Yours Consciously Sneha

Tag: travelblog

Into the soul of a Forest: Hulivana
I love not man the less, but Nature more-Lord Byron

I saw this rugged jeep parked in the side, acting cranky to start. I was walking around checking out the mountains, glancing at the jeep every now & then. He was whispering something to me, I went closer & he said. Take a deep breath, sit up straight, and open up all your senses as you may not be able to do this when I take you for a ride. It was a 10 Kms off road drive through the forest on the rocks, passing the trees, mountains all around. Sunil parked the jeep at one corner and said the white dot up there, which is where we are going to. Right there, at that moment I was just telling to myself, days of research poured in finding a place like this was just more than the worth of my time.

Sunil hails from Bangalore/Bengaluru who found this property few years ago in Sakleshpur after a continuous research & traveling all across south India looking for a place like this. He is a certified River Rafter, Scuba Diver, Sky diver and what not; who has traveled to many places across the world and has immense knowledge of birds, trees and animals. 80 years ago, this place was always spotted by herd of tigers and hence the villagers named it Hulibana (Huli is Tiger and Bana is to meet); Sunil didn’t want the history to be changed and retained the same name; in the interest of travelers to understand it better he named it Hulivana.

Villas here are built by the rocks found in forest, mostly by the water stream. Sunil was explaining on how difficult it was to construct the villas by carving the stone to the right shape and have them fit in the right place. Room in the Villa opens up to two French windows on the side and in the front with the view of trees & water stream, wooden flooring and also a fire place inside. Wash room is one of its kinds with pebble flooring & electricity here is generated with hydro turbine during monsoon when there is more current in the water.

Dining hall overlooking the mountains, a place to also have some coffee & conversations.

Heaven for foodies with different varieties of food in every meal I ate, was also served with traditional Malanad Kadubu with chutney and beautifully presented water melon.

Hammocks to read or to take a nap or to gaze at the trees or to just listen to water stream, just on the perfect place.

I had this quest to get into a forest alone, never thought I would have it conquered this soon; all thanks to Hulivana setup here. We took a short walk towards a water stream close by, Sunil mentioned about civet cats & I was all excited to see them. I stayed here alone for some time, finally spotted a civet cat for the first time in India (shy animal I must say, as soon as the cat spotted me; he ran away) I had the place to all myself, to sit, to meditate, to think, to dance, to sleep. Although there was fear of elephants passing by, I was just watching these unique creatures: Water Striders who walk on water continuously creating ripples in water.

Later in the evening, we went for a short trek around Ettina Bhuja (Back bone of a bull as the shape of the hill looks like it), I saw an olive green colored scorpion, and excited again as he was my first visitor too. Mesmerized by the view of 360 degrees of mountains everywhere which was topped with thick dense Kabinala forest, the slopes looked like slides connecting from one to other; I just wish I had the power to slide over from one mountain to other one. We sat down discussing the crazy elephant chase stories that has happened around these places and then spotted this bird called “Shikara” which would hover in one place against the wind for few seconds and then keep flying, hover and fly.

Breeze was churning up my bones, somewhere deep in the forest I could hear water rushing through, Sun was getting prepared to slide through those mountains, it was amazing to see the mix of color change on the sky & the hill top. We headed back where fire flies were throwing the light all around and moon was pouring the light from the top. Coffee & Popcorn was waiting for me in a moon lit sky, I have to mention about the hospitality here. Everything was very well organized; from the day email hit my inbox on the confirmation of availability to me reaching my next destination safely.

Bonfire setup!

Over coffee, Sunil was talking about this drink prepared by locals using Jaggery & a seasonal fruit; I just couldn’t deny tasting it. Later in the night by the bonfire, I took the first sip and I knew this would give some buzz around; we started sharing our travel stories. Sunil shared about his stories from seeing dead bodies floating in Rishikesh to his adventurous trek in Himalayas. With the little buzz in my head, all these stories were circulating around me virtually!

Early morning view through the window!

Woke up with the noise of water stream passing by the room which felt like a virtual massage running through my veins from head to toe, chill breeze sliding through the window which made me snuggle under the blanket gazing at those French windows looking at the trees.

