Jaisalmer - A Rendevouz with the Thar Desert

- Contributed by Prerna - 

Totally unexpected and out-of-the blue trip on the 12th and 13th September and thats what made it so much of fun. Jaisalmer has been one of my dream destinations and it was jaisalmer vs. Diu, but then the desert seemed more inviting..The journey was long - 600+ km from Ahmedabad (close to 65 kms form the border india- Pak ) and very uncomfortable to say the least, but still totally worth it. 

It is the golden city ( reminds me of greece where every bulding on the islands was painted white), every building uses sandstone. The fort is the only monument in the world that has people living in it- families and  hotels and havelis. We visited the Jain temples - which had very intricate carvings and staues of Lord mahavira all over. The only other hindu god present was Ganesha. The jeep ride to the camping  place next to the desert was amazing - on both sides there was only barren land with an occasional camel eating on shrubbery. The vastness and the expanse of the land was taking time to absorb in. The sam village( where the camp) was 45 km from the city and once we reached there, we immediately started out on our camels for the sunset on the desert. I cant even begin to express what it was like to be on the silk sands of the desert. We were rolling, running and diving over the sand dunes. Highlight of the evening was the Rajasthani folk music- it was brilliant and i really mean it.  The sky was perfect with the milky way that could be spotted and a candlelight dinner with rajasthani food was as good as it gets. 

Anchetti Ghats..A gruelling day ride

This Sunday (30 Aug 09) , decided to take the whole day off and dedicate it to cycling..

Its been some time since i have done some decent cycling (decent is a relative term and here i mean 100 Kms + rides ). Most of my cycling over the last 6 months have been in the 50-100 kms range.

The trip to Anchetti sounded fantastic and was coordinated by Georg Leuzinger. A trip from bangalore via kanakpura road to a place called Anchetti. The best part of the trip was the back roads / village roads.

Overall the trip was looong -- terrific scenes - awesome group ( around 50 riders ) - lot of rolling hills - lot of uphills.

we had lunch at Anchetti after 111kms and a pleasant morning of cycling. the ride back was more eventful and gruel some. My cycle punctured multiple times (3 in all ,by the time i got home). After completing 130+ kms called it a day and rode a bus to Hosur & then another to bangalore.

The 200 Kms + ride stilll eludes me. Both man and machine need to be in shape for the next attempt.

This time was it a failure of the man / machine ?? well more 100+ rides for the present till the next attempt at 200+

Mid Drive Break Pic

The gang / crowd before the start. About 50-60 riders in all

Hampi - A Refreshing Trip

Anniversary options are difficult to come up with. But once Hampi was conjured up, both Prerna & myself were sure of it.

Hampi, the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire ( Key ruler , Krishnadevaraya) is an exotic locale. It is cut off from the main Indian tourist routes for a number of reasons, (a) It is not close to any city, nearest is Bangalore 350 Kms away. (b) It has no major temple to note, we all know Indians, in hordes travel to see temples.

It is actually a part of the south Indian circuit most of the long staying international tourists do.

Our 2 day, weekend dash to Hampi was worth the effort to travel the distance. The key things about this place that struck us was the lack of crowds seen in most good places. The quality of the Ruins, much better than any we say in Athens (Greece). The good food. And the relaxed and friendly locals.

Travel & logistics:

We traveled from / to Bangalore using the Airavat (AC Volvo) buses, booked through the KSRTC website. Took an Auto from Hospet to Hampi. Local transport was walking and hired 2 wheelers. (Didnt hire cycles because of the heat and the distances)

Accommodation:

There are 3 distinct options available

(1) The hotels & tourist bungalows - located a few (4-12) Kms away Too far away from the action.

(2) The main Hampi Bazar - filled with guest houses. Cheap but crowded & poor quality.

(3) Across the Tungabhadra River. More secluded yet 10-15 min from the crowd and action. But need a boat to cross the river.

We started with (2) but soon found the boat and shifted base the (3). The cottages by Shanti were cheap & comfortable, the location was fantastic to say the least. I guess this is by far the best accommodation in hampi

Eating:

We ate at 3 different places, an Italian restaurant ('Best Italian bakery in town') , the 'Mango Tree' and the 'Laughing Buddha'. The last 2 were in mesmerizing surroundings and we spent considerable time in the couple of meals we had at each spot. While the buddha had great music and a laid back hut atmosphere, Mango tree had a great view of Tungabhadra along with great food and options.

