tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20470063448151670032024-03-05T19:27:17.764+08:00Nyaana PazhamInraya thathuvam : Love is overrated. Lust is underratedsivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-73121552794323434362010-04-21T14:10:00.003+08:002011-03-22T14:23:07.489+08:00Kodai Vidumurai - IThe India trip started on a rather eventful note on the tiger airways flight itself. The guy sitting next to me was a foodcourt stall owner in geylang and we hit it off immediately. The guy was waiting eagerly for drinks to arrive and when it did arrive, ordered a vodka. It was a smirnoff 50 ml small bottle. I had juice as i was already hungry and didn't want to aggravate it by consuming alcohol. He had 2 more vodkas and he kept asking me so i decided to have a can of tiger beer (Tiger airways don't keep real beer, they only have tiger beer). By the time i finished my can, his vodka count was 4. He then ordered another one and got me another can and won't even allow me to pay for it. Lucky day, i thought to myself. It wasn't finished yet. In all he had 8 vodkas, all on the rocks and i had 3 cans of beer (all OC). He desperately wanted a smoke and somehow managed 2 drags in the toilet. I went in after him in to the toilet. The air hostess banged the door and asked me whether i was smoking. I politely asked her to wait till i was done with what i was doing before she started banging. Once i came out, i told her i didn't smoke and when she asked who was before me, i said i don't know. You don't betray guys who buy you beer, even if it is only tiger. We exchanged numbers and he reminded me atleast 10 times to call him while in singapore. I did tell him that i don't forget people who buy me alcohol.<br /><br />The very next day, i went to the airtel super singer junior show shoot at AVM studios in vadapalani. Of course i wasn't performing. Just went along to cheer one of the contestants. All right, i went to check out Diyva. The sets are quite cramped though they look quite wide on TV. They were shooting the unplugged round with a young guy as the pianist. He looked marginally older than the kids and was quite brilliant. There were other senior musicians on the cello and drums. Divya however was nowhere to be seen. Just when i thought my luck had ran out, she appeared. She looks chunkier in person than on screen and when she walks, the stage creaks . But she has a charming demeanour and is quite pretty. The lunch at the studios was awesome. Met some of the kids. As we were finally leaving, got a chance to meet up and get a snap with divya. (Yes Ganesh, i can see you beaming with pride for your bro!) Mission accomplished. Unfortunately no time for any chatting. That has to wait. And by the way raagini sri of SS senior fame was also there. People who are following all this will understand. For the others, it wasn't meant for you guys anyway.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JAzv254fFjWJNbVMY7j-hfiCWJ-tUITr-y0TDo9_khz7C1NSHUbAM9b5ikFwy5lCfZlLt9CT0TXRnhTYD1wO3PFCqsuBIFYY3fTW9lEzb9LSzAgun38jIiuYerkexYPCnC86E3p3SXc/s1600/Picture+015_r.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JAzv254fFjWJNbVMY7j-hfiCWJ-tUITr-y0TDo9_khz7C1NSHUbAM9b5ikFwy5lCfZlLt9CT0TXRnhTYD1wO3PFCqsuBIFYY3fTW9lEzb9LSzAgun38jIiuYerkexYPCnC86E3p3SXc/s400/Picture+015_r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462470194766509586" border="0" /> </a><br /><br />Tamil new year was celebrated with vada payasam and arundhati (the anushka movie) on TV. As with most of my chennai trips, went for a temple tour the next day. After a quick darshan of Kanchi kamakshi, travelled to the hottest place in all of TN - Vellore. The golden temple in vellore is housed in the centre of a sprawling complex. The entire temple is gold plated and is quite a stunning sight. It was so bloody hot that when we had to walk barefoot for a few steps from the car to the covered walkway, it felt like walking on hot coals. On the way back to chennai, stopped at the dhanvanthri arogya peedam in walajapet. Dhanvanthri is the celestial doctor. The place is essentially a temple but not like a normal temple. They do all sorts of yagnas to supposedly cure ailments. There was a big circular mound with 27 different shrubs each corresponding to one of the 27 nakshatrams. Mine was sengkarungali (long pepper). The temple had the coolest diety. The dhanvanthri statue sported a trendy watch and a stethoscope. Got a sacred thread alongwith a herb tied to my wrist for 200 bucks. Unfortunately it didn't prevent a sore throat and blocked nose while on the way back. Some one quipped that just tying the thread without any faith in the process doesn't help. I had to concur. Along the way learned that 'kondai oosi valaivu' is the tamil equivalent of hairpin curves.