Headed for a trek to Deepada Kallu (Deepa is lamp & Kallu is Stone: as the hill looks like a lamp) and Jenukallu gudda (Jenu is honey, kallu is stone & gudda is hill), seemed like there was a thunder storm coming up and the first step I took, there was a drop on my forehead. Every step I take I had to photograph every corner of this place, sun just didn’t want to come out and was playing around with the clouds and the hills. Looked like an ocean of endless mountains, bed of thick forest on them, I just wanted to float on that bed and snuggle under the rug of those clouds.

Clouds were on a war to pour rain,

I did feel a drop on my brain.

I looked at them & said, not today; pretty please?

They were too nice to me & got into peace.

Instead sun was peeping out shedding the ray,

it was such a memorable day.

Cold war seems to be over in blink of an eye,

People ask me why I travel, and this is why!

These are “Shola”, patches of trees that grow amidst the valleys surrounded by grasslands; they are found in only few specific areas in Western Ghats & nowhere else in the world! When it rains water accumulates in the valley which leads to the growth of these trees, these trees hold the moisture & remains green all through the year!

We then trekked upto Jenukallu gudda which is at the height of 4500 feet, first steeped mountain I have climbed on. Fear of heights to turn back, slippery stones, and grass to hold on which can even come out if you held it harder. Totally worth the entire struggle to be on top to see the view of cone shaped mountains, clouds covering them, sunlight spraying the sprinklers; 2 eyes were just not enough to enjoy this beauty & neither these words are enough to describe them.

Sipping a cup of coffee watching the hills around and the thickest of forest, my lungs were all cleansed with the fresh air that got in. I have said this before in my earlier post on Chikmagalur & will say it again, whenever I come to Western Ghats, I feel there is still lots of hope for nature to remain the way it is and this is what pulls me to come to this place again & again & again.

Deep in a rain forest they say, even deeper into the soul of a forest I would say!

Add this to your list of the place that you need to see before you die, you wouldn’t regret! Trust me.

Some facts about Animals & Insects Sunil shared:
1. Elephants: Post monsoon elephants go through some hormonal changes which lead to pressure in their brain that gets them disturbed to attack human beings. Mostly seen on male elephants but are common on female as well.
2. Fireflies: There are many kinds of fire flies which can be distinguished by the pattern of the way they shed the light. Say there were 2 kinds of fire flies with Bigger & Smaller patterns: Bigger one changes themselves to a smaller one and goes near smaller like mating and eats them as prey. Smaller one change themselves to bigger one, goes closer near bigger one & mate. Confused? Read again, Confused again? Keep reading. I had to ask 2 times to understand the process 😉
3. Cicadas: These insects that make noise in the night, gets all together of more than 100 which almost sounds like somebody is screaming, the noise is so loud they have a membrane in their ear that covers automatically. God’s a little too partial to them, isn’t it 😉
4. Honey Bee: Since honey bees sting is barbed, when the bee stings a mammal & pulled out it tears its abdomen & causes immediate death.
5. Water Strider: These unique creatures that walk on water gets attracted to ripples formed on water, when an insect falls and creates a ripple that is when these striders hunt them & eat.
When a Wild Flower spotted another Wild Flower.

*I was hosted by Hulivana; luck was all on my plate!

Blooming…

Wild Flower
January 25, 2016
A Dessert: Wayanad

In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks-John Muir

Having a mind that always wanders, itchy feet which cannot stay in one place; Kozhikode/Calicut was just not enough so I had decided to go to Wayanad after my friend’s engagement. I have been to Wayanad a few years ago and I know there would be still a lot more than I wouldn’t have explored.

When I was researching about Kozhikode/Calicut, Tusharagiri Falls caught my attention as there were 3 waterfalls on the same trek. It was on the same route that we were driving in from Kozhikode/Calicut to Wayanad and I couldn’t say no. As we were driving to falls, I saw these tall trees with a cup-tied at the bottom. I asked my driver and he said those are rubber plantations, it was my first time to see them. Facts of Rubber Plantation in Kerala: The first rubber plantation in India was set up in 1895 in Kerala, Kerala is still the highest producer of natural rubber in India, rubber is made out of the liquid(latex) obtained from these rubber trees. Each of these trees is tied with a cup at the bottom where the latex is stored.

The first waterfall is called Eerattumukku, the Second one is called Mazhavilchattam and the Third one is Thumbithullum Para. Although there was hardly any water in all these 3 falls and was mostly filled by locals, the trek through the forest was a memorable one. Absolute silence among the trees, birds chirping here and there, noise of water sliding through this silence, staircase formed through the roots of the trees; my itchy feet was finally dancing with joy.

