Mind Blogging. Mind Boggling.

GaPa is a hiking paradise. Plenty hikes to choose from, across difficulty levels. All trails well marked. Plenty stay options in traditional Bavarian cottages, range of cuisines in multiple restaurants, including vegetarian. Good shopping. Bavarian town experience, with murals decorating the cottages, with cottages themselves in standard Bavarian style. Beautiful natural scenery: gurgling streams & rivers, meadows, alpine flowers, gorges. Valley town GaPa surrounded 360 degrees by massive mountains, including Germany’s highest- Zugspitze.  

Upon arriving at GaPa (R Bahn train from Munich), walking from the train station to the hotel, I witnessed the usual race-ending scenes of onlookers cheering, runners trudging 1 km away from the end but towards the last 200 meters turning on the afterburners. It was the end of the Zugsptize Ultra trail marathon. I learnt later that this is Germany’s largest trail running event. This was a great introduction served up by GaPa to me, informing me about its stature as the premier hiking town of Germany. 

Hiking options

1. Kramerplateau and chapel, 2 hours hiking round trip from Garmisch center: Easy warm up is to explore the ‘Kramerplateau;’ – a pleateau midway up Kramer mountain (one of the towering mountains around Garmisch). It is replete with hiking paths. I went to a nice viewpoint, a chapel (Kriegerdachtniskapelle). The path and the viewpoint offered nice views of Garmisch town and Zugspitze. The path is gravelly with gentle undulations- comfortable and easy to walk.  Exploring Kramer plateau set the stage for my hike of Pflegersee the next day. 

Pflegresee and Schmolzersee lakes, 3 hours hiking round trip from Garmisch center: ‘See’ means lake in German. I started smoothly, using my knowledge of Kramer plateau from the previous day. The path was more undulating, rough and unstructured compared to previous. There were patches of thick forest, at one of which I got up close and personal with a big jungle squirrel. Blackbirds and other chirpers were aplenty. Pflegersee was a beautiful lake, with the Königsstand mountain looming just over it and the reflection being covered entirely in the lake. There were just 5 other people enjoying the beautiful view, making it quiet and peaceful. I chatted with one of them, a Berliner, who gave me important advice : do not go to Partnach-klamm today (Sunday) – too crowded. Go to Elb-see. Which I followed to the T. On the way back, I also walked to the equally beautiful Schmolzer-see lake. It was smaller then Pflegersee. It has beautiful yellow and pink lillies; pink bloomed and yellow shut-eye. 

Partnach-klamm gorge  + Graseck meadows- beautiful natural confluence of light, sound, water, rock; and later - green grass punctuated by alpine flowers: Partnach is a stream running all along Partenkirchen, with roots up there in Zugspitze. Klamm is gorge in German. The walk from the bus stop to the entry to the gorge runs along the green-white waters of the Partnach. Once you enter the gorge, it’s a 600 m walk thru rocky tunnels you have to duck and weave through. The water roars, the rock walls are lofty verticals, through the gap on top rays of light stream and trickles of water fall. All very enervating. I waited at a spot and had a mystic experience, also related to my current meditation journey on the app -The Way: I felt connected deeply to the natural elements: earth, light, warmth, water. On the way back, I walked up to Graseck, which has wonderful ‘hummocky meadows’ bedecked with a carpet of white-yellow-violet alpine flowers. The way back involved a 32 degree decline for 300 m, which was punishingly enjoyable for the legs. I saw plenty of picnickers heading for the gorge as I sat sipping a coffee at the exit, so I was glad that I had entered early, enjoying my solitude. 

Elbsee lake- a global legend among emerald lakes. In a remarkable serendipity, just as I was going to show pics of Elbsee to Sw and Ap back home in Bengaluru, Windows popped up on its rotating wallpaper show Elbsee with Zug and Alp looming over it. Took the narrow gauge Zupspitze rail from near main station, got off at the Elbsee station. The lake is an emerald gem, with the Zug and Alp towering over it. Lots of friendly (and hungry!) ducks floating and waddling around. However, my own circumstances here were less than ideal- I was zonked by the time I was here (having hiked Parnach-Graseck in the morn), I had less time, the clouds meant that Zug and Alp were covered, I had gone thru some work messages so my mind was there. So, to shake it up, I ran 5 km around the lake, which is in keeping with lakes being the main running venues for me back home. I was carrying my pack too, so I went thud thud thud.  

Apart from all these hikes, there is the tough ‘Kandahar’ route to Zugsptize, Koningstand starting from Kramer plateau, all-day hikes to Wank mountain, Alpsptize and Eckbauer. Lots to choose from!  

Dining : good continental veggie fare

My top 3 were Max café, Berge café and La Baita pizza. La Baita had excellent vegetarian pizza and was packed to the gills, and was dinner on Day 1. I spent 3-4 hours at Max café after the Pflegersee hike for brunch and coffees, while I did some creative writing. Their playlist was pleasant and I now have it on Spotify. Café Berge had some great brunch set menus. Apart from this, I ate Donner one day, some cake from a bakery, waffles, ice cream, and pasta at a much advertised place called Maroni's. Those were regular fare.  

Hotel Aschenbrenner: too hot for comfort in the weather, but a gem nevertheless. 

Stay was at Hotel Aschenbrenner in Garmisch. Charming place , wooden upholstery per usual Bavaria standards, replete with alpine blooms at the lobby and the beautiful garden lawn. Excellent location right on a gurgling stream, which I later learnt to be the Loisach river. The proprietor and staff were friendly and helpful. Breakfast was excellent. The one challenge which is to be expected in this part of the world is that during summer when temperatures hit 37 degrees plus in the day, it can get real uncomfortable coz they don’t have ACs or fans. Thankfully, because of the altitude, the heat produced thunderstorms in the evening (like it happens in Bengaluru) and it became pleasant outdoors. However, inside was still uncomfortably warm most times. It produced an unexpected gem, though: right next door is the Aschenbrenner museum, which has a spectacular collection of intricate porcelain figurines and life-like dolls. 

And those are the specifics, especially written for those of you who want to plan a trip yourself.  The below sections are more details and context on GaPa, and the treks undertaken by my mind independent of those undertaken by my body. The rambling begins:  

Context on GaPa

It may be tempting to call it just Garmisch but then Garmisch (more cosmopolitan)  has a very different vibe from Partenkirschen (shops open only 9 30 – 11 30 AM on the Monday I was there). So I will call it GaPa. Maybe I sing Ga-Pa the way it sounds on Indian classical music scale. I can say Garmisch when I am talking about the Garmisch side, which is where I stayed put my first 1.5 days. Ga and Pa are separated by the Hauptbahnof (main train station), and also by the narrow-gauge Zugsptize railway that originates at GaPa.

GaPa is a small town surrounded 360 degrees by massive mountains which loom all around it. I read that while the absolute height of these mountains , 2000-3000 m, pales in comparison to some of the world’s bigger peaks, they are dramatic in Gapa because they rise up steeply.  While Zugspitze is the largest, the Alpsitze, also a German top 5, looms larger over GaPa since its closer. Aplspitze and Zugspitze are part of the same range, when viewed from Gapa seem neighbors, and I learnt later are connected by a technical and challenging “Jubilee ridge walk”. 