<br /><br />The chennai trip ended with the worst ever sandwich i have ever tasted at the chennai airport. And it cost 50 bucks. There were a couple of nice gujju chicks as the flight was enroute to ahmedabad via mumbai. It made up for the sandwich aftertase even though none of them sat next to me. That's all for now. Will return later. Here's hoping for a Chennai-Mumbai IPL final. Will be happy whoever wins even though my ten bucks are on Mumbai.sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-84048080286768053012010-04-04T00:26:00.004+08:002010-04-04T01:37:34.346+08:00Vijayam!In an earlier post i had said that vijay looked out of his depth in the T20 format. I don't know what he has been having lately but he has been absolutely scintillating. He always looked a gorgeous strokemaker but struggled in the earlier matches. The revival happened in the first match against the Rajasthan royals. He would have won CSK the match had he not been run out. In the next two matches however he has been amazing. I have a sneaking feeling he surprised himself. In his last two innings what has stood out is the clean hitting without compromising on the eye candy nature of his batting. He almost seems incapable of playing a shot in anger. Two shots stood out today. One was the lofted drive against warney, reminiscent of sachin in his prime. The second shot was the one that got him to his century. It was a kind of wristy flicked straight drive, reminding VVS. That is too much class on display in a single innings. But it would have all been in vain had it not been for the best display of fast bowling in the IPL. Bollinger was immense. An economy rate of 3.75 in a T20 game is outstanding. In a game which saw more than 460 runs that is just unbelievable. He hit the deck hard and more often than not it was ball hitting bat. The chants of "bollinger" ringing across the Chidambaram stadium was an amazing albeit strange experience. I bet Bollinger doesn't hear it even at his state matches.<br /><br />Mumbai have got most things right this season. They have a varied bowling attack, some good hitters, Sach and arguably the best fielder in all of India in R.Satish. He is electric anywhere in the park and hits the stumps regularly. In the match against deccan, he dived full length to stop a ball travelling rather fast (struck by Symmo, so understandable), picked up the ball and fired a rocket throw straight into the keeper's gloves. I got the two results I wanted for today which increases the chances of CSK making the semis. If only Punjab had not messed up yesterday, it would have been even better. Hope Haydos gets going and CSK storms into the semis.<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-87027711411655793902010-03-25T00:43:00.003+08:002010-03-25T00:52:07.912+08:00Today's quiz questionConnect these cricketers :<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvhiijlZgN6N2GCBNmjfnYCTFKN1BQIDCkJX5CciJvr66y0wgvSIQrB-iobjSvw7c4N6idKP_FW-Qc508_KIYJZLEioN03gJyuGQ_Y0KEawJCEwI-JubG4AJb18cJa7bkqWX3I8uBvG5w/s1600/CQQ3.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvhiijlZgN6N2GCBNmjfnYCTFKN1BQIDCkJX5CciJvr66y0wgvSIQrB-iobjSvw7c4N6idKP_FW-Qc508_KIYJZLEioN03gJyuGQ_Y0KEawJCEwI-JubG4AJb18cJa7bkqWX3I8uBvG5w/s400/CQQ3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452243208996613730" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Answer to last week's question:<br /><br />Both those teams were called "The Invincibles". The top photo is that of the 1948 Australian cricket team led by Don Bradman. The bottom photo is that of the 2003-04 Arsenal team.sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-10558125245591891752010-03-22T10:19:00.006+08:002010-03-22T12:46:02.692+08:00Super Over FarceWhy on earth can't a cricket match end in a tie? When you can play 5 days of test match cricket and still end up with no result, why can't a few hours of T20 cricket end in a tie. Mind you, a tie is a result. It just means that both teams didn't deserve to lose or win. In this case, they didn't deserve to win. KXIP were just a touch more desperate than CSK since they were zilch before this. Hence they ended up getting the points. But they are not definitely the winners of this game.<br /><br />The Super over is grossly unfair to the team batting first in the super over. It is so much more easier to "chase" a target in one over. The team batting first invariably tries to just blindly smash everything out of sight and you end up getting out more often than not. It would be interesting to know the results of the matches decided by the super over till now. I bet most of them would have the chasing team winning. I don't think Hayden watched the ball from Theron's hand (who had bowled superbly earlier). It was a beautifully bowled slower delivery but had Hayden watched the ball he would have dispatched it duly. The super over nerves got to him. Mahela was just plain daft. After smashing Murali over long on for six the very first ball, he tries the same shot again when only 4 runs were required of 5 deliveries. It just goes to show that experience doesn't always translate to smart cricket.<br /><br />The match was entertaining to say the obvious. Murali was outstanding. Powar used his lack of pace and short stature well. Chawla mixed his googlies well. Theron was awesome. His brilliant penultimate over set up the final over. And not to forget nerveless Kaify taking the finalcatch. CSK should have won the match in a canter. Twice in two matches they have stuttered after Hayden departed, losing the match this time. Vijay looks clearly out of his depth in this version even though he got a poor decision in this match. He is a fine young player but not in the T20 version. CSK is missing Hussey. Take Hayden out and with Dhoni injured, CSK looks marginally better than KKR. The IPL just got a touch more interesting. Vetti boys of CSK!sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-24947715187634696592010-03-19T12:53:00.011+08:002010-03-19T13:06:57.617+08:00Today's cricket quiz questionNot completely cricket related. Easy one though. What words connects these two snaps?