Jaipur

We stopped at Jaipur on our way back from Ranthambhore. Having heard so much about the Pink city, we had a fair bit of expectations around it. It lived up to most but disappointed on some. Photos.

In Jaipur, we were put up at Hotel Umaid Mahal. We had done our bookings through Travelguru, and faced no problems at any point. The rooms were clean and tastefully decorated, ambience was great, and their rooftop restaurant was really good. We had some time to kill on the last day as our flight was a few hours after the check out time, so the restaurant was a real blessing.

Onto the sight seeing first. We enjoyed Jantar Mantar the most - the skill and precision of the equipment and the sheer scale was inspiring and educational at the same time. Amer fort was also a great experience with its sheesh mahal, royal chambers, diwan-e-aam and diwan-e-khaas. We had watched the entirely forgettable 'Jodha Akbar' a few weeks earlier, so it was even more fun mapping the movies sets to the real structures and ruins. Jaigadh fort has a huge cannon (largest in world?) but nothing much beyond that. We visited Nahargad fort as well on hearing about its great view of the city, but didn't find it that interesting - give it a skip. Hawa Mahal looks much better in photos than reality - we were surprised about how thin and unimposing the structure actually is. The City Palace was again on the average side, the only interesting points for us being some stuff in the arms room and the museum displaying clothes of the kings - one really has to see the clothes to believe how huge those kings. I had heard tales about the king being on the wrong side of the weight scales, but this was beyond words as some pajamas were a good 6 feet across at the waist!

Shopping was at the top of Sheetal's agenda, and rightfully so. There is so much to shop for at such good rates, I couldn't but join Sheetal in letting the flood gates open ;). Hand printed textiles were good (especially the bagru prints) -from saris and dresses for Sheetal and Ilisa to bed sheets and razai. We found some of the precious stones (and jewellery made using) them also tempting, and rates were very competitive when compared to Hyderabad. I found some good leather chappals as well (camel) for myself as well. Apart from the government showroom (Rajsthali), we visited Bapu bazaar and Ganpati Plaza in hunt of the goodies :)

Eating was at the top of my agenda :). We made it a point to visit the famous 'Choki Dhani' and had more than our fill as we did full justice to the very reasonable entry fees. Our dinner was made more interesting by some tourists from South Africa next to us, who were really trying hard to figure out stuff and were looking to us for some help. We also picked up very good ghewar, onion kachori and malpua from Rawat on the way from hotel to the airport.

Some aspects of the city were disappointing though. I found the city fairly dirty and filthy, this coming from someone living in Hyderabad is a damning indictment. You get a sense of a well oiled machinery out to squeeze the last penny from the tourists, but perhaps that is to be expected given the dependence of tourism. But above all, I was taken aback by lack of polish and finish amongst the staff all over the tourist places and even in some shops - most came across as indifferent, while some were outright rude :(. This was surprising given the overall hype about the importance of tourists etc! And finally, the airport is a huge letdown in several aspects- the mannerism of the officials manning the security check and otherwise, the airlines staff, the toilets - everything was very disappointing :(.

-Phani

Tigers of Ranthambhore

Sheetal and I made a much awaited visit to Rajasthan in April. Our primary objective was to visit the Ranthambhore National Park, hoping to watch some Royal Bengal tigers at their home and maybe even get lucky and capture some good photos on our D80. And did we meet it or what- we had a wonderful time spotting tigers in their kingdom and got better photos than I ever hoped to get.

First up, special mentions for the people who enabled us to have a great time in Ranthambhore. While doing research on ideal iternaries and places to stay, Sheetal came across The Ranthambhore Bagh. It is a lovely resort run in a very homely manner by its owner Aditya Singh. The entire establishment of the "bagh" has a tremendous passion for tigers - after all Aditya setup the place so that he can be close to the tigers. This passion, and his deep interest in photography meant that overall the place is full of genuine tiger lovers and more often than not professional nature photographers. We sent them an email indicating our interests in watching tigers, our itch to capture them on a photo albeit as beginners and finally our duration of stay. They were very helpful. Not only did they suggest a great iternary, Aditya sent out a very detailed mail to help me come up to speed on photographing wild animals. He suggested camera settings, filter settings, equivalent practice objects etc. In short, if you like any of the photos, the credit is as much his as it is for the camera itself. We opted for their "Big Cat Prowl" package, but changed from the default canters to open jeeps and opted for the Swiss tents.

