Vacation - Summer of 2010 - Part 2 : Tryst with History

April 17th, 2010

Woke up at 3 am to catch the 6 am flight to Delhi. Sleepy eyed family rushed through security check to board the plane. Hit by heat wave as we stepped out of plane at Delhi airport. Family did not like breakfast served on Kingfisher flight, which is a first for the family. Fortunately, trip to hotel was shorter than anticipated and we were able to order brunch, which was fulfilling. As family was still sleepy, we dropped the morning plan and went to sleep instead.

After a short nap, headed out to see the Red Fort. Very impressive and provides lots of scope for the trigger happy photographer. Has a nice archeology museum with exhibits from the Mughal era. Interesting shops inside the fort selling costume jewelery and other handicrafts.

Took the eco-friendly cycle rickshaw to Raj Ghat and paid reverential homage to the Father of the Nation. Heat was too energy sapping to continue with itinerary, so returned to hotel.

Turns out that it was the hottest day in Delhi in 50 years (see pic of dog lying in puddle taken by daughter Dhrithi).

Went to Nirulas for a pizza dinner to keep Dhrithi happy. Travelled by Metro (a station hop) just to get a feel of what the Bangalore Metro will be like, when it is commissioned.

Photo of the day : A gnarled tree in the Red Fort Compound, taken by son Akash



April 18th, 2010

World Heritage Day – what a day to choose for a trip to Heritage City (Agra). Sheer coincidence – but it gave the family an extra shot of adrenaline to handle one more hot-as-hell day. Entry to all heritage monuments were free this day, and we spent the money liberally on guides instead. Day started with sumptuous breakfast at the Andhra Bhavan Canteen – Idly, Vada, Dose and Coffee. A welcome change from parathas and paneer.

Caught a glimpse of the two sides of Delhi as we started, an image quickly captured by Akash in the photo on the right. In case you cannot make out from the resized pic, those are two homeless men sleeping on the footpath in front of the Delhi Stock Exchange.


Longish drive to Agra with a midpoint break at a dhaba for tea for us and breakfast for the driver.

Passed Mathura and Krishna Janmabhumi with a long distance darshan of the Krishna Mandir. Stopped at Sikandra on the recommendation of our driver and bless him – it turned out to be fascinating place – the location of Akbar’s tomb.



Here lies one of the greatest emperors in the history of India, beneath a simple tomb in a mausoleum that he started work on himself to ensure that it was in line with his religious tolerance and secular views. However, he died before it was completed and his son Jehangir is said to have made a number of alterations to the original plan, ultimately converting the mausoleum into a more fanciful structure than the simple one that Akbar desired.
As our guide pointed out, the difference between the lower levels and the upper levels is stark - the lower level being a simpler design (Akbar used sandstone) and the upper levels incorporating arches and columns with the highest storey being built by Jehangir in white marble.

Then onto lunch at Quality Restaurant at Agra which seems to be a popular lunch destination in Agra, judging by the number of cars parked at the entrance. A long tour of the Agra Fort followed, ably guided by Shahid, a part-time guide – he made the whole Agra Fort trip so engrossing and provided a history refresher course to all of us.

We saw the Jahangiri Mahal which incorporates Hindu and Islamic styles of architecture. The Khas Mahal and Mussamanburj are other prominent structures within the Fort.

Standing inside the Mussmanburj, one could visualise an imprisoned Shah Jahan lying here on his deathbed and gazing at the beautiful monument he built for his wife - Mumtaj.

Got a peek into the Sheesh Mahal – the dressing room / bathroom of the queen. Talk of royal indulgence! Mirror, mirror on the walls, roof, everywhere; who is the prettiest queen of them all ? Mumtaj must have been able to admire a million reflections of herself as she went through her bath and beauty routine.

Then, as the sun was going down, we reached the Mumtaj Mahal – or the Taj Mahal, as it is popularly referred to. Huge crowds didn’t deter us from admiring this mausoleum, which although lacking in lustre, still manages to captivate.

Photo of the day : Sunset over the Yamuna, behind the Taj, taken by Akash

April 19th, 2010

Start the day with a visit to Jantar Mantar after breakfast, a short drive from the hotel. One of the five astronomical observatories built by Sawai Jai Singh, it is apparently used even today for astronomical calculations, based on the positions of the sun and the moon -A prime example of the extent of scientific knowledge of Indians in the 1700s. Our guide Mishraji was very knowledgeable and took pains to explain to us how the minutest calculations could be performed using the instruments in this observatory.

We next moved onto the Purana Qila, built by emperor Humayun, on what was reputedly the ancient site of Pandava established city of Indraprastha. One big attraction here is the boating facility available in the lake adjacent to the walls of the fort, and we spent a restful half hour paddling down the lake and catching the ramparts of the fort from various angles.

