A Visit to Bannerghatta Nature Camp - Jungle Lodges and Resorts in Bangalore

 

Around seven of us college friends gathered at Bannerghata Jungle Lodges and Resorts in Bangalore for a relaxed weekend getaway. The team at the nature camp gave us a warm welcome and checked our ID cards. We were all fascinated by the beautiful jackfruit tree with many baby jackfruits near the entrance.

We lived in cloth tents with a tin roof at the top. Each tent had 3 beds and a bathroom. These tents were called Swiss Tents (in video below). There were also other types of accommodations, including log huts, wooden cottages, and executive tents. The tents were named after birds such as Paradise flycatcher and Tailor bird. Monkeys were playing near the tents. The area was surrounded by large tall trees of rare and common varieties. 

We went to the jungle safari in the evening around 3 pm. We could see white tigers, dancing sloth bears (in video below), majestic lions, baby and big elephants, walking leopards, crocodiles, spotted deer, Nilgai, sambar deer, large bison, and peacocks. We first saw the herbivorous animals and then the carnivorous animals. Friends somehow managed to capture beautiful shots of the animals through the van grill.

After the safari, they served snacks and tea in an open area. Late evening, we went to a play area and played snake and ladder game, antakshari, and dumbcharades. Chess and carrom boards were also there. At 7 pm, they invited us to a wildlife film show with bonfire (in video below) in open air. They served corn soup, groundnut salad, and pepper chicken for eating while watching the movie. After dinner, we relaxed at night by singing songs under the trees. 

Early the next morning at around 7:15 AM we set off to a nature walk among the trees. Our nature walk guide was naturalist Buttanayak. He described about the trees as we walked. There were trees with tumour-like bulbs on them. Two trees and their leaves were co-existing on a single trunk. We were lucky to witness the flowering of the bamboo tree that happens once in 30 or 50 years (in video below). Buttanayak also gave us the binoculars to have a close-up view of the birds and animals. There were big lakes with crocodiles. The walk went on for 1.5 hours with a lot of interesting information about the flora and fauna.

The resort had a beautiful, spacious, and neat buffet space named Gol Ghar. All the food like poha, basa fish curry, fried corns, kesari, juices, and badam milk were tasty and the spread was delicious for breakfast, lunch, as well as dinner. The wooden tables were convenient to dine.

The Jungle Resort is surely a peaceful haven that allows you to relax and unwind amidst nature. An option is there to visit the Butterfly Park and Bannerghatta Zoo also. 

Click here to visit the jungle resort website. 

Island Hopping in Andaman - Port Blair, Havelock Island, Neil Island

 

The first thing that strikes you about Andaman is their tri-colour beaches. The sea starts with a whitish tint because of the white sand, then has a light-greenish turquoise blue colour, and then a dark blue colour.

Tri-Colour Beaches in Andaman

It was 3 nights, 4 days trip and we first landed in Port Blair (South Andaman). We first visited the Cellular Jail. We got a glimpse of the tiny cells in which people were kept. There was a demo area which had the different machines on which the inmates had worked.

Photo Display in Cellular Jail

Video (3.5 mins) of Brain Corals, Cellular Jail, Jet Ski, Beach, Fish, Moving Shells, Nature, and Sunrise from Flight in Andaman. 

Next, we island hopped in the air-conditioned Nautika ferry and went to Havelock Islands. We visited the RadhaNagar Beach in Havelock islands. This beach is known as the Beach No 7 or the Seventh Best Beach in Asia. It was picturesque, and we clicked few photos by ourselves and hired a photographer for the remaining pics. All the beaches in Andaman have photographers whom you can hire.

RadhaNagar Beach - Havelock Islands

Then we visited the Elephanta beach in Havelock Island that had lot of adventure sports like snorkelling, glass-bottom boat ride, jet ski, and floats in different shapes like octopus and dragons. The glass-bottom ride gave a beautiful view of the corals in the sea that had grown and branched out like undersea trees. The corals were in shades of cream and light brown and were not multi-coloured. You get a glimpse of beautiful coloured fish too.

Corals view from Glass-Bottom Boat

Then we island hopped to Neil Island. In the Neil Island, Laxmanpur Beach No 2, we saw the Natural Bridge or the Howrah Bridge formed by corals. This bridge area is surrounded by ankle-depth water filled with different types of corals like brain coral and jackfruit coral. We saw a very small pink coral among the other corals. That was the only coloured coral in this area. This beach also has starfish, shrimps, nemo, and sea pineapple. We hired a guide who showed us all the corals and fish. Jelly fish were found in all the water areas in Andaman. The guide said that few of the corals glow in the night.

