Kenya - Cradle of Mankind

Kenya – Cradle of Mankind, true to its name, everybody can relate to this place. It was one of the must visit place on Pankaj's list. He is totally into evolution and history of mankind. All of us also love wildlife. Hence we shortlisted Kenya. Both Kenya and Tanzania top the list on the high probability of sighting wildlife – especially the BIG FIVE (Lions, Leopards, Rhinos, Elephants and Buffalo). We decided on Kenya as we planned to visit the  during October. Based on which time of the year you plan the trip, you can either choose Kenya or Tanzania. Best time of course would be July-August – peak time for migration and also peak tourist time. But because of the school holiday constraints, we decided to go in October, the next best season. And we were not disappointed at all. After experiencing the safaris in Kenya, all other national parks seem very small and less exciting.

Elephant Herd with backdrop of Kilimanjaro - Amboseli National Park

Young Lion @ Masai Mara

Hundred of Wild Buffaloes at Masai Mara

If one is travelling from India, then the planning needs to be done at least couple of months in advance. It is best to book the tour through known travel agents. The tours can be availed at cheaper rates, if you book from Africa through some known contact. Like any other developing country, there is high risk of fraud bookings. Hence one needs to be extra cautious and go with well known tourist agencies. Though there was lot of information on various fraud cases, we found the people of Kenya very friendly and we did not face any issues during our trip. We booked our custom tour through Travel Baazar (www.travelbaazar.com). Since Kenya has lot of reserves, we gave a list of reserves we wanted to visit and the number of days at each reserve. Our travel agent came up with the list of resorts based on our specified requirements and that's how we made our itinerary.

Lioness and Cubs @ Masai Mara

Basically we wanted to visit Nairobi – more as a stop over and starting point for all travels. Then it was Amboseli for Kilimanjaro and the Big Five – especially the elephants, Lake Nakuru for the Pink Flamingos and White Rhinos and the geological significance of Rift Valley and salt water lake, Masai Mara – mother of all reserves for the Big Five, all kinds of animals and the great Mara river and the migration. So our trip was to start with Nairobi (1N) – Amboseli (2N) – Lake Nakuru (2N) – Masai Mara (2N)

TIPS

1. Preferably book the tour with a travel agent
2. Every reserve requires minimum of 2 nights stay (4 game drives)
3. Consider the travel time from one reserve to another while planning the itinerary. Drive from one reserve to another would require atleast 4-6 hours.
4. During the drive, carry snacks and fruits as there aren't many places where one could stop for a small snack/tea/coffee.
5. Most countries require a yellow fever immunisation and certificate. At Bangalore, this is done on Wednesday's in the government health care centre near Freedom Park. Usually the travel agents take care of the appointments. Ensure there is enough gap (atleast 3-4 weeks) between the immunisation and travel date. The certificate is valid for 10 years.
6. Highly recommended to choose a resort within the national reserve. This will be a little expensive. But it is totally worth it. The deeper the resort in the reserve, the expensive it gets :)
7. If you are brave enough to camp, then nothing like it. There are lot of agencies who help in camping in the reserve.
8. All reserve have 2 game drives per day – one in the morning starting from 6AM – 9AM and then in the evening from 3:30PM – 6:30PM.
9. Independent good binoculars are must for each traveller (don't share, you will end up missing stuff)
10. Good camera
11. Hats and scarfs to cover the hair and mouth. The safari's can get very dusty.
12. Also roads across Kenya are very dusty and bumpy, be prepared
13. Light jackets and sun glasses
14. Lip balms and sun screen as there is lot of temperature changes. Because of this and dust, the lips tend to crack
15. Independent safari vehicle (non sharing) for the family or if in group for the group. This helps a lot and can make a big difference
16. Note book and Pen to write the names of the sightings. You will be surprised on the number of different animals you will see.
17. Don't pack any thing delicate. Preferably carry bags which are strong and rugged
18. Carry lot of loose cotton wear – preferably in colours which don't standout. Don't carry anything white or very light colour. If you carry one don't be surprised with the change in colour after the trip :)
19. Most resorts have swimming pools, hence a swim suit will be required as one gets lot of free time during non-safari hours.
20. Most resorts don't have T.V nor cell phone signals. Hence carry books/magazines
21. Most safari vehicles are non-a/c as they need to open the roof for animal sighting. Please specify if you want a/c vehicles
    
    

We started planning for our trip around end of July 2013. Our trip for planned for Oct 9 – Oct 17, 2013. Here was our itinerary

Oct 10 – Nairobi - Laico Regency Hotel

Oct 11 – Amboseli – Amboseli Serena Lodge

Oct 12 – Amboseli – Amboseli Serena Lodge

Oct 13 – Nakuru Lake – Lake Nakuru Lodge

Oct 14 – Nakuru Lake – Lake Nakuru Lodge

Oct 15 – Masai Mara – Mara Serena Safari Lodge

Oct 16 – Masai Mara – Mara Serena Safari Lodge

Oct 17 – Check out from Masai Mara, drive to Nairobi and fly to Bangalore

After the bookings were completed, the biggest hurdle was getting the yellow fever immunisation. During this time there was a acute shortage of the vaccine. This vaccine is administered by the government and immunisation is done for limited people, only once a week. Because of all these constraints, there was a huge waiting list. Since we had initiated this in advance, we were able to get the immunisation few weeks before our travel. At Bangalore, this is done only on Wednesday, hence we had to take leave from office and the kids had to miss school. Good part is the certificate is valid for 10 years.

Kids feeding the Giraffe @ Giraffe Manor Nairobi

There are no direct flights from Bangalore to Nairobi. Hence we had our bookings from Bangalore – Mumbai – Nairobi with Kenyan Airways. Kenyan airways is the national carrier of Kenya and decent – not as high end as Emirates.

We were very specific when we did our bookings. We ensured our accommodation were in the National Reserve, we choose a family room which could accommodate 2 adults and 2 kids rather than 2 separate room (most of these resorts have family room options – please check before booking), a separate independent safari vehicle which will be with us from Nairobi until our return. The best part of such booking is the vehicle and the driver will be with you all along when moving from one place to another and also all these vehicles have a detachable roofs which double up as safari vehicles.

Atlast the travel day had come and we were all very excited. This was our first trip to an African country and we had never done a wildlife trip like this before. Most of our wildlife trips have been for 2-3 days in India. This was big for us. We had a late night flight to Mumbai on 9^th October and an early morning flight from Mumbai to Nairobi. Since we were travelling towards west of India, we gained time. We were in Nairobi by 7am on 10^th October. Since we had booked our trip through a travel agent, their representatives were at the airport to pick us up. We were briefed on the tour and were given nice safari hats. It was about 1 1/2 hour drive from airport to our hotel.

