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22nd November 2009, 17:49
| #1 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   | 3C's (Car, Camera, Corbett) minus 3C's (Cellphone, Clinics, Classes) = Peace Really, really needed to get away for a few days, where I could be at peace with myself. And what is the point of that 2-tonne piece of metal sitting in front of my house, if I won't let it take me away somewhere? Also, with the wizards of photography tempting me on this forum, I needed to practise my own camera skills a little without recording clinical and microscopic images. Wednesday night, I had finished my submission - Thursday morning, submitted the same. And then and there, I had decided - come hell or high water, Friday morning (20 November), we would be out of Delhi. Where? First place to come to mind: Corbett. Always wanted to go, just never happened. Otherwise the Kumaon hills are always there to climb. Friday morning at 6:10AM, we hit the road. This pic is an attempt to shoot a panorama of the Ramganga river. I tried it with 4 vertical frames, no tripod, f/8, 1/640s, ISO 200. Subsequently stitched on a software called PhotoStudio. Your constructive criticism on this and subsequent photos, both positive and negative, will be most welcome.  |
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22nd November 2009, 18:12
| #2 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Karnal
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22nd November 2009, 18:19
| #3 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio
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22nd November 2009, 18:30
| #4 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | |
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22nd November 2009, 19:22
| #5 | ||
| Distinguished - BHPian | Quote:
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We were, however, told at the Dhangarhi gate that a tiger had been spotted not half-a-kilometer from the gate by someone about an hour before we arrived there. Obviously, our trip was not to see tigers, just to hear about them!   | ||
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22nd November 2009, 19:47
| #6 | |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Quote:
One room in Gairal? Oh, ok. No other room available inside. And I thought there was no rush! 4 of us... well, we'll make do with an extra bed. And what about tomorrow? Everything booked as of now. Come back before 4 PM tomorrow, you can have a room if there's been a cancellation. 1850 out of pocket for room, permits for people and car, and housekeeping charges  (food and extra bed charges to be paid separately at the FRH - that was going to be a small surprise), we drive the 18 km as directed, along a pleasant road with a few bad patches,  find the sign saying "Dhikala 31 km",  and arrive at the Dhangarhi gate.  Last edited by SS-Traveller : 22nd November 2009 at 19:49. | |
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22nd November 2009, 20:27
| #7 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon
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| arre slow ho rahe ho - go on saab  as for panorama, as advised by a photochop stud: reduce exposure in gradient mode on the left.... |
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22nd November 2009, 20:59
| #8 | ||
| Distinguished - BHPian | Quote:
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Your wish is my command! Into the Dhangari gate we go, and there's the benevolently unkempt statue of the Late Jim Corbett to one side.  We make our entries in the register, and are promptly handed a jute bag to collect our trash in. 30 rupees please. We won the National Award for the cleanest forest in India. Perhaps not, with the amount of trash we discovered later, strewn across the whole place. But mercifully there are strategically located trash cans everywhere, so the using the bag was not really necessay. We retained it as a souvenir. It seems the locals make these bags, and buying them is about supporting the economy of these people in the forest zone. That's fine with us.  A quick cup of tea and a visit to the souvenir shop later, we are on our way to the Gairal FRH.    12 km straight. then 3 km downhill till you get to it. Piece of cake. | ||
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22nd November 2009, 21:34
| #9 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | |
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22nd November 2009, 21:58
| #10 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ghaziabad
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22nd November 2009, 22:05
| #11 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Our first views of the FRH at Gairal pleased us no end. The place was located beside the Ramganga river, and one could hear it gurgling along in an otherwise silent surrounding, broken occasionally by the chirping of birds.   Large solar panels were set out on the lawns, and solar water heaters on the rooftops.   The only intrusive bit was the electrified fencing all around, which we were told was set up about 4 years ago. Before that, there used to be frequent intrusion of wildlife at night into the FRHs, and firing in the air was the only way they could be scared away. The electricity is only turned on at night, but we were not trying it out during the day either! Hands off strictly, my daughter was told.  Even the room was quite comfortable, with a large toilet and running hot water out of a separate tap. Last edited by SS-Traveller : 22nd November 2009 at 22:08. |
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22nd November 2009, 22:54
| #12 | ||
| Distinguished - BHPian | Quote:
Do book in now on the phone if you are going the next weekend. You won't be able to take your own car into the forest unless you are staying in one of the FRHs - and Gypsy-wallahs fleece you at the rate of 2500 - 3000 rupees for a 4-hour trip. Surely you don't want to ride a Gypsy with your Gurkha around to eat Gypsies for breakfast! Although there was just one occasion where we really needed to engage 4WD, when we got stuck on a narrow track with a Gypsy coming the other way. And no, we didn't see tigers in the forest - just once, there was a chance that someone had spotted one - more about that later. No elephant herds either, just a lone animal seen behind Dhikala. And of course, quite a few on the road from Ramnagar to Dhangari.  Quote:
 The drive from the main road to the FRH was, we were told, along a bad road, but in the event it turned out to be well within the Hawk's abilities on 2WD.  The first view of the river was beautiful.  So in the evening, I was back to the river, trying out long exposures. Do comment on the results.    Anyway, the shock of staying at the FRH came when we went to look for lunch. Set menu only, buffet system, rice-roti-dal-sabzi-papad, for Rs.150 per head. Dinner for Rs.200 per head. We managed to sweet-talk the canteen manager to give us some stuffed parathas instead. But, he says, we have no choice but to take the fixed menu for dinner. Dinner was a so-so dal, burnt rotis, a shahi-paneer-in-watery-gravy, a really hot and spicy mixed veg. sabzi, and an apology of a custard-sans-milk-in-water for dessert. The high point was the salad - the tomatoes and onions were good! The only saving grace was the dining room.  It seems the guy paid Rs.5.80L through a tender to the Forest Dept. to win the contract to run this canteen at Gairal FRH for 7 months (15th Nov. 2009 to 15th June 2010). He's got to recover his money, transport stuff from Ramnagar 35 km away, work and serve food here, and then think of making a profit. No wonder the rates are astronomical. Note: No non-veg food items on the menu, except eggs. | ||
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22nd November 2009, 23:09
| #13 |
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio
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23rd November 2009, 00:45
| #14 | ||
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ghaziabad
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I am sure Gurkha should not have problem. Went in July and we pulled out a Gypsy from a river. There was another Safari 4x4 in forest which went so smooth. I was actually slightly jealous of them since they were getting superb ride, and rear seat passengers as well a great view. Quote:
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23rd November 2009, 09:07
| #15 |
| Senior - BHPian  | |
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