Connyland!

"Seekeram va ma", shouted someone behind me. The ears perked up. What was it that I heard? Could it be right? Were my ears playing tricks on me again? Then the nose perked up. What was that odour?

Ah... that was "Dabur Amla Kesh taila". Where had it last encountered that smell? And why was I petrified? Mentally the offending odour me teleported back to the early 1990's - when that smell meant a forced head bath! And how I hated it ;)

But, what the heck? Where was I? Connyland. So the mind did a quick double take. Something didn't quite match. But after a while it kinda did. There is a sizeable Sri Lankan population in Switzerland after all. But today, in Connyland, it seemed as is all of them had congregated by design. Every second face was Sri Lankan, or south Asian :) It looked like a take over!

Anyways, the dope on Conney Land - the dolphin shows are interesting and are definately watchable. The sea lions shows are good too. They have a couple of sea lions which are supposed to be over 40 years. It also has a few rides - starting from the toy train, you can graduate to the wasserbhan - which threatens to get you wet, but not quite. Then there is the Dino attack which emulates Jurisic park on a microscopic and not quite as dramtic a scale. And don't forget to pose for the picture at the end! Then there is Star Trip - which, yes, it is supposed to be Star Trek. It feels like a flight simulator gone out of control - so be careful about that weak back and whiplash prone neck. And if you are less than 120 centimeters forget it - they don't like you in Star Trip :) If you fancy an adrenaline rush - you have the swinging ship where you swing like a pendulum, the only difference being the scary 190 degree of SHM! And there was one more ride - the name eludes me though - maybe "Free fall" or something similar.

I never thought I'd have a Eureka moment in an amusement park, but that is exactly what happened - maybe material for my other blog. muhuhahaha!!!

And food - a pizzeria, a cafe and a resteraunt provide sufficient variety, and you can also find an enclosure where you can eat your picnic.

Getting there - We took a train from Konstanz to Ermatingen and from there the bus to Conneyland. Trip time: approximately 30 minutes. The Day ticket for bus and train, Tageskarte, cost us 12.80 CHF, the tickets for Conneyland 28CHF. And we spent around 4 and a 1/2 hours there. A fun day trip, and oh for the record - I did think that it was rather cruel for those dolphins to be confined to only 13 million liters of water, ditto for those sea lions.

No pics were clicked on this trip - und das ist egal!

Connyland!

Lemon Icecream

Amul had this policy of one new flavour a week or something like that*, so you'd think you've tasted all the possible ice creams flavours by now huh? Ever tasted Lemon Ice cream? Not me. Heck I can't even remember ever seeing that falvour available at that Gellato place in Indranagar or Corner house or even Naturals**.

And it seems to the a common flavour, in the Vanilla bracket, in Germany. It is called Zitrone Eis i.e. (Lemon Ice cream). And what is my sample space huh? Oh well not that scientific, but I've been tracking the menu on the Eis Van for the past couple of weeks. Each day the Eis Man plays around with the menu, but Lemon, Strawberry and Vanilla don't change. So

1. a lot of people buy the three falvors i.e. it moves fast or
   
2. they make too much of it, and hence the sale price is low, but the profit margins are high or
   
3. old stock, never moves so he has a lot of it which he is trying to dump or
   
4. it is the personal favorite of the Eis man

And the Gellato shops which are all over the place. You know - that stumble and you'll find one saying - yeah that applies to these Gellato shops. Every second shop in the city seems to be selling icecream.

Even there I seem to find this Zitarone Eis staring down at me from the menu, and the it does look like it sells, so maybe the Eis Man is not an exception.

The taste is quite interesting - lemony, a bit bitter etc and I wonder why it doesn't sell in India? Maybe the focus group didn't like it or something, but in anycase hese Ice cream companies have denied us the Lime Ice for way too long! I even got the mandatory corny name for it - Thanda Sherbath, just in case Amul, Kwality walls, Arun Ice cream are listening ;)


*Unverified hearsay.
**All references to Bangalore

Lemon Icecream

Braille on drugs

Some time last month the common cold doing the rounds caught up with me and kept me company for the mandatory week. To aliviate my "suffering" I picked up some over the counter drugs from the local pharmacy (Apotheke in German).

The packaging for the drugs was rather unique, thanks to the braille inscription (see pic above) . Normally, I'd have thought, "Ah! how thoughtful of the pharma company, looking out for the visually challenged". But then, the inherent goodness of man invariably vaporizes the minute he starts looking at bottom lines and profit margins, so why the eff would a pharma company take a hit on the packaging to benefit a minuscule percentage of its customers?

The curiosity suitably piqued, I started searching the European Laws for an answer, and in no time the reason for this seemingly altruistic act was staring back at me - Directive 2004/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004. The relevant excerpt -

The name of the medicinal product, as referred to in Article 54, point (a) must also be expressed in Braille format on the packaging. The marketing authorisation holder shall ensure that the package information leaflet is made available on request from patients' organisations in formats appropriate for the blind and partially-sighted

Entire text of the directive is available here

This instance of the inherent goodness of man was a result of some wicked arm twisting by some kind soul(s) in the EU parliament! Long live the "inherent" goodness of man :)

Braille on drugs

We-Gay!

