Ditto!!
Is it just me or does every venture around the city of Hyderabad/ Secunderabad seem to start out fresh, new and completely different from others and then slowly but surely slip into the known , tried and tested format.
Be it schools, eating out, jewellery, clothing, electronics .. the search for something unique and different almost every time ends with a new place. The fact that the city is lined with extremely predictable “ditto” hoardings does not help the literal going around in circles.
I so wish that there were more places that were silently different than those screaming their similarities.
Destination Coorg
Finding a getaway from Hyderabad is quite a challenge, specially if have a ceiling on budget and frequency of repeat visits. Coorg if planned right, fits the bill of a delightful getaway perfectly. This hill station is not overtly touristy in feel and offers a certain tranquility that will definitely leave you rested 
.
Stay options come in choices of resorts, hotels and home stays. Choose according to requirement of facilities and budget. I stayed at the beautiful Depot Estate home stay, just 1 km from town, this choice of stay was a major factor in making the trip to Coorg delightful.
All major tourist pit stops can be covered in two day, a four wheeler is the best transport to get around the area. These can be hired on a full day basis or based on touch points to be covered. As most of the travel involves riving down the meandering roads along coffee and pepper plantations, it is a good idea to skip the A/C option, pull down the windows and let the lightly scented air in.
When in comes to eating out – Coorg was a disappointment. The two highly recommended restaurants Raj Darshan (opposite Raja’s seat) and Top In Town (On the way to Golden temple monastery) were extremely disappointing neither offered local cuisine, the basic ‘multi-cuisine’ menu, poor ambiance and power cuts during dinner were added put offs. Don’t get fooled by the long wait to get a table at ‘Top in town’ it certainly isn’t because of the food, I tried the specialty ‘veg meal’ which tasted exactly like the budget veg meal that I used to eat during collage days at ‘Swati tiffins’ Hyderabad.
In my case the best meals that I had were the ones provided at the Depot Home Stay. (Tip: In case you are a non-vegetarian and eat pork, you must ask the cook for their local preparations).
Sightseeing:
We could manage only a day of sightseeing, which included a visit to the Elephant camp. The elephants are lined up for a bath along the banks of Cauvery – extremely relaxing to spend a morning here. Incidentally this is also a place where you can go white water rafting during the months of October -November. ( Tip: If you visit during the summers, there is a section of the river that flows real low so you can walk across to reach the elephant camp – much more fun than the ferry)
Next stop was Nisargadhama park, where you get to feed deer, ride an elephant, climb up bamboo-shrub top huts ** and relax along the river side or take a boat ride. I wasn’t too keen on going here but the river section that is open to visitors was quite something.
We then headed to Tibetan Golden temple.The fact that a Tibetian monastery exists on the outskirts of Mangalore was in itself a little surprising. Not to mention the feeling of slight disorientation I felt when the temple doorway opened to the magnificent statues and prayer rows – not at all what I expected just off the road from the land of Idli, dosa and akki roti. This is a definite visit. The devotees were mostly dressed in traditional Tibetan attire and the whole vibe to the place was calming. This is also a place where you can do a little shopping (bags, save Tibet T-shirts etc) and maybe try some momo’s.
Our next destination was Abbey Falls for which we retracted back to Madikeri ( on the way we stopped at Triveni sangam – nothing exciting here, except a glimpse of a really large water snake). Abbey Falls was a disappointment simply because of the timing of our visit, it is during monsoons that it can be seen in all its splendour, this time around we saw not much of a fall and no more of river than a soft slow trickle 10 meters below the bridge.
The final stop was the ‘tala Cauvery‘ – the origin of river Cauvery. As evening sets in the hill that houses tala Cauvery gets engulfed in fog and mist – possibly the only place and time during a summer visit to Madikeri where it would feel like a misty hill station. The view from top is supposed to be quite breathtaking, but since we came in late all we could see was a cloud of white fog/mist all around.The temple and the gates leading highest peak of this hill close at 6, so plan accordingly.
Places that we missed – Iruppu Falls, Nagarahole game sanctuary, Harangi dam, sunset at Rajas seat, Gandhi Mandap, Omkarteshwara Temple, Gaddige.
Shopping:
Once done with sightseeing, it is a must to visit the local wholesale spice market/shops, where you can pick up spices, home made chocolate, coffee etc.
A few suggestions:
1. Plan the months you want to visit – December to March may be good time to visit for relaxation, but white water rafting and sights of falls in all their glory can be experienced only during monsoons.
2. Book tickets in advance: the only way from Banglore to Madikeri is by road, and if not in your own vehicle your best bet is to catch the 7 am or 11 am KSRTC Volvo. Believe me taking any other bus would be a bad choice, so reach Bangalore in time to make it to these Volvo’s. Also a word of caution to the folks traveling from Hyderabad to Bangalore- take the flight, train or APSRTC Volvo’s in that order of preference. No matter what you hear about Sharma, Khurana or any other bus service stick to non-private road transport.
3. Although after my trip a home stay comes highly recommended, do ensure that you are comfortable with the idea, remember it is not a hotel but rather your home away from home. Also check on rules for smoking, drinking etc to make sure that both you and the hosts are comfortable during your stay.
