Panambur Beach in Mangalore - Extremely beautiful !

I had been to Mangalore a few weeks back to attend a wedding. The wedding happened in TMA Pai Convention Center. My friend & I stayed in Hotel Deepa Comforts, near the convention center. After the wedding, I had a few hours before catching the return flight to Chennai. My friend and I decided to go out and spend a few hours. (Also read: Night stay in Bangalore airport - rethink)

We checked at the hotel reception desk - "What are some good places to see in Mangalore?". The receptionist swiftly said "Sir ! Mangalore is famous for temples. There are lots of them. However, most of them would be closed at this time. You can visit a beach, if you like". "What is the closest beach", I asked. She said "Panambur Beach. That is just 12 kms from here". "Do you know how much auto wallas charge?", I asked. She said "No sir ! But, in Mangalore, autos go by metered fares. So, you don't have to worry about the fare"  (Also read: Chennai Marina Beach - Free recreation for everyone)

My friend and I checked-out of the hotel, came out to the road and stopped an auto rickshaw. He said, "Sir! You've to pay me 1.5 times the meter fare to get to Panambur Beach. I've to return empty - nobody boards from there to here". We didn't want to bargain/argue in a strange land - especially, without knowing the local language. It took about 20 minutes, to get to Panambur beach.

Panambur beach is located in an industrial area, and close to the Mangalore Port. There were a couple of "coal" factories near the beach. The access to the beach was through a polluted road - the area completely soaked in black by the nearby coal factories. However, we were pleasantly surprised when the auto rickshaw dropped us near the beach. The beach was maintained very well. There were play structures for the kids. They had small gardens in the area. The sand was "crystal clear" and "clean" - no trash, and no dust. There were a few eateries nearby. The beach itself was small. However, there were many people even at 3 o'clock, when the sun was shining bright and hot. I thought we were the only jokers to go to a beach at that time. But, there was enough company for us :)

Some folks were riding water scooters. There were people (government appointed?) to monitor the safety of the folks entering the sea. There were small tents providing shade for the people. We spent nearly 2 hours in the beach. On our return journey, we stopped at the nearby auto rickshaw stand. The guys in the stand demanded 1.5 times the meter fare, again. Their rationale was "Sir ! We aren't from the city. We have to come back to this place empty. So, you have to pay 1.5 times the meter fare". We didn't have much choice and ended up paying 1.5 times fare (Rs.150).

Panambur beach is extremely beautiful. If you are in Mangalore and looking for a place to kill couple of hours, Panambur beach is a must-see.  (Also read: Chennai Marina Beach - Free recreation for everyone)

Night stay in Bangalore airport - Rethink

I had been to Mangalore a few weeks ago, to attend a friend's wedding. I had booked my travel in Kingfisher airlines (one of the budget airlines in India). The flight tickets were booked at least 3 months in advance. It is a direct flight from Chennai to Mangalore and I got a good deal - the round trip cost only Rs.8K. But, the actual fun(?) started only 2 days before the trip.

I got a call from Kingfisher airlines, 2 days before the trip. I was told that the direct flight to Mangalore was canceled and they've to put me in a different flight. Since there were no other direct Kingfisher flights to Mangalore, I decided to take a flight to Bangalore, stay there at night and reach Mangalore, the next day morning. (Also read: Panambur Beach in Mangalore - Extremely beautiful)

After reaching Bangalore airport, I went to the Karnataka Tourism Counter to find out if there are any hotels nearby, for an overnight stay. The guy in the counter gave me a brochure from the nearby hotel, which said "Rs.2700 for a room". In a country where people pay "Rs.2700" as monthly rent for their house, "Rs.2700" for an overnight stay sounded too much. I asked him "Are there any other hotels in the vicinity". He said "No Sir ! This is the only hotel that is close to the airport. You have to go to the city which is 30km away, to find a hotel". Since I didn't travel with my family, I decided to stay in the Bangalore domestic airport overnight.

