Here are a few pics from our visit to a beach in Pondicherry, in December last.
The excitement is so evident.. is it not? 
It had been raining… and had reduced to a drizzle. See the wet sand and the grey sky? Though we had to have the jackets/stoles on, we had loads of fun It was the kids’ first visit to a beach!
Waiting for the waves..
Hope you all liked
Linking this to the theme “WET” (Beverages, Rain, Swimming Pool, Fountain, Puddle, Water,…) at Thursday Challenge.
August has been quite eventful, especially the latter half…
A trip to Mysore during the 2nd weekend… celebrated Raksha Bandhan and Independence day. While we were there the kids had a good time at the nearby park. Though the play area is not maintained, the kids love playing with whatever still exists
Rakhsha bandhan..
Going for the slide...
Raring to go..
Then, the next weekend … it was an impromptu trip to the Golden temple at Sripuram near Vellore. Honestly speaking I had not heard of this temple before. After the PT meeting that Saturday , we all got together and left just after 1 PM. The trip was a good one.. the drive was comfortable coz of the relatively less or non existent traffic on the highway when compared to the B’lore Mysore one.
After the toll gate before Vellore, we took a right… a route through a village to reach Sripuram. The rural scene was comforting and we could feel the freshness in the air. Felt so very nice We decided to go to the temple later..so we just passed by it and went on to Vellore. After finding an accommodation in Vellore, we freshened up and returned to the temple, just in time to get entry. No entry after 8 PM. After security checks, strictly no mobiles or cameras are allowed, we had to walk quite a bit in order to reach near the Sanctum Sanctorum. The deity is Sri Lakhsmi Narayani.
The entire temple is covered in layers of gold and is a sight to behold, especially when it is lit up… thats one reason why we chose to visit the temple after dusk. Later, read up on the net and realized that we had walked along a star shaped pathway to reach the Sanctum Sanctorum.
The next day, we decided to have it relaxed and cancelled the plan to visit the Vellore fort. Also, Adi had been suffering from fever since the previous evening and we didn’t want to strain him out. We again proceeded towards the temple. There, outside the temple, we went around looking at the stuff being sold … bought some girly things and then headed back. Once again on the road through the villages… couple of times we stopped to click some pics of the serene surroundings
The drive back was also good and we reached home by evening… in time to prepare for the week ahead
The last weekend of August was a hectic one… busy preparing for Adi’s bday and the festival. Celebrated Gauri pooja and Adi’s 4th bday on Wednesday, the 31st of August and Ganesh Chaturthi on Thursday, the 1st of Sep.
Here are some snapshots..
Gauri pooja at sis1's place..
Cutting the cake...
Yummm!
Ooh..aaah..
Ganesh pooja
Hope you enjoyed looking the pics
Day 3 was marked by the visit to Cauvery Nisargadhama. It is an island surrounded by the river Cauvery. The lush vegetation, mostly bamboos and the cool waters make for an interesting and inviting picnic spot!!
The entrance..
The hanging bridge..
Swingg!!
As we had to reach Bangalore by evening, we decided to just go straight to the spot where we could get into the waters there were lots of monkeys for company.. actually scaring people around. Most had to hold sticks/logs to ward them off 
The waters were shallow and we could easily move around. In fact it tempted us so much that we went and got wet through n through 
inspite of being in jeans
Us with the kids
Chilling out!
Sooper fun!!
All for a pic
We left Nisargadhama by 12 pm… reached Mysore around 2 pm, in time for lunch…
Adi.. swinging again At the hotel in Mysore...
After lunch, we headed for B’lore Reached home around 7 pm … a little exhausted bodily but the spirits, a whole lot excited and rejuvenated!!
P.S: Phew! Finally done with it. This trip update… pending since a month! Uploading and formatting the pics is a bit daunting but … such posts without the pics is no fun at all. And to just select the pics from the lot has been the most difficult part 
Hope you enjoyed looking at them!
We woke up to the bird sounds the next morning Chirpy … crispy clear! After listening to the sounds for some time I dozed off again When I woke up agian, the others were up and about… ready to go for a walk into the coffee garden. I chose to go later coz both the kids were still asleep..
