Weekend at Wayanad, Kerala

Two weekends ago, I went to the district of Wayanad in the state of Kerala. It was with mostly friends from work who are part of AOL India’s photography club Shutterbugs.

We left one Friday night from work and was joined by a colleague Yazid who would come with us until Wayanad and who would then, from there leave for Calicut, his home. I’ve always wanted to go on a photo expedition with Yazid since he’s one guy who was always open to teaching me more on photography.

Since he wasn’t going be with us for long, I used any opportunity to take advantage of his time. And we got some when we stopped for some time near the Karnataka-Kerala border.

Karnataka starry night
Starry night

Yazid taught me and another friend, Ramesh, how to use the Bulb mode in a camera. I had it as a mode in my Canon 7D but didn’t know exactly what it was for. Essentially, the Bulb mode was for giving the photographer full manual control over timed exposure. As in, you can hold the shutter open for as long as you can hold the button down.

Toyota Qualis taxi at night

Another cool example was shooting off the flash for a second and then holding on to the open shutter to create cool effects like this.

Experimenting with Bulb mode
Experimenting with Bulb mode; the "ghost" is my friend Ramesh

Ramesh stood in front of the jeep when the flash was shot off, then moved away while the shutter was still held and the result is what you see above.

We tried another shot using the same technique. Here’s a shot of Ramesh and Yazid with the shutter release lasting as long as the flash just goes off.

Yazid photo experiment without stars
Left: Ramesh; Right: Yazid

Now here’s the same pose but with the flash going off and then both moving away while the shutter is still held open by me for nearly 10 seconds.

Yazid photo experiment with stars
Cool huh?

The long exposure helps you get the stars as well.

We tried the same with shadows. Shot off the flash which obviously captures our shadows but then move away while still holding the button down so the open shutters captures as much of the background as possible.

Yazid photo experiment with shadows at night
Experimenting with shadows in the dark

We tried some more shots…

Yazid photo experiment truckYazid photo experiment truck

… before Ramesh and I felt we had learned enough.

We set off from there and by the time we reached Bandipur, the sun had slowly started to show up.

Bandipur forest resort
Dawn breaking on Bandipur

By 7am, we had reached Wayanad. The taxi had to stop at the check post for the standard paper work which gave us the opportunity to start our photography.

Wayanad checkpost
Nidhin setting up his tripod

I didn’t take many photos as I was feeling sleepy given I was up the whole night making sure our driver didn’t doze off like the passengers did. Breakfast was just hot tea.

Wayanad paddy field Kerala
The one photo I did take

It took our driver nearly an hour to get back from the customs police. And when he did, we realized we had a puncture too! More time was wasted as the driver slowly replaced it. Annoying as it were, we finally moved past the check post and stopped again soon after. Nidhin (the guy who organized this whole trip) told us the first thing on our itinerary was a safari ride through Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary. We paid up for five, our guide and got into our jeep.

Now, the thing with any safari is that, the chances of one actually ever seeing anything exciting are rare. Plus timing is important too. Early mornings are often said to be best as a lot of animals prefer to stay in the shade once the sun is out in full force. Plus, it helps if the vehicle you are in wouldn’t make such a racket giving a loud heads-up to every creature signaling tourists are on the way!

Muthanga forest safari jeep
From inside our noisy safari jeep

I was only carrying my wide-angle and 50mm lens, so there was little I could capture as far as exotic animals and birds are concerned. Nidhin had a 300mm lens so he managed to get some rather good close-ups of the creatures we came across.

So bear with me… here are some trees!

Muthanga forest tree

Muthanga forest tree

Muthanga forest safari trailMuthanga forest safari trail two-way

Muthanga forest safari trail
Nidhin in the distance; Mohan on the right

After driving through the forest, we hit the tarred road and the driver took us to a nearby “waterfall”.

Turned out to be nothing more than a river stream with a lot of sand dumped on its banks — which looked suspicious as it surely didn’t look like it belong there.

