Work in progress
Awesome bird watching experience in Assam.
Mystical Meghalaya
Work in progress.
We finally stepped onto East India... and it was awesome. Culture, People, Nature.
Trip Itinerary: Meghalaya (fully curated by tour guide), Assam (part curated).
- Guwahati (Port of entry/exit)
- Guwahati (Port of entry/exit)
- Pobitara(Assam) : 1 day
- Cherrapunje : 3 days
- Shillian Joshar : 1 day
- Tyrna : 2 days
- Chandubi(Assam) : 1 day
- Kaziranga(Assam) : 2 days
Dates: Nov 15th to 25th, 2025
Travelling: We travelled in hired cab internally.
Facilities: All places were well developed with good resort or home stays, from 1 to 3 star level. Roads were good for the most part unless construction was going on. Places were clean and trash minimal. People professional and helpful. Most of them spoke English. Tyrna had a restriction of tourists not allowed to wander after 8pm. Food was mostly rice based with basic dhal. Maggi was very popular. Bread available in higher resorts or on request.
Click here for the Assam part of the trip.
Landed in Guwahati and in East India for the first time! which I personally always feel is almost like another country. The beauty of India and its diversity at its most extreme when a South Indian visits East India. Our ride, Bishar, received us at the airport and after a day stop at Chandubi, we crossed over in Meghalaya and Alfred our guide and driver for Meghalaya took over. The atmosphere and views changed as we crossed into Meghalaya.
Our first stop was at Umiam Lake view point then onto Mawplang Sacred Grove. Our host there had set up a tent and table just for us... to have an incredible fully local flavored picnic lunch in the edge of a large grassland and the Sacred grove in our sight. It was indeed like 'Scotland of the East'! We then walked into the Grove with our guide telling us about its significance and rituals that make it sacred. The fascinating part of the quietness and the rule of nothing taken out or in!
We reached Cherrapunjee late evening but dark already as sunset is at 5pm here. It was quite cold so a hot dinner with good soup was most welcome. Interestingly, no rain was predicted for the 5 days we were in an area that receives the highest rainfall in the country. We timed our trip to time the few weeks when it does not rain at all there! Lucky or did we miss out on a spectacle?
During the time we were here, it was 2 day trips to caves and then waterfalls. Both were enjoyable. Water was freezing cold... but so clear and clean that we braved it and splashed around. All tourist points were reached after a small walk with entry fees of 50 to 100 Rs. Toilets were 10 Rs and Life vests if we wanted to get close to the falls was also available for rent. Overall, places were well organized and not crowded enabling us to enjoy without any issues. Well done Meghalaya!
Our stay with Shilliang Joshar was with Babah who met us around noon with his son to guide us to the 2 gems near his place. Living root nest and a ladder. Both lovingly crafted by the root experts. Our walk to and from the locations was fun as was daily routine for the villagers. Bahbah picked up leaves and other edibles along the trail for our picnic lunch which we had in a wild farm. He had got some rice and meat but made the salad and chutney with things he picked up and some ingredients. Highlight was grinding the chutney with a bamboo utensil cut there itself and discarded! Truly living in the wild.
After some wild experience with Bahbah... we drove to Pung Weikyan called weavers village. There Muthok who is working on local agricultural practices was our guide along with his mother. Got to water around their village for a few hours along with a farm visit and lunch. For lunch, they had collected 10 different types of just leaves and kept them in a basket like salad. No dressing or even salt. Just pick a few and munch along with rice!
Our last stop was Tyrna at Shalindas homestay. This was close to the double decker root bridge start point. We chose to skip that popular destination for a Ummunoi and Umkar root bridges that are accessible by a shorter trek.
Caves and waterfalls.
Babah. Ladder, Nest and forest picnic.
Muthok. Farm and other experiences.
Tyrna. Living bridges.
Tranquil Valparai
Location: Valparai
Date: Sept 22nd to 26th, 2025.
To get there: From Bangalore via Krishnagiri Erode, Coimbatore(bypass), Pollachi or via Kollegal then Erode. Buses are also connected but you may have to change at Coimbatore or Pollachi. We took the Krishnagiri route when going and Kollegal while coming back where we got stuck on the narrower Sathyamangalam ghat section which allows huge transport vehicles. The ghat section from Pollachi to Valparai is a lovely drive with great views and well designed 40 hairpin bends each named after mostly birds and some animals using large boards.
Distance: Approx. 450km, 9hrs by car.
Facilities: It is quite a large hill town similar to Ooty with mostly tea estates all around.