We reached Ranthambhore from Jaipur by taxi around 2 p.m., giving us enough time for a lunch and a nap before the adventures being. We were not in time to catch an evening safari, so we set out to watch the Ranthambhore fort in a shared jeep instead with another family from the same resort. Having lived our life in cities, spotting a peacock on the roads before we even entered the national park premises was enough to get us excited, but the nonchalance with which the locals were treating them and other wildlife immediately registered that things are going to get better once we are in. As we were driving towards the fort, our driver suddenly stopped the jeep and asked us to keep quiet. Suddenly, a tiger appeared walking down the road towards our jeep. It briefly looked at us before deciding that it can ignore us and settled down in a puddle of water right next to our jeep. Unfortunately, this was not one of the open jeeps used for safaris, so our photography options were very restricted, but we got a good ten minutes to watch the majestic cat in action - drink water, lick itself, repeat - before it decided to head into the foliage. It was just amazing :)! Having started off with a bonus sighting, we then continued our way to the fort with a big smile and a racing heart. The fort itself was very beautiful, and we could have spent a lot of time up there but for timing restrictions of closing at 5 p.m. :(. It gives a great view of the entire national park with its water bodies and ruins and an interesting mix of fauna and flora (with special mentions to parrots and monkeys). And of course, lots and lots of peacocks - I doubt I have as many crows near our home in Hyderabad as they have peacocks- sitting on the walls, sitting on the trees, walking on the road - you spot them wherever you turn your head :)

We had a relaxing evening after getting back to the resort - chilling out in their spacious garden with a cup of tea and watching some kids chase hares. Soon it was dinner time with a cultural program where some artists were performing folksongs dressed up in the traditional attire accompanies by the haunting music from their Ravanhatta. They had a tandoor as well - the flames going up into the clear sky added something special to the ambience. The only thing spoiling the fun of watching countless stars was the buzz of mosquitoes - there are armies of them waiting around for an unsuspecting victim, so make sure you carry a mosquito lotion to supplement the coils provided there.

The next morning we headed for our first safari before sunrise in an open safari jeep. It was a little chilly going to the park at that time, but the temperature became more pleasant once the sun came out. At the park entrance we were told that the park is split into several zones, and only 4 jeeps are allowed into each zone. There is a lottery at the park entrance to decide who gets which zone, and our jeep got zone 4. While the numbers meant nothing to us, we had a couple of professional photographers for company in the same jeep who told us that this is zone that one is the most likely to spot a tiger in and also one where we tend to get the best photos. Wow!

Sure enough, within ten minutes of entering the park, we spotted a tiger lazing under a tree almost as if it was waiting for the sun. After waiting unsuccessfully for any signs of movement from it for a while, we left it alone and drove around the rest of the zone trying to see if we can spot any other tigers. Sheetal and I were busy enjoying the nature around us while the driver and the guide were doing the hard work of spotting a tiger. Just as we were about to turn back to our original spot, we spotted a tiger crossing a lake in the distance along a causeway. It was too far out for us to even get a close look but our photographer friends with their huge lenses managed to even take some photos! But we were not to be denied as the lazing tiger decided to get up close and personal when we got back to it. It was a breathtaking experience as the tiger got up from its lazing ground and majestically walked towards and past us. At its closest, it was no more than 2 feet from me and the experience of staring his majesty in the eyes from that close is an experience we will carry for the rest of our life. I must confess that there was a tinge of fear to go with the pulse raising excitement on such a close encounter, for we were just one angry claw away from a certain death at his hands! Pure unadulterated adrenalin rush.


We kept watching the tiger till it decided to move beyond us and into the foliage, but not before I started worrying about running out of memory on my camera as it was almost impossible to take my hands off the shutter release button :). Every nuance of its movement - shrugs, angry stares, don't care looks - every single one of them oozed of class, of knowing that it is the master of all that it sees before it, and being completely at ease with that fact. It could be that the tigers are used to humans and hence don't react to them, but it was almost as if the tiger knows no fear of anyone or anything else in the park.

