I had heard a lot about the GO-Plus (Global Orientation Plus) program from my team members. This is an outdoor HR training program mandatory for all Oracle employee. In this program they convey 10 business values of Oracle thorough outdoor activity and games. About the games that we played, it was fun but I am not supposed to tell the details of the game, so I will just mention the values that it conveyed.
It started on Thursday (9th Dec) evening. We started our program with a briefing from HR Jyothi. Then we took a bus to Emerald Isle resort. It is on Old Madras road. It is hardly 25-30km from the office but the driver took different routs and he took two hours (he drove for more than 50 km) to reach the resort. That day we just had a brief introduction round and our trainer Sandy told us the agenda for next two days. Then we had dinner and that was all on day-1.
Day-2
We got fresh by 8:00 am, had breakfast and assembled for the program at 9:00 am. There we had a detailed introduction of everyone. After that we played couple of games to demonstrate oracle business values Fairness, Business conduct, Integrity and innovation. Then we had a two hours of break. We played water polo in the break. Again we assembled for the program after lunch. We had couple of games in after noon session to demonstrate values Communication, Quality and Customer satisfaction. Then we had break in evening. I played Foosball in the break but others were playing it for the first time, so I didn't enjoy the game. Took some rest, watched "Munnu Badnaam hui" and "Sheila ki jawani" on TV. On every music channel they were repeatedly playing these two songs.
After the break again we assembled and played Dumb Charade. This just for fun. I played it for the first time and I played really well. Then we had a treasure hunt. It was a very easy one. It seemed like organizer wanted to finish it off early. We found 10 treasure in less than half an hour. After that we had dinner and bonfire. Prashant, Mahesh and others displayed their dancing talent. Resort didn't had good Hindi songs. Also the fire was not enough and on top of it after some time Monkeys started dropping coconut from the tree. That was all on day 2.
Day-3
We started day 3 with rappelling from a hill at Narsapur. It was another 15 km from the resort. I had done it before so I was very confident. This time I enjoyed it more though it was from less height. I took some snaps there. We returned to resort by 9:00 am. We had a 2:30 hrs of break. I spent some time in the pool. Then again we played couple of games to demonstrate business values Mutual respect, Team Work and Compliance. The game to demonstrate Team Work and Compliance needed some good strategy to complete. I worked it out but even then it was bit complicated to follow. Then we had lunch and after that we had to present a skit to demonstrate values that we learned in two days. There were five teams and each team was assigned two values to demonstrate through skit. After that we had some fun there. Mahesh and Prashant again displayed their dancing talent. Trainer Sid sang a song "RImjhim gire sawan". That was all about the Go-Plus program.
Just a couple of days ago when we boarded the bus, we were strangers to each other but in 2 days we developed a relation that will go longer. Thank you guys you all rocked.
Overall we had fun. But it was no where near our expectation. Resort food was terrible and we had no other option. Also the facility at resort were mediocre. This event is mandatory for every Oracle employee and one attends it only once, so company could have chosen better location to make it a memorable event. Also HR should try to make sure that it does not turn out a bachelor outing. In our group out of 23 people there were only two girls.
Click here for the pics.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Ride to Nandi hills and night treking at Kalwarbetta hill
Friday evening, no plans for the weekend. I thought why not start the weekend with a ride of 50-100 km. Posted for the same on BBC. Harsha replied that he and Naveen are riding to Nandi hills tomorrow. Though I was not looking for more than 100 km ride, still decided to join them.
Plan was to start at 5:00 am in the morning. But naveen faced some issue with his front wheel, so we started at 5:45 am from Marathalli bridge. Took a couple of break in between and reached Nandi hill base by 9:30 am. Naveen complained about having pain in his knee. We had breakfast at the base and then started the climb. It was my first time to Nandi hills. Somehow I managed to ride 4km. It gets more steeper as we go up. I talked to a auto and he agreed to carry my bike, so I got in to the auto and reached to the top. I realized that it was a good decision to take auto as climb gets much steeper in later half. Harsha and Naveen rode till there. We relaxed amid the beautiful greenish mountain.
Naveen told us that there is another hill Kalwarbetta nearby where people do night treking. Harsha asked can we go for it today, I said yes casually (I had no idea that we will actually end up there). Then we returned back to the base and had lunch there. There we seriously considered going there. We were very well aware that we are not prepared for staying in the night on the hill top. But it was perfect timing for night treking as it was a day before full moon and no chance of rain in the evening. Finally we decided to go for the treking.
Naveen got a puncture in the front wheel of his bike. He got it repaired at a shop there. Then we rode to Kalwara village. It is next to Muddenahalli village (birth place of Sir.M.Visweswaraih). On the way we bought some buiscuits, bananas and water bottles for the night. We reached Kalwara village by 5:30 pm. Harsha talked to a villager Ramanjneyappa and he agreed to keep our bikes in his cow shelter and locked it together. Then we started our treking.
By the time we reached at the base of the mountain, it was already getting dark. Luckily I had my bike headlight which we used as torch. We started climbing up the hill. There is a trail which goes up to the top. We followed the trail. At about half of the mountain we found a nice place to stay. Now the challening part was there. A nice cold breez was going on which initially felt very pleaseing as we were sweating due to climbing up but very soon we started feeling cold. Naveen's knee pain had also increased by now. Harsha collected some woods and we made a camp fire. Other than the cold breez, it was an amazing experience to be there on the hill. It was so peaceful out there. None of us could sleep due to cold so we spent the whole night around the camp fire. After 2:00 pm other groups of people started treking on the hill. At 3:30 am we started coming down the hill as it was a bit cloudy and foggy so there was no chance of getting to see the sunrise.