Trip plan was not as clean as it seems above: Emotional ups and downs in the mountains: 

This was my first solo hiking adventure; earlier, I’ve gone with groups of strangers but never alone. Big thanks for the German Alpine Club (DAV) for maintaining the trails so well. It’s the world’s largest climbing association. Their logo is a beautiful Edelweiss, of which I now sport a lapel pin on my backpack.  

Easy to say now that options were plenty, but when I was there by myself I was struck with good amount of analysis paralysis, fomo, anxiety, regret, and other psychological perils. Here are some questions that weighed on my mind: 

• It’s so hot (day 1 afternoon)- what if I am unable to sleep the entire night! How will I hike in this weather?
• If I go to Pflegersee today (day 2), will I miss the legendary Partnachklamm?
• Day 1: Should I go to Zupgsptize? Came all the way but did not go to the highest point of Germany? But wait, I’ve come hiking. I should not take cable cars. 
• All days: If I hike too much I will be too tired for creative writing or reading
• Thunderstorm! I should not be in the open hiking when thunder strikes (day 2)
• This rain jacket is too warm. Instead of one jacket fits all (warm + wind + rain), I should have brought my simple rain jacket. Damn. 
• How will I keep this umbrella from the hotel when I go for long hikes? (in the end, I figured out a clean way to keep my trekking pole and umbrella- tucked into my bag’s waist belt)
• I should have brought two trekkling poles from home; not only 1 . 
• I’m getting late to buy souvenirs – stores will close! (And that’s when I ran the 5k around Elbsee, which was critical in terms of giving me some time to shop)
• Need to buy something for the kiddo since Germany has good toys. What!!
• Germany has good optical shops, could buy a spectacle frame for myself. Which shop do I go to? 
• Should I go to Wank mountain, or Pflegersee? Will Wank mountain be too challenging? Will Pflegrsee be too easy? (and I read a couple of blog posts on Wank mountain climbs)
• Will my thigh injury flare up- will my leg hold up? 
• Will I miss breakfast all 3 days at the hotel? Breakfast-inclusive-fare was one of the USPs of Hotel Aschenbrenner.  

Options, options

• Choice is not only stress but also excitement and freedom. In the end, most choices will turn out fine, so relax when picking between equally good options. 
• Felt confidence in my problem solving abilities- in the end, (with some luck- such as the improved weather) , will be able to work things out. 
• With my work involving lot of people interaction, sitting in an open plan office with regular din, I enjoy quiet and solitude during holidays and weekends. 
• I went to Munich after this (just half a day) and saw a huge distinction between such a hiking holiday and a big-city holiday. Both have their own charm, but are very different from one another. 
• Cross body bags are amazing during hikes- pack essentials (snack, maps) in them

Smile this way or that!

Enjoyable sidebar activities:

• Poring over the maps given to me by the hotel
• Figuring out the public transport 

To dos: 

• Hiking is a key desired part of my vacations, so plan accordingly! 
• Make those flower pots at home, like commonly seen in houses in GaPa

Labels: Travellog

# posted by Ashwin Ravikumar @ 11:39 AM 0 Comments

We had 10 days in Ceylon. It was the first trip with Baby-A, and the three adults on the trip me, S and A, had to all pull their weight in terms of baby-tending duties. However, Baby-A was generally co operative and mostly predictable, a key contributor to making it a good trip. The planning constraint was to minimize shuttling between hotels- so that we could spread out the clothes and other paraphernalia and not bother to pack 'em all up often. We had a cab with a driver - a large-ish Toyota sedan - through the trip. We needed all the boot space, with the bags + portable stroller often spilling over into the back seat. 

Itinerary 

We landed at Colombo on Friday evening. After a stay at a hotel near the airport (Spicepeek Boutique), we set off early the next day after breakfast south towards Galle and its friendly neighborhood beach, Unawatuna. Unawatuna proper is quite commercialized, think Baga of Goa, so we stayed near a beach called Thalpe which was 5-6 km from Unawatuna's main drag. Beach hopping, SL vs Aus cricket match at Galle stadium, tea plantation tour, turtle conservation center, leisurely grazing at numerous good restaurants, bird-watching, walk through a non-touristy Sri Lankan town (Thalpe), walking Galle fort and beholding panaromic views it offered, cafe hopping in Galle fort, and shopping in Ceylon Spa - these were the memorable and pleasant highlights. On Wednesday morning, we set off towards the hill country town of Ella. Hike to Little Adam's peak (Little A going to Little A!) was enjoyable. The trip to Buddhist Pagoda atop a hill was not remarkable. We ate hearty meals at numerous restaurants in close proximity to each other, at Ella. We got back to Colombo for a crammed Saturday. Went on a tour of legendary architect Geoffrey Bawa's house, grazed at a cafe, the best showers of the trip at the Cinnamon Red (part of the famous Sri Lanka Cinnamon chain of hotels) and light dinner at the Cricket Club restaurant, browsing the stunning cricket memorabilia donning the walls. Sunday morning in the hotel gym, and an afternoon flight back to BLR.     

Thalpe/Unawatuna + Galle

We were concerned when we discovered that our hotel Serenity Boutique was around 2 km inland from the main road from which all the beaches originated. However, it was a blessing in disguise- firstly we were able to see 5-6 Sri lankan endemic birds in the verdant green surroundings, and secondly the neighborhood was less commercial - pretty much jungle and farms. Baby-A woke up at 6 every morning, too early for any tourism, so one memorable morning A and I carried him and walked for a good 2 km through rustic Sri Lanka sceneries. 

Most of our meals were in the main Unawatuna drag which did not dissapoint even once- we twice ate at Koha Surf lounge (international cuisine) , once at Hideout Mexican restaurant, and once at Wasantha Sri Lankan cuisine (fantastic local food - rice with 5 curries). The other restaurants near Thalpe we enjoyed were Wijaya- the breakfast was nothing to write home about but we saw huge sea turtles swimming in shallow waters near the sea, being fed by tourists, mostly Russian. Wijaya famously has a wood fired oven, whose pizzas we did not eat. Shanti Shanti cafe was on the beachfront with excellent relaxing ambience and lip smacking food. I'd say ambience-wise my favorite restaurant on the trip. Food wise, Wasantha was #2, the numero uno coming up later in Ella. We also heard from Wasantha herself about the story of her restaurant. From her, and other interactions, we realized how Sri Lanka was upended by the tsunami. 

Thalpe beach was enjoyable from the sense that it had multiple lagoons where you could settle down into. The sand was a bit coarse, which is not to S's liking. There was a small Angel beach between Thalpe and Unawatuna where we spent firsbee throwing time. It had fine sand which I enjoyed but it was sinky as per S so again not to her liking. On our way to Ella, we stopped at Welligama, which is a popular and massive beach full of surfers. We breakfast-ed at After Surf rooftop cafe, which can get crowded but we were lucky with seats. It commanded a great view of Weligama. The highlight from the roaming the historic streets of Galle fort , laden with cafes and shopping, were Cafe 82's ice-coffee and coconut ice cream, chitchat with the proprietor's son, and Kothu rice at Anod's lounge. The cashew ice cream at talked-about Dairy King was not great. Plenty of fine dining options at Galle fort, which we engaged with at lunch- Italian at Aqua Forte. Nothing spectacular. 

