Backpacking Hacks- Stage 1

When life throws lemons at you, it is its way to tell you that making a lemonade and taking that with you on a trip is what you need at that moment. We love travelling and thus, we wanted to share our planning strategy with all you folks. With backpacking comes a lot of responsibility and freedom. But planning a trip on your own is not a piece of cake.

Therefore, we have divided the procedure into two stages. Read on to know more:

STAGE 1

1.   Deciding the destination

Dos	Don’ts
Decide the month and then choose the destination based on the popularity and temperature	Don’t get carried away by the off-season sale. Do your homework
Keep the time frame in mind so that Visa and other formalities can be done at ease	Do not depend on other to plan the trip for you
If you are planning to go to a different country, then decide on the cities that you want to visit	Do not opt for the places that are too hyped and crowded

2.   Understand the map

After deciding the destination, it is very important to understand the map. Download city-wise map and get a rough idea of the locations and the main roads.

3.   Make a list of the places to visit (city-wise)

Google will come to your rescue for preparing this list. Do not skip the name of any attraction. It is better to make a note of all the place to visit. Search for the entry fee and the other charges that you might be asked to pay. Identify any particular rules that need to be followed and make a note of that too. Eg. Temples in Bangkok allow the visitors only if they are dressed properly (shoulders and knees covered). Last but not the least, note the opening and closing timings of the place.

PLACE

TICKET PRICE

RULES

TIMINGS

4.   Decide the total number of days for each city

You can only work on this point once you have finished doing (3). Reading blogs and Vlogs will help you get a fair idea about how much time you will spend at one place. There are certain places that are not listed on Google and hence, it would be better to read as many blogs as possible and check others’ itineraries. Keep the evening hours for exploring the night life of the city. Trust us, it is fun to meet the locals and learn about different cultures.

For the next stage of planning, click here.

Bangalore Resorts at a glance-1 (ANGSANA RESORT)

Bangalore Resorts at a glance-1

ANGSANA

Located on the outskirts of the city, this resort has a lot to offer. With wide spread greenery and plenty activities for kids, family and couples, this resort does not fail to impress.

Address: Main Doddaballapur Road, Northwest County, Rajankunte, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560064

Carrying a swimwear is a must for this place. With so many pools and blue water, the air around is cooler and this makes Angsana a perfect getaway during the scorching summers. Pre- booking is easy to do. The service is exemplary. For group tours, the attenders start with serving a welcome drink (tea/coffee/ cold drink). Following that, the day can be spent in leisure. The dining area is spacious. The food is delicious.

Talking about food it would not be right if I do not mention the delectable cuisines served in the buffet. Right from Chinese to Italian to Indian, this resort believes in mollycoddling the taste buds with different varieties. A mellifluous sound that plays in the background adds to the ambiance.

There are several spots for photographers, several small gardens or grass patches to stretch your feet and several other places where where your group can enjoy.

Website: http://www.angsana.com/en/ap-india-bangalore

I went with a group of 60 people (team day-out). It was an exhilarating experience.

Overall rating:

Anthargange (Overnight Trip/ Trek)

Located in the Kolar district of Karnataka, Anthargange is one of the simplest yet most adventurous trekking location. The mountains have an altitude of 1712 meters from sea level. The area has numerous rocky boulders, dark caves, and narrow passages. The cave exploration forms the major part of the trek followed by the beautiful sunrise.

The place derives its name from the river Ganga that flows through the rocks and originated somewhere within the mountains. This place is very well known in Southern India for Trekking and exploration purposes.

Night View of the city

There are several organizers who take a group of 30-35 people for the trek; all you have to do is book the trek and reach the pickup point. The charges vary if you decide to travel to the destination in your own vehicle (like we did). The Anthargange Trek was priced at 900/- INR (exclusive of pick-up and drop by a tempo traveler). With pick-up, the total cost was around 1100/- INR.

This trek begins at midnight and continues till 3 in the morning. Making way through the large boulders and narrow passages under the moonlight, this is a good experience for the first-time trekkers. It will help to test your stamina and strength. The guides provide a sleeping bag and a thick stick to each member and guide the group through the forest. (It is not exactly a forest but a clearing. Owing to the darkness and the eerie silence, the atmosphere is calm).

