South Karnataka Trip - March 2008 (Part - I)

The fourth weekend of March-2008 (21^st, 22^nd, and 23^rd) was a long one and we had finished our quizzes just then; a perfect time to travel. Manideep and I decided to pack the bags (on 19^th evening) and reserved train tickets to Mangalore for the next day. There was no plan; except for the first stop, we had no clue about our trip.

Day 0: The Train Journey

Train arrives on the platform of Chennai Central.

Every long journey in Indian Railways has always left me with fond memories and this was a special one. A family consisting of an old man, a lady and children boarded the S10 coach at Katpadi Junction without reservation. Everyone in our coach was forcing them to get off. Despite their sincere intentions to re-board into a general compartment, they could not do so as the train started moving. When they were being pressurized, we put our foot down and insisted that they will not get off until the train stopped at the next station. Though unsure if our act was legal, the relief on the old man’s face was priceless.

Mr. Radha Krishnan, a co-passenger on the train, recommended us to visit Udipi for the famous Krishna temple. We had other reasons too; Udipi is arguably the best destination for South Indian food connoisseurs. He also recommended Kannur (a North Malabar town) for its picturesque backwaters and sceneries. However, due to want of time, we left it for later.   

Day 1: Udipi

Mangalore welcomed us with a brilliant weather and sweet chirpings of birds. We performed all our early morning rituals and ablutions at Mangalore Railway station. It was the first time for Manideep to have bath in a public place. I am sure that he was cursing me for making him do that; I dropped my tea even before I could taste it (Kai ki ettinadhu vai ki ettalaye!!).

We left for Udipi at once and reached the temple by 8.30AM. After a relaxed darshan and informing mom of my trip (and getting blasted for it), it was time for food. According to my travel notes, it was the best breakfast of my life (till then). We ate so much that we didn’t eat again that day. 

A view of the town of Malpe.

After breakfast, we went to a port town called Malpe, located 6kms to the west of Udipi. As in many other towns on the Malabar Coast, fisheries and coconut based businesses are the major industries in Malpe. The pristine beach of this town is a very nice place to relax.

Later, we took a ferry to St. Mary’s island. According to a folk legend, Vasco da Gama landed at St. Mary’s island before he proceeded to Kozhikode (Calicut). The rocks on this island and their formation seem to be popular topics of research for many geologists. We spent the rest of the afternoon admiring the landscape and playing in the water.

A beach on St. Mary's island.

After an eventful day on the beaches, it was time for mountainous terrains. Coorg was 5 hours away and it was 6 in the evening. I stared at Manideep and read all the questions in his brain: money, language, tiredness, discharged camera and mobile batteries, ... After a couple of mins, it was clear that he had the solution: anything that doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. We set off to Coorg.

Day 2: Coorg

We reached Coorg around 11.30PM on 21^st March.  There was no power anywhere in the entire town of Madikeri (headquarters of Coorg district). After a few futile attempts at finding a place to sleep, we allowed ourselves to get cheated for a room. We paid Rs. 800 for 8 hours of stay; the room had to be vacated by 8 in the morning as the rightful occupant would be checking in at 9. At least, we got some good rest and a bucket of hot water for a bath. We recharged our camera batteries at a restaurant while having breakfast.

We went to Abbey falls which is about 8km from the Madikeri bus stand, traveling through some of the finest coffee plantations of this region.  The houses in this region had a very distinct style of construction, especially the roofing.

Houses in Madikeri.

We reached Abbey at 11AM and spent an hour there. The moist air near the waterfall was sufficient to drench us completely. The intoxicating aroma of coffee in the air makes this place very special.

Abbey Falls.

We arrived at the tomb (Gaddhige) of Kodagu kings (Lingarajendra, Doddaveera Rajendra and his wife). The Kodagu kings are Shiva worshippers. The tomb was built in a Indo-Sarcenic style by Chikaraveera Rajendra in 1820AD (not sure what that means, writing whatever my guide told me). There were few other tombs at that site in memory of the royal priest and officials.

After visiting Raja’s seat, a view point and a few other places in and around Madikeri, we left for Haasan at 2PM. Our idea was to visit one of Belur/Halebidu on the same day, and stay back if we liked it, to visit the other on the following day. Since it was already late when the bus reached Haasan, we retired early for the day, in preparation for a long next day. Unlike in Madikeri, we got an excellent room in Haasan, very close to the bus stand for just Rs. 200; Rs. 1000 for two nights of comfortable sleep wasn’t that bad after all.

My tour guide at Coorg and me pose for a picture after Abbey visit.

Gaddhige (Tomb).

Belur and Halebidu coming up..

San Antonio - Austin

San Antonio
I promised Kumar to visit him at Austin during the Independence day long weekend. However due to exorbitant ticket prices ($500 for round trip to AUS from SNA), I took a flight to San Antonio for my onward journey, where Kumar joined me. In retrospect, it was a wise decision as I might not have visited this historical city otherwise.