We reached the village at 5:30 pm, picked up our bikes. Naveen's bike got punctured again, he changed the tube. Naveen was hardly able to paddle the bike. Some how he managed till the place from where we take a turn to nandi hill. There we hired a TATA ACE and came back home.
It was really a crazy idea to spent the night at the hill without any preparation. But we managed well. Other than Naveen's knee pain every thing went really well.
Here are the pics of the trip.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=561381&id=532930516&l=cfef83338f
Plan was to start at 5:00 am in the morning. But naveen faced some issue with his front wheel, so we started at 5:45 am from Marathalli bridge. Took a couple of break in between and reached Nandi hill base by 9:30 am. Naveen complained about having pain in his knee. We had breakfast at the base and then started the climb. It was my first time to Nandi hills. Somehow I managed to ride 4km. It gets more steeper as we go up. I talked to a auto and he agreed to carry my bike, so I got in to the auto and reached to the top. I realized that it was a good decision to take auto as climb gets much steeper in later half. Harsha and Naveen rode till there. We relaxed amid the beautiful greenish mountain.
Naveen told us that there is another hill Kalwarbetta nearby where people do night treking. Harsha asked can we go for it today, I said yes casually (I had no idea that we will actually end up there). Then we returned back to the base and had lunch there. There we seriously considered going there. We were very well aware that we are not prepared for staying in the night on the hill top. But it was perfect timing for night treking as it was a day before full moon and no chance of rain in the evening. Finally we decided to go for the treking.
Naveen got a puncture in the front wheel of his bike. He got it repaired at a shop there. Then we rode to Kalwara village. It is next to Muddenahalli village (birth place of Sir.M.Visweswaraih). On the way we bought some buiscuits, bananas and water bottles for the night. We reached Kalwara village by 5:30 pm. Harsha talked to a villager Ramanjneyappa and he agreed to keep our bikes in his cow shelter and locked it together. Then we started our treking.
By the time we reached at the base of the mountain, it was already getting dark. Luckily I had my bike headlight which we used as torch. We started climbing up the hill. There is a trail which goes up to the top. We followed the trail. At about half of the mountain we found a nice place to stay. Now the challening part was there. A nice cold breez was going on which initially felt very pleaseing as we were sweating due to climbing up but very soon we started feeling cold. Naveen's knee pain had also increased by now. Harsha collected some woods and we made a camp fire. Other than the cold breez, it was an amazing experience to be there on the hill. It was so peaceful out there. None of us could sleep due to cold so we spent the whole night around the camp fire. After 2:00 pm other groups of people started treking on the hill. At 3:30 am we started coming down the hill as it was a bit cloudy and foggy so there was no chance of getting to see the sunrise.
We reached the village at 5:30 pm, picked up our bikes. Naveen's bike got punctured again, he changed the tube. Naveen was hardly able to paddle the bike. Some how he managed till the place from where we take a turn to nandi hill. There we hired a TATA ACE and came back home.
It was really a crazy idea to spent the night at the hill without any preparation. But we managed well. Other than Naveen's knee pain every thing went really well.
Here are the pics of the trip.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=561381&id=532930516&l=cfef83338f
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
My first century ride
This time BBC had organized its September month end long ride on Oct 3rd. Plan was to start from Merida junction and go till Muthathi, take a dip in river Kaveri and return back. The total round trip distance was around 180 km from Merida junction. Previously I had ridden a maximum of 67 km in a day so it seemed too much to me, so I decided to return from Kanakapura itself. Still the round trip distance for me was around 135 km from Marathalli bridge.
On Saturday evening, I was a bit excited for the ride and little nervous as well as in my last long ride I was totally drained out after 67km only. This time I had taken a challenge to double the distance.
On Sunday, woke up around 3:30, got fresh and started the ride at 4:30 am from Marathalli bridge with Vishy and Aditya. It started drizzling as soon as we started. Though it was a light drizzle but enough to drenched us and get mud from the road through rear wheel on our t-shirt. Still the drizzle felt very pleasant. Met Ravi and Aditya's friend on the way to Merida junction. Reached there at 5:45 am. There I met Manoj Verma and his son. There most of the riders had already reached by then, few even had started the ride.
We started our ride at exactly 6:00 am after a brief from Yogesh about direction. Riding till Kanakapura was very easy. It was all the way down, so rode at a very decent average speed of 20kmph. Reached Kanakapura at 8:30 am after riding 48 km from Merida junction without any break in between. Met Gunashekar and his wife on the way. His wife was riding on a single speed bike so they were riding slowly.
Had breakfast there, Now from there most of the people (including those who initially planned to return from Kanakapura) was going ahead. They also asked me to come and it was really tempting to go ahead as I was still feeling very fresh though I had started feeling a little pain in my shoulder and this was due to not having handle at the proper height even though I had raised it to the maximum. I had to lean against the handle and that way my upper body weight was on my shoulder. These are the small technical details in which our Indian companies are still lacking. I knew that going ahead is easy and optional but returning back is mandatory and it will be really tough as it is all the way uphill ride. Moreover I knew that my shoulder pain is going to get worse.
So decided to return from there itself. Got company of Anil and Sudarshan to return back. By that time Manoj and his son also reached there. Manoj told us to carry on as he wanted to take some more time there. Anil and Sudarshan had already started while I was talking to Manoj. I also started riding back, cached both of them very soon.