We did a few more rounds of the zone looking for more tigers, and finally settled down at a vantage point where we were watching the same tiger take rest in an abandoned mosque. Every once in a while it would raise its head to make sure its audience is still waiting for it, and then go back to sleep. After an interesting 30 minutes or so of this hide and seek, it finally decided to make a move and walked along the road to its next resting place. We were lucky to be the first jeep behind the tiger, and watched it stride majestically along the road like a king, with half a dozen vehicle full of people as the followers. The tiger would stop here and there as if on whims and fancies, completely unperturbed that there are creatures behind it who might need the way :). As it finally went off the road into the thicket, we drove past the gates of the park to conclude our morning safari - our energies completely drained from non stop thrills and excitement. Wow, the best morning of our lives?

It took a good 3-4 hours of rest and a filling breakfast + lunch before we returned to normalcy levels, but then it was time for the afternoon safari! I had used the resort computer to download all the photos from my camera onto an external hard drive, so I was all set to refill my memory cards as we headed out back to the park in the same jeep with the same company. We drew zone 4 again. This time round we spotted a tiger sleeping blissfully under a tree across the river, and given that it showed no inclination to get up, spent some time chasing birds and other animals around the zone. We were back just in time to watch him get up and walk back to the mosque from the morning safari, and yet again we got to lead the followers of the tiger. But the games had just started. From the mosque the tiger spotted a herd of deer grazing, and it was time for hunting! Over the next half an hour, it was a breathtaking experience as the tiger slowly and steadily progressed towards the deer, while the deer kept moving back sensing possible danger. I was holding my breath in anticipation as the tiger got down to a crouching position where it was on its legs yet the whole body was along the ground, and then walk closer in that position to the deer. Unfortunately (or fortunately for the deer), it wasn't good enough and the deer fled as they sensed the tiger, and the entire effort was fruitless from the tigers view point. After that, the tiger went into a hiding in the thick undergrowth and we were unable to spot it for over half an hour even though we were not more than 100 feet from it - camouflage? The waiting time was still an exceptional experience, as we were relaxing in the shade of a wonderful tree and as the cool breeze and countless birds singing their lullabies almost put us to sleep. We were awaken from our stupor as someone spotted the tiger (or its tail to be more precise) eventually, but it showed no inclination to step out of hiding and the closing hours of the park were upon us.

A relaxing tea and dinner under the stars brought a very eventful day to an end. It had been a very satisfying day, and we were pleased as a punch with our fortune with the tigers, photos and overall felt good about life. Over dinner, we exchanged notes with other guests at the resort, each having their own tales about their tigers to tell. We also met an interesting French Indian couple who gave some very useful tips on how to ensure Ilisa is comfortable in multiple languages right from her childhood. Their kid was speaking Bengali and French apart from English and Hindi, so we had data to prove that Ilisa can in fact learn Marathi and Telugu without any issues :)

We had already got our moneys worth, so next morning safari was almost a bonus. We were hoping to get some other zone, so that we get to see more of the park. And it was fulfilled - this time it was Zone 1. Zone 4 was along the water bodies and hence had lots of vegetation. Zone 1 on the other hand was more in keeping with the season, and its barren trees in the rugged juggle terrain served us a timely reminder that this is summer time in one of the driest states of India. It was an incredible experience as we rode along the rough terrain, looking for tiger paw prints in the soil, listening for bird cries or deer cries to suggest the presence of a tiger. There was a mother tiger with 2 cubs spotted in the zone the previous day, so the guide and driver were optimistic of getting lucky. Not that Sheetal and I were too bothered as we were busy taking in the scenery around us - grazing deer, naked trees, colorful birds, flying peacocks, sunshine filtering through the hills, more grazing deer and a sense of contentment :). We didn't spot a tiger during this safari, but did get some wonderful sightings of peacocks with wings spread out, antelopes and some kingfishers.

After breakfast, it was time to head back to Jaipur. It had been a wonderful 48 hours in Ranthambhore. Both of us knew we had to come back here again - perhaps with Ilisa when she was old enough to enjoy the place, perhaps in some other season to see the forest at its best. But for now, we already had a lifetime of memories with us and a lot of good photos too ;). Till next time...

PS: Special mention must also be made for the guides and drivers of Ranthambhore. They are very well informed about the tigers, and have great instincts for its movements etc. They are also keen students of photography, and would always know where to stop the jeep to ensure that we get the best possible angle and backdrop for the photo. And one thing that left a huge impression on me - all the drivers and guides we met would credit Aditya Singh for this, stating how he has always shared his knowledge with them and guided them right through. We even saw a few forest officials coming to his office for advise on the health of the trails and development work! We know where we will be staying next time round :).

-Phani

Can we improve Hyderabad traffic?