Bangalore domestic airport didn't have a proper lounge for overnight stay. I ended up sleeping on the chair, in sitting posture. The chairs in the airport didn't have any cushion and they aren't comfortable at all. Somehow, I managed to spend an entire night in the airport. In the morning, I got up and took the early morning flight to Mangalore. Thank god, I didn't travel with my family. Otherwise, I would've to take the hotel room for Rs.2700.  (Also read: Traveling near restrooms isn't fun)

The new Bangalore airport is 30 - 40 kms away from the city. Most of the hotels are located at least 20 - 30 kms away from the airport. Since the airport is new and is in a remote place, there are not many hotels around for a "common man" to stay overnight. Of course, "common man" in India doesn't fly :)

Anna Tower Park - A boon for Anna Nagar residents

Recently, I had been to the Anna Tower Park (also called as Dr. Visveswaraya Park), in Anna Nagar. The park was simply gorgeous. The dense trees giving a fresh green cover, the chirping birds, colorful playing structures, well-laid walkways, sound of the fountains, ponds filled with lotus flowers, and the majestic tower ... made the place to look like heaven. Anna Tower park is a boon  for folks who want to spend their evening hours. The last time I visited this park was nearly 10 years ago. It was in a pathetic situation, then. Thanks to Chennai Corporation's increased interest in constructing, renovating and maintaining parks in Chennai. Anna Tower Park looked very young and colorful.

(Also read: A visit to Arignar Anna Zoological Park - Vandalur  A visit to Children's Park & Snake Park in Guindy
)

The 135ft tower in the center of the park, painted in fresh orange, is an eye catcher. I was curious to take a peek at the Chennai city from the top of the tower. However, access to the tower was closed. I was told that the access is restricted due to increased suicides and "pairs" using walkways as a "hangout" place.

The entire park was very busy - folks who are exercising, readers who are buried into their books, students hanging out with their friends, elderly couples chit-chatting, families relaxing, and kids playing. Despite the "busyness" engulfing the park, everyone gets their privacy.

The park had a meditation court, a small pond, kids play area, walk-ways and grass land, an arena for dance/music, cricket pitch, skating rink, and water fountains. In the night, they switched-on fancy lights, which made the entire place to look very colorful. The park also had well maintained rest room facilities. There is enough parking available along the road side for both two wheeler and cars. There is also a constable standing outside the park, to maintain some order. (Also read: Semmozhi Poonga - A Greenway in the heart of Chennai) 

It looks like kids are taught "skating" lessons in the mornings and evenings in Anna Tower Park. Also, the park is used for hosting week long annual celebrations of "Chennai Sangamam", a Tamil cultural festival. You can easily spend two or three hours in the park. There is lots of entertainment for kids. Adults can also spend time peacefully in the park. 

Anna Tower Park is definitely a boon for the residents in and around Anna Nagar.

Also read:

Semmozhi Poonga - A Greenway in the heart of Chennai 
Skywalk Ampa Mall - Multiplex++
Mahabalipuram, Muttukadu & Crocodile Park
American Library in US Consulate - for History Lovers
A visit to Children's Park & Snake Park in Guindy

Danushkodi Trip Experiences

A trip to Rameswaram will not be complete without visiting Danushkodi. After our visit to Rameswaram Temple, I checked with a few tour operators about Danushkodi. All of them unanimously said "There is NOTHING TO SEE in Danushkodi. Why do you want to go there?". In fact, one of the tour operators even showed me a newspaper article describing Danushkodi as the ghost town. (Also read: Rameswaram & Danushkodi Trip Planning Tips)

When all my fellow family members were sold on the 'NOTHING TO SEE in Danushkodi' mantra ... I wasn't. When you ask a child "Not to do something", it will immediately do that out of curiosity. Similarly, I was so determined to visit Danushkodi, when everyone said "Don't go there... there is nothing to see in Danushkodi". The next morning, we (my wife, kid, a cousin & I) left Rameswaram to see Danushkodi. All the other family members decided not to join us. We boarded the Danushkodi bus in the stop opposite to Rameswaram temple. Bus services to Danushkodi start as early as 5.30 am. We boarded the bus at around 7 am. The bus was completely packed with people who are going to Danushkodi to setup shops, to swim or to fish. Smell of fish was coming from even the empty baskets carried by the fishermen/women. The road to Danushkodi was along the sea shore and hence, the breeze was very pleasant. The bus reached Danushkodi check post by 7.40 am. The local tempo van operators in Danushkodi who are running the "tours" haven't started their service. They were waiting for at least 20 people to assemble. In about a few minutes, we gathered significant mass and started our journey to the interiors of Danushkodi.