After only 8-10 km we started feeling the toughness of uphill ride. Took a small break of 5 min. Again we started from there but as we rode ahead riding was getting more and more tough. Also by this time I had started getting pain in my shoulders. Again took a small break and had coconut water there. We started again, Anil was riding ahead of us and I and Sudarshan were riding together. Only after 4-5 km from there my shoulders pain has increased so I stopped and lie down for some time there. Anil carried on as he was riding ahead of us. After 15 min again got up, did some stretching and started riding again. I told Sudarshan to carry on from my next break as I will take my time. Again stopped after half an hour, Sudarshan carried on from there. I kept taking breaks of 5 min after 3-4 km.
After harrohalli I met Badri, stopped there for some time. He was taking his friend on his car as it was the maiden ride for his friend and he was not able to paddle on the up hill. Asked if he has move spray, which he didn't had but he said he could give me some message on my shoulders. And that really helped a lot, I had move gel with me, asked him to apply it on my shoulder. That massage gave me a fresh energy. Badri asked if I would be able to complete the ride as it was still 10-12 km to Merida junction which I replied positively. Completed rest of the ride till Merida junction in next one hour, took 3-4 small breaks in between. My flat was still 18 km away from Merida junction but from there riding had become much easier as it was more or less plane road from there. On plane road I was still riding at 20-25kmph even after so much tiredness. Reached home at 2:45 pm. Fall on the bed and slept till evening.
After that talked to home and friends, no one could guess that I have ridden 132 km in a day. Few weeks ago even I would not have imagined myself riding more than 100 km in a day but now after this ride I feel very confident for a 100 km ride. After reading story of others, I think I did pretty well on my first 100+ km ride. Covered 132 km in 10:15 hrs including half an hour break for breakfast and all the small breaks in between. Even after 132 km my legs were not that much tired but it was the improper height of the handle which made the ride a bit painful. For that I will get an additional handle bar (which you see on any ranger cycle) to attach it to the handle to avoid shoulder pain on my next ride [Jugaad technology :)]. A big thanks to Anil, Sudarshan and Badri to help me complete the ride.
On Saturday evening, I was a bit excited for the ride and little nervous as well as in my last long ride I was totally drained out after 67km only. This time I had taken a challenge to double the distance.
On Sunday, woke up around 3:30, got fresh and started the ride at 4:30 am from Marathalli bridge with Vishy and Aditya. It started drizzling as soon as we started. Though it was a light drizzle but enough to drenched us and get mud from the road through rear wheel on our t-shirt. Still the drizzle felt very pleasant. Met Ravi and Aditya's friend on the way to Merida junction. Reached there at 5:45 am. There I met Manoj Verma and his son. There most of the riders had already reached by then, few even had started the ride.
We started our ride at exactly 6:00 am after a brief from Yogesh about direction. Riding till Kanakapura was very easy. It was all the way down, so rode at a very decent average speed of 20kmph. Reached Kanakapura at 8:30 am after riding 48 km from Merida junction without any break in between. Met Gunashekar and his wife on the way. His wife was riding on a single speed bike so they were riding slowly.
Had breakfast there, Now from there most of the people (including those who initially planned to return from Kanakapura) was going ahead. They also asked me to come and it was really tempting to go ahead as I was still feeling very fresh though I had started feeling a little pain in my shoulder and this was due to not having handle at the proper height even though I had raised it to the maximum. I had to lean against the handle and that way my upper body weight was on my shoulder. These are the small technical details in which our Indian companies are still lacking. I knew that going ahead is easy and optional but returning back is mandatory and it will be really tough as it is all the way uphill ride. Moreover I knew that my shoulder pain is going to get worse.
So decided to return from there itself. Got company of Anil and Sudarshan to return back. By that time Manoj and his son also reached there. Manoj told us to carry on as he wanted to take some more time there. Anil and Sudarshan had already started while I was talking to Manoj. I also started riding back, cached both of them very soon.
After only 8-10 km we started feeling the toughness of uphill ride. Took a small break of 5 min. Again we started from there but as we rode ahead riding was getting more and more tough. Also by this time I had started getting pain in my shoulders. Again took a small break and had coconut water there. We started again, Anil was riding ahead of us and I and Sudarshan were riding together. Only after 4-5 km from there my shoulders pain has increased so I stopped and lie down for some time there. Anil carried on as he was riding ahead of us. After 15 min again got up, did some stretching and started riding again. I told Sudarshan to carry on from my next break as I will take my time. Again stopped after half an hour, Sudarshan carried on from there. I kept taking breaks of 5 min after 3-4 km.
After harrohalli I met Badri, stopped there for some time. He was taking his friend on his car as it was the maiden ride for his friend and he was not able to paddle on the up hill. Asked if he has move spray, which he didn't had but he said he could give me some message on my shoulders. And that really helped a lot, I had move gel with me, asked him to apply it on my shoulder. That massage gave me a fresh energy. Badri asked if I would be able to complete the ride as it was still 10-12 km to Merida junction which I replied positively. Completed rest of the ride till Merida junction in next one hour, took 3-4 small breaks in between. My flat was still 18 km away from Merida junction but from there riding had become much easier as it was more or less plane road from there. On plane road I was still riding at 20-25kmph even after so much tiredness. Reached home at 2:45 pm. Fall on the bed and slept till evening.