As it was the rainy season , it was overcast thought out. We rented out bikes and spent a considerable time on the road. Riding , exploring the hidden paths, taking hikes into the bouldered hills, zipping in and out of temples.

The other interesting activity was to walk up to Tungabhadra river through intervening paddy fields and taking a bath in it.

Gazing at the boulders and imagining the grandeur of Virupaksha Temple.

People: Talking to the french teacher couple. The Indian French lady and her kid. The locals at the first Guest house. The Baba with the 4 Ft hair and his tales. The nepali managing laughing Buddha.

Overall it was a great experience and i wouldn't mind going to the place again. Great memories and a great weekend. And thus ends our first anniversary.

Pics @ http://picasaweb.google.com/ramanathan999/Hampi#

Life, happiness and Societal Roles

What is happiness and who are the people who are truly happy ?

Happiness is a state of contentment. It is a state of acceptance of yourself and your role in society. It is a state of accepting limitation on what you can or cannot do.

Hence is being happy truly being happy ?

There are various roles we play in society. Some at a personal level - a wife, a father, a husband, a friend etc.. And there are some roles we play at a professional level - A sales person, a lawyer, a consultant, a government servant, an analyst , a secretary etc.

How does a person get into a certain role ? Society, environment and lack of information play a major part. One does various things according to the inputs and guidance they receive all their life. Then once they have sufficient training in a facet of life they are pushed forth to play their role...

Socially - they get married, they have a child , they make relationships etc..

Professionally - people get into job roles according to the skillset they are able to portray to a group of people to convince them to let you join their kind. Hence it is not by a pure choice buy by the choice of a set of people they you get into a role.

e.g. out of a B-School a person can get to be a sales guy, a marketing professional , an advert guy, a finance analyst, a mgmt consultant , a manager in a firm , an entrepreneur etc. but mostly he has only limited scope to make a choice, but instead he parades his skills and wares to all the professionals who are willing to look at him and then lands into a given role.

There are various people who have trouble adjusting to their roles in the first year of being in it. It is a time of frustration , exploration , looking at change opportunities etc. Hence it a period of mental trauma and turbulence.

Coming back to the main thread, accepting a role is the only way of contentment or happiness. Else this will lead to depression and could show as aggression (passive or active) and you will be antisocial in some ways.

What should one do ?

- a person could accept a given role by controlling his/her mind. else can make changes to the way they do things, This can me manifested by a change of role by changing a job. Quitting and exploring life to understand it better. Taking education as a route to change your skill sets and hence job role. Do a drastic change in profession.

- One should remember that any harsh action in one role will definitely have an impact on the other roles that you play no matter how separated you keep them.

- Every decision is a choice. Every choice has an impact. One should be willing to accept the implication and live with it. Else happiness will be an eternal delusion. -

CYCLING: My first 50+ Kms on a my Merida 880..

 

 

Today was my first ride out to Nandi Hills (base).. 

It was my first 100K+  attempt , and formed a part of the TFN training.

 

My route:

Indiranagar - Outer Ring Road - Hebbal - Met the gang (names below) - Nandi Hills base - Bfast - Return Airport Exit (then i had a flat)

 

The ride was great. By far my best experience on the road. I started from Indiranagar @ 5:50 am. Reached Hebbal by 6:30 and Nandi Hills base by around 8:30 -8:40am . Except for a 10-15 min wait at Hebbal it was a non-stop ride.  At Nandi base i had some idlis for the breakfast.  Saw a car with the cycle attachment, guess it must have been Nupurs. Started back to bangy by 9am.

 

The morning drive in the outer ring road was an awesome experience in the back of trips to Hoskote where i need to keep dodging the traffic. The Ride to nandi is definitely recommended over Old Madras Road.

 

The return trip was not so pleasurable. I got a flat near the Airport exit. Then had to hop onto a Truck carrying stones till the nearest town and then take an Auto all the way back home.

It is here i realised the handicap of not  having a standardised Tube. It needs a special valve to fill air and hence couldnt get the tyre repaired at any of the cycle shops on the way.

 

At home i checked my speedometer. It read 81+ kms in 3hrs 15 min. With an average speed of just below 25 KM/ Hr.

Still short of the average 27-28km/ hr that Venkat says could be the average TFN speed on a road bike.

 

A failed attempt to join the 100K + league. Can't wait to get my bike repaired and give it another shot.

 

Reached home by 12Noon in time to have lunch with my visiting parents.