After a tiring Saturday, we had an extremely relaxing sleep (despite Anand’s heavy snoring — which he denies! ;)). Feeling much better, we packed up and checked out of our room.
I forgot to take a photo of the room when we checked in yesterday, so I made the bed the best I could, just so I could take this shotFrom my phoneWe checked out by 9:45am
We settled our bill, which including yesterday’s food and room tariff, came to Rs. 1080 ($20/€15). Tipped our receptionist/attendant/waiter for all his help, despite his handicap.
We drove back to Gandikota fortFrom Ramesh's cameraFrom Anand's super-zoom cameraWe parked our car here this timeWe walked down this path at first
But we realized we were going down the wrong path, so we walked back up and took a path right behind the towerStill wasn't sure if this was the right way to the temple. There's no sign or anything.But we were getting closer to Madhavaraya templeThe village pipe extends all the way into this wellThere she isBut... we didn't see anybody at the templeAs we walked closer, we saw why there was nobody here. The gates were locked.Damn, came to the fort again just to see this temple!At least Anand's camera caught more parrotsI had no choice but to take photos through a gap in the gatesThe architecture and design looked impressive
Despite the fact we couldn’t go in, standing at gates, we didn’t feel like moving… at all. There was a cool breeze just flowing through and you could hear the distinct sound it made! It was like a ‘natural’ air-conditioning experience — the breeze was really relaxing.
Just then, Ramesh noticed something about a second padlock on the gates…
This smaller gate wasn't locked, Ramesh just pulled the latch and nudged it open!We could now enter the templeSince we were the only ones at the temple, we got selfish and closed the gates so we could go about our photography in peace
The stone carvings were impressive
Went in here
Madhavaraya temple is worth checking out
Ramesh was trying the whole ‘levitating’ shot sequence, so we all got in on it.
We closed the gate as it was earlier and left the templeWe walked back to the carWe were done......it was time to leave Gandikota
We had to drive back to Jammalamadugu
Passed by cotton fields
A lot of windmills being installed in this part of Andhra PradeshWe were taking one straight road to TadipatriWe stopped at a village on the way to have some teaAt the end of this long stretch, take a right to get to Belum Caves
We knew we were getting close, so we stopped here to take a proper photo amongst some sunflowersWe had driven past so many sunflower fields, but never stopped to take any good photos
I love taking macros shots of flowers
Photograph by Anand Phadake
Reached Belum Caves at 12:45pmThere's a massive Buddha statue hereFrom Anand's camera
There was ample parking space for our car, we then walked to the ticket counter.
The entry ticket costs Rs. 40 ($0.75), none of that 'pay extra for camera' nonsense hereDown we went
You see this as soon as you enter the cavesThis is called Gebauer Hall, named after a German speleologist (cave explorer) who re-discovered these caves in the 1980sWe went in
It wasn't until recently that Belum Caves was turned into a tourist attractionThere's droplets of water dripping down the stalactites aboveRamesh and AnandWe kept walking further in
Chalapathi Reddy hall, where some work was going on
I tried my best to take shots without any people, but some sections were just too crowdedRamasubba Reddy hallWe went downYou'll have to mind your head at certain sectionsIt would have been nice if they sold little maps for say, Rs. 10, just so we know where we were goingWe honestly had no clue where we were headed as there are multiple paths
Even underground, our precious natural wonders aren't spared from being vandalized by our country's idiots!
I tried my best to take photos as steady as possible, couldn't set up my tripod everywhereWe often had to wait for paths to clear while other visitors took photosSome areas are really dark, so you have to watch your stepThis wasn't just a section to pose for photosThere are ducts above pumping fresh air into the caves. Oxygen wears thin in certain sections and it can get quite hot deep inside.
