TRAVELOGUE

Nymphenburg Palace, Munich

2011-10-21T03:20:00.000-07:00

The Nymphenburg Palace (German: Schloss Nymphenburg), i.e. "Nymph's Castle", is a Baroque palace in Munich, Bavaria, southern Germany. The palace was the main summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria.

The palace was commissioned by the prince-electoral couple Ferdinand Maria and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy to the designs of the Italian architect Agostino Barelli in 1664 after the birth of their son Maximilian II Emanuel. The central pavilion was completed in 1675

The palace, together with its park, is now one of the most famous sights of Munich.

The 200-hectare (490-acre) park, once an Italian garden (1671), which was enlarged and rearranged in French style by Dominique Girard, a pupil of Le Notre, was finally redone in the English manner during the early 19th century by Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell, on behalf of prince-elector Charles Theodore. von Sckell was also the creator of the English Garden in Munich. He preserved the main elements of the Baroque garden (such as the grand parterre). The park is bisected by a long canal along the principle axis which leads from the palace to the marble cascade (decorated with stone figures of Greek gods) in the west. The garden wall (1730-1735) saves several Ha-ha effects

Two lakes are situated on both sides of the canal. The "Dörfchen" was created under Maximilian III Joseph as Petit hameau. The "Salettl" (1799), a cottage with its little garden nearby close to the former menagerie served as attraction for the children of Maximilian IV Joseph.

The fountains in front of the palace and in the garden parterre continue to be operated by the water powered Pumping Stations built between 1803 and 1808.

Schloss Nymphenburg is accessible by Munich public transport's tram number 17. This line passes through the city centre. If you want to use DB, then get down at Laim station, and you may have to walk for about a kilo meter in the beautiful streets of europe, which you would definitely enjoy. There is a coffee shop close to the palace where you get the best of best coffee, dont miss that.

Olympiapark, Munich

2011-10-21T03:07:00.000-07:00

The Olympiapark in Munich, Germany, is an Olympic Park which was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics.

After the International Olympic Committee in 1966 awarded Munich the Olympic Games, plans were solidified for the urban redevelopment of the Oberwiesenfeld area. Up until 1939, Oberwiesenfeld had largely been used as an airfield; however, the then-recently-opened Munich-Riem airport left the Oberwiesenfeld area largely idle. Under Nazi plans for the development of Munich into the "Capital of the Movement," this area was supposed to have served as the central slaughterhouse and marketplace. The Second World which was under construction from 1968 until 1972. The landscape layout was designed by landscape architect Günther commission for the naming of Bahn stations along the U- and S-Bahn routes in the city area, which on November 3, 1969 had chosen the name "Olympiapark" for the name of the Olympic station's stop along the U3 line of the Munich U-Bahn.

Using public transportation, the Munich Undergrounds's Olympic Line (U3) provides a direct route. The Olympiaturm has an overall height of 291 m and a weight of 52,500 tonnes.

BMW Museum, Munich

2011-10-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

The BMW Museum is located near the Olympiapark in Munich and was established in 1972 shortly before the Summer Olympics opened. It deals with the history of the automobile manufacturer BMW.

You need to take Train U3 and Get down near the Olympia Zentrum. Both BMW Museum and the Olympia Park are next to each other. You can see most of things inside without ticket, but when you enter the second building, to enter the museum you may have to buy a ticket. But definitely worth buying ticket, and if you go in groups of more than 5 people, you also get a discounted price.

More information about the timing and price for the tickets can be found here

Marienplatz, Munich

2011-10-21T02:45:00.000-07:00

Marienplatz is a central square in the city center of Munich, Germany. It has been the city's main square since 1158. In the Middle Ages markets and tournaments were held in this city square. Marienplatz was named after the Mariensäule, a Marian column erected in its centre in 1638 to celebrate the end of Swedish occupation. Today the Marienplatz is dominated by the New City Hall (Neues Rathaus) on the north side. The Glockenspiel in the tower of the new city hall was inspired by these tournaments, and draws millions of tourists a year. At the east side Munich's Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus) is located. It's a gothic council hall and ballroom and tower, which have been reconstructed. The pedestrian zone between Karlsplatz and Marienplatz is a crowded area with numerous shops and restaurants.

The Metro train is very good public transport system in Munich, and you can take any train and get down at Marienplatz, and enjoy some of the beautiful streets of Munich. There are some best restaurants which you can try, OCUI is one of them which serves multiple cuisines.

Sirimane Water Falls

2009-02-19T06:38:00.000-08:00

A wonderful waterfalls made by river tunga, while she descends over the western ghats. It was a long time wish of mine to visit this falls, as I had missed to visit during my college days with friends. It isn't that far from my native, and in fact its on the way back from b'lore to my native via Sringeri. A 16kms road from Sringeri leads to this amazing water falls.

This time when I started to native, I had in mind to visit this water falls, all information I had was it's about 5-6kms from Sringeri, and a nice road is there to reach to the place, but when I took turn to the falls at Sringeri, I found that its not 5, instead 15+ kms. anyways, I had made up my mind to go there, so we started to drive in that direction. I took almost 30+ min on that road, and I found that, the road is under construction we cant go any further, bike would have gone till falls. So I parked my car near a tree shade, and walked about a kms on mud road to reach to the falls.

It was worth the risk taken, risk I mean is that, I read in news papers, that Sringeri area is all occupied by Naxalites, so I was bit scared about going there since it is deep inside forests. In fact may be that is the reason there were no tourists except us. A couple came in bike, and asked about the route with me, that made me feel better as at least we are not alone. After seeing the falls, I was so happy as it was so silent all around and beautiful, and no crowd.

I think tourism department is making new roads to reach the falls, which makes it more accessible, already the mud road is complete and they are in the process of taring the same. Soon it will be complete, and once done, it will be more like Abbey falls in Madikeri. There is a stair case leading down to the falls, and a view point to watch the falls in case you don't want to get into the water. We have not brought extra clothes, and car was a kilometer away.

But we still got into water, it was so cold, and rejuvenating. The water falls is not that big, but it is really beautiful one. I splashed water on my face and felt heavenly feeling. Spent some forty minutes there playing in water and taking photos. There were none other than us, the couples who had come before us had left long back. We were already tired after the long journey from Bangalore, and this really made us little relaxing, but then we were hungry as it was already 1.00 PM, so we left from there with the memories captured in binary format.

Kettekanu (ಕೆತ್ತೆಕಾನು)

2008-12-13T04:36:00.000-08:00

Kettekanu is moola naga kshetra, located on the way to Hunsmakki from shiriyara, via Guddattu. Shiriyara is on the way from Brahmvara to Shankaranarayana. You have to take diversion to Guddattu at shiriyara, and then cross guddattu ganesh temple and go further for a Kms or so, you will see a side board in front of a big house, that's Kettekanu. Moola Stana of Naga.

You can ask the bramhin family settled there to offer a pooja to god Naga (Serpant). Many families believe in this god, and they always give a visit whenever possible. In my family the mother has to visit with her first kid to this temple after the child is born. Variety of pooja's offered to god, mostly Naga pratista, Tanu are main among them. When people face problems in life, or trouble in having a child then they give a "Harake" to Kettekanu, and its believed that their wishes are granted by the god.

This is a very old temple, and you can see a "Hutta" inside the temple, believed to be the place where Serpants live. Recently it's been renovated according to new architecture, with pauli etc. We appreciate any help from people.

CLUB DAY - Hongik University

2008-11-30T04:05:00.000-08:00

The last friday of every month is celebrated as club day in Hongik university area. This event has promoted the Korean club scene and indie culture to both local and foreign visitors. A Club Day ticket offers access to a number of different clubs. We started at 9.30 PM from suwon take subway line 1 and reach Sindurim, and change to Line 2 and get down in Hongik University station. You walk down the main street, you will find many clubs such as NB-2, DD etc.

For 20,000 won at any of the 22 participating clubs, you will receive a paper ID bracelet and a beverage coupon that you can use at any club for a beer or soft drink. Clubs usually open between 8pm and 9pm. However, there aren’t many people at this hour. The peak time to go is around 11pm, but you might have to wait in a 30-meter-long line to get in. Clubs like ‘M2’, ‘MI’, offer electronica-style house and break beat genres; ‘DD’, ‘NB’ are mainly hip-hop. For those who like rock, try the ‘M2,’ and ‘NB.’ They are the biggest clubs and they have the most colorful lights.

The night life in Hongik university area is very lively and you wont be able to make out at any point that its late night, so many people, so many vehicles, its like a fest!. Most of the people visiting here are either college students or the youngsters working in different companies. The mass is good, and guess more than 10000 people over all, and inside club, you just cant find a space for youself, The time flies when you strat dancing to the hip-hop music, and by no time it will be morning. Catch a train to reach back to suwon! Even though it was early morning, the train was ful and harldly few seats left, I could not understand where these old people travelling this early morning.

