Hoganekal Falls

Last weekend we decided to go on a drive towards the Mettur dam. When we were driving back from Coimbatore to Bangalore, Sree had taken this route. I was sleeping in the car all through, Arun was giving him company on the drive. So, Sree recommended that we go on a drive in that route, since I had missed it.

Aditi, Didi, jeeju and even mom accompanied. And we planned to go to Hoganekal falls. The drive was, of course very pleasant and beautiful. We stopped for lunch at Hosur and then for tea in Palacode.

We had started late, almost at 12 in the noon and with no plans to hit any destinations, we had taken relaxing four hours drive. By the time we reached Hoganekal falls, it was close to 5. We seemed to be the last of the lot to be entering into the water while everyone were walking out.

The Coracle ride was very good. And it was a pleasant weather and time (after 4) to go on a coracle ride. The guy explained that there will be lot of falls formed once it rains. He took us close to one of the falls and circled the coracle under. The water splash wet all of us :) Aditi was excited about it.
There is also a beach formed with the river water on two sides with a pience of land in between. It was a beautiful view. An interesting business model seen was the snacks and drinks sold on coracles :)

We could see people getting massages on the rocky banks of the river. The short trip to the falls was very pleasant. Jeeju drove most of the time and seemed to enjoy. We stopped at Palacode for omelets and egg poach. We couldn't stop ordering for more.

Kanyakumari - The southern tip of India

Everyone knows it is the southern tip of India. We happened to go to Nagercoil for our friend's wedding and made it to Kanyakumari which is very close by. The boundaries are the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. Kanyakumari was referred to as the Cape Commorin by the British.

Vivekananda rock is where they say, Swami Vivekananda spen his time meditating. Ferry is the only way by which we can go to the Vivekananda rock. The few minutes journey in the ferry is bit scary because the wave strength, even though it seems that the sea is divided by The Rock, is quite high. But it was a great experience. The place is very peaceful and windy. Looking at the waves hitting the shore is a revel, out of the World experience. Especially watching the pattern of how the wave hits and the water moves off the rocks back into the sea.
A black stone statue of Thiruvalluvar, famous for his philosophical work Tirukkural, is built at a bit of distance from the Vivekananda Rock. Again, we have to take the ferry from The Rock to the Thiruvalluvar memorial.
The solar calendar is scientifically depicted on the rocks and the shadow change as per can be observed.
It is a very peaceful place to be. I wished we had stayed there for long.

Tirupur and Coimbatore

Friday we had invited Didi and Jeeju for a chilli bajji party. The chilly was handpicked by me and each one of them turned out to be as hot as they can! So, to eat those chilli bajjis, we kept some water melon slices ready that could aid us abbreviate the burn :) To everyone's surprise, we all managed to finish them all, wondering if we would be normal the next day morning ;)

With lots of dilemma, finally we decided we will drive to Coimbatore to attend our friend's wedding reception. It was three of us, Arun, Sree and I. We decided to start early on Saturday morning, so we could escape the traffic jam on Hosur road.

As planned, we started at around 5 in the morning. Stopped for breakfast at Adyar Anandha Bhavan (Bangalore calls it A2B), spent some relaxing time there. The restaurant was very decent, in the premises of a fuel bunk, landscaped with garden and children play area.

Then after 2 hours we stopped for a cup of tea, unknown of the town we had reached. Then we stopped for some cold milk and ice cream in Tamil Nadu's famous suppliers - Aavin, and we reached Tirupur by 12:30.

Tirupur is known for export quality textile manufacturing and garment exports. I had plans to do lots of shopping there. Comfort and relaxation took over the priority, so we decided to sleep all day :)

Sunday we travelled to Coimbatore to attend the reception. I decided I would shop there for some nice cotton wears. This time, the dearest friend made us run around for some accessory shopping needed for the bride in the first-time-visited place. we were left with no time for our shopping and drove all night back to Bangalore.

I spy!

They say that the Tanjore temple was built during the Cholas period. The structure seems untouched, however, there is a Brit face in one of them!
Ooops... this is the closest shot I could get with my Camera.

Thanjavur (Tanjore)

Thanjavur, they say, is the pride of Tamil Nadu. It was the royal city of Cholas, who were ruling till 13th century with Thanjavur as the capital. There are many temples in and around, of which the big temple is the most famous one left by the Cholas. The temple is built within a fort.



We visited the Big Temple, the Art Gallery, the Palace and the Thanjavur Handloom showroom. The art gallery has the collection of the bronze idols of Gods, Goddesses and the kings from as old as 8th century.



We could walk up the stairs to the top of the palace Gopuram. The stairs get narrow as you are climbing and you will feel whether you would really be able to pass through them. The stairs are built from all four directions. At every level of the Gopuram there is a hall with the supporting pillars and you can stop by at the windows to view the city.

There is an 8 storeyed structure where the King(s) and the Queen(s) would climb up to watch the city. This is located right next to the Queen's bathing pond. (There is an exact similar structure constructed in the Disney Land, Anaheim)


Thanjavur is known for its paintings, Thalaiattu bommai (the nodding head dolls made out of mud/POP). The paintings and art work are very impressive and meriting (and expensive). The paintings are very colorful, with a dominance of gold work in them.