I must say, they have done a good job of illuminating the caves
According to mythology, 'Pathala' is the kingdom of demons; Ganga is the river (Ganges to Westerners)I wondered which way to go nextWent the other way instead
It led to this hallAnand cooling off under a vent, and this section needed it!We felt this was a good spot to take a group shot. So as I set the camera on the tripod, Ramesh tested his remote to see if works on my camera.It worked just fineTook one zoomed all the out to give you an idea how wide the hall isI wonder if these lights do the rocks any damage, given how hot they can beWe left the hall
Instead of going back the way we came, we tried another pathAs much as I'm against vandalizing natural wonders... I was *so* tempted to etch cave man drawings on the stones above just to mess with the heads of archeologists
These caves were well worth the visit!Never knew such sights were this close to BangaloreWe headed back
Once back in Ramasubba Reddy hall, we went to the 'Maditation hall'See? Maditation We 'maditated' for a photo
We stopped on the way back to take one last group photo in front of Chalapathi Reddy hallI set up the camera...
Belum Caves 2011... officially done!
Panorama comprised of 2 shots
They have organized tours to Belum Caves. At the ticket counter, you can arrange for a guide too, but they only speak Telugu.
As soon as we all got out into the light, I went to the restrooms and freshened up. Then we had some ice cream and cool drinks to quench our thirsts.
No Aquafine, only Aiwaafine
It was past 2pm and time for lunch, but we were keen to dine at a dhaba on the way. So we drove towards the town of Anantapur and decided to stop at any good dhaba we would come across on the way.
It was going to be one long straight drive from here to Anantapur
Loads of windmillsWe had to stop briefly when we saw this granite mine on the wayNever seen earth being cut like that! Look at all that granite!
Couldn't take a clear shot of this huge cement factory we passed
By 3pm, we were in the town of Anantapur
We assumed Anantapur being a fairly big town, we would find a decent restaurant on this stretch of road, but post 3pm hardly anything that looked decent was open. Plus it was a Sunday.
Wonder how much water is left by the time such tankers reach their destination
We kept driving hoping to find a dhaba on the way, but there hardly any! After yesterday night’s eating and drinking, we decided to give our stomachs a break and didn’t have breakfast at the hotel since all they had were puris — and we knew it was going to be made of maida, just like their chapathis! So all we had was tea, lots of it!
Of course, when we saw this massive water body, we just had to stop!This was Lake Singanamala
Made do with chips for 'lunch,' it is all we could find
We were finally back on NH7 (Bangalore-Hyderabad highway)From here on it was super-smooth sailing!More windmills
The landscape was barren with not a village in sight
Looking at the landscape in this part of India and the quality of the roads built by NHAI, I realized how easy it is to build such highways in such geography. Unlike Kerala’s hilly and rich green landscapes, the land here is mostly flat and uninhabited, making land acquisition easy. Something which is very tough in Kerala given its natural beauty and of course, stupid politics.
That said, I wondered why on earth NHAI couldn’t build a 6 lane (3 on either side) when they had the chance to. Why isn’t every infrastructure project thought about for the long term? Just because there isn’t anything built on either side and the vehicle volumes are presently low, doesn’t mean it will stay that way for the next decade! Grrr, irritates me when the government does this!
The ride handling in Anand Phadake's Ford Fiesta diesel was incredibly stable even at speeds of 140kmph. It's a really good car!We were in Karnataka by around 5pmEnded the day with a beautiful sunset
As we neared Chikbalapur, finding dhabas became easy and we stopped at one to our left.
At 6:30pm, we finally made up for the lack of a proper breakfast, lunch and dinner!
This weekend drive to Gandikota and Belum Caves is easily one of the top weekend drives I have ever been on. We left Saturday morning, reached Gandikota, saw the stunning vistas, had a blast at night with just each other for company. Woke up at a reasonable time today and saw all the above. Had we managed to see Madhavaraya temple yesterday itself, we could have finished Belum Caves by 1pm and been back in Bangalore by sunset.
Mind you, both places aren’t for everyone. The drive maybe easy, but the stay at the APTDC Gandikota Hotel isn’t going to get any better until tourist numbers go up. Also, climbing the rocks to take the kind of photos we took yesterday isn’t that easy for everyone, especially older citizens. Belum Caves is also quite challenging as some sections are suffocating due to the lack of oxygen.
But if you read all that and though “meh, I’ve done greater things!” then the weekend road trip to Gandikota and Belum Caves comes high recommended!