Hyderabad is a great place to live in, and both Sheetal and I are reasonably fond of the place. However, every place has its share of problems, and Hyderabad's bane is its traffic. It is an experience (rather frustrating at times) to drive in Hyderabad, especially if you are amongst the minority that follows the rule book. Consider the following scenarios, all of which are almost accepted as normal practice in Hyderabad traffic, that drive me nuts:

• The best lane to take a U turn or right turn is the left most lane as it gives the maximum turning radius!
• If the lanes going in one direction are stuck in a jam, go ahead and drive down the opposite lanes till both sides are deadlocked!
• If the divided road doesn't have a break in the divider for the next kilometer, go down the opposite lane till you reach your destination. So what if you are driving a truck!

A few weeks back, Tata Motors announced their plans for a Rs 1,00,000 car to hit the Indian roads later in the year. This announcement led to a rather peculiar set of mails on one of our company mailing lists. Some gentlemen expressed concerns that this would increase the number of cars on the roads, and should therefore be banned or taxed heavily! Naturally, and quite rightly, people moved in quickly to point out the inherently elitist and hypocritical nature of such statements, where people driving cars to office themselves are cribbing that less privileged members of the society are getting to drive cars as well. In the end, the thread degenerated into a bitching session about the traffic, roads, politicians, India etc.

Anyway, those mails provoked a remarkable mail from one colleague, who took exception to people cribbing about the Hyderabad traffic but themselves break the traffic rules given the smallest opportunity. He called out that things each one of us could follow to make sure we are doing our bit to help ease the traffic problem, basically asking folks to drive the way they want others to do, in the hope that at least a few hundred cars following the rules everyday might have a small impact:

1. Respect signals. STOP if it is yellow.
   • Yes, you have to wait for your green signal. Yes, Even if the other side made you wait for 20 seconds of your green.
   • Don’t take a steep right ‘U’ turn from the extreme left. The traffic pushed you there, tough luck – go take the next U turn.
2. Give way to pedestrians on road junctions. We don’t have zebra’s everywhere in hyd. But at the same time, don’t jump into the roads everywhere. Go to the next junction – people usually slow down here – and they are expecting interruption.
3. Give way to ambulances. I know many of the fools driving ambulances think it is cool to run flashy flashy – but this could save lives.
4. Honk less :)
5. If you are in a accident, get to the left and fight it out to your heart’s content – don’t do it in the mid of the road. Same if your car is stalled – get help to move it to the left asap.
6. Don’t drive on the wrong side. If the U turn is 500 metres away, tough luck. Next time find a house with a nice two way road in front – but for now, go for the U turn. Yes, even your teeny weenie TVS 50 has to follow this. ffs, even cycles do.
7. Respect lanes wherever possible.
   • No, You cannot straddle the lanes to figure out which one moves faster. If you end up on the slower lane, next time don’t choose to follow that 32 wheel truck. There is a relation between speed and size – go figure.
   • Yes the lorry drivers driving on the right are idiots. But I guess they can’t do it on the left lane because that is all taken by all the other idiots who feel that they have a right to park anywhere to ask directions / take cell phone calls.
     • No you can’t speak on your cell phone while driving. If you are in a signal fine – but don’t do it when you are moving.
     • No, Don’t ask for directions from the main road itself. Don’t do it by maintaining equal speed with a 16 tonne truck and chatting up the driver either – park on the side and ask.
8. Drive slow. You are not going to die if you miss the opening sequence of the 500th episode of saas bhi…
9. Be friendly – give way to people. Let the lone person from the left lane go if your vehicle queue is 250 metres long – someday he will do the same for others and the world will be a better place.

I found the mail a good reminder and moral support to continue to follow the rules. It is difficult to follow the traffic rules at most times- we get honked and yelled at for stopping the car when the light is yellow/red or because a disabled/elderly person wants to cross the road. It is tempting to get down and give a piece of your mind to the honking person, but I gave up on that and other forms of road rage once I realized that the only person who gets affected is me :(. So while I don't try to correct anyone, his mail reinforced the belief that at least I should not stop following the rules.

Unfortunately, in a sign of things to come perhaps, the responses to that mail were along the lines of "It’s extremely tough to maintain lane discipline when none does it" or "It is impossible to lead by example with people who don’t even realize that someone is following the rules." or even better "I’m already disappointed a lot from attempting this for XYZ years and I almost have stopped doing it (correcting others in the roads) and if you are attempting it these days, good luck and I hope to see you joining me soon"!