Legs were tired os dancing and so does the body, I was so sleepy and slept in the train itself on the way back, got up only when Pandey said we have reached suwon. Coming out of train station, it was raining heavily, it was kind of unbearable to see it raining, because I was dreaming of getting on the coach as soon as possible, and get a nice nap.

More information about the place can be found on Korea tourism website

Talakadu Temples, Cauvery River Bank

2008-11-12T06:55:00.000-08:00

This is an historic place, once upon a time in history this place had more than 30 temples, and now all of them are buried under the sand. Archaeological department had done some work to uncover the sand, and five of the temples have been uncovered so far. This has been ruled by Hoisala dynasty, Ganga and Chalukya, and Mysore Vodeyars. It is said that the present state of Talakadu is because of curse by a lady, the curse is “May Talakad turn in to a barren expanse of Sand and May the Kings of Mysore not have children for all time to eternity” We can still see the traces of this curse in Vodeyar family and Talakad.

If you happen to come from Gaganachukki falls to here, as it is close by place, one thing you should remember is that it is not a worth place for all the trouble you take to come in that dam bad roads. Roads are so pathetic that you will feel like coming back half the way leaving the idea of visiting the place. If you wish to make a mark in your travel list you can visit this place. I had this strange feeling of being cursed after visiting this place, lot of people begging around you, and you don't enjoy this place, unless you are not sensitive to these things. Temples are also being surrounded by beggars. When you walk on the sand you will have this strange feeling that you are walking over one of the ancient temple. When I came back from here back to Bangalore I met with a Major Accident, I can't say whether accident happened because of the curse or I am saved because of visiting this temple. But then it was a very bad experience visiting this place. Taking a dip in Cauvery River is all that you can do visiting this place. If you ask me, I don't recommend this place.

Gaganachukki and Barachukki (Shivana Samudra)

2008-11-12T06:46:00.000-08:00

These are the two falls formed by Cauvery River near Sivanasamudram. Cauvery river splits itself and makes these two Amazing waterfalls. The best time to visit this place is in the Monsoon, or just after the monsoon till October, I visited this place is in the 3rd week of August, it was wonderful at that time. We can either take Kanakapura road or Mysore road to reach this place, I preferred mysore road, as I heard that Kanakapura road condition is not good. We need to take a diversion near Maddur, and then proceed towards Malavalli. Shivanasamudram is about 20kms from there.

Gaganachukki falls has an amazing view, we reached early in the morning, when we reached there were no tourists at that time. It was all only us, tourism department had built a nice view point from there you can enjoy the water falling from, it is a falls which is spread over a width. It’s difficult capture the beauty completely in camera at one shot. We can't walk down to the place where waterfalls, all we can do is enjoy your time watching the falls and taking some nice snaps, that’s what we did. They had put up some boards mentioning the names of the people who dies in last few years, most of them being software engineers from Bangalore, so I did not dare to do any adventure there. There aren’t any good restaurants in the nearby vicinity, so better pack all your breakfast from home, we did pack from home, and had it there.

Barachukki falls is a few kms from there, just go back in the route you came here, you will get a junction and there you can see the board, you will find the way to Barachukki falls. I bet, you will enjoy more here than in the twin falls, as here you can go to the bottom of the falls, by stairs and even hire a “Teppa” (round shaped floating boat) for a reasonable price and have a wonderful ride in the water till the place water falls down. You can enjoy the water splashing on you from the falls. It will be very good experience, if you happen to go there don't miss this boat ride. Talakadu is few kms from here, may be you can visit Talakadu once you are done with Barachukki falls. But the road condition is very very bad and if you don't enjoy visiting temples and taking a bath in the river, forget about this place.

Karkala Jain Basadi

2008-11-08T23:59:00.000-08:00

Karkala is a wonderful place, and can be easily reached from Udupi or Hebri. You can either come from Agumbe via Hebri or from Udupi via Manipal. I had been to this place many times on the way from my native to Bangalore. In college once we had a dedicated trip to this place. Karkala is famous for its Jain temples; there are lot of temples built by Jain kings. This is one of the holy pilgrimage centres for Jains. Bahubali at Karkala is the second largest in the state and it’s about 42 ft height and is a monolithic statue installed in 1432 AD, on the instructions of the pontiff of Karkala, Lalitakeerti. The other statues of Bahubali in the state are at Shravanabelagola installed by Chamundaraya, which is 57 feet tall, at Venur installed by Timmaraja, which is 35 feet (11 m) tall, and at Dharmasthala installed by D. Veerendra Heggade, which is 39 feet (12 m) tall.

Mahamastakabisheka happen here every twelve years and the statue is bathed with milk and saffron paste, lot of Jain pilgrims come here at that time, next Mahamastakabhisheka to be held on year of 2014. This place is ruled by Jain kings in 14th century but even then they have treated all religions equally and they even have built Hindu temples such as Venkataramana temple. The first name of this town was Pandya Nagari during the Jain regime but afterwards it was changed to Karikallu because of black stones. Slowly as the time passed by it was called Karkal and then to Karkala.

The other important attraction of Karkala is the Chaturmukha Basadi, which has four identical entrances on all sides with three human size statues of three thirthankaras. There is another temple Padutirupathi Venkataramana temple, this temple's architecture being an ancient and one of the finest is built in a traditional style. Every year, a large number of devotees pay a visit to Lord Venkatramana temple in Karkala with the firm belief in the deity’s power to grant peoples wishes, it stands majestically in the heart of the city.

Sowthadka Mahaganapati

2008-11-08T21:58:00.001-08:00

Sowthadka is famous for its Ganesh temple, it offers a unique experience, the uniqueness of this temple is that there is no proper structure of the temple, instead the idol is istalled in a open place under a tree. In Kannada "Sowte" means cucumber and "Adka" means field, it's said that the cowherds in this place use to offer cucumber they grow in their field to Ganesh, and worship, and hence the name. The temple is decorated with lot of Bells mainly, offered by worshippers who have special wishes. One can find lot of Monkeys inside the temple.

The place is located at a distance of about 3-4 kms from Kokkada in Belthangady Taluk of South Canara. One can reach Southadka, on the National Highway 48 from Uppinangady towards Bangalore, first left turn after Nellyadi, on Dharmasthala Road. I had been here on the way from Darmasthala to Kukke, it's about 16Kms from Darmasthala. Now this temple has got its own website

Guddattu Vinayaka Temple

2008-11-08T06:14:00.001-08:00

Guddattu Vinayaka is the only Jaladhivasa Ganapathi available in the country and is unique of its kind. The temple stands on the foot of a huge granitic rock, which itself looks like a sleeping elephant. On the eastern portion of the rock, at the ground level there exists a cave and the ‘swayombhi’ (emerged on its own) Ganesha with his legs folded, trunk twisted towards sight, is sun in a sitting posture. The cave will always be kept filled with water which submerges the emerged god up to neck level. The Idol of lord Ganesha is about 3 feet and is in black stone sculpture with little gap around it. The lord is visible through a hole when the Aarathi is preformed.

Even though the hole sanction sanctorum is natural one, Mukhamantapa, Thirthamantapa, Hebbagilu, Pauli etc were constructed with granitic structure as per temple vastu and is very attractive one. On both side of the rock there is forest and lush green paddy fields and the place is Arene and picturesque. Even though nobody knows as to when it came to existence, the temple is believed to be very ancient, I heard from my dad that, long back Ganesh came in the dream of someone and said that I have emerged out from the stone near that big rock, and asked him to build and small temple for him and continue worshipping him.

The special pooja here is a unique as the idol itself, called ‘Ayarakoda’ which means ‘Sahasrakumbabhisheka’ starts with draining the water from the cave and performing various such as Tailabhyanjana, Panchamrutha, Rudrabhisheka etc and aarathi to the idol inside the cave first section of the pooja contains abhisheka with water chanting ‘Paramana Sooktham” till the water overflows from the cave, that is up to neck level of the idol. All those performance requires about thousand pots of water and hence Pooja is called “Ayarakoda” (Ayara means thousand in Tamil & Malayalam). Then Mahamangalarathi will be performed and lunch will be served. This is very famous seva and devotees have to book their dates at least six months in advance apart from this, Ganahoma, Mudiakkikadabu, Kayi Moodaganapathi, Panchakajjaya etc will also be performed.

Guddattu Vinayaka Templle is about 35 k.m. from Udupi via Brahmavara - Barkur, Shiriyara, about 15 k.m. from Kundapur via Koteshwara - Hunsemakhi -Guddeangady, about 10 k.m. from Shankaranarayana via Halady - Bidkalkatte - Shiriyara.