Also read: Still Water | Still Time: Alleppey

The journey from Kozhikode/Calicut to Wayanad was one beautiful road opening up to mountains on both the ends, watching the sunset on the move, sliding the window pane to get some fresh air which I always crave for and now my mind that wanders was finally dancing with joy.

Also read: A city with Spice: Kochi!

I stayed in Coffea Aroma along with 2 of my friends; the name of this place was a catch as I always thought Wayanad has only tea. 5 Kms drive from the main road in the Jeep brings you to this unique place located amidst coffee plantations. As soon as we entered, we were greeted with the music of water passing around, coffee plantations surrounding us, hills at a distance waving at us, was a soothing experience staying here. As most of the major waterfall is usually filled with locals/tourists, it’s a blessing to have a private waterfall in here.

About 5 Kms from here is the Chembra peak, when I decided to trek here all I heard was it takes about 3-4 hours (2.5 kms one side) to climb up which was even more exciting. It is mandatory to take a guide along while you go here for trekking and for my luck I found a guide who could speak Kannada. Have been to Kerala many times earlier and this is the first time ever to find someone who can speak Kannada so fluently, thanks, Chandan! This is why I like traveling; never know what is in store for you. Every step you take is an adventure, every moment is filled with surprises, and every decision brings you happiness.

Chandan is a BA student who is working as a part-timer guide during his holidays and also a native who lives in a village around Chembra Peak. We were climbing up through the forest having conversations about studies, wild animals, and my blog. Sunlight would prick eyes to slow down and I wouldn’t want to give up reaching the peak, we reached in 50 minutes and Chandan was all happy that he could go home soon.

Standing up in this peak where even sky seems reachable, mountains are just a piece of cake, the breeze was the icing and the naturally formed heart-shaped lake on the hill was the cherry. I sat on a rock watching the hills, opened my book to write and the flow just went by; solitude at its best while nature was in rest.

Blooming…

Wild Flower

January 20, 2016
Discover Yourself in Calicut/Kozhikode!

I am not afraid of the darkness. Real death is preferable to a life without living.- Vasco Da Gama

Vasco Da Gama was the first to discover the route to India through ocean landing in Calicut on 20^th May 1498. This was the line I remember studying in school and the only thing I knew about Calicut, while I was talking to my colleague about going to Calicut he mentioned about Vasco Da Gama. I instantly went back to my school days, history was one of the subjects that I never liked much, but I still remember studying about Vasco Da Gama and I was all excited to know more about him. I have admired him and would wonder the struggle he had to go through to find the route through ocean back in 1498.

Although traveling to any city doesn’t excite me much, I had to land here for one my friend’s engagement. Finally with plenty of research, found about this village called Elathur which is about 10 Kms from Calicut. There is a canal that runs through this village; I spoke to few locals there who live on the income that comes from fishing.

About 5 Kms from here is the Kappad beach where Vasco Da Gama landed, there is an ancient temple which is supposed to be older before Vasco Da Gama landed here. As per the locals, it is 800 years old, I was standing here and gazing at the beach. I then closely observed that there is a heart-shaped formation on the sand. Was the nature telling me that they love me too?

For my next long travel, I have been thinking to travel only through the ocean. Never had I thought, Vasco Da Gama would be another inspiration. If he could do it 600 years ago why can’t I do it now? This is what travel teaches you, you would never know where and whose story would inspire you to keep going, keep achieving, and keep inspiring.

I had read somewhere that there is a monument showcasing Vasco Da Gama’s discovery, I should admit that I was a little disappointed with this monument which almost went unseen even after passing twice on the same road unless someone pointed to me that was the monument. If you are excited and curious to know about this monument too, don’t be. Here it is!

A little disappointment, more inspiration, more excitement; with all the mixed feelings in the brain I headed towards Beypore Fort, another beach closer to the city has two piers built till the middle of the ocean. The two old piers opening arms till mid of the ocean, waves coming over with the rush to hug them, the sun getting a little jealous watching their romance! I need not say more, no wonder Beypore Fort is one of the romantic getaways!