La Alamo
After watching Colbert interview (read make fun of) the mayor of San Antonio, Julian Castro, during the week before my trip, I was eager to visit La Alamo which was the venue of a pivotal event in Texas Revolution, Battle of the Alamo. During this battle, a Mexican army of more than 2000 soldiers were defended by a Texian army of 200 soldiers for 13 days before the Texians capitulated. Buoyed by a desire for revenge, the Texian army with aid from adventurers from United States defeated the Mexicans, thus ending the revolution. This monument tells the story of important personalities of this war. Artifacts such as the guns, swords, knives, letters and maps are still on display for the tourists. It is a must visit, particularly for a history buff.

River Walk
In one line, River Walk is an attempt to recreate Venice in downtown San Antonio. I need to visit Venice before deeming it successful or otherwise. Lined with pubs and restaurants on either side of the river, it is a very colorful and active place, thus an attraction in its own right. It is important not to miss out on the killer deals at the souvenir shops along the walk; I got a Texan Hat for $7! Since we were at the River walk at an unfavorable-for-a-meal time, we did not dine; but I could tell that the restaurants here offer good options for a date.

Tower of the Americas
Tower and observation deck are synonymous in the US according to me and I was not disproved by "Tower of the Americas". This 750 feet tall structure offers an incredible view of the entire city. Contrary to my belief that Texas is a desert, San Antonio looks to be filled with green lawns all over. The entry ticket includes a 4-D movie called "Skies over Texas", presenting the history of Texas. There is a restaurant located one floor right below the observation deck. Its USP is that it rotates slowly, offering its diners a 360 degree view of the landscape of San Antonio.

San Antonio being the second largest city in Texas and the seventh largest in the United States, certainly has much more to offer for a tourist. It is worth stopping here if you are riding on I-10 sometime.


Austin

Austin, I am told, is the only liberal city in an otherwise conservative state of Texas. Though irrelevant to this topic, I like adding that :-). It is the capital of Texas, fourth largest city in the lone-star state and fifteenth largest in the country. Austin was a part of my long weekend travel plan that included San Antonio. I reached Austin on the 3rd of July, late in the night and left on the 6th of July before daybreak.


Meeting with Anuranjan and Navin
Anuranjan Jha was my senior at CISL Lab, Columbia University who graduated just when I joined the lab. Anu (as he is fondly called) and me share a common interest - Running. We met for lunch (actually he picked me up from Kumar's house) at Trudy's, a Tex-Mex cuisine. We had some elaborate discussions on half marathon/ marathon training, music that inspires running, music in general, general fundaes on life, life, ... :-). To cut the long story short, we did a lot of catching up. After meeting Anu, I am now sure about buying Bose Companion 3 speakers when I return to NYC.

Navin is also a friend from Columbia University, a dude sometimes more American than an actual American. Don't ask me what I mean because you will have to interact with him to understand what I said. After picking me up from Texas Capitol, Navin and his girlfriend, Nita, took me to Mozart's Cafe. If you are an Austinite and haven't been to this place, I would urge you to try it asap; particularly try their Mocha Special.


Navin, Nita and me gossiped about our friends at Columbia University and Broadcom, sitting on the banks of Lake Austin watching the sun set. Later, we left to downtown Austin to witness the 4th of July Fireworks.

4th of July Fireworks
Kumar and Baradwaj (Bwaj) joined me after I reached downtown. Independence day fireworks is a very colourful event in the United States and a joy to capture on camera. Being an ardent fan of Trey Ratcliff (a Photographer from Austin), I wanted to emulate his fireworks pictures. Having messed up royally last year, I had to make the opportunity count this year. Bwaj and Kumar got me the best possible spot and the following was the result.


It was a joint work by Kumar and me. For more pictures, you should visit Kumar's and my flickr streams. Bwaj captured some amazing pictures with his point and shoot which can be viewed here. It was a very satisfying day for photography.


Jog on River Colorado

Siddhartha Bannerjee (known as Bofi to most of us) is a friend of mine from my undergrad. After coming to the US, we used to run together in Central Park when he interned at Alcatel Lucent, NJ in the summer of 2009. So we decided to do the catching up while doing something both of us relish - running. We ran the along R.Colorado on the Lady bird Lake trail, starting from Mopac Express-way, going till I-35 and back on the other bank of the river. Thanks Bofi, for taking me on this picturesque route and I still owe you a couple of runs more.

Long Drive
After it got relatively cooler in the afternoon, we (Bwaj, Kumar and me) decided to go on a long drive; just drive on with no real intention. We went to Mount Bonnell, a prominent tourist destination alongside Lake Austin. It offers a good view of the city of Austin. Owing to the oppressive weather, we got ourselves a few portrait pictures quickly and drove to Lake Travis. After spending sometime there, we hit the road again to stop at Pennybacker Bridge; to get this view (there were no fireworks when we went). After all the driving (actually being driven) around, I know what is missing in my NYC life. I promise myself driving classes and a license without much delay.

My weekend in Austin was less of a conventional tourist's trip and more of a localite's weekend-off. However, its the most enjoyable travel experience that I have had recently. I hope to visit this place again, hopefully for a week and live Austin - bike, kayak, dine at Hula Hut, catch some live music, help myself with Tex-Mex food, ...