North East India - 20161001 (18 days)

Been to north east india recently. Travelled around on Road.

Some numbers:

2 country borders, 4 States, 6 bikes, 8 people, 18 days, ~3500kms covered.

I will try to give the itinerary and points to consider on each of the places.

Day 1: Landing in Guwahati (Haven’t done much, time went in meeting teammates, finding place to eat etc).

Day 2: Collecting bikes and test ride.

Day 3: Towards Tawang, covered Kaziranga, stayed in Tejpur.

Day 4: Went up to Bomdi-la. Went further and stayed in Dirang. 

Day 5: Left comfortably. Went to Tawang. 

Day 6: Headed back towards Guwahati. Stayed in Bomdi-la Monastery.

Day 7: Headed towards Phuentsholing, Bhutan. Started searching for staying option from 4pm, got a place after 100+ kms, 4hrs later in Pathsala. 

Day 8: Reached Phuentsholing, didn’t get permit. Stayed there for the night.

Day 9: Headed back, and stayed in Pathsala again.

Day 10: Reached Shillong, and stayed there.

Day 11: Visited Chirappunji. Rode in clouds, was good experience. Stayed in Shillong.

Day 12: Visited Dwaki, Bangladesh Border, Living roots bridge. Stayed in Shillong

Day 13: Reached Kohima, Nagaland.

Day 14: No bikes day. Went to Konoma valley, Kisama Heritage village and World war 2 memorial. Had rice beer. Stayed in Kohima.

Day 15: Roads were unpredictable. Anil was sick. Stayed in Mokokchung.

Day 16: Went on ferry through Brahmaputra, to Majuli Island, Assam.

Day 17: Came back to Guwahati, gave the bikes back.

Day 18: Visited Kamakya Temple, headed back to Bangalore.

Srilanka - 2014

Recently went to Srilanka:

Here is the Image of places we had been to:

More information on trip is @ medium :  https://medium.com/@tumballi/unforgettable-11-days-srilanka-b7ea4464539f

Andaman Island visit with family - October 2013

Been to Andaman & Nicobar Islands for vacation with family (extended). It was an amazing trip overall...

People who went along with me : my wife, and kid, mother, father-in-law,mother-in-law, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, uncle, aunt, their two daughters :-)

places visited, events done:

Cellular Jail,
Lime Stone cave,
jarawa reserve,
Mud Volcano,
Ross&Smith island in digalipur,
mangrove forests,
Ross Island,
Sea Walk,
Havelock Island, (went to Havelock in Makruzz).
Snorkelling,
Scuba diving.
Radhanagar beach,
Elephanta beach.
Carbyns Cove beach,
Mount Harriet National Park,
Chatham Saw Mill (Once Asia's largest saw mill).
Archaeology museum.
Sea museum (Samudrika)

And shopping for shells, bamboo etc...

it was overall 9 days and 8nights in Andaman, and two nights in train from BLR->Chennai, and back.

Chikmagalur - 25th Feb, 2012

MullayanaGiri aka, BababuDangiri (24th Feb, 2012) : Drove the car till the top. It was already late, and was bit scared to drive the WagonR on that road when its dark, hence came down. Went there with Pallavi and Amma.

KemmannuGunDi (26th Feb, 2012): Went through the Estate Rd to Kemmannu GunDi. Nice scenic road, but was horrible on a WagonR. Took 3hrs for covering 30kms. Went with Pallavi.

Manali - Himachal Pradesh

We reached Manali after Whitewater rafting at Phirdi on 14th May. Got the bike (Red Enfield Electra, 350cc).

On 15th May, went towards Solang Valley, and then Rohtang Pass (which was not open yet due to Snow). We rode the bike till Martha ~12k ft high on the way.

On 16th left towards Banjar - Jibhi, through Naggaru road. The ride was fun. Went upto a village called Ghiyagi (10kms from Banjar, and 10kms before Jalori Pass). Stayed in a small wooden cottage.

On 17th, Went upto Jalori Pass, from where we did a small trek of 6kms (one-way) to a lake (and a temple near by). Jalori Pass is at a hight of 10k ft. The trek was in forest and for miles of radius we didn't had any human population. It was a nice trek. We had food in Jalori pass and left towards Manali. Visited Hadimba temple in Manali.
Stayed in Manali that night.

Map of roads which we covered on bike

Photos of the bike Trip

On 18th Left towards Dharamshala (McLodgunj) in taxi after returning the bike.

New Mexico

Dates : 20-22 November, 2009

People : /me, Scud, Fahad and MS.