Wayanad forest streamMuthanga forest, Wayanad

Wayanad to Calicut

After nearly nearly 2 hours, we were back to where we started. Our safari ride was over. Was it worth it? I guess it varies. If we had spotted tigers, then I would have said ‘yes’. Otherwise, if deers and small wild animals aren’t your thing, it’s a waste of money.

It was nearing noon so we decided to head for our resort which was still a bit away. But once we hit Sultan Batheri (the big town in Wayanad) our taxi suffered another puncture! Since the spare tyre was also bust, we had no choice but to wait for it to get fixed.

So I decided to take in the local sights.

2022 movie poster Wayanad Kerala
So the world gets rebuilt after 2012 to be destroyed again?
Out of Range mobile store Wayanad Kerala
One, I didn't know lottery tickets could be sold wholesale. Two, 'Out of Range' for a mobile store won't help you dude.

After an hour, we were back on our way. And then… another puncture! That too the same tyre! We got fed up at this point,  so we told our driver to get it sorted and we took an autorickshaw to our resort.

I don’t remember the name of the resort and honestly, I wouldn’t even recommend it for the price (Rs. 1750 per night). Getting there is pain by itself and the amenities or for that matter, the views, really aren’t worth the price.

After finally brushing our teeth and having something to eat, we rested for a bit. It was already past 4pm at this point and we really didn’t want to waste daylight, so we set off for our next stop — Banasura Sagar dam.

We hired a jeep as by the time our taxi driver got the tyre fixed and reached our resort, we decided its best he eat and rest. Also mostly because we were scared of the tyre going bust again.

There is an entrance fee at Banasura Sagar dam, the largest earthen dam in India and apparently the second largest in Asia. Open to visitors, the place offers a children’s park and even boat rides.

Banasura Sagar damBanasura Sagar dam stepsBanasura Sagar dam public

It was very sunny when we arrived and I regretted not carrying my sunglasses.

Banasura Sagar dam
Banasura Sagar dam

Banasura Sagar dam public parkBanasura Sagar dam boat ride

The tickets for the boat rides are separate from the entrance fees and none of us were interested in going for it either. So after spending an hour there, we headed back.

After sunset, we just enjoyed drinks and food over a campfire… ‘cos there was little else to do. There is absolutely nothing around the resort besides trees and shrubs.

Wayanad campfire resort
Ramesh took this one
Wayanad campfire
The fire didn't last very long leaving us quite cold fairly soon after. (Photo taken by me)

Most of us called it an early night (especially me) since we barely slept properly in the past 24 hours. The plan was to wake up early the next day and set off by 5:30am.

But that never happened.

I got up a 5:30am and tried calling up the others — but in vain. And since it was freezing cold and misty outside, I went back to bed. We eventually did get up but by the time we left the resort, it was past 9am.

Wayanad dry field cow
Wayanad at 10am

Wayanad banana field

We drove through Kalpetta, picked up a local friend of Nidhin’s and made our way to Kuruva island.

Kuruva is not an “island” you’d imagine. It’s just a piece of forest land surrounded by a river stream (River Kabini) thus earning the title of “island”. We weren’t planning on getting on to the actual island itself so we went with our local guide through the side and the paddy fields you have to cross to get to the banks.

Kuruva islands farm land
Walking through the dry fields to get to Kuruva
Kuruva islands river stream
Cross the stream and you get to the island

There is an entrance fee to enter Kuruva island and if you pay, this is how you actually get to the island.

But we just sat by the bank for some photography.

Shutterbugs Kuruva islands
The AOL Shutterbugs... (including me behind the camera)

Wayanad river rockKuruva islands spiderweb

Kuruva island treeBy 1pm, we were bored and decided to head back to town. Nidhin’s friend showed us one last thing before heading back to town.

An old teak bungalow used by the British during colonial times.

Wayanad teak bungalowThe bungalow was on a secluded piece of land surrounded by trees making it one heck of a vacation home.

