Haridwar and Rishikesh : A surprise trip // Photosynth a great tool

Made a surprise trip to Haridwar and Rishikesh in Uttarakhand. Bathed in the Ganges in the famous Har-ki-pauri ghat too. It was a day trip as I had a day off and we actually managed without any need for a hotel booking from Pantnagar.

BTW, I used the Photosynth app to shoot the Lakshman Jhula temple and must say that both the location and the app rock! (Click pick below)You feel as if you are standing on the bridge and seeing the ganga flowing past you.


Tips: Leave the car in the parking and walk across in the shortcut with just your towel. Its less cold than you think even in Nov . Hold the rails and it is quite safe if you do. Its refreshing and gives good sleep - so dont plan to drive after a bath in the river.

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Movie Review: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag: Inspiring and well taken

Exceptionally well done movie - very inspirational .
 

Somewhat begins to feel like Forrest Gump . We forget that there is an actor there and not a real athlete!

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Mahabaleshwar: Day 3: Strawberry farms direction: Part 4 of 4

Mapro near Panchgani is absolutely the highlight of the Mahabaleshwar trip. Mapro gardens are famous and they run a large restraunt and garden area that you can visit.

 

The place serves FANTASTIC wood fired pizzas , mocktails, grilled sandwiches and MOST IMPROTANT, their famous strawberry and cream. It is very professionally run for the kind of crowd they manage and is a nice open air spot to visit and eat.

You can also buy various Mapro products there. One of the reasons people typically put it on the 3rd day before leaving is so you can buy the stuff and leave (also Panchgani is on the way to Mumbai/Pune so if you want to leave the same day, you could do it too)

See my 4 posts on Mahabaleshwar below:
Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar, Planning a vacation, Stay , food etc
Day 1. Pratapgad fort direction
Day 2. In and around - Arthur seat  et al
Day 3. Strawberry farms - 3rd day

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Mahabaleshwar: Day 2: In and around, Arthur seat et al: Part 3 of 4

Technically there is a lot to see at this one place - Arthur Seat, Hunter point, Echo point, Malcolm point, Tiger springs, Window point....phew - looks like a lot but is actually a series of view points along a single walkway.

Warning to couch potatoes: its quite a walk downhill and back up, but my 4 year old did it with a little bit of carrying
The best part of this is that it is filled with vedors who sell goodies from ice lollies to vada pav to salads.

Since its only an hour long drive to this place, you can actually come back and go for shopping in Mahabaleshwar or go to the lake and enjoy the horse rides and various other rides for kids.

Also, there are 2 places called sunset point and sunrise point where one can get a panoramic view of the sun as it comes up or down the western ghats. (The sunset point is a beautiful walking distance from MTDC if you want to plan it that way!)

See my 4 posts on Mahabaleshwar:
Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar, Planning a vacation, Stay , food etc
Day 1. Pratapgad fort direction
Day 2. In and around - Arthur seat  et al
Day 3. Strawberry farms - 3rd day

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Mahabaleshwar: Day 1 : Pratapgad fort: Part 2 of 4

The fort is about an hours ride from Mahabaleshwar and is entirely worth it. Pratapgad fort has a steep climb - about 20 mins climb for a first lot of about 100 steps , a few things to see and some restraunts and a second set of steps to the temple and shivaji statue.

Some tips on your visit to Pratapgad fort:
1.Take caps and arrive early to avoid the sun.
2.The restaurants at the end of the first flight of stairs are better than those in the car park. So plan to eat there
3.A guide kiosk is there at the car park and they charge about Rs 300 and give you receipt too. It is entirely worth it!

There is a nice place to eat at the end of first flight of stairs . They make pitle and bajra roti. These are hand beaten and hand made on wooden fires. Its very interesting and tasty too.

 

They make hot puran polis too! (On wood fired stoves)













See part 3 of Mahabaleshwar vacation for what to do in and around . See Part 1 for planning your trip to Mahabaleshwar, reaching there and stay.

See my 4 part Mahabaleshwar travelogue:

See my 4 posts on Mahabaleshwar:
Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar, Planning a vacation, Stay , food etc
Day 1. Pratapgad fort direction
Day 2. In and around - Arthur seat  et al
Day 3. Strawberry farms - 3rd day

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Mahabaleshwar: Getting there from Mumbai and stay: Part 1 of 4

Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar
For most people a vacation plan to Mahabaleshwar will involve how to get there, where to stay, how long to plan and what to see and enjoy. I planned to go from Mumbai by road and it will take between 6 to 8 hrs if you travel with your family and plan to stop often. The route is best via Pune using the National Highway. The best places to Stop are (1) After the Toll naka in Mumbai and (2) About 20 kms after Pune in Hotel Natraj

The drive is not too great as the frequent lane changes and arid deccan landscape in summer were just ok. There are long tunnels and can be very interesting for the kids

Stay: MTDC Mahabaleshwar: Very nice place for families
MTDC was a very homely stay and the staff are extremely helpful, especially if you are travelling with family and children. The cottage rooms are ok, though not the best maintained. The newer standard rooms are good. There are lots of monkeys too.