Kumbashi Ganesh Temple

2008-11-08T03:05:00.000-08:00

This temple is one of the seven Parashuram Srasti Saptha kshetras. Temple lies on the top of a hill on the way to Kundapura from Udupi, pretty much close to Kundapura side between Kota and Koteshwara towns. All express buses stop here, so reaching the place won’t be difficult. There are two more temples of Harihara and chennakeshava, and Sooryanarayana at the bottom of the hill. This place is also called as Anegudde (Anigudde) by locals

It’s said that drought hit this area sage Agasthya came here to perform Yagna to please the rain god. During the yagna demon Kumbhasura started bothering the sages. To rescue the sages Bhima killed the giant Kumba at this place with the help of a sword (Asi) blessed by Lord Ganesh, so the place is named as Kumbashi and Ganesha is being worshipped here. Lot of people visit this temple every day, the crowd is very much on Ganesh Chaturthi. I remember coming to this temple every year on Ganesh chaturthi with dad, mom and my sister. It’s a nice place to visit and have some peace of mind. eautiful sceanary,a peaceful climate,tall green trees ,a far away vision of the western ghats on one side and on the opposite side a sight of the arabian sea increases the attraction of this area. The harihara and suryanarayana temples are also beautiful with a pond in Harihara temple.

Mandarthi Durgaparameshwari temple

2008-11-08T00:29:00.000-08:00

Mandarthi is a holy place for Hindus, Shakthi devi, Durgaparameshwari is being worshipped here. The temple is ancient, with a huge “Gopura”, and a “Dwajastambha “ in front of the temple. There is a small lake called Nagateertha is just next to the temple. Durgaparameshwari is been praised as Naga Sundari, as she is said to be one of Nagakanya “Mandarathi”. Daily “Annadana” happens here for all the devotees visiting the place. Mandarthi Yakshagana Dashavathara Mela is one of the famous Yakshagana troupe with many experiences artists serving, and upholding the traditional folk art. Devotees host Yakshagana at their house, as a symbol of thanks to god for all the good things they are blessed with. You don’t believe me if I say that with 4 troupes this Yakshagana is being booked for few years from now. I myself have a booking, which is supposed to come soon in few years.

The Sthala Purana has woven these religious perceptions and notions into a legend according to which five naga kanyas (serpent maidens) by name Devarathi, Nagarathi Charurathi Mandarthi and Neelarathi are cursed by Nandi to remain unmarried and to suffer in a forest fire. Subsequently a rash behaviour on their part subjects them to anthor curse by a sage called Vyagrapada that they would be entangled in a bamboo grove. Their prayers to siva and parvati against these curses are answered in the form of a saviour called Devavarma the king of Avanthi who rescues the serpents from a blazing fire using a bamboo basket. He later releases these maidens into places of their choice and while the first three serpents crawl back into their pits, Mandarthi is deified acquiring fame day by day. Devavarma marries Jalajakshi who is coveted by mahisa, born of malini a Kirata girl and Vyagrapada Risi. The demon chases Jalajakshi to the palace; a battle ensues between him and the king in which huge snake pits swallow all the arrows of Mahisa. At the behest of Risis, the prays to Devi and she ultimately kills the demon with the help of virabhadra, Hayguli,kalkuda and bobbarya. In doing so, she also calls upon chamundi to kill all the rakshasas and Vyagresvari to kill giants hidden in animal bodies. This legend accounts for the shrines of hayguli, kalkuda, bobbarya and Chamundi around the sanctum of Durga Paramesvari as her parivara Devathas.

Every year on the day of Kumbha Sankramana the car fest is held at the place, mostly will be on the second week of February, around 13th. It is a three day programme, on the first day is "kenda seve" and second day is the car fest and other rituals near the temple, and on the third day is Deepostava, Yakshagana Seve by all four troups will be held at the temple on that day night after 11pm.

Udupi Krishna Temple

2008-11-07T23:37:00.000-08:00

Udupi is a devine place in the costal districts situated about 60Kms from Managlore, it is a fairly large and rapidly growing city. Its district headquarter once Udupi become a district. The statue here is said to be installed by the great saint Madhwacharya in 13th century. There are other two temples here in Udupi, Chandreshwara and Ananteswara, which are said to be the oldest temples in Udupi. The attraction of this temple is "Kanakana Kindi", this is a small hole through which devoties get the darshan of Sri Krishan, it is on the back side of temple's Gharbha Gudi, it said that in 16th century when the Kanakadasa, the great devotee of Krishan visited Udupi, he was not allowed to get inside the temple for Darshan, instead he was tied to the pillars of stone, on the back side of the temple, and was beaten like hell by the brahmins, for the very reason of entering the temple. Krisha then truned back, the back side wall got a hole to give darshan to Kanakadasa, since then it is called "Kanakana Kindi", and even now people get darshan through this Hole.

There are different storied behind the installation of this statue here, one popular goes like this. The main statue of Sri Krishna at Dwaraka got completely covered by gopichandanam ( holy sandlewood). A sailor from Dwaraka loaded this heavy lump in his boat as ballast, in one of his trips along the west coast. The ship was caught in a terrible storm while sailing in the western coast of Malpe. When the meditating Sri Madhvacharya sensed this by his 'aparoksha' or divine jnana (knowledge), he got the ship safely to the shore by waving the end of his saffron robe and quietening the storm. The pleased captain of the ship offered Sri Madhvacharya anything in the ship in return. Sri Madhvacharya asked for the sandlewood peice containing the statue of Sri Krishna. Later as the story goes, Sri Madhvacharya took it to the lake, purified it and installed it in the matt.

There is another interesting place nearby, it is the Malpe beach and Saint mary's Island, one can visit these places of visiting the temple. Saint Mary's should be visitited before 5PM in the evening, after that it is closed. One can also visit a Rama-mandir built on the way to Kukke Subramanya.

Kukke Subrahamanya Temple

2008-11-07T22:47:00.000-08:00

Lapped in the luxurious abundance of the beauty of the nature the village of Subramanya lies in the Sullia Taluk in south Kanara with a sanctity which very few places can boast of. The temple is situated in the heart of the village. Nature reveals herself in all her unhidden beauty in the rivers, forests and mountains which the temples is surrounded by. It is about a 100 KM from Mangalore and 386 Kms from Bangalore and can be easily reached by buses or taxis.

I had been here almost every year from my childhood. This place is called to be the “Moolastana” of Naga. So any Dosha related to Naga can be solved by doing the relevant ritual here in Adi Subramanya. So lot of people come here to get out of Naga Dosha every day. This place is close to Darmasthala, about 40Kms. There are few guest houses here which are affordable to stay and are maintained very well. Last time I went there I stayed in Temple’s guest house, I found it very good.

The Kumaradhara rivers flows close to the temple, devoties take bath in the river before visiting the temple. It’s said that this river’s water has medicinal values and all your skin diseases are cured if you take a dip in this river. Not to forget to visit the Ganesh temple close to the temple, where installed is the a big monolithic black Ganesh looks awesome in the night.
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The tirtha of is the abode of Karttikeya, the son of Lord Siva. It’s glories are described in the Sahyadri Khanda of the Skanda Purana wherein it is described how during the Satya-yuga Karttikeya was installed as the ‘senapati’ (commander-in-chief) of the demigods on the banks of the River Dhara (or ‘Kumaradhara’ as it is commonly known). Also, after killing the demon Tarakasura, he washed the demon’s blood from his spear in the River Dhara. Admiring the beauty of this place, Karttikeya decided to reside here. In the Treta-yuga, Lord Parasurama came to this place and bathed in the River Dhara in order to absolve himself of the sins of exterminating the ksatriya-race twenty one times over.

This place is also a good place for trekking, Kumara parvata is one the best place for trekking, and I always dreamed to go for a trekking here, we need to start the trekking for Subramanya, and there is a house on the way to the top of the hill where you can stay for the night. I wish to go there sometime soon.

Dharmastala Manjunateshwara Temple

2008-11-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

Dharmasthala is the perfect embodiment of the word "Dharma" for it displays every shade of meaning with which the word is imbued. The greatness of Dharmasthala, however is the fact that it has added an active element to "Dharma", such that it touches the lives of people with a transformational directness that is unique.

To those that come for worship, Dharmasthala represents religious tolerance wherein caste, creed and faith of pilgrims are no bars. For here, the Jain Theerthankara is worshipped on the same consecrated grounds as the native Daivas and Lord Manjunatha (Lord Shiva). The priests are Vaishnavite Brahmins and the guardian of the temple is Heggade, a Jain by faith. Altogether forming a confluence of faiths that harmonize in belief of the omnipotent.