The 4-wheel van drive to the interiors of Danushkodi was very exciting and adventurous. There were few instances where I thought the van is going to topple-up. The tempo van cruised through damp lands, sea shores and regions with thorn trees. Along the way, we saw jeeps carrying tourists and tempo vans carrying supplies to the fishermen living in interior Danushkodi. During our trip, our van had to stop a few times to help lift other vehicles that got stuck in sand/mud. A 10Km drive to the interiors of Danushkodi took nearly 45 minutes. We reached the tip of India which was covered by sea on all the 3 sides. On one side, the sea was very calm and the other side it was rough. The sangamam of both the seas (place where they both merged) looked remarkably beautiful. There was continuous sand storms in that region - no wonder why all the old buildings/structures were almost buried into the sand, in Danushkodi. I heard from the tempo van driver that the spot was used for shooting films such as Sura, and Nanda. There is a small shop selling snacks and drinks in that location. We spent nearly 20 minutes in that spot.


The van then took all the tourists to the real 'ghost town'. You can see destroyed houses, church, railway station and other government buildings in that region. Many houses were almost buried into sand. You can see only the roof of such houses. There were a few shops selling snacks, drinks & souvenirs in that area. We spent about 20 minutes in that location. The van then took us all back to Danushkodi check post. They charged Rs.60 per person for the round-trip tour which took about 3 hours.

If you are visiting Rameswaram, I would definitely recommend you to visit Danushkodi. It is definitely one of the MUST TO SEE PLACES near Rameswaram. You'll definitely like the roaring seas, sand storms, fresh air, peacefulness, scenic locations and adventurous ride. So, don't miss it !

Also read:

Rameswaram Trip Experiences
Rameswaram & Danushkodi Trip Planning Tips

Rameswaram / Danushkodi Trip Planning Tips

I learned quite a few things during my recent trip to Rameswaram & Danushkodi. Here are some tips/data points that will help you to plan your Rameswaram/Danushkodi Trip:

• Take a train to Rameswaram that reaches after sun rise. You can see the beautiful & majestic Pamban Bridge. Also, you can admire the water on both the sides of railway track, when the train cruises through the sea.
• Auto rickshaws charge Rs.40 to take you from Rameswaram railway station to the temple
• There are pay & use toilets/bathrooms near temple (suitable for bachelors, who don't need an accommodation)
• TTDC rooms are available in Rameswaram and can be booked online
• There are lots of hotel rooms/accommodation available near the temple at various price ranges
• Temple opens very early in the morning (at 5 am). So, the hotels/commercial establishments near temple are open very early, too
• If you are interested to take bath in the '22 theerthams' inside the temple - there are people who charge you Rs.75 (including the Rs.25 fare) and provide express service. Also, they pour one bucket full of water on you instead of just 'showers'.
• Do not take any cameras when going to take bath in the '22 theerthams'. If you are taking cash/valet, do take a high-quality polythene cover with you
• There are adequate bus services from bus stand to the temple (once, every 10 minutes or so)
• There are number of buses that operate between Rameswaram & Madurai
• There are regular bus services between Rameswaram & Danushkodi (once every 30 minutes or so). You can board these buses in front of the temple, near the post office.
• There are NO good restaurants near the temple. Hotel Vasantha Bhavan (located outside the temple) is OK for a quick meal. But hygiene in that restaurant is questionable. Hotel Aryas restaurant (in the Goswami Madam complex) looks decent. But, you need to walk quite a bit to get there. 
• Usage of plastic bags & plastic cups is banned in all commercial establishments in Rameswaram
• There is a fee of Rs.25 for taking camera inside the temple (to take pictures in 'moondram pragaram')
• Tour operators within the city charge Rs. 250 for auto rickshaws, Rs.750 for Maruti Omni or similar vans, & Rs.1000 for Mahindra Tourister like vans. They'll take you to the "popular places to see in Rameswaram" such as Ramar Theertham, Setha Theertham, Lakshman Theertham, Ramar Patham, House of Kalam (view from the street), Kothandaramar temple. They'll also show you the floating rock. If you want to include Pamban Bridge and other locations, you may be charged extra. I heard that Vivekanandar Mandapam in Rameswaram is good. Danushkodi trip is not covered by this.
• There are jeeps that take people from Rameswaram to Danushkodi (all the way to the end). They charge Rs.900 per jeep, which can take about 7 people. Alternatively, you can take a bus from Rameswaram to Danushkodi checkpost (Rs.5 bus fare per person). You can rent a tempo van for Rs.1200 (for a group of nearly 15 or 20). If you are a smaller group, you can pay Rs.60 per person to share the ride on the tempo van.
• There are small mom & pop kind shops/restaurant near Danushkodi checkpost/beach. There are small shops towards the end of Danushkodi selling cool drinks & snacks. Fishermen are still living in huts on the old/destroyed Danushkodi.