Woha! Now where did that come from huh? That's exactly what I thought. At first. Hmm...

But then, think about it - two guys; sharing an apartment; cooking food etc etc etc... hmm...

Well actually if you live in Germany it is sooo "we-gay". You see in Deutschland they call a flat sharing arrangement as Wohngemeinschaft. The popular abbreviation being - WG. Folks from the English speaking world would pronounce WG as Doubl-you-gee and be happy and dandy about it. But the German pronunciation is wee bit different. "W" is we and "G" is gay and "H" is haa. So, and so, WG is we-gay! Aren't we all so happy now ;)

And since I live in a WG it's such a We-gay situation! Yahahaha...

Disclaimer: They author is not a homophobe or heterophobe or any kinda ph(r)obe. The author does not personally know gay people, maybe this is why they don't tell him ;)
And no, he is not making fun of the German pronunciation. He is so glad Germans can pronounce his name the way it is supposed to be pronounced, he is just a full-of-himself-insensitive-f$@%^&*-b@$%^&#!!!

We-Gay!

Germinating an idea - step 1

Caution: Random rant! The only palce you'll read about - the inside of my cranium!

The phrase, "The plan, my friend, is to have no plan", has bounced around in my rather empty head for so long that it is now truly etched in my cranium. My travel plans are, at best erratic, and have been bordering on non existent. The cycle trip around the Bodensee - was a last minute impulse; ditto the walk along the Lägren; and ditto the trip to Munich. I spent more money than I should've on the first two ;) and missed out some very interesting thing too. But the Munich trip took the cake - I went on the weekend of an AC-DC concert and missed it. Sucker!

Don't get me wrong - having no plan works well , sometimes very well that you are tempted to give up planning altogether. For example - the numerous road side halts, to sip some tender coconut water or eat some finger licking dal fry - who the hell plans those? And they turn out well don't they? Or the unplannable pee stop. I can't do that man! Or not having any plans on a Saturday night and randomly hitting it off with someone intersting you've bumped into at a random location. Nah.. you can't plan those - but vacations are a wee bit different aren't they?

And at other times you just keep kicking yourself in the ass for having been so callous - like not having had the foresight to apply deo the morning of when you hit if off with the interesting person ;) which in hindsight is pretty daft.

So I got to make some sort of plan - even vauge one will do at this point, and do some homework if I want to get lucky or have a good vacation!

There are a couple of things I'd like to do on a vacation - climb mountains or ride a motorcycle. The former I can do in my new found "backyard" and the later I can do when I go back home in winter.

For climbing there are the Alps - apparently there are a few short ones where I don't need to be a technical climber to scale - so I need to find out those names, places, nearest rail head, prices, weather etc etc.

For winter I have my mind set on riding to the North East - more specifically Arunachal Pradesh A couple of weeks. And spend the remaining time in Banglaore. In the North East I'd like to see the Tawang monastery and cross the Sela pass. For both these I'd need an inner line permit from the Govt of India. So the next step to find out more about these innerline permits, and how to transport my motorcycle from Bangalore to Guwahati.

There you go - The seeds of an idea have been sown. Now the water needs to be poured!

Germinating an idea - step 1

Some retrospective posts...

I am back to my old ways... I have missed blogging some trips :( How callous. How does the sun rise in the east every day! Daimn! :)

Anyhoo... just so that I do not forget to chronicle the stories this is what I must blog about - on the next holiday :)

1) The 160 kms bicycle ride around the Bodensee
2) Visit to the temple in Munich i.e. the BMW museum
3) Solo trek to the highest "peak" in the Black forest

Apart from these I must also chronicle these before they fade away from my mind
1) Dus kahanieyain - 10 blokes climb up Kumara parvatha - also the day of hiking innovation: 20-20
2) Rider Mania 2009 - the story of 600+ enfields thumping in the middle of the night in hills of ooty and the satisfaction of a job well done

Hopefully I can do all this before Alzheimer kicks in, then one day a long long time from now.... i can read about it and feel happy that I once had a life :)

Some retrospective posts...

Feldberg - Black forest´s highest peak.

Schwarzwald i.e. the Black Forest is a wonderful place to trek. And this weekend I trekked for two days in Süd-Schwarzwald. I spent the night at a Youth hostel or Jungendherberge and inflicted my nascent German on the some more locals and also my two-word limited edition Japanese on a very sweet Japanese woman.

Almost three months in Germany now, huh, and I couldn't not have trekked for so long, and so I had to trek through a forest, and I was told they don't come any better than the Black Forest :) But first things first, I needed some maps, so I went around Konstanz hunting for a map of Schwarzwald on the day before the trek. Here is a hint - look in any book store, you will find maps from here to Timbaktu. I picked up a Wander-und-Radkarte #771 Schwarzwald Südblatt (www.kompass.at) The resolution was 1:75000. It was the first time I was using a map while treking :) so I thought 1:75000 would be good enough. But while treking I realized that I needed something better than that! Oh yeah - to answer the usual desi question - I paid 7€ for the map.