Traffic Jams at Nairobi

Kenya is on the east coast of Africa. Nairobi is the capital of Kenya. Swahili is the local language. However most of them speak English. “Jambo” - which means Hi/Hello in Swahili. One gets to hear this word everywhere. Nairobi airport is very small. It resembles the small airports of non-metro cities in India. The airport was under construction. Hopefully the new airport will be bigger and better. The first impression of Nairobi was - “were we really outside India?” It looked so much like any other place in India. There are lots of people everywhere, dust, traffic, noise etc. Nothing can beat the traffic in Nairobi – it's really bad. One can get stuck for hours on the road. Since most cars are non-a/c the air and noise pollution can be very irritating. This is not a place for a vacation. It is more of a stop -over to explore the real beauty of Kenya.

10th Oct (Liaco Regency Hotel - Nairobi) 

Nairobi National Musuem

Nairobi Mamba Village

 

Liaco Regency Hotel was pretty good. This is located in the central business district. We had no major plans for Nairobi as we were pretty tired. Some of the things we did in Nairobi – first we visited the National Museum of Kenya (http://www.museums.or.ke/). This is must visit place when in Nairobi. They have some very rare collection of fossils and skeleton of very early human being. One would require atleast 2 hours to explore the museum. From here we visited Nairobi Mamba village. Here we got see some Nile river crocodiles and also tortoises. Pankaj carried a baby crocodile and the kids touched it. I did not dare to do either :(. From here we went to the Giraffe Manor – here one can pet the Giraffe's, you can feed them. One gets to see a lot of Giraffes here. This can be easily skipped if you are planning to do the game drives in Masai Mara or Lake Nukuru. You will get to see a lot of Giraffe's in the wild and at very close distance. We also visited the Kazuri Bead factory and got a tour on how the beads were made. I also bought some earrings and necklace made here. After this we did some walking around the Central Business District. The traffic is really bad in Nairobi and one can get stuck on the road for hours. Another must visit place is “Hotel Carnivore”. Since most of us are vegetarians, we could not push ourselves to visit this place. This is highly recommended for meat eaters. We had an early dinner as the plan was start early next day to Amboseli.

Safari Vehicle for Game Drives

11^th – 13^th Oct (Amboseli Serena Lodge @ Amboseli National Park)

Charles - Our driver cum safari guide was ready with the vehicle at the hotel by 7:30AM. We had a good breakfast Laico Hotel and started our journey around 8AM. Drive to Amboseli is about 4hrs drive from Nairobi. Lot of time is lost in getting out of Nairobi because of the traffic mess. Also the roads in Kenya are not great – very similar to India. The drive is very dust and goes through lot of villages. It almost felt like we were driving in India.

Amboseli Serena Lodge

We had to register and show our booking at the Amboseli Reserves entrance gate. There are only a few resorts available inside the national park. Staying in a place within the reserve is amazing. However since the number of such resorts are limited, one needs to book well in advance. At the entrance, there were a few Masai tribal men and women selling some stuff made from wood, beads etc. Once we entered the gate of Amboseli National Park, the landscape changed. Since it is grasslands, one can see things which are at long distance too. While we driving in, the great Kilimanjaro was on our left. This view cannot be explained, it needs to be experienced. At this point, I realised why people die to visit Africa – it is amazing. One is transferred into a completely different world. Drive to the resort was about 45mins from the entrance. Amboseli Serena Lodge faces Kilimanjaro. Some rooms have direct view of the mountain. Because of the huge number of tourists from different parts of the world, the buffets in these resorts are of wide spread. There is a huge variety of good food. With nothing much to do other than the game drives, one tends to over eat. Don't be surprised if you gain a few Kg after you return from Kenya trip. Also the resorts are very tourist friendly - like most of the staff, can communicate in English, there is swimming pool, well stocked bar, souvenir shop, help desk to plan our day etc.

Elephant Herd - Amboseli National Park

We had booked a family room. The room was very good and was facing the reserve. Since the resort is inside the National park, there is enough secure fencing made around the resort to keep away the wild animals. One gets to see a lot of wild animals in the early mornings and late evenings, right outside the rooms. Our room was national park facing. We kept our luggage and headed straight to have lunch. We were thrilled to see the spread – there is a lot of variety for every course. Every family/group is assigned a table and we are supposed to eat all our meals at the same table. We had our lunch at leisure. After lunch, we rested for a while and then it was time to leave for game drive. All game drives start at 3:30PM and go up to 6:30-7PM. Because of the grasslands and abundance of wildlife, there is nothing to worry about whether one can spot animals.

Cheetha - Amboseli National Park

Amboseli is known for African Elephants. We could see huge elephant herds of various sizes. Because of the way the safari vehicles are designed, one gets to see the animals up close. View of these elephant herds with Kilimanjaro as the backdrop is a worthy sight. What everybody will be waiting to see is if they can catch some action – either a kill or a chase. We had totally 4 game drives across 2 days and could see lots of wild life. We saw lost of Elephants, Lions, Cheetahs, lots of wildebeests, lots of Zebras, Hyenas, some secretary bird, baboons, gazelles, Giraffe's, Hippos, ostrich and many more animals. Best part was we spotted the Cheetahs and were hoping to see some action. The Cheetahs were just waiting and we were also waiting. This continued for atleast 10min and then suddenly one Cheetah started chasing a small animal. We were awed by the speed at which the Cheetah started chasing the animal. We could not see what animal it was, but it ran very fast to escape being killed and it succeeded. We waited for some more time, hoping the Cheetah would find it and we could see some action. But nothing happened. Moment the Cheetah started chasing, we were scared. Never experienced how fast a Cheetah can run. It is one thing to want to see some action, but when you are in wild around wild animals, the feeling is different. You always have the fear – what if?

Our routine was same everyday, get up, go for game drive, come back have good breakfast, relax (may be swim or read a book or just sleep), then lunch, relax, game drive, list the animals we spotted and ponder over the experiences, dinner and sleep.

Zebra's Crossing - Amboseli National Park

Unlike other national parks in Kenya, Amboseli has its unique beauty. The view of great Kilimanjaro adds the beauty to this park. Kilimanjaro is a snow capped mountain. Because of the vast grasslands of Amboseli, the mountain can be experienced from almost everywhere in the park. In the morning game drives, the view of fresh grassland, with herds of elephants – of all sizes and backdrop of Kilimanjaro is breathtaking. In the evening game drive the same snow capped mountain takes a new look. The setting sun adds the hues of orange to the snow cap and it is just beautiful.

Welcome Dance by Masai Tribe

Another unique experience we had at Amboseli was visiting the Masai village. Tours are available to visit the Masai village. Though one can feel that the whole thing is setup for the tourists, it is worth the experience. We took this tour to understand the history of one of the great tribes of Africa. The Masai tribes can be spotted anywhere with their red attire and lots of piercing and bead ornaments. The tour was of 1 hour. We were taken to a Masai village, which is very close to the Amboseli Serena Lodge. First, we were given a warm welcome, with some dance and songs. We also joined the Masai group in the dance. The tour guide was a Masai and spoke good English. He explained and demonstrated to us how fire could be created without matchsticks and by just rubbing 2 types of woods. It was amazing. He also told us how the tribe survived on blood and meat. The houses are built with hay, cattle dung and covered with animal skin. They have a low ceiling and are pretty dark inside. We went inside a house and saw how beds were made. They also had a market set up for tourists where one could buy stuff made by the tribes – which included small ornaments made with beads, some wooden animals etc. We bought some earring and small chains for kids from the market.There was a school setup by the NGO, where the kids of the Masai village could study. Not sure whether this school was actually functional or setup more to get funds from tourists. Overall it was great
experience.