Wayanad teak bungalow
Or at least it was

Now all that’s left are markings by vandals professing their love for someone and other messages inscribed on the wood. The house is decades old but I was surprised how good the wood still was.

Wayanad teak bungalow inside

It was very sunny so we quickly headed back to our taxi, drove to town and cooled off during lunch. After that, it was back to Bangalore.

Fortunately, we didn’t suffer any further punctures and the only time we stopped (and probably the most exciting moment of this trip) was when we saw young elephants by the road side in Bandipur.

Bandipur forest elephants

We did end up stopping at Mysore for dinner. (Actually, we stopped at Mysore because Nidhin’s friend said there was this dosa and beef curry joint in town but trying to find it was a pain and Nidhin’s state didn’t help either so we just ate at a regular vegetarian joint.)

Mysore Palace at night
Mysore Palace at night

Just as the clocked neared 12am, I was back home. The trip really wasn’t one of my best given the expenses and the resulting photography.

Either that or I have been spoilt by all the beauty I saw in the ten days I spent in Thailand.

Thailand 2009: Figures, lessons learned, and things I couldn’t do

18,090 words.

That’s how much I wrote about my 10 days in Thailand. I don’t know how much of it you read but I had a lot to write about.

Editing nearly 400 photos out of 1,100 taken wasn’t easy but having gone through them all, I’m very happy with the picture quality the Canon 7D is capable of producing.

How much did I spend?

Excluding the camera equipment expenses, close to Rs. 55,000 (approx. $1,200).

Flights: return ticket to Bangkok (Rs. 15k ) + flight from Chiang Mai to Phuket (Rs. 9k) +  flight from Phuket to Bangkok (Rs.2,500) — the last two were not planned… but I had no choice but to take them.

Rs. 55k for 10 days might seem like a lot to some experienced backpackers – or – expensive to those who are used to traveling by package tours but had my tripod not broken or had I not taken those two flights, I could have done it for around Rs. 40,000. It’s okay, I now know where to stay and how much to spend on just about everything. Lesson learned.

Credit card bill: Canon 7D + 16GB CF card + Canon 10-22 lens + Hoya filter + camera bag + flight tickets + domain purchases + website hosting fees = Rs. 1.61 lakhs ($3,450). Yikes.

Number of T-shirts: 13

Other lessons learned:

Thai baht is a strong currency

– best to fly from Chiang Mai to Phuket (and not try for a bus)

– realized how damaging salt water can be to camera lenses (and just about every other material)

Things I couldn’t do:

– try out timelapse photography

– join a Thai cooking class (wanted to know the marination for Thai barbecue chicken and the recipes for some Thai curries)

– rent a Yamaha Fino Mio

In my Chiang Mai post, I talked about looking around for a specific bike… and this was it!

Yamaha Fino Mio
These were the colours I went around looking for

I fell in love with these bikes the moment I saw them on Bangkok’s streets. On day 1, I dreamt of renting one and driving along the coast when I head down to South Thailand. I guess it’s something I have to keep for next time.

Places I planned on seeing but still couldn’t:

– Phang Nga Bay

– climb the 1200 steps up to Tiger Cave Temple ( Wat Tham Suea)

– Floating market

Things I want to do next time:

– attend the Full-Moon party and stay at Koh Tao

– capture/photograph the drive to Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai

– visit Trang and some other new place

– take the train and see the country side

– be in Chiang Mai for the lantern festival

– explore Old Bangkok and the Chinatown

– be better equipped  to take HD videos

– avoid mishaps by being more careful

– make the vacation a month-long one 🙂

Besides not being able to do the trip as per plan, another factor that hampered my vacation was the lack of sleep or just how tired I would be with all the rushing around. Will take it a lot more easy the next time around.

