Road Trip to Karnataka!

One fine evening, when all of us as in me, my wife, my bro, his wife, mom and dad – were sitting and chit chatting, my bro was like – lets go for a trip. We  said ‘yay’ almost in unison.
“where? When? How?” I asked, knowing my bro, and being kind of the less risk taker.

“Mangalore, Udupi, kollur..kudajadri..murdeshwar..gokarna” he continued.
“vaaoh, well how ? and when?”
“Tomm evening, we rent an innova, and lets go.

Almost all were OK, except me. What? I said. Almost all eyes on me. The dramatic moment.

Like, its close to 500 odd kms to gokarna, and like we are going tomm, we haven’t booked the room and all.

That’s OK, we shall not book the room, and find any random hotel on the way and stay there. I resisted.

I insisted that, we book the rooms and then that would ease our travel burden. I took it upon myself to take up that task. By next day morning, our rooms for that night and the next day were booked.

By evening, we were all set, and then came the sad news. The Innova we were planning to rent, met with an accident and wont be available. So we immediately decided that we travel in 2 cars. Me my wife and mom in our Swift and my bro his wife and dad in Wagon R.

We started off by 5.30 on 9/9/2016 and being the holiday weekend, we were in for a huge traffic block. It took us close to 2.5 hours to reach Thrissur, there in we halted and had our dinner from Thrissur Food mall. We then realized that we had booked our rooms in kasargod, and getting there would be a hectic task. So we changed plans, we decided that we shall drive till, Kozhikode and then stay there, and early morning head towards our destination.

By 12 we reached Calicut, there we found a relatively budget hotel accommodation, we slept like logs because all were pretty exhausted by the journey. Next day morning, we got up pretty early, we were all fresh, and then continued our journey. We went directly to Kasargode Ananthapura lake temple. I was longing to visit this temple because of the news I heard about babiya, the vegetarian crocodile.
Sorry guys I am taking over from here from my hubby ;) Yes, we were visiting the Ananthapura lake temple. The temple had a unique beauty, it was constructed in the middle of a lake. Once you enter the you will feel the divinity. The pujari who was in charge for the day explained us about the complete history of the temple and also about Babiya, the crocodile. He told us that  ‘Prathista’ or idol is not made of 70 medicinal materials. And long back this idol was thrown in a lake and they replaced it with another metal idol but those idols didn’t stay there for much. They replaced many idols but nothing worked out. When they searched for the reason they found out that only the medicinal idol could be placed in this temple. So they searched for the old idol and repaired this idol and placed it back in the temple. Apart from this pujari told us that many years back a boy came in this temple and he sat at this temple for many days. And when the pujari of that time waved him off he felt down in the lake and escaped. A cave formed in the place where he fell down. The cave is preserved there even now. It is believed that this cave leads to Padmanabha swami temple in Thiruvananthapuram. The boy was none other than Lord Vishnu and when pujari waved him off he left Ananthapuram and went to Padmanbhapuram. The other story he explained us was about the vegetarian crocodile. He told us that the crocodile is there for past 1000 years. When one crocodile dies another one comes out of nowhere. No one is aware from where and how. He took us to another lake nearby and he called babiya many times and the crocodile showed his head after a long effort from him. This crocodile only eat the rice which the temple authorities gives it. After such a wonderful experience we started off from there and went to Bekal fort.