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiph_YmLcKtFius9VD-C59kA9VJ0gcwo0J4JqxWUEt_uZEM5ZUg1L3_-C6uBkvX353IgIGoEcigsNoHvSj6z8xqHxSeLgqYpVT9Y15TOtMoSGoFkSLLAmdZjo9j0tF2f6XwGPALVnbIe_g/s1600-h/cricinvinciblesr.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 161px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiph_YmLcKtFius9VD-C59kA9VJ0gcwo0J4JqxWUEt_uZEM5ZUg1L3_-C6uBkvX353IgIGoEcigsNoHvSj6z8xqHxSeLgqYpVT9Y15TOtMoSGoFkSLLAmdZjo9j0tF2f6XwGPALVnbIe_g/s400/cricinvinciblesr.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450204679096506514" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAk8hpwakLWc5qP3AWqwyAiNFK9gXIEfilASt7k8GF2JpYLPuQ_msXkkuUZ7Nn_rmyycgkgd_6UZC6yEypjFjzBsjEI3zaiswNz0tsCRBNDBquLxAz68XWT3DnMDQJnZnXd6PF0leJQs/s1600-h/champions-2004_ah_r.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAk8hpwakLWc5qP3AWqwyAiNFK9gXIEfilASt7k8GF2JpYLPuQ_msXkkuUZ7Nn_rmyycgkgd_6UZC6yEypjFjzBsjEI3zaiswNz0tsCRBNDBquLxAz68XWT3DnMDQJnZnXd6PF0leJQs/s400/champions-2004_ah_r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450205288142646722" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><br />Answer to yesterday's question:<br /><br />They were the people involved in the last dismissal in the two tied tests. Joe Solomon ran out Ian Meckiff in the first tied test at the Gabba in 1961. Greg Mathews got Maninder Singh lbw in the second tied test at Chennai in 1986.<br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-66704915377318013992010-03-18T16:14:00.005+08:002010-03-18T16:46:11.878+08:00Cricket quiz seriesStarting a cricket quiz series from today. This ensures a regular series of posts. Smart eh?<br /><br />Who are these cricketers and what is the connection between them?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUVVeIp-dv0nFzAPd40DCBcgLzPrdNiKMrMijrdLuJacbu2snxoxBmx8zpm_z48KfpnyezzW7WaKeZ73w0-6galMc3PcS3YNFx-K1Xq54bJNNyzGIjehvM2ldg3Gcns_g0Xa-ucbWd0g/s1600-h/quiz1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUVVeIp-dv0nFzAPd40DCBcgLzPrdNiKMrMijrdLuJacbu2snxoxBmx8zpm_z48KfpnyezzW7WaKeZ73w0-6galMc3PcS3YNFx-K1Xq54bJNNyzGIjehvM2ldg3Gcns_g0Xa-ucbWd0g/s400/quiz1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449892327122815186" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSNK71rVHHbrpjvwrbRGxOHFM34rzLmEIbVWgQRupr9EpmjNtGUyABAeNzvqce8L_RYL4FjtDaPcfrQtIIScK13Zh9laYyww3WK8dKBd7SqJT9dhmbtfoi2cOuGFgIuQBc-gVLXe51x54/s1600-h/meckiff.jpg"><br /></a><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-73416439173979101022010-03-09T00:21:00.006+08:002010-03-09T23:42:26.422+08:00Thoughts on VTVWhen i came out of the hall after watching VTV there was more a sense of relief that it was over which is a pity given it was engaging for long stretches. It was beginning to wear thin towards the end and was playing with my patience. The problem with love stories is that no matter how much you play around with the script, you can have only two possibilities. The guy gets the girl or he doesn't. So the narrative style is the key. Gautam has a gift for romantic yarns. He does seem to derive a lot from personal experience. <span style="font-style: italic;">Vazhkaila romba adi pattutaaru pola irukku. </span>Lines like 'one way ticket to heartbreak city' can't be made up by a 'kal nenjam' who hasn't ever fallen in love.<br /><br />Simbu as Karthik gives a very sincere performance. That should have been easy for him since he starts loving his heroines anyway so he just needed to be himself. Trisha as Jessie looks great. Her costumes are beautiful and simple. She is dressed in saris for the most part and looks elegant and sexy. She hasn't looked this good ever since the days of mounam pesiyadhey and saami.<br /><br />The first half of the movie is breezy and entertaining. I liked the cinematographer guy who hangs around with Simbu. He was fun with his deadpan dialogue delivery. But the strength and weakness of the movie is the second half. Generally in movies, characters always seem to be cocksure of what they are doing. They know exactly when they fall in love (of course cue music always helps) and they know that they are made for each other etc. Real life hardly is that straightforward. A zillion thoughts are racing through the mind. The mind is always playing tricks. Which is not the case here. However Gautam has made his jessie character very real, so real that after some time you just want to say - please cut the crap and let us all rest in peace. One can understand the pain the character goes through but not feel it and hence it starts to get annoying. It is like having a 'sarakku' session with your friends and one of them starts to tell his own sad story. You want to empathise with him and be comforting but in the end it ain't your story. All you can do is nod your head and come up with some pearls of wisdom.