Traveling is good
The continuous rains had made the final climb even tougher. While I waited with the kids, my husband and Ajay bhaiya went in search of a tented accommodation put up by GMVN. I was told that there was a long queue even for this basic accommodation, however Ajaybhaiya managed to get 5 beds for us in tent no C80. The accommodation was very basic and each bed meant a foam mattress and a sleeping bag.
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“India Jones” ride, this ride was very exciting and adventurous, you pass through steep valleys, rail roads, and a big stone try to hit your Jeep etc. Next, we went to “Pirate of Caribbean’s” ride, I didn’t know about this movie until this ride, my wife liked it most. They make you sit in a boat, that boat give you a tour of pirate world and you also get to know something about movie. During the ride you always feel that at some point of time boat will take a sudden fall.
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There were many Kamat Upachar all the way through, but we chose to stop near tumkur. Immediately after the tumkur toll there was this Kamat. The lunch was excellent . They also serve in the traditional banana leaf. Enjoyed the food, the quality was very nice. We took quite sometime at this restaurant and left by 2 p.m. to Bangalore.
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It was close to 9.00 p.m. and with hunger cramps, I told Rajah to stop at a good eating place in the next town en-route. We landed at a small time restaurant – Shanti Bhawan (?) at Sayalgudi, a very small Panchayat town. The place looked clean, but the restaurant owner told us that the place was “fullâ€. There were around 40 Ayappa Swami Devotees already seated and they were to be served first and our waiting time could be more than half an hour. While talking to the owner I was surprised to see the pictures of Kabaa, the holiest place for the Muslims along with some of the Hindu Gods. I asked him if it was a Hindu hotel. He said it was a Muslim Hotel. When I pointed to the wall hangings, he said “Sir, we worship all the Godsâ€. I was touched by his reply to the hilt and almost embraced him. I wish people all over the country had the similar feelings and then this divide between the religions would probably be non-existent. Thankfully the things appeared to be much better in Tamil Nadu as people of all the religions eat the same food, drink same toddy, speak Tamil and wear the same dress – lungi / dhoti and shirt.
Outside the restaurant, a group of Swamis (devotees of Lord Ayappa) were standing. I was told that they were coming from somewhere in North Tamil Nadu (after a couple of drinks, one tends to forget the names sometimes) and were heading for Kanyakumari,
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The Zamindars and the royal family members of Burdwan used this place as a hunting spot and constructed several Machans for their convenience. Thus Bhalki and Machan combined to give the place its current name Bhalki Machan. The etymology can be broken down into Bhalu ki Machan. Bhalu means bear. Machan means an elevated resting place for the hunters to hunt down wild animals.
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The view of Athens from here is quite splendid. An immediate circle of red-tiled roofs gives way to more modern structures spread all around. Mt. Lycabettus sticks out of this jumble glowing under a slant of sunlight that has lanced through a cloudy sky.
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From Naggar, one can hire bike and go around places, do hiking and on the way visit the famous Roerich Art Gallery. We kept climbing uphill for over an hour only to find ourselves in the middle of an apple orchard. We sat there for a long time plucking and eating fresh apples and berries form the trees while soaking into the amazing view and the silence all around. Coming close to nature has become a luxury for city dwellers.
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As we walked towards Piazza Venezia,we were greeted by a majestic white monument. The Vittoriano built to honour Victor Emanuel II, the first king of Italy, offer some breathtaking views of Rome . Built of white marble, the monument invited controversy for destroying a large portion of the Capitoline Hill . It also has the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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Presence of the Gulf Stream in this bay area lent a very diverse element to the foliage, extremely distinct from the other coastal regions of the British Isles.
This is the little mountain that we climbed…not exactly the steep climb but we hiked all around it to reach the other side.
Almost 350 KMs out of 474 KMs long Leh – Manali Highway, does not have any civilization, although you would find some tented accommodations and tea stalls at every 30 to 40 KM. It is necessary to carry extra fuel because there is no petrol station from Leh till Tandi (around 365 KMs).
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Lamayuru is also place where we found famous Moon Land, these are soft craters, golden color land simply add charm to the beauty of Lamayuru. One can learn the science of mountain formation looking at moon land, which is neither a rock nor dust.
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We reached Rameshwaram from Madurai about 3:00 PM, we planned to visit Rameshwaram temple in the morning, so we asked our taxi driver Kannan if there is any beach nearby, he nodded his head and said “Yeeessss†(I liked the way he used to say Yeeessssâ€), it is 13 kms from here and is called Dhanushkodi.
Well, we reached the beach in about 45 minutes, on the way, we also visited a temple where Lord Rama performed the “Raj Tilak†of Vibhishan. Kannan told us that this is the beach, it was very deserted. We found an Indian Navy post there, a tea stall and a snack shop. The Indian Ocean was beautiful, roaring and with high waves. We dared not go too deep inside and also asked the kids to stay off.