We bought various types of aromatic products (perfumes, room mist, soaps) at Ceylon Spa - Sri Lanka's Forest Essentials. Teas, and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg were purchased. A loves the colors of Sri lanka's flag, so she bought a crickety-cap embellised with the flag.

We stumbled into quite the moment when, in the middle of our pleasant walk along the ramparts of Galle fort in the orange-yellow-light of dusk, two military folks along with trumped drew down on the flag at the Galle fort. The views of the stadium was great. The 4th day of the test we watched was also memorable. Easy to get into and get good seats at Galle, compared to Indian venues. Labuschagne's wristy straight drive against spin, played almost with a horizontal bat, was the standout shot. I read about Galle being a 'fortress' (literally and metaphorically) for SL cricket pre pandemic. It was spin friendly, and with their riches of Murali and Herath and Ajantha-Mendis and the like, they would bamboozle opponents. However, with the flattening spin playing abilities with the emergence of IPL, and lessening of the sheen of their own spinners, SL cricket can no longer call it their fortress. 

I enjoyed savoring the range of 15-16 teas we got to taste at the end of our tea plantation tour at Handunugoda tea estate. The weather that day - our most outdoor day of the trip including Thalpe beach and tea estate, was very co-operative: sun was mostly hidden behind clouds and it was breezy. We chanced upon the Koggala turtle conservation center. It was fascinating to get up close and personal with 4 types of sea turtles, including the vegetarian Green Sea turtle who we could touch, the aggressive looking Hawksbill, the sedate Loggerhead and our Indian friend, Olive Ridley.      

Ella:

Being more of a mountain person, I am glad we were able to go to the hills and it wasn't entirely a beach trip. Our hotel Little Folly was slightly cosier than optimal, but overall nice- it was a log cabin. Weather was quite cool. Just 100 m from our hotel we discovered AK Ristoro, an international cuisine restaurant with excellent live music. Jiving to Abba played on the live violin, we enjoyed Japanese dishes. The best food of the trip was at Matey Hut in Ella. Basic chairs and restaurant, but the curries were lip smacking. The view was gritty but great- overlooking a main road and a rail track. Little Adam's peak hike was around 2.5 hours up and down and not demanding. Views were nice. We missed the free meditation at our trip to the Buddhist Pagoda, without which the trip there was not quite memorable, for me. 

Colombo:

After riding back Ella via the same 'Southern Highway', stopping at the same restaurant complex for lunch, we reached Colombo with exactly 24 hours to play with. We stayed in the fairly upmarket Cinnamon Red (albeit not the more high end Cinnamon Grand) . The Bawa house tour was interesting, and inspires me to mindfully collect art at home, telling the story of my travels. I was also uncomfortable, because it was full of architects and people deep into the Bawa story, which I was not. We missed the famous Kumbuk cafe, which shuts at 6 pm. We ate at Cafe Coco verandah cafe instead- nothing to write home about. After enjoying material comforts of the best shower of the trip, we set off for a light dinner nearby- The cricket club cafe. They had eye popping signed cricket memorabilia adorning the walls, and the food was decent. The waiter was a massive India cricket fan.   

News and Geopolitics

There was a nationwide power cut when we were there, and the news coverage of that in their newspaper made for interesting reading. It was interesting to read the main paper of the country as it always is during travels - talked about how the economy is still in trouble and there are strict IMF norms which the country needs to adhere to. Was surprised by the lack of locals frequenting the restaurants and tourist spots we went to - mostly caucasian tourists thronging. Also read up a bit about India's complex relationship with SL especially given the sad Tamil war of the 80s and 90s. I remembered how the word 'Serendipity' is drawn from Sri Lanka, with the other name for Sri Lanka being Serendib. 

Appendix

• We were eggetarians, therefore all the restaurants listed above are to be viewed that way. 
• Trip Credits: T for the cab, F for the portable stroller which was invaluable for Baby A's trip and CSS-S for brainstorming. Lonely Planet on kindle, as always, for restaurant, hotel and itinerary suggestions. 
• Cafe Shanti Shanti had a flyer which mentioned all the events happening that month. 
• First night hotel near Colombo airport: Spicepeek boutique: rooms are fine, location great, food and service nothing to write home about (NWHA)  

Labels: Travellog

# posted by Ashwin Ravikumar @ 8:14 PM 0 Comments

Had originally planned a comprehensive 13-day Vietnam North to South trip way back in 2012, but lost my nerve when executing such a long solo trip, so backed out. Here was the post, which talked about my effort to entice people to join via Facebook , along with this detailed itinerary:  link   Nothing wrong in losing nerve then- no regrets. I finally ended up going now, 12 years later. Lonely planet, a 10-year later version, was invaluable as always. S and Sh were company. Appendix has specific restaurant and stay recommendations.

Itinerary 

Flying out Friday afternoon from Bangalore, via Kolkata, we reached Hanoi late Friday night (2 AM). We spent Sat-Sun in Hanoi, Mon-Tue in a cruise through the Lan Ha bay (a less commercialized offshoot of Halong bay), then Wednesday second half thru Saturday first half at Hoi An.  Saturday night was spent back at Hanoi, and we took a 3 AM flight via Kolkata, getting back to Blr at 9 AM.  There are direct flights to Hanoi from Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata- so travel from there would be much smoother than from Blr. It's a night 5 hour night flight from Mumbai, which will allow you to hit the ground running the next morning. Kolkata is just around 2.5 hour flight away from Hanoi- so close. With a simple e-visa process, it is a great travel option. If I had more days, might have gone to the mountainous areas of Da Lac or Sapa. 

Hanoi, and food aspects common to the entire trip

We stayed in the 'Old quarter', where all the action is. I enjoyed the food despite being a veggie- they replace the meat with tofu and egg, and the modified versions tasted good. Obviously I am blissfully ignorant of what I'm missing by cutting out the pork, beef and what-not. My favorite dishes- Bahn Mi (sandwich), Bao (buns), rice paper rolls, variety of curries, and the dessert Che. The coffee was fantastic. While I found the egg coffee interesting but not necessarily tasty, I loved the coconut coffee. I also enjoyed the concept of Vietnamese black coffee with a drop of condensed milk. They try many other things such as salt coffee (which I tried- was interesting and could grow on one) and yogurt coffee (which I tried to make by mixing yogurt and coffee, producing an unsatisfactory outcome). I enjoyed the local fruits- Rambutans, Mangosteens and Longan, all through the trip, with Mangosteens the best of the tropical trio. Thanks to Sh for buying some 2 kg each of both fruits early during the trip, which lasted a good part of the entire trip. All of this holds for Hoi An, too.  

