(This is an unedited, true account of courage exhibited by the staff of Mahindra Holidays at the Zest Big Beach resort, Puducherry which was almost ravaged by Cyclone Thane that hit the shores of Tamil Nadu recently. Written by Mr. Rajesh Shah, a member.)

——

This message is for all the teams of Mahindra Holidays and Zest including to the Chairman – Mr. Anand Mahindra

My family and I were among the few guests who were in Zest Big Beach Puducherry on the night of 29th December, 2011

I would like to thank the EXCELLENT STAFF of ZEST PUDUCHERRY for their excellent beyond Human efforts to all the guests who where in Zest Puducherry on 29th Night, 2011 the night when Cyclone Thane hit Puducherry.

1. The staff was so good that they took effort in the storm to go room to room to check the guests even though it was nearly impossible to walk in that wind force – more importantly the Tin roof sheets were flying around like knives in the air travelling at high speeds.

2. The staff got food to every room in that storm.

3.  They cleared all rooms on the 1st floors and managed to house many guests in ground floor rooms with the help of many guests in ground floor rooms and in the banquet halls which was created into a shelter.

4. The Chefs and catering staff served food and drinks non stop to all the guests in the Banquets which was truly commendable.

5. Even in these hard moments the Magician took all the kids around him and was showing them tricks for them not to fear the cyclone.

6. At 11.00 AM in the morning after the Storm passed but still in difficult conditions more than 25 ~ 30 staff of Big Beach Zest (and i was told even an HR manager was with them doing this) and few guests took to the roads and started clearing the roads with what ever tools were available with them. I think these people were the key to so many guests being able to leave Zest before night fall and these people need special applauds and appreciation.

7. I was one of the guest who was on the road clearing the trees, pulling ropes and taking pictures and the conditions – high wind force and heavy rains were making the conditions very bad to even stand on the road with umbrella’s but the staff were so much focused that they worked in these unbelievable conditions.

We as guests had a motive to work and clear the roads so that we could go home but to see the motivation of the staff of Zest Big Beach to ensure that happened was absolutely fantastic. In heavy rains and winds they cut trees, pulled trees aside, entered pools of water without fear of snakes / inspects, climbed atop transformers, removed electrical wires and transformers in the side to make way for vehicles to pass.

I truly hope that in the wake of this event ALL THE STAFF OF ZEST BIG BEACH Puduchery are truly rewarded for their efforts and none are laid off due to the reconstruction efforts of this resort. These people

Another suggestion would be to replace the TIN ROOF Sheets with Solid Roofs.

Thanks & Regards

Rajesh Shah
Member

My Trip of a Lifetime - the Travelogue Contest

The Results of the “My Trip of a Lifetime” contest are out!

Here are the winners, who win an all expenses paid trip to Mashobra (Shimla)!

1. Kanchuki Sarma

2. Radha Rangarajan

3. Kongkona S.

…and here are the consolation prize winners, who win a handy travel bag/laptop bag + 2 travel books (for e.g. African Diary by Bill Bryson and Teach yourself digital photography by Bargh Peter)

1. Zishaan Hayath

2. Ashish Mantri

3. Charukesi Ramadurai

4. Fabiola Jacob

5. Jyothi Shyamsunder

6. Sanjay Sivadas

7. Vamsee

All the winning posts will be put up on Clay in the weeks to come. Congratulations to the winners once again, and thank you all for the participation.

Courtesy Arun Bhat - paintedstork.com

The Jim Corbett National park is a sanctuary for the critically endangered Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris bengalensis).

Tiger - Corbett. Copyright FlickR Candle Tree

Abundant in flora and fauna, the Corbett National park is ecologically diverse, with around 480 different species of plants.

Rich in Flaura and Fauna - Source FlickR netlancer2006

The Jim Corbett national park is situated in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand, and experiences temperature in the range of 5 degrees to 30 degrees celcius (in summer).

Misty Corbett - Source FlickR - Eileen Delhi

The area also experiences light to heavy rainfall during the monsoons.

Hills of the Kumaon - Corbett. Source: FlickR Rocky aka Rakesh Barua

He then crosses the border and takes a train south through Mexico to Veracruz where he meets a woman looking for a her long-lost lover. He then takes the the train south into Guatemala and then El Salvador where he goes to a soccer match and is amazed by the violence. He then flies to Costa Rica where the takes the train to Limon and Puntarenas. He ended his transit of Central America in Panama where takes the short train ride across the isthmus. He then proceeds to Colombia and then over the Andes and finally reaches the cold, bare heart of Patagonia, the small town of Esquel. He endures harsh climates, including the extreme altitude of Peru and the Bolivian Plateau, meets the famous author Jorge Luis Borges in Buenos Aires and is reunited with long lost family in Ecuador.

The Magnificent Angkor Wat

Source aishifuPix

Angkor is a vernacular form of the Khmer word Nokor which is a corruption of the Sanskrit word Nagara, while wat is the Khmer word for temple. Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok, after the posthumous title of its founder,Suryavarman II.

Source cornstaruk

As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation—first Hindu, dedicated to Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. Today, the Angkor Wat is as much a symbol of Cambodia as the Taj Mahal is to India, and a major source of tourism. Infact, the Angkor Wat is on Cambodia’s national flag.