Natural Bridge or Howrah Bridge in Neil Island

Sea Pineapple

From the resort, we could see the beautiful sunset at Laxmanpur Beach 1. We wore Andaman T-shirts and kept artificial flowers on our head and clicked few pics in the Beach 1.

Laxmanpur Beach 1

Sunset at Neil Island

We again island hopped and went to Port Blair. We visited the Cellular Jail twice. The second visit was by night on the third day to view the sound and light show about the jail inmates suffering and life. The show was projected on the real walls of the jail and it was awesome, touching, and moving all at once. The lights and sound moved from one cell to another as they traced footsteps of people walking. The screen in the center and a tree were also used to focus the images. No photos and videos of the show were allowed.

A Cell in the Jail

We could not find 1-litre water bottles in Andaman. Most of the bottles were 2-litres and difficult to carry around. We did not come across any specific signature dish of Andaman. But we tasted lobster. Of course, there were giant-size tender coconuts and we had one every day during the trip. For shopping, there were different accessories, decorative items, and bags made of shells and pearls. There were magnets shaped like the cellular jail, tortoises, and shells.

Lobster 

Magnets

Shell Accessories

The trip was really therapeutic with a view and walk among the scenic and clean beaches and breathtaking corals.

Nautika Ferry

Pulicat Lake and Dutch Cemetry Visit - A Photo Essay

Visited Pulicat Lake in Dec 2022 along with my cousins and nieces. Pulicat lake is the second-largest brackish water lagoon in India. It is situated on the Andhra-Tamilnadu border.

After we reached Pulicat, we got into a boat ride that lasted close to 20 mins. Then we reached a barrier island. The island was a wide strip of sand with the sea on one side and the lagoon water on the other side. We got wet in the seawater. As we continued, the gap between the lagoon and the sea was closing on the sand strip we were standing on.

Then we moved to the main large sand area. There a fisherman was fishing. Then we went on the boat to another area on the barrier island that had trees. We ate snacks in that area. And we got into the boat again and crossed the lagoon and reached the city shore.

We also visited the Dutch cemetery near Pulicat lake. The entrance to the cemetery had two skeleton statues on either side. The cemetery was locked. But a shopkeeper nearby had the keys. So, we went inside and clicked some more pics. There were intricate designs and Dutch text on the tombs.

Pulicat lake attracts bird watchers to come and click the flamingoes and pelicans. But we did not see many birds in the area we went to.

Caps and coolers are a must if you are going boating around 10 am to 12 noon. It was quite hot on the day we went.

In the Boat

Sand between Lagoon and Sea

Lagoon Water and Sea Water Meet

Sand Area with Trees for Shade

Skeleton at the Dutch Cemetery Entrance

Tomb with Dutch text

Intricate Designs

Puffer Fish

Shells

Crab

Fisherman

Thamarai House and Lagoon Boating at Kadapakkam - Photo Essay

The Flapper Life women’s travel group had organized a secret hideaway in Chennai on 26^th March. Ten women joined the tour with Aafreen Fathima as the host. Aafreen is an architect, artist, and a huge heritage enthusiast. So, we all waited in excitement to land at the secret site as the van moved.

The wait was worth it. And we arrived at Thamarai House in Kadapakkam near ECR. The house was a Kerala-style wooden house on the banks of a big and beautiful lagoon. It was a gem of a place. The house had intricate wood designs. Beautiful photos and artwork of Kathakali dancers, decorated cows and elephants, and other paintings were on display. Vessels were decorated with flowers.

After a tasty lunch, we had a postcard-making workshop. Each one of us selected some object in the house or surroundings that we wanted to draw. Then we sketched that on the postcard and coloured it. I chose to draw the Kathakali dancer.

The next event was the most fulfilling and rejuvenating one. We went boating in the lagoon. All of us sat on a single boat. We saw birds, fish, sunset, trees, and the Alamparai fort as we sailed on the waters. We wet our hands. We also stepped out on a narrow strip of sand near the beach and wet our legs. The 1.5 hours of boat journey was memorable.

Finally, we started back to Chennai with truckloads of photos of the picturesque place.

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