It is a tough road ahead by the look of things!

-Phani

Hunting for a Digital SLR

The new year resurfaced an old itch of mine- to own a Digital SLR. I spent a few days going from "I don't really need a DSLR as I have a film SLR and a good digital camera" to "which would be the better DSLR to buy". I put the idea to Sheetal, confident that she will throw the proposal out of the window given that it is easily costs 35K+ (INR). But she pulled a fast one on me by readily agreeing to it, setting the ball rolling on a month of research, ego trips, guilt and finally joy!

I primarily enjoy taking these photos:

1. Photos of Ilisa, my 20 month old daughter in her various moods and activities- close ups, portraits, whatever I can get. Some of these are from up close, while a fair number are from far away so that I don't spoil the moment :P
2. Nature photos, especially landscapes with lots of blue sky
3. Creatures of flight- birds, butterflies...
4. All delicacies prepared by Sheetal

Based on the above, I came with the following requirements:

1. Telephoto lens for 1 and 3, with image stabilization to minimize shake
2. Wide-angle lens for 2
3. Excellent colour reproduction in outdoor shots
4. Good low light capability to ensure good portraits at home under fluorescent/ incandescent lighting
5. Good depth of field and sufficient control over aperture etc for 4.

Being a victim of brand loyalty, I restricted my research to Nikon (we own a 35mm Nikon SLR N75 and two Nikkor lenses) and Canon (we own a Canon Powershot G2 and iXUS 850IS). I shortlisted 3 cameras - Nikon D40x, Canon XTi and Nikon D80 (in ascending order of cost), all of which met my requirements quite easily and are known to produce pictures of high quality. The differentiating factor between them for me would either be cost, or advanced features I am only likely to use sometime in the future (as and when I follow up my age old plans to learn photography).

• Nikon D40x. This lower end DSLR from Nikon received good reviews for its fit and finish and its picture quality. However, it does not contain an auto focus motor in the body, requiring us to buy lenses with in built motors for auto focus. Since I am not yet into manual focus for every photo, this ruled out the usage of my N75 lenses (which turned out to a moot point eventually). It also makes all prime lenses unusable on the camera. The lack of a LCD panel on the top also meant that we need to use the LCD monitor even for setting up the photo (and subsequently reduces battery life). And finally, it doesn't feature a depth of field preview, making it more difficult to understand apertures while taking the photos. Reviews: @dpreview @dcresource

• Canon Digital Rebel XTi /EOS 400D. This is the default choice for anyone buying a DSLR and justifiably so. It is very well featured, is smaller and lighter than the two Nikon models (good for a small and relatively frail person like me) and comes at a very good price point. The inbuilt dust removal system is also a great feature for people like me who might get messy when changing lenses. The negatives I could find were a lack of spot metering support, poor kit lens, CF memory card as against SD I use in my other camera, not so great battery life and an inferior fit & finish and viewfinder to the Nikon models. Reviews: @dpreview @dcresource

• Nikon D80. This is a top of the list for entry level DSLRs for most reviewers, and the only negative keeping it from the default choice is the price point- it costs a good 300$ more than the XTi. In terms of features, it has a reputation for great usability, excellent photo quality, brilliant view finder, solid fit and finish and body construction, instant power on time & on to shot time, very fast autofocus even in low light, excellent continuous shooting mode, very short viewfinder blackout when clicking, great LCD screen to go with the backlit LCD info display, SD support, great battery life and all the advanced controls I would ever need. Reviews: @dpreview @dcresource

As expected, the list of negatives keep getting shorter as the price goes up. Given that this is not a purchase I am likely to make every few years, it came down to a straight fight between the XTi and the D80. I took the fact that I had Nikon lenses already out of the equation once I realized that it would be difficult to sell the N75 without lenses, and also that it is perhaps better to buy newer lenses designed for the digital cameras.

