India – Miss Weary Shoes

Go Crazy in Gokarna!

February 8, 2018February 9, 2018nehawadhwa27Leave a comment

Gokarna is one of the rare places which is popular but still not swamped with tourists and commercial restaurant/hotel chains yet. There are a couple of beaches which see the maximum crowd, and then there are others which are as good as a private beach. So ditch spending all your time at the famous Om beach and do these ‘hatke‘(different) things instead!

What to do

The beach trek: Go walking on the beach trail! You can follow the route: Gokarna beach -> Kudle beach -> Om beach -> Half-moon beach -> Paradise* beach. Have a beer at each beach or soak the sun and move on to the next one. Alternatively, the first three beaches are reachable by road and you can trek the half-moon & Paradise only. Catch the sunset at Paradise. If you don’t mind trekking in the dark you can walk back or you will be able to get a boat back to Om or Kudle.
Phytoplankton at the Paradise beach: On a no or small moon night, head on for a night trek to the Paradise beach. You will be welcomed by glowing small lights once you touch the water at the beach. Since you won’t know the routes well and you have to pass through a village late at night, I would recommend going with a group and with someone who knows their way. Zostel staff organizes this trek and they take care of the transport from Zostel to the start point of the trek as well. If the weather is good you can put up a bon fire at the beach.
Vibhooti waterfalls: You will need a bike or some vehicle as these are about 40 km from Gokarna. The water is very clean and falls into a sort of infinity pool where you can chill. Make sure to carry some food and plan your time well so that you can start back before it gets dark as it takes about one and a half hours by bike from Gokarna. The route is very scenic and goes through the forest. An amazing spot specially post monsoons!

*Paradise beach – This is the most secluded beach which is not reachable by road. Until some years ago, it used to be the mecca for hippies and supposedly there used to be all night parties and camping. Then it was evacuated and banned by the authorities, but you can still get the feel and imagine how it must have been by seeing the graffiti on the rocks etc. Though it’s not legal but some people still camp here 🙂

Tips to have the more fun!

Choose your stay wisely. One of the main reasons I loved Gokarna was because of my stay at Zostel. You will meet amazing people, make new friends and have a peaceful time. I didn’t try any other stay but definitely loved it here!
Mingle – Gokarna sure gets lots of solo travelers, especially if you are staying in Zostel or one of the other hostels. Mingle with the strangers, share stories over beer and you are bound to come back with new friends and lots of memories.
Train journey – If you get to go or come to Gokarna by train, you are in for the beautiful landscapes and picturesque sceneries. Gokarna to Goa, for instance goes through beautiful Western Ghats.
Eat at namaste café – I think this would be the first recommendation for anyone searching for what to do in Gokarna, and it’s worth the hype. The food here is amazing. Make sure to get the beach facing seat.

How to reach: There are trains from Mangalore & Goa to Gokarna station. Also buses to Hubli can drop till a nearby stop from where you need to arrange taxi or auto.

In the end, even if you don’t do anything and decide to just relax and chill Gokarna is the ideal place for that. So go, have some fun in Gokarna!

Rupin Pass

July 10, 2017February 8, 2018nehawadhwa27Leave a comment

10 reasons to fall in love with Rupin Pass

I am sure, anyone who has done a Himalayan trek will have countless favorite moments and memories from the trek. Rupin pass was my first Himalayan trek (only one so far) with Trek the Himalayas and I absolutely fell in love with everything about it. If you have a slight inclination towards this trek and are debating whether to go or not, then apart from thousands of reasons to do this I will add 10 more which might help you make that final decision 😊

Mighty Rupin River – Amidst the everchanging scenery, weather & surroundings, the Rupin river will be your constant companion throughout the trek. Sometimes becoming fierce in the flow and sometimes just showing a glimpse of itself it somehow always motivated me to keep going on. Every time I saw the river I would jump with joy and the excitement didn’t die down even till the last day. I miss it the most!

