Friday, May 16, 2014

Weddings, West Coast and The Mountains


"The art of travel is to deviate from the plans" - from the movie The Art of Travel. 
Friday6 June
Mumbai to trichy by train. 12 AM to next day 8.45 AM. Heather, Nora, Rishi, Justina and i. Shaili to join most likely.
Tickets booked.
Cost (INR) 
Travel: 500 or 1500 ,
Food: 300, 
Lodging: 0
Saturday7 June
Arrive at trichy at the morning 9 AM.
Rachana Joins us in trichy. Shop saree for heather. 
Saturday
7 June
Chimman reception 7PM onwards. Party at night. Stay at trichy
Sunday8 JuneThe Chimman Wedding 10.30 to 11.15AM.
Sunday8 JuneTravel back from trichy to madurai/ paramakudi (3 to 5 hours by cab). Reach gokul marriage venue. Aiswarya joins the travel team. ABC MAIDEEN MAHAL'D' Block Stop, Bharathi Nagar, Ramanathapuram - 623 503.
Sunday8 JuneGokul Reception. SUPER DUPER PARTY at night. Stay arranged by gokul.
Monday9 JuneTHE BIG BANG GOKUL WEDDING 
Monday9 JuneYoga session in the evening.
Tuesday10 JuneMadurai - Rameswaram - Madurai - 11 hours. 6 AM to 7 PM. Rachana and I are going. Likely to join: Heather, Dan, More gokul's friends
Wednesday11 JuneMadurai (830 PM) to Bangalore (515 AM).
Bangalore (6 AM) to Hubli (130 PM)
Cab pick up form from Hubli (10 - 12 RS/KM) to Dandeli wildlife sanctuary 4 PM. kamat Yatri hotel (600 for 2 people+ 150)
http://www.dandelimasti.com/Hotels-and-Homestay-in-Dandeli.html
Thursday12 June4.30 to 8.30 AM = govt orgd Safari (400 INR)
Wildlife, Nature, Adventure sports.
Reach Kumta by night and settle. (Tolls: )
Friday13 JuneKumta - Jog falls - Kumta. Either this or explore kumta.
Saturday14 june
Kumta to Karwar = 2 hours.
Check out karwar. Islands. etc.
Karwar to goa = 1 hour.
Night stay at Goa
Sunday15 juneGoa - Dudhsagar
Night stay at Goa.
Monday16 JuneLeave Goa by 1PM. Santi, Ice, Heather, Dan leave towards Delhi. Sudharshan, Zia and Shoaib leave the travel leave for bangalore.
Tuesday17 JuneTrain (Goa to Delhi)
Wednesday18 JuneArrive at delhi early morning. Start for Himalayas.
Thursday19 JuneHimalayas - leh, ladakh, (valley of flowers if possible). Cab Delhi - Leh - Delhi. It takes about 2 days approximately to reach leh. So we can stay over at manali, srinagar and any other spots and reach leh. so we could get about 3 days to spend in Leh. Aparently the drive from delhi to leh and back is awesome.
Friday20 JuneHimalayas. In Leh. Approximate budget in himalays. INR 2000/ day. consider food, travel, stay. So if it is 7 days = 14000. I am working on reducing it.
Saturday21 JuneHimalayas. In Leh.
Sunday22 JuneHimalayas. In Leh.
Monday23 JuneHimalayas. Start back to delhi
Tuesday24 JuneHimalayas. Start back to Delhi.
Wednesday25 June
Thursday26 JuneHeather to reach Isha, Coimbatore. by 1PM.

Western Ghats


FAQs:

Cost?

INR 20000 to 30000.

Considering food, travel and lodging as the primary expenses, i would say 1500 to 2000 a day. I am trying to reduce it much further as my budget is not as big as my dream though. The more the merrier: 7 will be a good number. 

Prior planning, prior booking, in depth negotiations will bring the price down much. So please give me confirmations soon.

How many confirmed people so far?

1. Santhanam (me)
2. Aiswarya (through out)
3. Heather (through out)
4. Sudharshan (till 17th)

Tentative
Zia (Himalayas)
Aasta (Himalayas)
Aasta Husband (Himalayas)
Dan Dan
Albert Zhou

[Himalayas FAQ] Is this going to be a trek?

Not really. We will probably get to major places by cab or public transport and explore the local area. There are some monasteries, beautiful lake, and lots of places to go about. 

[Himalayas FAQ] Are these dates fixed?

I am not organizing tour guide. I am also new at this. Only thing is i have been to himalayas (on a 12 days trek at 5.5KM altitude) and dharamshala. So i can probably negotiate better. However i am also new to the place and going to explore. 
So, this is a rough plan. One or two days it can vary.
Plus, indian railways, and bus systems dont exactly operate on times. So we stick to the plan as best possible.

How comfortable are the journeys?

If you are and indian, then you know. Otherwise, i am planning on budget travel. That means sleeper class in trains mostly. It is not going to be comfortable. But if you have travel spirit, it will be memorable.

What about healthy food?

If you are around, i will guide you. I have an experience of travelling with a Australian-american.. so.. trust me.. i know.. :)
I am a vegetarian, and i will find out tasty healthy indian food anywhere. 
Stock up on nuts, protein powders, etc