The XTi vs the D80 seems to be a common dilemma for a lot of people and the conclusion was more or less the same across the board - D80 is better, XTi is cheaper, both are good but buy D80 if you can afford it. We found the review at Cnet particularly useful. I was initially inclined towards the following XTi configuration as it offers the best value for money in my perspective:

• Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi/ EOS400D ($600.60 for 1+2)
• EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM lens (the default kit lens). I considered the new IS variant of the same lens, but dropped it considering the effective 100$ additional cost as the new lens is not yet available as a kit. ($0)
• EF-S 50 f/1.8 lens ($70.75)
• EF-S 55-200 f/4.5-5.6 USM lens. I was initially considering the EF-S 75-300 f/4-5.6 lens, but then thought that the coverage of 55-75 is more likely to get used than the telephoto from 200-300. ($209.90)

However, Sheetal intervened here and put her foot down to make me realize that once we are spending so much, value for money is not really in the picture. This is a splurge, and might as well splurge on the thing you like the most. It is just not worth the risk of having the thought at the back of the mind that you bought a "compromise" camera after paying 35K!

So it was that I finally listened to my heart/ego over my mind and ordered the following:

• Nikon D80 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens ($869.88)
• 2) Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lens ($219.95)

I got my D80 in hand last week, and I can testify that it is an awesome camera. I am enjoying every photo I take, and fully agree with the reviewers on all the good things that they have called out about the D80. I have already forgotten the cost differential as well- so the decision taken seems right in hindsight too :).

-Phani

What is maturity?

I have never been sure about the words maturity and growing up in terms of a person's behaviour. There are times when these terms appear to be inherently subjective interpretations, where behaviour conforming to the observers expectation is considered mature and anything contrary to it is considered childish/immature. Is it really that simple? And perhaps more important than a 3rd person perspective, how do we evaluate our own maturity?

Back in high school days, I used to drive a two wheeler. I had once given a lift to a friend who was riding pillion behind me for the first time. He remarked as soon as we started that the jerk as we put the vehicle in motion was more than expected, and wondered if it was a case of the bike being more powerful than it looked or a simple driver error throttling too much too soon. I had replied without blinking an eyelid that the bike was powerful :P!

Fast forward to the present day. I had given a lift to a colleague in my car. We got stuck in a traffic jam going uphill and could feel occasional jerks in the car as it crawled up. My colleague remarked that perhaps my car needs servicing as the vibrations were noticeable. And what was my instant response this time? "The jerks are because of my bad driving and not the car. I tend to release the clutch a little too late when driving uphill in stop and start traffic, in the fear of stalling the car if I release too early. Perhaps this results in the gears not being completely engaged at times, resulting in the jerky movement for a second or two."

Is this a sign of maturity?

-Phani

The power of an apology

A few weeks back, I re-learnt an important lesson we were taught as children- it is never too late to apologize for a mistake and make it up with someone you have hurt.

I had taken Ilisa down for a walk around midnight as she was in a cranky mood. She refused to let me carry her and insisted on walking across the parking lot by herself. Obviously, I was walking next to her to ensure her safety. I noticed a car coming along and we both were moving to the side. The car driver slowed down on noticing us, but then honked out of the blue. Maybe it was the shrillness of the horn at night, or perhaps just exhaustion of putting up with Ilisa's crankiness that day, I lost my cool and screamed at the guy for honking! Things quickly went downhill from there, and ended with abuses being hurled and a near fist fight. I went home convinced (as usual) that I was right, he was wrong and the whole world sucks.

The incident left a bad taste and almost ruined the weekend. Instead of letting things be or sitting back and analyzing what went wrong the next day, I was thinking about worse expletives I should have used! But fortunately for me, another night of sleep cleaned up the wiring mess in my head and I could get down to understanding the other person.

Perhaps, the guy had sounded the horn as a precautionary measure to ensure that someone is paying attention to a 20 month old seeming roaming around the parking lot by herself. Even though I was walking next to her, it was possible that he saw her before me as there was a pillar in the way. A calmer mind was able to realize that his face initially showed concern (and not anger) till things turned bad. And Eureka, the moment of truth- I had made a mistake and screwed up the weekend for him and me :(.

Now that I was convinced I was at fault, I wrote an apology note and placed it under his car wiper (I didn't know his name or flat, so I just searched for his car in the parking lot). I felt much better just knowing that I had at least let him know that I have realized my mistake. And the world was beautiful all over again in the evening, when he called up and apologized as well for perhaps over reacting! No bitter feelings, no frustrations swept under the carpet- it was all over! And all it required was a genuine apology from me.