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| Bird watchers nest at Vellode |
To manage the long 9 hours drive, we planned a stop at Erode and spent couple of hours in Vellode Bird Sanctuary. This gave us a glimpse to this well managed water body that hosts migrants as well as give us the much needed break. The ducks had not arrived yet but we did spot the Blue-tailed King fisher as our migrant.
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| Hairpin 28/40 Malabar Trogon |
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| Valparai |
The ghat section with 40 hairpins was a lovely drive from Pollachi to Valparai. Its just 40 kms but takes nearly 2 hrs. Road was wide, well maintained with good views though no proper view points where we could stop and enjoy. Each bend was named after an western ghat bird or animal and few as a tribute to persons/places, I think. A lovely way to educate as well as make the drive fun.
We had decided on tea bungalows for our stay so that we would be away from the main city and enjoy the quietness of tea estates. First 2 nights were in a wooden chalet at Sirukundram managed by Briar group, next 2 nights were in the bungalow at Rotti Kadai, managed by Murugappa group under Sinna Dorai brand.
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| Sambar deer |
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| Blue-bearded Bee-eater |
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| Great Hornbills |
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| Emerald Dove |
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| Lion-tailed Macaque |
We did some walks in few other recommended places with limited sightings probably because of the dull rainy weather or we just were not lucky. On mammals, we spotted Indian Gaur all over the Rotti Kadai estates, Lion-tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Langur, Stripe-necked Mongoose, Sambar Deer, Jungle (Western ghats) palm squirrel, Indian (Malabar) Giant squirrel.
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| Indian Gaurs |
Overall, we enjoyed this location very much. We hardly spent any time in the city. Just drove through it few times. It looked crowded. The tea estates, bungalow surroundings, and birding places were quiet and relaxing. Lets just say tranquil! One can easily spend a few hours just watching and walking around in nature trails within estates or near them. For nature lovers, a visit to Annamalai Nature information center is a must with this wonderful exhibits. There is also a path along side it for some bird watching.
Check out the photo album from the trip.
Ebird check lists with bird images.
Vellode Bird Sanctuary
Puthu Thotam Estate
Sirikundram Bungalow area
Moulmein Estate bird walk
Thenmalai Fragment
Enchanting Japan: Food, people, nature and sake!
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| Kinkaku-ji Temple, Kyoto |
Japan, in my mind a magical surreal country, high on my wish list, finally checked! Thanks to circumstances which made this the holiday choice for a family vacation.
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| Arashiyama Bamboo forest, Kyoto |
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| Takoyakis, Dontonburi St, Osaka |
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| Binzuru, Todai-ji Temple, Osaka |
One of the most well known Japanese trait is their punctuality. Even though we had mentally prepared to shed our Indian flexible time habit, there were some interesting moments as Japan takes it to the next level. One of our Japanese guides, was quite direct at the introduction itself and politely told us that she knows Indians are not very punctual but she will manage! Oh well. Guilty. 🤷. Near Sensoji Temple, Tokyo, we had just finished shopping and were returning to our Bus. A rickshaw tourist activity person tried to sell a ride. After we told her our schedule, she pointed out that it takes 10mins to get to our parked bus, which we had to reach in about 20mins. She immediately advised us to go quickly so that we would be on time. Us being punctual and not inconveniencing others was more important than her making some money! Something I doubt would have happened in India. Another time, a hotel receptionist in Matsumoto who was also the driver to drop us to the station, ignored our request to take a photo of us in front the hotel and just went and sat in the drivers seat. First, we felt he was rude, then realized he was just being professional, or Japanese if you will, as it was just few minutes to the announced 9am departure and obliging us would have made him late by maximum a minute or 2. Yes, we understand now. 😊
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| Umeda Sky Building, Osaka |
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| Lady with Umbrella, Gion Area, Kyoto |
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| Borderless Digital Art |
Another instance that comes to mind is when we checked out of the hotel in Kurobe. The receptionist was professionally helpful as expected in getting us on the the shuttle in time. After waving to us as our shuttle pulled away, she stood in perfect pose and gave a deep bow that she held until our bus circled around and she was out of our sight that was for about 200 mtrs, 1 minute or so. Felt unreal.
Food is an indulgence in Japan. You can squeeze into any one of the cozy little izhakayas which are everywhere and enjoy wholesome tasty food with a carafe of Sake or local beer Asahi/Sapporo to keep the conversation going. Each place are different in cuisine, ambiance and experience. Izhakayas, as per google means: stay drink place and it is exactly that. A place to have a drink, order some food, get comfortable and unwind. We tried and enjoyed Sushi, Ramen noodles, Yakitori (grills), etc.,. Many are run like a family restaurant, and one in Matsumoto was managed entirely by a single person, the owner. Exterior will look like a quiet place, but will be lively once you push through the door or curtains and enter.
