Ramnath Kamat

Chikmagluru is famous for its coffee and hmm what else? Yes! It's glorious coffee trails. You can get lost in its charm and beauty. What else you need for a rider? Well, this memory is from my last monsoon ride to Chikmaglur in the first week of June. My friends had bought the newly released Himalayan and what way to test them other than the monsoon ride to the coffee trails. We left on early Saturday morning to this adventure. Took the Hassan road, aim was to be in Chikmagluru by lunch and enjoy the rainy evening. And everything went according to the plan.

That's me telling, God is great!

Pristine roads of Chikmagluru

We trekked to this near by hill to our home stay

The abandoned Rosary Church of Shettihalli was one of my longest pending bucket list. This gorgeous Church was built by French in 1860. In 1960, the construction of Hemavathi dam and reservoir submerged this Church.

Even today during the monsoon this Church gets submerged in water, In summer when the water retreats, it rises above like a phoenix.

This Church is about 25 km from the Hassan city. On Bangalore- Mangalore highway you have need to take left after Hassan and go inside the country road for about 25 km.

Yes, thats me at the Church

Falcon rests in front of Shettihalli Church

Pretty much dried reservoir

Well, I plan to visit this place again in Monsoon just to canoe through its glorious arcs.



Things to take care:

Ooty can be reached by two routes from Bangalore. One is via the usually crowded Mysore road, Gundlupete and Bandipur. I prefer the Kanakpura road. Even though it is two lane road, you encounter less traffic and more scenic than the Mysore road. You join the Gundlupete and carry on towards Bandipura.

Never miss a sunrise

Always leave early in the morning to skip the traffic, especially during the weekend. There is no fun riding in the traffic.

Resting after a morning of ride

Zostel at night

Host was kind enough to make me veg bbq

Next day morning I rode to the top of Doddabetta. Its is about 15 km from Ooty. The gates open at 7 am. Doddabetta is the highest point in Southern India.

View from Doddabetta

Nilgiris on the way back

Happy Riding.. :)

Hampi was the capital city of the Vijaynagara empire, one of the largest and richest city during its prime. It is said that during the golden age of Vijaynagar empire, diamonds and pearls were freely traded on the streets of Hampi.

Today Hampi is a spreads over several kms with the ruins of its gorgeous temples and boulders. Ever since the hippies found this most laid-back place ever, it has been flocked. Today there exists an island called Virupapura gadde also known as the Hippie Island with tens of home stays and huts.

How to reach Hampi -

Bus - You can take a night bus to Hosapete from Bangalore.
Train - Hosapete also has a train station with direct trains from Bangalore

Hosapete to Hampi(12km) - You can hop onto govt buses which run frequently or hire an auto

Where to stay - 

If you want to stay in a decent hotel(3stars and up), Hosapete is your bet.
If you are okay with homestays, Hampi is the place you should look out for and I recommend this option.

Stays near Hampi -

To stay in Virupapura gadde, you need to cross the Tungabhadra river in a small diesel boat. This diesel boat service starts in the morning and closes by evening 6.  There are lots of small shacks and homestays available on the otherside.

On this side of the river, you also have some small homestays. But I would recommend to stay in the Hippie Island. It has a feeling of its own.

What to do -

Virupaksha temple - 

The central attraction of Hampi is the Virupaksha temple. The temple is dedicated to lord Shiva and fully intact among its surroundings.

The Stone Chariot and the Vithhala temple -

The Vithhala temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu is an architectural masterpiece. The temple was built in 15th century and house the most famous Stone chariot which was carved in a single stone.

The remains of giant Bukka's aquadect -

Hanuman temple - 

Sunset at Virupaksha temple - 

Cliff diving - 

We had only one day and we badly wanted to Scuba dive in Eilat, one of the best scuba diving places in the world. The water here is crystal clear and the reefs are gorgeous.

We created a packed schedule to only fit the scuba diving in the itinerary.  We took a night bus to Eilat. The plan was to scuba dive by morning 9, finish strolling by lunch and travel back to Tel Aviv by night.

We took a bus to Eilat from central bus station Tel Aviv. The bus journey takes around 5-6 hours for 350 kms. We reached Eilat by morning 5 and got a room for 2 hours. The hotel owner surprisingly spoke Hindi :)


There are lot of places near the beach where they take you to scuba dive for 150 shekels. The session is for half an hour or one tank of oxygen and with a guide along with you.

Other side is Jordan

Eilat beach

Distance from Tel aviv- 350kms
Connectivity - Well connected by buses and flights from Tel Aviv.
Season - Avoid summer, it gets steaming hot.
Places to stay - Many budget hotels available.

Jerusalem always intrigued me. The city is an open museum. It has seen rise and fall of great empires.  During last few millenniums, the city has been destroyed completely twice, besieged 23 times, captured and recaptured 44 times. I might end up writing a book if I continue discussing about its history.

Jerusalem's old city with walls forms the UNESCO world heritage site. The old city is further divided into 4 quarters namely Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Armenian.

Streets in the old city

Prayers

Must see in the Old city:

The western wall - 
You can note down the prayers and keep them between the stones of western wall. Best time to visit the western wall is on Shabbat evening on Fridays.. The entire place bursts to celebration and dancing.




The Temple Mount - 
Entry to the Temple Mount is restricted. Please check it with locals or guides as there are restrictions for religions, days of Ramzan etc.

Western Wall with Temple Mount in the background

Church of the Holy Sepulchre -

This holiest site for Christians contains the empty tomb of Jesus and the site where Jesus was crucified known as Calvary. This Church is in the Christian quarter.



Mount of Olives -

The mount is a 3000 years old Jewish cemetery and holds more than 150,000 graves. It's said that Jesus ascended to heaven from here.

Things to do -

Jerusalem free walking tours - 

Join any free walking tours in the old city. I recommend Sandeman's free walking tour. The guides know what they are saying. Usually the tipping is a custom at the end of the tour.

http://www.neweuropetours.eu/jerusalem/en/home



Shabbat evening at the Western wall -

Spend the Friday evening at western wall. Enjoy the free spirit atmosphere.







Church of the Holy Sepulchre door locking ceremony -
BenYehuda street -

When you are done visiting all places, eat and shop here.





Where to stay:

Jerusalem offers many hostels for backpackers, best one being Abraham Hostels.
For 80 INS you can get a dorm with complimentary breakfast and a beer.

Cool common area of the hostel

How to go:

Jerusalem is connected by trains and buses from Tel Aviv.

Usually the train takes more time than the bus. You can catch a bus from Central station Tel Aviv.

During Shabbat, trains and bus services are suspended from Friday afternoon till Saturday night.
So if you want to travel back to Tel Aviv, private taxis are your best bet. They usually are avaialble from all main markets and take you back to Tel Aviv for 30INS.


How to commute in Jerusalem:

I love walking, I  believe that's the best way to see a city. In Jerusalem you must do that.
Apart from that you can hop onto Light Rail. Tickets for Light Rail are available at all the stops.




Downside of travelling during Shabbat is everything is closed after Friday afternoon. :)