There is a small museum inside this fort too, exhibiting the finds from various excavations at this site. The fort walls also enclose some interesting structures built by Humayun and Sher Shah Suri, using a combination of red sandstone and marble - the library of Humayun where he fell down the stairs to his death being one of them.

Following a continental lunch at Khan Market, we drove to South Delhi to see another architectural marvel - the Qutab Minar, the world's tallest brick minaret at 72 mtrs. Examples of Hindu architecture can also be seen in the Qutab complex, an indication of the existence of a Hindu temple(s) here, initially, whose columns seem to have been re-used. The iron pillar next to the minaret reportedly bears an inscription in Brahmi script of 4th century AD, but this has been fenced off and we could not take a close look.

After the Qutab Minar, I wanted to show the family my favourite haunt in Delhi - Dilli Haat. An unique shopping experience, where stalls are rented out to handicraft artisans from all over India for a short period - hence making every visit different. Also, the only place I know which offers cuisine from all over the country - where puran poli from Maharashtra and momos from Sikkim are part of the menu. We ended up having a dinner that was a combination of delicacies from various states. It was then time to go back to the hotel, pack and check out to catch the late night train to Haridwar.

Photo of the day : This shot of the Qutab Minar which is in the flightpath of the planes landing at Delhi airport.

To be continued : Part 3 : The trail of three rivers

Vacation - Summer of 2010 - Part 1

The topic of a destination for our annual holiday came up once more a couple of months ago. Sandhya and Dhrithi wanted wildlife and snow respectively; Akash was keen on places of historical significance and I wanted a combination of experiences. On the shortlist were Jim Corbett National Park, Rajasthan and Ladakh. After enquiry with people who had been there, Ladakh was ruled out because of the requirement of acclimatisation. We also thought Rajasthan would be too hot and hence settled for the Jim Corbett National Park. I promptly started my research on travel and stay options, which is when the broader picture of Uttarakhand as the destination emerged. We decided to take a longer holiday than we had attempted before - 2 weeks. A trip to the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam office in Bangalore settled the issue. We could combine adventure, monuments, nature and with a bit of luck, snow too. Based on this list of requirements, Anurag of GMVN drew up a tentative itinerary, and issued a warning - this one is specifically for nature lovers and not for the couch potato type. Places I hadn't heard of before figured in his itinerary - Khirsu, Harsil, Dhanaulti, etc. I googled them up and was pleasantly surprised. Anurag showed me pictures from his trip to these places and I was hooked. Although, the list contained mainly places in the Garhwal region and ignored the Kumaon region (understandably, as Anurag represented Garhwal), we okayed the itinerary and firmed up the dates. The only place in the list that was not 'off the beaten track' was Mussoorie. Even this was planned as a day visit with night halt at Dhanaulti. GMVN had rest houses / hotels in all the places we were to visit and Anurag was able to confirm bookings the same day.

And so, the vacation plan for the summer of 2010 was drawn up - we would fly to Delhi from Bangalore on April 17th (Saturday), spend a couple of days in Delhi and visit the tourist spots, and devote one day to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. We would then catch a train to Haridwar where our 12 day exploration of the state described as the "Abode of Gods" would begin. On May 1st (Saturday again), we would fly back to Bangalore from Jolly Grant airport near Dehra Dun via Delhi. This would give us one day on Sunday to recover and plunge back into mundane city life.

Some more time spent on the Net and the flight and train reservations were done. The Outlook Traveller Uttarakhand Guide came in handy as a source of vital information. A list of 'must see' places at each of our stopovers and on the route was compiled with the help of this Guide and the Internet. Had a hard time remembering some of the legends associated with each place, because this state has so many stories associated with it - like they say in these parts - "Jitne Patthar, Utne Shankar"

To be continued : Part 2 : Tryst with History

Andamans Holiday - Part III : The most beautiful beach in Asia

I just realized that I have not completed the Andaman story. Reminds me of the state of stupor that the Barefoot resort induced us into … no TV, no mobile connection, no internet. Lounge in the sitout area of the wooden cottage with tiled roof and listen to the myriad birds. Laze at the Radhanagar beach which was a hop, step and jump away from the resort. Build sandcastles out of pristine white sand. Not see another human being for long stretches of time. Watch the different shades of blue of the water. Play board games at the resort’s restaurant, with its floor seating. Trek through the mini forest that separates the resort from the beach. Gawk at the sight of the resort elephant – Rajan swimming majestically in the sea. Climb the hillock behind the resort and get an ayurvedic massage for the recently exercised limbs. Pure Bliss !

Attentive & helpful staff, some good food and interesting co-vacationers all added to the overall holiday experience.

