A trip to Torna

Fresh mountain air gushing so fast, threatening to blow one away; raindrops pricking one so hard forcing the eyes shut and face into a grimace. Open ones eyes away from the rain and see a world entirely different--the heavenly Sahayadri's, a far cry from the concrete structures and artificial green one is used to all week. With greenery all around, the hills forming a wall all around you with streams and waterfalls dividing one section from the next, the mist forming a canopy over the Torna fort--where we were heading to.

Four of us started early from the city towards the hills and reached the base village Velhe at around 8:30 am. We parked the car, packed our bags and started our 3 hour trek to the fort. We crossed streams, walked through fields and reached the foot of the hills. The climb to the top was tough (as it was evident to others as I was the slowest member of the team) that left me panting and I found myself asking the team to "dhamba" every 10 minutes during the initial rocky section that was a strenuous climb.

We crossed lovely panoramic scenes where we rested to take in the visuals, clear cold water falls where we cleansed ourselves of traces of red earth that stuck to us all over, grappled over rocks before reaching the gate of the fort that welcomed us with a shelter from the mild rain that was on and off all morning.

Mandar, Nutan and I would have been tested further, if not for Hrishi's knowledge of the fort and the route to it. But tested we were, both physically and mentally--by the slippery earth, rocky terrain, steep climb and most of all, by the prospect of staying at the fort longer as ours senses were still left unsatiated.     

  

Streams flowing down the hills from all around us

The team on top of the fort wall looking over the cliff

Crossing one of the many streams on the way

The ridge between first and the second hill 

Taking a breather before the climb to the fort

Falls in the fall

This week we went out to do some trekking and ended up sightseeing instead. It was a last minute plan that took us to the Delaware Water Gap (DWG) where we saw some wonderful fall colors on the way and also some beautiful waterfalls. 

We started out on Saturday noon, drove to Stroudsburg towards the Water Gap (the geographical feature) and saw many trekking trails near it. We decided against trekking as it was soon to be dusk and drew north towards Milford, which is the other end of the reserve.

We may not have tried the full trek that the DWG that it had to offer, which is the McDade trail that is a good one day trek. However, we ended up driving all the way to the north of the Water Gap that is Milford and from there went to Child's park waterfalls, walked down to Dingmans falls. On the way back we stopped again at Bushkill falls that is a private park outside the Water Gap Reservation Area.

All this is just a couple of hours from New York to drive to (the drive itself is an exhilarating experience) all the places above.

The Metropolitan Art Museum

Small change of scene since I am in New York for a few weeks. It has unlimited offerings for a visitor and one would have to think about where to start. I decided to start with tasting some culture.

It was a fine Saturday when Rahil and I decided to go to the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art) in Manhattan. Though it was 20 minutes from where we were staying, we managed to lose our way and ended up at Roosevelt Island. Once we went to the southern tip and took some photos, we came back on the cable car and managed to find our way back to the museum, thanks to Rahils Android phone.

Tip to readers: Being a blackberry owner is akin to not having a smartphone. I could not do half the things that was possible on an Android or iPhone while looking for directions. All places in Manhattan are very mobile friendly and has all details one would want to know pushed into your phone. I did not have a chance to check how Nokia worked. But with Bing, I am sure it would do the same.

The Museum is structured based on geographic regions, civilizations and art. It would help to recall that the same region might have seen different civilizations over time. We also encountered civilizations that we never heard of.

As soon as we entered, we knew that we would not be able to cover all the sections and hence chose the sections that interested us. The main disappointment was Islamic art, which was nothing more than calligraphy and some old carpets. I was expecting something more Alhambra-like.

The greek and roman sections have plenty of artifacts, but may not interest a visitor as he/she would have been already exposed to it. There was surprisingly numerous artifacts in the South Asian section. However, the most interesting to me was the near eastern gallery (mind you, I did not go through all the galleries)

The place has many cafes inside, but with limited menu options. The admission is $25 for an adult. However, this is a recommended charge and one can gain admission even with a $1 donation (might not be eligible for special sections).

The UN HQ from Roosevelt Island

On the way

near the cafe

Socrates

Zeus

Alexander the great

Shiva and Parvathy

 

Islamic Art

View from the terrace

Met store

Ramoji Film City

We decided to go visit Ramoji film city as it was in the list of must see for anyone coming to Hyderabad. It can be a day well spend, if you go without much expectations. All young and old will have something to get entertained by, apart from the chance of catching the glimpse of your favorite movie or telly star.

The place has 2 sets of entry tickets. One that is Rs.700 per head and another around Rs.2400 (includes food). I would advise to take the Rs.700 one as it allows you to pace your trip according to you and the place as such may not be worth spending so much.

The major attractions are:
(1) Rides: some complimentary and some paid. A good combination of scary and decent rides
(2) Landscaping: Many gardens and buildings (Mughal, Japenese, Rajastani etc.)
(3) The tour: The guided bus tour of the facility is not to be missed. It shows where the shootings are done and some of the sets that you might find familiar
(4) The shows: A morning show that includes juggling, an evening show that has some shooting scenes, and a grand finale show
(5) The lights: The whole place is lighted-up around 6 pm and is a treat to watch

All in all, its worth a one time visit. We left home (Lingampally) around 8:30 am, and went via the city as we had to pick up my cousin. We caught up with the Ramoji Film City pickup bus on the way at Koti and beat it to the destination by a good 30 minutes and reached at 10.00 am. On the way back, it is advisable to leave before the grand finale, as it would be much less crowded and you could hope to reach home time for dinner.

Once there, you could park the car near the ticket counter and then take the free bus to the film city that is around 5 kms away. You have many options for lunch inside (Veg, Jain, NV etc.) and many food stalls all over while you walk around the place. All packed foods are sold at MRP, but the others were a rip off.

We specially liked the butterfly park, the flower garden, the bonsai garden and the Japanese park. It was the first time I saw a bonsai garden with so many trees. We had a fun time, only downside probably was that we couldn't see any stars around though there were many junior artists in interesting costumes all over.

Banyan Tree from the Bonsai Garden

The flower garden

Bees at work in the flower garden

Jamanthi's at the garden

We stamped on her unintentionally at the butterfly park

I recall it from the sets of Malayalam movie Udayananu Tharam

Sets range from Mumbai chawls to swanky bungalows 

The 'Hawa Mahal'

The 'Buland Darwasa' at 'Fathehpur Sikri'

'Sun Fountain'

Dino attack when we least expected it!

Fun place

A famous set

Again some set that can be used to show Brindawan or Mughal garden

The entrance

The place for the grand finale