<br /><br />I have often wondered why do even very good movies have so much drama? Why can't they be a bit more subtle? Even a beautiful movie like Mouna ragam had this dramatic finish towards the end when a dazed Mohan jumps and slips like Kamal in Moondram Pirai and hops on to the train to be reunited with Revathi. But it seems that the emotional high that one gets with such moments in movies is what makes them tick and VTV could have had some more of those. For example there is this cheesy scene where Simbu knocks out Jessie's brother and his goons. For a very short while i was emotionally attached to the scene. Felt like bashing them up myself. It was a shallow scene and quite unnecessary. But i felt the connect. For large portions of the second half, the frustrating behaviour of Jessie is very real and possible to empathize with. But i just didn't care. Maybe VTV could have done with some more drama.<br /><br />The climax is simple and feels right. That had to be the only way the movie had to end after rambling directionless just like this post.<br /><br /><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-15139414705936136422010-03-04T17:40:00.003+08:002010-03-04T17:52:19.367+08:00The lone bright spotin Neo sports' brain dead cricket coverage is<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjISK2ez5RW3tkmEV-VREg3T9SrcG4VVZxII9dhH3IFf0eeeCWkA21ELt5vo-23-P68ScM-lcx5hgoN2iuPVzV2SigMzzOYVp9i5TifKZMG2Y-A3rfJB-Dt3SMNIC7nJDXKOf8Vie-H9B4/s1600-h/2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjISK2ez5RW3tkmEV-VREg3T9SrcG4VVZxII9dhH3IFf0eeeCWkA21ELt5vo-23-P68ScM-lcx5hgoN2iuPVzV2SigMzzOYVp9i5TifKZMG2Y-A3rfJB-Dt3SMNIC7nJDXKOf8Vie-H9B4/s400/2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444713452357390418" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />yes , u gueesed right - Archana Vijaya.<br />She is charming, articulate, knows her cricket and has even<br />played cricket at the state level. Ok, kidding. She doesn't know<br /> much cricket. She is smoking hot and the only reason to keep<br />watching Neo sports between the actual cricket.<br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-2304333944190408972010-02-26T15:55:00.006+08:002010-02-26T17:58:20.311+08:00Thalai pola varumaSachin Tendulkar became the first man to score 200 runs in ODIs.<br />How did he do it?<br /><br />a. He got lucky<br /><br />b. It was a flat pitch<br /><br />c. He is a genius<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">d. </span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >It is written</span><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-30528359988188218082010-02-19T19:19:00.003+08:002010-02-19T19:32:56.885+08:00An ode to Gunung RinjaniIla, playwright and director, was inspired to compose the following poem.<br />He also blogs <a href="http://signaturelibran.blogspot.com/">here.</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheqWsq5ehr3x-5fiMAGqFqpdsTZ5NXRasQStCe7c9KHwHLOJb7H1aJCGq6PJVI9dNCjHqoS7Q7O6QtB4bswbGvRVC0HYNeYsSnY3VBNWjl7Nqy3rHeC3ZSyCb_JImQTmf3sLo6XUENNn8/s1600-h/rinjanipoem.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheqWsq5ehr3x-5fiMAGqFqpdsTZ5NXRasQStCe7c9KHwHLOJb7H1aJCGq6PJVI9dNCjHqoS7Q7O6QtB4bswbGvRVC0HYNeYsSnY3VBNWjl7Nqy3rHeC3ZSyCb_JImQTmf3sLo6XUENNn8/s400/rinjanipoem.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439915964340492482" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-74253126507849202062010-02-17T15:56:00.009+08:002010-02-19T19:05:57.339+08:00Rinjani the trek - Day 4Had to finish this before reviving this dead blog as part of my chinese new year resolution.I will try my best to recount the details. It has been 3 years. Day 4 started around 2 am. The last stretch of most treks start very early so as to catch sunrise at the summit. After a very early breakfast of i can't remember what, we set off for the summit.<br /><br />Can't really remember much apart from the fact that we kept bugging Anom the guide as to how much time was left. His answer was invariably almost always the same. We never seemed to make any progress and the summit was almost always at the same position even after a few hours. Exasperated, Anom asked us to stop asking about the time left. It would only dishearten and make u slow was what he said. Daybreak occurred before most of us reached the summit. Anom, Ravi and Shyam were way ahead and i think shyam reached the summit just after dawn.<br /><br />Gradually, i could see everything around me clearly. The last stretch was a steep incline lined with loose gravel and sand which meant that for every upward step taken, we slipped half a step down. I trudged along slowly up willing myself. By now most of us were pretty exhausted. Leo and Ila had come to a standstill some distance below me. I decided to just take a deep breath and move up by 6-7 steps and then catch my breath for sometime. This stop start motion somehow propelled me up ever so slowly towards the summit and when i reached the summit, Anom welcomed me with outsretched hands. I felt a great sense of accomplishment. Then i saw Ila and leo coming up and i thought they reached up pretty soon considering how far below they were.<br /><br />The lake from up there looked beautiful. Stayed at the summit for about 40 minutes and then started the way down. Initially it was fun as we just kind of slid through the sand often falling down. After a couple of hours we reached our camp. Then after a quick lunch started on the way down. We then walked almost non stop for about 7 -8 hours and when we reached the town i think it was 10 or 11 pm. Thus ended our momentous rinjani trek. Hooray, i finally finished the post.