Got to be ready for a lot of walking in exploring Old quarter. Some of the t-shirts with nice local and quintessential-Vietnam designs,  artful shoes (non branded) and paintings where nice- happy with my/ group's purchases in these categories. Costs are pretty much same as India. Got to be smart in shopping, though- I got frazzled a couple of times at the night market by the combination of crowd, lights, variety of wares, and the heat. I think the best way to do it is to do a recce for an hour, buying on or two items, and doing price discovery. Use that time to compile a list, and then do targeted swoops next time. Our targeted swooping was on our last night on Saturday, and it was efficient and enjoyable. Ceramics is famous, but we found it to be too expensive and not significantly better than the wares on India ecom.   

I enjoyed the water-puppetry show, which must have originated in the flood plains of the Mekong and other rivers which feed the rice-growing plains of Vietnam. The 'train' street was exciting, especially for a train-lover like me- as I sat and enjoyed my bao (bun), a train bustled past me at arm's length away. I got to see how the characteristic sound of a train which so enchanted me in my childhood is produced, as a wheel passed over the small gap between two lengths of the track. I also enjoyed going to the 'Citadel', a monument and location which was the seat of power for Vietnam for most of its history. The indoor museum there also provides a walking tour of Vietnam's history. The walking tour we went on, with students, was average- no great insights.  

I spent a lot of time around Hoan Kiem lake, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's unique in my travels, for while it is a historical and cultural sight, it is bustling with activity by the locals (zumba, couple dance, runners) and also has great restaurants near it. I went on two long runs around this lake (on Sun morn and Tue evening). 

It was uncomfortably warm on Saturday, but thankfully it rained on Sunday morning and for the rest of the time at Ha noi, the weather was great. 

The cruise in Lan Ha Bay was a novel experience. You start at around 8 30 from Hanoi, and after a 4 hour comfortable journey (including a RoRo ferry) you get to your cruise boat. Ours was called Cozy Boutique. The rooms are quite luxurious. I enjoyed the Kayaking the most- kayaking on the gentle sea with huge limestone karsts looming all around, then getting to a secluded beach and dragging the kayak on with you to the beach. In fact there are 4-5 beaches around, and you can pick which ones you want to visit during the 1.5-2 hours you are on your kayak. S and Sh loved the sunset on the deck after this, because they had a nice endorphin rush from the kayaking- would rank in their top moments of the trop. There was a cycling trip next morning, which took us to a small village. 

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Hoi An

Hoi An is a lantern town, with beautiful lanterns of various designs and hues dangling from cables that run across the street at a height of 4-5 meters. It runs along a clean river with a well maintained promenade. However, when these lanterns are lit up in the evening, the tourists throng and it gets jam packed, which I did not enjoy. My favorite part of the time in Hoi An was the 6 30 AM walking tour, through which we learnt about Hoi An's past as a great port city, serving Japanese and Chinese traders who were on the way to India and Arab lands. We also went on a morning cycling ride through a small town Cam Kim, which I did not enjoy too much, mainly due to the heat. We bought a few lanterns, which we hope to dangle at our home during some party we might throw someday. 

We liked our trip to the nearby An Bang beach, just 5 km away . It's a long stretch of sand, and the waves are friendly. I kicked a football around with a British guy who was a fan of Luton FC (unfortunately close to relegation), and we discussed the upcoming Euros. I also did a 45 minute core workout routine on the beach, while S was frolicking around in the waves while also doing some yoga. Distant mountains loomed, clouds formed intricated patterns, and the sunset was beautiful.  

The last morning, we went to the local market (Cho) which the walking trip guide had shown us, and bought Mangosteens for folks back home. We also bought Mung bean cakes and some Rice + mung bean cakes for back home. 

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Through the journey, I started and completed a Sci Fi book called Ascension. Around 400 pages long and a read which was moderately difficult. I read during our time on the flights, a bit during the cruise, and during the afternoons at at Hoi An, when we wanted to relax and anyway the heat forced us to be indoors.  

The locals are pretty friendly and the tourism ecosystem is set up well. Language is a problem but Google translate helps out. There was tourists from across the world , with a high share of French. I chatted with a Danish guy as we sat at a sports bar in Hanoi, I watching an Arsenal game and he catching a Rugby game. Reminded me of the value of following a truly international sport such as Football - you can easily make friends with someone from a different geography. 

Vietnam's had a history of being occupied. Chinese, French and finally American. Their path to independence was through war, unlike India's. Ho Chi Minh is their Gandhi, and is on their currency notes just like MKG is on ours.      

I enjoyed spotting 'Vinfast' electric vehicles- bikes, cars and buses. 

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Appendix

Ha Noi: Hotel Serene Boutique (on the outskirts of Old Quarter which was nice because a bit away from the bustle), can try Silk Path if the budget is higher. No complaints with Serene Boutique, but nothing mind blowing. Memorable restaurants with good veg Vietnamese options: Bahn Mi 25, Hoang's Restaurant, Met (this one's a chain). The pizza and experience at pizza 4P's was great (now also open in Indiranagar BLR and booked out for 1 month)  and the founder's story touches a chord. Street food Bao at Banh Bao Binh Mo. Che dessert at Little Bowl. Coffee at Cafe Giang, the one who invented egg coffee, and with branches across Asia. Desserts for taking back home at Com Nangtan  ; bought Banh com and Keo Cu do.  Enjoyed reading post it notes at Note Cafe. Tour agent for Lan Ha bay: Ethnic. Family run enterprise, trustworthy. 

Hoi An: We stayed at Vinh Hung riverside, one of the finest resorts there, right by the river. We booked a riverside cottage which was nice. The breakfast buffet was solid. Because of the heat, a lot of Grab ordering. Great vegetarian restaurants: Minh hien and Rom. Bahn Mi Phuong was excellent, and Anthony Bourdain apparently loved it. Walking tour by Momo travels - real good.  

Links: 

Desserts from bringing back home: https://vinpearl.com/en/vietnamese-food-souvenirs

Labels: Travellog

# posted by Ashwin Ravikumar @ 8:32 PM 0 Comments

I've had colleagues and friends who are newcomers to Bangalore, ask me about travel destinations nearby. Today, I met H after more than a decade, and this topic came up again. 

I have now lived in the Uru for the past 6 years, and also racked up some stints in the past. Despite my 10+ years in Delhi and Mumbai each, by now I am unambiguously a Bangalorean. During this time, I've traveled around a bit. So, am compiling a list of travel options, mostly drawn from my first-hand experiences . So, next time, if someone asks me , instead of scratching my head trying to jog my memory, I can point them to this list. 

I think Bangalore offers excellent access to multiple natural sceneries and culture, so scroll through and hope it helps your plans and travels. I enjoyed compiling this list- went through in my mind some of the happy memories from these places- the sights, the sounds, the food, and the great company. If you want to suggest any place to me, based on my interests as demonstrated below, do add in comments.  

All of these spots are based on experiences from the past 5 years. In most places, I have added my recommendation for place to stay- it's mostly where I stayed.   

Weekend plan

1. Nomad Camp, DD Hills, Tumakuru : 2.5 hour drive: This is more glamping than camping. Good food, short hike, in the lap of nature. 

