The Green Paradise, Yet Again

A trip to end 2009, to the Green Paradise yet again. Yes, it was Wayanad again(for the second time) but with friends this time and through Exotic Expeditions.

It was a different experience given that friends accompanied me and we met new people since it was an organized trip. Our stay at the Yellow Bells home stay, Kalpetta, was yet again just about satisfactory(I preferred the view from the Bamboo Hut at Ente Veedu amidst a plantation). I fail to understand how the authorities/committee for home stays approve places when all is not provided(no towels, soap, or even a bucket until asked for. They apparently forgot). However, given that it was God’s Own Country and since the people are known to be hygiene conscious, the stay was clean(give it to them for that) and yes there were no mosquitoes, thankfully.

Exotic Expeditions - will I go with them again? Definitely not! The organizer Santhosh did not stick to the agenda and his time management was rather sad. Too many stops en route Bangalore to Waynad and we were not intimated at any point as and when there was a change in plan with regard to time and place of Dinner, Visits, etc. On asking why this was the case, Santhosh was rather arrogant, like it was a free trip he was providing us. Right from the start we all seemed to be jinxed, nothing went as per plan(the long wait at the RTO and a bribe for the yellow board vehicle, one of the other SUV’s axle gave way, etc), despite that the drive through Bandipur was totally worth it. I can do it time and again, the drive back was faster and more fun but for the traffic jam given that everyone was returning to Bangalore after the Christmas weekend.

We did the Soochipara waterfalls(my second visit and hence I decided not to walk down. Was a tiring road trip), Sunrise Valley(a panoramic view of the valley beneath with the river Chaliyar meandering gracefully), Meenmutty waterfalls (a trek through some inhospitable terrain, but the end result was worth it. One has to trek inside the jungle for approx 4kms to get a view of the waterfall. It passes through coffee and tea plantations. Did I just manage to survive the trek, given that I am so not made for trekking?!) and the Kuruva Islands(950 acres of ever green forest on the tributaries of the east flowing river Kabini, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Felt so different from the other islands I had visited in the recent past – Thimble Islands in the United States). That was it, we did not manage to make it on time to the Eddakal Caves.

The drive back was fun, playing cards, munching knick knacks, and the greenery all through, especially the breath taking view of the Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary.

 

GoIndigo: A Harrowing Experience

Is it about Customer Service, attitude or what in India?

I booked a ticket on the Goindigo website from Bangalore to Hyderabad and back. I was unable to travel as I fell sick and hence called the GoIndigo Contact Center on the morning of my travel to check with them on their terms and conditions and refund policy if any, despite having glanced through the same on their official website while booking my tickets.

I accepted and understood that I obviosuly would not receive a pie for the flight that was scheduled to depart Bangalore for Hyderbad in an hour’s time from the time I had called the contact center(fair enough). Then started the trauma. What was in store – hidden conditions and policies. I called the customer care not once but four times and learnt of a new condition each time from four different customer care executives(CCE) as mentioned below:

- I was told by one CCE that the return ticket from Hyderbad to Bangalore the same evening can be cancelled two hours prior to departure and then followed the hidden policy called: “CREDIT SHELL”(which I found no where on the website. Did I miss it?). As per the policy Rs.750/- is taken towards cancellation charges and the remaining amount is not refunded but goes in to the CREDIT SHELL against the specific Reference/PNR number which can be used at a later date.

- The second time I called to ask “if the passenger name and credit card used to book the ticket in the future has to be the same and how long this CREDIT SHELL will be valid for?’ I was told that either the same passenger or someone else can travel and the booking can be made with a different credit card. If a fresh booking is made with a different credit card, both the credit cards or photocopies used for the two transactions must be produced at the time of travel. None of these terms were spelt out until I kept asking.

- The third customer executive says: it is not possible to make use of the CREDIT SHELL while making a purchase online and the same has to be done only by calling the Contact Center or at the GoIndigo counter at the airport. I then request for my return ticket from Hyderabad to Bangalore to be cancelled and am told that I will receive an acknowledgement via email. I request the customer care executive to hold the call until I receive the cancellation confirmation in my inbox and he threatens to wait only two minutes. I explain that I cannot call again and repeat the same story to another of his colleague. He then asks: “Don’t you trust me?” I said: “It is not about trust, it’s about a system and professionalism.” He probably will leave the organization tomorrow and I need WRITTEN PROOF AT ANY COST(Btw does email serve as WRITTEN PROOF?). What if the cancellation does not take effect thanks to a technical snag and there goes my money – boom!

