[ampere]

Laluks Wow ! That is quite a log? May I ask where was the food?
As HVK says, was it served on board?

[laluks]

Breakfast and evening snacks was served on board
Lunch stop at Pollachi
Dinner stop at Nelliyampathy

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by laluks

Dinner stop at Nelliyampathy

Only thing was that the dinner turned out to be too close to next day's breakfast

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by laluks

Thanks MM. If you have full details of the festival please post it for us. It was an amazing feeling to be there.

Excellent writeup Lalu.Lovely indeed.

As for the Nemmara Vallangi vela was a regular there till so many years back,it exceeds the Thrissur Pooram in the fireworks department,simply due to the reason that Nemmara has pure hardcore fireworks(the real noisy ones that are called Dyna & Gundu in malayalam),not too much of importance for the fancy visual effects.Also since the area where this takes place is so small(just a square place),the risk factor is also very high.The most amazing aspect of the fireworks @ Thrissur Pooram & Nemmara vela is the way the fireworks are lighted by the people who fill the explosives.

For the uninitiated the sequence goes like this:

1.Guy meanders himself towards the explosive.

2.Guy opens up his beedi pack from his dhoti fold and takes out a matchbox.

3.The beedi is lit and the matchstick thrown away.

4.Two puffs of the beedi taken to ensure that beedi is well lit.

5.The thread going into the explosive is lighted with the beedi and the guy continues to crouch and sit next to the explosive(5 feet maximum)

6.The guy slightly tilts his head away so that the head does not come in the way of the upgoing explosive.and there it goes vrooom and dhooom

ISO2001,Quality norms etc,please take a bow.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Only thing was that the dinner turned out to be too close to next day's breakfast

, the next days breakfast was at lunch time and only by second day dinner time the cycle was set right.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Excellent writeup Lalu.Lovely indeed.
...
ISO2001,Quality norms etc,please take a bow.

Thanks ranjith.
, that was hilarious.





My internet is playing spoil sport. Broadband is coming on and off. BSNL is at it again. Thankfully the dial up works. But I need broadband to upload the pictures.

[laluks]

Day 1, April 3rd 2010

Nelliyampathy

Woke up after a comfortable good nights sleep by 11:00AM. That was a much deserved one. I have cleared all my sleep debt and felt fresh in the morning. The air around made me feel as fit as a fiddle.

Kids were already awake and were outside with their cameras. This was the first scene. They were photographing butterflies. The Junior one uses the senior one's head as the tripod .


Walked around the resort for a first look at the surroundings. The place was quite green.

Found Swift taking the much needed rest under some creepers.



Had some tea and breakfast by 11.30AM and I am ready to explore. Kept walking around, found some interesting flaura and fauna near to the cottage.






Kids in the tea garden


A kodak moment. "mehnath ka fal meetha hotha hai"


Place was warm, but comfortable compared to Bangalore.

continued...

[StarVegabond]

Last couple of trips, my 8 year old does not want to let go the camera and insists that she takes all the snaps.

these days kids seems to be smitten by travel bug, photography bug.
next is they demand their own cars.

After seeing the picture of your power puff girls shooting their own pictures, i am convinced that i need to surrender my camera with my daughter and migrate to a new one for myself.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by StarVegabond

After seeing the picture of your power puff girls shooting their own pictures, i am convinced that i need to surrender my camera with daughter and migrate to a new one for myself.

Yes, Star - I had given both the earlier cameras to them. They are very happy with taking pictures and showing to each other and taking feedbacks and on. Infact I am supposed to judge the best picture of the trip and declare the award. Obviously I cannot participate in the competition

[hvkumar]

How was the Nelliyampathy hotel? Advance bookings required in season whenever that is?
What did they say about accessibility during the rains?

[laluks]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

How was the Nelliyampathy hotel? Advance bookings required in season whenever that is?
What did they say about accessibility during the rains?

It was more like a tea estate and the owner made some 6 rooms like cottages. The rooms are just basic and clean. Also have a restaurant, where what you order they make and give.

Better to do the advance booking for weekends, weekdays the place is mostly empty. Saw families from Palghat, Cochin, Thrissur areas during the weekends. The owner gives the place only to families.

The roads are recently laid. But could see the last rainfall had its share of issues. The road through the tea estate can be a mess in the rains.

[laluks]

Day 2, April 3rd 2010 continued

Nelliyampathy

Decided to take a look at the dirt track from the resort till main road. This was the area where we saw many animals in the night.









Tea Estates









Finally reached good roads


Swift wants to climb the dirt trail through the tea garden



A temple


Jack fruit


Long beaked Hoopoe





continued..

[ampere]

The dirt track looks very inviting. How did you to take those long shots of the swift?
Do you let your better half drive, while you walk and keep snapping?

[pypkmsrikanth]

The place looks interesting, and am sure it would be good for the place to remain low key instead of the mad rush of tourists flocking on weekends like Ooty or Kodai. Thanks for sharing Laluks, keep them coming.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by ampere

The dirt track looks very inviting. How did you to take those long shots of the swift?
Do you let your better half drive, while you walk and keep snapping?

You guessed it right
I walked the entire 6Km till main road while she was driving.

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

The place looks interesting, and am sure it would be good for the place to remain low key instead of the mad rush of tourists flocking on weekends like Ooty or Kodai. Thanks for sharing Laluks, keep them coming.

Thanks srikanth.
The weekends were full there. The touristy viewing spots were filled with people. The resort also had full occupancy on friday, and saturday nights. Also the other resort ITL was full of bachelors who have landed up in tempos and maxi cabs. But weekdays are empty.

[laluks]

Day 2, April 3rd 2010 continued

Nelliyampathy

Seethargundu

We drove to Seethargundu. You need to walk around a kilometer to reach the view point. Walk itself is amazing because on one side it is a steep drop. We spend nearly three hours there, walking around and watching the place.





























Only bad thing is all the weekend guys bring their poison and consume it in the open here and creates an ambience that is best avoided. Further the walk way is full of broken bottles and leftover food and covers. The beauty of the place is marred by these low attitudes.


We wanted to got Mampara, which is the tallest peak in Nelliyampathy. The DFO has stopped the visitors due to summer to prevent fire.

From there the views are gorgeous - but beyond the views which is just a valley below, the drive to the peak is the one to die for. It is a hardcore 4x4 with almost vertical climbs. Since I had been to the Jeep thrills 2010 Annual OTR event, I know what was in offer and it was safe to assume that my Powerpuff girls would have freaked out with that scary drive. To get a hardcore offroading experience - this one is a must. We will do it after rains, when the terrain will beacome all the more scary


We finally reached the resort by 16:30Pm for our lunch


continued...