To those that come for justice, Dharmasthala is the scale that does not tip in favour of a lawyer's glib tongue. Here, without any legal formality or argument the Heggade dispenses justice, acting in the tradition of his ancestral role as the Heggade and representing the presiding deities.

The position of the Heggade of Dharmasthala is a unique one, unknown in any other religious center in India. In the tradition of this Kshetra, he represents Lord Manjunatha. He is a pious grahastha or householder with numerous religious, social and cultural responsibilities. Sri H.D.Veerendra Heggade is the present Heggade.

' Maatubida Manjunatha ', The name of the Lord Manunatha shall not be uttered in vain. So great is the belief of the people in Lord Manjunatha, that they invoke his name when they reach the end of their tether to find a solution to a dispute without remedy. At such times, the injured party literally throws up its arm and with closed eyes stops the opponent from going any further by invoking the name of Lord Manjunatha. The strange thing about this practice is that it is adopted by people of all faiths, all creeds. Once the affected party has uttered the Lord's name, both parties cease to make any contact with each other until they appear before the Heggade who settles the dispute acting as an emissary of Lord Manjunatha. The Heggade's decision is never questioned and is accepted with reverence.

The 600-year-old Pergade tradition of generous hospitality to all those who enter the portals of the Kshetra continue even today. Every one of the thousands of pilgrims who daily visit Dharmasthala is an honoured guest irrespective of caste, creed, culture or status. As always free food and shelter is provided to pilgrims who seek the blessings of Lord Manjunatha, the exponential growth in visitors notwithstanding.

The Yakshagana troupe of Dharmasthala has been performing for the last two centuries. And for Shri Heggade, yakshagana is specially close to his heart. He has been instrumental in bringing about a revival of this ethinic dance drama by starting a school for Yakshagana. Here budding artistes are trained in the intricacies of this highly demanding folk ballet. The most interesting part of this Yakshagana troupe is that its performances are booked by devotees as an expression of their thanks giving to the Lord Manjunatha for the favours the god has bestowed on them. And believe it or not, the troupe been booked for years in advance.

Send offerings by sms to Lord Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy with your Airtel Mobile Phone SDM TO 54655

Kateel Durgaparameshwari Temple

2008-11-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

Situated on the banks of River Nandini, amidst beautiful surroundings, is the spiritual energy center of South Kanara district. Goddess Durga is the loving and caring mother of the people of South Kanara. Surrounded by lush green fields and beautiful hills, Kateel has become a famous pilgrimage and a tourist center over the years.

Kateel is located 30KMs North of Mangalore. Traveling to Kateel in the winding roads amidst green hills and valleys is a very pleasant and memorable experience. Thousands of devotees visit Kateel daily to seek the blessing of goddess Durga.

There is a story behind this spiritual place. A severe draught hit this place, it did not rain for years. Even Brahmins were forced to eat meat and the people were on the verge of giving up their principles.The great Sage Jabaali was disturbed by this situation. Through his 'Jnana Drishti', Jabaali realized the root cause of all this. He found that Arunasura the 'rakshasa' who escaped from death and fled when Goddess Durga killed Shambasura had increased his life span by following the teachings of his Guru. He had made the people stop all yagas and yajnas as a revenge against the 'devas', and this has resulted in drought and scarcity for years.

Jabaali wanted to put an end to human sufferings and decided to perform a yajna to please the devas. He requested Devendra to permit him to take Kamadhenu for the yajna. Devendra asked Jabali to take Kamadhenu's daughter Nandini instead. Nandini refused to accompany Jabaali to the earth where evil was prominent. After a lot of arguements, Jabali, in his anger, cursed that she be born as a river on earth. Realising the mistake, Nandini prayed for mercy. Relenting, Jabali advised her to pray to Goddess Durga to redeem her from the curse, Nandini appealed to Goddess Durga who appeared to her and informed her that though Nandini would be born as a river in fulfillment of the curse she, Durga, would be born as Nandini's daughter at the center of the river, and in the process, Nandini would attain purification. On Magha shudda Poornima, Nandini emerged as a river from Kanakagiri. Jabali performed his yajna. The devas were pleased and the earth was once again happy.

Elsewhere Arunasura acquired a boon from Brahma that he would not suffer death from any two legged or four legged being or from any weapon. Brahma also powered him with Gayatri Mantra. After acquiring these powers, Arunasura defeated the devas and conquered heaven. The Devas prayed Goddess Durga for help.

One day Goddess appeared in Arunasura's garden as a beautiful woman. Seeing the lady, Arunasura approached her. The beautiful lady reminded him that she had killed Shambasura and from whom Arunasura had escaped death. Arunasura got angry and tries to kill the woman with sword. The Goddess suddenly turned into a stone. Arunasura slashed the stone with the sword, then a vast swarm of bees emerged from the stone and stung him.

The bees ( dhumbi) stung him repeatedly till his last breath. Devas led by Jabali performed abhisheka with tender coconut water and requested the Bramarambhika (Queen of the bees) to bless the world. Goddess Durga then appeared in her 'Soumya Roopa' in middle of the river, where present structure of the temple imparts its glory to the world. 'Kati' being the word which means 'center' (midway between the 'Kanakagiri' the place where the river was born, and the end, Pravanje, where the river joins the sea) and 'lla' means area. Thus the place is called 'Kati + lla' Kateel.

Devotees and followers from all over the world come to Kateel every year in huge numbers to participate in Simhamaasa, Navarathri and other holy occasions. Several educational institutions are also run through the temple's trust.

The temple's trust also encourages several forms of arts. Notable amoung them is the Yakshagana dashavathara mela which was started as an offering to the goddess. During dussera, navaratri and other annual celebrations several sacred rituals like, Chandika havana, thula bhaara, veda parayana, hari kathas etc are performed.

Mookambika Temple, Kollur

2008-11-06T09:03:00.000-08:00

Kollur is a holy place, close to Kundapura, there are buses from Kundapur to Kollur very frequently. On the way is the Maravante beach, if you happen to come back on this route in the evening, it’s a nice place to spend an evening. Kollur is close to Kodachadri hills, people going for trekking in Kodachadri hills can visit this temple.

Epics say that Long ago when a demon called Kaumasura obtained a boon from Lord Shiva was reigning pompously; Kodachadri became the hiding place for all the gods and divine beings who became helpless against his harassment. While the Saptarishis were engaged in prayers and poojas to bring about the end of demon kaumasura, Guru Shukracharya enlightens him about his impending death at the hands of a woman. Learning this, kaumasura performs an austere penance t please Lord Shiva. When Lord pleased with his prayers, appears before him and asks him to name the boon that he wishes, Vagdevi, the Goddess of speech senses that this could lead to a greater devastation and makes him speechless. The dumb Kaumasura then becomes unable to verbalise his wishes and then onwards he is called Mookasura. Soon after, on the request of Kola Rishi, the goddess creates a mystical power by bringing together the individual powers of all the gods who had assembled. This Divine Power wages war on Mookasura and brings about his destruction, thereby granting him salvation. The place where devi killed Mookasura is known as "Marana Katte". Since that day, the Goddess has resided at this holy place Kollur by the name Mookambika, fulfilling the wishes of all her devotees. Here resides Sreedevi in the Padmasana posture, of a serene countenance, and with three eyes, bearing always a shankha, a chakra and with a pleasant appearance as the embodiment of mantra to bless the devotees.

There is Lunch (Prasadam) served in the temple, better to have lunch here only, there are hardly any good restaurants near the temple. Temple is closed in the afternoon after pooja and will open only after 5.00PM in the evening, so don’t go in the odd time. You will miss the chance to get the Darshanam.

Ever Land Fantasy Park

2008-10-07T02:40:00.000-07:00

This is the largest fantasy park in Asia. It is maintained by Samsung, so to avail discount try contacting someone who holds Samsung Credit cards. You get about 50% off, other wise it cost 35,000 KRW. There is a bus from Suwon station to this fantasy park, but better way to go there is to get in to a taxi if you have 4 or more people. It costs about 25,000 won to reach there in taxi. The route is awesome, and you will enjoy the drive if you happen to go in winter or early summer.

It was drizzling when I went there, so there wasn’t much crowd, and that was good, otherwise you may have to wait at least half an hour for each ride. One you have taken the ticket you don’t need to pay for each ride, you can go on taking the rides.

I enjoyed the 4D movie, where in you actually feel that you are in the place where the movie is going on, and you feel everything from breezing air to splashing water from the falls. It is an awesome experience. Other things you can enjoy are the rotating haunted house, roller coaster ride, the water ride over falls. The clock ride, where they take you to a great height on a rotating wheel and you can have a nice view of the fantasy park. There are many funny rides where you really go crazy, you must be very daring to take all. Some rides are only worth for kids, and we even gone in some of those to recall those childhood days.