We reached Anthargange by 12:30 AM and were merged with the other people soon. After receiving our sleeping bags and sticks, we started for the trek. We were supposed to carry enough water and a torch. Since we all were first-timers, we took each step very carefully. At some points, we really got stuck, especially when we had to jump from one boulder to another.  After the narrow passage, it was our turn to explore the cave by making our way through the small holes and spaces. It was fun yet difficult.

After a non-stop struggle and several bruises and slight pain in the muscles, we came out and were guided to the top of one of the mountains. There we enjoyed the bonfire (not really). Most of the group members did not spread their sleeping bags and instead opted to chat for few hours. The next thing on the list was to wait till 5 and watch the sunrise and then head back.

Shivering in the cold air, we decided to call it quits and left the place early. The guides, despite being tired, agreed to show us the way out.

Overall, it was a good experience- a one-night adventure trip.

A piece of advice: Plan the trek on a Saturday so that you can relax on Sunday.

One liner for the trip: The boulders that force everyone to explore all avenues- to find a way out!

“I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it.”

-Rosalia de Castro

Note: Not all photographs are original (Photo Source: Google). Due to low light, we could not click clear photos.

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Pondicherry (1 night, 2 days)

Pondicherry (1 night, 2 days)

(The photographs used are all original)

Where do we get the cheapest alcohol? Yes, right. The answer is Union Territories. Pondicherry not only offers serene beaches but also cheap and varied alcohol. I travelled to Pondicherry during the month of October. We (two of us) booked a night bus (Greenline travels through Redbus- AC Sleeper) and started at 10:00 PM on 29.10.2016 (Saturday). We prefer travelling during the night hours because this not only saves a lot of time but also makes the journey comfortable (less traffic).

Day-1

We reached Pondicherry by 5:30 AM, which was much before than what we had expected. Unlike the hustle bustle in other cities, this city wakes up only by 8. Not having many options, we decided to meander on the streets and stride till Rock Beach. Also, since the check-ins began at 12:00 PM, we had to look out for a petrol pump to use the restroom. But believe it or not, the exploration part was fun. We walked for a few kilometres and finally reached Rock beach.

Rock Beach: The promenade at the rock beach is beautiful yet hyped. Call it luck or mere coincidence; it was crowded even during the early morning hours. Though the morning breeze did the trick, yet the humidity was sufficient to put one in a black mood.

Next, we headed to the White Town (the French Colony). The yellow houses had a fabulous architecture and it did look like something we see in the movies. But somehow, I felt it was overvalued too. There is nothing much to see there; one can just get a few pictures clicked (that too not in front of the houses as the French people obviously don’t like it). The place is perfect for clicking a picture in a black ravishing dress!

Pondicherry is a small place; one can take a two wheeler on rent and finish exploring in a day. We did no different. Since this was our first backpacking trip (literally, we only had two backpacks), we rented Activa and went on Pondi-venture with open arms. We went to few churches like Immaculate Conception Cathedral and Eglise de Notre Dame des Anges and couldn’t help but admire the mint condition of the place.

 

 

With the ride ready, we could no longer wait to check out the other beach (Serenity beach) which was 14 km from the main city. Driving Activa was pure bliss! Serenity beach was one of the isolated beaches of Pondicherry. There were many boats there, but less number of people. By less I mean two to three men at an Omlette stall. We had our breakfast there (the omelette was horrible). We watched the fishermen, enjoyed the cool waves, saw dolphins (yes, really!) and some French women swimming in bikinis. After spending around one hour at Serenity beach, we headed to The Indian Kaffe Express for lunch, but didn’t like the menu. Surguru Restaurant seemed the only possible option. But the waiting queue and the rude behaviour of the waitor/waitress drove us up the wall. We ate Dosa and had Lassi (both were not up to par).

Following this, we checked into The Green Palace (our hotel for stay which was booked via OYO). Yet again, OYO didn’t fail to impress us. With its exemplary service and superb quality of food, room and staff, OYO did not leave any stone unturned in helping us make our trip comfortable. Post check-in, we decided to rest for some time and by the time we were ready for another stroll, it was evening. We decided to hunt for a good eating joint, for even in the morning, the breakfast and the lunch did not satisfy our hunger. 

