Shivanasamudra Trip

Recently South India was seeing a very strong monsoon. This made all the water falls in the western ghats much more beautiful. So my friends and myself decided to visit some waterfalls near Bangalore. We could not go for the Jog falls, India's highest water falls, since visiting them would entail a journey of over 6 hrs, which would be difficult in a 2 day visit. So we decided to go for Shivanasamudra waterfalls.

Praveen and myself started on Friday evening by train to bangalore. The Kacheguda railway station was marked by heavy security with sniffer dogs and metal detectors. But nevertheless instead of making us feel better, we felt more conscious of the fact that we are potential targets. But I digress.. After boarding the train and getting down at bangalore, Our friends AJ and Balaji picked us up in a Chevrolet Tavera at 7:00AM and we were off to sivasamudram.

Initially we went to one place where we could see the waterfalls. The waterfalls were in full force owning to the monsoon. We took a lot of pictures and then climbed down the hill to come closer to the water. We arrived at the banks, but the water was flowing at a very furious pace, and we could not actually get into the water, since a slip might earn us a ticket across the waterfall. After spending some time taking pictures we set off to another place at the base of the waterfall.

In this place, to reach the river, we had to climb down a lot of steps. The water was relatively much calmer, but still flowing fast. We got down into the water and lazed around for about 2 hours. The water was not too cold, and we were able to enjoy by sitting on the riverbed which was hardly 2 feet deep. There were a lot of people, but the excellent weather and the beautiful river with its waterfall backdrop made it more than worth it.

After getting out of water we had hot chilli bajji, and then started climbing up the steps, which was a drag. Then we headed back to bangalore, and after getting stuck in the traffic for a very long time, we reached home at around 8PM.

On Sunday we went GoKarting at Torq03 at E-Zone in Marthalli. The karts were in excellent condition, although it was pricey at Rs 150/- for 6 laps. We went on 18 laps total, and the track was also very nicely designed. The karts were skidding nicely too, which helped us go extra fast. Overall it was a very enjoyable trip.

The Afghan - Review

I had been a very close follower of the global terrorism scene long before even 9/11 happened. I still remember the days while watching "The World This Week" program on TV, showing the Taliban tanks rolling into Kabul in 1996. I also could not forget the day Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Afghan Nothern Alliance warlord, was assassinated on Sept 9th 2001, two days before 9/11. I still vividly recall thinking "this is very bad". For someone who follows terrorism so closely, I was extremely happy when I could get my hands on a copy of The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth.The novel was very gripping, and is styled like a documentary. It given a very interesting bird's eye view into the global war on terror, not to mention giving glimpses of the Soviet-Afghan war, the resulting Civil War and the NATO Invasion post 9/11.

The Afghan starts out with the MI5 and CIA getting a lead about something major being cooked up by "The Sheik" (as Osama Bin Laden is reportedly called), and then it proceeds into a gripping tale about the guts of a terrorist operation, styled on the lines of the USS Cole Incident - only on a much grander scale. The CIA & MI5 try to infiltrate the Al Queda using a SAS operative. The novel is very well laid out, albeit for one minor sequence of events where a Fighter Jet crashes into a log cabin in the woods, setting free a prisinor in highly improbable circumstances. Other than this one incident, the entire novel was very good. Four Stars!

SFO-Hyd on Jet Airways

I had taken the Jet Airways itinerary for flying from Hyd to SFO and back. Jet's level of service was pretty impressive, especially so since I was flying on the Boeing 777-300. The service was good. The economy class seats with the big LCD screens were even better.

However for someone flying from Hyderabad, by taking a Domestic Jet Flight between Hyd and Mumbai, the itinerary, especially the return journey part, is pathetic. I would say this is mainly due to the long and unnecessary stopover in Mumbai lasting about 9 hours. The worst part was that after alighting the SFO-BOM flight, a 22 hour journey, The domestic transit passengers were forced to wait standing for 3 hours for a combination of collecting luggage, customs, domestic terminal transfer etc. Then it was a wait for 6 hours at the domestic terminal. I could rant about the airport's "services" - like water dripping on people INSIDE the airport, but it would not be anything new for someone who used Indian airports.

Overall, although I hate to say this, this itinerary was the worst even though Jet Airlines was very good. I would prefer waiting a much longer time in Singapore airport while flying singapore airlines any day, than deal with the shitty Mumbai airport on any airlines. For someone flying out of Mumbai though, this is one of the best options they have got.