The scoop about Feldberg - if you need it - It is the highest peak in the Schwarzwald - approximately 1550 meters above MSL according to my GPS unit. It had some good places to ski - begininers slopes - so it is a good place to visit in winters. You can get here from Barenthal by Bus - and to Barenthal by train, haha. There are plenty of hotels over here, so you can stay overnight etc, etc. If you are trekking - plan on getting to Feldberg by afternoon - so you can have something to eat at the numerous eateries. The view from Feldberg wasn't exactly breathtaking, but you do get some - gasp, wow - sorta points along the way while trekking.

The story of my trek isn't compelling enough to blog about - so this is what I shall do. I shall copy paste from an e-mail I sent out after the trek ;)

caught train (changed three trains in 2 hours)
reached Barentahl
start climb with enthusiasm
back at railway station in one hour
realized i went around in a circle
decide to inflict my german on the locals
locals use sign language to get me on the right direction
walk
walk some more
and some more
am hungry
out of water
walk some more
see a hotel! yay!
eat and drink!
choose to climb a 70 degree gradient over the cable car... (its supposed to be walk remember)
curse myself
curse some more
sleep for 10 minutes
see dude and dudette cycling up the gradient
go into "i am not a wuss" mode
start climb again
see crazy signs
click snaps
realize i am late for the 6 pm deadline at youth hostel
so break into a brisk walk
doesn't last long
keep walking (or try to)
see the town after 2 hours
takes another 45 mins to reach hostel...
hostel run by a German gent and his Japanese wife, so I do the Nihao routine.
get asked - your name like Japanese dish? I nod yes like a car doll.
take bath.. eat.. read the book and sleep
wake up... find a lot of people at breakfast.. where were they yesterday??
eat... and eat and eat...
leave for brandenburg after saying Arigatho to Mrs. Sumiko of the Youth hostel
climb down..
inflict german on more locals
hear motorbikes roar down in the valley... heart breaks into zillion peices...
hear more motorbikes... heart breaks somemore..
see sign saying beware of stray german shepards... wtf?
keep climbing down...
and down
spot wild deer and wild rabbits...rather they spot me... they bolt... foliage rustel... i look... i catch a fleeting glimpse types
mr. newton kicks in... what goes down must come up... (or maybe that was the other way around) so start climbing up...
still climbing...
out of water
reach a section which i did yesterday... wtf?
curse the route for 4 extra hours of climbing down and climbing ups
see a hotel...
drink 1.5 liters of apple juice... (what was i thinking???)
walk some more...
and more...
after 8 hours of walking/climbing i am still 5 kms away from the nearest railway station...
spot a bus spot
give up and wait
catch bus
catch train
walk home
upload photos
and bore you with my account...

This is a retrospective post. Almost a month old.

Feldberg - Black forest´s highest peak.

The Lägern

So, I did some trekking (or maybe just walking) today near Zurich. A place called the the Lägern. I started in a village called Stienmaur in Switzerland - where i met a some friendly Swiss people who understood my German and replied in English :) and was done with the trek at Baden - a decent sized city.


Approximately 11 kilometers in around 3.5 hours. Hardly stopped in between and no 20-20 either :P The best part - I seemed to have stumbled on a non-touristy kinda thing! Unlike the last trip, hardly had any traffic on my route :)

Unfortunately I do not have the GPS tracks for this trek, as the GPS unit gaveup on me at little after Rengensburg, about an hour before the Lägern. The route is fairly easy though. Take a train on the S5 line from Zurich HB (Main railway station) towards Oberglatt and Niederweningen. Get off at Stienmaur - approximately 25 minutes from Zurich HB. You will find
Lägernstrasse towards the left of the station. Climb up the Lägernstrasse and about 200 meters or so, you'll see a main road. Across the main road, you will find a gravel road with a fairly steep gradient. A few boards around this road should advertise a certain Sculpture joint. Now carefully cross the road and yippee!!! you are on you way to the Lägern. So, my trek started at 1325.

The Sculpture joint is about 50 meters from the main road, don't know what goes on here, but looked like an interesting place. A few hundred meters from the Sculpture place, you will be accosted but three Yaks. Ahem! Ahem! Yes sir. Yaks. Ok I will repeat this one more time. Y.A.K.S. The kinds you find roaming around in Tibet. (ah ha)



Apprently this dude, Manuel Bauer, imported some Yak from Tibet in 1998 and well the rest, as they say, is history. I wonder if the Yak cheese tastes better in Switzerland than it does in Leh... hmmm... hmmm....

Anyways, these Yak seemed quite surprised to see me. I don't know why? I could see the curiosity oozing from those twinking bovine eyes. Maybe something in their genes told them that we were from the same land. What-e-nice... Su's theory of genetic geographic recognition. wah wah. I was obvoisuly thrilled. And right next to this kutti farm where these poor citters were fenced was the Kindergarten of Rengensburg. (btw.. did you know Kindergarten is a German word which we have hijacked??)

After Rengensburg, there is a potential for confusion, but remember - the Lägern is a climb, so take the steepest route. When ever in confusion take the steepest road/path :) I tried my pathetic German on many people today.

"Entschuldigung..... Welcher richtung ist Lägern??" - Excuse me... what is the direction to Lägern?

The younger ladies, rather strangely, thought I was trying to hit on them. The elder ones would reply with "Ja ja.. theses richtung" with a rather bemused smile. The outsiders would be like "Keine Ahnung!". And some replied in English - "It is five minutes down this path, then take a right turn, it is difficult to miss". Yay! God bless their souls!