Sun had already set by the time I reached there and had left the traces in the sky that he was there and had just left. There were too many people around me and I was still all alone connecting to the waves, sensing the vibration in my nerves, eyes opening up widely to gaze at the brightly lit sky. I guess that’s the difference between nature and people, nature would always connect with you: however you are, wherever you are, whatever you are.

After such relishing meal filling my eyes with beach and sunset, I had to close it with a dessert and went to the SM Street to taste the very famous Kozhikode Halwa available in different colors/flavors.

Blooming…

Wild Flower

January 14, 2016
Hello! 2016, How you doing?

Fight your fears and you’ll be in Battle forever; Face your fears and you’ll be Free forever-Lucas Jonkman

Brewery called District 6 in Bangalore/Bengaluru

Started with New Year’s Eve at my home working on a blog post about the city I grew up in with beer and wine giving me company, on New Year’s rode about 35 KM’s to a brewery alone just to tick off the list that I have been to all the brewery’s in my city. 2 days have been passed since then while I am penning this post, I haven’t stepped out of my house and neither the sun nor the moon has seen me. I have just been on the bed without taking a shower, going through my favorite blog post of Shivya Nath, watching my favorite series friends, listening to some music, binging on Beer, Wine, coffee, and whatnot, working on some plan, taking a nap and the plan changes again.

Trying to shell some thought in Kappad Beach

Most of you who are following my blog posts already know that I am quitting my job to be a nomad; well it is not that easy it sounds. So I had a plan to make a plan during this holiday season and most of them who know me personally also know that I don’t like planning any of my future plans. It has always the Unplanned Plans that has worked for me. So this is where I need to have a fight with my brain, with long-term travel plans ahead I need to make a plan but my tiny brain doesn’t let me to.

My itchy feet took me to Tusharagiri Falls in Kozhikode/Calicut

In my unwary situations like these, I tend to share the rant with few of my friends. Sometimes, whom you expect to be more supportive would not even bother much and sometimes whom you least expect to be with you will open their arms to vent out. There are also some unexpected strangers from nowhere send me messages saying they love what I am doing and that is what keeps me motivated to keep going.

Solitude in Tusharagiri Falls

I have also received sarcastic comments from my friends about my unplanned schedule all the time, but I guess that is how it works mostly for Indians. When they travel they need to know which place they need to go maybe few months in advance, book a flight ticket even earlier as it will be cheaper and a lot more reasons. Well, for me traveling has always been an instinctive decision. I can’t randomly choose a place with 3-night 4-day packages and book a ticket, I would rather go to a place and stay how many days ever I want to if I like the place.

Little Adam’s Peak in Ella

When I was in Ella in Sri Lanka, I had 2 more days left to get back to India. I really wanted to visit Galle but I had to take a 7-hour bus to reach Galle and would just have 3 hours left to see around Galle and head back to Colombo to catch my flight back to India. I did not do this as just seeing a place for few hours was not exciting, I rather chose to stay in Ella and hung out in a local bar with the awesome Sri Lankan people and few other friends I met there.

View through the tire, not my lens!

Sometimes there are tears in my eyes that nothing is going well, most of the times a big smile on my face that this too shall pass and I will definitely come out of this situation very soon. If the ride is not bumpy, where is the all the fun right?

So, exactly on the 61^st day from now, I would be leaving my job! Yay! And step Into the wild! Anybody has the same plan like me, do drop a comment below 🙂

Blooming…

Wild Flower

January 3, 2016
It’s never too late! Confession from a confused mind.

Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears-Les Brown

A Little about this confused soul!

I am Sneha from Bangalore/Bengaluru, India; 28 years, 3 months, 13 days old! BCA, MBA by education as instructed by parents & relatives, 6 years’ in a corporate life as instructed by parents & relatives, a would be nomad in the next few months as instructed by my intuition. On how my life is going to be was already pre-decided by my parents, study well and score “good” marks, get a “good” secured job, earn “good” money, find a “good” boy (oh not by me, parents again & of course how can I miss my relatives), get married to the same old “good” boy, have “good” kids and yes this “good” cycle continues! I was not against it as I thought that is how it is supposed to be and neither do I blame my parents because that is how they are taught to be.

Even though I was fairly “good” at studies, I was mostly keen on wandering outside than being inside a room mugging up answers. I have always wanted to be a dancer or to be in any sport, as typical Indian parents I was not really encouraged much in what I thought I was “good” at and was pushed into what they thought I was “good” at! Other than studies, everything else was just an extra activity; I don’t blame them, as they think the “other activities” is not secure to give a fixed income every month for us to live.