I got up at 5:30am, and had to freshen up using water from the hot shower as the tap water was freezing cold!
I checked out of George's Guesthouse (by leaving the key on the table because there was nobody at the reception) and walked outWhere I had dinner from yesterdayA few inter-city buses were parked at the village centerAlfredo's Inn (L), Sagada Guesthouse (2nd from right), Gandu Yan Inn (R) -- plenty of accommodation near the bus station (Panorama shot comprised of 4 photos)I boarded the first bus to Baguio leaving at 7am (ticket cost ₱200/$5/€3.5)The bus left on time. Since I was still sleepy, I decided to keep shooting using my phone as I was in no mood to take my DSLR out.Good morning to you tooVery misty at this time
This was the last photo I took before I fell asleep
But I ended up waking up just half-an-hour later when I briefly opened my eyes. I just had to take my camera out now and take a few shots of the terrain I was passing through.
I didn't dare open the window as it was freezing cold outside, so I shot all these behind the not-so-clean glassMostly rocky rivers in these partsWe arrived at some town/village
Where we wereThere was more beauty to behold
We kept going higher and higher
Lettuce farmsFrom a market we stopped atA lot of the passengers were villagers or farmers getting down at various markets to sell their produce
The stretches of sunshine didn't last too long
We stopped here for a few minutes for a snack/toilet break
The dark clouds gave way to sunlight
There weren't many bad stretches on this highway, for the most part, it was a lovely journey!And after nearly six hours, we were in Baguio
I arrived at Baguio just past 1pm. Where the bus stopped was at some lot inside a shopping complex. Didn’t look like a main bus station or anything, so I asked around how I could get to Angeles City. The locals told me I would have to go to another bus depot near SM Supermall and catch a bus from there. So, in a taxi I went.
Riding through Baguio, you could see why Baguio is a predominantly a ‘university town’. Students from all across the North come to Baguio for higher education as it’s the only developed city in this hilly region of North Philippines.
I never had any plans of staying in Baguio because I didn’t find any of the attractions worthy of spending a night here. A short 5 minute ride later (which cost less than ₱100), I was at the bus terminal very near to SM Supermall — the only major mall in the city.
I asked for buses going to Angeles City and was instructed to board any of the buses going to Dau. I bought my ticket (₱290/$6/€4.7) from one of the private bus companies that operates the route and dumped my backpack on my seat. I had a few minutes before the bus departed so I quickly stepped out and went to the nearby Jollibee to pick up some lunch (Jollibee is there wherever you need it!)
The bus terminal was very busy as this being a hugely student populated town (and Holy Week), many of the buses to the various neighbouring provinces were running full
The bus left at 2pm and I had my lunch watching a very charitable man give away gifts and cash to Filipinos on TV. As the TV signal strength weakened, they put on the usual pirated copies of low-budget action films (first, an unheard of horror movie starring a really fat Val Kilmer).
I didn’t take many photographs on this leg of the journey — mostly because there wasn’t a whole lot of scenery worth capturing. It rained a little bit and the bus moved slowly because from here on, we were going downhill and it was quite misty outside.
After a few hours, it got really cold inside the bus as the air-conditioning was truly working. I had to wear my jacket and use my camera bag for additional warmth.
Taken at 4:51pm. We mostly travelled through impoverished towns and small villages.
You know it’s an impoverished part of the country when you see the locals rejoicing with banners when one of their residents become a lawyer. Saw a few of those.
Hey guess what nut jobs, the world didn't end after all!
Soon after one B-grade movie ended, they put on another. This time a Tagalog dub of a Thai action movie starring a popular Thai actress whom I cannot name at all because I only remember seeing the ‘making of’ this film on a show on NHK. Sigh.
I kept wondering how much longer I had to sit in this bus. By sunset, the bus had stopped in the city of Tarlac — and it stayed there for some time. And by now, there weren’t many passengers in the bus. I stepped down to ask if this was where I need to get down but the driver who was taking a break said “no”. I went back in and waited for the bus to move again.
And move on it did. We were on McArthur Highway by nightfall and I again wondered just how much longer I had to go to get to Angeles City.