Miles in car: 1200miles

Day 1: Santa Fe, NM

City, known for old architecture and buildings. One of the early cities of USA/Mexico, tells lot of history about US Vs Mexican war.. Spanish history too.

Drove and stayed near WhiteSands.

Day 2: White Sand National Monument

One hell of a place. Played Football, volleyball, throwball, 'sikkor chendu'., did sand sliding. etc. It was complete fun.

went through El Paso, TX. One of the Border town of US / Mexico. Felt like we are in majestic area of bengaluru. on the roads, instead of guys staring at gals, gals were staring at us :O

Drove and camped near Carlsbad, NM.

Day 3: Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Another natural wonder. The caves here are "BIIIIIGGGGG' and AWESOME. they have electricity here, so the cave looks good. cave is 750ft below the mountain top, and they have elevator. These limestone caves are really a wonder.

Also visited Guadalupe Mountains National Park on the way back.

Some Photos:

* Fahad's Album here
* more later..

DeathValley National Park

Date: 7th and 8th November, 2009

People: Sudharshan (Scud), Fahad, Raghavendra (Du) and /me

Car : Mitsubhishi galant

Miles Travelled: 1350

Expectations were low, but it turned out to be very nice trip. did see waterfalls, deserts (sand dunes), canyons, lake (282 feet below sea level), golf course, castle (history.. manually constructed monument). mountains.

First time in the trip, I actually took time off and slept in back seat of the car while travelling (blame it on changed lifestyle, or jetlag or anything else). Counted stars :p

Lot more to tell.. but well.. may be sometime later.

Photos from Scud's Camera Here

Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks

People: Ashwin (aka, Scud, sudharshan), Kiran, MS, Fahad and /me
Date: 26th and 27th Sept, 2009
Distance : 720miles
Web: http://www.nps.gov/seki

Started from SanJose @ 03:30am in morning. Reached Sequoia @ 8am, Booked Crystal Cave trip. Visited Moro Rock. The experience of the Cave was 'awesome'.. Experienced 'The Darkness' inside cave. Overall, amazing nature. Had lunch, went on a drive to Mineral Kings. Saw a bear cub running across the road. My (and most of the people's) first spoting of wild bear in all these trip.


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Camped at Buckeye Campgrounds. Played Cards.. had nice sleep (thanks to new sleeping bag).

Next day started with few jumping snaps near the river flowing next to camp ground. Visited Hospital Rock where there are some scribbles from native americans, done few hundred years before.
Drove in General Highway towards Grant Grove, and on the way visited General Grant Tree, which is 3rd Largest tree in the world in terms of volume. Drove to Ceder Grove, and passed through the Rock canyons of Kings canyon, inside which flows Kings rivers.

The star attraction of the trip came when we visited Hume Lake Christian Camp (Well, it was indeed a religious place), where we enjoyed the beauty of nature.. A green grass.. lake, green forest and layers and layers of mountain behind... blue sky (view from bottom to top in photo frame). There we saw a sand volley ball court and reserved it for an hour. Played 3 sets. I enjoyed the game in spite of loosing all the 3, because i was diving all around, running across etc :-)

Food part of the trip started in Denny's, and ended in Chipotle. Inbetween, it was all kokila chapati and mint chutneys.. with lot of side (like chukly, koDbeLe etc)

Photos will be shared by janta who took them soon.. (links will be updated once i get them).

Rocky mountains, Colorado

Date: Septemper 4 - 7, 2009 (4 days)
People : Naddy, Scud, Kiran, Shilpa and /me
Distance Travelled in car : 750miles
Total hike : ~21miles. (all small hikes included)
Web : http://www.nps.gov/romo


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Attractions of the trip:
1. Mt Evans (14100+ ft) : Highest altitude paved road of USA takes you to Mt. Evans. Very scenic drive, we could spot some wild life along the way. Wind was very cold on top..

2. Pikes Peak (14100+ ft) : Again, another 14k+ peak where you can drive your car. It has a train which can take you to the top, called 'Cog Railway'. Also you can find lot of bikers (ie, cyclist) on the top.