A Little about this confused job!

While I decided to pen about this post I realized it has been about 6 years since I have been in a corporate life, 11^th November 2009 is when I stepped in. Right after few months after I joined my first job, I understood that this will definitely not be something that I would like doing for long. I have changed 3 companies in the past 6 years, even though I knew this is not for me I was not ready to take the leap from the comfort zone, the fact of money hitting the bank account every month, traveling to few places in a year, some “good” friends, some “good” food in some “good” restaurants couple of times in a month is all that I “wanted”.

But I also knew one day I would definitely leave this job and do what I like doing and had decided if I am leaving this 3^rd job I wouldn’t be getting into a corporate life again. While I was in this 3^rd job is when I lost the most important person in my life; during this phase is when I realized life is just too short for us to always keep worrying about the materialistic things that we think that makes us happy, there is definitely something more. I read this somewhere, we are not born just to pay bills and die. Death is inevitable but life isn’t. Right?

A Little about this Confused Decision!

And now when it goes to what I like, the list can even reach another corner of the world. I like dancing so should I be a dancer, I like acting so should I be an actress, I like dressing up so should I be in fashion, I like Basket Ball so should I start playing Basket Ball, I like singing so should I be a singer, I like Martial Arts so should I learn a Martial Art, I like organizing events so should I be in Event management, I like cooking so should I be a chef, I love traveling so should I be a traveler.

So honestly, I did give a try in almost everything that I have mentioned above trying to figure out what is that which really made me happy and kept me going. Not like I was bad at it or it didn’t keep me happy but I couldn’t hold on to any of the above mentioned for long. It was just like those instant mixes you get in the market, was just easy to cook but wouldn’t taste so yummy like when you actually cook it yourself. This is when I realized the difference between what you “think” you really love doing and what is that you “actually” love doing! It took me few months to understand that traveling is the only thing that has kept me going, that has made me happy, that has made me strong, that has made me forget all my worries, that has made me who I am now! For those who have watched HIMYM can understand what I am referring to, one of my favorite phrase from Ted Mosby: You can ask the universe for signs all you want. But ultimately, we only see when we are ready to see it.

I have traveled many times before, mostly with friends and I started with solo travel early this year. But the solo trip I took to Sri Lanka, places I visited, the people I met, changed my whole perspective towards traveling. This is where I realized what I really need, those 7 days I did what I liked doing. I was happy, I was not stressed, I was me, I didn’t have to fake smiles in front of the mountains, I didn’t have to show my frowned face in front of the beach, I didn’t need an ID card to access nature, I didn’t need meetings set up to talk to blue sky and clouds.

A Little on the Confused Time!

Have already lost 6 years in doing a job that I don’t like, lots have been learned around this time. Have lost someone who can never come back, have lost someone who doesn’t want to come back, have lost someone who wants to and still will not come back. But thanks to all these people, they made me who I am now. Even though I have tears now while typing this thinking about them, they have still made me much stronger than I was 6 years ago! So I have decided not to crib about wasting these 6 years and admit that it was a lesson learned, I am glad that I at least realized now on what I want to do. So yeah, it is never too late.

Kudos to people who can make instant decisions, I cannot whenever I have it has never worked well so I prefer to take time, take as much as time possible in the decisions that are going to change a lot in your life than the routine. I took few months to come to this decision, in those few months I was hardly going out and meeting my friends. Every penny I spend I would think twice if it is really needed (of course excluding Shopping), I have a lot of friends whom I would chat with every day, I tried to reduce that, spent most of the time with myself. All the days: during work, after work, during weekends; I would mostly spend understanding the reason behind me quitting the job and if it is worth it.

Read a lot about traveling, traveling solo, holding an Indian passport how difficult it is to travel to other countries, traveling alone as a girl on how cautious should I be, is there any way I can sustain before coming back and bumping my head again with the laptop and with a job I don’t like. So yes everything takes time, it is never too late.

A Little about this Confused Money!

Money! Everybody needs this, nobody says no to it. I do not have any savings so I was really worried about how to carry on with my decision, which is when LIC hit my mind. I have decided to withdraw the LIC amount to fund my travels for few months, yeah of course including you lot of people called me crazy. I have already decided to risk my life so I thought it doesn’t make sense to secure my “risky life” with the insurance.