(Patting myself on the back)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Phantom at the summit</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAO2R2OOk8zHW6UK0CtnQtR9k_KIrNUHgrBiU2Q7tgBZPzT8m9_jbTQKHWqJjUYpJW2LYH7TAx5P2h5Poh4BF2JE_76hCnrKuduTvpTXIZGGcYxko0WYl2OtBtt409Sdua-Z1AmLhUutw/s1600-h/IMG_1449.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAO2R2OOk8zHW6UK0CtnQtR9k_KIrNUHgrBiU2Q7tgBZPzT8m9_jbTQKHWqJjUYpJW2LYH7TAx5P2h5Poh4BF2JE_76hCnrKuduTvpTXIZGGcYxko0WYl2OtBtt409Sdua-Z1AmLhUutw/s320/IMG_1449.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439120641618390882" border="0" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">The others with Anom<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ByJrg6X_oc649iOdsZe2SsmdwAegOg9QsWOuUW8kXy4t8QNoCFa9-I2pCgtKwM_IrtULP6UarOiilkePz-VerCJcUuNlsAHSSuYfD2ylg8CbQb22BbglwGcP9mm8j2PoI6aq83ofsTM/s1600-h/a+moment+to+relish+IMG_1437.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ByJrg6X_oc649iOdsZe2SsmdwAegOg9QsWOuUW8kXy4t8QNoCFa9-I2pCgtKwM_IrtULP6UarOiilkePz-VerCJcUuNlsAHSSuYfD2ylg8CbQb22BbglwGcP9mm8j2PoI6aq83ofsTM/s320/a+moment+to+relish+IMG_1437.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439120617360318034" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Segara Anak from the summit<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZnqb0k4kADn_B8Yj31ZUqvx9iO9bbEuvWkaH3Y1JogHdkJeXaYi9f30DnOts4qoNmpg_GJMZB9DU-zaunIAZZS5rTC6gMF4gF08k7r4Oic40CpYivTPhUnnoxWfqSOQcupcqHIg0cyo/s1600-h/IMG_1420.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZnqb0k4kADn_B8Yj31ZUqvx9iO9bbEuvWkaH3Y1JogHdkJeXaYi9f30DnOts4qoNmpg_GJMZB9DU-zaunIAZZS5rTC6gMF4gF08k7r4Oic40CpYivTPhUnnoxWfqSOQcupcqHIg0cyo/s320/IMG_1420.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439120629463532002" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <span style="font-style: italic;">The last stretch</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHgr0TbLfBB6D8HaDGl_2q7fLCarWpY7hI_1hyYOH-INEhm7lVwKA1ZZw98Z4EZWxZVdxTB8MGcqdwGTGMLsHqiLm5MN52yujUTmicT7jTMYC4MwxP6HHjjYUydqcXIHRHpdJerVJ4qQ/s1600-h/IMG_1415.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLHgr0TbLfBB6D8HaDGl_2q7fLCarWpY7hI_1hyYOH-INEhm7lVwKA1ZZw98Z4EZWxZVdxTB8MGcqdwGTGMLsHqiLm5MN52yujUTmicT7jTMYC4MwxP6HHjjYUydqcXIHRHpdJerVJ4qQ/s320/IMG_1415.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439120611763704962" border="0" /></a><br /> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">The 'eye' at the centre of the lake</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-qIKrFPkFXynGgo7yZNqXmAhn2FHojybBwPv1OLwUowZ_OXgWUUL7yUKtfxIquv-vaiwObTj79UVSKop8VKrAu8KDh8xUg4GEXWYky4Xb0PNKnSRCmWHsUIL341FV3j1hDfE6HsyH06Q/s1600-h/eye1_IMG_1444.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 136px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-qIKrFPkFXynGgo7yZNqXmAhn2FHojybBwPv1OLwUowZ_OXgWUUL7yUKtfxIquv-vaiwObTj79UVSKop8VKrAu8KDh8xUg4GEXWYky4Xb0PNKnSRCmWHsUIL341FV3j1hDfE6HsyH06Q/s320/eye1_IMG_1444.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439120623313084946" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-47617204795966554572007-11-30T21:43:00.000+08:002007-12-03T09:30:30.591+08:00Rinjani - the trek Day 3Day 3 -<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohB7EsRLV-beHh8DG4fpGtqkCoZTYPAZL-SQSZiDv4QyA-TEC6lJgVjPs_Wr29iqMWaKWMVhMmhNwtsYAgYtuhzguE-Jk_chzvdSFg4984P_i_bndArCqXa3v6Kv75TSKgWakeKI1RSc/s1600-r/rinjani303.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbAWRpHh6ayXLv-r6Zea0ggK0-a0uyamiJGc3M6mlCEWa00DfRNYyGtEWbXCdw0QdPlJpgvj6nVaz-hD8rpPaqgruX0KTN5M58mDlJhsnCqDjpD3BiYsAF186VUDNVmYvvscMOrUj5eGc/s320/rinjani303.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138631940548138850" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Woke up to find it quite bright outside.obviously had<br />missed the sunrise. Me and Ila got out to take a look<br />at the scene outside. After a couple of snaps, Ila<br />(Yes, It is Ilavazhagan of "Thondan" fame) read<br />out his poem which he had composed probably last night.<br />Once he finds some time from his writing assignments,<br />I'll get hold of the poem.<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoflHHLHHcOdSh-X2Lhn70OU7hnehTOLd6sepWZzEPejDu4-WzzxXvkX-dkZ1UksMdC5Okhd-334FuhszSsnZYQdAfCnrrrnQnRtPanIC4Bj2lh0LvuSy21TQkY_poYtdVC29_55zquQ/s1600-r/IMG_1286.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCL8oVszhniB5z0Q4PCrGZsgjijPw1wUCJvsNI3hKaRuyoBR6jaeeHCx8X0GABhrCu08Ntmyo1VpuA07rESJV0a3KBGGhm1Wz0tF80h3spn_X_U2QfuIIMH4JY6b29K9Ifow5uQ0j1KU/s320/IMG_1286.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138633302052771698" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsgVlI-tDQ2dmPyAH34OoWnS3GZaFMCb8hRkpg3Lg29kO3x9spiqZknylgtAhmdoj-B0BogwAmwioacAUFmZ07sVriRHsFIkvKrG1_ROn_m95d45Lj-Q3qlvOqAUd921P2nhyphenhyphenorioEcPc/s1600-r/IMG_1310_Just_awesome.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWyBjxXTILPm7cUaqA_zZLgvSd-KLOQaHNUoucf2x-IUJWFXe4xnwwwbnGTofp_XZwfBsN96DSdHZfGm7HD5RxP3f-5rx3j6PrcqmtO5wof0ujhn6SmyXdU-f0beHTBo_b2rKSbnsM5s/s320/IMG_1310_Just_awesome.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138649386705295346" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After breakfast each of us set about finding a secluded<br />place to squat and u know do it.After a while of searching,<br />i managed to find a spot only to look up and find ravi<br />smiling down at me from about a hundred feet above me.