Walk the Earth - Aravind Samala's Blog: travelogue

First ever Solo trip to–Kerala, India

By Aravind Samala - July 09, 2018

There are two phases in my life. My life prior to my first solo trip and the life after that.
I am a Hyderabadi and one & 1/2 years ago, in March 2017 I went on a solo trip to Kerala (also, Tamil Nadu).

I have planned this trip to give a try how far I can go out of my comfort zone. I went to Chennai by train and on day one, I got 3 friends who are from Kurnool on their trip to IIT Madras. We spent our time in Marina beach tasting all the varieties of fish that we can able to (spent on). I used City buses and Ola cabs(I got many phone numbers and Ola has got free rides) to travel from place to place.

3 friends Harsha, Vinay and Puneeth at Marina Beach

Dakshin Chitra museum's collection

Dakshin Chitra

The next day, I set out my journey to Ernakulam and reached Kochi by Share auto. While walking in the streets of Kochi, I came across Green bikes (Cycles on Rent). Delighted with excitement, I pedaled along all the streets of Kochi. The next day, I rented a motorbike and roamed all places nearby Kochi like Alleppey, Changanacherry, Kottayam, Marari, Kumarokam. While I am busy taking photos at Alleppey beach, a drunken soul interrupted me and only later I came to know that he is an ex-navy officer who lost his love somewhere around that waves. I went to Cherai beach the next day by traveling on a ferry, local bus and hitchhiking. There I got a friend by name Kuzhimon from whom I learned many things about Kerala and kariman fish. I concluded my Kochi trip with a nicely cooked Kariman fish with Kerala rice at Azhardullah restaurant (it is not a restaurant), Fort Kochi.

On my way to Ernakulam - Aluva, Kerala

With Prasad (next to me) and his friend (The drunken soul)

Alleppey houseboat

Green Bykes (Cycles on rent in Kochi)

Next morning I took a bus to reach Munnar. On the bus, I would have died out of boredom if I haven’t happened to meet Free soul (the name I have given to Cristiana). She is a traveler from California. She gave a good company in the bus and we had lunch together once we reached Munnar. I departed for my stay at Devikulam by renting a bike from Pruthvi. That ride is the most amazing one I ever had in my life. At 1500 m elevation where clouds compete with you side by side, Lockhart tea gardens giving you spectacular views, short span drizzles and cool breezes chilling your body, I felt the real meaning of heaven.

With Cristiana from California

At Munnar Rosegarden

After covering all the major (places to visit in Munnar) on the same bike, I headed towards Madurai on a bus the next day. This time on the bus, I met Sathish who is also a Civil Engineer from Madurai. He showed me all the places in Madurai(only temple) and explained the great history of Meenakshamma Temple. I tasted the Madurai's special JIL JIL Jigardanda and left for Mahabalipuram. Exploring Mahabalipuram would have been easier if I got green bikes here too. So, I assigned a lot of work to my legs and finally concluded my trip by visiting the Shore temple. Next day I took Parveen travels to reach Hyderabad from Chennai after doing a quick shopping at T-Nagar.

The awesome bike ride of my life

Italic: Unknowingly I used every single means of transport on my trip.
Bold: These are all the people who made my solo trip non-solo.

Go out on your solo trip. Leave baggage, chatter, comfortable hotel rooms, Air-conditioned cars, 5-star restaurants and walk the place meeting people, eating local foods, and sleeping on platforms. I bet you will meet a new person in yourself after returning.

View all photos here

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Hampi

Unplanned trip on Unpaved roads–The Hampi Ride

By Aravind Samala - April 20, 2018

Journal Entry: February 19 - 2018

Yeah, we passed the test with distinction. The test of reaching our destination which is 390 km away from us without seeking any help from Google. Initially troubled, this small adventure made us to take a ride on highways through unpaved roads, covering cities through villages. Kannada did not pose any problem overriding our anticipation. Surprisingly, we even deciphered all the words which we come across because of its resemblance with Telugu. The road from Sindhanur to Gangawati (nearby town of Hampi) seemed like a black line drawn on a green paper. It is completely surrounded by paddy fields which offered us spectacular sunset view relieving us from exhaustive day-long ride on dust filled roads. "Machar zyada hai" is the only piece of advise we got from strangers whom we asked help and they weren't any wrong.

The Night and the Sunrise

Virupaksha Temple provided us good night stay despite mosquitoes interrupted our sleep without any snooze option. Following day started with chases for charging our phones. Finally after refilling
sufficient battery to capture the most awaited moment of our trip i.e sunrise we started our small trek.

Virupaksha Temple - Where we spent the night

We followed fellow travellers from neighbouring states of a country and neighbouring countries of a planet to witness the arrival of their Star. Two strangers from Moscow and three other strangers from China whose email address we lost, gave us a good company on the Hill top popularly known as sunrise point (Mathanga Hill).

The Day

Hampi, once Vijayanagara kingdom's capital built across Tungabhadra still stand still. The temple structures are magnificently built to sustain anthropogenic activities over all these years. And the elephants across the shore of Tungabhadra, Banana plantations around the temples, Queens bath, royal enclosure and the stepped tank (The symmetry of this tank is a perfect example of Symmetry) are some things which captured the concentration of my camera lens.

The stepped tank

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travelogue

smiling strangers and shining shells - Vizag

By Aravind Samala - April 17, 2018

Part 1: Smiling Strangers

Journal Entry: 04 Jan 2018

"Four people till now including an old man on the platform, a school kid with a cycle, three adults in the farm and a little lad in my side compartment smiled so gracefully. They are all strangers to me. They just reciprocated my smile."

On Train

PART 2: Shining Shells

January 06' 2018

After returning from Araku, I decided to run the next day. With google maps as my running partner, I ran from RK beach to Rushikonda beach- a 12km run. The roads are so clean and there are dustbins for every 50 to 100 meters which left me awestruck. I joined the early morning joggers on beach road and continued on the beach road till GITAM college chasing the sun. Finally, after reaching rushikonda beach took a time lapse of mesmerizing sunrise over the waves of the ocean.

After some time, as a part of the hobby to collect some physical articles from the place I visit, I started collecting shells which looked different. Initially, I collected a few of them. But, as I proceeded, I came to a realization that every shell is some or the other way different and every shell has its own beauty. These non-living shells made me realize that even every human being has his/her own self-beauty. But, they are chasing or imitating or trying to please (collecting) other people(shells) without realizing their own beauty. JUST BE YOU!!!!!!!

On the Go - Rajamundry

The part between 1 and 2

After taking a solo trip to South India last year, I decided to kick start this year with a solo trip to Araku. I stayed the night of my first day in the Railway station as per my minimum budget plan. Even though I did not sleep well because of cold, I felt rejuvenated by the breathtaking views of the morning. This picture is one of those spectacular shots. Solo trips always posed me with questions and seeking answers to those made me carry something back to my personal wardrobe.