Travel Tales - Banerghatta National Park

Wondering why write a travel story on the local "Zoo" ?? Well... some outings are just worth a memory.. irrespective of the destination. Our visit to  the national park was one of them. 

Bengaluru Climate is at its best from past few weeks with Cloudy sky,  light drizzle every now and then, and cool breeze through out the day. It's totally worth a long drive or an outing. So last Saturday, as we were finishing our breakfast, Viral proposed to visit  the Zoo. I, as usual, was little sceptical because it was a "sudden plan" and then there were chances of rain and thunderstorms. But the climate was too good to miss out on an outing. Also, Zoo seemed to be the right choice considering Aarav's interests in animals.

So quickly I finished my house chores as Viral kept Aarav occupied. I packed the necessary stuffs for Aarav and in about 2 hours we were ready to move. It had to be a comfy casual outfit  to complement the windy climate. Where Viral wore simply a t shirt and jeans accessorised with woolen cap and shades, I chose sweat-top over jeggings. I dressed up Aarav in sleeveless t-shirt under a hoodie paired up with cargo pants and his woolen cap. Zoo requires a lot of walking around. Hence we three were in our comfortable sneakers. Additionally we carried the Pram, Umbrella, Water and some snacks that even Aarav could eat. 

   

Banerghatta National Park is 14 KMs from my home. Not that far and nil traffic made the drive even more wonderful. Here, take a glimpse of the climate that day . This was shot at around 2.30 pm.

We passed by the place where I spent important and memorable 5 years of my life. Administrative Management College. Moments from my BSc and MSc days held on to me for a while (just like it does every time I visit Jayanagar and gali of my hostel). We crossed couple of international schools that got added up to "Aarav's School List".. Soon we were at our destination and we were Very hungry. The place has lot of options ranging from Street food and chaats, to proper family restaurants. They also have budgeted resort and lodges if one wishes to stay there. It was almost 3pm so we went for Chaats which was a quick one. While Viral was buying the tickets, I saw the sign board on the entry gate that read "Closing - 5 PM" and "Tuesday Holiday". Then I just spoke to Aarav "2 hrs are good enough for our stroll... hai na beta?" I don't know what he understood but he gave me a tight hug. 

When we entered the Zoo, we saw two queues. One lead into the Zoo while the other to the bus going for the Safari ride. We followed the former and started our stroll. 

As we stopped by the cages to show him the animals, Aarav looked more sleepy than excited and instead was watching two dogs running around. He did find the variety of colourful parrots interesting though and identified the Lion, Tiger, Giraffe and the Deers. But looked like he enjoyed walking on his own (instead of the pram ride), playing with the  leaves and branches lying on the pathway and ofcourse the ice cream.                                    

 
 

 

The two hours came to an end and it felt just just enough. We were not feeling tired at all to be honest.

Once we exit the Zoo, there are  stalls in a row that sell aatractive toys, hats, soda, mangoes, berries and roasted corn. We had two slices of raw mango smeared with the spicy red chilli masala , one roasted corn and a soda. We picked one bubble toy for Aarav which he already dropped before we got back into our car. 

So as the sun was setting down and we're driving back home, we just felt lucky as it did not rain at all and unlike other weekends, we enjoyed a beautiful climate, spent some quality time which was all simple but still a Saturday to remember and cherish.

             

Travel Tales - Chotila Hills

After a long break, here I am with my first blog for this year.  And I felt sharing a travel story would be nice to begin with.

Chotila is a Hindu temple town located near Rajkot, Gujarat, India. The Chamunda Devi temple at 1173 feet high Chotila hill is the main attraction of this town. Being our "Kuladevi" (the family goddess) , this temple was due our "darshan" (visit) after Aarav turned one , and hence became our first travel destination for this year. While darshan was the main agenda, visiting my sister in law resided at Vadodara city was also a part. We thus planned a short 5 day trip including weekends which saved us two leaves and chose to travel by air from Bangalore.

Day 1- The Arrival

It was the "meet and greet" day. The morning flight from Bangalore landed in Ahmedabad after 2hrs 10mins. Ahmedabad airport is comparatively small but pretty decent. It took us exactly 2 hrs to reach my sister in law's residence (Vadodara city) in our pre-booked cab. The drive was nice as it was one straight road minus traffic. We packed our lunch from a restaurant on the way and finished the same in the cab. Aarav enjoyed this drive thoroughly and before sunset we were there. With Aarav being the centre of attention it was smiles all around. While he enjoyed playing with his cousin sister, we finished our cup of refreshing Ginger Tea and some yummy Gujarati Snacks. Freshening up, unpacking the gifts we took from Bangalore, chit chat sessions followed by an authentic Gujarati dinner "Handwo" brought day 1 to an end.