The whole time it seemed like it would rain the next second, but then that dew point - current temperature caluclation prooved to be more than trustworthy. Caught some drizzle at the end of the trek at Baden.

I crossed a handful of people returning from the Lägern at 1420 pm - two men hurtling down the slopes on their mountain bikes, three women leading their horses down the slope, five or six families with their dogs, some with prams etc etc... but no one going up. Wtf? I know.

At the Lägern you will find this Alien artifact - even worse than MIT's portal to hell in Manipal - a round, maybe footballish shaped thingy which humans have converted into a radar station for the Zurich Airport. A few cafes below the radar station serve as the boundary between those you walked across the Lägern and those who didn't. I was rather tempeted to sit, drink some hot coffee, and eat some Spetzle, but then it did seem like it would rain any minute, so I plodded on.



The next stretch is the part to remember - soon you are walking along a ledge - with just vegitation on either side preventing you from rolling down 100 feet at 75 degrees. I must say, if these trees weren't there then vertigo may have just kicked in. But there were trees, so no vertigo or any such shit. For nearly an 1/2 hour of walking it was like this. At the top of the ridge types, and you can see these ancient walls - crumbling at some palces; and not crumbling at others... hehe... owersmarat blogger kaun?

Any historical significance? I still do not know the cultural or historical significance of the Lägern, but it looked like a fort from the Middle Ages. Google unfortunately has been least bit helpful - mostly in part because a search for "Lägern + history" returns "Lager - Beeripedia the Beer Wiki" and other such links :)

At the end of the Lägern began the decent down to Baden for nearly 1 hour and 30 minutes, you kept climbing down and climbing down and climbing down. Under the canopy of the protective trees there was a hidden medow of white flowers. What-e-nice it was. There were plenty of camp sites - imagine a night party... aie aie aye ya! I like. Must do it some time.

At 1700 hrs I was out of the woods and in the city of Baden! Baden is another 25 minutes by train from Zurich, and there is a train every 1/2 hour heading towards Zurich, so it really is easy come - easy go, with easy climb thrown in for free.

The trek in so many ways reminded me of the slopes of Coorg and Chickmagalur. Compared to Kumara Parvatha, this was a piece of cake. If you are arthritic it isn't easy either!

I also realized how much i miss the big city! all because of Zurich! I was there for a fleeting moment, but heck I was bowled over. If only there was a cheaper way to get there and back :D If only... if only...

anyways... I learnt of this trek at 1800 on Saturday from this website - http://www.theswitzerlandtraveler.com/walks-near-zrich-the-lgern/. The day tickets to Steinmaur and back from Baden to Konstanz was 68 Franks. The perils of last minute travel. I must reform myself to save some moolah... (imagine how many bar-lee juice that money could have bought huh... now makes sense no... bladdeee)

Switzerland, so far, seems to be a cultural melting pot. Why? I saw people from different ethnicities here - who seemed to be living here, as opposed to just visiing. Much more than I've ever seen before. You see, some of us have never been to New York before ;) But then some of us have never been to Zurich either! Wtf... most of us never went to Timmies either.

The Lägern

18 BHP to 1 HP

Once upon a time, not so very long long ago, I used to ride a 18 Brake horsepower motorcycle - the Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350cc. I too used to be a biker boy. Once upon a time...


Work is just under a kilometer away from home, and so I have been walking to work. The best part of the walk is around 100 m before work. There is this garrage, and the mechanic happens to repair and sell old motorcycles. So everyday, before and after work, I salivate, drool, ogle at these bikes. Recently I've seen this bike with a side car, and well... I've just been drooling some more, and missing my motorcycle some more.

The past one week has seen some exceptionally pleasant weather - the road side daffodils have bloomed, the walkways are flush with yellow, and I am told Mainau is ready to explode with colors; the sky is blue - sky blue, like Bangalore during February; the biker boys are out with their bikes; and the hem lines... hmm... have gone UP - God I love spring!

Last weekend I spent my time ruminating about life, quarter life crisis??. Anyways, I was thinking that when I have the time - I have no bike, nor the means to acquire one over-night, and when I had no time (or acted as if I have no time) - I had a kickass bike. What-a-strange no?? Either I could keep thinking... ahem ahem.. brooding, or I could do something about the shit-u-a-shan... It is a no brainer, that by the time I convert my Indian Drivers License, and save up enough money for a bike, it will be the end of the biking season in Europe. And I am not daft enough to ride during winters - no sir, I am crazy, but not that insane. So what's the other option?

If I have learnt anything about myself, then it is that I have an incurable affliction. I must be able to travel when ever I please, and I don't mean a train ride or a car ride. I must be in charge of the vehicle - and I must feel the wind in my hair*, bugs in my nose, and the pebbles hitting my legs. These are the small pleasures of life which I have missed in the past 6 weeks. Perhaps another hobby could keep me interested? I've tried cooking, and i've given stained glass a shot. I like them both, but I'd rather eat than cook, and stained glass is hard work. I don't enjoy doing it, but the end result is something which makes me feel proud. So I am back to square one.