Now where to go, what to do, how many days or months, what do I do with more than 2 wardrobes of clothes and accessories, I still do not know. All I know is my decision is firm and I am quitting my job and I am ready to step out of my comfort zone. (About going with LIC amount, think as many times as you want and decide)

A Little about this confused Fear!

I am still scared, very scared with this decision. I have sleepless nights, heart beats even more faster than it should, mind goes blank with absolutely no thoughts on what I would be doing but when I think of the job that I am doing and when I know I wouldn’t be liking to do it again! I also know if I don’t quit now, I would never do and end up regretting my entire life that I had a chance once and blew it! I would rather take the risk than sit and crib in my cubicle!

Even now while writing this it still scares me, what If I have to come back again and do all of this which I have been whining about! But somewhere something screams that I atleast tried, yes I atleast tried to do what I like to do! Although travelling and doing something related to travel has always been on the top list, I didn’t want to take a chance by starting with the travel blog initially as I wasn’t sure how long can I sustain with writing as my attention span is too less towards writing and reading. I am still surprised on how I am still holding to write for this long! The best surprises you get in your life can be by only you, isn’t it?

Again a favorite line by Ted Mosby from HIMYM, If you are not scared, you are not taking a chance. And if you are not taking a chance, then what the hell are you doing?

A Little Inspiration from this Confused Soul!

When things were not falling in place like I wanted, I was really upset that I would never get what I want. But if I sit now and think about all those things that didn’t fall in place, if it would have then I wouldn’t have be living this life the way I had dreamt of. I have been following few travel blogs from many years, watching lots of videos of successful people, spent few days on bed by just staring at the ceiling waiting for something to happen, have listened to many inspiring songs and movies! Whenever I have read or watched or listened something that would inspire, it would last for few days sometimes and I would get back to square one. So until you find what you want to do, others who around you would never be able to help! Only you can help yourselves to understand what you want, because only you would know about you more than anybody else.

I never thought I would get into writing, not like I am great with it but I had no hopes that I will sustain for this long and I had never ever thought that I would spend time on writing. So getting to know what you like doing is a tough thing, you might have thought about something that you would be really bad at but just give a try! Never know, you might excel in it! You are the best gift to yourself and you never know how well you can surprise yourself!

A Little advise from this Confused Soul!

Want & Need! I still remember in school we were taught on what the difference between want and need is. Just to brush up with it, Sneha has a moped which she uses to commute around every day(Need), she realizes she had a childhood dream of riding a motor bike and she wants it now (Want). Not like none of us know what this means, but we always tend to concentrate mostly on what we want. Want only results in too much of greed and unhappiness. Why I wanted to share this is, all these years I have been fooled by this want, the more you feed the want the more you get greed.

I was really excited few months ago and booked a Royal Enfield. Just when I was clear about my decision of traveling is when I had to cancel it with almost tears in my eyes. Motor Bike was just a “want”, not a “need”. If I wouldn’t have decided to take this chance now, maybe I never will. I would just be staring at the basketball court like I am doing now instead of playing, I would just be watching the dance shows instead of dancing and I would just be watching travelers and reading about them instead of traveling. Have written this to keep inspiring myself not to “quit on the decision of me quitting the job” and also for all the confused souls like me to get inspired; just get out and do what you love doing!

I am gonna bury my confused soul and say rest in peace and head out to feed my other soul filled with wanderlust and add some wings! Wish me luck!

If you are reading this line, thank you for your patience to go through the torture about me whining about my confused soul!

If you have got irritated and just scrolled down, one of my favorite illustrators Alicia Souza beautifully describes on how you to live your dream!

I was always in confusion to understand who are you,

sorry for such a long due.

This life’s journey has been a roller coaster ride,

sometimes rough & sometimes smooth like a tide.

You are a dream that I am coming to explore,

hope you unfold yourself & welcome me more & more.

Blooming…

Wild Flower

December 13, 2015
Fairyland: Ella!

While the journey to Ella was just so more than beautiful, I was pretty sure this piece of land would be even more beautiful and I was not too surprised. Stayed in a budget hotel and later hiked with another Austrian friend I met for about 7 Kms to Ravana Waterfalls. On the way to the falls, all we could see is valleys and rivers flowing by, green mountains standing up and cheering while we were walking.