Day 2- An evening at the Park

The weekend morning started with authentic breakfast - Khakra and Phafda. One who is fond of ghee, spices and green chillies, this breakfast combo is just right. Khakra is a round and crispy dish. In its roasted form, it is smeared with ghee and specific Khakra masalas (spices) called "Jiranu". Phafda again is a crispy crunchy dish which is dipped in "Kadhi Chutney" (the sauce) while having. The taste enhancers are the fried green chillies and shredded raw papaya salad served as sides. A cup of masala chai completed this breakfast combo. 

The temperature that morning was around 35 degrees. It seemed reasonable to step out post lunch. The lunch was again a filling and delicious Gujarati Thali (a complete meal) prepared by my sister in law that included Roti, Daal, Rice, Alu methi , Shredded cabbage tossed and tampered in authentic spices, Gajar halwa and Gulab jamun. 

A stroll in the nearby park, built in line with Japanese Park, seemed appropriate to spend that evening with the kids. Vast green grounds surrounded by tall trees, colourful flowers grown in a row, fountains & streams, vintage benches made this place worth for photography. Adding to this beautiful, clean and peaceful place were the Peahens and Peacocks walking around. After sunset, we visited the temple within the premises and left the place. The hunger bell definitely rang after the stroll and street food topped the list. So there it was. Pav Bhaji, chatpata Paani Puri, and yummy Malai Kulfi for desert which were enough to call it a day.

 

Day 3-The Climb towards the Temple

It was 7 am on a Sunday and we were all set to begin the journey towards the main destination, Chotila Hill. Being a small town, it is best reached by road. We traveled by our car however bus/taxi services are also available. It took us 5.5 hrs to cover 250 kms that included the break of approximately 1 hr. Straight wide roads again but frequent heavy loaded trucks makes the road prone to accidents. We witnessed couple of unfortunate accidents on the way and hence the drive had to be extremely careful. But the bigger challenge was yet to begin. The temple located at the hill top was connected through 675 steps. Surely sounds an easy climb if compared to the several thousands steps at Tirupati Balaji temple. But its extreme steapness, bright hot sun,  and Aarav in our lap added up to the challenge. While the Powerful  chant of "Jai Maata Di" kept us moving, we were totally exhausted and needles to say, breathless once we reached the top. There were good number of people who had come for the darshan and there were people of all ages. A sliding metal partition separated the male and female queues. Finally it was our turn for the darshan and the pandit performed the required puja for us. A sigh of relief once the rituals got over post which we spent some time grasping fresh air and enjoying the top view. It was then time for our descent. Stepping down the steap stairs was even more scary.  It made me dizzy for sure. With Aarav in our lap, we were watchful and slow with our steps. It took us 1hr 30 mins to complete this entire visit. Once down, we had the Prasad , a glass of fresh sugarcane juice and then left the temple premises. The drive back home felt more tiring and long. We had lunch , tea and evening snacks on the way and reached home at around 10 pm. A 'Travel'some day for sure, especially for a 15 months old but the happiness of fulfilling the big responsibility soon put us into a good night sleep.

 

Day 4 - A Drive to Poicha

It was a usual Monday , a usual working day. But what made this day a special one was       "Daal Baati" prepared by my sister in law for lunch and our visit to Poicha - Neelkanth Dham, in the evening. "Daal Baati" is an authentic Rajasthani dish. It's preparation is quite difficult and time consuming, especially making the dough (baati). But there it was on our lunch table served with chilled "Shrikhand" (an Indian sweet dish made of strained yoghurt). A short nap was surely required after that delicious lunch but then it was time to head out for our last destination in this trip, Poicha.

Talking about Poicha, it is a two hrs drive from Vadodara. The Google images during our research made it a must visit place and I am so glad we made the right choice. As my hubby then commented, if there is a heaven , it must be like Neelkanth Dham. The Swami Narayan temple spread over a massive area is clean all around. The fountains, colourful gardens, tall statues surrounding the temple makes this a photogenic site. The walk through the water flowing out of 108 "Gawmukh" (cow faced outlets), the huge "Shivalinga" amidst clear blue water and the evening "Aarati" makes it the perfect place to spend a day and de-stress yourself. Neelkanth Dham . A must visit if ever visiting Gujarat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 6 - Flying Back

After capturing loads of memories, it was time for a goodbye, the travel back to Bangalore. So much of traveling and less crankiness makes me believe that Aarav too enjoyed this trip thoughrougly. As this travel tale of mine comes to an end, the remaining worth a visit places will be due till my next visit. 

Well...quite a big travel story but do like it and share further if you enjoyed reading this post.
                                   ❤❤❤