Bangalore – What else?

There is a saying in kannada that goes “Oorella sutidre, kayalle siktu”. Meaning – “We searched the whole wide world to find it in our hand”. This was the very saying that came to my mind when I saw the beautiful sunset while returning back home – returning to Bangalore. I must confess that I am a sunrise/sunset freak. I just love watching them. I have traveled both to the west and east coast of India and I have loved watching all the sunrises and sunsets there. This episode happened the day I was returning from a short trip out of Bangalore. Luckily I had a camera with me and I was able to take some really pretty snaps of the sunset. Beautiful! That is the only word that I can think of.

Belum Caves – Pleasant Surprises

Stalagmites and stalactites, sound familiar? I too had read about them in school. Limestone formations that rise from the ground and drop from the ceiling. Then after 9 years I heard about them existing in this place called Belum Caves near Ananthpur in A.P. My curiosity got the better of me, I so badly wanted to go there that I even agreed to attend a far-off relatives wedding in order to see this place (I just hope that no one remotely concerned with the wedding reads this). It was a bit intimidating to be entering a cave, the darkness and the unknown gets to you at times. The whole place was so beautiful and so well maintained that it brought a smile out on everyone's face (My parents weren’t all that interested as they had seen a better one in the US). The cave is so well lighted; some places even have fresh air ducts which give a reprieve from the low oxygen levels in the cave. At a depth of 120ft we found a fresh water source, named as “Patala Ganga” (as is done to most places in India, they had to find a religious reason here too :) ). It is beautiful to see the different formations; we even found a formation which created music when tapped against!! We visited a part of the cave where the oxygen level was so low that we could just feel ourselves tiring out just by standing there (my mom felt like we were on a volcano!) It is definitely a Must-See place.

Karwar – The Hidden Treasure

My trip to karwar was more of a get-away-from-work trip, than an enjoy-the-vacation one. It was a pleasant surprise when we actually got to see clear blue water (never thought I could see through sea water in INDIA!!). It was a sweeter surprise to see all the wild dolphins that provided a calming effect (they are so damn cute… even from a distance!!). The water sports were a welcome treat, very different from the sedentary job that I hold! Wish I could do that for a living. The island was a good reprieve from all the crowds, dust and pollution. It was made more fun by my buddies who made sure that we enjoyed every bit of it! A place where nothing seemed important enough to worry about… A time well spent - a trip well worth it!