You can check some pictures of the sightseeing here.
Also find pictures of the beautiful home stay that was our home for the weekend here.
If you know any other great places to stay, or sights I may have missed do leave a comment. happy weekend .
**just like tree-top houses only build on Bamboo shrubs instead
Reviews
Restaurant : Sigree, Hyderabad
Lunch here was by chance, but boy am I glad we went. This restaurant from the Speciality group, kept scoring with its great food courses and service.
For cocktails, we tried the Hawaiian Iced tea and Sangria both well made, this was followed by the in-house recommendation of paneer rawalpindi starter which was spicy and very well done (although I would have loved if they had a little more salad to cut the spice). For the main course we tried multani paratha and tawa veg ..both phenomenal , the tawa veg used European veggies like cherry tomatoes, radish, zucchini (definitely a gamble that paid off ). For dessert we stuck to safer options of gulab jamun and makkhan icecream - nothing extraordinary, but no complaints either.
Although this time I stuck to trying out the vegetarian offerings, I have all the reason to believe that their non-vegetarian dishes would be good too.
A definite recommendation for Indian food.
Book : Isn’t it obvious by Eliyahu Goldratt
Classic Goldratt, concepts of retail inventory and supply chain based on holding high inventory are challenged in a narration involving a ‘real’ life situation. Although, the logic may not come as an eye opener for people familiar with TOC or even basic operations. The narrative does provide a ease of understanding to new readers of the concepts. A definite suggested read if you like the previous books or are just beginning to understand ‘operations’.
Sales : Samsonite Black label sale, Hyderabad
Some amazing discounts on great pieces. Sales on till 14th Feb 2010.
Bumper to bumper .. bumps!!
One of the annoyances about driving in Hyderabad ( aside from the traffic and maniac drivers) is the haphazardly and illegally placed speed breakers in the by-lanes and colonies. Apparently the residents are concerned about the safety of the children playing on the roads and placing multiple bumps in front of their homes apparently slows down speeding kill machines!!
I live near one such colony, and have to pass it to reach the main road. The only alternative is to choose a longer route, or to sneak out one night and level all the goddamn bumps .
In a city where there is a dire lack of sidewalk’s, the roads are already crowed with pedestrians. Dodging these guys, the kids and then maneuvering the speed breakers is like playing a daily survival game.
What beats me though is that most of these colonies have parks and open yards, so why allow the kids to set up a cricket pitch in the middle of the road?? And if that’s how they choose to play, then shouldn’t the survival game be equally risky for the drivers and the players ?? Heartless yeah, unfair no.
You cannot live in a buzzing city, expect and ALLOW kids to play on the streets and then build stuff to decrease the chances of a kid being hit. These are exactly the kind of people who should never be allowed to stay in places that have roads, that would calm their sense of entitlement over public property.
Hakims Aalim Revisited
I believe that service should not be judged based on one visit but rather be reviewed after at least three visits, this is true for restaurant’s and Hair and Tattoo Lounges ( in this case for Hakim Aalim, Hyderabad).
Hence, after my fourth visit to this salon, I guess it is time for a re-review.
Despite my first experiences (read post here), I did revisit this place for may reasons not the least of which is lack of options and the fact that a haircut here, somehow seemed to show visible improvement in hair growth.
All the subsequent visits after the first review have met expectations, and despite the steep service charges I would recommend this place for getting your hair styled, as I have yet to come across a better place within Hyderabad in terms of the quality of service.
Short term goals,long term goals and traffic jams
Two small phrases , a whole world of possibility.
For people living in Hyderabad, this concept takes on a whole new meaning.
Example 1:
Short term goal : Cross the road which has no trace of a zebra crossing, while constantly dodging vehicles hurling down in your direction.
Long term goal: Survive one more day of the insane driving on Hyderabad roads.
Example 2:
Short term goal: Overtake the vehicle in front, despite a traffic jam.
Long term goal: Prove to self that, while others can criss cross their way during ‘smooth’ traffic flows, the perfect driver can steer and overtake despite all odds and … rules.
Example 3:
Short term goal: Zip drive through the beautiful stretch of the winding necklace road.
Long term goal: Intake as little of the stinky and possibly harmful Hussainsagar fumes.
Short term goals in this city are like tiny episodes of the ‘Amazing race’, which might put it’s people ahead of the traffic jam by just a minute, but sure keeps their pride soaring, and you will never run short of the contenders ( If ever you do, the auto drivers will keep the show running).
One crazy city .. one crazy post – that’s the long and short of it .
Awesome Mausam
The good news: Breezy, pleasant weather with temperatures hovering around 30 degree Celsius. Respite from the sun, almost too good to be true. With occasional drizzles, the weather has been one problem less in the minds of most hyderabadi’s for the past few days.
The bad news: Deviation from the normal course that climate takes has caused losses to many, the chilli farmer whose crop lies rotting as he tries salvaging as much as he can with quick scoopfuls, the local potter watches his art dissolve into the streams of water, grain dried out is rendered unfit for human consumption.
Sometimes even hard hitting images or factors that affect us directly, like the rising prices, fail to influence what we wish for!!