Kudajadri

I know almost what will be ringing in your head when you hear about Bekal fort. Uyire…Uyire.. song from Bombay movie. This is the place where their film song was shot. We parked our cars in the parking area and took tickets which costs Rs.90 for 6 of us. We walked into the fort and started taking snaps here and there. We found that this is one of the biggest forts available in Kerala. The Fort was spread over the whole area and the sun was hitting hard on us with his hot rays. Even though we walked in the hot sun enjoying ourselves. We could hear the distant voice of waves so we walked to the end of the Fort to enjoy the beauty of Sea. Kannan wanted to go to Sea shore but it was difficult to get down to the beach from the Fort so we decided to go to the beach after the Fort visit. After visiting the Fort we came out and we could see people selling tender coconut and juices. We were feeling thirsty so we bought tender coconut and ice creams. After rehydrating our self we paid the parking fee and off we go to Bakel beach. While we rested at the park Rakeu and Kannan went and took a dip in the sea. After spending some time at the beach it was time for our lunch. We were new to the place and didn’t know any nearby hotels. So we decided that on the way if we find any good hotels we can have our food from there. And yes, we found one hotel and had a good meal from there.  We didn’t had any other plans for the day. Our next destination was RSB Bhavan, Manipal where we have booked our room. It was a long drive to Manipal and on the way we took a tea break. Finally at around 9 PM we reached our hotel. Everyone was tired, so me and Rakeu decided to go and parcel our dinner. We went in search of a good restaurant and found a good one at a walkable distance. We got some rice items, roti, etc. and apart from this we got into a fast food center and got 2 wraps. After finishing our dinner we had a good night’s sleep.

Bakel Fort

The next day early morning we got up and drove to Uduppi Sreekrishna temple. There was a long queue to enter the temple. We stood in the queue for some time and found that it was to see the idol from nearby. We satisfied ourselves by watching god from a little far away as we didn’t want to miss our Kudajadri trip. After having our breakfast from there we went to Mukambika temple. We brought ladoo prasdam and after that we came out of the temple. Outside the temple we saw there was a bid going on for Saree. We went there out of curiosity and Amma brought one Saree by bidding for 300. After that we came out and enquired about Kudajadri. There were many Jeeps which was going to Kudajadri. So we enquired to a Jeep driver about the same. He offered us a trip for Rs.3000. And off we go to Kudajadri in the Jeep. When we started the journey we felt that it was better to take a car and come instead of going in the Jeep because the drive was smooth. He took us through forest and we reached a spot from there he took a turn in to a road. You can say that there is no road, then only we realized that this is why we should take Jeep and not car :P The journey to Kudajadri was a real adventure, we were amazed by driver’s skill. On the way driver told us that he gets 2-3 trips a day. While we were moving up the slope we could feel the cold breeze. We reached the spot at around 1PM and driver asked us to be back by 3:15PM. We walked up the steep slopes, on the way a guy gave Amma a stick which will help her on her way. We split up into teams and started our stroll. We went for the hiking journey and when we reached a spot there was abyss on one side and I felt bit afraid. We hiked for some more time and rested there and started capturing the beauty of nature. Dad was the only one who went the whole way up. We waited there for Dad to return, after a while Rakeu became restless and went in search of Dad. By that time Kannan and Dhanya reached the spot I was standing. We enquired to people coming back what is there up and they informed us that there is one Shiva temple and Ganapathy temple. So we thought of going up as well. We 3 started off and found that Ganapathy temple was very nearby the spot where we were standing. In between we found a person selling lime juice and cucumber, as we didn’t had our lunch we grabbed the cucumber as well as lime juice. As we were thirsty we felt lime juice to be so yummy. The shop keeper showed us way to Ganapathy temple. You can’t exactly say it is a temple but an idol of Ganapathy was placed inside a cave. The ambiance was superb, it was so calm and quite. When we kept out bare foot on those rocks we felt a chilling feeling. We prayed there and thought we will go up and visit Shiva temple as well but by that time Rakeu was back and it was time for us to return. So we started downwards, and our Jeep was waiting for us in the valley. We started our adventurous ride back and reached Mukambika. From there we set off to our next destination which was Mangalore.