Little Adam’s Peak is in Ella and was about 5 Kms walk from where we stayed, the next day morning we went walking up the hill and stopped over a place for a cup of tea and this was the view from there.

Also, read TRAIN LULLABY!

Australian friend whom I had met in Kandy joined us too, while we continued to walk through the tea plantations, I still remember an old lady passing by smiles and say Hello! This is one nice thing that I have to mention about people in Sri Lanka, from a young tuk-tuk driver to an old lady who is plucking tea leaves will all have a smile on their face and would not forget to greet you! On my way from Kandy to Ella, I spent most of the journey with a family who was continuously feeding me food all the time 🙂

While we started hiking up, we were mesmerized by the view that we saw everywhere. Clear skies, triangle-shaped hills, lake and waterfalls that was somewhere at a distance. Those clouds moving from one corner to other like they were passing letters from one hill to other. Those few hours I was living in a fairyland.

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Noise of the waves woke me up like an alarm

little I knew waves would be opening its arm!

I came here in search of something

you made me realize I had all in me that I was looking!

You have been knit by green wool

looking at your beauty my eyes were full!

Mist was kissing the trees

trees were dancing with the chill breeze!

You made me experience Mother Nature’s lullaby

fell asleep on your lap like a baby!

Only in dreams have seen a fairyland

you are much more than a dream to see you this grand!

PS: Thanks to a friend for lending his camera to click this beautiful island!

Blooming…

Wild Flower

November 13, 2015
TRAIN LULLABY!

View from the train from Colombo to Palugaswewa (Galkadawala)!

Also, read Soul Search: Galkadawala

Railway Station in Kandy, first time for me to see a railway station where there is an end or should I say beginning! 🙂

I have always loved Train Journeys, there is something really special of those metal boxes which are linked to each other and run on small tires on a metal track. That noise of the engine is not annoying to me, the movements while sitting in the train is like a lullaby. I was very impressed with the railways in Srilanka; the links from one town to other is pretty good and I traveled only in 2^nd Class trains. All over Srilanka I mostly traveled in train: From Negombo to Colombo, Colombo to Palugaswewa (Galkadawala) and Kandy to Ella. All these train journeys have been incredible and the best train journeys I have been in so far. All you could get to see is trees, banana plantations, fields, lakes, lagoons, rivers and yes I saw a Crocodile too!

Kandy to Ella or Ella to Kandy is supposed to be one of the best train journeys in the world. I now pledge that it is the best train journeys I have been in so far, it is like I have been in a fairyland. Train literally passing through the clouds, rivers flowing with mostly Pinus trees around, tea plantations, waterfalls, fields, moving through more than 50 tunnels, lush green on whichever side you turn around.

Also, read Fairyland: Ella!

The trees were all in love cuddling with each other, my camera was feeling shy by clicking their pictures; my hair was getting curled up even more with the cold breeze. The mist was kissing the trees, trees were dancing with the chill breeze, trains tichik tichik noise was like a background music, audience like me were all happy and grinning with this mind-blowing performance by nature. While drizzles were dripping on my face, I had goosebumps in my brain wondering how nature can be so beautiful!

This 6 hours journey, 6 hours of my time, my lifetime is gonna be bookmarked forever.

Blooming…

Wild Flower

November 13, 2015
Rock & Roll: SIGIRIYA & KANDY!

Sigiriya also called as Lion Rock is one of the world heritage sites. There was a palace earlier on this rock and underneath. It has about 1500 steps as told by one of the locals and took about 2 hours to cover the whole place. On the way when you climb up, you get to see some amazing paintings. Also, the paw of the lion which is on the next phase while climbing up read that head of the lion was collapsed a few years ago.

This is how palace was placed on top of the rock!

Palace underneath the rock!

View from the top of the rock of the pathway leading to climbing up the rock!

While climbing up the rock, wherever you stop to take some breath you get to see trees laid like a bed all around which are surrounded by hills and few lakes. It looks like this island is immersed in a green knitted woolen blanket by spreading the warmth to the eyes.

While I was browsing through Airbnb, found these Capsule sleepers that caught my eye. I had decided that I will stay here when I am in Kandy; Kandy is one of the largest cities in Sri Lanka. There were only 2 reasons for me to stay here, 1 was to stay in Capsule Sleeper and the other one was to take the train from Kandy to Ella. Even though it is one of the largest cities, every shop here shuts by 6:30. It turned out to be one of the beautiful nights I have spent so far. That night met these amazing Australians who were strangers then but more than best buddies now who surprised me with the Snickers as a birthday cake.