The much talked about Café Xtasi was on our list. After having waited in the queue for one hour, we finally got in and ordered chicken Pizza. Probably, the stars were not in favour of our stomachs and the huge pizza turned out to be a total flop- not only in terms of taste but money too. It was then that we realized the worth of 1000 bucks!

Disgruntled with the progress of the day, we went back to Rock beach and covered the whole length on foot. That marked the end of our first day. Tired and sleepy, we reached our hotel by 10:00 PM.

Day -2

Our second day was filled with adventure, for we had decided to go to Paradise beach and Auroville. Our first stop was Auroville. The ride (Activa) was smooth and the experience was good. There is a 1km stretch that connects the Auroville information centre to the main Auroville meditation hall. It is a shady path and can be covered on foot. No vehicles are allowed. There is a gate pass that is issued after the visitors are made to watch a 15 min video (that tells about the origin of Auroville and its history). 

 

The pass is issued free of cost. One cannot enter the main Auroville globe until one has taken prior permission. The visitors are only permitted to walk up to the view point from where they can click pictures and enjoy the scene.

It took us 1 and a half hour to finish exploring Auroville and then we headed to Channumber boat house. This boat house is situated at the banks of the Channumber backwaters and connects to Paradise beach via ferry service. The management is terrible there. We had to wait for 2 hours for our turn to get into the ferry and reach Paradise. The rates are as follows:

Paradise beach: This beach ticked all the right boxes. With clean blue waves crashing on the whitish sand, this beach was the one! We felt a different kind of happiness when we faced the Bay of Bengal. 

It was so inviting. We had to enjoy the waves and we did so. But, the odds were still not in favour of our stomachs and all we could find to eat was Rice and Cauliflower (now, who eats that?). At 5:00 in the evening, we drove back to our hotel (not to forget, we ate chips and other junk on our way back). We rested for a while and then the hunt for a place to eat dinner began again. Not being able to reach to any conclusion, we ended up eating at A2B. The North Indian Thali was something we had been craving for.

It was time to pack our things as our Greenline was scheduled for departure at 10:30 PM. But not even once did we feel that it was a short trip. Pondicherry can be easily covered in two days. But if one wants to enjoy the humid air and the moderate currents of Bay of Bengal, one can always extend the stay.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           I hope this information comes in handy.

One liner for the trip: Pondicherry is not up to scratch; the place to too puffed up!

“Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.”

― Wendell Berry, A Place on Earth

Ooty- Coonoor (3 days trip)

(The photographs used are all original)

I travelled to Ooty and Coonoor during the month of August. We (two of us) booked a taxi (Ola Outstation Cab- Etios Liva) and started at 03:00 AM on 12.08.2016 (Friday). We prefer travelling during the night hours because this not only saves a lot of time but also makes the journey comfortable (less traffic). We reached Bandipur by 9:00 AM and enjoyed the eerie silence in the forest. The desire to see a tiger or leopard kept me awake throughout the journey.

Bandipur Tiger Reserve is followed by Madumalai Tiger Reserve. The maintenance is better in latter compared to the former. Also, the number and variety of animals is more in Madumalai. To reach Ooty, there are two routes- one through Bandipur-Madumalai- Gudalur (approximately 77km) and the other through Bandipur- Madumalai- Masinagudi (37km). The latter is through a curvy road on the mountain, with 36 hairpin bends. We took the first route to reach Ooty as several view points are located on that way. To start with, we first stopped at:

A little ahead of Pykara boat house: We stopped for tea a little ahead of the turning that led to Pykara Boat House. But call it luck or no-luck, we met a guide who somehow succeeded in playing with our minds and we agreed to be guided by him. He took us to a forest and showed us these four view points: Shooting place of Raja Hindustani- Poocho zara pooch song, British Lake view, Tea Estates (Glenmorgan) and Pine forests.

No doubt the view points were good, but the guide sounded a little misleading. He asked for 450/- but we bargained and gave him 350/-. The important point to note here is that these people can be spotted on the road looking out for customers. They can be asked to guide but the price is negotiable. 350/- was also too much. But the stars didn’t seem in our favour.