There is a water ride on an artificial river, like river rafting. It is one of the enjoyable rides. We took this twice and it was raining so heavily that time, we all got drenched but the enjoyment it brought is not comparable. The drive through the wild life in a bus, so called Safari is also good. But animals looked to be very much trained and you don’t feel that wildness in them, they will mostly be lying on the sides of the road under some shelter or upon rocks. On the way back we took bus as we could not find any Taxies, it took about an hour and a half, so tiring it was to come back in bus. But at the end we enjoyed a lot, and that’s all it matters. This is a must go place in Korea, and I heard Lotte World is also same as this but it’s smaller and easily reachable in Train.

Suwon Fort and Namun Market

2008-10-07T02:38:00.001-07:00

If you happen to have enough time before you return back to India, just give a visit to this Suwon fort, Its not all that great, but you can click some pictures on top of it, a nice view of Suwon city from there, when I went there I forgot to take my camera along as it was a visit in hurry to get some traditional Korean items from the Namun Market, a small market place near the fort, where you get lot of traditional Korean Items for sale.

The fort is not very big, you need to climb lot of stairs before reaching the top, and on Top you won’t find anything that makes you feel worth that effort. A long wall built few centuries ago, and a wishing tree, it’s believed that whatever you wish will come true.

There is a museum also, which showcase the dresses and the weapons used by Koreans in war and by ancestors, but I could not visit that as it was already late. Getting there is very easy, take a taxi from Suwon and ask him to take to Namun Market. May be you better write it down on a paper in Korean and show him as most of them don’t understand English.

Yangson Electronics Market

2008-10-07T02:27:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best place to buy any electronics items from Korea, place is very easily reachable from Suwon station, take the train to Seoul and get down in Yangson station, from the station just take the escalator up to get inside this big electronic mart.

There is wide variety of electronic items available here, I have not seen some of them before in my life, and they have electronic gadgets for every aspect of daily life. Most important thing is the price and the quality, you need to very careful about this here, Price is not fixed, it will go on reducing depending on the your skill of bargaining. Check in at least 4-5 shops before buying any items, otherwise at the end you may find that you have paid more than the price of the Gadget.

As I heard from someone in Korea, they believe that the electronic items, especially serviceable items produced for Korean domestic market are of cheaper quality than the International ones as service industry one of the biggest in Korea. So better not buy laptops and all in Korea. They sell products made in Japan, Korea and China and the quality is in the same order, so be careful while choosing any product, see where it is manufactured.

Coex Aquarium, Samseong

2008-10-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

This place is amazing if you like watching fishes, and nothing great about this place, but will make a nice weekend plan, just take a train and get down in Samseong station and when you exiting the station just follow the signboard to reach this Mall. There is lot of things to shop in the mall other than this aquarium. But aquarium is the main attraction. You can see a wide variety of fishes, from small tiny fishes to big sharks all under one roof. The aquariums are room sized and you will enjoy the fishy world, and sometimes I wishes if they could give a fry of them!! But one thing I did not appreciate was the price you pay for. It seemed a little high compared to all the other attractions in Korea.

Han River Cruise and 63 Building

2008-10-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

Everyone who visits Korea must go for the Han River cruise, it’s such a wonderful experience, and you will never forget in your life. You need to plan it properly and be there near the river side by 5.30 to 6.00 or so, so that you can get tickets for the 7.00 PM cruise, and I am telling you must get into this 7.00 PM one, as it would be just the right time to enjoy the cruise on the river, while the sun is setting in the east and the cold breeze makes your body chill, and you can chill out.

May be after taking the ticket you can just go to building 63 and go to the top of it, It’s called sky deck, there the view of Seoul City and the Han river is amazing, In the night the bridges across the city and the city looks awesome. There is a place called Sky thriller, where the floor is made of glass and it feels like you are standing on the transparent glass above 63 floors, you must have that daring to look down through that floor to see the ground. It’s a wonderful experience.

Here is a blog page of my friend had written on how we enjoyed that evening on the banks of han river, if you find sometime just go through it, may be that makes you feel not to miss cruise in Korea.

Seoul Grand Park, Dolphin show

2008-10-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

This isn’t that great place to enjoy, especially if you happen to go in summer you will get tired walking. Best thing about this place is the Dolphin show, and I think better thing to do is go in the afternoon and get the tickets for this Dolphins show and sleep under any tree, you will get a sound sleep under the tree in the soothing wind. Get up before 4.00 PM and go to the Dolphin show and enjoy the show, and once you are back it will be evening and then you can walk around in the shades and enjoy seeing all animals. Rides are not that great, Cable car is moderate, may be you will enjoy. Tramp is one thing better not get into, they will just take you one round around the grand park. May be you can use this as a way of transportation to get in to the other side of the park.

It’s one of the biggest parks in Korea; don’t forget to see different animals. To go here you need to take train from Suwon and get down in Seoul Grand Park station. It’s pretty easy.

For more information check this link.

New Seoul Tower

2008-10-06T07:54:00.000-07:00

A place for a weekend time pass, a nice view from the top of the tower is the amazing thing about this tower. It seems it was opened first in 1980 and then it was renewed with better facilities in 2005 and hence the name New Seoul Tower.

You can easily reach this place, take train from Suwon, line 4, and get down in Chungmuro station, and go out of Exit 2 to the right of Daehan Multiplex entrance. You will reach a bus stop; get into the yellow bus, which takes you to the tower.

The things you must see and enjoy are, The view of Seoul city from the top of the tower, the locks put in the grills as a symbol of love, the sky rest room, the revolving restaurant (you need to book in advance, else you may have to come back like without entering the hotel like us) and the light garden. There is a laser show after 7 in the evening, where they illuminate the tower with different colors and it looks amazing at that time, and even a show is setup in front of the tower with nice music. You will enjoy this part. You must enjoy the green tea sherbet and other sherbet flavors you get in the tower, I am sure you will like it. Don’t forget to take a picture at the New Delhi point, and view of 63 building from here; it looks like a small match stick!!

More info can be found here

Namdaemun Market, Seoul

2008-10-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

A crowded market place, with lots of retail shops where you can find almost everything you need from fancy items for your girlfriend to clothes. There are few Malls too, but you will enjoy more on the market side. You get yummy sea food too. It’s really a worth visit to this place, especially at the end of trip when you want to get some things for your near and dear ones, there is lot of choice here.

This place is called as Bombay of Korea, as some shopkeeper told me. You find clothes at very cheap price here; quality is not that great, but pretty good. Girls will definitely enjoy shopping here, for guys it’s not disappointing although. You get nice jackets for 5000 Wons! You can get here by train, either by getting down in Seoul station and walk a little distance, a 5 minutes walk, or get down in Hoehyeon station, whose exit enters market directly. There you start shopping. It takes about an hour from Suwon station to here.

More info can be found here
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KREC beach, Surathkal

2008-10-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

This is a very nice place to spend your evening. There is a Shiva temple too near the beach and a light house. You can take Darshan at the temple and then go to the top of the light house and have an aerial look around the place, which covers KREC campus and temple and surrounding places. You have to pay a little entry fee for this tower and they will allow you only before 5.00 PM, not sure if they have changed the timing these days.

The beach is very beautiful, but very risky one as it gets deeper soon and there is no much flat land where you can get into water and enjoy, so better not go much into water, rather just wet your legs and enjoy outside water. This is not much developed commercially as compared to Malpe, as you don’t find any wave runner or parasailing. This beach is actually the property of KREC and a kind of un-touched beach, where one can enjoy the natural beauty of the sea. Crowd is not that heavy.

There is a Ghost road, which was so scary in our college days, this road starts adjacent to the KREC STEP, and joins you to the beach, but now they have cut all the trees on the side of that road, and it no more scary, I have put a picture of the same for your reference here.

To reach here, you need to get down right in front of KREC, engineering college and walk some distance towards Mangalore until you find the fifth hostel block gate of KREC, and right in front of that is the road which leads to the Shiva temple and right beside the temple is the road leads to the light house and the beach. It won’t be that difficult to find the way, you can ask anyone there, people are so kind by heart and anybody would help you.

Irpu Falls and Nagarahole

2008-10-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

Tumbling through the hills, The Lakshamanatirtha River thunders 51.8m into the valley. Flowing northwards from here to join another rivulet, the Ramatirtha, it changes course northeastward to join the Cauvery in Mysore district.

This is a wonderful place for a weekend trip. This one is little far from Madikeri if you happen to come via Madikeri, about 80+ kms, you need to go via Virajpet, Gonikoppa. If you start by afternoon from Madikeri you can reach by 3.30 PM or so, takes about 2+ hours to reach there.