<br />Oops!got to find another place. Finally everyone managed<br />to relieve themselves in privacy. We then set out for the<br />hot springs which was nearby. It was in fact a small<br />waterfall cascading in to a rather large puddle before<br />continuing downwards.The water was warm and we had<br />a hugely welcome bath after a couple of days.After the<br />refreshing dip, we headed back to the lake.And after lunch<br />we again started on the way up.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHuYtELKmdwELuySZHUaTt8liZqvQB5DDliewK2etvnwFRXdJSffaBPtDgC2eGP-Tr0pgeCcGO_p1Og_D5pYfgG8ZrZPFjCIjtJkaGt63EtQ7IkE9Qi2Qa3BPwAw6-BUtt3jPg1Ogokus/s1600-r/rinjani309.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE9wVxzE9YZI1zZGzAft4djCdBu8lfGG_HrOap1izLjPSn5JZV_aaKjcUSd-knRcAZ2Iak7WupSpB2PsjW7MXclcabDMnFV7C9LQyVM6FkCFVkwj7PO5UE-i6zVJSwJcy9ZaMCcTW9fSs/s320/rinjani309.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138636042241906562" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYbdgqAp9JI5tDyo0J42snck936ZZS36BnQus5DnLbWxvtnSrgGQl6tqouGKZ871Iv0XECzVVEPqr2sqxfOZ_f7y4rXSUxANqFPpG7ZtfuDCdpf37EkGckg9STyRAFWDMm7VxPgBze-AI/s1600-r/rinjani310.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_1ChxJpcAPmcNXzEP-rJMCDDoKnWO_dxACJsO22oT3H8Taa-ivEI3teGitfiYUNrwFaorUmHgjJI0-D-BrTJ6HcV-I81ZCqrszZtD0SO6Nb71DTQcJZ3bpkb8O17wrutMLq_SjUHOms/s320/rinjani310.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138636690781968274" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We found another party camped near us.We also found a few<br />more people on the way up.This stretch was characterised by<br />a lot more greenery,tall grass at first and then short shrubs.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqvOuzhNKVJhQYnmByks54Fruk93ZsjggvZ6wYp7IdxBqUubMvotjwqNRq-cRg28-kBkrBlTZonwCudGPAQ9ZkBAorQp28JRl2v-1NPDXTRjdo1ntU8YyRj4gnStRlk_7pVUfJXGFSvw/s1600-r/IMG_1362.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSVdGLolTqnPw90RoLsJMu8RNV4q_5b0YxBZnmMcKRd4ovXGLF5jjcFfrUf6uSaoJiYUzN3oqiANE4yRook-_APxAp9LP1OoO_wsInbMa2CGeM8qG36GyQ_PgoIF4gICwARHZ5UO2N-I/s320/IMG_1362.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138638666466924450" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It was quite tiring.There seemed to be two ways to overcome<br />the tiredness and increase the tempo.One way was to take a<br />deep breath and start walking really fast and keep pace with<br />the guide.This way would ensure a good lead ahead of the<br />others and so when you wait for the others to catch up and<br />then wait along with them, you have had an extended rest.<br />The other way was to detach oneself from the trek mentally,<br />either by chatting with a co-trekker (on any damn topic<br />under the sun) or just daydreaming.I did both at various<br />points in the trek. Other tactics were indulging in quizzing.<br />After a lot of climbing, we reached a spot where there was<br />a sign in the local language which said that the path ahead<br />was dangerous. Well it was definitely was a bit dangerous<br />as the trail narrowed down further and there was just about<br />enough space for a person to walk through. Lord of the rings<br />revisited. We could picture ourselves as frodo baggins<br />scaling the mountains to dispatch the ring. A few false<br />steps could lead to someone tumbling down a few hundred<br />feet.And with the load on our back, it was even tougher.<br />Still donno how those porters managed it.That's a lot<br />of skill involved apart from the obvious strength required.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjY4t6zH5uEZmyAXiSnMWmdsz-d8NLHzxDbFRulNhNiUIlg-V7vNH_C3095hf9sgLjKrvmf-TveXRzKuwPHdWELHWyRStyehYvi5rxmqVxmKv7RxlFp0ugb6Ho55enGiqFsK6xy6_hFc/s1600-r/IMG_1411.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCY3tQtcvpbJJ1Ar8l1YduS4Q5M1msNiVxGx3E92lHhYf0MC7XQPAWB0t57PuTDKwWQm-3t3e0RVEc5ncGk2nZK9ZieWIZBJCx4kgqIhR-7KY7f6SKaqJChMQiwGihPXjxO8mf-dRhUq0/s320/IMG_1411.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138643554139707314" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Finally we reached the campsite at the other side of<br />the crater rim. We had trekked up to the crater rim,<br />went down to the lake in the crater and then trekked<br />up to the other side of the crater rim.The soil was very<br />dark and one could sense the volcanic nature of the<br />surroundings. Everyone got down to taking snaps of<br />themselves overlooking the lake. It became more misty<br />soon and the entire scene beame a bit spooky. We could<br />see gunung agung which is in Bali, the adjacent island<br />in the distance.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWAOWzsTtOfs05XHo6kWclvaDxu2jzUWcBhLMYeLdJV9y9QVxPj1x99j1PAlPgcd5T4GW61G3IGD443v_5wFuNtcs0ysMHUtBxvD99ufdozKylKzw8gFpI9t0fquJRUH8QkSrJekG5E7Q/s1600-r/rinjani305.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw01OtGC3o8iXcvX-G1ygfiDYnU3u6Y8n1avunLiE295ASFZMBY9KyS2oZZ6223Hvk10ZvZkhT9yjYIx4iBFmvnwjEG466XW9s9Cx1txZ_iAUtNFVSIcHD3-pYpc93aLHGitYrlgKkI8k/s320/rinjani305.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138646839789688770" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The porters were already there and had set up tents.<br />Some of them had gone to fetch firewood and soon<br />we had a small fire going. We drank some very watery<br />hot tea. Then made some soup using ready to make soup<br />powder. All these seemed like a gift from God for the<br />parched throats and tired bodies.