After that talked to home and friends, no one could guess that I have ridden 132 km in a day. Few weeks ago even I would not have imagined myself riding more than 100 km in a day but now after this ride I feel very confident for a 100 km ride. After reading story of others, I think I did pretty well on my first 100+ km ride. Covered 132 km in 10:15 hrs including half an hour break for breakfast and all the small breaks in between. Even after 132 km my legs were not that much tired but it was the improper height of the handle which made the ride a bit painful. For that I will get an additional handle bar (which you see on any ranger cycle) to attach it to the handle to avoid shoulder pain on my next ride [Jugaad technology :)]. A big thanks to Anil, Sudarshan and Badri to help me complete the ride.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Mountain biking @ Western ghat of Sakleshpur
This is story of an actual mountain biking where you ride on rocks over the mountain. Harsha (A Bangalore Bikers Club (BBC) member, he belongs to Sakleshpur) organized the whole trip. He posted on BBC about the trip and invited people to join him on the ride, finally total 12 person went on this ride. He arranged a tempo travelers with bike carrier from Tandem Trails.
It was a totally new experience for me to go out on a trip with a group among whom I have not met anyone before. We decided to Start from Bangalore on 24 Sep night. It was raining very heavily that day since evening so our start got delayed by 3 hours. Finally we left Bangalore at 1:00 am. While boarding the bus I met Nishant, Ashish and Ravi. Ther are also from IITK. I already knew Nishat, so the group was not that unfamiliar after all. And after reaching Sakleshpur we all introduced ourselves and then the unfamiliarity went away. We reached at the coffee house (where Harsha had arranged stay for us in Sakleshpur) by 8:00am. It was basically a home which they rent out to tourist as well. We got fresh and had breakfast there. Breakfast was just awesome, I liked akki roti (made of rice floor) and brinjal curry with that.
Then after introduction round and group photo session, we started our ride to the Rotikallu hill. It was up and down all the way, at couple of inclined we even had to walk. On the downhill I even loosed control on a turn but managed to get back the control. On the way there was a water fall. We spent half an hour there and then rode ahead. After 13km we reached to resort kind of place. There we spent more than an hour. I enjoyed jhoola and rope walking over over the canal. Till now it was we had ridden on the road.
Now it was the time to ride off road on mountain trails. There were many (8-10) water streams on the way. And the path was full of rocks. At times we even had to carry our bike. But it was awesome feeling to ride on those trails. We finally reached the peak around 2:30 pm. Then it started raining heavily. That made the return really tough. The trail became very slippery. And breaks were not working. Then we started falling. Everyone fell down at least once. Ananya (The only girl in our group) fell 4 or 5 times on the way. We even got lost in the mountains on the way back, the entire group took the wrong route. Fortunately another local guy Ullas knew the way and he got us on the right trail. Finally we reached at a water fall. We got our lunch there itself. It was amazing to have bath and lunch at the water fall. One thing that I really liked about all the places was, there was no polythene, wrappers or any sort of litter there. From there I got into the jeep which carried our food there as my breaks was not working at all and it was not safe to ride on downhill without break.
After reaching back to the coffee house we had a lot of chit chat among us. Viewed pics that we took on the way, had dinner and that's the story of day 1. On day 2 we got fresh and went on a small ride in to a coffee estates. It was nice bhool bhulaiya kind of way. Then we had breakfast and now it was time for a mountain tracking to Ethi Bhuja hills. We reached to the base of the mountain by 11 am. It was a small temple at the base. We started tracking from here. First 200mtr it was a muddy path after that it was fine all the way but the actual challenge was leeches. They were all the way on the trails. If you stop to remove one from your shoe, 3-4 would get on to it in that time. I got a stick that not only helped me in walking on the rocks but it was more useful to remove leeches from my shoes. Somehow the group managed it to top. I stopped on the peak just before the Ethi Bhuja peak. Stayed there for some time. It was again amazing to see the clouds passing by me. It was a beautiful view of the mountains and clouds passing by them. On our way back we stopped at a water fall and took bath there. All the tiredness got washed by the water of the fall.
Then we reached back to the coffee estates, had lunch there and started our back journey to Bangalore. On the way back we watched two movies "Dabang" and "Arndhati" in the tempo traveler. We reached Bangalore by 11 pm.
In the beginning, it was a group of 12 people who didn't know each other, but now we share a good bond and we would smile laugh about everything we did in the last 48 hours. Harsha and Ullas were two great hosts and made sure that we don't miss any fun. It was one of the most memorable trip for me. We named it "Bindas Biking" but it was much more fun than that. In Ananya' words "We had off-roading like hell, ride through the Coffee Estate which reminded me of the Bhul Bhulaiya of the Harry Potter movie, cycling in the rains, swinging in the river, rope walking, trekking to the peak of the Ethi Bhuja hills, a big losing war with the leeches, sumptuos meals, ride on the roof of the tempo traveler and a whole day of cycling uphill and downhill and a cycle ride again in the morning".
You can see the pics here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=495419&id=532930516&l=6f695e239e
It was a totally new experience for me to go out on a trip with a group among whom I have not met anyone before. We decided to Start from Bangalore on 24 Sep night. It was raining very heavily that day since evening so our start got delayed by 3 hours. Finally we left Bangalore at 1:00 am. While boarding the bus I met Nishant, Ashish and Ravi. Ther are also from IITK. I already knew Nishat, so the group was not that unfamiliar after all. And after reaching Sakleshpur we all introduced ourselves and then the unfamiliarity went away. We reached at the coffee house (where Harsha had arranged stay for us in Sakleshpur) by 8:00am. It was basically a home which they rent out to tourist as well. We got fresh and had breakfast there. Breakfast was just awesome, I liked akki roti (made of rice floor) and brinjal curry with that.