Around 7:30pm, we finally reached a very busy Dau bus terminal. From there, I got into a trike and asked him to take me to my hotel. The journey took another 10 minutes (he charged ₱110) but I finally got to Red Tulip Hotel. I chose this hotel because I didn’t want a place on Fields Avenue, near all the nightclubs that go late into the night, and Red Tulip Hotel looked like it was a safe distance away. But that was as per the map on their website. In reality, it was a little too far from the main jeepney hub. But more on that later.
I was just glad to see a room so I could dump my bags and stretch my legs!
I had spent more than 12 hours today just sitting in buses. I was tired, so I quickly stepped out to have dinner at 9pm and then went to sleep immediately after getting back. For the first time this week, I didn’t have to wake up early tomorrow!
Day 5 – 21st April 2011
I don’t know how many hours I slept, but I slept well. Lord knows I needed the rest after the last three days! I switched on the television and watched the news reports of how crowded EDSA was yesterday night, with everyone rushing to get out of Manila. In some ways, I guess it was a good idea to arrive a bit early.
By the time I got out of bed, freshened up and made my way down for breakfastbrunch, it was noon.
Looking at the menu, the tulips made sense... the hotel owner was Dutch
I ate lazily, chatted with the waitresses who asked me where I was from and where all I had been to in Philippines so far. Then I went online for a bit after brunch and only at around 2pm did I finally decide to step out of the hotel! I wanted to take it easy for once.
The entranceIt was a sandy road from The Red Tulip Hotel to the San Angelo street (where the Hotel 24 sign is)The walk from San Angelos St. to the main Fields Avenue road was around a 1 minute longAngeles Beach Club hotel, one of the more posher hotels in Angeles CityThis was the jeepney terminal...And I initially looked at hotels on this road, San Narciso street. Hotel Tiger looked atrocious both inside and outside...... so PJ Inn was the one I had selected. But they were late to reply back with my room enquiry and by the time they did, they were full. So I had to book at Red Tulip Hotel for 3 nights (they gave it to me for ₱800/$18/€13 per night)The jeepney terminal was up this road, a 2 minute walk from here. I figured, after I was done with the festivities of Good Friday in San Fernando, I could easily catch a ride from here back to Manila.I walked back to the main roadI had dinner from this Turkish restaurant yesterday night, good shawarmas!I decided to hop over to SM Clark mall to pass some timeThis road leads to the Clark Freeport zone and Clark airportMy friend Aimee told me AOL once had an office in the Freeport zoneThe plan was to first check out SM Clark and then head to the Freeport zone for all the duty free shopsBut as I walked towards the mall...Closed! (Panorama shot comprised of 5 shots)
A security guard came up to me as I took the above photograph, and he told me the mall was closed today and tomorrow, being Good Friday. I asked him how far the Clark Duty Free was from here and he said around 8kms and he told me there’s a high possibility that would be closed today as well.
I sighed and walked towards the jeepney drivers nearby and asked them if the Clark Duty Free was open today but they confirmed it saying it was a holiday today.
Oh well
So I walked to the jeepney terminal to find out where to board the jeepneys going to San Fernando and the timingsThis guy told me to come to this pick-up point tomorrow morning to go to San Fernando. Yes, he was quite joyful to be in the photograph.Decided to check out Fields AvenueI was stopped by another one of those "Hey foreign guy with DSLR, take photo of us!". Guess which was the girl who requested it.This was Walking Street (don't know why they call it such but still allow vehicles in!)Here too, the scene wasn't any different -- just about everything was closed!
But I wondered if it was just because it was in the afternoon.
As I reviewed my shots, I noticed they were all quite dark and that I couldn’t change my shutter speed now. It was stuck at 1/1250! Grrh, I hate it when things like this happen, and that too just before a big event like tomorrow’s crucifixion ceremony! I had no choice but to continue shooting with it.
I went to that locksmith who was fortunately open. He tightened one of my tripod legs with an Allen key as I had misplaced mine. He wouldn't accept the ₱10 I was ready to pay him either
I walked back on to Walking Street. Only a few places were open and had the usual sight of geriatrics drinking away with their Filipina companionsPretty cool entrance
I walked back to my side of town and felt the urge to have some ice cream.