You see these gazillion number of people cycling around in Konstanz. And a decent new bicycle costs upwards of €400 - and remember what it costs in India?? This is insane!!! I am not sure I want to buy one, especially if I am not going to live here long enough - so I have rented one. (pssst... this is the bhp to human power** i.e. 1 HP)

I have gotten my hand on a rental bike for three days for €25. A lake, the Bodensee - 300 kms to circumnavigate through 3 countries - presents itself as a very tasty route. I need no visa. What else could I ask for? But the last time I peddled was in 1999 - ten years ago! Can I do 300 kms in 3 days? Questions, questions, questions!!! Heck, I haven't even made hotel reservations - and it is a long Easter vacation! All the best to me!

* Always ride a bike i.e. motorcycle with a helmet. Always!
** thanks to jishnu for the analogy.

18 BHP to 1 HP

Born to be wild...

I must, I must post this video..

This is the one we made on that "famous" trip from Kalkaji in New Delhi to Khardung La in Leh via Manali and Chamkari-pul during July-August 2007 on 5 rented motorcycles from a friendly scamster who participates in the raid-de-himalaya every year. We thank him everyday for this very interesting and adventure filled motorcycle ride - without his rotten bikes we would've never had fun, nor the time to make our crazy videos , nor would we have learned how to fix broken motorcycles at dizzing altitudes!
I tend to feel all fuzzy and warm every time I watch it, and with me that can be several times in a loop, bordering on OCD :) Oh yeah, in case you didn't know, Khardung La - 18380 feet above MSL, is supposed to be the world's highest motorable road.

It is called Leh ने ले ली... i.e. Leh whopped our butt :) Because it really did!

Born to be wild...

Germany: Thinking like a traveler - part 1

Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I stepped onto European soil omitting the time I roamed around Frankfurt airport during transit a couple of years ago.
Tom Kelley from IDEO, in his lecture at Stanford titled "Young at Heart: How to Be an Innovator for Life" says in one section the one must - "Think Like a traveler". He says, when you travel you are in a state of hyper awareness, and you notice every small detail which is different from your "natural" habitat. And that is what I did, a little deliberately, and are my observations from my first evening in Germany:

1) Thoughtful design - On the S-Bhan on the ICE connection from the Frankfurt Airport to Stuttgart I noticed the following things. I think this train is equivalent of the Shatabi of the IR*.
a) Motion sickness bags prominently visible and available in good quantity.
b) Separate and private cabins for people traveling with kids - so cranky kids will disturb only their parents and not the other travelers
c) Ceiling mounted sensor driven automatic opening and closing of doors connecting bogies of the train.
d) Multiple escape routes in the event of an accident. Instructions in German, English, French and Spanish.
e) There is more leg room in the second class seating area.
f) People were busy all the while - I saw people reading at any given opportunity - novels, research papers, newspapers etc etc.
g) The rail was very smooth - no abrupt changes in speed, no jerks or sounds when the tracks are changed, and ya, never heard the engine hoot its horns
h) The seats were moulded plastic.

2) On the train from Stuttgart to Singen I observed
a) The train was not as good as the ICE train, but it did the job well. The flooring was like an ordinary IR train. But the seats were more spacious and were in a 2+2 configuration. Each seat had a head rest in the shape of an "L" i.e. if you slept while sitting, and if your head rolled to one side, then your head would rest on the shorter end of the "L". Why should only the window seat guys have all the fun :)
b) Each compartment had a dustbin - and again, the production quality was something I was impressed with. The gauge of metal used was thick, the pivot or hinge to close the lid was noiseless - and it was of a fair size, not too small and not too big.
c) Each station was announced over a speaker system.

On the train from Singen to Konstanz was like the Volvo bus in Bangalore. But they also had these collapsible seats, maybe they are not used in case the passenger load is too much - but then who would evict those already sitting?
They had a fire extinguisher stowed under one of the seats in a reachable, yet unobtrusive manner. Also they had these travel magazines hung all over the compartment. One corner of the magazine was tied to one end of a string and the other end was tied to a metal loop. Wonder if anyone uses it that way.

At the Konstanz station I had to cross platforms to head out of the station. There are no porters, so it is self help all the way. When you have three pieces of luggage that can become a problem. But not to worry - they have this conveyor belt which will transport your luggage down the stairs! The power of use cases!

Unfortunately there were no signs which indicated where I could get a taxi, but some people on the street were good enough to give me directions in english!



There were no problems at the immigration control lines either - but was stopped by the cops on two occasions. The first time, at the customs, I was singled out from the crowd - maybe because I looked different. But as soon as the cop saw the Indian passport he lost interest in me :) It also helped that he was looking at my Chinese Visa the same time. hahaha..

The second time, the cops were looking for someone on the train to Singen, and I made the mistake of getting up and heading to the exit just as they entered the compartment from the other end... hehe.. I was trying to check if the station was mine as they called out "Engen" and I was too sleepy to realize that. But then again, the two cops saw the Indian passport, and the visa and flight stickers and they lost interest. They even told me that Singen was the last stop on the line, so I could go back to sleep :)

* IR = Indian Railways

Germany: Thinking like a traveler - part 1

Somanathpur

Somnathpur at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

Somanathpur is a small village about 17 kms from Bannur in Karnataka. The roads from Bannur to Somanathpura are in a state of disrepair (as of dec ’08). Private and State transport buses run from Bannur to Somanathpura with a semblance of regularity. Private transport or taxis are a more convenient mode of transport. Motorcycles are even better ;) If you are traveling from Bangalore, the best way to get there is from Mandya. The Mandya to Somanathpur is approximately 29 kms of which 22kms are good roads.

