Reason to Smile :)

Reason to Smile: The night before we thought of making plans for the long weekend that was coming up on account of Independence Day, I had already decided that I was taking a holiday and wanted to go some place surreal :) I browsed some pictures on the web and froze in on Spiti Valley. I asked 2-3 friends if they were ok taking a 9 days holidays clubbing the weekends and surprisingly most of them agreed :) What next, the plans were being referred to, the research started on the stay, food, organizers if any, trying to make this a budget trip with about 6-7 girls on a holiday ! While I was already a part of all the zing zang, something wasn't keeping me as excited about Spiti for Aug. I was wondering if it would rain so much, whether the itenary would materialize properly, whether it would turn out to be an expensive affair for that place in the Himalayas, etc. Just then I thought of withdrawing from Spiti and checking out Srilanka on my own :P I had some solo trip on my mind ...

Reason to Smile: The last Saturday that we took a plunge on the experiment of finding that "secret waterfall" materialized this time. So we went with Pug Marks Group who arranges Volunteer Training Programs to conduct outdoor camps and adventure activities. While they train some youth to take charge of such camps, they also organize treks and travel programs for the travel enthusiasts :) The bus droppped us near the Kondeshwar temple which was about 1 km away from where a small trek starts to the waterfall. But before that, it was time to have some fun and get some volunteers on the job. Vismay, Rahul, Tanmay, Madhurima, were some of the volunteers who got the participants all engaged with some fun filled games ! The monsoons have soaked in completely to the weather by now so the entire place selected for these games was all green grass and the wet mud to get us totally BROWN if we played Catterpillar, Ram Raavan Run OR the Mud Rush :P The gang of 27 thoroughly enjoy...

Reason to Smile: Looks like one weekend at home got me so restless that I had to make some plan (atleast in my head) for this one :P I just checked up with my off late travel buddy - Madhurima if there was something we could just explore. I just wanted some excuse to step out of the house or else either I would go mad or make my mother one :P She, as dedicated as she would be, suggested we just try and experiment something nearby. So we headed straight to Badlapur. I only knew about the Kondeshwar Temple and some pond nearby. But she insisted that there was some very secluded waterfall which hardly even the locals know about ! I was very curious and excited if we could spot that. So we reached Badlapur station early morning and about 8 kms away is Kondeshwar temple. The bloody Auto Rickshaw fellows rip you off on the excuse of the extremely bumpy roads that they have to drive on ! :P A short curvy, bumpy and a slightly hilly road led us to the temple with a Dam en-route where it w...

Reason to Smile: The lush green views, the rice and wheat plantations, the foggy mountains, the wet silver curvy roads and we 3 girls on a road trip. It all begins with this thought and check where we land up :) Honnavar - One small city in Karnataka, very close to Kumta, Gokarna, Murudeshwara Temple and many more such popular places. We headed straight to Madhu's native where her uncle lived. Her Mamaji, as we all affectionately called him, greeted us and was very strict about maintaining the schedule of our trip, for he was our official guide to take us to umpteen places around for sight seeing. Honnavar is a place not many people know about. We succumbed to a feeling that it was a good monsoon time to explore something unusual, less popular, and less commercial :) Day 1: So our first stop was a drive to Mirjan Fort. A huge fort located towards the South of Gokarna, about 30 kms from Honnavar is a fort that attracts visitors with its majestic looks.  As one enters the fo...

Reason to Smile: One of the reasons I think why people really love the monsoons could be the minutest idea of just soaking yourself from head to toe beneath the waterfall :) And so Travel Trikon brings to you the very giant, the very beautiful and as magnificently magnanimous as the Dudhsagar Waterfalls, the all new and untouched Tambdi Surla Waterfalls !! :) I say that purposely because of two strong reasons - one that TS is located right next to DS and two being huge enough that it is easily comparable to DS. So while its a clear TS:DS fight, we give full marks to both for being so huge and splendid that one can only get awestruck by its jaw dropping impact on the mere sight of the falls from a distance. While DS has taken its charge on being quite popular, TS remains virgin as there are very few locals who would be aware of this beauty. This is also because while DS is a place only to be ideally spotted and seen through the railway line; TS is quite a 2 hour trek from Kulem Vill...

Reason to Smile: Movie - the Independence Day Resurgence - much like a science fiction movie that it is, I felt it was long and too many characters only made it fun if a child within you find its exciting to see those weird strategies they try to make to kill the Queen ;) And then.. Imagine a facebook post reading "enjoying at Matheran" feeling wet :P Thats what we heard from some boys who joked about it at Charlotte Lake, Matheran ;) The Rains, The fog, The fog or the foggy rains - it was all just that at Matheran :P Poonam, Me, Richa and Rashmi stepped out on a sunday morning to explore the rains at Matheran. For me it must have been the 18th trip there :p So the official guide that I was to the others, I was also the Lady Big Boss of the gang :P The Sethani as they called me, the rest were named Naukranis :P who were only allowed to follow me - literally :P ;) (They were new to the place) A few of the funniest comments that we must have made and enjoyed during ...

Reason to Smile: Rains, Clouds, Misty weather, Green farms and Tamarind trees - all are a super welcome to the most beautiful bird of all times - Peacocks ! And what if you get to see them in abundance !! The weekend was just filled with the same set of chills :) Madhu, Mona and Me again just decided to pack our bags and leave for our monsoon break over the weekend. What could be better than experiencing the view of dancing peacocks from the nearest distance !! Morachi Chincholi is a place on the Pune- Ahmednagar highway near Shiroor village, about 50 kms from Pune. We hired the cab, got our bags dumped on it and touched the highway within no time on saturday morning :P Mayur Krishi Paryatan Kendra organizes such one day events and overnight stays for monsoons and peacock lovers :) They  arrange activities like star gazing, farm lake boating, trekking at the nearby hilltops, cycling, tractor ride, and many more :) An 18 km drive to Nighoj was also worth it.  Nighoj ...