Outside, we could see the miniscule dew drops falling!! Took some lovely pics of the serene surroundings
Misty morning...
Misty morning...
Dad with his morning cuppa
Luv ya..
Sun rays!!
Walking... Turning.. to pose
Coffee blooms
Tiny button roses..
After breakfast, we checked out and headed to the Irupu falls. We had to park the vehicles near the Rameshwara Temple and trek uphill through the forest to reach the falls.
Though the trek was somewhat tiring, the cool waters provided an instant relief Water was scanty as expected during this time of the year … probably the lesser quantity of water encouraged us to venture into it and have fun!! Cant imagine going for it when it is in full force…
To Irupu falls... through the fields...
Through the forest...
Ammu n me...
Adi with thata
Adis dadu.. enjoying the cool waters..
Adi.. chilling out in the shallow waters..
We returned to the parking place and decided to have food in a modest looking hotel in the premises as all of us were very hungry by then. The food was prepared on order and it tasted way better than expected … truly betraying the looks of the place.
We then drove to the Dubare elephant camp. We were told that we could bathe and feed the elephants and not only look at them But that was not to be… tourists were denied permission on that day since some VIP was to visit the place the next day. So we just went for the boat ride and then spent some time in the cool shallow waters.
Then we went towards Kushalnagar to look for a resort. We found a moderately priced one just near to the Kaveri Nisarga Dhama. Spent the evening there… walked around a bit… watched a boisterous group of college students dancing to loud music around a camp fire!! The kids had fun on the swings that were placed at intervals in the area. No matter where you go n what you do the kids are excited to find swings.. BIL2 also attempted to drive the bus that the students had come in… giving some really anxious moments to all of us watching from the balcony… esp the elders!
Had our dinner… service at the resort was not good even though the place was ok .. chatted for some more time and then went to bed… anticipating a busy next day which was also to be the last day of our trip.
The trip to Nagarhole was much awaited as it was to be the first family trip!
We started by 6.45 AM from Sis2′s home. Sis1 and family were to meet us on the way near the NICE corridor connecting Electronic city to the Mysore road. However, they couldnt start coz of Adi… he was adamant that he would go only in the red car Somehow, we spoke to him and convinced him to come upto that point in their car [just 5 min from their home] and then he could hop into the red one
Thus began our journey!! The drive on the NICE road was good. Once on the highway, traffic increased a bit as was expected. We stopped for breakfast at Kamat on the B’lore-Mysore highway, some distance from Ramanagaram. Food quality was just so so… On reaching Mysore, we took the ring road connecting to Hunsur road, thereby avoiding the city traffic. Drive upto Hunsur was good. However, from Hunsur, it was a little tedious on a single lane road that stretched through the forest. There wasnt any traffic and we ambled on speed limit being 30kmph … looking out for animals on the way. We hoped to reach the destination, a homestay in Kutta, by lunch time.
It was quite hot and the trees were still bare post winter. And, the dryness all around proved to be a disappointment for sis who was expecting to see a green cover. Few trees were green though, and few more were sprouting new leaves, putting on a pale green appearance. But the thing that caught my eye was the burst of vibrant yellow flowers here n there. The pale green of the leaves and the bright yellow of the flowers made for a beautiful combo. Pity that we could not take a nice pic of that tree On closer look, I figured that it was Cassia fistula!! The joy was kind of doubled on being able to identify the plant!! kind of a high for a former student of Botany We spotted a few deers and langoors on the way . Also, there were a few tiny settlements within the forest area. We wondered how the people lived here with very few or no amenities at all! The slow drive made Adi very restless and he was on the cranky mode, almost getting on our nerves, when we reached Kutta, much to everyone’s relief.
We reached the homestay at 2.30, in time for lunch. The homestay that we had booked was an old traditional type of house. The hosts were in the newer house which was a little distance away. The whole place seemed very peaceful and the kids were overjoyed at the freedom it offered. They ran all around, went from room to room inspecting the house and then roamed about freely. The joy was so evident on their faces. As for me, it was the variety of flowers that were inviting. I started clicking pics enthusiastically, but was reminded that we were to have our food. So i had to stop after clicking few of them.