Dust Storm - Ambsoeli National park

Lake Nakuru - Nakuru Lodge (Oct 13^th – Oct 15^th)

Thousands of Flamingoes dotting Lake Nakuru

After spending 2 wonderful days at Amboseli, it was now time to head to our next destination – Nakuru National Park. It is a very long drive from Amboseli to Nakuru – its about 400KMs and will take 7-8 hours by road. We had a good breakfast and checked out. We stopped at Nairobi for lunch. Our driver thought we ate only Indian food, hence took us to an Indian restaurant. This restaurant was in a locality where there were many Indians. Though we would have eaten at any Veg restaurant, since our driver had got us here, we were more than happy to eat some Indian food. This was one of the long drives. We would reach Nakuru only by 3-4PM. Lake Nakuru falls in the rift valley. On the away, we stopped at a view point from where we could see and experience the rift. It is amazing to see how nature can change the landscape. Most lakes in the rift valley are salt (alkaline) water lakes and have unique habitants. Lake Nakuru is known for Flamingos. But due to lot of flooding and change in the salt content of the lake, the birds are moving higher up to a lake close to Mount Kenya. Nevertheless there are still tons of Flamingos in Lake Nakuru. Lake Nakuru is also famous for White Rhinos, baboons and lot of other birds. Apart from this there are many predators and herbivorous animals.

Buffaloes around Lake Nakuru

After a long drive we reached Nakuru around 4:30PM. Dark clouds had gathered and it would start raining any time. Our guide/driver thought we would not be keen on going for a game drive after such an exhausting drive. But we were like – lets go straight to the game drive. Without checking into the hotel, we headed to the game drive and this game drive turned out to be just amazing. We saw a lot of wildlife which included Eland, Warthog, Impalas, Thompson Gazelles, tons of Flamingos, Giraffe, Zebras, White Rhino, Cheetahs, Buffalos and lions. A amazing experience was to see a lion waiting a distance from a group of Giraffes. We were all hoping to see the lion attack the Giraffes. We waited for long time and nothing happened. We saw the giraffe sensing something and started moving away from where the lion was hiding and eventually went far off. By now the clouds burst into rain. All the vans closed down their top viewing windows. After some time we reached a spot where we saw around 20-25 giraffes all standing in semi-circle and getting drenched in rain. This was beautiful! It was getting dark and time to get back to the resort. As we neared the resort we saw a Jackal and lots of Impalas and Elands around the resort. 

Giraffes - Lake Nakuru

 

Atlast we checked into Lake Nakuru Lodge and felt like not doing anything. We got into our room and everybody just crashed on the bed. After sometime we realised we were very hungry. Though we did not want to get out, hunger drove us to the dining area. The sight of lots of delicious food made us forget our tiredness. We enjoyed our dinner and called it a day.

White Rhinos @ Lake Nakuru

Next day we went for more game drives and saw more animals. From far the lake looks like there are small pink dots on something blue. As we got closer, we saw that the pink dots were nothing but hundreds of pink Flamingos. The sight is awesome. After our game drive, we had breakfast and kids went straight to the pool. I and Pankaj decided to just sit and read. Lot of people also visit Mount Kenya if they are visiting Lake Nakuru. That would require another extra day. 
At night, the resort had organized a stunt show by local villagers. The group performed some amazing stunts with fire and cycles.  

Kids enjoying in the pool @ Lake Nakuru Lodge

 

Baboons - right outside lake Nakuru Lodge

Performance by local villagers - Lake Nakuru Lodge

Our next stop was Masai Mara. Hence we decided to stop over at lake Naivasha as it is on the way to Masai Mara. Lake Naivasha is a fresh water lake and falls in the rift valley but at a higher altitude. It is known for Hippos and fish eating eagles. Lot of other African animals have also been introduced around lake Naivasha. This is about 2 hours from Lake Nakuru enroute Masai Mara. We had our breakfast and bid good by to the Flamingos and headed to lake Naivasha.

Hippos @ Lake Naivasha

Birds @ Lake Naivasha

At Lake Naivasha, we took boat tour. This is the best way to explore the wildlife on the lake. We saw lot of birds, hippos and many other animals. Most interesting part was see the white headed eagle flying all the way from a far of tree to catch the fish thrown by the boatman. As soon as the boatman whistled, the eagle would fly and catch the fish thrown. The eagle has really good vision, but this was experiencing it first hand. After spending couple of hours at Lake Naivasha, it was time to head to THE MOTHER OF ALL WILDLIFE DESTINATION – MASAI MARA. En route Masai Mara, our driver stopped a souvenir shop on the road side. There are lot of such shops set up on the road for the tourist. We bought a wooden walk piece of wild buffalo face and also a Masai Couple. We need to bargain a lot to get the stuff at reasonable price.

Unlike Amboseli, Masai Mara National Park is a very huge. Our booking was with Mara Serena Safari Lodge which is very interior in the Masai National Park. It is about 90 Kms from the entrance gate. The road towards the entrance of Masai Mara (about 60 Kms) is very bad. Actually it is just a muddy path. Very bumpy and dusty. This stretch will feel like never ending. We had no idea it was that interior. We reached the entrance gate around 1:30PM. Luckily our travel agent had booked our lunch at Sarovar Resort which is very close to the entrance. We were very hungry and had a good lunch. Sarovar is also a very good property to stay. We wished we had booked there. But little did we know what was awaiting us. After lunch we started our drive to Mara Serena Safari Lodge and by far this was the longest and best game drives we had so far. We experienced some amazing sightings.

Leopard drinking water @ Masai Mara

Our resort was 90KMs away, into the national park - very very remote. Most of the resorts are very close to entrance, except couple of them which are very interior. Mara Serena Lodge is one of them. As our drive started, we were greeted with hundreds of wild buffaloes. These buffaloes are really huge and the herds are in great numbers. Indian buffaloes are nothing compared to these :). After this we got a radio signal that a Leopard has been spotted drinking water by a stream. We could see all the safari vehicles turning towards this spot. There, we saw a huge Leopard at very close proximity – drinking water by the stream. This Leopard was well built and as we could see at a close distance, we could see the details. As we moved along we saw tons of Zebras, Gazelles, Giraffe's, wildebeest. We also saw a couple of Warthog families. One can spot them easily with their pointed tails.

