Other part of the World........

Finally... after so long I've got time(?) / decided / thought that this blog needs an update
Even before I forget the things that dramatically changed my perception of world

Earlier it was all me (with bunch of guys hanging around) , but now it is different - Am I more responsible ... or am I acting responsible.... or am I doing this since I don't have another way.... let that be anything, but there is no answer

Two people changed my life very drastically and I have to admit the fact that it is the best thing that would have ever happened to my life...

I never thought that I would travel 8,237 Miles for a new job !!

Alampur, Mantralayam, Belum

 

We succesfully completed this trip in the month of April 2011. We are lucky that we completed this trip before the heat wave across the state was too serious. But still we had a glimpse of the summer.

We started at 9AM from Hyderabad and reached Alampur by 1PM. The route was excellent and to our luck we had a very cool morning till 12PM. We had few halts on the way before we could reach our first destination.

Alampur:

This place is very famous for hosting one of the 18 Shakti Peetams . Deity here is called Jogulamba Devi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alampur,_Mahbubnagar)

After the darshan in this temple, we visited other places around the village. There are not many interesting locations there, except for a few. There is another temple which was build in 6th Century AD which depicts great construction and stone carvings on the outer and inner walls of the temple.

 

Mantralayam:

Enroute to Mantralayam after finishing all the important locations in Alampur, we stopped for a short break at 2PM. We had a snacks break and then started our journey again. As we have decided not to touch kurnool town, we took all village routes and did not even had a single sign boards or milestones to guide us to mantralayam. We followed GPS in my smart phone ( HTC HD2) and followed google maps blindly. After 2 Hrs of journey, we finally saw a signage showing mantralayam which is 17Kms away !!! Cheers to Google Maps.. they really captured every minute detail in this world.

After reaching, we went for a quick darshan and completed all the formalities there.

After that.. chaos again.. where to go..how to go.. its still saturday... another day lefft.. can not go back .. don't have any locations in mind...  then again a sparkling idea.. we opened google and seearched for places nearby.. we found Belum Caves which are about 140 Kms away. But then.. we do not have any idea where to stay for that night... we drove for about 80 Kms and stopped near Gooty for night halt..

Warangal and Bhuvanagiri

Bhuvanagiri Fort

We completed this trip on 26th Jan 2011.
Its another unplanned trip. we started from hyderabad at 7am in the morning and reached bhuvanagiri by 9am. Our first stop was for breakfast and we had a delicious one.

Then we started climbing the fort in a different route.. its not the regular way we took, its the most inconvinient path I can say.. but we had lot of fun going in that way...

We took 1 1/2 hour to reach the top part of the mountain where the fort is located. The fort is all damaged except for some traces of walls and ceilings. After a photo session by Bhanu Prathap ( Director of Photography) and his assistant Sai Naresh ( Asst. Director) we started our journey back to the base.

     

Best to Reach: From Hyderabad ( 80 Kms)

My Rating: 3/5
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Warangal 1000 Pillar Temple

This is a famous landmark of Warangal and it has its presence from long past. We finally reached the historical temple at 4pm on that day. The great artistic capabilities of our ancient people are very clearly visible, the pictures and writings on the stone are clearly legible and we have to accept it.

There are many more broken pillars and pieces which are arhived. We surely missed the original temple now. reason being Invasion of kings which led to the destruction of the temple.

Best to Reach: From Hyderabad - 150 Kms

My Rating : 3/5

Godavari Trip

This is an unplanned trip and the duration is 3 Days starting from Friday. We all started on Thursday Evening @ 9Pm from Hyderabad.

Our original plan was to visit Antervedi and Bhadrachalam , where as we amended the plan as and when required and finally ended up with a turn around of 1400Kms trip.

The Trip went in this way.... a brief synopsis of the schedule

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Feb 10 2011 - 21:00 - Left Hyderabad

Feb 11 2011 - 01:30 - Reached Vijayawada

                        14:00 - Lunch after crossing Bhimavaram

                        16:00 - Reached Antervedi

                        20:00 - Started to Rajahmundry from Antervedi

                        23:00 - Started to Bhadrachalam after dinner at Ravulapalem
Feb 12 2011 - 02:30 - Reached Bhadrachalam
                        11:00 -Boarded the Boat for Papikondalu Trip
Feb 13 2011 - 06:00 - Started to Parnasala and return back to Hyd.
                        14:00 - Lunch at Kothagudem
                        20:00 - Reached Hyderabad
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Mangalagiri: This is the place where Lord Narasimha Swamy temple is situated and it is around 20 Kms from Vijayawada. The temple is situated on a small mountain ( the general talk is that there is a volcano inside the mountain and lord is sitting on its top and he is offered Panakam which directly goes into the mountain to neutralize the eruption )

 

Best to Reach : From Vijayawada
My Rating:  3.5/5
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Antervedi : This place has got lot of history to dwell in. It is the place where river Godavari joins Bay of Bengal. Its a place where we can enjoy a lot in the beach and everyone should atleast visit once. This is one of the most amazing places i've been so far. The place reminds us the locations of Goa and Kerala with scenic beauties and lush green farms and coconut trees everywhere. Its difficult to put them in words.....



Best to Reach: From Narsapur ( Train from Hyderabad is available everyday to Narsapur)
My Rating: 4/5

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Bhadrachalam: I need not explain much about this place as it is known to everyone. If there are people who still haven't watched this place.. plan and watch whenever possible.

Papikondalu:  These are the famous hills located on the banks of river Godavari. Boat facility is available to reach this place from Rajahmundry and Bhadrachalam. We boarded the boat from Bhadrachalam. The starting point of the boat cruise is from Pochavaram which is 75Kms away.

 

There are 2 halts in the trip. First one is near Perantallapally where we can visit a temple located on the banks of the river. We have to climb the bank of the river which is covered with fine sand. It slips sometimes if we aren't carefull. The second halt is near Sand Dunes where we have an option to stay overnight . Its an Island and we will be provided a house to stay. We can spend the time there by playing some games and in the night will be served with delicious food and a camp fire if requested. On the whole it gives a pleasant experience where we would really find it difficult to leave that place.

 

After the second halt, we will start our travel towards papikondalu. From here the real joy begins. Cruising in a boat surrounded by huge mountains is really a feast for our eyes. The entire trip lasts for about 6 Hours including all breaks. Fare of the boat per person is INR 300 for a normal boat and INR 400 for an air conditioned boat. I suggest to go in a normal boat as we can stand on the top of the boat and also can sit down and touch the water with our feet. The feeling can not be expressed, one has to feel it.

 

Ananthagiri

Date: 26th Feb 2011

Ananthagiri is located about 80Kms from Hyderabad. Ananthagiri is closer to Vikarabad which is roughly about 10Kms

Places of Interest: Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple, Lord Shiva Temple, Pushkarini
Add-Ons:  Vikarabad Forest Area, and
                  Nagasamandar Lake ( 20Kms from Ananthagiri)



 



This place promisses some awesome locations. Best way to reach this place is through own transport. It is difficult to manage with other means of transport.

Duration: 1 Day
My Rating: 3.5 / 5