West Sikkim: Pelling, Pemayangtse, Khecheopalri, Singshore Bridge

Time 4.45 am, we got up with a loud beep of alarms set in our mobiles. The agenda for the morning was pre-decided before sleeping on previous day i.e to shoot orange sunlight falling on the tip of Mt. Kachenjunga. The ritual was religiously followed for 2 days of our stay at Pelling (West Sikkim), the place well regarded for providing the best view Mt. Kanchenjunga from comfort of hotels.

Highlights:

• Early Morning view of Kanchenjunga
• Pemayangtse Monastery
• Sacred Khecheopalri Lake
• Kanchenjunga waterfalls
• Singshore Bridge
• Night View from Pelling Helipad

Bannerghatta National Park

Bannerghatta National Park is one of the closest getaway from Bangalore city. Surprisingly I have been to the place for a long time and the jinx has been broken convincingly with three visits in last 18 months. During re-visits, I have come across one or the other positive development in and around the park. The recent was the construction of dedicated bays for BMTC buses next to the parking lot.

South Sikkim: Ravangala, Temi Tea Garden, Sandruptse

After North Sikkim Trip it was time to venture into Southern side of the state. We had thoughts of getting there directly from North, but due to weird topography of the state we were forced to travel via Gangtok(East Sikkim). Also, we finished our pending visit to Rumtek Monastery which was on the way to Ravangala, our first destination in South Sikkim.

Highlights of South Sikkim trip:

• Sunrise Point at Ravangala
• Temi Tea Garden
• Rock Garden
• Padma Sambhava Statue at Sandruptse

Srilanka Trip: Negembo, Colombo and Return

It was an India v/s England encounter in Cricket World Cup 2011. The see-saw battle was in the last over and equations were '11 runs required from 4 balls'. India's Munaf Patel was bowling English tailender A Shahzad. On delivery of a good length ball, the batsman just got his front leg out of the way, got the half-volley he wanted and creamed it straight down the ground, over the bowler's head and into the stands for SIX! 11 players in light blue jersey were shocked, Indian spectators in stands were stunned, English players in dressing room were on their feet and majority people gathered at an open air pub at Lewis Place, Negembo were celebrating. Yes you read it right, I witnessed the decisive moments of the pulsating contest when I was on a weekend trip to Sri Lanka. Personally to me, it was very surprising to note that local people were biased towards their colonial rulers in contrast to a norm in India, where we prefer supporting teams from the sub-continent when they are playing against the teams from English background.

Doosra - A play on Cricket

It was a long weekend on account of Good Friday and many people were outside the city to make the most out of their holidays. For some genuine reasons I had stay back in Bangalore itself and when the weekend was about to end i.e on Sunday evening, to quench my entertainment need I had an option of going to either to the latest flick "Dum Maaro Dum" or to a play on cricket by name "Doosra" at KH Kala Soudha which was just three blocks away from my home. Later, considering many factors I decided to go with an option which was close to my home.