I also asked as to why I don’t see any of this on the ticket or website and I am told that it is very much mentioned. I read out the terms and conditions listed on the ticket(that does not state the cancellation amount) and that neither does the ‘FAQ’ section nor the ‘Terms & Conditions’ section have any such information about cancellation policies. The CCE then says everything can’t be listed on the website.

Convincing arguement, ain’t it?

- Phew, I wait for the acknowledgement and what do I recieve in place of a cancellation confirmation along with my credit shell details – only my onward itenarary of my ticket from Bangalore to Hyderabad that I did not board. Not a word about my return ticket(Hyderabad to Bangalore), credit shell, cancellation charges, etc. I call again and this time, the 4th CCE says: “Don’t you understand Indigo is a non-refundable airline?”. I then told him that it is he and Indigo who needs to learn English and understand the meaning of the word “non-refundable”. How does the CREDIT SHELL make sense if they are a non-refundable airline? It obvisouly is a refund in KIND and NOT in CASH.

The executive then says he will put me on to his supervisor, puts me on hold for ever and then comes back after a good ten minutes saying his supervisor is not available and that I will receive a cancellation confirmation along with credit shell and other details in 24hours. Back to square one, aren’t we? What is the point of receiving a cancelation reciept after the flight has departed and reached it’s destination? What if I don’t recieve the said email? What proof do I have and why on earth do I have tp put up with all of this? After all I am a customer and I deserve better treatment, I paid for the ticket and did not ask for it for free!

Systematic that I am for whatever it is worth I drafted a detailed email(I am known as the email queen amongst my ex-collegues. Finally came of some use) and sent it to the Indigo Customer Care. Not to forget these executives are rather impolite making statements like: “I don’t care a damn if you have to complain”. When I say “YOU” why don’t they(CCEs) understand that it is the organisation that I am refering to and NOT A PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL and unfortunately they are a part of that entity. I don’t know you after all and what personal enimity would I have with you? As a customer I will demand and fight for my rights. I understand that these executives have limited power, have to deal with umpteen customers a day and repeat the same point like a parrot but sadly that is their job(I respect that) and there is little I can do about it.

I remember reading a similar incident that Kiruba faced: The Clear Trip Episode: My Experience

Am I hassled or is that an understatement? ‘A Harrowing Experience’ is probably an apt phrase. For the life of me neither can I understand the HR world nor the way Customer Service functions in my part of the universe.

 

Wayanad – Green Paradise

It had been a while since the family had set out on a holiday. We wondered which would be an ideal place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, yet accessible and within comfortable driving limits. Yes we decided on God’s Own Country. Where in Kerala, was the next question. Wayanad – The Land of Paddy fields and Spices, located in the North East of Kerala(700-1200m above sea level) was the closest to Bangalore(280Kms). Thus we set out early on a Friday morning, just as monsoon was to set in(End of May – Early June, 2008). The lush green scenic drive through the Bandipur forest was beautiful and breathtaking.

After researching the internet, enquiring with friends, colleagues and peers we zeroed in on a home stay: Ente Veedu. The homestay was just about decent unlike the presentation on their website. For more information on this particular home stay, read my review: Experience at Ente Veedu

The pepper and rubber plantations across the home stay were a sight to view and visit. We picked up a few spices like Pepper and herbs that turn water Pink. We did not do much of the siteseeing tour except a waterfall or so. It was a realxed long weekend in the green paradise, that helped ease out the stress built due to long work hours.

Suggested route:
Bangalore -> Bidadi -> Ramanagaram -> Channapatna -> Maddur -> Mandya -> Srirangapatna -> Mysore -> Nanjangud -> Gundlupet -> Sultan Battery -> Kalpetta

Hope to go back to Wayanad, someday!

 

Ooty – The Queen of Hill Stations

Ooty derived from Ootacamund alias Udhagamandalam, the queen of hill stations is located in the Nilgiris(Blue Mountains mountain range) in the state of Tamil Nadu, South India.

Ooty stands at an altitude of 2,286mtrs i.e 7,500ft and Dodabetta(2,623mtrs) the highest peak in South India is located here. The view from Dodabetta is spellbinding.