Lioness and Cubs @ Masai Mara

Lioness and Cubs with Elephant Herd @ Masai Mara

Then we came across Vultures (around 40-50 in number) all sitting around a tree. We had not seen vultures this close. We were a bit scared. These birds are really huge. Their beaks are also pretty big and pointy. As we drove a few kilometres, we saw a Leopard on a tree with a kill. The prey was a Gazelle and blood was dripping. This again was a unique site. Such sightings can be easily missed by a normal person. The guides are very keen observers and without their help spotting such rare scene is close to impossible. At this point our guide cum driver got a radio signal on spotting of lions. We could see some 4-5 safari vehicles all moving in the same direction. We too started to drive there, and what a site it was. A herd of elephants with around 10-12 lions of which 2 were lioness and the rest cubs. This was just amazing. The elephant herd was trying to protect their little ones and the lionesses were trying to shield their cubs from the elephants. All vehicles were still - watching this show. It was once in a life time experience. We waited until the lions decided to cross and move into the grassland, from where we could not spot them anymore. This is natures way of protecting them. It is very difficult to spot the lions once they are in the grassland. We need to constantly keep a watch, to see if we spot anything brown. The back of top part of lion's ears are dark brown colour and that is one way of spotting them in the grass, when they are hiding.

Vultures @ Masai Mara

Mara River and its Stink

After this exciting experience, we continued our drive. By now we were deep into the Masai Mara National Park. Now we could not see any other safari vehicles as most of these vehicles were from resorts close to the entrance. We now reached the Mara river and what a stink we got. We had to get down the vehicle to register at the entrance as no vehicles are allowed from this point except for the people staying in the resorts beyond this point. We had only seen the crossing of animals at river Mara in the NatGeo channel during migration. Even though it was not the migration season, just seeing the location gave goose-bumps. There were bones of all types and sizes around the river, there was decaying animals – half eaten and left and the smell was a stink. I can't put it in words it needs to experienced. We wondered how the guard sat there whole day and experienced this. After showing him our bookings, we were allowed to go further. It was time for the sun to set and we were still nowhere close to the resort. All around it is just open and we could see the Giraffe's, Zebras, wildebeests all moving and within sometime there were no animals. It was dark and scary. We wondered where had all the animals disappeared. There at far of hill we could see some lights glitter and what a relief it was to see the glimmering lights. But the lights were still very far. While we were busy checking these lights, we spotted some red eyes which were glowing in the dark. These were just next to road where our vehicle was. As we got closer, we saw that there were 3 hyenas. We were really scared. As we drove further we saw a Jackal cross the road. Our driver was telling us, we were late. The vehicles are not allowed to be out at this hour. Atlast we reached our resort at 7:30PM and what a sight it was. One of THE best resorts we had stayed so far. Very remote, unique theme (it's an ant hill design) and what a location – MIND BLOWING. 

Hyena @ Masai Mara

 

We were very tried after a long day. We checked in, had dinner and crashed. Next day morning, we got a good view of the surroundings. This resort is on top of small hill. This acts as an advantage as it gives a great view of the national park. One can spot animals which are very far off. We could see 8-10 Giraffe's right outside the resort. The Giraffe's in Masai Mara are a little different. They are slightly darker than the regular giraffes. We saw many more interesting animals on the game drives. We saw a group of really huge hippos in the Mara river, unimaginable number of buffaloes, lions and their families – at one place we saw some 6 very small cubs jumping and playing. It was really fun. We were sure the mother was somewhere close by though we could not spot her. We saw a couple of male lions. They are mostly loners. The males are really huge. Most part of the day, these are found lying low under the tree or walking around or playing with their little ones. All the action starts in the night. We also saw few Rhinos, warthog families, Ostriches and the big crocodiles.

Masai Mara

After breakfast, we came back to the room to relax. We were just chatting, when we saw some movement at the window. When we went closer, we saw there were a few Lemurs – jumping all over. Wildlife gets really close to you in Africa :) The resort also has a good swimming pool. We spent some time at the pool. Since this was our last destination, we wanted to capture as many memories of Kenya as possible.

Mara Serena Safari Lodge is a beautiful resort. We found the rooms a little smaller. Other than that it was spectacular. The resorts lighting effect at night is superb. Food was excellent with lots of options. But nothing can beat the location of the resort!

Next day was pack and time to leave the wild and head to Nairobi. We checked out after our breakfast. The drive from Masai Mara to Nairobi was about 4-5 hours. This time we exited from another gate which was towards Nairobi. This drive was through villages of Kenya. The roads are not in good condition and very dusty. One needs to cover their face and hair with scarf and wear sun glasses. We reached Nairobi by lunch time. We had lunch at a mall where we were supposed to meet the travel agent representative who had welcomed us when we had arrived in Kenya. We had our lunch at a Indian restaurant. Completed some formalities like filling feedback forms etc. We were later dropped at the airport in time for our flight.

We had seen so much of wildlife in last one week, we had forgotten how cities looked. Coming back to Nairobi gave a taste of traffic and chaos. It was time to return to Bangalore with loads of wonderful memories of Kenya.

Thippena Halli Homestay - Chikkamagulur

It was monsoon time and it was time to visit one of our favorite monsoon destinations - Chikkamagulur r Coorg. This year we decided to go to Chikkamagulur   Aug 9th happened to be a long weekend and with one search in Google, we decided on Thippana Halli Homestay (http://www.thippanahallihomestay.com/).

Thippan Halli Homestay - With Mulayangiri Betta in the backdrop

Definitely the best home stays in Chikkamagulur  Located just few kilometers away from the Chikkamagulur town, midst of 200 acre coffee plantation with backdrop of Mulayangiri Betta (Karnataka's highest peak), this red colored heritage bungalow is just beautiful. There are 5 rooms available as homestay - 2 facing the Mulayangiri Betta (best rooms), 2 facing the garden (little old and views are not great), 1 room in the main bungalow (Partial view of the betta but huge room can comfortably accommodate 2 adults + 2 kids. Has 2 Queen sized beds).

TIP: The Home stay is perpetually booked.  Need to plan well in advance

We booked the room in the main building (as the rooms with Mulayangiri Betta views were not available) and we were not disappointed at all. Huge room with 2 comfortable Queen sized beds. It was perfect for our family. This place is about 5 Hrs drive from Bangalore. The roads are pretty good. There aren't many options for breakfast on the way. There is one place about 3 hrs from Bangalore. we had our breakfast at a small joint - once we exit at Nelamangala towards Mangalore Highway. We reached the home-stay around 12:30 PM well in time for lunch.

The drive itself was very relaxing and treat to the eyes. Monsoons bring with them the freshness and greenery which automatically rejuvenates the mind. Once we reached the home-stay, the place was beyond our expectations. Huge Heritage bungalow, surrounded by coffee plantation and then as we walk to our room, there the huge Mulayangiri Betta - green all over partially covered in mist right infront of you. We had not expected it to be so close. Superb view. With small drizzle, greenery all over and the Betta playing hide and seek among the clouds - all we wanted to do was sit and watch.

View from the Dining Area

Lunch was served around 1:30. The lunch was simple but very tasty. The dinner room has the best views. We had a relaxed lunch chatting with the hosts. They mentioned that it was the first day in last 15 days that they had seen sunshine. It had been raining continuously. The place has a TT table. Kids had a gala time playing TT. I decided to have a nap and had a good one. At 4PM we decided to go visit the Mulayangiri Betta. The hosts advised us to go early as the road at the top is not in good condition and it is not very safe to drive once it gets dark.