Another Japanese experience we enjoyed were the Onsens, which are public baths or Spas. As per rules they can be called Onsens only if the water has with natural minerals. The fascinating part were the strict rules (not forcefully enforced but expected) on their use mostly for hygiene reasons, primary one being you have to be naked! We learnt how to Onsen from other blogs and YouTube videos. Some hotels also provided pictorial information sheets. Indians are very body shy by culture so this was as scary as jumping into a pit of snakes. The first attempt by one of us was in Kyoto at the hotel (free for guests) in the middle of the night with the hope no one else will be there. And it worked. Once we got to know how it is, the luxury of relaxing in the Onsen after a tiring day(touring in our case) was just too good to skip and we used it at every opportunity we got, even mornings as Onsens are usually open 24x7 except for a small break to clean.
In general, Onsens have a nice shower area with a low stool to sit and all bath accessories. Fresh towels (one big and small) and robes are provided in the room or handed over at check-in. Change area with basket and lockers to keep your robe and things. The bath itself is like a shallow swimming pool designed such that you can sit immersing yourself up to your waist or neck as per your liking. Water is quite hot, so how long you can stay depends on your tolerance level. After this they have a cooling off area with dryers/moisturizers/earbuds/etc. Finally, lounge area with chairs/fans/water/massagers to rest and maybe socialize if you came in a group.
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| Dragon fountain to wash hands, Sensoji Temple, Tokyo |
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| Buffet plate, Royal Park, Kyoto |
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| Sake! |
The hotel buffet breakfasts were quite an adventure into new flavors. I especially enjoyed the one at Osaka our first stop, where the plates were cute with many separators to pick different dishes. They also had a card to place on table to indicate still eating or done so that you can go back to get another plate or drink without worrying about your plate getting taken away. Another hotel in Tokyo had a preset menu, one of which was Sumo Wrestlers breakfast. Of course I tried it and yes... felt strong afterwards. Honest. Sake, rice based drink, is nearly flavorless but very popular and available almost everywhere. We had Sake shots mostly whose cost ranged, per shot, from over 1500 Yen (900 INR) at an izhakaya in Osaka to my favorite experience, 100 Yen (60 INR) from a roadside vendor who served it with some flourish, near Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Truth be told, we could hardly make out the difference from the fancy ones to the basic ones. We could have been served just a shot glass of warm water and felt high! 😁. We finally figured out that the cheapest Sake were at the neighborhood convenience stores like Lawson or 7-eleven!
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| Kajika Izakaya, Unazukionsen |
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| Canvassing Poster, Tokyo |
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| Typical Ryokan |
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| Rail guards waiting at Kuronagi |
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| Kurobe rail and walk bridges |
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| Collecting our Yukatas |
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| Private Jacuzzi, Andon Ryokan, Tokyo |
There are many funky things to mention which vary from one Onsen to another. To list a few, some hotels had a plastic basket which we found out later was to carry our things like towels to the Onsen and back. You need to wear Japanese Sandals provided in the room to the Onsen. Since all look alike, you will find tokens with numbers that you can place on your sandal pair to identify it when you come back. The small towel helps to cover your privates if you are shy as you walk from changing area to bath and then into the pool. It also helps for a quick dry in the bath area itself before you return for your robes in the changing area. One family friendly Ryokan had lots of water toys for the kids. Kurobe is known for its natural mineral water fed Onsens. Highlight was a visit to the natural open air Onsen at Kuronagi which can be reached via the Gorge Railway and a nice trek of about 30mins from the station. And yes, after more than a week of everyday Onsen baths, we did feel our skin feel softer and nicer. 😀
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| Running Trail, Tokyo |
Japan is similar to western countries when it comes to personal space. People waiting in queues and even at street crossings place themselves at arms length of each other. We also noticed school children on a field trip keeping their bags evenly spaced out as they explored the area. One wonders though about the subway train videos where we see white gloved ushers pushing the riders and packing them like sardines inside the full coach. Maybe an exception is made there?