Also read:

Rameswaram Trip Experiences
Danushkodi Trip Experiences
Tirupati Tirumala Visit - May be the last?
Tiruchendur Temple - Poojari's demanding money  

Rameswaram Trip Experiences

Last week, I had been to Rameswaram with my extended family members (nearly 15 people). Rameswaram is not only a popular destination for South Indian pilgrims but also for North Indians because of its historical significance. I was eagerly waiting to see various places in/around Rameswaram, because of their legacy. (Also read: Rameswaram & Danushkodi Trip Planning Tips)

We took Rameswaram express from Chennai (at 5 pm) and reached Rameswaram early in the morning (at 4.30 am). We did a mistake of not booking hotel rooms in advance. The roads around the station weren't maintained well and there were hardly any hotels, near the station. Looks like people/devotees typically stay closer to the temple. We took 4 autorickshaws to go near the temple to look for rooms. Rameswaram isn't a developed city, despite the huge crowd that visit the temple city everyday.

We managed to find an accommodation in Siva Lodge near the temple (for Rs.500 per room which can accommodate 4 - 5 people). We dropped our luggage in the hotel room, took a short break and went to the sea to take the holy dip. I was surprised by the quality of sea water in the location where people take the holy dip. It is heavily polluted because of the crowd.

We then went to the temple for '22 theerthams'. We paid Rs.75 per person (including the ticket fare), for an intermediary to quickly take us through the '22 theerthams'. After the '22 theerthams' we went back to the hotel room to take bath and change our dress. We had breakfast in Hotel Vasantha Bhavan opposite to the temple and then visited the temple again. (Also read: Golden temple in Sripuram, Vellore - Marvelous)

Rameswaram Temple was not maintained very well. There were broken pillars, peeling cement/paint layers, and spider webs all around the temple. The exteriors of the temple are painted well. The 'moondram pragaram' had a number of pillars on both the sides of the walkway for nearly 1200m. The view was simply amazing and a feast for cameras.

We went back to hotel room, took rest and hired a couple of Maruti Omnis to take us around the city. They took us to the 'famous spots' in the city and charged us a hefty Rs.1000 per van, for 3 or 4 hours of ride. The places they showed us include such as Ramar Theertham, Setha Theertham, Lakshman Theertham, Ramar Patham, House of Kalam (view from the street), and Kothandaramar temple, Floating Rock, Pamban Bridge and Jothilingam temple. We had lunch at Hotel Aryas in Goswamy Madam. The food quality was good. We finished the tour and came back to hotel by around 6 pm. We spent the rest of the day in the hotel. The breeze from the sea nearby was very pleasant and hence many of us decided to sleep on the corridor of the hotel room for the night. The corridor had an open balcony from where you can get the ocean view.

Certain pockets of Rameswaram is well developed, but majority of the city isn't maintained well (including the streets near the temple & the roads near 'House of Kalam'). The restaurants near the temple aren't adequately staffed and there is a long waiting time to find seats. Majority of the people who visit Rameswaram include old people and people of middle/low income category. So, the commercial establishments are targetted at such customers. If you are expecting 'luxury' you'll be disappointed very much.

Also read:

Danushkodi Trip Experiences
Tirupati Tirumala Visit - May be the last?
Tiruchendur Temple - Poojari's demanding money  
Kovai Trip - Maruthamalai Visit 

Tirupathi Tirumala Temple visit - May be the last?

We went to the richest and the most visited place of worship in the world, yesterday. People all over the world come to this holy place, to get a few seconds of 'swami darshan'. Extraordinarily rich people come to this temple, with suitcases full of cash (unaccounted money?!) and dump them into the temple Hundi. Yes! After a gap of nearly 10 years, I visited 'Tirupathi'. May be, this is the last time that I ever visit this temple.