Mulayangiri Betta is just 12 KMs from the home stay. It was great and a bit scary drive to the top. It is a single lane road and is very scary when their is a vehicle coming on the opposite side. When we reached the parking at the top, we were fully into the clouds. Felt really chilly and at the same time we were excited. We had to climb around 300 steps to the top. We decided to climb the steps, though it was drizzling and freezing. It was really fun climbing the steps where the visibility was so low we could see only a few steps ahead of us. But whenever the clouds cleared for a few seconds, the view was awesome. As usual there is a temple at the top - we took some pictures and did not wait there for long as it had started raining and also it was very windy and it was getting difficult to stand in the cold.

Descending the steps from Mulayangiri Betta

We walked back slowly to the car parking. Wereally had a gala time. On the way down hill, there is an old temple. The scene was like that of a scary movie with the old temple covered in fog. We spent some time here and started driving back down hill. By now, it was raining heavily. We stopped for some hot tea at a small tea stall. We were shivering and a small glass of hot tea was a treat.

Infront of a old temple - on the way to Mulayangiri Betta

By the time we reached our room, it was pitch dark and was raining heavily. Sometime having no TV on your trips is a great advantage. We spent some time playing cards and reading our favorite books. There were 4 other families in the dining room and the hosts Arpita and Nitin were chatting up with each family. Since the place is not very big, it felt very homely and the hosts made us feel very much at home. After a hot and yummy dinner, we headed to our room. A walk around the coffee plantation was planned at 7:30 AM next morning and we were looking forward to it.

Next day morning, we were all ready to go around the coffee plantation. Nitin lead us giving us a brief on how his family started the coffee plantation and showing us the different trees and patiently answering all the questions we asked. By the time we finished the trail, it was 9 AM and we were tired and hungry.

Small falls on a trail in the coffee plantation

After break fast, we planned to visit the Herekolel Lake. This is supposed to be very scenic and we were not disappointed at all. Though there is a short cut to the lake from the home stay, the route is not recommended during monsoons as the road is not very good. Hence we had to go to Chikkamagular town and then go to the lake - which tool us about 40 min. But definitely worth the visit. The lake is very scenic and I guess the monsoon added more glamour to the beauty. There weren't many people and we could enjoy the lake by ourselves. We spent some time feasting on the beauty of the lake. After we had enough, headed back to the room. We spent the afternoon lazing and playing TT.

Scenic - Herekolel Lake

Around 3 PM, we decided to go to Baba Budangiri. In the hindsight, I think it would have been best we had not done this. It was very foggy, because of which the drive was slow and for some reason there was huge rush - I think it was because of Ramzan. All this increased the drive time. Last time we had visited, it was during April month and the views were awesome. But since this was monsoon, we could not appreciate the views much and also because of the huge crowd could not enjoy much. By the time we reached back our room it was pretty late.

Belvadi Temples

Next day morning, we went by ourselves on a different trail around the plantation. We came across a small stream - water of which was being used within the farm. We had our breakfast, we took the tour of the homestay - "The Bungalow". It is no less than a museum. Very well maintained and there are artifacts from all over the world. The bungalow has 28 room and each room is of different color and the furniture, decor is matching the room color . Nitin's grand-father was a great personality and has done lot to the society. He has got many awards from the Maharajah of Mysore, which are all on display in the house.  After this we checked out. Instead of driving straight back to Bangalore we decided to visit the Heremagulur Temple which is very close to the Chikkamagulur town. The main temple is pretty old, but enough renovation has been done to keep the temple running. After this we visited the Belvadi temple. ASI has done a good job on maintaining all these 100s of year old temples in good condition. These temples don't get their limelight as most visitors with only a day in hand will prefer to visit the famous Belur and Halebedu temples.  From Heremagulur temple to Belvadi temple, we took the village route. Enroute, we came across lot of interesting farms. We stopped at lot of farms to check out the different vegetables, grains, flowers. It was fun. There was no place around to have lunch. We survived on Bananas and Biscuits. Enjoyed every minute of this trip. By the time we reached B'lore it was late evening and we had another great trip to Chikkamagulur.

Shivanasamudra - Treat to Eyes in Monsoons

Few days back the news was out in the papers - "KRS Dam is full and the dam gates have been opened to release the water to the river". This meant the water falls around KRS would be full and treat to eyes. One such point is Shivanasmudra, where the 2 falls - Gagana Chukki and Bhara Chukki attract thousands of tourists. These two falls are awesome during monsoon - especially if the rains have been very good. This year is one such year.

This place is about 120 Kms from Bangalore and can be reached via Kanakapura Road or Mysore Road. The roads are pretty good and would take about 2 1/2 - 3 hours by car. We prefer the Kanakapura road as there is lesser traffic and also the road is surrounded by fields which is welcome treat to the eyes.

Gagana Chukki Falls

We started from Bangalore around 8:30AM after a quick breakfast at Adyar Anand Bhavan in BTM Layout. Three more families (Pankaj's cousins) joined us on this trip. The meeting point was Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ashram on Kanakapura road at 8:30 AM. It was 8:45 AM, when we started from the ashram. The drive was peaceful and we reached Gagana chukki point by 11:30 AM. There were a lot of visitors as the news was out.

Bhara Chukki Falls

Nothing much has changed in last decade. Every monsoon, there is a flood of visitors - which keeps increasing every year, the roads have not been improved nor the infrastructure around. There is still no restaurant around :( The only eatables available are chips, biscuits, ground nuts and cucumber. Only option is to pack the food. The bridge to Bhara Chukki is very narrow. Every year there is traffic jam and most of the time is spent is waiting to cross the bridge.

Flooded river

Nevertheless, a good break in monsoon. Just be mentally prepared to accept a lot of crowd and traffic. However the view of the falls is superb. The water looks almost like milk. We had fun visiting both the falls. Since we had packed our lunch, it was a nice picnic under the trees. Spent time playing cards and catching up with cousins.






TIP: Crowd can be avoided if you plan to reach the place before 9/10 AM. You can enjoy the falls peacefully.

Lepakshi

Lepakshi - This is one place which is so close to Bangalore, yet we had never visited it. The monsoon was set and weather was great in Bangalore and we were itching to go for a long drive. And so, Lepakshi was chosen. This is a great place to go with a group of friends/family. I checked with my friends if anybody was free to join us on a day trip to Lepakshi. Most of them were busy with Kids exams and other commitments. One of our family friends Latha & Mohan joined us with their kids.

And so it was decided - we would meet at Konark restaurant on Richmond Road for break fast at 8:30AM and then start to Lepakshi on a Sunday morning. We had found out that there aren't any good restaurants in Lepakshi and best option would be pack lunch. We split some dishes and decided to carry packed lunch and have a picnic. In the hind sight, this was an excellent idea. We really enjoyed it.

On Sunday morning, with lunch packed, we started at 8 AM to meet at Konark restaurant. Latha's family was already waiting for us. We were all meeting after a very long time and everybody was excited to meet each other. Had a good breakfast of Idlis and Dosas. Latha had got her Honda CRV and she suggested we drive in a single car. We parked our car on Richmond Road and all of us (4 adults + 4 kids) hopped in CRV. This was fun. We played a lot of games on our way. We reached Lepakshi around 11:30 AM.