Dhaula campsite day 1. We all couldn’t wait to dip our feet.
The shepherds route – The pass lies on a traditional shepherd route starting from Dhaula(Uttarakhand) and ending in Sangla(Himachal Pradesh). So, you will find a lot of shepherds with their herds who might be staying alongside your campsites. You get to interact with them and know more about their lives.
Different start & end points – Contrary to most of the treks, Rupin pass trek does not start and end at the same base camp. As stated earlier, it starts from Dhaula in Uttarakhand and ends at Sangla in Himachal Pradesh. This provides an opportunity to explore new places during the decent.
Interacting with the locals – For the first 3 days you will be walking from one village to other and will get opportunities to stay in village houses. Apart from getting amazed at how, some of the chores for which we don’t even care put any thoughts while in cities, take so much effort and time to be done in hills, you will also find immense peace and happiness in most of the people living there. It helps gain some perspective and to appreciate small things in life.

The landscape surprises: Anyone who knows about Rupin pass is aware of the surprises in the everchanging scenery that it offers throughout the trek. Some of these views and landscape settings that are not to be missed:

Meadows amidst the glacier valleys – Once you reach the upper waterfall (our campsite was right after reaching on top of the waterfall) you will be welcomed by vast area of meadows amidst glacier valleys.
The view of upper waterfall – As per the Trek the Himalayas itinerary, our 4^th night campsite was at Dhandharas thatch. It is hands down the best stay location on this trek (or for me, anywhere else too). You get the view of the upper waterfall in front which is nothing but majestic. Sleeping amidst the snow capped valleys below this waterfall will always be a cherishable memory.
Pine forests – Shade of these long trees will be nothing but bliss when you are walking with the sun right on top of your head (especially if you go in summers). Walking amidst the caves of these trees will make you sing many of those Bollywood songs!
The bridge b/w Uttaranchal & Shimla – Don’t miss the border b/w Uttaranchal and HP. It is marked by a bridge with the beautiful stream flowing underneath. It comes between Sewa and Bawta on Day 2 of the trek.
Snow bridges – Walking on the snow bridges was a thrilling experience. I kept remembering all those movie scenes where someone would just fall beneath the ice and freeze 😛 Luckily nothing like that happened.
Cute wooden villages – The villages on the way till Jhakha are all made up of these cute little wooden houses. In Jhakha many houses are made right on the edge of the rocks, hence many tourists call it the hanging village.

The hanging village of Jhakha

These 10 points cannot cover the essence of the amazing experience that the Rupin pass trek is. Sliding on the snow, dealing with extreme cold conditions, no network for 8 days, the feeling of achievement once you reach the summit, drinking water from streams and so much more. If you are still debating, trust me & go for it!

Wayanad (Kerala)

May 21, 2017February 5, 2018nehawadhwa27Leave a comment

5 things to do when wandering in Wayanad (Kerala)

GREEN (2).jpg Sharing its border with the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Wayanad is a very popular destination in Southern India. In spite of the popularity, it still maintains its beauty and has not fallen prey to the commercial hush hush.

5 things to see in Wayanad

#1 Banasura Sagar Dam – Banasura Sagar Dam is the largest earthen dam in India. It is built across the Karamanathodu tributary of the Kabini and located at the foot of Banasura Hill. Rs. 20 is the entry ticket and you have to walk up for about 1.5 km for seeing the stunning view, doing motor boating and to see a small museum. You can also get on a jeep if you don’t want to walk, although there is a proper road. The view is stunning with a reservoir on the left and mountains in the front and valley on the right. Don’t miss the motorboat ride, it’s fun!

#2 Chembra Peak/ Heart shaped lake – This is my favorite part about the Wayanad trip. The trek is a very beautiful . There is a heart shaped lake on the top and in and post monsoons the surroundings are lush green and pretty. You pay at the forest office for forest entry and a guide which is mandatory even though you might not need one. Difficulty – Easy to Medium, To & fro distance – 8 km (till the heart shaped lake). So you can finish this in 4 – 5 hours. Wear comfortable clothes and carry a light jacket.