At Mandya ask for the road to Bannur. At the end of 20 kms from Mandya this road meets the Bannur – Malavalli road at a “T” junction. Take a right turn here. About a kilometer ahead you will find yet another T junction. You are now about 7 kms from Somanathpura - take a left turn here.

As one approaches Somanathpur from “T” junction mentioned above the road curves to the left at the entrance of Somanathpur. On the right you will find a colorful temple complex and a large peepal tree offering much needed shade. This is also serves as the village bus stop. It will be a good idea to park your vehicle here – unless you want to pay Rs 10 or Rs 5 for a non-existent parking lot. The Keshava temple “ruins” is less than 100 meters from the bus stop. One must buy tickets to enter the temple – the usual ASI issue tickets priced at Rs 5 for Indian Citizens and Rs 10 for “others”.

Do not expect to find the temple in ruins; the ASI has done a commendable job maintaining the complex in near pristine condition. The lawn is very well maintained too, although the palm trees look a little out of place. No prayers are offered at this temple since the idol is/was broken, or so my grandmother says. The idol, we found, isn’t broken, but seems to have been reconstructed, so must have been broken at some time. Despite the no prayers status of the temple, one is supposed to take off one’s footware outside the Mahadwara. There is one unmanned shoe rack, and no charges for utilizing this facility. I guess the uniformed and stern looking policeman at the Mahadwara severs as a deterrent to wanna-be footware thieves. I didn’t spot any monkeys here.

Architecturally, the temple is similar to those at Belur and Halebid – built on a platform, star shaped, circular pillars – no two being alike, elephants at the bottom of the temple, horsemen, musicians, dancers, different avatars of Vishnu, the incomprehensible ability to consistently sculpt a straight line across stones etc etc. The construction material is similar - soap stone.

The Keshava temple at Somanathpur was constructed by a high ranking officer in the Hoysala dynasty (named Somanatha), unlike the Belur and Halebid temples which were constructed by the kings themselves. The temple was constructed sometime during the 13th century. The architecture is similar to the Hoysala temples of Belur and Halebid. Among the three, Somanathpur is the smallest – but that in no way diminishes the beauty of the temple.

Halebid boasts of housing one of the largest and most beautiful Nandi’s and Belur boasts of the once upon a time revolving pillar. Somanathpur however has no such apparent claim to fame. There was only one guide at work, unlike the numerous that one finds elsewhere. He was busy with another group, so had to be content with our own interpretations of the sculptures. I am sure some vital information is missing thanks to this “un-guided” nature of my visit.

The single guide on duty is perhaps indicative of the lack of tourist interest in this particular temple. Also indicative of this misfortune is the sole tender coconut water vendor and a solitary beggar outside the complex.

Is it worth going to? Yes. It most certainly is.
If I could choose only one of the three complexes to visit then which one would I choose? Halebid.
Time taken from Bangalore: 3 hrs

Somanathpur

The Great Bangalore Bypass

Riders riding from up north for Rider Mania 09 can heave a sigh of relief. You can bypass Bangalore without thinking twice - that is unless you really really want to see Bangalore traffic at its worst in Nellamangala a.k.a. Hellamangala. Without beating around the bush…

For your riding pleasure, we had been on a reccee ride yesterday to verify if Tumkur-Kunigal-Maddur was rippable / partrang-able. The answer, as you may have guessed by now, is “oh yeah!”

Distance : 90 kms
Road Quality : Kicka$$ compared to what we were expecting. I’d rate it 8/10.
Traffic : Negligible
Time Taken : 2 hours 30 minutes (including two sutta stops - 1st to fix Jishnu’s seepdo cable and 2nd to contemplate whether it was worthwhile climbing the Hulidurga fort)

The usual riders apply - beware of
a) occasional potholes (especially one, which is “large enough to capture an elephant”-Jishnu)
b) very cleverly camoflaged speed breakers and
c) a new invention called the ulta speed breaker
d) random animals (and humans) crossing the road
e) the occasional psycho bus driver who will try to mow you down

Other than that - totally rippable.

I’d like to thank all the riders for joining at such a short notice - Krishna Chandra, Jishnu, Praveen, Krishna Prasad, V Reddy and Shabareesh It was a super delux ride.

More importantly a very special thanks to our writerray* - Praveen Shankara (Krishna’s pillion) for carefully noting down the visual cues, and for the writeup which needed very little editing and additions Thank you very much!

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The Great Bangalore Bypass! - by Praveen Shankara
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Land marks for route through Tumkur town to Maddur.

As the NH4 nears Tumkur (coming from Sira), notice

1. A chimney with “SLNT” written on it on the right side.
2. A brick chimney on the right side.
3. Pass under the foot over bridge.
4. Sri Sangama Agro Food Industries on right side.
5. Notice a petrol pump on the left side - IOC
6. Notice two high tension towers on the right side.