You can spend the evening there and then if you are coming back to Bangalore come via Nagarahole reserve forest, where it’s really soothing to your mind, you need to drive slowly and watch the animals in the Natural Habitat. Depending on your luck you can see many different animals, mostly you will see deers, and if lucky you can also see elephants, Wild buffaloes.

This is also known as "Rajiv Gandhi National Park" extend to 647 Sq. Kilometres. An excellent opportunity to witness wild animals of different kinds, from the majestic elephant to the Deer, Tiger, Cheetha, jackal etc. The forest comprises of valuable wealth like the teak, rosewood, sandal wood trees etc. Though plying of private vehicles is not allowed inside, the departmental vehicle takes the tourists.

Talakaveri and Bagamandala

2008-10-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Talakaveri is the birth place of river Cauvery, its said that Cauvery was wife is Agatsya, when Agatsya did not allow Cauvery to become river for the betterment of people, she jumped out of the Kamandala in which he had imprisoned her, from the top of Brahmagiri(A peak in Talakaveri) and transformed herself to river and flowed out. For some distance she flows as “Guptagamini” (hidden river) and then she meets her friends in Triveni Sangama and speeds up to reach Bay of Bangal.

This place is a sacred place, and its said that if you take bath in the sacred water of the pond all that sin made from all last life will go. Lots of people from all over Karnataka come here, and even from Tamilnadu too. As a place also it’s a very nice place to visit, either in the early morning, or in the evening. Brahmagiri is a nice peak to climb and have a nice view. You can feel the clouds passing through you at that height.

Bagamandala is place where Cauvery meets two more rivers, one of them is very difficult to imagine as a river, it’s a small steam coming out near the Banyan tree, it’s said because of the curse she become like that. People take bath in the Sangama where river meets. There is Bagandeshwara temple, which is said to have Kerala architecture, you get lot of Ayurvedic medicinal plants and herbs in the near by shops. The books describing the story of Cauvery can be obtained from the this temple. There are many temples inside the “Pauli”. This is a peaceful place to spend some time after giving the Pooja. You can see the attacks by Mughals ruining the temple, which you can see in the statues made of stones.

Bagamandala is about 40 Kms from Madikeri, you need to take the road to M’lore and on the way you find a board showing the way to Bagamandala. From Bagamandala you need to climb up the hill for about 8kms to reach Talakaveri. On the way there are many view points where you can stop for a while and enjoy.

Kaveri Nisargadhama

2008-10-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

A beautiful ecological park, where Cauvery Rivers splits forming a island and bamboo forest. A hanging bridge, boating, elephant ride, tree top shelter, deer park etc. are worth to enjoy with dwelling cottages named, Brahmagiri, Lopamudre, Kannike etc. Travel of 30 kms from Madikeri. Reservation to be done for cottages at Forest department, Madikeri

Frankly speaking this place is a kind a just visit and come out if it’s on the way, and a one time visit place, and not worth going all the way. This can be covered on the way back from Golden temple or Harangi Dam back to Madikeri, which seems to be best option for me.

There are some animals inside, deers, monkeys, and rabbits and don’t expect more than them, if you see all of them that means its time to return from there.

Golden Temple, Tibetian Colony

2008-10-03T08:19:00.000-07:00

A recently built "Namdrolling Monastery" a world famous Tibetan Golden temple a toast to the eyes is in Bylakoppa, also the second largest Tibetans settlement in India, just 6 kms away from Kushalnagar. Three majestic Gold coated 40 feet hight idols of Buddha & Padmasambhava, Amitayush Statue inside the temple

This place was handed over by the Karnataka Govt to house the Tibetan refugees when they fled the Chinese invasion of their country. They were housed in some three places all around India. We can see well cultivated fields for miles around. A number of their beautiful temples dot the landscape. It looks as if all the males become monks, since everywhere we see males in the robes of Tibetan monks

Dubare Forest, Elephant Safari

2008-10-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

Dubare is a natural island with cool and pleasant view. Boating and fishing makes a wonderful experience. There are 12 tamed elephants which are maintained by the forest department. Tourists interested to know details about these mammals can be obtained here. This is ideal place for nature lovers for spending a few hours with the nature, elephants, and the cool Cauvery River. Weather and best season to visit: Monsoons are fairly heavy but one can be assured of a unique interesting experience during the rains (July to mid-September) in Dubare. The post-monsoon months (mid- Sept to beginning March) are the best time to visit as the entire district would be enveloped by a cloud of green and the climate would be very pleasant.

The route from Bangalore is via Mysore, Kushalnagar, Gudde Hosur (4km from Kushalnagar on Madikeri Road), then a left turn towards Siddapura. About the 15 kilometer on the Siddapur Main Road visitors would find a JLR Dubare Camp board. A left turn at the board and about kilometer drive would take you to dubare.

Harangi Dam, Coorg

2008-10-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

Fact: A dam built across the tributary of Cauvery with a length of 2775 ft. and 174 ft height. If you happen to visit during rainy season this makes an awesome place, at that time they open the dam doors giving a mind blowing view of water flowing out. It flows at such a high power that you will be thrilled to see it. The back water creates an impression of ocean; it is spread across acres of land.

The place can be reached easily, if you are coming from b’lore to Madikeri via Kushalnagar, you can find a Y junction, where one leads to Kushalnagar and then Madikeri and the other to the Harangi Dam. From Madikeri you need to travel in the direction of Kushalnagar to reach here. It’s about 8 kms from Kushalnagar

Iggutappa temple, Kakabbe

2008-10-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

Iggutappa is another name lord shiva, Igguthappa temple, one of most important temple of Kodavs the tribal inhabitants in Kakkabe, is dedicated to Iguthappa another name for Lord Subramanya. The devotees believe in the miracles by Iguthappa, where any one can ask for anything from this super power God. Farmers in and around this area usually offer prayers and offerings for rains during the famous Annual festival in the temple conducted during the month of March. Tulabhara, weighing oneself against fruits, sugar, coconuts, rice etc, is an important offering here. This temple governs significant role in the cultural and traditional life of the place.

This place is quite deep inside Coorg, the way to this place is very scenic, and you will enjoy the drive. This place is about 45Kms from Madikeri. There are bus services to kakabbe. Best way is to drive.

Abbey falls, Madikeri

2008-10-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful falls close to Madikeri, about 7-8kms from the city. Many boards are there inside city which point you to the falls, you won’t find it difficult to get there. There are enough parking spaces, after you park your vehicle you have to walk about 100 meters so reach the falls.

The madikeri stream, also called Muttaramuttu, falls 21.3m between huge boulders to a deep rocky vally to form this picturesque waterfall called Abbi falls(abbi means waterfall in Kodavatak). The British called it the Jessey Water falls in memory of Jessey, the daughter of Madikeri's first chaplain. Every year a few unwary people meet an unfortunate end over the slippery rocks here.

Abundant in this region, Madduthoppu (Justicia wayanadensis) is attributted medicinal value believed to peak on 18th of Kakkada(July-August), when it is used as an ingredient in various delicacies.

There is misconception that this is of Cauvery River, but its not. But it’s a falls made by group of small streams called Madikeri streams. The falls is quite simple yet so beautiful, when there is enough water, i.e. between June to September it’s amazing, you can feel the cold breeze on the hanging bridge made by the forest department. The water is not deep under the falls you can get close to falls and even climb the falls with little risk. I had been on the rocks many times when I visited before 2006, now police will always be around and they won’t allow you to get into the water. But you can always enjoy the beauty from the hanging bridge.

Madikeri, Coorg District

2008-10-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

Coorg is a wonderful place to spend your holidays and I have been there a many time, in fact at least once in a year or more than that whenever I get time. Madikeri is the capital; it is a hill station with beautiful climate like Ooty. Coorg is called as Kashmir of Karnataka. It’s such a wonderful place with forests, coffee estates, hill stations, falls, temples, and trekking places.

Madikeri is around 250 odd Kms from Mandya you can reach there by taking mysore road from Bangalore and take deviation on mysore road to Hunsoor, then next town you will see is Kushalnagar, and then Madikeri. It takes about 5 odd hours in car to reach madikeri from Bangalore. If you are starting from Mangalore then take the route of Puttur, Sulli. Madikeri is just 50 kms from Sullia. The things to enjoy in madikeri are the stay round the year, during rainy season you can enjoy the heavy rains, and winter will be too cold, and summer will be pleasant. If you plan your stay at madikeri then you can see almost all the tourist places in coorg.