LAKE LEECH — Inside the heart shaped lake. This is where we got lots of leeches 😛

#3 Eddakal caves & Karappuzha dam – The path to go up to the caves is fun, you need to climb some big rocks and very narrow paths. Once you reach up the view of the city from there is splendid. Inside the caves there are pictorial writings known to go back to Stone age. There are many stalls on the way up/down so you can have maggi, eggs, tea etc. You can go for elephant ride at the base of the caves and do some local shopping. This will take about 3-4 hours. If you have time after leaving the caves, not so far from there is the Karappuzha dam. Its a simple dam with a beautiful view, you can include this one depending on time.

#4 Soochipara waterfalls – You have to walk about 2 Km from the parking area to reach the falls. During monsoons the entry to the falls is not allowed and its barricaded because of the heavy water flow but otherwise you can step in. There are a couple of restaurants and few shops to buy souvenirs and a lot of wooden stuff.

#5 Tholpetty wildlife sanctuary – If you are not staying too far, you can visit this sanctuary and go on a safari jeep. If you are lucky you can spot elephants. Otherwise deer and wild boars.

When to travel – Post monsoons (October to February) is the best time to visit as the surroundings are lush green. But if you don’t mind getting drenched you can go in the monsoons as well. Monsoons will have relatively lesser crowd as well. Though throughout the year weather is pleasant in the district.

Stay – There are many options ranging from 500 to 20,000 depending on your interest. I have stayed in Pepper green resort and had a wonderful time. It costed around 2000 for one cottage (as of 2014).

Transport – Calicut or Mysore are the closest airports. It has good road connectivity from Mysore, Bangalore or Calicut. Within Wayanad having a cab is needed as all the attractions are quite far from each other.

Also, it usually gets dark pretty early so try to start your day as early as possible.

Other attractions – Meenmuthy waterfalls, Kanthapara falls, Pookot lake, Banasura falls, Sulthan Bathery, Muthanga wildlife national park and many more.

Coonoor (Tamil Nadu)

May 20, 2017February 8, 2018nehawadhwa27Leave a comment

Let’s get cheesy! At Acres Wild, Coonoor (Tamil Nadu)

Have a long weekend and planning a vacation to relax in Ooty? Wait. Instead, head to Coonoor. Ooty is undoubtedly a very beautiful and one of the most popular hill stations of South India. And we will have a separate post about that, but today let’s give Coonoor a chance.

Located about 20 km from Ooty, Coonoor is a small hill station in the Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu state in South India. And Acres wild is a gem in the heart of this quaint hill station. Acres wild is a farm stay run by Mr. Mansoor and Mrs. Tina Khan who aspire to build a lifestyle by having all the necessities including growing all the food organically within the farm. It is spread over 22 acres at an altitude of 6000 ft. It gives an opportunity to experience the farm life.

Things to do in Acres Wild:

Cheese making: If you fancy different kinds of cheese then you have come to the perfect place. You can do a cheesemaking course for 2 days where you will get to learn making two kinds of cheese. The course fee is around 10,000. If you don’t have the patience or time to do the course, and want to just dig in, you can have a look in the little cheesemaking room, the process and the fancy equipment. All those different variety of cheese is also available to buy and you do not want to miss it.

Yummy cheese ready!

One with the Wild: They have a cow shed with a couple of breeds. You can milk the cows if you like. There are chickens, roosters, beehives, fish and ducks in natural ponds. Apart from that, Gaurs roam around freely on the property too.

Apart from this they also make their own soaps and you can check out and buy those too.

They have 3 types of cottages with total 5 rooms. All the cottages are named after cheese – Haloumi, Colby and Cheddar. Meals are served in the dining room and the food is simple and has a homely taste. There are a lot of beautiful paths and trails to walk around in the farm stay. The views of the valley from various spots in the farmstay are breathtaking.

Fun fact- For all you bollywood fans out there, Mr. Mansoor was a film director and he has directed a few commercial films including Jo Jeeta Wahi siqandar!

You are bound to have a great time here and come back rejuvenated from your vacation. So do check out their site if you are planning a trip there.