After lunch, we generally loitered around in the compound. Large area was covered with pepper that was put out for drying. We clicked a lot many pics of the flowers that had been grown all around. We sent the kids in for their afternoon siesta, and would have ouselves gone and happily plonked over the bed. But the hosts informed us that the last safari at the forest would start at 5 PM and that we had to register at least by 4.30PM. So we hurriedly readied and got into the cars. We reached the regsitration office in time and got our tickets.
It was very hot …we got into the vehicle and eagerly waited for the driver, to start the journey into the forest. Once on the trail… we looked out expectantly, cameras ready in hand! We saw a number of deers which roamed freely and did’nt seemed bothered by the intrusion into their territory. Probably they have gotten used to seeing some species that comes by and admires them and does something while looking intently at them. Then we saw a bird and some more deer…. A peacock was spotted by a few in the front, but the collective excited noises made it take flight and hide among some bushes Not to be visible again. Dejected, we just kept looking around hoping to spot some interesting animal…hearts of hearts, most hoped and wished to spot the Tiger!
We then saw an elephant in the distance, near a water body in the jungle … the whole place was full of bamboos.It was a lovely sight. And a bird sitting on a twig… not much idea about birds. Though we did not spot any exotic animal, we were just taking in the sights of the jungle. Noticed the yellow flowers every where we went. Also, it seemed to be only plant in flowering at that time. I wasnt complaining It made me happy to see the lovely brightness amidst green and brown all around. But there were a few who were whining and complaining about the lack of any other animal … so much so that they were ‘bored’ of the deers! I wonder how can one get bored in the lap of nature. Do they see deer in their backyard every single day?
We were almost nearing the end of the safari, when we spotted a peacock again. Its beautiful feathers… a burst of colour in the dry brown of the surroundings. I woke Ammu, she had fallen asleep, to see the lovely creature. Though, I wondered if it would actually register in her sleepy mind. More deer and a troop of langoors were spotted before we came back to the starting point. Adi was excited to see the animals but was clumsy all along…maybe due to the lack of sleep. We sat on the benches along the road, to have some snacks. But were asked to leave,as it was past 6.00 in the evening. The forest is a protected one and the path through it is out of bounds from 6 PM to 6 AM. Tired but happy, we headed back to Kutta, to the homestay.
It was the day of the finals of the world cup cricket. By the time we reached, the Indian team were out on the field, while the Lankans batted. Everone sat down to watch… all excited and anxious about the outcome. We had our dinner while watching the match. Our host had promised a complimentary night safari for us… we were to go into the jungle at night!! Dad and sis1′s in laws wanted to watch the game. Adi’s dad too. But we somehow convinced him to accompany us. So, after dinner, we all (me, sis1, sis2, bil1, bil2, ammu n adi) got into the jeep … the elders wouldnt have been able to fit in anyway. Equipped with a search light, we set out into the Wayanad forest [Kutta borders karnataka and kerala].En route, we even got welcome to Kerala messages from the respective mobile phone operators!
The adventure seemed thrilling. Esp, when we turned back to see the pitch dark spread behind us. The driver spotted an elepant and we all turned around to look at it. He mentioned that there was a calf too but I couldnt see it. We just slowed for a few moments and proceeded lest it angered the mom who was having a quite time with her lil one. Many sets of beady twinklings eyes were spotted by the others. These too I couldnt see… maybe it had to do with the angle of the search light beam from the drivers position and my position at the rear end of the jeep The kids fell asleep from the exhaustion of the days happeneings. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the drive through the forest in the cool night. An unforgettable experience it was!!
We returned to the homestay… to the tensed spectators, who found our chirrupy selves a distraction. They did’nt seem even a bit bothered about the fact that all their kids were in the jungle at that hour of the night. Winning the world cup was all that seemed to matter to them at that time We put the kids to sleep and settled down to watch the remainder of the match that seemed favourable to the Boys in Blue! After the magnificient six was hit by Dhoni, we all had rosogullas to celebrate the win. Sounds of crackers bursting were heard in the distance. We wondered about the scene on the streets of Bangalore. Must have been like Diwali!! After the awards presentation ceremony, the speeches and the victory lap, we went to bed… happy, excited and energised!!