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| Japanese alps, Kamukochi. |
I have this tendency to explain a lot or generally keep talking. This clashed with the service agents who are extremely professional and don't care much for small talk like in America. Once after I asked the agent to check about a bus we were interested in, I started talking about our options after we reach the destination to get her opinion. She just put a finger up to shush me and said politely, let me finish this first before you start asking me more questions. 😊
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| Umbrella and a fan! |
One of the most unique aspects of Japanese culture is how they treat toilets. Respectfully and aesthetically. So much so, that they even have a toilet god, kawaya kami!. During our short visit itself we experienced many different types with one common trait, all were functional, very well designed, easy to use and very comfortable. A simple or sometimes complex dashboard with pictorial buttons, bidet style, music to drown sounds, temperature control, etc. I even read about a toilet with one way mirror (you can see out) set in public places as a social challenge. Children are given fun toilet lessons right from kindergarten. In one ryokan, we found amazing commissioned art by a famous artist in the wash area and laminated sheets of a short fable for some toilet read. At Tokyo Sky Deck, there is an emergency button too which we got to know when a rescue guard appeared suddenly outside the toilet, because it was pressed. After few minutes person inside came out relaxed oblivious of that fact. Apparently, not understanding some of the buttons, person had pressed all of them with one of them being the emergency one! 😂
It was indeed quite fascinating and fun to experience another culture so different from ours. If you do make the trip, do observe and leave a comment of anything that you felt was special and unique.
Summary of our itinerary.
- Osaka (2 nights)
- Hiroshima
- Nara Deer Park
- Kyoto (3 nights)
- Kimono Experience
- Arashiyama Bamboo forest
- Tokyo (4 nights)
- Sensoji Temple
- Tokyo Skytree
- Mt Fuji
- Digital Art Museum
- Andon Ryokan
- Kurobe (2 nights)
- Gorge Railway
- Matsumoto (2 nights)
- Kamikochi
Photo albums with captions
Mauritius fun
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| Laguna Beach Resort |
It was time for our annual Christmas time vacation with my wife's family as my father-in-law's birthday is on Dec 25th. The final choice came down to a 5 hr. drive to some place in Western Ghats or Mauritius, so dissimilar! But, Mauritius became an option when we found out it was visa free for Indians, there was 6hr direct flight from Bangalore, and most importantly, the island sounded lovely when we looked it up. So, why not. Once decided, we booked the flights quickly getting us a near best deal and set about planning our 5 day stay. Read on to find out what we did....
Day 1:
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| On way in the Sienna |
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| La Case Du Pecheur |
They had arranged an elaborate Christmas eve dinner with a lavish buffet, music, games and dance. We had just about enough time to get settled, rest a bit and join the festivities. It was a great way to spend our first night in Mauritius and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.
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| Laguna Beach Hotel and Spa |
Day 2: Sunrise, breakfast, temple run, swimming pool, dinner.
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| Murugan Temple |
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| Pool at Laguna |
Day 3: Sunrise, Snorkeling, Checkout/Check-in, Sunset.
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| Sunrise at Laguna |
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| Villa Front view |
Day 4: Change car, lunch, 7 Earth.
On this day we had to take care of the car swap logistics. For convenience we had kept drop and pick up location at airport itself. So, it was an hour drive out and back across the entire country! After an easy switch, we were heading back in a BMW M3 performance model and enjoying the engine and its power on the wonderful Mauritian roads. For lunch, we made use of the outdoor Asian Kitchen and cooked up a tasty stir fry with noodles that was enjoyed by all in front of the pool with an ocean view! Few restaurants can beat that. Finally, we visited our first touristy spot in Mauritius. The Chamarel Seven Colored Earth Geopark. It is an interesting privately managed nature park. It also had a scenic water fall and giant Turtles. On the way back we stopped at Flic en Flac city along the coast for dinner. Place was packed and parking tough as it is only at designated areas along the beach. We finally ended up at a Chinese restaurant with a busy atmosphere.
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| Chamarel Seven Colored Earth |
Day 5: Beach hopping around and north of Port Louis. Snorkeling. Lunch at Trojan Horse.
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| Mont Choisy |
This was our last full day in Mauritius! We had relaxed too much and hardly seen the country. So, we planned a day of beach hopping, maybe snorkeling and lunch at recommended Trojan Horse in Grand Baie, a lovely water side restaurant. We had to drive through Port Louis to get to our first stop Trou-aux-Biches and thats pretty much all we got to see of the capital city. We did our planned snorkeling activity here. The sites were close by and we went in glass bottom boats. The fishes were in a deep section of the ocean and we got to experience the depth with many sea creatures, corals and plants down below as we floated above. Only in Hawaii we had a similar awesome deep and large snorkeling site. Giant Turtles also frequent this area, but our timing was wrong. Guide suggested that we should come early in the morning to sight them. After one more stop at Mont Choisy, our second beach, we headed back home tired and happy.
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| Trou-aux-biches |
Day 6: Drive to airport
Last day was just packing and heading to the airport for an uneventful flight back home to our usual routines.