We drove straight to Mangalore City Centre. We came out of city Centre thinking that we can find a good restaurant outside the mall but as it was Sunday market was closed down. So we went back to City Centre food court and had our dinner. The food was really tasty and we tried different variety of items from different shops. Finally after our dinner we went to ‘Sun Royal Residency’ for taking rest. The next day early morning we started off our journey back to Cochin. We have the to cover 400+kms to reach our place so Rakeu and Kannan wanted to cover maximum distance before the traffic starts. On the way we had our breakfast from a hotel at Payyannur. My home was on the way so Achan called us and asked us to have lunch from there. We reached my home at around 11, it was too early to have lunch so we packed our food. We spent around half an hour there and started off. We reached our home at around 8PM and after such a long road trip every one of us were damn tired but all were happy about a memorable trip.

Ananthapura lake temple

Coorg - The land of Kodavas

 In December we started planning for our next holiday. This time we selected Tanjavur and Srirangam as our destination. Tickets and rooms were all booked but just before one week of travel there started a crisis in Tamilnadu for Jellikett. So we were forced to cancel our trip to Tanjavur. Rakeu and I decided to travel to my native place for the holidays. Then all of a sudden Coorg, yes 'The Scotland of India' struck our mind. So we started planning for Coorg and everything was planned within 2 days.

On 25th January 2017 we started off to my house at Thalasseri at 4PM as it was a working day for us. As it was a long weekend we were struck in traffic here and there. At around 8 we reached Puthanathani, Calicut and we had our dinner from there. After that we started off to my house and reached my place at 11.10PM. As we were starting our journey to Coorg next day morning we didn’t spent much time talking and everyone went to bed.

Omkareshwara Temple

Day 1: 26th January 2017

Raja's Seat

Next day morning after having breakfast we, as in Rakeu, Achan, Reejamma and I started our journey to Coorg at 8:30 AM. The route was via Mattannur. After passing Koottupuzha bridge we entered Karnataka. One side of bridge is Kerala and the other side is Karnataka. Through the forest we continued our journey. At one place the route will split up, one to virajpetta and the other one to Gonikoppa. As we wanted to go to Madikkeri we took Virajpetta road.  We could see Coffee plantations on both sdes of the road. On the way when we reached Kadanga we saw a scenic beauty so we stopped there for a while for a photo shoot. It was a small hill and the dry grass gave it an orange shade, and yes that’s the reason why we felt an attraction towards it. There was nothing much to do there so we continued our journey. Our first destination was Omkareshwara Temple, I have read in net that the temple will be closed by 12PM and so we were in a little bit hurry to reach there. Finally we reached our destination at 12PM we were worried that we couldn’t get Darshan but we were lucky enough to get Darshan J . And just after we did Pradakshina the temple got closed. We felt happy that we made it on time and then we started off to Madikkeri fort. Madikkeri Fort was very near to the temple, it was just 550 meters. There were 2 big elephant statues at the Fort. We strolled across the Fort taking few snaps here and there. View from Fort wall was amazing, we could see the whole city from there. There were small room like structure from which guides could watch the city. I entered inside and could feel the coolness, this obviously protects guides from the hot sun. The museum was closed as it was Republic day.