The resort organized a trip to Elephant Beach, which is a good place for beginners to go snorkeling. Expert swimmers guided us to the sections that offered the best underwater displays and even a non-swimmer like me was able to enjoy the colourful coral reefs and underwater life. Snorkeling is easy after the first 10 minutes and once you get used to the idea of breathing with your mouth.



Another place that offered good value entertainment on the island was the Elephant Training Camp. They had these 4 feral elephants (2 adults and 2 calves) that were brought to the camp every morning, trained to pull logs and carry out related activity and then released back to the forest in the evening. We were offered rides which we took up eagerly – but riding on an almost bareback elephant was a little uncomfortable as you could feel every muscle in the elephants back as it made its way around the camp.


After 4 restful days at the resort, we headed back to Port Blair to catch the sights there. Some very interesting museums and a watersports centre – but the place to visit remains the Cellular Jail, now a National Memorial. We went once in the morning to look through the jail and its exhibits and returned in the evening for the sound and light show – where the old tree in the jail recounts the stories of the cruelty of the British Jailer in the gravelly voice of Om Puri.

The unique starfish shaped architecture of the prison, cleverly designed to keep prisoners isolated and preventing them from being able to communicate with each other, reinforced the feeling of patriotism that I am sure strikes every Indian who visits Kaalapani, the ominous name by which the prison was known.

After some handicraft shopping, we ended our holiday and returned to Mainland India. Could not go to Barren Island, which is the only active volcano in South Asia. The Nicobar Islands remain out of bounds as a special permit is required to visit these islands. The Resort Manager at Barefoot was mentioning that these Islands offered even better sights and when they do open to tourism, I intend to go back to A & N.

Andamans Holiday - Part II : Arrival at Barefoot

We caught the afternoon ferry to Havelock Island, a distance of 24 nautical miles covered in 2 hours. It gets crowded on the lower deck and we quickly discovered the upper deck where most people were willing to just stand or squat on the deck and watch the water and the landforms. We saw quite a few flying fish and the two hours went by quite quickly. I must add here that I found the porters who hang about the docks were quite helpful and completely trustworthy. Barefoot Resorts had organised for a jeep to pick us up and we were soon on our way down a newly laid road towards Radhanagar Beach. Interestingly, the President of India had visited this remote part of her empire only a couple of months before our trip and the islanders benefited from that visit in the form of a brand new road.

Havelock Island is only about 100 sq km and you can travel from the western part of the island to the eastern part in less than 30 minutes. The island receives its electricity from a solar power generating station and hence power supply can be a little erratic.
Most of the 'eco-resorts' are located on near Beach # 3 and Beach # 5 (that's how the beaches are named), but Dolphin (run by the Government) and Barefoot (managed by the Aitken Spence Group) are located near Beach # 7 on the other side of the island.

Spread over an area of 7 acres, Barefoot has 18 cottages, built with indigenous materials. No concrete jungle this - if you want to earn green credits, this is the place to stay !






To be continued : Part III : The most beautiful beach in Asia

Andamans Holiday - Part I : Emerald Islands

The first thing I learnt about the Andamans when I started exploring it as a possible candidate for a family vacation destination is that nobody really knows how many islands there are - but everyone agrees that less than 10% are inhabited. The total area is about 6400 sq kms, so that's a lot of real estate in limbo :-)

What swayed me was this description from the A&N Tourism site : "Here the white beaches on the edge of a meandering coastline have palm trees that sway to the rhythm of the Sea. The beat of tribal drums haunt the stillness and technicolour fish steer their way through crystal clear water." Just the thing for a family fed up of pollution and noisy traffic jams in bustling Bangalore ... so that was that - I announced to the family that the Andamans was to be our destination for Family Vacation circa 2008.

Then came the decision on the choice of 'home away from home'. After a couple of googling sessions (How did we survive in the days before Internet & Google ?), I discovered Barefoot Resorts based on Havelock Island (http://www.nivalink.com/jungleresortandamans/index.html)

and was smitten. The fact that it was within hopping distance of what Time Magazine once described as the "Most Beautiful Beach in Asia" raised its suitability a few notches. Its most famous resident - a swimming elephant - made it a 'one of a kind' place. A couple of mails later, our reservations to stay at Barefoot were done.

Getting there is quite easy - flight options from Kolkata and Chennai to Port Blair (even LCCs like Deccan operate flights to Port Blair) and then by ferry to Havelock. Total travel time from Bangalore : 4.5 hrs (8 hrs if you include waiting time at the airports). The alternative is to travel by ship, which can be boarded from either Chennai, Vizag or Kolkata, but travel time goes up a factor of 10.

To be continued : Arrival at Barefoot - Part II

In my blog, you will come across ...

a) Travel stories of actual trips undertaken
b) Travel books that are a must read
c) Memorable captures (photos)
d) Recommendations of places to stay