3. Patel points of Rocky Mountain National Park: We tried and covered almost all the patel points as per the map.

4. Longs Peak (14259ft), camping and hiking: This was the main goal of the trip, camping and hiking. All of us did go up to the camping ground located at 12780ft, just below the Longs Peak, 6miles from TrailHead. It was a night to remember as 3 of us (including me) got altitude sickness <:-( and in the night temperature was in higher 30s (not C, but F). Wind was blowing almost around 70-100mph, which broke the rods of tent, and it fell on us. Happy stories, sad stories, good stories, bad stories.. overall a long night @ longs peak. Next day Scud and Naddy got up and headed to peak. We 3 had altitude sickness, hence packed the tent, and headed back to rangers station. 5. Chasm Lake (11740ft): Me and Kiran went up to the lake which is at the base of Longs Peak, and is a 0.7miles diversion from the longs peak trail. Its gave some nice view of the peak. Photos: From Kiran's Album



Overall a nice trip.

half-dome 2

People: Kiran, Mahesh, Suma and /me
Date: 07th August, 2009 (1:55AM -> 11:00PM)
Miles: 341miles

It was my second hike to the top of Big Rock called Half dome... Enjoyed it.

Photos from Suma's Album

redwood, crater lake

People: Sudharshan, Fahad, MS, Avati and /me

Distance: 1300miles

Date: 1st and 2nd August, 2009 (48hrs in total)

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Started off at 1:55AM from fremont. I took the car initially, headed towards, 880->101 and continued towards Fort Bragg. Took some nap there on curb side, and then headed towards Eureka, Orich, Cresent City..

Details of Redwood National and State Park:

* Kuchel Visitor Center

* Lady Johnson Tall Tree Grove

* Fern Canyon

* Scenic Drive

Camped at Mazama Village, Crater Lake, Oregon. Had soup and maggi. Later played cards too.. It rained in morning, thankfully there was no Thunder storm, (well, weather(dot)com predicted one). Travelled around Lake in Rim Drive. The Deep Blue water of Crater Lake was awesome.. Its till date the most wallpaper like place i saw.

We had booked Boat trip inside Lake, but due to previous day's lightening strike, there was some fire along the forest trail which takes us to down the lake, for boats. It got cancelled, and so we decided to leave early, and headed towards McCloud Falls.

We dived into water @ Lower McCloud Falls, and went below the falls. It was complete fun. Water was very cold, may be 7-8 degree Centigrade in temperature.

Photos from Scud's Album

yosemite - 20090704

People: Manoj NV(mano, psycho), Prasad Hegde (God), Anand Avati, Sriharsha MS and /me

Car: Nissan Altima (hybrid)

Distance: 470miles.

Time: 4:30am on 4th July -> 1:00 am 5th July (~21hrs)

This visit was quite a normal one, and our goal was to just 'see' yosemite national park's beauty, instead of any adventure/hike etc. The park was crowded with cars and people. Sadly the department itself had put controlled fire in few regions, which blurred the view from glacier point.
I drove ~400+ miles. It was quite a lively trip with lot of brainstorming discussions.

Mount Whitney

Date: June 12-15th
People: Sudharshan (scud), Dayanand Gayakwad (DG), Nadeem (naddy), Kiran and /me
Miles in car: 1247
Miles walk : 6.5 (06/13/09), (various range for each one of us on 06/14), I did 15miles (7.5miles oneway, summit was 11miles one way) - overall, reached around 22miles in 2days.

Travel Map :


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Photos from Scud's Album

Photos from Naddy's Album

Did I regret not making it to summit: Yes
Did I do the right thing by coming back: Yes
Will I try next year again: Yes

More writeups.. later

Florida trip

People : Sudharshan (scud, ashwin, whatever :p), Nadeem (naddy), Kiran, Manoj (mano, psycho, creamanups, createam, etc), and /me.

Dates: 22nd May - 26th May, 2009

Overall miles covered: ~1400.

--
22nd May:
I reached FLL (Ft. Lauderdale) airport by 22nd 00:10AM. By the time I came out of terminal, Manoj called and told he too reached. It was more than an year since we met, hence had so many things to talk about. From school time to college to childhood :D well by the time we finished these, Kiran joined us, and we spent some more time (till 2:30AM) in airport. Later went to Denny's and hand omlettes, coffee and puppy pancakes. We stayed there even after Denny's people changed shifts. Discussions covered on travel, India, election etc etc..

Well, clock ticked 6:24 and Naddy and Scud called and told they have reached FLL. They came in the car, and had breakfast and we all left to NASA, Kennady Space Center, Orlando. Spent whole day there. It was fascinating to see the place from which most of the space ships have gone out.. heart of American Space program. Got experience of rocket launching. Went to Cocoa beach nearby in evening. After playing frisbee for some time on the sand, headed towards Tampa. Met with Scunder, Shilpa, Mayuresh at hotel. Had dinner, played cards slept.

