Photographs, Travel Stories from India
Meghamalai – Breathtaking Beauty in Western Ghats (Aug ’14)
Quick Visit to Danish Fort – Tranquebar (Aug’ 12)
Life has been so busy for the past one year and we even couldn’t dream of getting away from the city for a weekend. On Independence day, we decided to go for a trip for sure and planned to vistit Tranquebar. This place was on my travel list for quite sometime. Primary attraction in this place is the Dutch Fort and the Hotel that is maintained by Neemrana. The name itself is quite attracting ‘The Bungalow on the Beach’. So, planned for a quick visit to the Fort and Lunch at the hotel.
On Independence day we left all our worries and started our journey as early as 3 AM as we have to cover a distance of 280km one way. Grabbed some money at ATM, filled tank and started the journey by 3.15. It rained the previous night and the roads are not in very good shape. Since it’s too early for the city, there was very thin traffic so we crossed the city in 15 mins and touched ECR road in no time. At a constant speed of around 100-120, we easily crossed Pondy in less than 2 hours and reached the destination in 3.45 hrs @ 7 AM. I love my Rapid
When we reached, there were hardly any people around except few fishermen who ventured out for their work. Relaxed there 10 mins and decided to have breakfast and planned to return to the Fort by 9. When we reached the main road, wifey told about Nagoor which is 20kms from Tranquebar and also about Velankanni. Decided to give it a try we started from Tranquebar and reached Velankanni by 8 AM. After visiting the holy church had our breakfast and turned back to visit the famous Darga in Nagoor. Offered our prayers in Nagoor and returned to Tranquebar around 11.30. I was expecting the climate to be cloudy and even expected showers but to my disappointment the sun was in its full glory and we had to sweat it out for the next couple of hours.
Another twist waited at Dansborg, the dutch fort. The main gate was closed and saw the written announcement that the Fort was closed for Independence Day. We didn’t expect this and thought the place will attract more visitors on holidays than a normal weekday. We are very much disappointed for not checking this information prior to our departure. But we can see a couple standing close to the doors and anxiously watching us with another person who seems to be the care taker of the Fort. We turned around and started our walk towards the beach as we had no other option other than to see what was available.
While we walk towards the beach, we noticed that a couple standing close to the gate disappeared and we thought there must be a way to sneak into the fort. After few negotiations with the gate keeper we were allowed inside the fort. Next one hour was spent roaming every nook and corner of the Fort though the Museum inside the Fort was closed. The view from the top was amazing and it should be good to spend evening there, which we didn’t do.
By the time we left the Fort, it was lunch time and we quickly spent sometime on the shore and went to the Bunglow on the Beach for lunch. They have limited options but the food was worth the price and also the views you get from the balcony. After lunch, we started my journey back to Chennai and reached Chennai by 8 PM.
Weekend Drive to Manimuthar Falls – Manjolai – Kuthiraivetti – Part I (Nov ’11)
This trip was a long pending one since I bumped in to a blog post detailing about the place ‘Kuthiraivetti’. The fact that only one bus ply between Tirunelveli to Kuthiraivetti ignited a special interest in me to visit this place. Last Friday when I decided to go on a weekend break, and searched for some new places, I bumped into another blog post detailing about ‘Manjolai’. The place looked quite beautiful and decided to head there. Tirunelveli is located some 600kms from Chennai and this Manjolai is further 30km from there. Also, checked for accomodation and found a link which provided details about staying options in Singampatti Zamin, which is located at the foothills of Manjolai. It; is located very close to Manimutharu dam and the staying options are maintained by bed and breakfast services of Tourism department. After gathering all these details, I decided to use public transport as the distance to cover on a weekend is too much and tried to book tickets in Volvo. Unfortunately, there was a problem while booking and money has been deducted from my account without booking a ticket. Upon verifying, got confirmation that the money will be credited back to my CC in 7 days.
Don’t want to make another try, decided to use my trusted car to take us there. Once out of office at 5.15, headed home and packed things and loaded everything in the car. It was raining heavily outside and the initial plan was to start around 2 or 3 AM. But watching the heavy downpour and travelling to this place for the first time, I decided to start at 7 it self as the rain will not allow us to travel at a speed I expect. So, left home at 7.00 and took Chennai bypass and crossed Tambaram at 7.40. Rain stopped just after Chengalpattu and from there on it’s an uneventful journey. Took the route Chennai – Villupuram – Trichy – Madurai – Tirunelveli. Took a couple of hours break after crossing Trichy and had a small nap just crossing a toll plaza. After that the drive was easy and we reached Tirunelveli around 7 AM.
Called up Singampatti Zamin’s residence to get the directions and reached the palace around 8.30 AM. It just looked like any other building but had the signs of a Zamindar’s residence. We were guided through the rear entrance where we parked our car just in front of a residence where we will be staying. Then we met the Raja, Theerthapathi and had little chat about our travel and what we are intended to do during our stay. He handed over the permission letter, which he has got from Forest Department for our visit to Manjolai / Kuthiraivetti on Sunday. Then we went to our residence and freshened up. In the mean time, Raja has arranged for some delicious breakfast. After that we had a quick nap for couple of hours before we freshened up again to check out Manimuthar falls.
The drive to Manimuthar Falls from Singampatti is quite scenic. A few kms from Singampatti on the uphill road, you will see the forest check post. You need to sign the register & pay for entry tickets (Rs. 15/ head & Rs. 25 for camera). If you like to go beyond Manimuthar fall, you need to give them the permission letter else you will not be allowed to go beyond Manimuthar falls. The beauty of the place increases on every curve and the route becomes narrower as you go on. It will take 20-30 mins drive from the check post to reach the falls. A guard will standing near the entry point of the bridge and verify the vehicles going beyond that point.
We spent close to an hour in the falls, though the water flows from relatively low height, it’s not easy to stand there for quite long. Not much people around at that time and we enjoyed our stay there, clicking photographs at will. Along the water falls, you can spot numerous monkeys and one must be careful with their belongings.
After spending time in Manimuthar Falls, we headed Papanasam where you have ‘Agasthiyar Falls’ & VaanaTheertham falls in Karaiyar. By the time we reached Papanasam, the clock showed 4.45. There is again a forest check post where you need to sign the register. They informed us to just visit Agasthiyar Falls as one has to exit the place by 6 and we wouldn’t be having time to visit Karaiyar. We quickly moved on to the uphill road and reached the place a downhill road goes to Agasthiyar Falls & the uphill road goes to Karaiyar. We quickly decided to visit Karaiyar and took that risk to visit the place which is some 20km away.
The drive through the forest was quite an experience in itself. We spotted a fox & bison but couldn’t capture as they moved into the thick forest in a matter of few seconds. When we reached Karaiyar around 5.20, the path to boat house is locked down as the time is between 9 to 5 PM. From here only one has to take a boat ride to reach Vanatheertham Falls. We quickly returned to Agasthiyar falls and visited the Shiva temple, which is located on the top. The place was deserted and the looks from here are quite scary. After taking few snaps, we returned to Singampatti without any further delay as its getting dark.
That concludes Day 1 & Trip to Manjolai & Kuthiravetti will follow soon.