Soon after Sai Sangama Agro industries you have to take right turn to the service road on the right side and take left turn.

In the next fork take the left turn and proceed parallel to the high way.

You know you have missed a turn if you see “User Fee road ends here”

Take the first right turn you get, you should be able to see “TATA” on a chimney on your left before taking a right. Notice

1. ASMA MOTORS on the left side.

Proceed straight and take left turn when you reach a “T” junction. As you turn left, notice

1. RIMA Hospital on your right side.
2. Karnataka State Warehouse on the left side.

As you proceed straight on this road, notice

1. TOMLINSON Church on right side.
2. HYUNDAI Trident Showroom on right side.
3. IBP Petrol Bunk on right side.
4. Indian Oil Petrol Bunk on right side.
5. A big Hanuman statue on the right side.

Go straight near Hanuman statue. (Don’t take left turn). You reach a circle where you have to go straight. As you proceed, notice

1. GUBBI VEERANNA CHITRA MANDIR (Theatre) on the right side.

You will now reach a signal at a “T” junction. Take a right turn here and proceed.

1. District Hospital on the right side.
2. Hero Honda showroom on left side.
3. Traffic Signal with mark “KUNIGAL ".

Take left turn here on to the KUNIGAL ROAD. Proceed straight and notice

1. Railway track overhead.
2. State Bank of Mysore on the right side.

In the next intersection proceed straight. The fork here joins and forms a single road later. Notice

1. KUNIGAL 34 Kms board.

You are now on the way to Kunigal.
You know you have reached Kunigal when you see a fenced park and a yellow/cream colored house on the left.

When you reach Kunigal Junction take right turn on to Bangalore-Mangalore Highway. Proceed and take the first left turn to “MADDUR” (Before turning left, notice the Bharath Petroleum Bunk on the right side). Maddur is 51 Kms from Kunigal.

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Tumkur-Kunigal-Maddur

Widget powered by EveryTrail: GPS Geotagging
*Person who writes things down - a very popular term in Police stations

The Great Bangalore Bypass

Pearl Valley / Chickatirupati - RTMC announce ride Dec 08

Chickatirupathi to Muthalya Madavu (pearl valley) at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

Pearl Valley is a not so famous seasonal waterfall south of Bangalore near Anekal. It is hardly 30 odd kilometers from South Bangalore. The environs are pleasant. The lone hotel run by the Govt. of Karnataka is clean, serves edible food, and reasonably priced. I am sure the view of the water fall must be stunning, when the water level is sufficient.

One needs to descend almost 200 odd meters from the parking lot to view the waterfall. The curious ones from our group found a trickling stream. What else could one expect in December?

Chickatrupati is in the Kolar district - we took a dirt road from some where outside of Varatur to reach this place. We didn't visit the temple, had some food at a road side joint. Some crazy bunch of riders we are :)

A funny incident transpired earlier in the day. We had assembled just outside the HAL airport. We as in 38 bikes. On a cold December morning. Barely a week after 20-something year olds had unleashed terror in the streets of Bombay. Needless to say our cops were edgy. Apparently there was a security threat to Bangalore. Two cops came up and asked us all kinds of questions - "Who are you?", "Where are you going?", "Are you all together?", "Do you have permission for a road rally?", "Where is your road permit?", "Did you take permission from the Police commissioner?". I couldn't help howling like a hyena :) :)

None of their questions made sense, but we do appreciate their concern. I hope they remain vigilant, if only for a few days.

A big thanks to the ride organizers and all the junta who showed up. Xie Xie.

Pearl Valley / Chickatirupati - RTMC announce ride Dec 08

Searching for a castle - Naggar

Naggar is a sleepy little village located across the river Beas, half way between Manali and Kulu. A village, well known Russian painter Nickolai Reorich called home. For nearly 1500 years it served as the capital of the Kullu valley. The current “castle” is almost 500 years old. The Lonely Planet describes Naggar as “one of the nicest places in the Kullu valley”. On reading those nine words, I made up my mind. I had to see Naggar.

“An idle mind is a devil’s workshop” goes the proverb. In my case, it is more like the devil’s canvas. The devil in my mind, I must regrettably report, is a very creative artist. An artist hell bent on painting the mundane as grand, and the moderately novel as opulently exotic. The same tragedy befell Naggar, and in the depths of my mind a remote hill kingdom took shape.

A large crumbling castle surrounded by a deep desolate moat - a moat, once full of crocodiles, now overflowing with weeds and garbage. A portion of the castle had been refurbished as a modern hotel, warm water 24x7, warm bed and courteous hotel staff. At night they chose to use torch light flames instead of electric lights. A friendly ghost or two wandered the corridors greeting the guests with goose bumps. Doesn’t that sound like a cross between the Mysore palace, the Ripley Castle and Tuglak’s fort at Aurangabad?

Naggar, the village that it is, isn’t really large, a kilometer in length at the most. Naggar and Kullu / Manali are on opposite banks of the river Beas, and hence a river crossing is necessary if one travels from Kullu towards Naggar. The Beas, at this stage, isn’t exactly meandering, nor is it raging, hence the sound of the river can be best described as a gentle gurgling. The gentle gurgling fades away into the background as one climbs the hair pin bends towards Naggar, and a few kilometers after one has forgotten the existence of the river, one is accosted by a rash of dwellings. The dwellings quickly disappear and give way to a dead end. And as one inspects the dead end, one can spot a parking lot to the right; a couple of desolate eateries to the left; and a very prominent sign proclaiming the existence of the Roerich gallery. Hmmm… So where is Naggar? And where is the castle?