2. Resorts near Airport (eg: Angsana) or at Nandi Hills  (I personally did not like the KSTDC I went to right on top of Nandi hill, but many other resorts have sprouted up. Angsana is from a trusted source)

3.  Skandagiri sunrise trek: Start at 3 Am and get to the top for a glorious sunrise. You have to book with an operator- try BMC. 

4. Gudibande lake + fort: Nature. 2 hour drive away- this one's just a day trip.  

5. Halu Chilume Gange hike: Would not recommend if you are not hardcore into trekking. Need Alltrails GPS tracking (thanks KJ)- high chance of getting lost. 

Long weekend plan

1. Gorukana resort, BR hills : 4 hour drive: Nature. Gorukana is run by tribal locals. Small hike, safari, in the lap of nature, local culture.  

2. Srirangapatna and Ranganathittu: Nature. 3 hour drive. Can get up close and personal with the Kaveri river. Nice bird watching, especially water-birds during migratory season in winter, at Rangan. Mayura KSTDC ok but there are some nice Airbnbs. 

3. Varkala, Kerala: Nature + Gastronomics. Flight to Kochi. Not too much to do apart from the Varkala cliff-beach, so although the travel is long, Varkala can be considered for a long weekend. 

4. Belur Halebed: High culture. 3 hour drive. UNESCO world heritage site. ‘Jewellery on rock’, indeed. 4 hour drive away. KSTDC was ok but did not find anything else. 

5. Thanjavur: High culture and Gastronomica. Night train. The Bragadeeshwara temple is quite the pearl. The Tanjore king’s museum is well preserved and has some stunning sculptures. Nearby Darasuram temple is not as famous also stunning. 

6. Kudremukh trek: Night bus ride with trek company (BMC): One of the highest points of Karnataka. Tough one, baking sun. Need to pick the right weather.

Weekend + 2 days 

The road trip options are 5 hours away.  I write off the days with such long road trips and like two whole days there, so I’ve listed these options in Weekend + 2 days section. 

1. Sakleshpur : Nature: 5-6 hour road trip. Waterfalls, short hikes, coffee plantations, nice resorts in the lap of nature . Baan Nimbus nice but a bit pricey. 

2. Coorg : Nature: 5-6 hour road trip. Waterfalls, hard hikes, coffee plantations, nice resorts in the lap of nature

3. Chikmagalur : Nature: 5-6 hour road trip. Waterfalls, hard hikes, coffee plantations, nice resorts in the lap of nature. Coffee Bean resort. 

4. Hampi : Culture + Adventure: Overnight train/bus. Nice resorts, amazing culture – lots of ruined temples to hike / cycle around, getting up close and personal with Tungabhadra river . Heart of the Vijayanagara empire which spanned the entire south India. If not for the over-adventurisms and poor succession planning of the last king, Krishna Devaraya, we might not have had the British in India!  Also, the bouldering capital of India. 

5. Kabini: Nature. 5-6 hour road trip. Planned multiple times but trip cancelled due to COVID lockdown and other reasons. Know reliably that it’s a fantastic place for Safaris, Tiger and panther spotting, birding, and nature immersion. Jungle Lodges FTW

6. Pondicherry : Culture and Gastronomica: Night train. 

7. Dandeli and Ganeshgudi : Nature and Adventure. Night train to Hubli. Best birding I’ve ever had, at Old Magazine House and Timber Depot. Dandeli the only rafting destination in South India. By the shore of the beautiful Kali river. Hornbill resort, Old Magazine resort (this one no frills) 

8. Udupi: Nature. Night train. Lot of beaches and less commercialized than Goa. Stayed in Paradise Isle. Resort ok but location amazing- right opposite Malpe beach. 

9. Gokarna: Nature. Night train. Found the Kudle beach to be as beautiful as any in Goa. Has a bunch of meditation and yoga retreats which are on my to-do list. 

Highlights from each of these places in my mind: lemme enjoy stoking some nostalgia! 

Nomad Camp, DD hills: During the hike back, the sight of three small brown colored pheasants bouncing along in a tight line behind each other (I christened them Ramesha, Suresha, Mahesha). The rare yellow throated bulbuls and the sounds of nature when we hung back from the group on the way back in the morning. The peaceful time by the lake in the village at the foothill. 

Nomad Camp, DD hills: During the hike back, the sight of three small brown colored pheasants bouncing along in a tight line behind each other (I christened them Ramesha, Suresha, Mahesha). The rare yellow throated bulbuls and the sounds of nature when we hung back from the group on the way back in the morning. The peaceful time by the lake in the village at the foothill. 

Nandi Hill: Nothing sticks out from this trip, but from a previous trip- the approaching clouds engulfed me and my friends. 

Skandagiri Sunrise treks: The conversations during the hike with friends, mostly the S + NIT-K gang. Clambering up some rocky stairs. The view of the orange sun. The wind on top which was chilly. And, the games at KJ’s place at midnight (football, basketball, frisbee)

Gudibande lake + fort : The view from the fort on top of the hill, the tree with vivid orange flowers filled with chattering starlings and the 3 of us getting close to the tree, the viewing the striking Red Adavat in a bush. 

Gorukana: The dance with the tribals along with their song. Goru-goru-go-gorukana. Panaromic view of rolling hills near the resort. 

Srirangapatna and Ranganathittu: The crocodile and a fleeting sighting of the rare Otter. Getting close to the Kaveri river and watching and Black-white kingfisher dive in. The different company on both occasions, with N, S and A the constant. My song: 

An otter in the water, 

a croc on the rock,  (rising pitch)

a duck in the muck,

And seeing all this,  (rising pitch)

a girl, does a twirl! (crescendo!)

Srirangapatna (in low bass voice, pitch below the first line)

Varkala and Kerala: My longest run ever of 18km in prep for Delhi Half marathon; it also started raining on the way! Diving on the beach for ‘PUMA Dive’ activation. The fantastic dinner at the Gateway. 

Belur Halebed: The intricacy of the designs on the black rock, with some of the cylinders looking like straight out of the lathe machine but did they have one back then! Exploring the ragi and sugarcane farms around, with Dad. 

Thanjavur: Viewing the huge gopuram everytime we passed by on the road. The marvellous sculptures in the museum. 

Sakleshpur: the huge waterfall that surprised us. The hike on the rolling, grassy hill. A knoll- where we in Scotland? 

Coorg: View from the balcony of a dense forest. The rice idlis common to this area (kadambuttu)

Chikmaglur: The view of Mullayangiri- the highest peak of Karantaka. Leech encounters. The owner of the Coffee bean estate with his proud family heritage. The ‘Nuthatch’ bird scampering up a tree trank. Learning about Robusta and Arrabica. 

Hampi: Up close with the Tungabhadra. The rice fields. The boundering. Cycling through the rocky wilderness. 

Dandeli and Ganeshgudi: Coracle ride on Kali river. Hornbills. Profusion of Flycatchers at Ganeshgudi. 

