Amboli Falls in Belgaum

Time: Nov 8 - 12, 2007
Place: Belgaum, Amboli Falls, Goa
Company: 10 Colleagues and 3 of their friends
Album: Click here and here
Highlights: Rani Chennamma Express to Belgaum. Great fun in train. Good lodge booked my dad's colleague Mr Kanitkar in Belgaum. Amboli Falls (and story of Ambay!) and other local sight seeing on Day 1. Trek back up the mountainous road. Local people's expert comments on lack of water in Gokak falls led to a change in plans on Day 2: Goa! Baga beach, baga fort, Calangunte beach, Water jet skiing, and finally relaxing on the beach as the sun set. Belgaum fort and Ramakrishna mission on day 3. Back in Ju express. Wonderful conversations, as usual. In the midst, we found a few days old puppy barely surviving. Some kind hearted and pet-loving members of the team fed it well and took care of it for couple of days and even took it to Goa. But unfortunately it died.
One of the biggest trips for one of the longest durations with maximum people and cheapest per head cost! A project well executed! Only repent being that I wanted Goa to be a separate trip by itself, and we could have covered more places in and around Belgaum. Anyways....if this is the way I had to see Goa for the first time, well, so be it!

Harihar

Time: Mid 1990s
Place: Harihar
Company: Family
Highlights: Visited the place where I had spent the first three years of my life (1980-1983) although I do not remember anything about my infanthood. Situated within Kirloskar quarters, a beautiful green landscape with a huge park and My Club. Wonderful bread omelette breakfast in the guest house. Beautiful Raghavendra Swamy Mutt on Tunga river bank. Challenged myself to walk over the bridge over Tunga. But it looked scary. So, as a punishment for my cowardice, the kid that I was, I sat on the railway tracks for 2 hours, apparently in a crime-prone zone! Drive back in Maruti Van with Gajendra uncle clocking 110 kmph and reaching Bangalore within 4.5 hours is etched in my memory.