Closing thoughts on Thailand:

Thailand’s global reputation isn’t a good one. Let’s just be honest about it. From its night life to people claiming it to be one of the most dangerous destinations in Asia, most descriptions about safety in Thailand when doing my research painted a not-so-rosy picture. I even watched every episode of this British show called Big Trouble in Thailand (on YouTube) which highlights the kind of problems one can expect in Thailand. A bit over-dramatized but a lot of the scams are often genuine. (Worth a watch as a travel advisory)

So did I feel scared traveling all alone in Thailand? No.

In fact, I felt very safe. Safer than I feel traveling in India! (Yes, even for women.) I’m not saying nothing bad will ever happen. I’m just saying, if you do your research, take precautions and avoid shitty places with shitty people — you’re good.

And the people… most Thais are extremely nice people! Of course, being a tourist, you may end up getting ripped off occasionally but tell me one place you’ve visited where that hasn’t happened. There are many poor (or lets just say lower income) folks in Thailand, just as there are in India, but understand that they’re trying to make a living too.

Another thing I realized (& one that bothers me) is how much we overpay for just about everything in India. I mean in Thailand, the infrastructure is much better, fuel prices are more or less the same, even the long distance buses are better there — and yet, you get more for your money in tourist Thailand than in India. I hate that! After visiting South Thailand, I’ve decided that I’ll never spend too much money in Goa — India’s much revered coastal destination. The price of good (safe) food, the beautiful beaches, and the way you are treated is far superior in Thailand than in tourist hot spots such as Goa or Pondicherry.

And Thailand’s governance isn’t any better than India. Political scandals are a daily affair and corruption is rampant. Like Bangalore, even they have squabbles over the older smaller airport being allowed to stay open for domestic carriers as supposed to forcing them to use the newer, bigger international airport. So trust me, things aren’t that different — but you’re still going to enjoy the quality of life you get with more or less the money you spend here for the same.

So my word to anyone going to Thailand —  there’s a lot more to the place than you think, and it won’t cost you a bomb to enjoy it. And please, respect the people there. They’re not all low-lifes.

Until my next Thailand trip.

P.S: I didn’t end up going to Goa for Sunburn (Dec 25th to 27th 2009) after I got back on Dec 22nd night. Mostly because :

– I was tired

– I had lots to write and photos to edit

– I didn’t feel like spending anymore money

– What I spent in 5 days in Thailand, I would have had to shell out in 3 days in Goa during peak season

Other posts in this series:

Getting ready for my trip

The day I left for Thailand

Day 1 – Suvarnabhumi, Pantip Plaza, Fotofile & MBK

Day 2 – Bridge over the River Kwai and Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua) in Kanchanaburi

Taking the bus to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

Day 3 – Maesa elephant camp, ‘long-neck’ tribe village near Chiang Mai

Day 3 (Part 2) – Chiang Mai Night Market

Day 4 – Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai… and back in town

Day 5 – Leaving Chiang Mai for Phuket

Day 5 (Part 2) – One night in Phuket

Day 6 – Leaving Phuket for Ao Nang by bus (via Phang Nga)

Day 7 – Touring Koh Phi Phi (Maya Bay, Monkey Island & Bamboo Island)

Day 7 (Part 2) – Exploring Railay, Krabi

Day 8 – Flying from Phuket to Bangkok

Day 8 (Part 2) – Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

Day 9 – MBK, Siam Paragon… and ‘little Arabia’?

Day 10 – Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha

Day 10 – Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and finally leaving Thailand

Wat Pho reclining Buddha

Thailand 2009: Day 10 – Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and finally leaving Thailand

I had read that Wat Pho was close to the Grand Palace so after asking for a few directions from the local police, I began my 15-minute walk to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.

Grand Palace to Wat Pho

Old Bangkok City street cafe

Walking through what some people refer to as ‘Old Bangkok,’ one comes across decades old remnants and descendants of  the Chinese community in Bangkok.  Old Bangkok Chinese medicine shop

Old Bangkok dried fish marketOld Bangkok dried fishAfter passing by shops selling traditional Chinese medicine and an assortment of dried fish, you reach the lane that leads to Wat Pho.