Labels: Travellog

# posted by Ashwin Ravikumar @ 8:52 PM 0 Comments

7 of us packed some adventure into the weekend by going on the offbeat Halu Chilume Gange (HCG) Hike, which we discovered on India Hikes' DIY series. The base is 2 hours drive away from the Bangalore, on the North west direction (towards Doddaballapur).  

Firstly, much gratitude to India hikes and the wonders of mobile navigation technology- K downloaded the GPX file available on the IH site and installed it on an app called "Gaia". This works like Google Maps for trail exploration. HCG proved its offbeatness with its hard-to-discern trail featuring many non-obvious turns. The trail was obscured by many thorny bushes through which we had to beat a path through. The thorns often ripped through our shirts and gave many of us some surface bruises : I got a few micro-rips on my PUMA jersey (which is hereon unusable) and a one an inch-and-a-half long wound on my forearm. The thorny yet flexible branches on our trail helped us closely experience the term 'whiplash' as the trekker in front passed. This whiplash can be quite dangerous for the eye, and in our post trek discussion, D and I discussed how we should be wearing Scientist or Industrial goggles on such treks. Further proof of the trek's offbeatness was the fact that for the 5 hours we were on the trail, we met only 5 humans. These 5, who came as a group, were also guided by IH's GPX file. Kudos to K from our group for handling the app. Also, I am now ruing that I did not handle the phone for some time and poke around on this Gaia app and the GPX file. Anyway, this is definitely the most offbeat proper hike I've done in my life. 

This hike also served as useful prep for mine and S's upcoming challenging trekking endeavor: Goe Chala in Sikkim, which will take us close to the mighty Kanchenjunga. While I did carry a 3 kg dumbbell in addition to the water and the foods, in order to prepare for the upcoming Himalayan journey, I realize that this trip went beyond the realm of physical to also extend to mental preparation. It's been 4 months since my last trek, the elaborate multi-day Har Ki Dun, and I now realize it also takes time to get 'into' the trekking state of mind. To move from our overstimulated city lives (the mental activity, the plethora of things to do, the bright lights, and flashing videos) to the slower life amid nature. To be mindful of and enjoy the steps you take. To delight in the fact that every step cannot be just the same distance or effort- thanks to the uneven trail and boulders, they might involve lunges, squats or clambers. I remember how N and I once went through a mindfulness audio from Headspace around being mindful during walks. One should take in and appreciate the large panoramic 3D views from the mountain heights. From up there, we saw the usual large sweeping view from up there on a near-urbania hill: other neighboring hills, the distant lake, and the farms.  It takes some time to settle into this mode, and this trek gave me a teaser-trailer of that mental mode.  

One of the reasons we picked this hike among others we found online, was the fact that it was supposed to have green cover. There was decent green cover, with many trees of around 10 meters height. N earned the moniker of 'tree spotter' as she observed many idiosyncracies among trees. The most beautiful tree we saw was a fairly tall one with all its leaves a tender red in color. And interestingly, it's not the drying red of autumn- these were fresh leaves. Such nature appreciation also falls into the mental mode mentioned above. The green cover was more than some other near-BLR treks such as Skandagiri or Savandurga. DD Hills trek in Tumkur is also quite green, and S and I went there in May 2022. On this HCG trail, there was lot of 'scorched earth' all through the first 75% of the trail. I wonder how this happened. 

The green cover's contribution towards making our trek comfortable was augmented by the contribution of the friendly weather. Despite it being the heart of the summer, out of the blue (or grey, rather, if we are referring to the clouds), it had rained the past couple of evenings, making the sun quite subdued through the morning. We started at 7 AM and got back to our parked cars at 1 PM, and even around 1 PM the sun often played peek a boo from behind the clouds. The summer sun could have completely roasted us, as I've experienced in some of my past western ghat treks, but this was a welcome change. 

The running joke was about how there might be 'Huli' on the Halu Chilume Gange trek- Huli meaning leopord in kannada. In his previous day's recce near the base, K had been warned by a local about Huli's, starting to cry wolf/leopard, but he stopped once he learnt that there would be more than 5 of us. 

While we did not encounter hostile leopards, we encountered Monkeys who threatened to turn hostile. While we did observe some monkeys enroute, I naively pulled out a banana from my bag, attracting the attention of a host of them who noisily swung their way to some nearby trees. Fearing an attack, I flung the banana away and it was quickly pounced upon by some of them. I extended my trekking pole and brandished it menacingly, and the monkeys stayed away.  

N got her ankle sprained on the downward journey. She was wearing a Slip-on meant for walking, and I think that 4 of us experienced trekkers in our group (who've done multiple multi-day Himalayas treks) should have had more words of caution for her at the start , and also given her two trekking poles. The trekking poles were folded up and kept inside our bags for most of the downward journey. 

Now when we got back at 1 PM, the adventure was not over. When we had started our journey at 4 30 AM from home, it was dark and it necessitated headlights. By the time we got to our destination at 7, it was broad daylight. Think about it- what SNAFU happens in a slightly old car in such situations?

Yes- the headlight is left on! 

Well, the battery was completely dead and the car did not come to life despite a couple of pushing attempts. Thus, we tested K & P's all new Harrier to the hilt by packing all 7 of us into it. It did a commendable job in the rough terrain. We got hold of a mechanic some 20 minutes away, who drove along on his bike, and helped us 'jump start' the car. Just like whiplash, 'jump start' is another term that is usually used analogically but we experienced in real life. 

We capped off the adventure with a late but big and satisying lunch at Ma Da Dhaba, Yelahanka. Some of us were quite astonished at how well planned Yelahanaka seemed when compared to rest of the city. After that, we all drove off into the sunset.   

Labels: Travellog

# posted by Ashwin Ravikumar @ 10:47 PM 1 Comments

At Old Magazine House -Ganeshgudi, a resort nestled in the heart of the Western Ghats near Dandeli in Western Karnataka, there was a novel arrangement for enabling birding. Instead of requiring to go out in the wild traversing the trails trying to catch a glimpse of the birdie in the trees and bushes, there is an easier way- gathering around a man-made arrangement of ‘bird baths’ (dishes filled with water), with a branch set up over the baths for the bird to perch. The intention is for the bird to use the baths as a watering hole and for bathing. This intention worked out spectacularly as birds frequented the bird baths with unerring regularity, and contributed to us seeing 20+ new species (never seen before by us). The arrangement reminds me of my dad’s ambition of setting up something similar in our balcony in the flat at Bangalore, but plans so far have been scuppered by the  fact that in cities, it would only be darned pigeons that would visit this arrangements for their watering needs. This may get solved if there’s a fine grill around the balcony, too small for pigeons but large enough for small birds such as sparrows to come. However, this fine grill is a heavy capital investment so one needs to check beforehand if small birds  will come through the grill and not be dissuaded by the grill’s presence.