Here is how these capsule sleeper’s looks like, it has a light, charging point and a small fan. These sleepers are placed on the roof top with this incredible view of the whole city, looks even more amazing in the night when the lights are on, I tried to click the pictures but couldn’t give justice to my eyesight.

As mentioned earlier, I love antique pieces and this fan looked really different which had bulbs instead of wings.

Blooming…

Wild Flower

November 13, 2015
Soul Search: Galkadawala!

Maulie who owns this beauty purchased land here and have this beautiful setup right in between a jungle, surrounded by a beautiful lake. We had conversations from traveling, politics, religion, food to marriages. I have an inclination towards antique pieces; the kind of art and paint on the walls, interiors in the rooms, open (firewood) kitchen everything formed to be an antique piece which is one of its own kinds.

Being a foodie needless to mention, this is the best vegetarian food I have had till date. Most of the dishes here are cooked on fire wood; every meal/snack I ate was unique and super tasty. They make Jaggery and this sweet syrup (Kitul Pani) out of this Palm tree called Kitul nut. I sipped the coffee and took a bite of the Jaggery, that’s how it is supposed to be had. Later I had this yogurt made of buffalo milk along with the sweet syrup; I just couldn’t get enough of it and requested Maulie to serve me this the next day as well.

These two boys took me around to show this beautiful lake, with the silence all around, literally one of these guys walking in front of me and other one walking behind me. It took me few minutes to get them together for a picture.

I sat by the lake and meditated for a while; peace is what I had around me. Sun was almost wrapping up for the day, birds chirping, gentle wind cooling the lake, trees moving with the flow and their reflection on the water. I was trying to figure out if the tree was moving or it was the water, there was one dry tree amongst all the green trees which dragged my attention while most of the birds were resting on it. Extreme levels of Solitude with only birds, animals, and nature around, Paulo Coelho is right: if you really want something the entire universe will help you to achieve it; yes universe was all around me and this is what I had wished for. While I was relishing on my dreams, could sense someone tickling my stomach. Oh, it was those caterpillars turning into colorful butterflies 🙂

Also, read Unplanned Plans!

Thanks to Shivya Nath’s post, I wouldn’t have found this wonderful place if not for that.

Blooming…

Wild Flower

November 13, 2015
Love at First Sight in NEGOMBO!

The airport is located in Negombo and not Colombo, Colombo is almost about 35 Kms from the airport so I preferred to stay in Negombo. The noise of waves hitting the shore was like an alarm waking me up, went for a short walk by pushing my feet inside the sand to feel the warmth and gazing at the waves. Fishermen were getting prepared to go fishing; I continued to walk around while sand was crawling on my feet.

Negombo was earlier colonized by Portuguese and then the Dutch. When you walk around the roads in Negombo, the way roads are laid and the buildings on both the sides give the Dutch vibe. A traveler friend joined along for a short cycling tour. While I started paddling cycle, sun rays striking my eyes, smelling the pollution free air, clean roads, ever smiling people all around. This place was definitely Love at first sight for me, every lapse I take on the paddle I kept smiling and smiling even more. Wings that were hidden on my shoulders were opening up, I could sense the freedom that I always wanted and I was indeed a free bird.

Negombo is famous for fishing and their huge fish markets. I have never seen these many varieties of dry fish and such a huge market which has only fish everywhere. Along with the fish market, there was also a market for clothes and daily needs which was more or less like a flea market. Later went to relish on my first meal in Sri Lanka. For Vegetarians, food in Sri Lanka would be a feast, the meal was more or less like an Indian meal with a different taste in spices where there was rice, dal, drumstick curry and ladies finger dry fry.

One of their famous non-alcoholic drinks is EGB (Elephant Ginger Beer) which can be found all across Sri Lanka. While savoring the food and the drink we spoke about India and Israel. It so happens in Israel, it’s mandatory for everyone to be in the military for 3 years which I did not know earlier. I later went for another cycle ride in the evening with an Austrian friend I met; while we were riding we spotted the sky in orange. It was sun spreading the shine all around the sky and on water, reflection on the water seemed like the sky was floating on the land.

Blooming…

Wild Flower

November 13, 2015