We reached the dead end at around 0930 am or thereabouts, don’t remember the exact time. In any case, we were a wee bit early for the gallery. The friendly shopkeepers at the desolate eateries beckoned. We were sufficiently tempted by the local apple and litchi juice, and bought a couple of cold bottles. While killing time, sipping some fresh litchi juice, and also out of curiosity, I asked the shopkeeper, “Where is this Naggar Castle?”

She pointed in the general direction of where we came from, and said, “Down there”.

Disbelief. Then Confusion.

“But, we just came from there! Didn’t see a castle anywhere…”, I clarified while hinting that she was probably not in her senses.

“Udhar deko…. Vho havayli dik rahi hai? Bahar bahut lakdi raki hai.. Vho hi hai”, she said – See there… can you see that big house there, the one with a lot of wood piled outside, that’s the one.

“And where is Naggar?”, I persisted.

“Surrounding the castle, silly”, she replied with a toothy grin.

Oh yeah! Gone were the illusions of a partially dilapidated grand stone castle surrounded by a deep mote, and in came the reality of a “wooden havayli”.

Pause. Sink in. React.

“And that was the castle I so desperately wanted to see? I came all the way to see a havayli?”, I thought dejectedly.

Dejection soon gave way to disgust, followed by a round expletives aimed at the author. I tell you what? I think the author, of that portion of The Lonely Planet guide, was smoking pot – lots of it. Or maybe the author’s diction was poor. Or maybe he was hung up on the proverb - “An Englishman’s home is his castle”. To clarify – a) this is not an Englishman’s home – it was the home of an Indian King, and b) a Kings abode isn’t always called a castle. So, what the heck was he thinking? Arrggghhhh…..

“Castle” is way too grand and strong; “house” is way too ordinary. “Manor” would have been more appropriate. The Lonely Planet is very shrewd – it said “one of the nicest places in the Kullu valley”. Which means it isn’t better when compared to Manali/Vhashist. This puts to rest any speculation about the author’s diction. Then why castle? Did he not know what a castle is supposed to look like? Must be an inside joke. But, I was not laughing!

Did I equate my writing skills with those of Shakespeare? It just wouldn’t be right! And that was the quantum of difference between my illusion of a castle and that thing the shopkeeper was gesturing at.

The Manor, as you’ve no doubt figured, is fairly easy to miss. To its credit it’s a handsome wood and stone structure. You’ll seldom find anything equivalent to it in India. But one must temper ones expectations. By no means is it as opulent as a castle in Jaipur, no sir, such a comparison is unwarranted. The view is breathtaking, it is Himachal after all. The wood work is magnificent, and an architect’s paradise. The manor also houses an overrated museum, nothing much will be missed if you don’t visit.

There is an entrance fee to be paid – I think Rs 60, but it is worth it. The inner courtyard houses the Jagatapatti temple, which was closed when we visited. Legend has it that a chief of the village married a beautiful girl from a village on a distant hill. On arriving in Naggar, the bride cried her heart out at the thought of being away from her village. To pacify her, a swarm of wild bees transported a mega granite slab from her village to the chief’s home – i.e. the “castle”. Over time, the miracle entrenched itself in popular folk lore. Long after the crying bride, a British Burra Sahaib arrived at the “castle”. He pho-phoed the legend, and was promptly afflicted with a mysterious fever. He died a few weeks later – the perfect Egyptian curse. One must hear this story from a local guide. I believed it; didn’t want to die of a mysterious fever so soon. For the record, oh protecting spirit, I still believe it.

The best part about Naggar is that it is comparatively sparse as far as tourists are concerned. Not that there are none, but significantly lower than what I noticed in Manali / Kullu. As the Lonely Planet Guide will tell you, there are plenty of hotels in Naggar, cheaper than the ones at Manali and Kullu. If you must stay in Naggar, I wouldn’t hesitate in suggesting the “Castle” – the views are breath taking; comparable and at times even better than the view from the Dragon in Manali.

Roerich Gallery

If you are the artsy types, then you’d enjoy this place. If you are interested in Roerich Sr. then you wouldn’t be disappointed. Roerich Sr’s residence has been converted into a museum. The house, as expected, is quite old. A well maintained garden literally envelopes the house - you can hardly glimpse the house from outside the compound. You feel as if you are on the sets of Hansel and Gretel – a garden full of candies; a house made up of chocolate fudge and ice cream; and the friendly cat loitering around.

The art gallery and art school is located around 500 meters away from the museum. They teach dance, pottery, weaving besides painting here. We saw a lot of children at school. To be honest, felt a bit jealous. Learning art at a place like this, lucky bas$%^&*, I hope they know it!

Perhaps i'd have enjoyed it more if I had spent some more time there. Let it grow on me types. I got the feeling that I'd love to trek these hills or lounge in a balcony, literary marvel in one hand and a searing cup of hot chocolate in the other. Some day. Some day.

Searching for a castle - Naggar