Also read: 

Tiruchendur Temple - Poojari's demanding money
Kovai Trip - Maruthamalai Visit
Rameswaram Trip Experiences 

We had taken the Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) Tirupathi Darshan package. They charged Rs. 1330 (which includes commute, breakfast, lunch, and Rs.300 for the darshan). They picked all the tourists who were assembled near the TTDC office in Central Railway Station, and took everyone to the TTDC office in Chepauk. The tour started at 6.20 am from the Chepauk TTDC office. The bus stopped at around 7.15 am for breakfast. The breakfast was decent enough (pongal, 2 idlis and a vada - limited meals). The quality of food was good. But, the breakfast was served in a not-so-clean marriage hall.

We reached lower Tirupathi by around 10 am. A local AP transport bus (in substandard condition) was waiting there to take us to Tirupati Tirumala. Before the bus departed, the tour guide collected all our mobile phones, cameras and camcorders. It looks like they weren't allowed to be used in the temple. I was quite amazed by the quality of roads that lead to the Tirupathi Tirumala temple. They've constructed a one-way road with 2 lanes, that are wide enough. There are safety gaurd rails on the side of the road that faces downhill. The safety gaurd rails are properly painted in black & white. There were proper road signs indicating sharp turns, bumps etc., I saw a number of jeeps, private cars and even two wheelers that drive up hill, to Tirupathi Tirumala. We reached Tirumala at around 11 am (roughly, 1 hour commute).

The tour guide took us to the place where they do hair tonsure. He said that we cannot go through the 'normal process' because of the long wait time (which would affect the remaining tourists). He charged Rs.90 per person to get a 'quick' hair tonsure, without having to stand in queues (2/3rd of the money went to his pocket & 1/3rd of the money went to the barber). We had to pay Rs.10 to get a bucket of 'free hot water' from a lady servant there.

We were taken to the location where the "Rs.300 queue" starts. There were about 6 halls (actually, cages) in which people were locked. The cages had benches for people to sit. The cages were opened up one after the other. I was expecting that we'll get the darshan, right after the cage #1 was opened. To my surprise, after the cage #1 was opened, we have to stand in queue for nearly 3 hours to get the "darshan". Things haven't changed much in the last 10 years. The quality of treatment for people is still the same during the wait in queues. You are pushed, pulled, crushed, and even scolded. Also, you've to put up with the sultry weather and bad smelling people. My daughter, who wasn't used to such things was crying most of the times. Oh my god ! If god is really divine and has powers to do wonders, why should people suffer this much to see the god (infact, to see just an idol). At the place of darshan, there are volunteers/servants who push devotees (old or young) without mercy. You hardly get only a few seconds of darshan.

After the darshan, we returned back to TTDC cottage (which had 3 small rooms and two bathrooms) for the 65+ passengers. After a short break, we boarded the local AP transport bus. We had to wait for an hour there because one of the families didn't return back from darshan, ontime (we later learned that they went for shopping!). The bus reached down hill in about an hour. We had a good buffett lunch in AP Restaurant, at around 5.00 pm. They took us then to Padmavathi temple. We left Padmavathi temple at about 6.45 pm and reached Chennai at around 10.30 pm.

Though we were able to visit & come back from Tirupathi in a day, it was very hectic. I would not recommend taking the TTDC tour, if you are going as a family (especially, with kids). It is not a pleasant experience, at all. I wish Tirupathi Tirumala Management does something about the 'waiting process' and the unorderly queues. There are lots of creative ways to control the crowd. Considering the fact that Tirupathi is one of the richest temples in the world, they can implement crowd control mechanisms with ease. They have spent lots of money in improving the roads (which results in increased crowd in the uphill). However, they haven't made any significant infrastructure changes that can accommodate the growth in devotees. Hopefully, this pathetic condition changes soon. Until then, Good Bye to Lord Venky.

Also read:

Tiruchendur Temple Visit - Poojari's demanding money
Golden Temple in Sripuram, Vellore - Marvelous
Rameswaram Trip Experiences

Skywalk Ampa Mall - Multiplex++

Multiplexes are gaining lots of attention these days, in India. Growing economy, increasing disposable income and the need for recreation has spurred the growth of multiplexes. Multiplexes promise entertainment, shopping, and dining - all under one roof. The latest giant multiplex to show up in Chennai is Skywalk - Ampa Mall. The mall was open to public in last September and most of the shops are already rented out. All big brand shopping outlets such as WestSide, Star Bazaar, Landmark, Reebok, Lilliput and Bose are there. Skymall also houses a number of restaurants including international brands such as KFC, McDonalds, & Pizzahut.