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DYtclwJRkyBiaUOlC8Iur-ONmV8iwrbSfxnX8OzYgvnHRFPQUZlJTKfbr220Ed_rTfm9xck0LESpFl4_bjEUGbp_bxL4M2lEgKlvpBzrDMFZaC3VRfuzGUyaviyPEfdOfBagKzOALlk/s1600-r/rinjani301.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkWmOpmw6_FSSkJnDgJGJvXec0ZBwLv8E_4MQrsBbemknf1y0oCbWSAJW76D4tFcKJwwJQOsa1n3OqQ8DBHLo4kt3NduT4Lb4eUTpu7LXl9rQBE8XwcoKZzYQ7PdMDo5b00ACmc58Gts/s320/rinjani301.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138647475444848594" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We were resting in the tents when someone called.<br />Went out to witness a captivating sunset. This was<br />one of the highlights of this eventful trek.<br />After dinner, we rested our tired asses as we had to<br />haul them up by 2 in the morning if we wanted to<br />catch sunrise at the summit.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGpm1snGqD52axJ0WnFoMXA30_jxFTuANEUpCq8-ZFHRhkUyJY19ks89QU22wUPYMAIJbA6rX7KAQguDV2bs8qqBVBesoWkDTRtkt9Nh-9t4Xb-NOnXN3v6jFNfyGLt1wsDDJueuFRlsk/s1600-r/IMG_1385.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQc_fDOprGxp1Zi6ziXfQ-vD9tLJnmbwv_hrbZLGMIe9JKHbFSVvMJFEpQ2blWWCzKTJj77gRCL3U2CfclX36yEN59zdXdVa4FVosGW3vEZ3uZDOOrqZePmfGiQCllFW1Z2DMQsQCLAQ/s320/IMG_1385.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138648059560400866" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Coming soon....The Grand finale...The Summit...sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-49102400877934599622007-11-30T00:05:00.000+08:002007-12-04T19:48:29.689+08:00Rinjani - the trek Day 2After nearly one year since we finished the trek, i have gathered whatever i can remember of day 2.Days 3 and 4 will follow soon.(Mind you...soon here is subject to the blogger's discretion).<br />Day 2-<br />I was welcomed out of the tent by droplets of rain. It was quite nippy. Slowly other heads emerged out of the tents. Breakfast was sandwich and fruits, biscuits and tea. Almost everyone polished off the sandwiches and biscuits in no time.<br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">With the support party at POS II (pic:Leo)</span><br /></div><br />I was struggling to finish off the fruits<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDCF9hrGHyLFgDGHUfQAm0SHy1mw2iy03pXBIpSV1UUwJH4UHMkXU-b7qHIqnaV95jJNobJ2PRJ2IrQfFgAn2fY2bywjAhbgQazh2FvcKEFmXSDGmUIrK6S3HvyGLrui82jmCYq9EkYU/s1600-r/IMG_1138.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnaFtWXoKAKW-IR9x1kU2j_XWdblzLIncqWDVzIx9PC-FS8TxP4WW5F5ZvnZ6GtLrJGxgdqFjB066xgbzjkkQ88yUOV15ErE59GynvcFUA4YhzbHqzJSYCpOr-JfvBtaYPpbi5iM041NA/s320/IMG_1138.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138519120347207378" border="0" /></a> and<br />saw that the others also weren't making great progress. Except our man shyam. No evidence of anything that was once there on the plate.Ila gave up. For food appreciation,clinical precision in consumption, he was no match for the master.He said something similar.Can't rememer the exact words.<br />Well, breakfast over.what next.Fertilising the flora of course. It was still drizzling. The portable toilets that were promised were also not available. Each of us found a spot and squatted with our ponchos covering us.<br /><br /> <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"><br /></span><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"> Ila - On the way up to the crater rim (pic:me)</span><br /></div><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DgfI6-FZUo7KO6VM3wmRnHKWhzdPWuCzMfhDpTyuXW07lOBPjPO1Bbrc1R-Tm2ASBNfiMaShYKt06dBsFYLYneZO5tiCvLPtMOzk7bIOZOdOQN7gOiIgUGCTX3X9udmf9lgdIHKfZFg/s1600-r/IMG_2490.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 287px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnpiU3mKee1eyJLSV5MOmSDrVITOyF0n9RsokdMUiypGE7p3jsNPcz2i6LFdahijrxEt0CqX_z3ZYrHl7LppZyXKRA1FZZWYlvqKcsGGvJxZ2ZuwvOaUw4LcGktD8yEtDz0ACQXuV4bJs/s320/IMG_2490.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138520237038704354" border="0" /></a>The trek resumed.Day 1 was characterized by thick vegetation and trails. day 2 brought out more of the volcano in rinjani. Dark grey soil reeking of volcanic debris interspersed with short bushes made for a picturesque landscape.The ascent was much steeper.For most of the trek, me and Ila were lagging behind.I especially found it tough at the start of day 2, more so because of the tripod in my bag which in the end was useless since i forgot the connector.I was really struggling and appreciated the company of an equally struggling ila.The occassional photo breaks also helped.We tried to ease the hard work by talking on just about anything under the sun from sivapurana to biotechnology.The terrain gradually changed to more rocky.A fairly long section of the trail was characterized by almost imaginary paths amidst the rocks.We were met on the way by an old lady who was coming down along with her daughter and son. She must have been atleast 60 years old.I was left wondering what on earth is she doing here rather than cooking for her grandchildren.Hope i would be as fit when i am as old.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1o5Egv3voNpl4y4HABlFHPtxfngjbvEKbiph_wpVhfx8zmGXYn0If20U6kl0xyhWtTQsNnuCafe-Z2W6zvXZSk0cytq1Q4sT0g8qZwluzfT6IoJqwytwZ4DicDTCwA9NmCeMwbPCPW6o/s1600-r/IMG_2523.