Old Bangkok Wat Pho signThere was no entrance fee, or at least I didn’t come across any, so I just went in and began clicking photos.

Wat Pho reclining Buddha statueWat Pho gate guardWat Pho prayer roomWat Pho reclining BuddhaWat Pho reclining BuddhaWat Pho reclining Buddha hallWat Pho reclining BuddhaWat Pho reclining Buddha hallWat Pho reclining Buddha statueAnd with that, ended the last of my sight-seeing in Thailand.

I took a taxi back to Sukhumvit but man, can the traffic in Bangkok get on your nerves. Coming from India, I’m used to bad traffic — and even though Bangkok traffic isn’t noisy or haphazard like in any major Indian city — it just moves at a snail’s pace.

I pity the taxi drivers who have to work through this every day. It isn’t calming I can assure you. It’s frustrating — and I’m an extremely patient guy.

Bangkok afternoon traffic Mini CooperBangkok city bridge Tuk TukAs it neared 3pm, I finally got fed up and got down near Siam Center. It’s not that I was getting late or anything, I just got irritated moving at snail pace and staring at the traffic in front me. I didn’t even bother asking the taxi driver for the change, instead, I told him to keep it. 90% of them will not fleece you so you can be extra nice to them if you wish.

BTS track Siam junctionBTS track Siam junctionBTS track Siam junctionSince I had some time to kill, I went to Siam Paragon and had lunch from KFC. Yeah, KFC… I know. But I didn’t have the usual. KFC Thailand had introduced a Hot’N’Spicy variant which I thought I’d try out. I went in for the combo meal which packed 2 pieces of chicken, mashed potato in gravy, salad and a drink. The mashed potato looked and tasted so artificial, it was scary to even look at. As for the Hot’N’Spicy chicken, it was essentially the KFC flavour with a lot of MSG thrown in. Tasted a lot like the flavouring that you get with a regular pack of Maggi noodles Masala. Just about okay.

After lunch, I took the BTS (for the last time) and went back to the Thai House Inn. Collected my bags, took a taxi and headed for Suvarnabhumi via the elevated highway (cost 400 baht/Rs. 560).

Taxi ride to Suvarnabhumi

Taxi ride to Suvarnabhumi airport
The sun setting on Bangkok… and on my holiday

I was at the airport by 5:30pm for my 8:35pm Thai Airways flight back to Bangalore. Got my VAT refund forms stamped, checked in my bags, and collected my VAT refund money from the counter after the security check. I had an hour and half to kill before my flight, so I got myself a Dairy Queen Blizzard with whatever change I had left that I didn’t want in my wallet and then sat by my gate thinking about the last 10 days.

Despite all the planning, things didn’t go the way I wanted to. I ended up taking more flights than I thought, a lot of mishaps, and couldn’t see everything I had hoped on seeing…

… but all I could really think about was how I wanted to quit my job and wanted to be back to do it right, a second time.


Other posts in this series:

Getting ready for my trip

The day I left for Thailand

Day 1 – Suvarnabhumi, Pantip Plaza, Fotofile & MBK

Day 2 – Bridge over the River Kwai and Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua) in Kanchanaburi

Taking the bus to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

Day 3 – Maesa elephant camp, ‘long-neck’ tribe village near Chiang Mai

Day 3 (Part 2) – Chiang Mai Night Market

Day 4 – Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai… and back in town

Day 5 – Leaving Chiang Mai for Phuket

Day 5 (Part 2) – One night in Phuket

Day 6 – Leaving Phuket for Ao Nang by bus (via Phang Nga)

Day 7 – Touring Koh Phi Phi (Maya Bay, Monkey Island & Bamboo Island)

Day 7 (Part 2) – Exploring Railay, Krabi

Day 8 – Flying from Phuket to Bangkok

Day 8 (Part 2) – Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

Day 9 – MBK, Siam Paragon… and ‘little Arabia’?

Day 10 – Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha

Figures, lessons learned, and things I couldn’t do

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