Source alex.ch

Angkor Wat is surrounded by a 200 m. wide moat, crossed by a bridge on the west. At the end of the bridge is a 200 m. long entrance structure: three central towers flanked on the north and south by a long, pillared corridors that end in entrance gateways opening flat on the ground. An enclosing wall stretches from these gateways around the temple compound.

Source electrostatico

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within the moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next.

source dawvon

Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided some protection from encroachment by the jungle.

The travelers to the Binsar trip included Kiruba Shankar (popular blogger and columnist), Arun Bhat (prolific travel blogger and photographer), Prashanth (another popular travel blogger), Ruchika Vyas (travel writer), Shrinidhi Hande (blogger and travel enthusiast) and yours truly.

After convening to the Delhi airport from Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai we had to rush to the Sarai Rohilla railway station and had an interesting twist (read Kiruba‘s and my account) along the way. We departed at around 10 PM to Kathgodam via the Ranikhet express, and arrived early in the morning at around 5 AM.

From Kathgodam we made a short detour to our newly opened resort in Naukuchiatal (lake of nine corners, is perenially sourced by an underground spring), which is set amidst lush green surroundings, and is tranquil. Unlike Nainital, this place is devoid of too many tourists and makes for an ideal location to vacation.

A view of Naukuchiatal from the resort

Room view of the Club Mahindra “Dancing Waters” resort, Naukuchiatal

After freshening up and breakfast, we continued to Binsar. The scenery along the way was equally breathtaking, and we stopped at a few places just to absorb the sights, sounds and smells of these wonderful locations.

Bloggers taking a break

After a 4 hour drive along the winding roads, we finally arrived at our destination, the beautiful Club Mahindra Valley Resort, Binsar. After soaking in the wonderful reception extended to us by Amarnath Bakshi (resort manager), we were led to our rooms set around a beautifully landscaped garden. The room temperature was just right and it was quite a relief crashing into our beds, that felt like the lap of luxury.

View of the resort and inside our room, the Club Mahindra “Valley” resort, Binsar

The next day, we traveled to the Jageshwar temples, which is around 60 kms from the resort, or about 35 kms from Almora town. The temples are beautiful in their architecture, and the surrounding trees add to the beauty. Sadly, the filth around the place (plastic garbage, wasted food) steals away some of the delight.

Jageshwar is an ancient temple city, and was once the centre of Lakulish Shaivism, located in the Jataganga valley (at an altitude of around 1870 mts) near a Deodar forest.  It is a group of temples with 124 temples, most of which are in ruin.
…There is no definite proof about the construction of Jageshwar group of temples, but these are stated to belong to the post-Gupta and pre-medieval era and are estimated to be over 2000 yrs old. (source Wikipedia )

Jageshwar Temples

On the way back, about 10 minutes from Jageshwar, we stopped by the Dandeshwar temples, which unlike Jageshwar isn’t a pilgrim center and is sparsely populated with tourists (which is one of the reasons we found it more appealing). According to a stone tablet outside by the ASI, the Dandeshwar temple is one of the biggest and tallest of the Kumaon region built around the 8th Century by the Katyuri rules.

On Day 3, we left early in the morning for the Binsar wildlife sanctuary, and after trekking for nearly an hour uphill, we reached the famous zero point. Now what’s so great about this place? Well, picture this, you see a magnificent, panoramic view of the Himalayan peaks like Trishul, Nandadevi, Kedarnath etc stretching 300 km – a sight so breathtaking that you will be spellbound, even more if you haven’t seen the mountains.

For us trigger happy folks, this was the perfect opportunity and we were shooting photos all the while. However, you need to reach the spot early in the morning to get a good, clear glimpse of the mountains before the clouds cast a curtain over those peaks. We were also warned about Leopards in the region (though the place is frequently visited by trekkers), so its always good to go out in groups and exercise some discretion.

View of the Himalayan Peaks from the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary

View of the Himalayan Peak “Nanda devi” from the “Zero Point”, the apex point of the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary

After a day of hectic traveling, and outdoor activities, we camped overnight at a breathtaking spot in the hill near the resort. Gopal and Panth, the Club Mahindra holiday activity guys arranged for our camping, instructed by the resourceful Kundan, the Holiday activity executive and Amarnath. It was a different experience camping, warming ourselves by the bonfire and sharing stories and travel experiences with my co-travelers. Gopal and Panth, joined in and shared with us folklore from the Kumaon region, including tales from the Corbett and the mountains.

Early Morning after the overnight camping

On the day of the departure, we made a detour to Nainital to get a glimpse of the Naini lake, where the weather was close to 15 degree celcius, and gave us enough time to capture some captivating photos of the lake. Though Nainital is crowded and filthy, the drive up to the place is a sight for sore eyes!

Nainital

We wound up our trip by stopping for dinner at an Udipi restaurant close to the Kathgodam station, and an unlikely place to gorge on tasty upma!

Just a few minutes to spare, we arrived at the Kathgodam station, with a tinge of sadness having to leave this beautiful place and with memories that would linger.

The Bloggers – (L-R) – Prashant, Ruchika, Kiruba, Shrinidhi, Arun Bhat, Arun Nair