Then after introduction round and group photo session, we started our ride to the Rotikallu hill. It was up and down all the way, at couple of inclined we even had to walk. On the downhill I even loosed control on a turn but managed to get back the control. On the way there was a water fall. We spent half an hour there and then rode ahead. After 13km we reached to resort kind of place. There we spent more than an hour. I enjoyed jhoola and rope walking over over the canal. Till now it was we had ridden on the road.
Now it was the time to ride off road on mountain trails. There were many (8-10) water streams on the way. And the path was full of rocks. At times we even had to carry our bike. But it was awesome feeling to ride on those trails. We finally reached the peak around 2:30 pm. Then it started raining heavily. That made the return really tough. The trail became very slippery. And breaks were not working. Then we started falling. Everyone fell down at least once. Ananya (The only girl in our group) fell 4 or 5 times on the way. We even got lost in the mountains on the way back, the entire group took the wrong route. Fortunately another local guy Ullas knew the way and he got us on the right trail. Finally we reached at a water fall. We got our lunch there itself. It was amazing to have bath and lunch at the water fall. One thing that I really liked about all the places was, there was no polythene, wrappers or any sort of litter there. From there I got into the jeep which carried our food there as my breaks was not working at all and it was not safe to ride on downhill without break.
After reaching back to the coffee house we had a lot of chit chat among us. Viewed pics that we took on the way, had dinner and that's the story of day 1. On day 2 we got fresh and went on a small ride in to a coffee estates. It was nice bhool bhulaiya kind of way. Then we had breakfast and now it was time for a mountain tracking to Ethi Bhuja hills. We reached to the base of the mountain by 11 am. It was a small temple at the base. We started tracking from here. First 200mtr it was a muddy path after that it was fine all the way but the actual challenge was leeches. They were all the way on the trails. If you stop to remove one from your shoe, 3-4 would get on to it in that time. I got a stick that not only helped me in walking on the rocks but it was more useful to remove leeches from my shoes. Somehow the group managed it to top. I stopped on the peak just before the Ethi Bhuja peak. Stayed there for some time. It was again amazing to see the clouds passing by me. It was a beautiful view of the mountains and clouds passing by them. On our way back we stopped at a water fall and took bath there. All the tiredness got washed by the water of the fall.
Then we reached back to the coffee estates, had lunch there and started our back journey to Bangalore. On the way back we watched two movies "Dabang" and "Arndhati" in the tempo traveler. We reached Bangalore by 11 pm.
In the beginning, it was a group of 12 people who didn't know each other, but now we share a good bond and we would smile laugh about everything we did in the last 48 hours. Harsha and Ullas were two great hosts and made sure that we don't miss any fun. It was one of the most memorable trip for me. We named it "Bindas Biking" but it was much more fun than that. In Ananya' words "We had off-roading like hell, ride through the Coffee Estate which reminded me of the Bhul Bhulaiya of the Harry Potter movie, cycling in the rains, swinging in the river, rope walking, trekking to the peak of the Ethi Bhuja hills, a big losing war with the leeches, sumptuos meals, ride on the roof of the tempo traveler and a whole day of cycling uphill and downhill and a cycle ride again in the morning".
You can see the pics here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=495419&id=532930516&l=6f695e239e
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
A trip to Jog falls
It was Eid holiday on Sept 10 (Friday), which meant that we had an extended weekend of three days. It was a good time to plan a trip outside Bangalore. Thought about three four places, finally decided for Jog falls. Its the best time to visit Jog falls just after monsoon. Asked other friends (Anjani, Avinash, Bikramjit, Guru and Devendra), they all said yes and it was all set.
Transportation and other arrangement
Googled for tour and travels and found that KSTDC organizes weekly Jog Falls - Keladi Temple tour. Their itinerary looked fine. Now coming to the reservation, they have a website for online booking but unfortunately Jog falls tour is not listed there for online booking. So me and Bikram went to Badami house and booked 6 seats for the trip. Bikram bought a new Canon Powershot SX120IS camera for the trip as well.
Starting from Bangalore
On Friday evening we reached Badami house at 9:30 pm. Bus was on time and it maintained timings through out the trip. We started from Bangalore at 10:00 pm. Our tour guide Kiran briefed us about tomorrow's plans and timings. Bus was full with people in a group of 2-3 with their family. Our guide said that Bus will take a halt at Kamat restaurant that is about 50 km from Bangalore for 15-20 min. We decided that we will sleep after that halt. We had nice gossips, teasing one another for next one and half hour. After kamat though we weren't feeling sleepy still we tried to sleep so as to not disturb other people in the bus.
Reaching Sagar
We reached Sagar (30 km from Jog falls) at 6:15 am. Our guide said that we have time till 9:00 am to get fresh and have breakfast. Though accommodation arranged by KSTDC at Sagar was not good for stay but it was fine to get fresh. They provided two rooms for we six people. We got fresh by 8:00 am and had breakfast there.
Keladi Rameshwara Temple
Everybody got ready by 8:45 am. So we started 15 min early from there. First we went to Keladi temple. Its a 17th century built temple of lord Shiva, Ganesha and Parvathi. The temple compound was really beautiful. It was slightly drizzling at that time. We spent half an hour there and took some snaps. From there we left for Liganamakki dam view point.
Keladi Rameshwara temple
Another view of the temple
Greenery in the temple compound
Liganamakki dam view point
This dam is built across the Sharavathi river and is located 6 km from the Jog falls. Water released from this dam flows into the Jog falls. Tourist are not allowed to go near the dam due to security reason. We halted there for 15-20 min. View of the Jog falls hill from here was awesome. We could see the fog coming out of Jog falls from this point. Then we went to a view point from where we could see a fall. It is about 700-800 meter from the Jog fall and it is not a part of main Jog fall.