Places to see in Ooty:

• Botanical Gardens
• Dodabetta Peak
• Rose gardens
• Wax World
• Sims Park (Coonoor)
• The Tea Factory
• Boating at Pykara
• Falls at Pykara
• Historical Dam with Power station at Pykara
• Hidden Valley
• Echo Rock

A few pictures from our trip to Ooty and stay at the Ratan TaTa Guest House(BritishRaj Style) in December 2006.

 

New York

Rare sights and touristy spots that I witnessed while in the world’s greatest metropolis – New York!

- Enjoyed the Manhattan skyline and downtown
- The spectacular view from the top of Empire State Building
- Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island
- Staten Island(on the Staten Island Ferry)
- Madame Tussaud’s
- Broadway
- Times Square
- Walk across Central Park
- World’s largest store: Macys
- Observed the different kinds of people and languages spoken in NYC and at Grand Central Terminal
- Window shopped on fifth avenue
- Shopped for paintings on the roadside outside Empire State
- Shopped for fresh spices at Kalustyan’s
- SOHO
- NYSE, Wall Street
- Ground Zero: Where the twin towers once stood, this place in the future will hold the memorial and museum
- Dined at Tangra Masala(Indian Chinese) Queens, NYC
- Saw a newly wed couple with their bridesmaids and bestmen doing the rounds of NYC on a touristy bus!
- Watched, rejoiced and shot a video of people performing on the roads like Michael Jackson on the occassion of his birthday(a tribute of sorts)
- Last but not the least visited Flushing Meadows and watched the US Open live(finally)!

Note: Too many good pictures of NYC. Confused which to post and which not to. Will do without em for now!

 

Hills, Islands and a County Fair

A calm, peaceful and not so hectic weekend it was at the Litchfield Hills, Thimble Islands and the Guilford Fair.

The Litchfield Hills is located in the NorthWestern part of the state of Connecticut and is the perfect spot for a lazy day. Even better, is to relax at a Vineyard amidst the hills, like we did. The Thimble Islands Cruise that followed was worth every minute. The Thimble Islands is a cluster of islands in Long Island Sound, in and around the harbor of Stony Creek in the southeast corner of Branford, Connecticut . The weekend did not end at the Thimble Islands. Next on the agenda was the Guilford Fair – 150th Anniversary! We witnessed the The Flying Wallendas circus. It sure was a sight to watch. I thouroughly enjoyed the circus act(was watching a circus after years). The High Wire Sky Walk performed by Tino Wallenda was nothing less than spectacular.

And alas, the weekend came to a close!

 

Lake George

Bolton Landing is a quaint, quiet and sleepy little town on Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. My weekend there was altogether brief but fun filled and certainly one of the highlights of my recent travels. We arrived late on Fri day evening amidst wintery weather and went to dinner in a restaurant filled with locals. It was all rather restful and we were glad to have missed the summer crowds. Our cottage was set on the shares of the lake and made for spectacular views in the morning. With the first blush of dawn we were out to see the sparkling waters and the beautiful vistas. This lake was larger than any I had ever seen and surrounded by mountains and blue skies. After fortifying ourselves with a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes we set out to explore the lake.

Rowing was a new experience and one that I rather enjoyed. It was good to be out there on those placid waters. Good to be the only row boat amongst all that motor and sail boat traffic. Rowing was fun but hard work! And made one rather hungry. So we picnicked on the lake shores after two hours in the boat and was that bread and cheese some of the tastiest food I had eaten not to forget the barbeque that followed, the same evening. Those moments will stay with me for a long time.

 

Under the Sea

Now for my tryst with the waters. I went Whale Watching in the Atlantic Ocean on Voyager III from the Boston coastline and spotted a few humpback, minke and finback whales.  It was an experience to cherish for a lifetime despite the fact that I fell sea sick. To have travelled 30miles in to the ocean for the first time and then to spot whales was exhilirating(would have been better had I not gotten sea sick).

I also decided to visit the New England Aquarium and watch the 3D show at the IMAX  theatre bymyself.  For someone like me who has rarely done things or set out bymyself except for places where I am left with no choice, it gave me this sense of achievement, excitement, confidence and thrill to spend the day at Boston all bymyself. In addition to a variety of colourful fish, plants, Corals, I got to see the Green Anaconda, Giant Pacific Octopus, Penguins(African, North and South Rockhopper, Little Blue), Seals(Northern Fur, Atlantic Harbor), Star Fish, Dragon Head(Sea horse), Sand Tiger Shark, etc.

