June 2009 ~ Travel In Home

Join us on the Hoysala trail

Arun and I have been planning for ages to get into the travel space. And we finally did over coffee one afternoon when we realized that we both had the same interest. Both of us were fascinated by the Hoysalas and the Malenadu region and after days of pouring over history books and a century old ASI documents we launched our first tour - The Lesser Known Hoysala temples. We also added a coffee trail and a birding trip to the heritage tour and lo, we became tour guides as well.

We had a trial run last month with friends who gave us a lot of motivation and now we are back again. This time, we would like to invite you to join us. The trip would cover temples off the tourist track, go to the ancient town of Dwarasamudra and its ruins, the temple called Velapuri also called Belur on the banks of the River Yagachi. We promise that it will not be a history class, but will present you with some colourful details of the lives of the kings and queens as well..:)

We look forward to having you with us.Do join us and you can mail me at lakshmi.sharath@gmail.com or arun at arunchs@yahoo.com for any information. The details are in the brochure.(Pls click on it to see it in full)

by Jour ~ Thursday, June 25, 2009 0 comments

Tour of the West 2: Idaho Mission and Missoula

In May, David and I took a three-week road trip from our home in Portland to Minnesota, to visit some of my relatives and tour the Great American West along the way. This post is part of a series on the highlights of our trip.Idaho MissionAfter driving through some lovely scenery in northern Idaho after Coeur d'Alene, we came upon a nice surprise - a state heritage sign indicating the presence of

by Jour ~ Tuesday, June 23, 2009 0 comments

A speck in the horizon..

I was in Sindhudurg on the Konkan coastline last week when the dramatic skies above the Arabian Sea changed from a bright blue to gold to rosy pink to grey and black. We spent every day at a different beach, but this picture of the Tarkarli Beach stands out in my mind. It may not enter a picture post card contest, but it gave me a perspective of life..how insignificant and small we human beings are when compared to nature. It reminds of the last two lines of Keats'(my all time fav poet) sonnet, " When I have fears that I may cease to be " ..

...then on the Shore
Of the wide world I stand alone and think
Till Love and Fame to Nothingness do sink.."

What does it remind you of ?

For more wonderful skies around the world, click here

by Jour ~ Friday, June 19, 2009 0 comments

Sindhudurg - a refreshing trip

I finally satisfied my wanderlust for a new destination. Sindhudurg it was last week on the Konkan coast on the Maharashtra-Goa border. Before I take you to the sights and sounds of Sindhudurg, I had my heart fill of sharbats , vada pavs , misal pavs, kandha(onion)bhajji..The sharbats (juices-refer to the first picture)are the most refreshing,especially the kokum .Im still salivating..

by Jour ~ Tuesday, June 16, 2009 0 comments

Tour of the West 1: Portland to Spokane

In May, David and I took a three-week road trip from our home in Portland to Minnesota, to visit some of my relatives and tour the Great American West along the way. This post is part of a series on the highlights of our trip.The first day we drove from Portland, Oregon to Spokane, Washington. It was a long day of driving but quite enjoyable, with lovely weather, light traffic, and several

by Jour ~ Friday, June 12, 2009 0 comments

On the road again

I am travelling again and this time I am exploring a new destination in India. They say this district has forts, beaches, forests , mango orchards, old temples and also promotes rustic tourism.Whats more , its very close to a destination which is almost everybody's favorite..any guesses ?

While you are at it, this is one of my favourite pictures from the Hoysala trip . A Kalyani called Hulekere which is in Dwarasamudra, the capital of the Hoysala Dynasty , what we today call Halebeedu. Most of us know of one temple in Halebeedu, but in our weekend tour, Arun and I took the group to almost 8 of them including ruins.

by Jour ~ Monday, June 8, 2009 0 comments

The Malenadu skies

I donned a new role last weekend - From a travel writer to a tour guide . Arun and I are planning to launch weekend tours and we did a trial run last weekend . We took a group of friends to the ruins of an ertswhile dynasty called the Hoysala Dynasty which ruled the Malenadu region of Karnataka. Malenadu means Land of the hills and the kings were called Male chiefs or lords of the hills. This dynasty which ruled for over 400 years during the 10th-14th century was known for the temples they built, a staggering 1500 of which hardly 100 remains. Our trip was to some of the lesser known temples which are not in the tourist circuit . We were standing at the portals of one of the temples when the evening sky changed colours as the moon emerged

Watch this blog for more on our trip to the Hoysala Dynasty .

For more wonderful skies around the world, click here

by Jour ~ Friday, June 5, 2009 0 comments