Liganamakki Dam in the background
Fog coming out of Jog falls
This fall is about 1km from Jog falls, it is not part of jog falls
British Bangalow View of the fall
We reached British Bangalow view by 12:00 pm. Our guide Kiran said we have one and half hour to visit falls from this view which was more than enough. Basically it is the top view of the Jog falls. We went till the point from which water was falling. From there we could see three segment of the fall (Raja, Rocket and Rani).
British Bangalow View of Jog falls
Raja fall falling down
Raja fall falling down
Stairs to go down to the falls on the other side
Jog Falls
Then we went to the main view point of the fall. There first we had lunch at KSTDC Mayura hotel. Again it was not very good but we didn't had any other option there. There was a complex where you could get snacks, maggi and dosa. We started going down by 2:00 pm. It took us half an hour to reach to the bottom by stepping down 1400 steps. The good thing was that steps were in really good condition and it had railing on both the side.
The view from bottom of the fall was just awesome. The height of the fall is 253 meter. The water comes down in four distinct falls, presenting a scene of transcendent grandeur and sublimity, whose effect is greatly heightened by the wild and beautiful country around, covered with a wealth of luxuriant vegetation. The left most fall is named as Raja (King) because of its apparently 'dignified' and 'serene' fall. It pours in one unbroken column sheer to the depth of 830 feet (250 m). Second is Roarer, it comes out of a cave in the rock and makes tremendous noise. It meets Raja fall on the way (about 100 meter from the top). Then there is Rocket fall which consists of a large volume of water streaming out of a small opening at a very high speed. And the right most fall is named as Rani (queen). This stream has a winding, twisting trajectory, resembling to the movements of a female dancer. Apart from these four main falls there are few other streams as well coming down from the hill.
The best time to visit the fall is Aug-Oct. Before monsoon when there is not much water in Linganamakki dam, then instead of the roar, the spray and the massive flow of water, there are only a pair of thin streams of water trickling down the cliff as the water collected in the dam is exclusively for generation of electricity. During monsoons local rain-water is the main source of water to the falls. In 2007, it rained very heavily in those area so authority had no choice but to release the excess water in the river, due to this water fall was seen at its best. But it also flooded many villages down the stream, destroying crops and the fishing industry for weeks.
An Oriya movie "Deewana" song shooting was going on there. But by the time we reached there, actress had already left. Down the hill it was not very crowded as compared to british Balgalow view. We spent one and half hour there. Water droplets bouncing from rocks has created scene of light drizzling.
From left to right, Raja falls, Roarer meeting Raja on the half way, Rocket fall, Rani fall
View of the fall from, taken from half way on stairs
Awesome view of the fall
Rani fall in the background
An Oriya movie (Deewana) song shooting was going on there
Going up
Climbing up was not that easy
Done with the trip
Devendra's demo about how to approach a girl
We started climbing back by 4:00 pm. It took us 40 min to reach to the top. On the way Devendra suddenly tried to make conversation with a group of three girls (they were more like ladies :P). He asked one of them "Are you guys also for the first time to the Jog falls". One girl said yes and they just kept moving. It was totally unexpected. Earlier in bus he had given funda about how to approach girls, I guess he tried to show us a demo but buri tarah kat gaya.
Back to Bangalore
We were totally exhausted after reaching to the top. Had water, cold drinks and snacks at the complex. We started from there at 6:00 pm. Guide said that we will reach Shimoga by 9:00 pm and there we will have dinner. In the mean time he played movie "Chupchup ke" in the bus. It was really surprising and unexpected that he will play Hindi movie. We had dinner at Shimoga. From there we started for Bangalore at 10:00 pm and reached Badami house by 4:15 am on Sunday. We took auto from there and reached home by 5:15 pm. I was feeling very tired and my whole body was aching like hell on Sunday even I doubted that I would be in a condition to go to office tomorrow. But on Monday morning I felt much better and life returned to normal.
About KSTDC
They organized the trip really well. Tour guide was very co-operative, so was the hotel and restaurant staffs. The bus was non AC but it was a luxury 2 by 2 bus. They gave enough time to visit all places and still maintained their timings. It is a good value to the money.
More pics are here
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/chandany5/JogFallsTrip#
Transportation and other arrangement
Googled for tour and travels and found that KSTDC organizes weekly Jog Falls - Keladi Temple tour. Their itinerary looked fine. Now coming to the reservation, they have a website for online booking but unfortunately Jog falls tour is not listed there for online booking. So me and Bikram went to Badami house and booked 6 seats for the trip. Bikram bought a new Canon Powershot SX120IS camera for the trip as well.
Starting from Bangalore
On Friday evening we reached Badami house at 9:30 pm. Bus was on time and it maintained timings through out the trip. We started from Bangalore at 10:00 pm. Our tour guide Kiran briefed us about tomorrow's plans and timings. Bus was full with people in a group of 2-3 with their family. Our guide said that Bus will take a halt at Kamat restaurant that is about 50 km from Bangalore for 15-20 min. We decided that we will sleep after that halt. We had nice gossips, teasing one another for next one and half hour. After kamat though we weren't feeling sleepy still we tried to sleep so as to not disturb other people in the bus.