Raja Hindustani View-point: The view point is amazing with fabulous scenic beauty of the grasslands. There is peace and calm and one can sit and relax for a while. The view of the tea plantations is mesmerizing. The Pine forest is not really a forest; you can view vast spread pine trees and cows grazing under them. If the weather is nice, the scene would be amazing.

Glenmorgan Tea Estates: These are the tea plantations owned by

Glenmorgan. It is a nice view, but you cannot stop there for more than 5 minutes and take pictures.

British View Lake: Your eyes are bound to be on stalks after seeing this majestic lake view. It is so quiet and calm and with that cold breeze brushing across your face, you can experience a chill run down your spine.

It took us about one and a half hour to explore these four places but the decision was worth the price. Luckily, we also got a chance to stop by a stall where we ate South Indian pakodas and had yum Tea.

Next, we headed to Pykara Boat House and believe me, the lake will definitely blow your mind off. 

With serene and green surroundings, the green water of the lake is something you wish for. PS: Go for the speed boat and have the experience of the lifetime.

There are three types of boats and the prices (as in August, 2016) are like this.

Heading to Ooty, we stopped at Ninth Mile and probably the photographs will be sufficient to describe how we felt there...

 

We had already booked OYO room and we went directly to our room. Tired but satisfied, we had delicious lunch and then napped for some time. In the evening, we decided to check out the Ooty streets (called the Upper Bazaar) and came back by 10:00 PM with lots of chocolates, fiber lantern and other things that we shopped.

Day-2

The next day we visited Ooty Lake, Botanical Garden and Rose Garden in Ooty.

Ooty Lake: 

Commercialized and crowded are the two words that first come in my mind. Not that the experience was boring, but still this place was crowded. The price was nominal but the additional security was supposed to be refunded only if the customer (s) came back in half an hour.

PS: Just in case you get stuck in the middle of the lake (say if your peddle stops working) use your brain and call the number mentioned on the receipt. The rescue boat will rescue you. (Did I say this happened with us?)

Botanical Garden & Rose Garden: The tickets for both these places cost Rs. 30 per person but the former is not worth a visit. I felt the land used up to make Botanical Garden could have been used in a better way. The rose garden, however, is amazing and widely spread across. Parking is not a problem if you are willing to pay 60-80 bucks for four wheelers.

Day-3 (Coonoor)

We started for Coonoor at 09:30 AM. On our way, we witnessed the scenic beauty of Wellington. Our target was to cover Lamb’s Rock, Dolphin Nose and Sim’s Park.

Sim’s Park: This was our first stop and it was truly spread out. Tiring out our muscles, we were left with little energy. But lo and behold, the clouds covered the vast blue and made our journey even merrier.

Dolphin nose: Traffic was a problem here. With big lorries and Tempo Travellers, the roads were jammed and we wasted four hours getting out of this area. The view was, however, such that it could make you disbelieve your eyes.

Lamb’s Rock: When we reached this rock, it was densely clouded and we could see anything beyond a certain distance. Since the view point has nothing but a dead end and from there you are supposed to look ahead and see another mountain that has a weird cut, we did not find this interesting. Moreover, we had to walk 1 km just for nothing (owing to the fog). 

Only when we came down and stopped to have tea, we realized that the same view could be enjoyed from the tea stall too. Just behind that small shop, one could see Lamb’s Rock. Psst! What a waste of time it was!

PS: Lamb’s Rock is famous for factory outlet of chocolates and different kinds of oils. One can buy these things at cheaper rates from here.

By 12:30 PM we started our journey homewards. We took the Masinagudi route that comprised of zig-zag haip-pin bends; not one or two but 36. But journey was comfortable and quick. Since the gates of Bandipur close by 6:00 PM, we had to cross that region before the deadline. These were the animals we spotted on our way back.

                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Some important points to remember:

ü Whenever visiting mountains, carry track pants and umbrella. Carry woollens too.

ü Carry extra clothes because you cannot resist from getting wet in the rain

ü Wear shoes

I hope this information comes in handy.

One liner for the trip: Be footloose and fancy-free, for there is a lot to feast your eyes on!

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert