Hyderabad 2: A prelude to Rajasthan and Himalayas

This was my second visit to Hyderabad and I had already visited all usual tourist places including Ramoji Film City. So I researched again for places in and around Hyderabad where I could go. Unlike bangalore, there are not many scenic/places of tourist interest around hyderabad. However, I came to know some places in hyderabad itself which could provide completely different kind of experience. And that's why, this trip to hyderabad became a prelude to my trip to Rajasthan(which I have planned for this new year) and Auli.

Dhola ri Dhani is a resort on the outskirts of hyderabad which is sort of microcosm of authentic Rajasthani ambience and food. One can hire an auto for about 200 bucks for to and fro and the driver will wait for you for 2-3 hrs outside the resort.

So, inside the resort, there is a small lake where u can do paddling, a small area demarcated as desert with camps, puppet show, magic show, camel safari, cultural program, some buildings whose exteriors look like palaces. It is something different from usual resort fare and most of the activities are good enough to keep you engaged and entertain.

The weak point was however, the cultural program. The performers knew only one rajasthani dance step i.e. circling around and they did it so repititevely that one can't stand for more than two songs. One special show "Dhola ri Dhani ke Sholay" which we eagerly awaited, was an absolute let down, neither seriously good nor comedy.

The food was very good, though and the staff at the restaurant was very agile and courteous. They serve you really traditional style and take good care that you taste a bit of everything, at least.

Another place is Snow World. It is sort of amusemant park near to Husain Sagar Lake within the city and the complex comprises of go-karting, a rainforest replica and scary house. Though all of them are good enough, Snow World is quite a world apart. Outside the entrance one has to wear head to toe woollen clothes, boots. Then the gate opens and you are into a big hall in freezing temperature with snow that's upto 1 feet at many places. It's not good enough for skiing but then, it's asking too much. However, it has a big enough slide, a disco and enough snow with which you can play with. It's really great value and fun, having to play with snow in otherwise hot Hyderabad.

Poovar Island Resort

While going to kanyakumari, I wanted to experience backwaters and also take my parents to some beach (since they stay in north India and it’s not many a times they come so close to ocean). After lot of research, I zeroed on this resort and it’s also an associate resort of Club Mahindra, thereby making it even more preferable.

As promised and expected, the location of the resort is truly amazing and rarest of all. The resort is just opposite an estuary where Poovar(or Neyyar) river meets the sea through a very narrow opening. From the resort you have a view of river, beach and the sea beyond and it’s lovely when you can see and walk upon just a thin stretch of sandy beach surrounded from all sides by water. The famed kerala backwaters are just at the backside. In fact, the boat to the resort itself goes through narrow canal/lake and palm/coconut/banana trees try to kiss each other from both sides and present a splendid view.

So, whatever you have read till now, you must be thinking it’s gonna be lot of fun. However, it’s a complete disappointment afterwards when you have soaked up the natural beauty and look for what all you can do at such a great location. Obviously you will look for because it’s by no way less than expensive.

It’s very good resort for kind of people who want a great location to just relax, lie down and read something. For all others, it’s really silly if you can only enjoy the waters from a distance and not being able to experience it. If someone books a floating cottage (photo) then probably he/she can feel more blessed because one can at least enjoy the nature from their balcony all times unless some naked and poor children from neighboring fishermen’s village come on a boat upto your balcony asking for alms.

The beach is dirty like anything, and the resort just feels content by mentioning on its pamphlet (provided on reception and room) that beach and the estuary is not a property of the resort. And I guess it was no use asking them if they could just arrange some cleaning for their own benefit. In fact, there are at least two more resorts nearby. Since the river water is muddy so entire stretch of beach is not fit for swimming/bathing. The only thing that resort offers is some backwater cruises, the one sunset cruise I opted for, and it was a complete waste of money and time. The boat that brought us to resort was much better experience than a bamboo driven country boat that was moving so painfully slow. On top of that, the sunset is to be seen only from the resort then why name it sunset cruise!!!

The food is good enough and the best part of the resort is its accomodation. However, again most of the land cottages are too far on the island to have any good view except gardens. The garden is good though and one can see many uniquely shaped flora.

Another annoying part is staff. There are only 2-3 people who can understand/speak english and can communicate with guests. All others seem village people who are not at all trained. Some things that I still remember are serving curry over chapatis, just staring like fool when you try to order something. I don’t think it’s expected to find such ill trained staff at such high end resort.

So, in summary the resort location, accomodation and food is good but it’s completely lacking in offering activities on site. Especially when the location is in backwaters and beach.

Kanyakumari: The Hype Justified

This is one place which was not there in my own ’go to list’ at least in near future but finally decided to go when my parents enquired about it since they were coming to bangalore. I had already visited many a beaches already recently (Bogmallo beach in goa, devbagh beach resort, mahabalipuram) and wasn’t really much interested again on going to a seaside town, especially when it’s sort of pilgrim place and we all know how crowded and dirty they all usually are. But I am glad I did go. No matter how many beaches one has seen, nothing matches the excitement and view in the middle of the ocean from Vivekananda Rock Memorial.

So, I booked for a stay in Poovar Island Resort (you can check my review regarding that resort) for 2 nights using my club mahindra membership and planned to reach kanyakumari by afternoon and stay for one night there also so that we would be able to see sunrise and sunset also. I was thinking the road from Trivandrum to kanyakumari must be along the sea (just like chennai to mahabalipuram). However, there was almost no sight on offer of Indian Ocean till we reached kanyakumari. However, the first sight of Indian Ocean was amazing. The water is so blue and green as far as one can see.

I had planned to stay in Vivekanandapuram but after reaching kanyakumari, I found many hotels just near the ferry point to rock memorial which offered splendid ocean views from the room window itself. So we chose to stay there itself since it was close to all sightseeing points also. kanyakumari is a small touristy town, full of hotels, lodges and all kinds of eateries. Here I would like to mention to all people who may be planning to come to kanyakumari from all parts of india that you won’t feel like you are in extreme south as far as food is concerned. There are all kinds of cuisines available - bengali, rajasthani, gujarati, marwari etc etc. and very cheap too. We chose to eat in one north indian marwari rest, and it was just 40 bucks!! for unlimited good quality food.

We had gone in october, just the start of season and at that time at least, the town was very clean throughout. Now about sightseeing. All the sightseeing points in kanyakumari (rock memorial, kanyakumari temple, sunset point, sangam, thiruvallur statue) are very close to each other, all are along one road itself. From rock memorial and thiruvallur statue, it’s absolutely absorbing to just observe the waves in endless ocean while the cool wind tries to blow you away!! Entire town became very crowded by the evening though. However, we couldn’t see the sunset and sunrise since it was a bit cloudy (didn’t rain though) so I guess one must travel after november only to have a unobstructed sunrise and sunset view.

I would like to recommend kanyakumari to everyone, for its uniqueness.

Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley

Since Coorg is very close to Bangalore and quite a famous destination, I had in my mind for long to visit the place. Added advantage is that Club mahindra has one of its best resorts in Madikeri, Coorg. However, I had already used up all my holidays for this year. Then I got a gift coupon from CM for a 2 night stay(Don't ask me how!!). Since I had already visited all other destinations available on that coupon. I immediately booked on my preferred date ( a long weekend on Ugadi) to avoid any problem later.

Madikeri is 5-6 hrs journey by road from bangalore and most of the road is good, so I decided to travel by my car itself. It was my first long ride so was a bit excited about the whole thing. Still gathered as much information as I could from internet(all the blogs and travel sites) about the road conditions and also sightseeing options. Also took a printout of all Maruti workshops on the way from bangalore to madikeri so that if by bad luck, my car breaks down, I can get help immediately.

We started very early from bangalore to avoid getting stuck in bangalore traffic. Mysore road till now was fully done and on full 150km strecth u can easily cruise above 100km/hr. My 800 could hardly go above 100, so I can't tell the maximum limit. :-) I had to give side to every Innova passing by even after maximum acceleration and running at 100km/hr speed.:-( Only one Innova gave me consolation by restricting its speed to 80 and I had the fun of overtaking it many times.

The road till periyapatna is extremely good and even after leaving Mysore road at Srirangpatna, one can drive above 80. well, most of the time. From periyapatna to Kushalnagar, the construction was going one, and it was very bad.

Had decided to go to Bylakuppe, the tibetan settlement after reading the reviews. However, it was an okay place. Just on the way, so not a pain to visit but nothing so special. Its photos, though, come really good since the temples are all in bright colors. And yes, it's really a calm place and have few well maintained gardens. The one thing that's strikingly beatutiful and deserves special mention is golden temple(photo on the left).

Then went on to Nisargdhama, a small island on kaveri. It was also a bit of disappointment as far as natural beauty is concerned. However, had fun while pedal boating and elephant ride. kids may love that place. There is also a deer park and I didn't expect it, but there were lots of dear in it.

Reached Club Mahindra around 5p.m. The resort looked beautiful, seems straight in the jungle itself, and yet all the greenery was very well maintained. After freshing up, came outside of room and it looked even more beautiful because of small lights in walkways in the resort. Came to know that there is some dance programme going on hilltop(they have a small hillock inside resort premises) . Again, the activity staff was great as ever. I am sure they get some professional training for organizing activities. Somehow, they succeed in getting people participate in even most awkward things, by joking, rebuking whatever. The host made even most reluctant senior citizens into trying out some stupid looking dance steps. After that, we had dinner and then went again to hilltop for dancing out on their DJ tunes. (They have a makeshift dicso also there).

Next day in the morning, we went to raja's seat. the view was good, but nothing splendid. May have looked better in rainy season. In my view, Ooty and Munnar are better placed in terms of viewing points. Gave Abbey's falls a skip, since resort guys had informed there was little water there right now. Had read about the drive from madikeri to somwarpet(about 40kms) and so decided to drive. I enjoyed the drive to the full with all the twists and turns, however, my wife(ruchi), my brother(vikas) and my friend(satish) got really bored just sitting in car. We came across no good viewing point in the whole journey. May be u get rewarded after some trekking on coffe estates on both sides of the road, but we were in no mood to do that. So satisfied ourselves by shooting some photos of a bamboo jungle midway. Really missed the activities that were planned in the resort and we couldn't take part because of time lost in the journey.

Took lunch and had to take a nap after such a curvy ride. Then went into swimming pool, it's great there. I mean for non swimmers like us. Wasn't too deep.:-) Also, it's kind of semi private with all the greenery around it.

That evening, they had a carnival on the hillock. all small games that you may have played when you were a child in melas in ur hometown. initially, it looked a bit stupid to play those games but as we moved on, the fun crept in. Tried to win with all brains, tricks and skills. Got two kitkats in rewards. Satish concluded that it was a successful evening since we had fun and recovered twenty percent of the expenses made on the tickets for the games.:-)

Went for dinner. All the meals were buffet and we got really full everytime. Satish and vikas forgot their dieting also and gained all what they had shedded over last few weeks.:-)

Next day, we decided to relax in the morning. Got up late(see how good is the room and how messy we left), had a really heavy breakfast (what with Omlette, dosa, idli and poori together) to prepare for the journey. Checked out at 11 to reach bangalore before evening.

On the journey back, had a stop at Kamat Hotel on Mysore road for a quick bit. didn't like even the dosas there. I don't know why it's so famous.

Reached Bangalore home in time by 7p.m., cursed ourselves for wasting time in going to somwarpet and missing some more fun in the resort we could have, had a good sleep. Still had a hangover day in office next day.:-)) Thinking about shifting to hospitality sector in some way that I can holiday more frequently.:-))

Timeshare Holidays and Club Mahindra

I have read a lot of reviews regarding timeshare and felt an urge to contribute to this timeshare debate. This is my post on www.mouthshut.com regarding timeshare.

I am a Club mahindra member since one year ( a satisfied one at that). I know when I say satisfied, many people will immediately come to conclusion that I am a Club mahindra employee but I am not. Also I have made one observation. Most of the people who have travelled to club mahindra properties, have rated it positively.

First of all, I would like to stay clear of all sales related bad experience. As I understand, there are good sales agents and bad sales agents. And many times, they overdo to sell since they have incentives to sell. And I was fortunate enough to meet one of the better sales person when I sent an enquiry after seeing an ad in newspaper. He expalined everything to me in detail. Yes, he told me the cost part only after he had explained the concept fully. If some people consider this as hiding, then I disagree . After the first presentation, I called him at least twice to clarify some details and he never pushed hard. In all, my first experience was great.

Also, I had attended one Country Vacations presentation recently. And I would say, Club mahindra is hundred times better than it. The country club representatives (there were many of them in that room with different couples) were shouting almost on top of his voice, just like people sell vegetables And insisting to buy 2 lacs membership on the spot!!, unlike the calm pitch made by club mahindra people.

Now the cost part. Some people have done quite a good job in explaining the real cost of membership. And if somebody had taken membership without knowing all those ’hidden costs’ then I feel sorry for him/her. However, almost all of them have compared it with non-comparables. When one is counting the cost of club mahindra membership, one should compare with prices in similar quality resorts. If somebody says that you can get accomodation in any of the holiday destinations in less than Rs 1000 or 2000, then I am sorry dear, but you are ’hiding’ the quality aspect. Last year, since I got married, I have travelled a lot and have enquired in a range of hotels at different times and I can safely say, even after considering the interest on membership fees and ASF, you are paying much less that what you would pay otherwise. The whole cost of the membership can be recovered even if you utilize your holidays for 5-6 years.

Sample this and you can also verify urself on internet. Coorg resort is the second best in that location(after orange county) and the room charges start from Rs5000 per day in white season and that room is not even a studio apartment what members get. Goa resort is usually 7-8k per night and goes even higher. Munnar is similar. Other locations are not so expensive but will be anytime more than Rs2k per day. How many people will be able to take that expensive vacations (30-40k per week) year after year? At least I could not. But with the membership, I can and have done thrice last year itself.

Also, timeshare is not for everyone. I will mention three conditions and one must see whether he/she is looking for that. First, this product is not for filthy rich but still people must be willing to pay a premium for quality. And it’s definitely not cheap so should be well off. Second, you must be looking for a lot of holidaying in next few years. And third, your idea of holidaying must match the timeshare theme.

I have gone to 4 resorts till now and had a very good service, food and activities. The resorts and the activities are such that one wants to return from sightseeing as soon as possible and spend as much time as possible in the resort.

Yes, there is issue with the booking. Though I didn’t face any problem till now because I have a habit of planning my holidays very early. But yes, you need to plan very early for a certain booking. And I can understand, many people may have got disappointed with that. But I have come to realize it’s how RCI and timeshare works. Imagine I got a mail from RCI in sep, 2006 to plan for a holiday in summer, 2007!!! also sometimes, as happens in every big organization, all the customers are never happy and some people may have bad experiences during their stay also for some reasons.