Reaching Sagar
We reached Sagar (30 km from Jog falls) at 6:15 am. Our guide said that we have time till 9:00 am to get fresh and have breakfast. Though accommodation arranged by KSTDC at Sagar was not good for stay but it was fine to get fresh. They provided two rooms for we six people. We got fresh by 8:00 am and had breakfast there.
Keladi Rameshwara Temple
Everybody got ready by 8:45 am. So we started 15 min early from there. First we went to Keladi temple. Its a 17th century built temple of lord Shiva, Ganesha and Parvathi. The temple compound was really beautiful. It was slightly drizzling at that time. We spent half an hour there and took some snaps. From there we left for Liganamakki dam view point.
Keladi Rameshwara temple
Another view of the temple
Greenery in the temple compoundThis dam is built across the Sharavathi river and is located 6 km from the Jog falls. Water released from this dam flows into the Jog falls. Tourist are not allowed to go near the dam due to security reason. We halted there for 15-20 min. View of the Jog falls hill from here was awesome. We could see the fog coming out of Jog falls from this point. Then we went to a view point from where we could see a fall. It is about 700-800 meter from the Jog fall and it is not a part of main Jog fall.
Liganamakki Dam in the background
Fog coming out of Jog falls
This fall is about 1km from Jog falls, it is not part of jog fallsWe reached British Bangalow view by 12:00 pm. Our guide Kiran said we have one and half hour to visit falls from this view which was more than enough. Basically it is the top view of the Jog falls. We went till the point from which water was falling. From there we could see three segment of the fall (Raja, Rocket and Rani).
British Bangalow View of Jog falls
Raja fall falling down
Raja fall falling down
Stairs to go down to the falls on the other sideThen we went to the main view point of the fall. There first we had lunch at KSTDC Mayura hotel. Again it was not very good but we didn't had any other option there. There was a complex where you could get snacks, maggi and dosa. We started going down by 2:00 pm. It took us half an hour to reach to the bottom by stepping down 1400 steps. The good thing was that steps were in really good condition and it had railing on both the side.
The view from bottom of the fall was just awesome. The height of the fall is 253 meter. The water comes down in four distinct falls, presenting a scene of transcendent grandeur and sublimity, whose effect is greatly heightened by the wild and beautiful country around, covered with a wealth of luxuriant vegetation. The left most fall is named as Raja (King) because of its apparently 'dignified' and 'serene' fall. It pours in one unbroken column sheer to the depth of 830 feet (250 m). Second is Roarer, it comes out of a cave in the rock and makes tremendous noise. It meets Raja fall on the way (about 100 meter from the top). Then there is Rocket fall which consists of a large volume of water streaming out of a small opening at a very high speed. And the right most fall is named as Rani (queen). This stream has a winding, twisting trajectory, resembling to the movements of a female dancer. Apart from these four main falls there are few other streams as well coming down from the hill.
The best time to visit the fall is Aug-Oct. Before monsoon when there is not much water in Linganamakki dam, then instead of the roar, the spray and the massive flow of water, there are only a pair of thin streams of water trickling down the cliff as the water collected in the dam is exclusively for generation of electricity. During monsoons local rain-water is the main source of water to the falls. In 2007, it rained very heavily in those area so authority had no choice but to release the excess water in the river, due to this water fall was seen at its best. But it also flooded many villages down the stream, destroying crops and the fishing industry for weeks.
An Oriya movie "Deewana" song shooting was going on there. But by the time we reached there, actress had already left. Down the hill it was not very crowded as compared to british Balgalow view. We spent one and half hour there. Water droplets bouncing from rocks has created scene of light drizzling.
From left to right, Raja falls, Roarer meeting Raja on the half way, Rocket fall, Rani fall
View of the fall from, taken from half way on stairs
Awesome view of the fall
Rani fall in the background
An Oriya movie (Deewana) song shooting was going on there
Going up
Climbing up was not that easy
Done with the tripWe started climbing back by 4:00 pm. It took us 40 min to reach to the top. On the way Devendra suddenly tried to make conversation with a group of three girls (they were more like ladies :P). He asked one of them "Are you guys also for the first time to the Jog falls". One girl said yes and they just kept moving. It was totally unexpected. Earlier in bus he had given funda about how to approach girls, I guess he tried to show us a demo but buri tarah kat gaya.
Back to Bangalore
We were totally exhausted after reaching to the top. Had water, cold drinks and snacks at the complex. We started from there at 6:00 pm. Guide said that we will reach Shimoga by 9:00 pm and there we will have dinner. In the mean time he played movie "Chupchup ke" in the bus. It was really surprising and unexpected that he will play Hindi movie. We had dinner at Shimoga. From there we started for Bangalore at 10:00 pm and reached Badami house by 4:15 am on Sunday. We took auto from there and reached home by 5:15 pm. I was feeling very tired and my whole body was aching like hell on Sunday even I doubted that I would be in a condition to go to office tomorrow. But on Monday morning I felt much better and life returned to normal.
About KSTDC
They organized the trip really well. Tour guide was very co-operative, so was the hotel and restaurant staffs. The bus was non AC but it was a luxury 2 by 2 bus. They gave enough time to visit all places and still maintained their timings. It is a good value to the money.
More pics are here
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/chandany5/JogFallsTrip#
Monday, September 6, 2010
Story of my bike, Hercules Act 110
After getting out of college, I thought now I am done with cycle. Spent a year without cycle, never felt need for it.
But after joining Oracle, my colleague Sachin suggested me to get a cycle to commute to office as I live only 1.5km away from my office. He said to get a good bike which would make ride more interesting and exciting. He suggested Hero Octane. I checked its price on net, it comes around 9.5k.