Lepakshi is a small town in Andhra Pradesh bordering Karnataka. This place is about 130 KMs from Bangalore on the NH7 highway to Hyderabad and is famous for Veerabhadra Temple, dedicated to Veerabhadra. Built by the brothers Viranna and Virupanna, the temple is a notable example of the Vijayanagar architectural style. It is famous for its sculptures, which were created by the artisans of Vijayanagara empire. A huge Nandi bull made out of a single granite stone is one of the attractions in Lepakshi. This monolithic Nandi is the largest Nandi in India and second largest Monolithic statue in India. The place is renowned for being one of the best repository of mural paintings of the Vijayanagar Kings. 

Nandi - Monolithic Granite Stone

Seven Hood Snake

The first stop at Lepakshi is the huge Nandi built from Granite stone. The Nandi is around 500 years old and still in very good condition. 200 mts from here is the Veerabhadra temple which was built during the Vijayanagar dynasty in 1500 AD. The temple is still in very good condition and is functioning. Some of the paintings on the ceiling still have clear paints showing the pictures. The carvings on the pillar are excellent. It is best if the temple complex is explored with a guide. Without the guide it is very difficult to know the history and significance of this temple. Unfortunately there is only one guide. But he is pretty good though some of the stuff he mention may not make sense if you think rationally :) 

500 year old paintings on the ceiling

Unfinished Kalyana Mantap

Few interesting points in the temple - paintings on the ceiling, a pillar which is not touching the ground, the huge 7 hooded stone carved snake, the unfinished Kalyan Mantap, the foot of Sita (who was about 8 1/2 feet tall), the huge thali's etc. The entire exploring of temple will take around 1 1/2 - 2 hours. By the time we were done it was 1:30 PM. It was lunch time ans we were pretty hungry. First thought was to have the lunch at the temple complex - but there are quite a few monkeys and also beggars who are constantly pinging you. We decided to stop at some open farm around the temple.

The so called Sita's foot

We boarded the car in hunt of some place - preferably under a tree. We found a farm and went it to check if there was anybody from whom we could take permission to have our lunch in their farm. But none was in sight. There were few cows tied in the shed. We were very hungry and decided, we will talk to the farmer after food. We had a tasty lunch - over ate. By the time we were finishing our lunch, the care taker of the farm came by. He was more than happy to have us in his farm. We chatted with him for some time. Its amazing how people in villages are so friendly and extend their warmth and hospitality to strangers which is not common in cities.

Kids Enjoying in the Farm after lunch

After a relaxed lunch, we started back to Bangalore. On the way back we stopped at Cafe Coffee Day for a short break and then it was straight to Bangalore-Richmond Road to pick our car. We bid good bye to Latha's family. It was one short trip full of great memories.

Enchanting Dubai

Dubai is one of those countries, which has proven that they can mark their presence on the world map, even if they have no or limited natural resources. This country has proven nothing is impossible for human beings. Everything here is extravagant. If you are visiting from a developing country, you will be shocked with almost everything. From the point one lands at Dubai airport until you board your return flight, you will be amazed and dazzled by everything you see and experience in Dubai. It is truly a global country in every sense.

After lot of sepculations on whether we should go to Dubai in April or not, we decided to go for a to Dubai. Our trip to Dubai was planned for a week. Nov-Feb is considered the best time to visit this country. However it is still OK until mid-May as everything is air-conditioned. Because of the school holidays, we had no option but to plan ours in April. It was a good time. Did not find it as hot as we thought it would be. We had booked a service apartment at Winchester Deluxe Apartment – BUR Dubai and also a cab at our disposal for our entire stay.

There are a lot of Indians and Pakistanis than the local emirates. There are hardly any old people. We later got to know that non-emirates are not allowed to get citizenship in Dubai. So people from other countries can come here, work, earn money and return back to their home land. Government has provided lot of facilities to the local emirates, so that they can thrive. For our trip to Abu-Dhabi, we had an Emirati who had come as a driver (actually he was the owner of the tour agency and since the driver had not turned up, he had come). A very rich man and seemed to have lot of contacts around. He gave us a lot of insights into Dubai and Emirati’s life. At the end of the journey, got to know he had studied his high school from Islamiya High School Belgaum. That was a great connection. Now how he came to Dubai and became an Emirate is something to ponder upon.

As the plane was landing we got a bird’s eye view of Dubai. From top, we could see the golden sand of the desert, blue waters and as the plane further descended, we saw the skyscrapers and huge network of roadlines/highways. Then we experienced the airport, which is pretty huge and well maintained. The taxis here are all huge top class vehicles either Mercedes, Toyota or Land Rovers. As our cab moved on to the highway, we saw many more high brand cars – Ferrari’s , Lamborghini’s, Audi’s, Bugatti's and list is endless. Until we reached our service apartment, we were speechless – all of us were just checking the view outside. We had seen other first world countries, but this was different.

Dubai

Tips for Dubai

• Best time Nov-Feb. However it is ok until mid-May
• If traveling with small kids, book a service apartment
• Book the Desert Safari in advance
• If visiting Burj-Khalifa, then book the tickets online in advance
• For Dolphin show, book the tickets online in advance
• Burj-Al-Arab can be visited only if you dine/stay with them. Check-out the website, make reservations in advance. They have a formal dress-code for some restaurants.
• You may get cheaper rates, if you book with tours directly in Duabi. However this is risky if you don’t know anyone in Dubai
• Veg. Food will not be a problem
• If visiting mosques, you will need to wear fully cover hands and legs (especially women) and also cover the head with a scarf.

Sat - 13th April

It was lunch time by the time we reached our service apartment. We had our lunch, relaxed and went to visit Dubai Museum. It is always a good idea to start the holiday with a visit to museum (especially if it is another country or a place which is completely new to you) as this would give an idea on the history and development of a place. Dubai museum is comparatively small and can be covered in an 1 – 1 ½ hour. The museum is like a small fort and is well maintained.

After this, we walked to Grand Mosque - we could not go inside though. At the backside of this mosque there is a temple. We felt as if we were in India. There are more Indians in Dubai than the local Emirates.

The Creek is right behind this mosque. It is here the Dhow-Cruise start in the late evening. Lot of colorfully lit and decorated boats are available on the creek for cruise. These are typically dinner cruises, with good music and local cultural activities on-board. It is recommended to book the table in advance. The cruise starts around 7:30 PM and ends by 9PM. We could see the lit city from the cruise. The music and local Arabic Tandoori dance on-board was mind boggling. In this dance form a man keeps rotating continuously doing some actions. The attire of the dancer is also very colorful and full of light bulbs. It looks very beautiful in the night. The food is a buffet and not that great. But the whole atmosphere is good and the food does not matter in the end. We had a great evening. The cruise also can get noisy, if the fellow tourists are not sensitive. If possible try booking a table based on preferred location. We missed doing this and had some noisy tourists around, which initially bothered us.