Mauritius surprised us with its beauty, culture, friend people, roads, beaches, food, and so on. There was not much touristy points to see. But just driving around eating and chillin on the beach and snorkeling where we could was perfectly fine for us. Hope to go back again sometime and enjoy more of the wonderful country.
Birds at La Case Du Pechuer on way.
Charging our way to Goa
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| Sand Plovers at Varca beach, Goa |
This post is only partly a nature related one and mostly about a road trip. Intrigued? Read on.
We have owned an EV (Electric vehicle) since 2008. Starting with REVAi. Then E2o which became Mahindra E2o. Sold it after it was discontinued and chose Tata Tiago which is our commute car now. We have never ventured out of Bangalore in it. So, when a friend asked to join on a road trip to Goa in his new MG ZS EV, we hopped on eagerly to experience an EV road trip. Our friend being the organized planner that he is had all the charging schedule worked out. We could sit back and enjoy the ride with hopefully no need to push the car anywhere.
Nature of course is everywhere. On this trip we stopped for one night each at Sharavathi Jungle Lodges and Bhadra River Tern resort to enjoy those wonderful places as well as for charging, with 3 nights at Mahindra Varca, Goa in between.
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| Zeon Charging near Hiriyur |
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| Somewhere on NH4 |
Our EV road trip got under way at Yeshwantpur Metro Station where we were picked up. First stop was Sharavathi Jungle Lodges about 400+ kms away. For ZS, company claims range of 460km, user experience is 350km. With 4 people and AC, we hoped for 300km. This meant at least one recharge was needed. To be safe, he had targeted 3 charging stations though only one was sufficient. But given the unreliability of car charging infrastructure, this was a planned redundancy. Zeon charging station at Hiriyur, next to Paakshala restaurant worked out perfectly for our first stop. The car charged while we had a nice breakfast. We did a short test charge up at a roadside Tata Charging Station.
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| Lunch and charge at Harsha the Fern |
One more charging stop at Harsha the Fern hotel in Shivamogga, which had charging infrastructure in house making it easy to have lunch while the car was charging. Here, there was a slight issue as both slots were already taken. On enquiry, one of the cars was the Hotel Owners! Thankfully, he took it out on request to let us plug in ours.
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| Malabar Pit Viper |
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| Boat Safari |
We headed out after breakfast and charged at a convenient charging station located alongside Hotel Sagar Residency, Honnavar while we had coffee. After lunch at Karwar, we reached Varca late evening with a stop along the way to see the sunset. At varca, the charging situation became easy. Even though the fast charger at the resort was not working, we could have car charged overnight with the regular slow charging plug point.
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| Morning beach walk Varca to Covalessim |
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| Ocean surf |
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| Sand Plover |
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| Barking Deer |
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| Bridge, River Tern |
On our last day we left very early morning to reach River Tern JLR in time for their evening safari. Charging was again at Hotel Sagar Residency where we had our breakfast also. River Tern lodge is nicely nestled along Bhadra Forest and reservoir and hosts the River Tern which come to nest there during winter. We were about a month early though and only spotted couple of tern scouts. The evening boat Safari was still quite good with excellent sightings of a pair of perched darters and near miss of Tiger/Leopard sighting after waiting patiently when Langurs gave incessant alarm calls. Next day morning Jeep Safari was also good with sightings of Barking deer, Malabar Trogon, Forest Owlet, Lesser Adjutant, among others. We took advantage of their natural bay which was like a large pool to do some kayaking and swimming.
Finally, we headed back home and needed only one stop at Hiriyur at the same Zeon charging station and combined it with lunch at Paakshala, and reached home by late evening.
Summary of cost difference between Petrol(assumed) and Electric(actuals) car for this trip.
Petrol car: (~15KMPL) costs Rs 6.5 per KM (@100 Rs/litre)
Electric car: (6KM per KW): Rs 4 per KM (@25 Rs/KW Fast charging)
Links:
Ebird Check List at Sharavati Jungle Lodges
Ebird Check List at Sao Jacinto Island, Goa
Ebird Check List at River Tern Lodge, Boating
Ebird Check List at River Tern Lodge, Safari
Zeon Charging Station, Hiriyur, next to Paakshala
Tata Charging before Chitradurga
Relux Charging, Harsha the Fern, Shivamogga
JioBP Pulse Chrging, Hotel Sagar Residency
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| Pulse Charging at Harsha Residency, Honnavar |
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| Sunset, Sharavati JLR |
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| Varca Beach |
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| Martins Corner |
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| Sao Jacinto Island |
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| View from room, River Tern Lodge |
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