The 3d show was brilliant. Felt like I was under the ocean myself, diving! The show covered undersea locations like: Southern Australia, New Guinea and others in the Indo-Pacific region. Was an experience, totally worth the time and  effort!

Once the show was done, the weather was perfect for a stroll around the Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston.

A visit to Thimble Islands (Branford, CT) and rowing(myself) on Lake Geore, Upstate New York were my other encounters with the waters during this US vacation(Posts will follow).

 

US Open 2009

I have always been a fan of the game and remember playing badminton instead of tennis as a child with my neighbour, using the compound gate as the net. We had only a single(Small) chair and hence used to share it taking turns, for our break, drinking water/juice and wiping away sweat with towels(we did’nt have to share em, thankfully).  Somehow never ended up actually learning to play tennis, but I was rather good at Air Tennis like playing the Air Guitar.

Finally my dream to witness a Grand Slam live, came true(thanks to Jeej)!

Packed Armstrong

Yes, I was there at the US Open 2009.  The weekend of the 5th and 6th of September, 2009 at Flushing Meadows was an experience by itself, for life.  I stopped following the game years ago, when favorites like John Mcenroe, Chris Evert, Martina Navrotilova, Boris Becker, Steffi Graf, Pete Sampras, etc retired neverthless the game enthralls me and so did the expereince of watching the likes of Juan Martin Del Potro(winner this year as predicted by Jeej), Williams sisters, Novak Djokovic, Fernando Verdasco, Nadia Petrova, etc live in action at the Grandstand and Louis Armstrong Stadiums.

Juan Martin Del Potro

The third and biggest stadium being: Arthur Ashe. This is where the top seeds(1,2) play as the stadium is huge and can accomodate 22,547 individuals, 90 luxury suites, 5 restaurants and a 2 level players’ lounge, by far the largest outdoor tennis-only venue in the world.  Apparently crowd pullers, like final matches happen in this stadium, given the size and thus enable huge income to the Open.  Seated very high(tickets at lower levels are very expensive($10,000) and there are no seats very close to the court for general public. The seats are reserved for the players friends, family, coach, sponsors, USTA, etc) the players look like matchsticks and the ball is almost invisible, so if it is quality tennis and watchability that you are interested in rather than big names, the other two stadiums namely Grandstand and Armstrong are where you ought to be.

I got to see Nick Bollettieri and his show, the coach of very many great world class players like: Agassi, Becker, Courier, Hingis, Jankovic, Rios, Seles, Sharapova, Venus and Serena Williams to name a few.

Nick Bollettieri on the right

I also visited ‘The Grand Slam: Tennis Ultimate Achievement’ exhibit by the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum at the US Open Gallery in the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Rod Laver's Shoes and Raquet

There was a mela of sorts in Flushing Meadow, which included a Violin performance by an American troop and a
Sitar recital by Indians, amongst various other such performances, food stalls and stalls that sold memorabilia.

Food Court at the Mela

Sitar Recital

Undoubtedly an unforgettable experience! Don’t you think so?

 

The Bishop Farm

What do you think was next on the agenda?

Ah well, a visit to the farm to pick apples and blueberries it was.  Berry picking was one of the very many on my To Do list.  On a nice bright sunny and pleasant morning, we(my sister and I) set out on a 2mile walk to the Bishop Farm in Cheshire, CT.

We walked, walked and walked, until we reached a brook where we stopped to put the camera at work. The next stop was for pictures of Greenhouses and finally when we felt we never were going to reach the farm, thank heaven in the far end of the road did we manage to spot a board that read “Bishop Farm”.

A peek into the farm store was followed by Apple picking and then home made ice cream(Black Raspberry and Black Cherry). I knew that ‘America’ is and was synonymous to the word ‘huge’ but was taken by surprise when I looked at the quantity given to me for tasting, before I zeroed in on an ice cream flavor. Boy! The word ’small’ seems not to exist in the dictionary of Americans. I was sort of forced to choose the very first flavor given the quantity that went into mere tasting(guilt trip..) and the lady at the counter, supposedly joked that after all that I better give it a shot.

Time for Blueberry picking was here. Walked around the farm, clicked a galore pictures,  checked out the size of the trees and then visited the Petting Zoo in the farm. Posed around with the pony, the geese, and hens to capture more memories. Nestea and Apricots kept us going through the 2mile walk, back home!