The things to see in Madikeri are Rajaseat, a view point where you can see landscape up to miles, with mist in background. This place was used by Kings in ancient time, and thus the name. There is fort where you can see the ruined fort, now it is converted to govt offices. There is a museum which is not worth visit.

There is pretty old temple in the city Omkareshwara temple, which is a worth visit. This was built in 1820 by Lingarajendra the then ruling King to ward off the evil caused by "Brahma Rakshasas". The Shiva Linga is said to be brought from the holy place "Kaashi". This temple has an unusual architectural combination of 'Indo-Sarsenic' Style. Nearby is the holy tank. Regular poojas are performed in the temple for the different deities like Lord Subrahmanya and Ganesha.

The other place to see in Madikeri is Gadduge or three tombs with their Islamic style building domes and minarets with gold coating built in Indo Sarsenic style, The entrance to each tomb has Carvings of Hindu Deities. The Central largest tomb more ornate than the other two, contains the graves of Virarajenda and his wife Mahadevi Amma. The medium sized tomb is of Lingarajendra and the simplest tomb contains the grave of Rudrappa Virarajendra's Guru. A bird's eye view of Madikeri can be had from here.

You will find lot of home stays in Madikeri which is the best way to enjoy the beauty of the hill station, even resorts are available where in you get an estate for yourself to enjoy for a day, but it’s not a budget plan.

Agumbe Sunset point

2008-10-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

This is an ideal place to enjoy your evening, but mostly crowded in the evening time, as everyone comes here especially during weekends. There is a view point from where you can see the sunset, this is considered to be the one of the most beautiful sunset in Karnataka. This place is also famous for the heavy rains, it’s called as the Cheerapunji of Karnataka. The one show in the above pic is a view from another view point a few meters above the normal view point where most of the crowds will be and many may be not aware of this view point. There is a staircase to climb up to this place. View from here is amazing.

I have visited agumbe many times mostly on the way back to my native from Bangalore. Mostly I visit here during day time in the morning, still the view is amazing. Once I had been here during college days in the evening after the Onake Abbe falls trekking which is few Kms from here, i.e Trekking starts from a place called Someshwara which is a small town you reach just after getting down from Agumbe Ghats.

Maravante, Kundapura

2008-10-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is a beautiful beach to enjoy your evening with, it’s few Kms after Kundapur towards Kollur. You can reach this place may be after visiting the Kollur temple on the way back to Kundapur, so that an evening can be spent here. This place is special because of its geographical location where the national highway separates the river and the Arabian Sea. Amazing view, and a must visit place.

Arasina Gundi Falls, Kodachadri

2008-10-02T07:57:00.001-07:00

This falls resides deep inside the forests close to Kodachadri hills, so needs to be covered whenever you visit Kodachadri. When I visited we went through one route which is in the opposite side of the Kollur route, where in you reach to the bottom of the Kodachadri hills, you find a empty play ground type of vacant area, where there is small hotel and some small temples around. You see some local kids playing in that area.

If you are have reached this place then you can ask anyone there where to go to Arasinagundi falls, they will guide you to the falls, the route runs inside the forest sometimes its highly possible that you may get lost. We were running in the forst in groups to reach the falls early as possible, some places were so dense that we use get scared if we encounter any wild animals. There is another way which is more safer and you have a guiding route when you come from Kollur-Nagara road.

This is one wonderful falls and a must visit place, untouched by humans, and possibly when you go there you will not find anyone else. You can enjoy the whole falls to you self. It’s believed that the under the water fall its very deep and high risk to swim and try to reach there. I strongly recommend not swimming in that area shown in picture, but to take bath in the small streams further downstream, and enjoy the beauty of the falls from there.

Kodachadri Hills

2008-10-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

This is in the boarder of South Canara and Shimoga district. At the peak it is believed that 'Shankaracharya' did meditation. And to substantiate the same you will find a 'Sarvajna Peetha' at the top. En route to the peak you will also find a moderate sized water fall deep inside the evergreen forest of Kodachadri, which is called 'Agastya Teertha'. The peak presents a not to be missed life-time opportunity in the evening as the sun sets in the west. You can also have a golden glimpse of the Arabian Sea for a moment.

To get there first you need to reach Kollur, famous for its Mookambika temple in south canara. From Kollur catch a bus which goes towards Nagara (Shimoga Dist.), and get down at a place [a 45 minute journey].To your right you'll find a mud road where you can find a sign indicating the way towards kodachaadri. On the way you will find a small tea shop (kaka angadi) after one hour walk. There you will also find a small stream nearby for the early morning business. From here it is roughly 5 hours of trek to the peak. Just half-an-hour before the peak you will find a temple, which is an ideal place for camping.(for budget conscious trekkers like us). There is also a traveller’s bungalow nearby.

Seeta Falls, Hebri

2008-10-02T07:50:00.000-07:00

This is another nice waterfall which is also located deep inside the forest, but not as far as the Onake Abbe falls, you need to trek about 2 kilometres in forest. There is a road till some point and later you need to walk inside forest. The route is quite visible and no guide is needed. This fall is not that deep and you can walk to the point where water drops and take bath there. Water will strike your head like nails with such a force, so be careful when you put your head under a thick water stream.

As applies with the above falls here too you don’t get anything to eat, as it’s inside the forest so better get something to eat. Best time to visit this is around August to December. There is a road leading to this place from Hebri, you can ask someone in hebri to get the route.

Onake Abbe Falls, Someshwara

2008-10-02T07:47:00.001-07:00

This falls is deep inside the forest and you need to do some real trekking to reach here. If you start from Udupi you need to go via hebri and reach Someshwara, a small town on the foot of Agumbe ghat, if you are coming via Agumbe then once you get down from Agumbe Ghat is this small town Someshwara where you need to start trekking, ask anyone around they will be knowing from where to start the trekking. This is a place to enjoy on a weekend, go here with all the energy and take some food along as you won’t get anything inside forest.

I am not sure how deep it is in the centre but you can swim and reach to the place where you can take bath under the falls, you have enough space there to sit and relax on the rocks. I suggest you to take extra caution in reaching this point. You can get some guide in Hebri to take you to this falls. Sometimes it’s difficult to find the way inside the forest.

Saint Mary’s Island, Malpe

2008-10-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

This is one of the wonderful places to see in Mangalore, a Natural Island, said to be visited by Vasko-di-gama when he visited India for the first time. There is plenty of sand covered area where you can enjoy your visit, they normally do not allow you to get into water, but then you can always get into water for some time when they are not around. But the place is not safe to go far in water. So be careful and stay close by.

There is a boat facility which takes you to this Island from Malpe beach, you may have to pay some 70/- for the same. You may not enjoy the travel as they play some crap music aloud, but when you land in the Island it’s worth tolerating that music for that while.

You get nice sea food cooked in front of you, when you visit never forget to taste few fishes, to have a feel of Mangalore. If you wish to have some more Mangalorean fishes don’t forget to visit a Restaurant “Fish Land” in Manipal, a city 3Kms from Udupi famous for its medical institute and hospital, the Restaurant is just on right side when you are about enter the city from karkala side. On the other way when you are about to leave the city to Karkala.

Malpe Beach, Udupi

2008-10-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

A place very close to my house around 20-30 minutes drive from my home, a 10 minutes drive from Udupi, nearby city and district capital. On NH-17 near Karavali by-pass is the road which leads to this wonderful beach, which these days have been developed to attract tourists provide a class resort facility, wave runner, parasailing, beach side huts and restaurants. Evening time is the best time to visit this place, there will be moderate crowd on weekends. There is paid parking space near the beach.

Saint Mary’s Island can be reached from here, they have a boat facility, was costing some 70/- at the time I visited.

High Way!

2006-08-08T04:18:00.001-07:00

The Highway! speed highway.. there were 6 lanes, with 3 lane in each side without any U turn. So cruise at whatever speed you want as long as you are in your control.

Posing with BMW

2006-08-08T04:18:00.000-07:00

Me posing with my friend's rented BMW!! in front of my office at Frankfurt. Just few mins before we start Belgium. We started Early morning at around 7.30AM

Break..!

2006-08-08T04:17:00.001-07:00

On the way to Belgium we stopped in between for a little break just out of highway. The place was quite cool and attractive.

Speedoooooo!

2006-08-08T04:17:00.000-07:00

See the speedometer of the car. It was taken on the way to reflect the normal speed in the highway. Its showing 160Kmph. We even reached up to 200Kmph sometimes.

BMW Class 3

2006-08-08T04:16:00.000-07:00

The one which we used to go to Belgium. A tribute to the car, which covered the 400Kms in just 3 1/2 hours.. at a max speed of 200Km/h.. See the numbering system... you can use ur own number as long as its unique with some small rules.

Killer signal

2006-08-08T04:14:00.000-07:00

This was the signal where we strcuk and could not understand the logic of it.

