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Well I know this is gonna be another monotonous travelogue from my end since its raining travelogues here on tbhp coz of the long weekend that just went by.
Planned for this trip to Vagamon almost a month in advance since I knew getting reservations would be tough with the long holiday.
Initial plan was to visit coastal karnataka and have some fun on the beach, however the recent rains dampened our spirits and both wifey and me decided to give the beach a pass and look for something more adventurous. Then it flashed to me that Vagamon was always a nice place to visit and my better half also would love it.
Next question, who would accompany us ? I simply called maggie and asked him if he and Sahana would want to join us and gave him 24 hrs time to let me know since I had to make the booking. Maggie called back post lunch and confirmed that he and his better half are joining us. Went ahead and booked a 2 bed room cottage at Vagamon Heights.
I had their number with me and spoke to Mr.Jose from there who quoted a price of 18k for 4 people for 2 days. Bargained really hard and bght it down to 13k which included the following
1 - Stay for 4 in a 2 bed room cottage.
2 - All meals
3 - Boating in their property
4 - Jeep ride in a true 4x4 territory
5 - Fishing in their lake if we wished to.
6 - Horse riding was an option which we missed.
Come Oct 2nd and we are off at 5am from Bangalore.1st stop A2B 80kms from bangy and they arent yet open. Wifey had carried biscuits,cookies and coffee and we pulled over for a small break a little ahead of the 1st A2B.
We decided to fill our grumbling bellies at the next good highway restaurant we found.
En route Salem we found the next A2B and pulled over for a good breakfast. Back on the road we were cruising again at comfortable speeds between 120-130kmph.
The roads are simply excellent all the way till Vagamon. Here's is the route we took
Hosur - Krishnagiri - Dharmapuri - Salem - Dindigul- Vathalagundu - Periakulam - Theni -Chinnamanur - Uthampalayam - Kumbam - Kumili - KUTTIKANAM - ELAPPARA [There is a sign board present on ur left ]. Before the town take left for VAGAMON
Thats 630kms one way !!
Every chance that you might loose you way at Dindigul coz there aint any markings to reach the Theni Route. We lost our way and continued on the madurai route, was guided by a gentleman to take a village road to get to Sempatti and join the Theni road.
So ideally you gotto watch out for the 1st flyover before you reach Dindigul town.Dont take the flyover , follow the service lane and take a right under the bridge. This will take you straight to the Theni Road.
Further on the route remains the same and time for some pics. The 1st set of pics is the only time where we saw sunshine in TN. Once we crossed Kumily it was only clouds, rains and fog. DSLR was of no use to me at-least though and every time I used a wide aperture there was a visible spec of fungus on my SLR's sensor.
Found the spec of fungus only the next day. However here's whatever I managed to recover and my camera has gone in for sensor cleaning.
Two images from wifeys camera. I have competition these days, some one is always cribbing about my portrait compositions :Frustrati.
This is how we were greeted into Vagamon.Next to zero visibility and the hellas were of great help. A KSRTC bus coming downhill from the opposite side couldn't see a thing. The driver shouted "
switch off something for me to see the roads" . What could I do, even I couldn't see a thing.
We had company and maggie had a real close shave with this snake. Both of us casually stepped out to simply watch the rain and maggie simply put his hand up , held onto one of the wooden logs and was stretching. I would say just about a feet difference from where the snake was.
The ladies were scared outta their wits. I was enjoying every bit of it coz what more can you ask for on such a trip. Living life with nature and a snake for company.
Our abode for the rest of the trip.
to be continued ....
WOW, terrific snap and an excellent snaps. It looks like a rat snake? But that is enough to scare hell out. Waiting for the complete sequence. Hope you had some luck with the fishes.
Riju - Firstly, the missus and I thank you and Suma for having us along on this drive. It was perfect and for me, it had been a while since I had done a travelog. Only next time, if you dont give me the wheel, I'll wrench it from you!
To start off, it was perfect all-around. It was the last of the 3rd long weekends and these are as rare as Rudra's point-and-shoot photos. The weather was perfect- overcast, the roads were exemplary, the scenery was breath-taking, the resort was more than perfect and finally- your Scorp:
beautiful all-around. I must say I am terribly impressed with this version of Scorp - its now a perfect, reliable, very comfortable long-distance cruiser. Congrats on its acquisition once again.
The onward trip:
I still cant fathom why highway restaurants like A2B open for business at 730 am while there's demand for their services from much earlier on in the day.
The GQ experience really comes into its own after Krishnagiri. This is from where the riff-raff city drivers drop off and the real long-distance vehicles remain.
This was our first visit to Kerala. I had heard/read about its beauty before, and am I glad that I finally visited it. I am also happy that this trip provided me another golden opportunity to hone my photography skills with my 450D.
Between Dindigul-Theni: Day 1 :
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It was bright and the sky washed out by the time we reached Theni. So, the next set of pics would be at Vagamon itself.
Vagamon: Day 2:
Vagamon displayed all seasons in India - except snow, in the 1.5 days we were there. It was a truly fantastic experience watching the weather change from extremely foggy, to drenching rain, to sunshine and back, in the space of a few meters/minutes.
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Our boating lake:
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General scenery/fog conditions:
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Riju - this is for you. The sleek, mean machine:
Wonderful pictures. Especially the pictures taken in the rain. Your Scorpio looks great. Would love to go there sometime.
btw, who 'escorted' the snake outside?
Or did you guys happen to share your accommodation with an unwelcome visitor??lol:
I'm sure it was a rat snake.
Keep 'em (the pics) coming:)
This is what you get when you put two travel bugs who also are great photographers together, an awesome treat for your eyes!!
The Scorpio with all lights switched on looks superb.
Im Impressed. 630 Kms from Bangalore makes it 1630 kms from Bombay. Which means it is a 2 day journey. :D:D
Do post details on who to get in touch if one wants to go there!!
Awesome travelogue riju and maggi.. Now don't stop here, we want more and so post them fast.
Nice writeup and amazing pics...both Riju and Mag. Waiting for the rest...
Quote:
I am also happy that this trip provided me another golden opportunity to hone my photography skills with my 450D.
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Its worth every penny you have spent on that. Outstanding Pictures.
waiting for the full story
Quote:
Originally Posted by theMAG
(Post 1518588)
Only next time, if you dont give me the wheel, I'll wrench it from you!
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Nice pics, the mad uncles have been asking me to plan a trip to Vagamon for quite a while now. Looking at these pics, it sure is getting tempting...
PS: Next trip, just buy Mahesh a steering wheel. He can wrench/steer to wherever he wants from the rear seat.
Some beautiful pictures in this thread. Thumbs up to you guys. This is making me wan't to finally go for that DSLR I have been wanting and even more so go on a long road trip!
Mind blowing pictures and location. Fantastic. Do share us more details about this place and accommodation etc.. Definitely a place to visit. I am stuck to this thread. Do post some more wonderful pictures.
Awesome photos guys. The weather looks terrific too.
Riju, awesome travelogue with your signature style pictures. However, i note quite some pictures have lot of noise, is it because of the fungus on the censor? And, what beautiful weather, must have been like in heaven.
OT: I foolishily used by DSLR in drizzle during my recent trip and it won't click now? What do i do?:Frustrati
Great Pics. I was waiting for this after I saw the PIc of the Scorpio in the Stickers thread. The pic of the Scorpio with the Headlights on is really good. Waiting for further pictures and details :thumbs up
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