[Soccerfan]

your narration is absolutely fantastic. keep up the good work

[SmartCat]

Thanks soccerfan.

Pic 1,2, 3, 4 & 5: Mother Nature takes out her paintbrush.











Pic 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10: Nuclear explosions straight out of Bikini Atoll. Shot from our new 10x Optical Zoom Canon Powershot SX100 IS camera.

[ampere]

Where were these snaps taken from ?
Don't say heaven please !

[SmartCat]

Oh, after fooling around at the "grasslands", we had come back to the Gopalaswamy temple compound. These images were shot from there. Actually, Gopalaswamy Betta is misty and windy almost throughout the year - that's why its called 'Himvad' Gopalaswamy Betta. But when we went there, it was a bit dull.

This is how the place looks most of the time - pics taken by my brother when he had gone there with his friends -

[SmartCat]

Gopalaswamy Betta - Final Set of Pics

Pic 1: Bro ruins what would have been a perfect pic by turning around and asking "Photo aaaythaa"?



Pic 2: Slipped and almost fell down a 3 ft deep gorge to my death. Saved in the nick of time though.



Pic 3: The "Macho Man - Rupa Frontline" look.



Pic 4: It was getting dark, so we finally decided to go home. No oncoming traffic - because the hills are closed to public after 5:30 PM.



Vid 1: We roll down the hill slowly at around 30 kmph.

YouTube - Driving downhill - Gopalaswamy Betta

Pic 5: Suddenly, this monster appears out of nowhere and blares the horn like a train. Everybody gets in, and we step on the gas. I think this guy didn't have brakes - going by the way he was tackling the curves. It took us a couple of curves to shake off the monster from our tail.



Pic 6: Yet another clean victory - and we are back to our monkey business. Boys (including bro who was driving) sticking their necks out the windows & the girls sticking their necks out of the sunroof. Guess who wasn't listening to mum lecturing about the dangers of putting a hand out of a moving bus when we were kids?

[MX6]

I stuck my head once in west coast express somewhere in kerala, way back in 1994
A branch hit me bang on my face. The impact was so heavy that the branch broke and a part of it fell insite the train!
Was around 2" diameter at the thickest part. But I've got a thicker head, like a mule!
Survived that day with a boody nose. Never stuck my head out of a moving vehicle after that.

[SmartCat]

hahaha nice tale. I have thick skin, by the way.

I once travelled on a Mysore - Mangalore night bus with my legs sticking out of the window. When sleeping, I always used to move around - and somehow I managed to put my legs outside.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by MX6

I stuck my head once in west coast express somewhere in kerala, way back in 1994
A branch hit me bang on my face. The impact was so heavy that the branch broke and a part of it fell insite the train!
Was around 2" diameter at the thickest part. But I've got a thicker head, like a mule!
Survived that day with a boody nose. Never stuck my head out of a moving vehicle after that.

Ha ha! I remember an incident from my college days. While travelling back home by electric train one day, the train was moving slowly for some reason at about 30 KMPH or so. Saw a fellow sitting at a window seat sticking out his hand. He was playing a prank for his cohorts, sticking his hand out and folding it up just when an electric pole came close. This went on for a while, then suddenly he missed his timing and the pole hit his palm. We heard a loud C L A P and he pulled his hand in with a yelp. As we watched in amazement, his palm swelled up like a Puri dipped in hot oil, right in front of our eyes! A moment later and the hand would not have come inside through the window bars!

Even though a part of me felt the pain he must have felt, I could not help laughing all the way home!

[SmartCat]

Coming up soon, pics from our trip to Chickmagalur - Belur - Halebid. I will always remember this trip because this is when I got the first scratch on my Optra. By the way, Kemmanagundi Mulliyanagiri area is one of the most underrated hillstations in India. A preview -

[MX6]

I believe it's under-rated as it's more of a trekker's paradise, than a commercial place bustling with hotels. Let it please remain that way. Else we'd have plastics all around.

[ampere]

Chikmagalur is my all time favourite place. Its like an escape point for any and every occasion. Place is amazing alongwith a laidback attitude. Perfect weekend hideout! It was also my first long drive. The road all the way till Chikmagalur was awesome and I enjoyed it to the core !

[SmartCat]

This trip was my second highway trip after I bought the Optra - so I always remember this one. Anyway, Chickmagalur Mulliyanagiri Kemmanagundi might not look very green during summer season. All other seasons - the place looks marvellous.

I believe it's under-rated as it's more of a trekker's paradise, than a commercial place bustling with hotels.

We found out the hard way that there are no hotels in Kemmanagundi (other than the govt owned one, which is always booked).

There is a 5 star Hotel Taj some distance from Kemmanagundi though.
Taj Holidays : Taj Hotels - Resorts - Palaces

[ampere]

Originally Posted by smartcat

There is a 5 star Hotel Taj some distance from Kemmanagundi though.
Taj Holidays : Taj Hotels - Resorts - Palaces

The Taj Garden Retreat (Now called Gateway) used to have a very good package. A true VFM. Now they have hiked prices left-right-center for all seasons. However the place was very good with very attentive staff.

PS: Each one has a different experience at the same hotel! I felt very good about the place.

[SmartCat]

CHICKMAGALUR - BELUR - HALEBID TRIP

Pic 1: We went to Chickmagalur in 2 cars - the Optra & the Palio - since there were 8 of us. We all looked different 6 years ago.

Pic 2, 3 & 4: We reached Chickmagalur before sunset. With nothing much to do, we decided to press on to Kemmanagundi. Although Kemmanagundi is only 60 km away, it took us 3 hours to get there. Not because the roads were bad - we just had to stop every 20 minutes with somebody or the other saying "wow! Let's stop here & take some snaps man!"

Pic 5: We enter the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. We regularly spotted deer, foxes, rabbits etc that fled as soon as the car approached. We drive at 30 kmph here.

Pic 6: We finally reach Kemmanagundi at around 8:30 PM. Suprise! No hotels in Kemmanagundi. So we go to the first big house we find and knock on their door. We beg, plead and look hungry - and they let us sleep in their outhouse on the floor. What a fantastic start to our holiday!

Pic 7: Karthic and one other guy refuse to sleep in the outhouse. They decide to sleep in the Optra. In the morning, we found all the windows fogged up - like the Kate Winslet-Leonardo Di Caprio scene from the movie Titanic just before the ship hits the iceberg. We even spotted a suspicious hand-like imprint on the car window - just like in Titanic. I make a mental note to get my car fumigated after I get to Bangalore.

Pic 8 & 9: No hotel implies no bath. So all of us douse enomous amount of body spray on ourselves and head for the Z-point. We drove as far ahead as possible, and then took a hike.

Pic 10: We finally find a bathroom with 24 hours water supply. All of us take a bath here.

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Pic 7: Karthic and one other guy refuse to sleep in the outhouse. They decide to sleep in the Optra. In the morning, we found all the windows fogged up - like the Kate Winslet-Leonardo Di Caprio scene from the movie Titanic just before the ship hits the iceberg. We even spotted a suspicious hand-like imprint on the car window - just like in Titanic. I make a mental note to get my car fumigated after I get to Bangalore.

Attachment 308805

good one smartcat.