Arabic Tandoori Dance on Dhow Cruise

Sun – 14^th April

Sunday we drove to Al Ain. This is about 150Kms and can be reached in 2 hours from Dubai. The roads were amazing and within no time we were in Al Ain. One interesting point we noticed was that all buildings were in the color of different shades of sand. Nothing much to see or do in Al Ain. We visited the highest point – Jebel Hafeet Mountain in Al Ain. The famous car race in the Bollywood movie "Race" was shot here. The view from here is magnificent. We could see the vastness of desert from here. From here we went to Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum. The museum looks like a fort. The house of Sheikh Zayed is converted to museum. We explored the museum. This is first time we experienced the real heat of Dubai. Museum requires walking through the gardens and lanes which are not under cooler and the afternoon heat is really hot. From here we went to see the Oasis. This was beautiful. Hundreds of date palms. We could see how the water canals were built to water the palms.

View from Jebel Hafeet Mountain in Al Ain

Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum

Walk through the Oasis

We were back in Dubai by 6PM. There are a lot of good restaurants by the Creek. We had our dinner enjoying the cool breeze by the Creek

Mon – 15^th April

We had booked the tickets for the Dolphin Show for 11AM. It is recommended to book the tickets online. There are some discounts running for different show timings. The Dolphin show was amazing. Kids had great fun. After the show, we wanted to take the Cable Car ride. Unfortunately the cable car was not operational because of some technical problems. We spent the afternoon in the Children City. Shrishti took a pony ride in the park. Dolphin show, cable car ride and Children City are all in the same campus.

Desert Safari was planned for the evening. This is must when visiting Dubai. It is nothing less than an adventure ride in any theme park. It was super. There are sand dunes everywhere. We boarded a Huge Land Rovers and in no time we were surfing the golden sand dunes. During the Safari, the vehicle is accelerated highly to achieve high speeds in the sand. This makes the ride very thrilling. We were screaming all through. Our vehicle was parked halfway in the dunes so that the engine can cool. We explored the dunes and took pictures. It was a mesmerizing experience to see the sun set on the sand dunes and the dunes change their colors. Once the engine was cooled, we started the safari again.

Kids enjoying the sand dunes - Desert Safari

There is an interesting point of this safari. The desert safari area is in Sharjah. Since Sharjah is a conservative state, alcohol is not permitted here. Hence all tours complete the safari and then take the tourist to a border of Dubai where a beautiful place/restaurant (open air) is set up in the middle of the desert for the evening. This place has camel rides, Heena painting and other local arts. We had a fabulous dinner under the stars, enjoying the belly dance and Arabic Tandoori dance. Desert Safari followed by dinner was an unforgettable experience.

Tue – 16^th April

Jumeria Mosque has a guided tour starting at 9:45 AM (only one in the morning), which gives insight into the history of Islam and Dubai. It is recommended to book the tour in advance. We had booked our tour in advance and were at the mosque by 9:30 AM. The tour seemed to be famous – there was a big queue of tourists. The tour was informative and meant for tourists coming from western countries. We got lot of information – some seemed made up, some were genuine. The tour lasted for 2 hours.

After the tour, we just crossed the road and went to Jumeria Beach. A beautiful beach in Dubai. From here we could get a glimpse of Burj – Al- Arab and other famous buildings of Dubai. We had our reservations for lunch at Burj-Al-Arab’s signature restaurant “Al Mahara”. We spent some time at the beach, but could not do much as we were dressed in formals for the lunch and the mid-afternoon sun was very very hot.

View from Jumeria Beach

From here we went straight to Burj-Al-Arab. There is lot of security here. Visitor are allowed only if they have a reservation. They have dress codes for certain restaurants. Burj-Al-Arab is really beautiful and world class. The design and it’s location has added more glamour and beauty to it. Dubai really knows how to attract tourists and provide luxury – of course at a huge price. The interiors are lavishly done. Nothing seems cheap. While we were waiting at the lobby, we could see the cars of the top brands. Al-Mahara is Burj-Al-Arab’s signature restaurant for sea-food. They do have vegetarian dishes, but very few. We had no choice but to order the veg. dishes that were available. The restaurant is beautifully done. The restaurant is in the basement and has a huge aquarium which is actually the ocean below Burj-Al-Arab. The tables are layed around this circular aquarium. It is superb! We enjoyed the whole experience. 

Lunch @ Al Mahara - Burj-Al-Arab

After having a relaxed lunch, we went to Souk Madinat. This souk is next to Burj-Al-Arab. Souk’s are basically like local market – with series of shops selling different items. Dubai being the shopping capital, the whole definition of souk has been modernized. The souk’s theme provides a rustic view, however the shops setup sell all modern stuff. One can spend hours just window shopping in these souks. At one of the points in the souk, we also get a good view of Burj-Al-Arab.

In the late evening, we went to the Shindagha Hertiage and diving villages area which is close to the creek.

Wed – 17^th April

In the morning we visited the Mall of Emirates. This mall is famous for Ski-Dubai.

In the afternoon, we went to Dubai Mall. This mall is really huge and has shops of all international brands. We saw many world class cars here. There a lot of entrainment centers in the mall – aquarium, ice skating rink, kidzania, theme park etc. One can easily spend a day doing just window shopping. Right opposite to this mall is Souk-Al-Bahar and Burj-Khalifa – the tallest building in Dubai. The bridge which connects Dubai Mall and Souk-Al-Bahar, gives a good view of Burj-Khalifa. In the evening, at Dubai Mall there is a spectacular show of musical fountains. This is definitely worth seeing. It is good to book the tickets for Burj-Khalifa around sunset time. This will allow one to get the view of Dubai in day light, when Dubai is lit with thousands of lights after sunset and also the view of musical fountain. The view from top is fantastic. We could see the man-made beaches, the multi-lane highways, skyscrapers – it left us wondering how a landscape of a country change in a decade.

View from Bhurj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa in the evening

Musical Fountains at Dubai Mall

Thur – 18^th April

It was time to visit Abu-Dabhi, the richest state of UAE and the state which has the highest % of world’s petroleum. Abu-Dabhi can be covered as a day trip from Dubai. Must see places here are

Grand Mosque (Sheik Zayed Mosque)  - No words can describe this marble marvel. It is superb! A huge mosque, which can be seen from far. The white marble shines amazingly in the hot sun. Lots of money was spent in building this mosque. The inside of the mosque is carpeted wall-to-wall and is air-conditioned. The interesting fact of the white marble is – it does not get heated even in the heat of desert. We could walk without burning our feet (barefoot) from the main gate to the entrance of the mosque. We could feel the heat only if we stepped on a colored piece of the marble.

View from Highway - Sheikh Zayed Mosque

Interiors of the mosque

Emirates Palace – This is beautiful palace hotel built in red stone. Many Bollywood movies have been shot here. The palace is open to visitors. The entrance to the palace is very picturesque. There are beautiful fountains all around. Once we entered, the extravaganza was experienced everywhere. Nothing seems cheap or low-end. At the end of the hall there are huge carpets hung on the 2 walls. These are beautiful. .

Emirates Palace - Abu Dabhi

Ferrari world – We visited the Ferrari world more to get an experience. However we did not go to the theme park. Apparently the park has the longest and fastest roller coaster.  

