. The veggies had a satisfying dinner at Soundharya itself. :) We were back to our rooms to catch the RCB match. :) Everyone except Jayram, Wilson and myself were busy in playing some card game and watching the match. We 3 were doing some planning for the next day. Finally by about 12 everyone was in deep sleep, with the promise of getting ready by 6, the next morning. :P

7 comments:

Chethan said...

cool maga! sounds like u guys had nice fun :)

Manoj Bhat said...

howdhu maga...nice time. Next time u also come. :) But that conversation in halebid for about 30 mins was very karaab!!! :P

Unknown said...

I was lost in imagination while readin..:-)

Manoj Bhat said...

imagination indha horgade baa.... next trip reality alle nodu. :)

Ramprasad Karanth said...

Olle bardidde mare ... next day yantha aith ?

Neenirabekittu said...

Kya bha... nimdu barvanige nange tuma istage aytu... nandu hesru kandu kushige bantu... nimdu chennaaagi barithade...

Manoj Bhat said...

nimdhu kushi aadre namdu kushige!! :)

 

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