Madikkeri Fort

After Madikkeri fort our next destination was Raja’s seat & garden. We took tickets which costs Rs.5/- per person. We thought it was just a garden and I read in net about Raja’s seat from where Raja used to watch sun set and sun rise. I was wondering what was so great about this place. When we reached the mandapa where Raja’s seat was located we were amazed by the scenic beauty. The view was absolutely magical, no wonder in King watching the sun set and rise from this place. When we reached there it was mid-day so we planned that if we have time we will come back in the evening to watch sun set.  After relaxing for some time there we got out of the garden and we had our lunch from Rajdoot Family Restaurant which was just opposite to the garden. The food was good. After treating our stomach off we go to Gaddige Raja’s tomb. There were totally 3 tombs built for the royal dynasty. The kings were Shiva’s deity and so Lord Shiva was placed and worshipped inside the tomb. On the top corners we could see carvings of Nandi. It is believed that Nandi will protect the tombs. When we entered the tomb we could feel the chillness of the floor and even walls were so cool. The tombs were built inside a garden and a park and children’s play area was there at one of the corners of the garden. After taking few snaps we set off our journey to Abbey falls. We reached the Abbey falls at around 3PM. We parked our car in the parking area and paid Rs.30/- for the same. After that we walked towards the falls. It is amidst of lush spread of coffee plantation. The falls is in the midst of thick coffee bushes and tall trees entwined with pepper vines. The hanging bridge was closed, might be for safety purpose or for renovation. We ejoyed the beauty of the place for quiet some time and started our trek back. There was a jeep safari available from there to Mandalpatti, we were bit confused whether to choose it or not as we were in a doubt whether Reejamma could do a trekking again. We checke the rates and it was Rs.1500/- for a jeep. We skipped Mandalpatti trip and started off to Raja’s seat thinking to see sun set. On the way we stopped at chinnama’s veg Restaurant to have coffee and tea. We reached Raja’s seat at around 5PM. We parked our car a little bit far away to avoid the parking fee. They were charging a parking fee of Rs.40/- for parking at road side. We were ready to give the parking amount if it is a proper parking area. Again we took the tickets and first Reejamma and I went to toy train journey :P. It was a small train and a small track, still I wanted to try it out so we just hopped in after taking tickets. After the train journey we went inside the garden and we went and sat at the steps. There were seats arranged similar to the ones in amphitheater to view the scenic beauty. We saw people going towards the end of a cliff and Rakeu and I started off for the trekking. On the way we took few snaps and the view was really amazing. We spent some time there and came back to our seat. We sit there and took some rest. As it was a cloudy day we couldn’t see the sun set so we thought of going to our rooms. I posed in front of flower garden and then off we go to our room.  For the whole trip we were getting help from google maps, and so for the hotel. Map told us that it will take 1 hour to reach the hotel so we asked Achan and Reejamma to take a nap. Our hotel was near Golden temple, Kushalnagar. We reached our hotel, Maharaja Palace Resorts at around 7:30PM. The way to hotel was so dark that we thought for a moment that we are in a wrong route but the route was correct. Rooms were good but as I said the route was not properly lighted. After fresh up we went out to have our lunch. There were two hotels nearby as one hotel was overcrowded we choose the other one. We had our dinner from Annapurna pure vegetarian restaurant. Food was not that great but not bad too. There was some shops nearby so we just did some shopping. After that we came back to our rooms, chit chat for some time and then we went to bed.