Now there were so many unanswered questions. When I can afford a bike then why should I go for a cycle. Moreover why should I spend 10k on a cycle just to commute 3km per day (which right now cost me Rs20 per day in a Volvo). On the other getting bike would mean at least some physical activity. I have started gaining weight. I gained 6kg in less than a year. Though I have started swimming but that is not a way to lose weight. I thought why not give myself some time to find answers of these questions.
I found a google group Bangalore Bikers Club. It is an online community of some serious bikers. They organize trips almost every weekend. Joined it to get some info about bike and bikers in Bangalore. There it was another incentive to join them some weekend trips which will not only make the bike more useful but weekend interesting as well (and of course it will be a really good exercise). I decided lets start with a middle range bike.
I asked group member about bikes in the range of 6-8k as I really didn't want to spend much on a cycle. Also I wanted both front and rear suspension along with multi gears. On the group people suggested me to increase my budget by 2k and get either Hercules Act 110 or Rockrider 5.1. They said that you won't get good suspension in this range of bikes. They gave very negative feedback about Octane. I read specification of both the bikes on net, visited couple of cycle stores and saw both the bike and finally decided to get Hercules Act 110. There I came to know that a cycle could cost you as much as 50k.
Now once I decided for the cycle then next thing was accessories. Group members said that helmet, lock and back light are essential for a bike if you want to drive it in city. Other optional accessories are front light, cyclo meter, sunglass, spare tube, puncture kit, air pump chain lube etc. I thought that I wont need spare tubes, puncture kit or other optional accessories immediately but what about cyclo computer. It would be really a nice feeling to see myself riding over 30kmph on a paddle bike and record total distances covered as well. So decided to get a cyclo computer as well and make the ride more interesting.
Finally I went to RR cycle store at Marathalli bridge. Before going to the store I noted down price of accessories from Decathalon site for their members. After some negotiation, dealer agreed to give other accessories at Decathalon price. With hercules Act 110, I got BTWIN MIX helmet, DC4W cyclomener, front and back light and Coil lock SP5. All together it cost me 11.1k. Immediately I went on a small ride on Outer Ring Road, It was really a wonderful experience riding a light weight bike with 21 gear combination. It took me some time to get adjusted with gear combination. On returning, I touched 43kmph under Marathalli bridge (of course with the help of downward slope). The feeling was really awesome.
From Monday (05 Sep) I started commuting to office by bike.
Ready to ride to office for the first time
Bike rear view
Bike front view
Leaving for office.
It takes only five minutes to reach to office (It used to take me 15-20 minutes by bus including time to reach the bus stand, crossing the road twice, waiting for bus and then walking to the office).
Next step:
I am looking forward to join Bangalore Bikers club members on their rides to places near by Bangalore.
But after joining Oracle, my colleague Sachin suggested me to get a cycle to commute to office as I live only 1.5km away from my office. He said to get a good bike which would make ride more interesting and exciting. He suggested Hero Octane. I checked its price on net, it comes around 9.5k.
Now there were so many unanswered questions. When I can afford a bike then why should I go for a cycle. Moreover why should I spend 10k on a cycle just to commute 3km per day (which right now cost me Rs20 per day in a Volvo). On the other getting bike would mean at least some physical activity. I have started gaining weight. I gained 6kg in less than a year. Though I have started swimming but that is not a way to lose weight. I thought why not give myself some time to find answers of these questions.
I found a google group Bangalore Bikers Club. It is an online community of some serious bikers. They organize trips almost every weekend. Joined it to get some info about bike and bikers in Bangalore. There it was another incentive to join them some weekend trips which will not only make the bike more useful but weekend interesting as well (and of course it will be a really good exercise). I decided lets start with a middle range bike.
I asked group member about bikes in the range of 6-8k as I really didn't want to spend much on a cycle. Also I wanted both front and rear suspension along with multi gears. On the group people suggested me to increase my budget by 2k and get either Hercules Act 110 or Rockrider 5.1. They said that you won't get good suspension in this range of bikes. They gave very negative feedback about Octane. I read specification of both the bikes on net, visited couple of cycle stores and saw both the bike and finally decided to get Hercules Act 110. There I came to know that a cycle could cost you as much as 50k.
Now once I decided for the cycle then next thing was accessories. Group members said that helmet, lock and back light are essential for a bike if you want to drive it in city. Other optional accessories are front light, cyclo meter, sunglass, spare tube, puncture kit, air pump chain lube etc. I thought that I wont need spare tubes, puncture kit or other optional accessories immediately but what about cyclo computer. It would be really a nice feeling to see myself riding over 30kmph on a paddle bike and record total distances covered as well. So decided to get a cyclo computer as well and make the ride more interesting.
Finally I went to RR cycle store at Marathalli bridge. Before going to the store I noted down price of accessories from Decathalon site for their members. After some negotiation, dealer agreed to give other accessories at Decathalon price. With hercules Act 110, I got BTWIN MIX helmet, DC4W cyclomener, front and back light and Coil lock SP5. All together it cost me 11.1k. Immediately I went on a small ride on Outer Ring Road, It was really a wonderful experience riding a light weight bike with 21 gear combination. It took me some time to get adjusted with gear combination. On returning, I touched 43kmph under Marathalli bridge (of course with the help of downward slope). The feeling was really awesome.
From Monday (05 Sep) I started commuting to office by bike.
Ready to ride to office for the first time
Bike rear view
Bike front view
Leaving for office.Next step:
I am looking forward to join Bangalore Bikers club members on their rides to places near by Bangalore.
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