 

There are 2 restaurants inside and the food was very good. The "PWD" restraunt where we used to eat had good service too and they serve breakfast lunch and dinner.(Indian)

There are strawberry and mulberry/blackberry vendors who come and charge about 40 bucks per cup and its quite nice.

You can even get horserides inside the MTDC



An optimal way to see Mahabaleshwar is to split it into 3 -
1. Pratapgarh direction - 1 day
2. In and around Mahabaleshwar -2 day
3. Strawberry farms - 3rd day

This way, if you are with family and kids, you get a break on day 2 and also what you buy on day 3 at the farm(Mapro) can be taken with you back from vacation!

Mahabaleshwar to Pune:
And yes!, the ride to Pune on the return takes about 3 hours - incase you plan to take a train or flight out of there.

See my 4 posts on Mahabaleshwar split like above:
Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar, Planning a vacation, Stay , food etc
Day 1. Pratapgad fort direction
Day 2. In and around - Arthur seat  et al
Day 3. Strawberry farms - 3rd day


Pics from my trip:

PS: What puts you off is the rip off guys do at the entrance of Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar saying they are collecting a toll. Those are fakes and not authorised by the government.

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Movie: Kai Po Che: Mediocre but songs are good

The manja song is good.

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Book review: 59 seconds: Think a little change a lot!

I read thinking fast thinking slow, it was heavy and slow moving. This book uses a lot of the learning from the book and several others and winds it into practical wisdom that you can use

A book that could change a lot after you read it.

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Movie : Talaash : Great acting by Aamir and Kareena - worth a watch for the plot

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An experience of a life time: Mylapore Arubathu Moovar: Kapaleeshwar temple:

I have gone for the Arubathu Moovar Thiruvizha (Kapaleeswarar temple festival) in Mylapore almost every year and it never ceases to be interesting.

This year too I spent nearly 4 hrs roaming the streets with my wife and 2 kids. Have put in snaps and a small video. Please do have a look at the video of the flower throwing contraption below - very interesting.


I even noticed Thirvalluvar and vasuki for the first time!!

Some street music

Some other pics

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Book: Good to great: Jim Collins

Good book - you always knew that leadership was not about charisma or sweet talk, yet around you its rewarded almost every day. This book probably presents to most concrete evidence of substance and humility over style as the real reason for great performance. (level 5 leaders as put in by the author)

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Book review: Viktor Frankl: Mans search for meaning - Profound

This book is about the experiences of a psychiatrist who was in Nazi German concentration camps. This book is profound in its value to all in daily life. It does not so much delve into the life of the concentration camps , but uses it only to set the context for the behavior and thinking of men at the camp and its relevance to life. His discussion on freedom and responsibility ,3 motives and one irrrevocable freedom is very original.

I liked this quote best in the book
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

He propounds the concept of logotherapy towards the end that may not be directly useful, but in my view this was probably the origins of what they call positive psychology.

Just so that some of you may be tempted to read it, it also figures in the HBR list of 11 books every young leader should read

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Book review: Habit: The power of habit : Why we do...... by Charles Duhigg

Great book....... Especially if you have been wondering why smokers "never" quit or how sometimes of the year you have been able to pick up a lot of good habits but never been able to sustain them. Worth reading a few times.

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Movie: Cocktail: Nice one - viewable once

I am not much of a fan of Saif Ali or Deepika but this movie is quite well taken and breezy. Some of the songs are catchy too.

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Restaurant review: Best place for Onion Pakoda in Chennai City

This place - Karpagambal Kapali Sweets - in Mylapore Mathala narayanan Street (near Kapaleeswara or Kapali temple) has not changed at all in the last 30 years I have known. Its always had this "dirty, dingy" look and a crowd of people standing fighting in queue to get hot onion pakodas (often referred to as Thool Pakoda) which is probably the best in the city.
  Its a one way and you may have to come in through Kutchery road or walk from the Temple/RASI or from nearby Saravana Bhavan
View Larger Map
Some pics of the place:

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Movie: Vicky Donor: Good to watch once

Interesting movie concept. I was initially un-enthused about movies stereotyping Punjabis and Bengalis but they developed the concept of a sperm donor nicely





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Restaurant: Kadamba: Iyengar cuisine on iyer(higher) p(a)lates

On Bangalore Mysore road there are several joints and one of my friends (Siva Kumar) suggested this joint as a "safe" veggie joint.

Maddur Vada

Truly interesting concept near Maddur/Chennapatna and this place is definitely worth a visit

They serve puliyodhare - a traditional iyengar rice based dish and several others too. (Apart from Iyengar Yoga cuisine is famous too)

Just so you can spot it easily, (its on the left of the road when you go from Bangalore to Mysore)

Statutory warning: No offenses meant to Iyers or Iyengars

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