In the evening we walked around the old city to experience the different markets – Gold, Spices, Perfumes etc. There is a walking trail which cover these areas. It is called the Heritage Walk is best done in the evening.  

After the Heritage walk, we had a refreshing dinner in an Arabian restaurant called Bastakiya Nights. This place is by the Creek and is open air. The ambiance reminds one of the Arabian nights. The food was excellent too.

Bastaquia Nights - Restaurant by the Creek 

Fri – 19^th April

We spent the day hopping from one mall to the other. We started at Time Square mall, experience the Chillout Lounge. This lounge provides an experience of below -5 degrees where it is freezing. All the necessary gears like jackets, shoes, gloves, warm cap etc. are provided. We drank hot-chocolate and left in 15 min. We could not sit longer as it is very cold.

Chillout Lounge @ Time Square Mall

From here we went yo Ibn – Batuta mall. We took the metro to this mall. This is little away from the city. The mall has 4 themes - Indian, Chinese, Persia and Egypt and is beautifully done. We spent couple of hours exploring this mall. From here we boarded the metro to a junction where we could take the mono-rail to Palm Atlantis. The ride on mono-rail is the best way to experience and view the Palm Atlantis. At Palm Atlantis we went to the Lost Chambers of Atlantis, explored the Palm Atlantis, did some window shopping. Sometime wonder who shops in such expensive places.

View of Palm Atlantis from Monorail ride

This was our last day at Dubai and we had captured lots of beautiful memories of this amazing city which has set an example to the world that “Nothing is Impossible”. The pace at which this city is growing and attracting tourists, it is going to add many more attractions and definitely going to get more tourists and wonders.

Wonder La

Wonder La - Only theme park close to Bangalore. One of those places where every child wants to go. I am not a fan of any rides, just hate the very thought of sitting on those scary rides, but enjoy spending the day in theme parks. The whole atmosphere is very lively and colorful. Visiting such places really brings back the child in every person.

This was one place which has been in the waiting list for some years now. I was postponing it because I wanted my younger daughter Shrishti to complete 8 years so that she can go on many of the rides. Atlast the time had come. We planned for a day trip to Wonder La with another family friend - Meera and Venki. It is best to visit theme parks with a big group and ofcourse nothing can beat if the each person has a company.

We (2 families - 8 members) started after breakfast and drove to Wonder La in 2 cars. Wonder La is about 1-2 hours drive from Bangalore. The park is very well organized. They also have a resort. Though the queue for the tickets was long, it was fast moving. In no time we got our entry tickets and we were walking in. All of us were excited. The kids has been desperately waiting to visit Wonder La.

Musical Fountain in the evening

We planned to finish all the dry rides before lunch and do the water rides in the afternoon. Wonder La can get very crowded on weekends and holidays. It is best to start early and finish all the best rides so that we don't spend more time in the queue. Though I am not a big fan of rides, but one gets motivated to do them when in a group. Some of the rides, i would not have done if it was not for the group :)

We had lunch and then got ready for the water rides. Water rides for fun and we played till our heart content. It was late evening and it was closing time for the park. On our way back, we had dinner at "Kamat Lokruchi" and drove back home.

Acres Wild - Coonor

Acres Wild - Coonor (http://www.acres-wild.com/) is a good option to have a relaxed break with family and friends. This farm is owned by Mansoor Khan (uncle of Aamir Khan and the famous director/producer of QSQT, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar etc). This farm has a small family run cheese factory with cottages for experiencing farm stay. At Acres wild farm there is a main house where Mansoor and his family lives. The whole farm is at multiple levels. Level 1 has a cottage (Cheddar Cottage) which can house 2 families (2 bedroom, kitchen and hall), level 2 has the main house of Mansoor and the dining area for guests, level 3 has one cottage with a single room (Colby cottage) , another cottage Haloumi Cottage which can host 2 families, has 2 bedrooms, hall and kitchen. Haloumi has the best views. All cottages are secluded and provide complete privacy. This I found as major difference between a Farm stay and a Home Stay. The lunch is not included in the package. One can choose to go out and eat or cook in the farm. All the basic utensils and some tea powder, sugar, salt is provided in the kitchen. They also provide fresh milk from their farm.

Haloumi Cottage

The whole experience is very unique. This is not a place if you want to pack your day with lot of activities. The stay itself is for relaxing and having your personal time. The place is little far from Ooty, however if you are completely bored, then you can choose to do some sight seeing. The food is basic homely food and should not expect exotic dishes. The home made cheese at the farm's cheese factory, served at breakfast is yummy - sad they don't sell that cheese :(

The acres wild site is very well organized. One can see the availability of cottages for each date on the website itself. One needs to plan in advance. The cottages seem to booked perpetually. The number mentioned on the website is Mansoor's direct number. I was a little surprised. I did not expect Mansoor to answer when I called for booking. Unfortunately we could not meet him during our visit as he was travelling. We meet his wife Tina. They have been living here for a while now and completely enjoy it in Coonoor contrast to the hectic life of Mumbai. We spent some time chatting with Tina and she patiently answered all our questions.

Milking Activity

Since we had already done Ooty, we wanted to check out the calmer twin Coonoor and Acer's Wild Farm came as the best option. We booked both the rooms of Haloumi cottage as we were 2 families  - and this was perfect. Atleast 2N/3D is required to experience this place. We had booked the place for 2N/3D. Since the farm does not serve lunch (unless booked in advance), we stopped for lunch at Ooty and reached the farm around 4PM. The farm is around 5-6Kms from the Coonoor town and has super location. Once we reached here it felt like we were some where very far far away.

Acres Wild Cheese - Served at Breakfast

This place is for relaxing and one should not expect many activities. They do have some activities, but nothing major. Kids had fun milking and feeding the cows in the evening, in the morning we saw the cheese making process. The cheese factory is home run - small scale. It was good experience to see and understand the process of Cheese making.

Trekking at Farm

Most of our mornings were spent in Trekking through the Farms tea gardens, reading books, playing games (board games, cards, badminton - please carry your own). Have a good break fast at the farm. The Acres Wild Cheese served with breakfast was very yummy - it just melts in the mouth. Afternoon was left to explore around the farm. Evenings were magical. We asked for camp fire, which was put up in front for our cottage. Since the cottages are spread across distances, you don't have to worry about disturbing others. We played music, danced, played games at camp fire. The moon lit sky with twinkling stars, music in the background and all the laughs and chatter was real fun. Icing on this was the barbecue and wine.  The best part was the Bose Bluetooth enabled music box which Deepa had got. It was perfect and made the experience more exciting. We also got some fresh vegetables from the local market and made grilled vegetables over the campfire.

Campfire

One view from Haloumi Cottage

One day we stepped out of the farm and went to see some local view points. The drive through the acres of tea gardens was beautiful. We also went to a couple of view points. One does not need to step out as the farm itself provides very good view points especially from Haloumi Cottage. If you carry some basic cooking needs like noodles, pastas, bread - one can easily spend few days with complete relaxation.

After spending two relaxed and fun filled days, we headed back to Bangalore. On our way back, we saw a huge herd of elephants crossing the road in Bandipur forest. We also saw many deers, monkeys and couple of peacocks.