Iglesia ni Cristo church
Bought my ice cream from a convenience store at a Petron station on this side of Perimeter road, which houses a few more nightclubs, and little else.
Once back in my room, I fiddled with my camera for nearly an hour, switching it on and off, taking the battery out multiple times. Fed up, I went online to find a solution. Saw a few threads on such issues and then felt like an idiot after reading the ‘solution’. I had accidentally pressed the ‘Lock’ button near the dial which stuck the shutter speed at the last setting.
-_-
Anyway. After ‘fixing’ my problem, I sat in the room and worked on a few photos to upload and stepped out only for dinner. I went back to the Turkish restaurant as I miss Middle Eastern food and I wanted to make the most of the authentic food available as much as possible. (The restaurant was run by Turks)
At night, there were a lot more people out and about, but it still didn’t look like this is the most action Angeles City usually sees. So yeah, if you are coming to Angeles City purely for the nightlife, Holy Week isn’t the best time for that Some of the nightclubs were still closed.
Back in the room, I packed my camera bags, kept all my batteries for charging, cleaned my lenses, set my alarm, and went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be the big day, and I couldn’t wait for it to begin!
After the madness of Dubai, it was back to calm ‘ol Abu Dhabi and more time with family. My mom wanted to show me the sands of Al Ain. So on a Sunday evening, we hired our usual taxi guy and headed outside Abu Dhabi.
We were on the highway to Al AinTo my rightStopped to take this panorama (comprised of 10 shots)
After driving for nearly 45 minutes, we got off the main highway and I got out of the car.
The sands, once I got into them, were extremely fine and smooth.
They were so smooth that you could slowly slip in to the ground by just standing still for a few seconds.
The only life out there besides us
Even though I’ve had enough sand in my face growing up in the Middle East, being here really was quite a splendid feeling. There were plans to go dune bashing in 4x4s but due to my friends being available only on Fridays made it a little tough to cram it in my already packed itinerary. I didn’t want to opt for a tourist package either ‘cos it was too corny for me.
My father in the back, collecting UAE sand. He's being doing that for every country he's been to.
After listening to hearsay tales from our taxi driver about desert snakes and other ‘dangerous’ reptiles, my father insisted that I don’t tread any further into the sand dune and asked me to get back in the car. Plus it was nearing sunset.
We weren't far from Al AinAll the trees you're going to see out herePanorama comprised of 8 shots
Heading back to Abu Dhabi
The next day…
Since I wasn’t going to sit idle at home, after lunch I took a taxi and headed to Abu Dhabi corniche.
The skies were all grey that day
After taking two Nepalis-driven taxis back-to-back, I got down near Corniche Road.
Abu Dhabi's construction scene is... still happening
You'd take this underpass if you wanted to get to the corniche
But I decided to take a stroll through the park on the other side of Corniche Road.
This park is only meant for boring purposes
I crossed the road to get to the corniche.
Don't have a cycle? You can rent one at the corniche
Really appreciated the emphasis on fitness at this corniche
Abu Dhabi corniche plays host to many cultural festivals
After a coffee break from Cinnabon, I decided to head to Marina Mall for some shopping.
That's a restaurant on top
After seeing Dubai’s mall offerings, there nothing special to point out about Marina Mall. It has all the usual stores — that’s it. And a Carrefour.
First time I've seen a dedicated Vertu store
After spending an hour shopping at Centerpoint, I took a taxi back home.
Found this post boring?
Don’t worry, the next and final sightseeing post from UAE will make up for it, trust me!
Despite the fact we couldn’t go in, standing at gates, we didn’t feel like moving… at all. There was a cool breeze just flowing through and you could hear the distinct sound it made! It was like a ‘natural’ air-conditioning experience — the breeze was really relaxing.
As soon as we all got out into the light, I went to the restrooms and freshened up. Then we had some ice cream and cool drinks to quench our thirsts.
We assumed Anantapur being a fairly big town, we would find a decent restaurant on this stretch of road, but post 3pm hardly anything that looked decent was open. Plus it was a Sunday.