We dined at McDonalds in Skywalk. In US, we hardly dined at McDonalds due to the lack of proper veggie food (except for their break fast menu). But, McDonalds in India offers lots of custom/localized choices such as McVeggie, & McAloo Tikki. A McVeggie costs just Rs.45. If you make it a 'meal' with medium fries & medium coke, they charge you Rs.95. I guess they make lots of money in fries & drinks, than in burgers :)

We spent nearly an hour and a half in Skywalk, just doing window shopping. The mall is well maintained and appears to be very spacious. The number of shops is less when compared to Spencers Plaza. However, the facility is well maintained and the shops are targeted at upper class families. PVR cinemas & Landmark are giving finishing touches to their interiors. They are yet to open up.

Skywalk has a nice multi-storeyed parking structure. However, the roads around Skywalk are not equipped to handle the additional traffic. I couldn't imagine how bad the traffic would be, once PVR cinemas open up. The Poonamalle High Road & Nelson Manickam Road intersection is already very packed. A flyover at the intersection would definitely help.

Skywalk is a boon to poeple living in/around Anna Nagar/Aminjikarai area. They don't have to commute too far to get to a decent shopping mall/theatre. And for me, I can just walk to a shopping mall :)

Also read:

PVR Cinemas in Skywalk, Chennai - Worldclass
Nilkamal's @home - Not designed for me
Goods in US - lots of options & cheaper price

Mahabalipuram, Muttukadu & Crocodile Park - A visit to ECR attractions

We had been to the East Coast Road (ECR) during the New Year Holidays to see a few attractions. We rented/hired Tata Safari for Rs.1900 and visited a few tourist places along the coast, including Mahabalipuram. It is several years since I drove past ECR and the areas along ECR has grown by leaps and bounds. The road condition is really very good. There are lots of places to see/visit near ECR. Our first stop was at Muttukadu Boat House.
  

Also read: 

A visit to Arignar Anna Zoological Park - Vandalur
A visit to Children's Park & Snake Park in Guindy
 

I was quite impressed with the way in which the boat house is maintained. Muttukadu Boat House has adequate parking facilities, neat restaurant, and well maintained rest rooms. The boats had life jackets for everyone. Of course, they charged about Rs.400 for 7 people (which was on the higher end). There was a separate fee for still camera and camcorder (I guess I paid about Rs.50 for the camcorder and Rs.25 for the still camera). We had reached a bit earlier in the day (by 9.30 am). So, it wasn't very crowded. Also, the weather was very pleasant for boating. They also had water scooters. The motor boat driver took us around for nearly 20 minutes. The lake was clean and the scenery around was beautiful. We came back from the ride and paid Rs.10 as tip for the boat driver (Well, the driver asked for it even before we got down from the boat). We spent about an hour in the boat house.

We then visited the Crocodile Park. They charged about Rs.20 for adults and Rs.10 for the kids. However, the charge for video camera (camcorder) was whopping Rs.100. The crocodile park was maintained very well (except for the restrooms, which could be a bit more cleaner). This is the largest collection of crocodiles that I've ever seen in my life. They had pools in which there are nearly 100+ crocodiles. This justifies the huge amount that they collected for the video camera. They also have a pool with glass viewing and it was awesome. I believe you can also feed/touch crocodiles and we didn't try that (Though, there were a few head hunters roaming around. I guess they get a commission, if they sign-up people for crocodile feeding). We spent nearly 2 hours in the Crocodile Park. Kids would definitely love this place.

Our next destination was Mahabalipuram. Oh my god ! It was heavily crowded. I guess New Years weekend is the wrong time to go to this place. It took us nearly 30 minutes to get to the parking lot. Also, there was hardly any space to move around near the Shore Temple, parking lot. It is nearly 15+ years since I visited Mahabalipuram. The place has developed many folds. Our government has been doing a wonderful job of developing and maintaining the infrastructure, there. There are beautiful parks around every attraction, with proper rest areas & restroom facilities. We had packed and brought lunch with us. We had our lunch in the park. The entry fee was very nominal - just Rs.10 for one person. There was no camera or camcorder fee, in any of the Mahabalipuram attractions. We visited Shore Temple, Five Rathas, and Krishna's butter ball. We were very tired and didn't have the energy to climb to the light house. So, we dropped that from our list. We spent nearly 4 - 5 hours in Mahabalipuram and left the place by around 5.30 pm.

