The calendar had already landed me in to the first week of February. Add to it no trips from December 2010 made matters worse. The phone rings and it’s a call from one my friend asking if I was interested in joining in for a trip to Mangalore. I was more than happy to have received this call. My answer was an emphatic “YES”. There we go for a trip to Mangalore.
The group consisted of me, my good friend Sandeep, Mukunda and Srinidhi (The latter two are classmates of Sandeep). Only one grouse that I had was travelling by bus. So I left the burden of booking the tickets to my friend.
Off we started on the Thursday night (3rd Feb 2011) taking the last bus to Mangalore (if my memory serves me right 11:30 pm bus). The bus was a Mark IV Volvo 9400 series. The bus was quite empty with few passengers. We had our seats in the middle. Soon after reaching the new express way on the NH-4, the bus was doing a good speed. In less than 3 hours we were at the new Hassan Bus Stand. All this while, I was struggling to find some sleep. The conductor was friendly and hence I requested the conductor to let me sit in the front (conductor’s seat). He let me sit at the front. I was all smiles. The Shiradi ghats combined with the suspension modes at the disposal of the driver made it very interesting.
Our Airavat Volvo – 9400 Mark IV
We reached Mangalore without much drama at around 7 am. Checked in to the nearest hotel, time to catch a power nap while the others got ready. A good hour’s sleep and my turn to freshen up and we all were ready in the next few mins.
Now though we planned a trip to Mangalore, we had no plans as to what we should be doing in Mangalore (quite exciting you see). We decided we will head to Pilikula a biological park (read as zoo) located approx 18 kms from Mangalore. Travelling by the private bus in Mangalore is quite an experience (read as scary for pedestrians, other road users and the bus travelers as well).
A few pictures from Pilikula.
The King Cobra
The Python
Leopard – seemed to be in its old age.
No idea about the name of this bird
The Bengal Tiger
Mother and Kid
The young Lioness
After the zoo visit we decided to head back to Mangalore. On the way have lunch and head to the hotel for some rest. The heat was already getting on us.
For the evening only me and Srinidhi went ahead with the plan of visiting the Panambur Beach.
View from the Panambur Beach/Port
A few sunset shots
After returning back from the beach. It was time to get some blessings from the Mangala Devi, a good serene temple. Being a Friday there were lot of devotees. After a brief visit and blessing, had some light food for dinner and headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.
5th February 2011
A relaxed morning, ours plans to head to Udupi and visit the temple was finalized. We checked out from the hotel, had breakfast and boarded one of the many private buses to Udupi (the express category).
A pic on the way to Udupi.
Visited the Sri Krishna temple, had lunch at the temple itself and it was time to head to St Mary’s Island.
Little description and more photos this time.
The forgotten scavenger
After the sun set at the Malpe beach, we headed back to the room. I had to take the 9:30 pm bus from Udupi to Bangalore as I had to play a cricket match the next day morning. The group continued towards Murudeshwar the next and returned to Bangalore.