Day 2: 27th January 2017

Gaddige, Abbey Falls, Nisargadhama,Chickly Hole 

The next day morning we got up at around 7AM and got ready by 8AM. There was complimentary breakfast which was from 8AM to 10AM. We had our breakfast which was traditional Karnataka style one. We checked out of the hotel and then started off to Golden temple which belongs to Namdroling Monastery. We reached temple at around 9AM which was just 10 minutes away from our resort. The first temple was closed for renovation. So we went to the next building which was opened. At the entrance itself there was a curtain made up of big beads, it was really a good idea and beautiful décor. We were amazed by the size of the Buddhist statues inside the temple. There were 3 statues inside the temple and the whole temple was decorated with mural painting. We just walked around enjoying the creativity of painters. On the top of the pillars there were many carvings like dragon, flowers, etc. We sat there for some time and then we saw a lama we requested him to pose with us for a photo and he happily agreed. After taking few snaps we came out of the temple building. There were 2 lions on both sides of the temple, I was crazy enough to take a picture with the lion. Then we saw a prayer hall and tourists were not allowed inside this building during prayer time. So went to the next building, this was again a prayer hall and we were in a doubt whether we were allowed inside. One Dalai lama was coming out of the building when we checked with him he said we can enter. So we went inside the prayer hall and we could see them chanting some prayers. In fact there was a book with each one of them and they were reading loudly from the leaves. There were many musical instruments like trumpet, cymbals, etc. which they were playing during the prayer. I really loved the way the prayer was going on. We sat there for a while listening to the prayer. Meanwhile a lama got up from his seat and performed some rituals. He was going on doing namskara by laying down and getting up. It continued for some time. And then we started from there and we saw a replica of Tibetan monastery and yes of course next thought was when to visit Tibet. After that we came out and there were 2 shops outside which were selling some show pieces, wind chimes, ornaments, etc. We did some shopping and we started off to Cauvery Nisargadhama at 10:30AM and reached there by 10:50AM. After parking our car and paying Rs.30/- as parking fee we took entry tickets which costs us Rs.10/- per head. Nisargadhama is an island formed by the River Cauvery. You should cross a hanging bridge to reach there. While crossing the bridge we saw people boating in Cauvery and there were nearly hundreds of big fishes swimming across the river. We walked inside the park and we saw bamboo forest, 2-3 bamboo houses like tree houses, deer park, etc. There was a way to river and we got down the steps and enjoyed the beauty of the place. After that we got out of the park and there were many stalls from where we got some home made chocolates, coffee powder, tea powder, etc. By 12:30 PM we started off from there. We went to Fish Curry Rice restaurant and had our lunch from there. From there we started off to Chickly hole. This one was not in our list but we saw the picture of Chickly hole in the restaurant and felt that it is an attractive place. And more over our next destination was Dubare Elephant camp and Chickly hole falls on the way. From hotel it was 15kms, so we started off to Chickly hole. On the way to Dubare you have to take a right turn and through the forest you have to travel 3kms.This is a reservoir and when we reached there we saw a river on the downside. We walked down and the panoramic view was amazing. The view was picturesque and we strolled across enjoying the view. We could see many monkeys on the other side of the river. Reejamma saw few animal foot prints saw we were bit worried and walked back. After that we walked on top of the dam and saw Chickly hole at the far end. There was no water in the hole and after taking few snaps we started off to Dubare Elephant camp which was 7kms from Chickly hole. When we reached there it was drizzling, but the elephant camp was closed for 3 days. L We felt sad and was thinking what to do. River rafting was available there but we were not in a mood to go for rafting so we got down in the river enjoying the cool water. We paid the car parking fee Rs.30/- and started off from there. We saw many shops selling homemade wines so we bought Pineapple wine from there. Our next and last destination was Talakveri. On the way to talakaveri we saw a hanging bridge we stopped there for taking photos. We could see rafting boats of Dubare from the bridge. By 3:30PM we started off to Talakaveri. Suddenly it started raining heavily, heavy rain stopped after 5 minutes and drizzling continued. Once we entered Suntikoppa rain stopped and after 5 minutes it started drizzling again. After a while it started raining heavily again, even our sight was blocked for some time. We bought fruits on the way when rain stopped for some time. Again it started raining. It was pouring cats and dogs. Finally somehow we made to Talakaveri. We were informed that it will be closed by 6PM. We reached there by 5:30PM, as we have only one umbrella Rakeu and I went inside first. We were totally drenched despite of having the umbrella and I felt too cold on top of the hill. There was a Shiva and Ganapathy temple on top of the hill. This is the place of origin of river Cauvery or you can say birth place of river Cauvery. We finished our prayers and came back fast to hand over our umbrella to Achan and Reejamma so that they can also visit the temple. After them visiting the temple we started off and on the way we had coffee, tea and biscuits. On the way back we asked one uncle about the route as net was not available in that area. The uncle told about a different route and we took that one. Unfortunately it started raining heavily and there were no street lights on the way. So our sight was totally blocked by rain and when I got the net I searched for Virajpet and by giving instructions to Rakeu that you have to take left , right, sharp bend, etc. somehow we managed to reach Virajpet. It was really an adventurous tripJ. When we reached Virajpet rain has stopped. Finally we reached Mattannur at around 9PM and we had our dinner from Kanal restaurant. The food was awesome, and after that we started off to our home at around 10PM. We reached my place at around 11PM and we were happy about our road trip.

Namdroling Monastery.