-Phani

Sri Lanka

We visited Sri Lanka in November 2007 with Ilisa. It was our first time there, and was also the first entry in Ilisa's passport :). It was a short trip (4 days and 3 nights) organized by Sri Lankan Airlines itself as part of their holiday packages. Our travel route was Airport - Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage - Kandy (1 night stay and local sight seeing) - Colombo (2 night stay and local sight seeing)- Negombo beach - Airport. The package included hotels as well as a dedicated taxi for transfers. (Photos)

Sight seeing

Kandy is a beautiful hill station which used to be the capital of the erstwhile kings of Sri Lanka. It is a very green city built around an artificial lake, with numerous gardens within and around the city. Our primary attraction was the temple of the Tooth Relic that is housed within the royal palace. As we landed up on a full moon day, it was particularly crowded and it took us around 3 hours to tour the temple complex. The upside was that we got a good feel for the people of the land. There was a wide spectrum of devotees, from school going teenagers to retired elders and from brightly coloured clothes to white prayer robes. Something that struck me pretty vividly in the temple was the feeling of absolute peace and tranquility in spite of a very large crowd.

After the temple visit, we chose to skip the gardens and headed to Colombo. We halted at one of the spice gardens on the way, which was also an Ayurvedic medicinal centre. It was late in the evening by the time we got there, so we just decided to roam around the area where our hotel Grand Oriental was located. The next morning was spent visiting the landmarks of Colombo. We were particularly interested in the Ganga Ramya and Seema Malakaya temple complex. These were impressive, especially the latter which is located in the middle of an artificial lake. After cooling off in the afternoon, we headed out for the promenade late in the evening. It is a rocky sea front, and we didn't venture near the water.

We headed for Negombo the next morning. Negombo is a small town with good beaches close to the airport, so we decided to spend some time there before catching our afternoon flight back to Hyderabad. We planted ourselves at one of the numerous beach side restaurants that gave us an opportunity to intertwine playing on the beach and finishing off our lunch. The beaches were very clean, but there was high tide that day and we were advised against getting into the water. We ended up just wetting our feet and basically running after Ilisa.

Shop

Sri Lanka produces great tea and great textiles. We picked up some tea, clothes and souvenirs at good rates from Lakmudra in Colombo. We found some great quality T-Shirts at New Silk Garden at Kandy (on the way to Colombo) at prices much lower than in India. We bought up some Ayurvedic medicines for Sheetal's parents from Genuine Lanka Spice on the Kandy-Colombo road, but the jury is still out on their effectiveness.

Eat

Self confessed seafood junkies that we are, we had high expectations on the culinary front. It was overall a little disappointing to our taste buds (personal opinion) except for the restaurant in Hotel Galle Face Green that served great food in an even better ambience. While we could have just chanced upon not so great restaurants during transit as we were halting on things that were on the way at most time, even the planned visits weren't satisfactory. The restaurant at Hotel Taj Samudra was particularly a let down as we went a long way just to have food there that turned out to be not so great.

We enjoyed eating fresh fruits a lot though- they are there in amazing variety and are very affordable. In fact, one of the tastiest dinner we had was purely made up of fruits- small bananas, lemon sized oranges, mangoes (in November!) and red coconuts with seemingly infinite water in them!

Epilogue

There are lots of things we liked about Sri Lanka. The place is very beautiful and green and is very easy to like. The striking similarities to Kerala gave us a feeling that we were still in India at some times :).

The people are amazing- very soft spoken and cultured, incredibly disciplined and apparently at peace with themselves. We had our apprehensions about the prolonged violence happening around them, but they seem to have taken it in their stride and go about their daily life as if nothing is wrong with the world. There were heavily armed soldiers at every nook and corner frequently asking us for our documents, but at no point did we sense the tension or edginess that I was expecting. If anything, the soldiers were even more friendly, greeting us with a pleasant smile and "You are from India!" once they see the passports.

One disappointment from a tourist point of view is the lack of infrastructure for travelling across the country. The travel times for Kandy are excruciatingly high as a result of narrow roads that get clogged around all towns, and we were told it is even more difficult in other areas. We had a tough time with Ilisa on the Kandy-Colombo leg as the 6 hour+ drive got to her. The train network is even slower, so there is no real option except to go by road.

The other disappointment was lack of regular restaurants, especially in Colombo. We had budgeted for simple not-too-fancy restaurants providing good food, but ended up having to eat in upmarket restaurants within hotels and thereby digging heavily into our reserves.

The Pinnewala elephant orphanage was also rather disappointing (and expensive if I may add). It was no fun seeing so many elephants chained up, and personally I have found the elephants in zoos looking happier.

-Phani