tamasir
Kanishka Joined: November 7th 2007
Logged in: September 4th 2008
Logged in: September 4th 2008
--I'll be adding more blogs real soon, so check back.
Travel Blog Posts
Me owning a Kalari warrior.
The Martial Art: Kalari is one of the most underrated forms of martial arts, and very few people know about it. It dates back 3000 years and the movements of the fighters are inspired by those of wild animals. They use a multitude of weapons.. swords, daggers, bamboo sticks etc. I was lucky enough to catch a show in the state where this martial art was developed: Kerala. We sat in a small arena as they fought in a pit below us like gladiators, the show was thrilling as they pulled off insane moves and I was at the edge of my seat the entire time. After 2 hours of gravity-defying acrobats, when the show ended, I managed to go down in the pit and talk to the guys. I even got to try out some ... read more
The boat safaris leave.
The Sanctuary: Although Periyar is a tiger reserve no one I talked to had ever seen a tiger there and the main attraction were the elephants. Periyar is situated in the hills of the Western ghats with a lake at the top. Most safaris are by boat and you usually see wildlife early morning or in the evening when they come out to the lake. There is also a nature walk organized by the tourism dept in the forest. The Adventure: After 3 hours of walking through the forest we had almost completely given up on seeing any elephants. We stopped near the lake to take some snaps when suddenly I saw a herd of elephants crossing behind us. One of the young elephants stopped and turned towards us and my first instinct was to pull ... read more
The tip
The Tip: The geographical shape of India makes its southernmost tip very well defined and is the place of confluence of 3 major water bodies: the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. What's interesting is that you can see the three different colors of the water. The Sun: One of the main attractions here was to see the sunset ans sunrise. People were a little too excited about those, I didn't really see what the fuss was about, it was the same sun and the same sunrise to me. The rooftops were full of people of waiting for the sunrise in the morning, they waited with cameras and binoculars (not the smartest thing to do), and when the sun finally came up people actually clapped! I thought it was overrated. For me ... read more
The Jog Falls.
The Trek: This trek was a real challenge!. I decided to go along the river leading up to the grand Jog Falls, India's highest. It was extremely humid and the mid day sun was unforgiving. I had to trek on mostly slippery rock and since this time I didn't bring a guide along with me I had to be extremely cautious on each step. There were some tricky parts and I had to make some leaps of faith, and I kept stopping to dry my clothes and socks as high humidity meant almost no evaporation. A trick I picked up on Man vs wild. There were interesting fish in the stream and the landscape was amazing, but the real reward was walking up to the edge of the falls at the end. The Falls:The falls were ... read more
The Wild Indian Ass
The Desert:the little Rann Sanctuary is someplace I've always wanted to visit. It is a desert for half of the year with temperatures touching 55 degrees celsius (131 F) with the occasional dust tornadoes. In the monsoon it is completely flooded and becomes a pit stop for millions of migratory birds. We visited in between the two seasons, and yet it was one of the most extreme environments I've ever visited. The endless earth was cracked and blinding white, all around you could see extraordinary mirages and it was quite disorientating. The Indian Wild Ass: The locals of this harsh environment are the indian wild ass, they look more like zebra and move in herds. They are extremely fast with running speeds of up to 70kmph. Seeing herds of these majestic creatures running across the parched ... read more
A Mausoleum
The City:Junagadh is a maze of crowded allies and old buildings, atop a hill north of the city lies the Uperkot Fort, which is where Junagadh was first established. Riddled with secret passageways and underground caves the old city seems like something out of an Indiana Jones movie, some passageways are rumored to even lead to Pakistan! My Guide: As I was exploring the city I ran into an intoxicated guy among some bushes, which was surprising since Gujarat is a dry state(no alcohol). A local of Junagadh he enthusiastically showed me around, including the "punishment door" which is a doorway that leads to a 200 foot drop, where in earlier times outlaws were made to walk the plank. Aptly, I got a picture of the guy at the door.... read more
Bhuj
The City: Bhuj is on the westernmost edge of India, a small town in the middle of nowhere. It has some interesting architecture but frequent earthquakes make this town feel more like ancient ruins. The Adventure:I decided to trek around in the surrounding hills, so I hired a taxi and we drove further west into the wilderness. We stopped at a place called Than, which is basically an old monastery. I encountered three interesting saadhus, who had no possessions and apparently smoked all day. They invited me in for tea, and in between puffs of smoke they recounted some local legends. Then I took off on my trek, encountered an Indian Hare and plenty of peacocks in the jungle. I even managed (after a lot of practice) to make my own fire. The Ultimate ride:My taxi ... read more
Asiatic Lion
The city: Gir is the last remaining refuge of the Asiatic lion(about 300 left), the only lions found outside of Africa. The Asiatic species is different from their African cousins in that they don't have prides, the male lion has a less luxuriant mane and hunts for himself. These lions once roamed all over northern India up to Iran and the Indian national emblem features 4 Asiatic Lions. I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of these elusive beasts on an open jeep safari. The Adventure: After we finished our morning safari my guide told me that it was possible to walk into the lion sanctuary in the afternoon when the lions are lazing around. I was skeptical at first but decided to check it out anyways, and after a monetary "tip" to the park ... read more
In the Mumbai sun..
The City: Mumbai is the home of bollywood, excellent street food, insane crowds (even by indian standards) and killer trains. The Ultimate Advice: Do NOT attempt to ride the local trains unless your a local, a trained stunt man or have a death wish. We saw a guy fall onto the tracks and almost get crushed the first time we tried to ride the local trains! The Adventure: I met up with some buddies from school here and we had a blast. The adventure for this one is not going to make it to my blog.... read more
Tracking a tiger.
The city: Ranthambore is a road lined with hotels and shops and the main attraction is the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. The only subject of conversation here is the tiger, How many safaris have you had so far? Have you seen a tiger so far? Which tiger was it?.... The Ultimate Advice: If you're on a budget(like I was) stay in the nearby town of Sawai Madhopur, its a lot cheaper and you can spend the remainder of the money on safaris! The Adventure: This one was stupid on my part, it was in the evening and I decided to walk from my hotel to the Safari reservation office to confirm my safaris for the following day(a 3 km walk). About 15 minutes into my walk, the sun had set and I was walking down a completely ... read more