Let’s come back to the Western Ghats. So, at Ganeshgudi, there are 5 of these branch-birdbath arrangements. Behind the 5 arrangements, the forest starts and right behind the center of the arrangement, there is a bamboo thicket. Around 5 metres from this arrangement, there is a viewing gallery from where the human birders can snap away on their telephoto lons or view away on their high-zoom binocs through a small gap in a wall of green. The birds can be easily observed when they are in the bird bath area or also in the bamboo thicket. The Old Magazine house folks had set up some pipes which were semi buried which pumped water into those bird baths. The effectiveness of this arrangement led Dhivya to comment that zoos can be banned if we can set up such nice arrangements for observing fauna in natural habitats.

When I first saw the birding gallery area, the behaviour of the humans seemed curious, sitting lazily on the many lounge chairs spread about, but then snapping to attention when a bird came to the bird bath area. However, I adopted it and by the end of the second day the habit was part of my being (and that of our group) and someone else might have viewed our behaviour with curiosity or amusement.

On day 1, while we saw a good number of new birds for me, such as Monarch Flycatcher, Blue bellied white flycatcher and the Fullvetta, the pro Malcom said it’s a ‘pathetic’ day compared to an average day at GG. The hypothesis was that it had rained the previous day so the birds need not come to our bird baths to find their water- they would find sources aplenty . The same reason why dry season is the best time for tiger safaris. However, we did see 4-5 species on Day 1, so it was a great sequencing for us over the two days since the second day has been an absolute bountiful harvest. Had we seen bountiful harvest on first day, then we would have been disappointed by the second day. Because our second day was an absolute superset of the first day in terms of the species we were able to observer.

On the first day, we saw a three Blue Colored Flycatchers in quick succession- the White bellied blue flycatcher, the Tickel’s flycatcher, and the Monarch Flycatcher. We saw the black crown on the blue head which conferred the royalty to the Monarch- we at the time thought that it was an absolutely stunning bird and that any other sighting would be hard pressed to match it. The blue on the Tickel’s was a slightly dull blue, the Monarch had multiple shades of blue and the White bellied blue was slightly. Also, I thought it was entirely blue but actually it’s front is yellow orange in color so that’s an important correction to my book. I saw Tickel’s for a brief instant at my undergrad 13 years ago, so this was a good reunion. These guys in my group also saw a Paradise flycatcher for the first time for them (I was later to learn that the white one with streamers is the male and the rufous is the female).  The colors on the paradise and the blue flycatcher are a mix of the flamboyand and the earthy – the Rufous flycatcher being somewhere between orange and brown, and the White Bellied blue being a mix of Blue and Grey. I could also distinguish the harsh call of the paradise flycatcher by now- its one which I do remember hearing not very rarely in my past expeditions. There was the mostly brown looking ‘fulvetta’ which came to the viewing gallery and on day 1  (on day 2 when I would have taken a better look at it I would realize that its actually grey headed with a grey-brown body) I was able to make a good joke about the Fullvetta since it loved dipping itself in the bird bath– it is ‘full wet aa?’ in Bangalorean English. No other bird enjoyed bathing as much as the Fullvetta.  

Considering all the flycatchers we saw (monarch, blue bellied, paradise, brown bellied, rust tailed (later meeting)) , woe betide any flies in the neighborhood! In fact, we were told mosquitoes are lesser than what could usually be expected in such a forested area thanks to these FCs.

I also saw the big Malabar hornbill on a binoculars, rummaging away on the high branches on the of the biggest trees, right next to the viewing gallery. And the Malabar grey hornbill came near the bird bath too. The orange beak and the line of darker black hair on the beak / head on deep observation via HD binocs make it look quite spectacular too.

I interacted with this guy Malcolm who’s claim to fame is that his pic of Kerala boat race was on the Outlook center fold. He along with others were completely armed with big SLR with telephoto lens and they got some truly stunning pics. There I observed the difference between observer or dilettantes (our party) vs the pro or the goal-seeker. Those guys were seriously looking to post on social media. In fact that evening Malcom said that although the true joy is seeing em in the wild, the bokeh effect which is sought after for bird photos, will not be gettable in a picture in the wild and its only those in the viewing gallery that could get them some of those.

In the evening, some of the pros flashed a bright torch at the tree upon hearing owl calls - but no fish. At night as we were walking back, we saw a scorpion with its pincer bared. This was worrying because those guys can be pretty poisonous. Malcom made a funny comment when he said ‘that’s a green scorpion, it can fly!’.

When talking of scorpions, I should talk about the furry brown Malabar giant squirrel. Now there two are from completely different school of fauna, why they have been brought up in quick succession is that both are non-bird species. We saw many of them, and in fact in the other room among our party- SDA- they had a close view of a Giant Squirrel squirrelling about on a tree right from their window by the bed.  

We had a couple of binoculars between us- the Nikon which we christened as ‘HD’ and the Olympus which we christened as ‘SD’ thanks to the clarity of images through them. While the Nikon is of course good as its called HD, the Olympus we realized on this trip is not too bad and it has clear use case because it has zoom control unlike the Nikon. So you are zoomed out at 8x and once you identify the bird you zoom in to 16x.

The second day began with tea at 7 AM. We began a nature walk at 7 30 AM under the able guidance of birder Vinayak. It had not rained the previous day and we expected a bountiful harvest, and that’s what it turned out to be. We had barely taken a few steps when we saw a blue thrush on the ground on the trail, as if welcoming us to progress. We could also hear songbird calls at this time so I’m guessing it was this guy. Or it could be a Drongo who Vinayak told us is a master of mimicry (like Gopichand!) who could call out like 4-5 birds. We turned to the right and saw a brown breasted flycatcher. Then, folks spotted a striated snake (non venomous). We continued along the journey and we saw a vividly orange colored orange miniver in the sky, who Dhivya labeled as ‘silk saree’ colored. We heard a loud cackle, as loud as a langur or a mid size animal, and we look up and we see his huge bird with a tell tale pied beak sailing by high in the sky. That was a Great Malabar hornbill! Apparenlty very rare. Sweatha speculated that for all we know, this might have been the very bird we saw with Shamir at Ponda countryside by the river. These were the highlights of the walk. Upon return to base camp tea serving area (right next to the viewpoint), we saw (rather we were shown by the skilled Vinayak) – the Lesser Cuckoo which apparently is a migrant in these parts. We also later saw a striated cuckoo feeding on a caterpillar.

At the breakfast table, we saw a few crimson sunbirds flitting around in their usual style which is a country cousin of the purple sunbird of the city.      

In terms of activity at the bird baths, ‘they come and go in waves’. We had a frantic phase in which we saw in quick succession the flame throated bulbul, yellow browed bulbul, yellow throated Indian tit and the white bellied Shama. The yellow throated tit looked remarkable because of the intricate black and white patten on its body, slowly segueing into the dull yellow belly. I have not seen such an elaborate pattern on any bird, and this much of a pattern was on such a small bird!  It must be related to a bulbul, because it has a grand crest too- its crowning glory. Shama added to the list of blue birds- it was like were attending a blues concert! Because later in the evening, was a blue Indian Robin! Robin in the Hood, first time in 3 years! But this one’s blue not green. It looked very striking because it also had a black and white face. Also, it was definitely the bird I saw during my run on Raghav’s park.

Immediately after breakfast, we took a long nap and then came back to lunch.