23rd May:
Next day, went to clearwater beach, where I saw whitest and smoothest sands on seeshore. It started raining after a while, and we headed towards south, to Everglades. On the way, we visited two more beaches, in Saratoga. Siesta beach and another, where me kiran and scud swam for some time. (Scud, I am not going to say that super fast frisbee throw of yours which made it disappear in sea :D)

Then headed towards Florida City, through Everglades. We saw one nice bridge on the way, saw lot of fishing birds, their awesome dive, etc. While in everglades, made many stops, and spotted some allegators, along with many turtles, and birds. Had dinner with Scunder, Baji, Shilpa. Came back to hotel, played cards, Slept.

24th May:
Got up, got ready, headed to Key Largos State Park, Registered there for Scuba diving. Dave (BIG WAVE DAVE as per his name plate on chest) was our guide. Saw videos of scuba diving, got instructions, details of possible injuries, emergency measures etc. Then got into water, and went through the basic learning process. As it was just one guide and 4 of us learning (and Naddy was already certified), it was very late by the time we finished training, and we had to get ready to dive. Missed lunch (well, I had a banana). Went in the diving boat, and it was open sea 3 miles away from shores (well, depth was ~30-40ft), and we had to dive in the water with oxygen cylinders. It was first time for 4 of us, and 3 of us not so good swimmers. By the time we could understand buoyancy control, It was a mess around there as some of us were going up, some going down. Dave got pissed and took us back to boat. Our next dive was near Statue of Jesus, where we did little better and touched around 30ft down, stayed inside water for more than 30mins. Well, again, me and Mano screwed up with buoyancy and Dave pulled us back to boat.
Over all, an awesome experience. Got a certificate from PADI saying I did a open water scuba diving :D

Went to hotel, tired. Had dinner, played cards, slept.

25th May:
Headed towards Key West, 3hrs drive. Booked in FURY water adventure sports package. Did parasailing (two times, with Manoj once, and with Kiran once), swam in sea water, climbed iceburg (artificial, made of rubber, and had hooks to climb), did solo kayaking. Did Jetski, liked it a lot, need more control on the handles. Had lunch on the boat itself, and then headed to snorkeling in coral reef. It was good, but I prefer Andaman's corel reefs much better as it had more type of corels and is more colour full. Beer was free after all this, had some. Met Sowmya and Co. on the same boat. Roamed around KeyWest, Took photos at Southern most point of Continental USA, which is just 90miles to Cuba. Drove back to hotel, was tired, so slept early.

26th May:
Left hotel early, headed towards Everglades, saw lot of wildlife, plenty of Anhinga, allegators, other birds. Visited Flamingo visitor center, and on the way back, Had ಎಳೆನೀರು, ಕಬ್ಬಿನ ಹಾಲು, ಮಾವಿನ ಹಣ್ಣು :D maja bantu :-)
after all this, headed towards Miami, visited south beach, and some minor beaches around. It was all nice, but couldn't spend time there as our flight time was getting closer. Dropped Manoj to airport, headed to Dania beach next to FLL airport, had food, came back to airport.

Flight got delayed, missed connecting flight by 10mins at Phoenix, and had to sleep at the airport. So tired that I could easily get good sleep on the chairs itself.

27th May:
First flight to SFO, came home, dropped Gowda to SFO airport, went to office, and back to busy working life :D

Photos from Scud's Album : Here
Photos from Kiran's Album: Here

Travel Itinerary:


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Called it Trip J.. and now Mount Whitney calling...

Yosemite National Park - camping

Did a camping trip to yosemite with a big gang.

People: Amar, Basavanagowda, Javeen, Karthik, Krishna, MS, Murthy, Prasad, Subhash.

Went to Yosemite valley, did a small hike to vernal falls from happy isle. dropped ipod to water, which fell 30+ft, after hitting rocks many times. camped at heagdon meadow campground.

The worst/best part of the trip happened that night. We did a camp fire, didn't had wood, but begged from others and got some. In night, before sleeping didn't feel the cold because we had fire. But when we slept inside the tent, it was *really* cold. Temperature was around 30-40F, and it was freezing. Most of us didn't sleep properly.

Sunday drove back to home after visiting Hetch Hetchky National park/Dam. It was nice place, quite remote.

Photos here.

Map here:


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zion, page and grand gulch, photos

Had forgotten to share the photographs of september long weekend trip.

Click on the image to view all the photos.

bannerugatta

I was been to Bannerughatta National Park yesterday. I went to the Grand safari, which includes safari of Tiger, Lion also. I liked the tigers man! They were really nice. It was lunch time for them, so they were almost on the road :-), later went to zoo, but then it was after lunch session, so most of the animals were sleeping. Anyway It was a nice trip.

People: Me, Prasad, Pramod