We made a stopover in Tiger's cave and it was very dark at that time. We went to the beach from there and spent a few minutes drenching our legs in the sea water. The return traffic was very bad and we reached home by 8.30 pm.

Overall, I was quite impressed with our government's job in maintaining these attractions. Most noticeable of all is the maintenance of rest areas and restroom. Kudos to them !!

This is the first mega outing since my R2I with entire family and friends. It was very enjoyable and memorable.

Also read: 

A visit to Arignar Anna Zoological Park - Vandalur
A visit to Children's Park & Snake Park in Guindy

American library in US consulate - for history lovers

My book reading habit came to a screeching halt a few months ago. It was not that I ran out of books to read, but I didn't have books that suit my interest. Enrolling in a library was in my to-do list for a while. However, I was just procrastinating it. While in US, I used to visit Milpitas/Sunnyvale libraries at least twice a month. Both the libraries are simply amazing. They have large volumes of books in the areas of management, and self development. They have wonderful online interfaces to check catalog, and to hold/renew books. When I did some research, I found that the US consulate (near Gemini Flyover) in Chennai had a library section. I decided to visit them over the weekend. (Also read: Connemara Public Library, Chennai - Disappointing)

With lots of expectations, I visited the American Library in US consulate on Saturday. They had a stringent security procedure. You cannot park your vehicle at/near the US consulate. You are not allowed to carry anything inside the library, including your mobile phones. You are thoroughly checked/scanned before allowed-in. It takes at least 15 minutes to just clear the security procedure and get into the library.

The American library in Chennai is a very small library. There were handful of people in the library - mostly, students and old aged folks. The library didn't have many collections. I was expecting it to be similar to a city library in US. But, most of the books were about history, politics and economics. There were only few books on management/leadership. They had about 50 DVDs/CDs on marketing, communication etc., I was not very excited to sign-up as a member, right away. They charge Rs.400 for a yearly membership & Rs.700 for two years membership. I decided to visit other libraries in Chennai and then select the right one for me. Stay tuned for my experiences with other libraries ...

Also read:

10 things to know if you are thinking of Returning to India (R2I)
Anna Tower Park - A Boon for Anna Nagar residents
Connemara Public Library, Chennai - Disappointing 

Smell of fresh air - rejuvenating

I visited Tiruvengadam, a small village near Rajapalayam, in December. I had been to this village nearly 15 years ago (and several times before that). The village used to be lot more beautiful during my childhood days - with grazing cattle, tiny fishes/turtles in ponds, marching rivers, overflowing wells and last but not the least, the smell of fresh air that traverses through crops and paddy fields. In addition, there used to be lot of people, most of them young.

The village has changed significantly in the last 15 years. The density of youth has come down significantly. Most of them have moved to cities in search of jobs. In addition to farm jobs, there used to be lots of jobs to produce match boxes and match sticks. It looks like those jobs have completely vanished due to the advent of machinery.

Today, the ones who are doing farming are just the old people. The ponds do not have water anymore and are filled with thorn trees. The rivers have just rocks and small pockets of water. The villagers use ground water for irrigation. The water table has gone down tremendously over the years, due to lack of proper rains.

In those days, the villagers used to cultivate lots of paddy, cotton, and chilly. Now, they've switched to cultivating corn and they say the returns are high (I guess the returns are high because corn is heavily used for producing ethanol).

I visited the corn fields and enjoyed breathing fresh air after a very long time. We wouldn't realize it - but, many English words have become part of our every day conversation. I realized it only when conversing with the people in the village. It was tough for me to translate/explain certain things to people.

Government has done a good job of providing the villagers with proper sewage disposal system, electricity and drinking water. Several people carry mobile phones and you can easily see a few mobile phone towers here and there. Overall, I enjoyed my short visit to Tiruvengadam. I'm hoping to go there again for a longer stay, to get the hang of village life.

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