Temple..?

2006-08-08T04:11:00.000-07:00

One of the temple like building on the way. Precisely in the antwerpen city itself. But we dint go there. This was the place where we got confused with some traffic signal and we stopped our car on the train track(city train). We were just behind the track. And the people going on the way were saying something to us and we dint understand what they are saying just few seconds before the train come we went in to the middle of the track..!! we somehow saw the train.!! about to hit!! Accelerated at once to jump out of the track..! we survived.. Everyone was so scared that even in the dreams we use to get that tramp.. !

Man or statue.?

2006-08-08T04:10:00.000-07:00

There was a guy, must be begging. He was dressed himself like one of the statues there. He was posing with the tourists and use to get some money. New way of begging by giving some kind of entertainment.

Cathedral church

2006-08-08T04:09:00.001-07:00

The slant view of the cathedral church to show the height of it. Still, I could not cover the full.

Big Door

2006-08-08T04:09:00.000-07:00

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The fine art on the main entrance of the catherdral church in antwerpen.

Cruel Governor's Story!

2006-08-08T04:08:00.000-07:00

The building at the city center decorated with the flags. I have no Idea what they signify. But I could not find the Indian flag there. In the center you can see a statue of a fellow throwing a cut hand(if u see carefully). It was a story back to centuries, when there was a cruel governor and finally one brave fellow cut his hand and threw it away. So he is remembered with this statue.

Pigeon and the King

2006-08-08T02:48:00.001-07:00

The Statue of a king in the city center of the Antwerpen. A pigeon sitting on his head..

Me and Satya

2006-08-08T02:48:00.000-07:00

Me and satya posing in the city center with the church as background in Antwerpen.

White Horse

2006-08-07T01:56:00.001-07:00

This horse does not look as strong as the one you are going to see in the next pic.. But the special attraction comes from its color.

Simple yet so Attractive..

2006-08-07T01:56:00.000-07:00

This building looks to be as usual, seems to be one of many buildings in Europe. But If you can see it clearly, u can see the attractive, beautiful art in it. They represent the old culture and the life style..

Horse Power..!

2006-08-07T01:55:00.000-07:00

The powerful horses at Antwerpen city near the church.. I have seen some horses before, but they made a great impression in my mind. Such a strong and masculine. The measure of power in terms of Horse power is really worth it..!!

Castle, Antwerpen

2006-08-07T01:54:00.001-07:00

One of the old and must see castle in antwerpen. This has the classical Belgium architecture. Scott is posing like the statue in the pic.. lots of people seeing our crazy act..!!

Me Posing as in statue..

2006-08-07T01:54:00.000-07:00

Me posing as in statue, Satya waiting for his turn to take the picture..! and GV already finished..!

River side, Antwerpen

2006-08-07T01:53:00.002-07:00

River side of antwerpen, next to the castle.. not much of crowd and not much to see here.. except that the river is very wide and at the night the scene is awesome..!

Jesus inside the Castle..!

2006-08-07T01:53:00.001-07:00

This is one of the very old architecture, Inside the castle there is lot of things to see, if you are very much interested to see the old architecture. For a architecture student this might be something equal to gold. so much things to see...!!

Ancher

2006-08-07T01:53:00.000-07:00

Ancher
Originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The Old boat-ancher put outside the castle.. !

Reflecting Nature..!

2006-08-03T23:34:00.000-07:00

The reflection of the scenery in the pond. .. so lively.. So calm.. the nature asking you to be quite and silent to make your soul happy !! Let the soul enjoy and let it relax.. let it spend some time outside this busy world...

The Silence

2006-08-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

The park is so big, and so many visitors and so silent... may be they are cultured..!! I don't say we are not ! The pond is so silent, so clean. you will never feel like coming back. All were taking rest, sleeping on the bench put up near the pond. I was the only one wandering around and taking pics.!! still energetic..!

Posing near the lake

2006-08-03T23:03:00.000-07:00

This one was captured with great difficulty..! Me and Satya were struggling a lot. Because of the bright background we were getting dark pic of ours..!! so we took lot of pics and finally this one came lil ok..!! This is one of the biggest park in antwerpen!!

Church, Colon

2006-08-02T03:45:00.000-07:00

The mighty church in Colon. The view is amazing, such huge church I had never seen in my life. I really appreciate the beauty of it. Awesome one!

In front the big church in colon

2006-08-02T03:44:00.001-07:00

This one was taken in front of the big church in colon, We came to colon at around 8PM that day from antwerpen. See how sunny Europe is at 8PM!!!!

The Mighty Art

2006-08-02T03:44:00.000-07:00

The fine art in the front door of the cathedral church in Colon.

Highway Cross Bridge

2006-08-02T03:39:00.000-07:00

This is one of the cross bridge on the way back from Belgium. They don't have the concept of U turn in super-speed Highways connecting the cities across countries. All they have is Exits and Entries from the Highway. When you miss an exit by any chance then only way to come back is to take the next exit and join the reverse lane using such cross bridges.!

Korean food

2006-06-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

Korean food, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

I went with a Korean colleague to a Korean restaurent for lunch. This is what he ordered for me. can you guess what is this. That wormy thing is some sprouts, not worms.!!

Schelsian strasse

2006-06-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Schelsian strasse, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The schelsian strasse, the place where I stayed in Germany, Can u expect some indian city to be like this at any time?

Cool Germany

2006-06-05T06:59:00.000-07:00

Cool Germany, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

It just rained in the night, so looking very cool. All places in Germany are like this.. very clean and neat!!

Me n veer

2006-06-05T06:58:00.000-07:00

Me n veer, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

Me and Veerendra in Schwalbach Train station

Arcus Building

2006-06-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

Arcus Building, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

Our samsung office, Arcus building in Schwalbach

Samsung Haus

2006-06-05T06:56:00.000-07:00

Samsung Haus, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The main building of samsung in schwalbach

Way to Frankfurt

2006-06-05T06:55:00.000-07:00

Way to Frankfurt, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The train track next to office, to frankfurt

Houses!

2006-06-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

Houses!, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The houses in germany, the way they are built is completely dfferent, with more wood and compulsory slant slabs with tiles..!! can you guess why?

Ek Scence.. bus!!

2006-06-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

Ek Scence.. bus!!, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

A scene from the park near office

Play yard

2006-06-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

Play yard, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The play yard. near office. you feel like playing..??

Park, next to office

2006-06-05T06:29:00.000-07:00

Park, next to office, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The park, where you can go for a walk after lunch..

Green Samsung

2006-06-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

Green Samsung, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The samsung logo in green!

Me and Hemanth

2006-06-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

Me and Hemanth, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

Me and Hemanth, my roommate, on the way to office on a sunny day

Me, Prasad!!

2006-06-05T06:26:00.000-07:00

Me, Prasad!!, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

Veer, take a single snap of mine!!

The Land mark!

2006-06-05T06:25:00.000-07:00

The Land mark!, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

Just below the tallest tower of Frankfurt city. This is the land mark to comeback to main train station.

Maruthi swift?

2006-06-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

Maruthi swift?, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

Is this a copy of maruthi swift??

The Ivory club

2006-06-05T06:23:00.000-07:00

The Ivory club, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The Ivory club, frankfurt

kissin sky!

2006-06-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

kissin sky!, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The buildings kissing the sky!!

Church

2006-06-05T06:16:00.000-07:00

Church, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The churchs on the bank of river in frankfurt

Me posing

2006-06-05T06:14:00.000-07:00

Me posing, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

Me posing on the bank of river!! river is in front of me yaar!

A sleepy duck!

2006-06-05T06:13:00.000-07:00

A sleepy duck!, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

A sleepy duck..!! dont distub.. resting in peace..

Me!!

2006-06-05T06:12:00.000-07:00

Photo0041, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

Me with a black leaved tree in backgroung..!! dint come well :(

Bridge

2006-06-05T06:10:00.000-07:00

Bridge, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The bridge..!! hanging one!!!

Me on river side!!

2006-06-05T06:09:00.000-07:00

Me on river side!!, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

Me on river side.. lemme take some photos atleast.. not all from nature.. !

The Frankfurt city streets

2006-06-05T06:08:00.000-07:00

The Frankfurt city streets, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The Frankfurt city streets.. so clean!

Clean street

2006-06-05T06:07:00.000-07:00

Clean street, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

Can India be ever so clean..?? with such a nice traffic system

Kavasaki bike!!

2006-06-05T06:06:00.000-07:00

Kavasaki bike!!, originally uploaded by Prasad Shetty.

The stylish bike from Kavasaki, bikes are very rare in germany and you need a special licence to ride bike. and all are mast bikes.. with a great power!!