Post-lunch came the moment the entire crowd had been waiting for – the Malabar trogon. There were two framed pictures in the mess hall – one of a Malabar trogon and one of a paradise flycatcher. Now it was spotted by the ever skllful Vinayak and then he guided us and we saw it! It was a bright red like a paan pasand toffee. Although now if I close my eyes and think - I don’t remember the moment when I saw it and how it looks in the eye of my mind, but I do remember the flash of red as it flitted, and also as it sat there far in the bush. And the orange when you view it from below or behind. Everyone in our ‘hunting party’ was delighted after the Trogon viewing. Next day, when we were on the cab from Gaeshgudi to Karwar, the cabbie asked us – “how were the birds” ; we answered “yes” , and his next question- “did you see the Trogon”. Wow. So firstly, never chatted with a cabbie about birding – good , that    - and secondly it shows the marquee status with Trogon holds in the hood. Another proof of its flagship status- there were 3 large framed phtographs in the canteen area- one of the white male flycatcher with streamers, and two of the Trogon.

There was one guy there from Bangalore who was on a mission to view all 14 western ghats endemics. Well, we ended up seeing 4 of the endemics- Malabar Trogon, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Malabar Pied Hornbill .

Had a discussion with him and Malcolm about birding. He was quite amused by the term ‘twitching’ I introduced him to. The Endemic species hunter told me about this movie on birding starring Owen Wilson and Jack Black. Need to watch it.

I was strolling about in the main area of the camp and we suddenly heard a lot of churping and it was a bunch of birds which the guide called as a ‘hunting party’. It was a flock of fulvettas and drongo, and we also saw a striking nutracker. SO far we had not seen a woodpecker, but we saw a bird with similar behavior of going up and down the tree trunk in bouncy hops. Small bird, blue grey in color, with a striking reddish beak. This too is a confirmation of what we saw in Chikmaglur on the tree top – another confirmation following the blue robin confirmation. Oh and the Drongo in the hunting party was a bronzed wing drongo- not a common one. Talking of drongos, we heard a racquet tailed drongo nx morning but unfortunately it did not give us darshan.

After the ‘hunting party’, I came back to the bird bath viewpoint and the spree continued. Watched a rusty tailed flycatcher sipping away –unremarkable in its earthy brown but rendered a higher level of remarkableness by its rust colored tail. There was the oriental white eye which I have seen before of course, which is the black eye with the white kajal (opposite of what humans do). There was a black fronted babbler which is brown in color with a white neck and a black head, though it hid in the bushes behind the baths and did not come out. Such shy behaviour was also exhibited the next day during the walk, which is quite unbecoming behavious for a babbler which is supposed to be gregarious. Anyhow, the cornucopia was such that there were times when all 5 baths were occupied by different birds, including tickel’s blue, monarch, fulvetta and white bellied blue. Last sighting of the day in fading light was a orange headed rock thrush, which also has an interesting black-white war paint pattern on its head. Pattern similar to the Indian tit’s body. Unfortunately, these thrushes, although we saw 3 of them, we did not see them singing away to glory.  Atasi had mentioned that she wanted a birdie to come and sit on her hand like she was a falconer, and while that obviously did not happen, during the afternoon spree a white-bellied blue flycatcher did come by and sit on the chair next to Naveen, barely a few feet away.

Over our two primary days at Ganeshgudi, the orange minivet, the monarch flycatcher, and the Malabar trogon, were the standout bids. All in very standout colors. The Malabar Trogon was the prize spotting and the recognized marquee bird at Ganeshgudi.

Next morning, we had time for a short nature walk before we left. Amid the foliage Dhivya saw a Heart backed woodpecker while I just got a glimpse of it. I vaguely heard it ‘knock knock knocking’ on the bark. Was able to catch a sneak peak of a Golden Oriole, too – high in the sky against the sun. That’s another ‘silk saree’ bird, to use the prior description. Upon return, and when I had packed up by binocs awaiting the cab at the return, the guide Vinayak and Malcolm spotted a blue bearded Bee eater. I rummaged and found my binocs amid the luggage, and the bee eater was still there. Although it looped around to catch the odd bee or two, it came back to that spot to enjoy its meal. With that last sighting, I bid goodbye to the birding wonderland that is Ganeshgudi.

Labels: Travellog

# posted by Ashwin Ravikumar @ 1:51 PM 1 Comments

Labels: Travellog

# posted by Ashwin Ravikumar @ 1:23 PM 0 Comments

Everyone has an alternate career option set- a set of vocations they would not have minded devoting significant time to. I do, too- and I recently discovered a new one to add to the set- being a lepidopterist. The flapping of the wings, the optimal speed of flight (eminently trackable yet requires non-insigificant ciliary muscle effort), the brilliant colors and transfixing patterns - all make for highly pleasant and relaxing viewing. The difference from ornithology: these guys are much closer, speed of flight is easier on the eye, and purely in terms of visual appeal, butterflies win. Butterflies, with their paper thin wings, also seem to me to signify the frailty and fleetingness of life- all that movement and enrapturing beauty is very tender. Same is the case with all life- larger and more corporeal life forms may appear more hardy, but even that life is tender and fleeting too and could be wiped away by any unforeseen event. 

I was roaming in Bali, and came across two or three interesting butterflies. My longest encounter I captured in the video below. Apparently, Bali is at the center of (mostly illegal) butterfly trading, which I had discovered by reading this wonderful article on Nat Geo, which a long investigative piece on the (illegal) pursuit and capture of the elusive "Papilio Blumei" butterfly, the stunner in the picture below. Indonesia seems to be the world's best place to find butterflies. Here's the article: Nat Geo link

Above: Papilio blumei butterfly, which features in the article. The piece has several poetic segments, couple of which I reproduce below:

"
High among the treetops—higher than I would have searched for a butterfly—there’s a flicker of blue, like a scrap of confetti. Slowly it descends in a drifting, indirect route toward the decoy.
As it comes closer, I realize just how different it is from the decoy. It is a glittering thing, not one peacock tone but many. Its color has a fourth dimension; moment to moment as it moves, the color changes depending on the angle of its wings in the sun.

... As it moves toward its potential mate, Aris’s net shoots out and swallows it whole, like a diaphanous predator. It’s painful to see. I had forgotten, for a moment, about the net....

As we descend the waterfalls, though, it’s difficult to escape the moment the blumei ceased to move. It remained beautiful afterward, but in an instant all its fourth-dimensionality had drained away. It had become a mere gemstone or a splash of paint. More than for the butterfly, I feel sorrow for whoever will eventually hang it on a wall or tilt it on a desk. That person will never know just how exquisite it had been in life.
"

The video below is no Blumei, but captures my longest encounter in recent times. It was shot at Mesare resort in Nusa Penida, Bali.  First 24 seconds are the pursuit, and 25th second onwards is fairly up-close and personal.

Labels: Musings, Travellog

# posted by Ashwin Ravikumar @ 1:11 PM 0 Comments

Labels: Travellog

# posted by Ashwin Ravikumar @ 1:21 PM 2 Comments