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 362px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiH3o-aykLmFyW-bHsRRwD3uWvE04Vj2l7-v9YwSvHM10s7lDgci4KWiy0e4_sRThD4GuZKAH57CKvP1Td9nRcbNiqNo028p5aSvnYAYVZGk3GHaT0ZjSPVFyzDyV_yUGX82Cg8nnEpo0/s320/IMG_2523.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138520426017265394" border="0" /></a>After some hard work, we reached the crater rim.<br />The view of the lake from the rim was obscured by clouds.After the mandatory snaps, we headed dowhill towards the lake.The first few steps towards the lake was probably the most dangerous part of the trek.It was a near vertical drop.It was like getting down a rickety step ladder missing every alternate step.No frigging clue as to how the porters made it down with all that load.We saw them smoking their stuff and resting underneath. After<br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"><br />On the way up to the crater rim (pic: Ila)</span><br /><br />walking downhill with a few ascents in between, we came to a point where we could catch a clear view of the lake and the volcano gunung baru at the centre of the lake.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWF-S_dkL5_Z1mZqBPRZ4IgNWVi48vtF29S8nKCksI8gtGOK1TRVvv-AEO6jtUGjS8Z5ufnOPpAcpqCnZo5PNyeWEZeIC0dZ-2yPZNeG9e8c6PbHWBZuALYEsEtmx-mqSZiSRlhnmf42o/s1600-r/IMG_1232.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0RqT2czs4pGdXalBcwijXdOBi9o5U6cO0k4Hku6CzMP7q9SgEfJNzIZ80FMXBtsOhgMQ8pQMni2WC-L4thKRM2eeqOiwjnUQZm6DVZvyXpQPG3WgZr-sbiCF9m_hyphenhypheneyxFyG5he5qdo6M/s320/IMG_1232.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138521705917519618" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FkOSYhiWkgif9Bh8Gk9mP0KmhWzDbGDETsN2Zn4O_PJ0Yuo8-nxErAixXBHlvJmic5sldDhLr5I-7DlojsWr0lGK17aYyJyKmWVoca_pY5m1RyqT8kNVn3Dxp_7LKtBollO7BhyjW54/s1600-r/IMG_1238.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweAqWut-tDdAzL6wKWHHF44zRRfMb-KHontQSH41wg-cBppl4n0bDCJB7h57kC65CLxi4jURjiFbnVDDI_5rJslWqIFA54uKazSFkK50pcfgflOss8kUwH0m2w6gJ97iDnbz7IpH316A/s320/IMG_1238.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138522479011632914" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Overlooking Gunung baru and Segara Anak Segara Anak - almost there<br /><br /></span>From there on we walked downhill without taking any major breaks along the way till we reached the lake. Finally...Segara Anak.It was huge. Shyam decided to go for a little swim.Had ila a bit worried as he couldn't get a sighter of his face.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK1V3GFPAX69pBw2ATw_FqxatrONbfa-7xx8aYbUzrUx4QgnAS3EaWH0ODS8o2klSc7nmEAp1IsJv8IRA4ESLSpye-L5gjJYYjBMhLF7U2X9cis3IA9F8n_KDEWAOh7ex1A2TZAlGLs5U/s1600-r/IMG_1326.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUA4ukibtWu73DDsP-E-aTLlepNysAE6-rIB8mJisriMrCiC7SVEjCpxtsYOnLbTVHdu5P45roEUkBMDWhBS6eyYEtENqEje360k7QmyzO7KNPXecV0T6UTIUcp-gVAiM6_v59CMbdgo/s320/IMG_1326.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138527632972388130" border="0" /></a>Finally dinner arrived in front of a warm campfire. I had a bit of a headache and had lost appetite for food. Slowly revived by the warmth of the fire and by the encouragement of my companions, i had some food and some vodka. Dinner was rice and vegetable gravy which tasted like "aviyal".The non veg portion consisted of a piece of chicken. After dinner, decided to make use of the tripod (albeit without the connector),since i had taken all the trouble to bring it up here. We did manage to get some interesting shots.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Me, Ravi and Ila in front of the lake (pic:Leo)</span><br /><br />Time to hit the sack.Made plans to get up early next day to catch the sunrise.As we eased into the sleeping bags, we could hear howling sounds which sounded more like wolves rather than dogs.Too tired to be afraid of anything,we knocked off.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">The surreal threesome (pic:Ravi) </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"> The camp fire (pic:Ravi)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifEnO7xs10SiZ78jFoRRz-dSCYKlcZz7r6z5xVODdmv08QOIPBL_c_h9toT-oeorzgBsoNR1JJGQejs9J7liEffwaiwd5KFE0kEyVwAuJkjvg8GT0kDxlS_4hTCaTEZKEIKfV0aA3eqXk/s1600-r/P1010269.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 304px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIizEr8uB-0vw9C0qM3U5gPEF-jzTP9LcPxdszIhG4ImctbIWE2YqxoRTTpUMs_gjrtyiGtmHq7pGKTxQlS95iBYvBHTMBO4s2hgNweiUZKyy2ixZz0AUpJIhY4UTbKDdmmwTgLURhiAY/s320/P1010269.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138527856310687538" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXkRuDMvLO5nS8h8E8dJI0lw7QYt70y7ZypunqtRkqLajCZD51sFAWEyj498s3VAOh0N_Z7rOWkYhFqEjSQ4wNNkSZxfN9DLxJiop1x8QmcMQhjZ6upkUGtxGelzhoQHDGVd01cGV29c/s1600-r/P1010273.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUmdLrezDM3Euih8pF0tdyQJQ2NxIIGiMYPN61NEHitRh2Fl8rGdGpG4TUzX75b7ebH-bf3RN5L2iEp4rQL_Jq1n-BpiE0x9AHHU_PouxJKBuAUOnR_Rn6yJ4SZQo_N2-HRonOdFPwMo/s320/P1010273.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138528002339575618" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"><br /><br />The panoramic view at the lake (pic:Leo)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimqPDivHIGTmwg7X9jHUE_p8wNnIRPRkgQ0AgrflDjrgmLWZtdlQahJPuRfhH6kwJ8G49WfMCnCvuy5qPX3j6LOzIgZMm1lt9il7Op-DocP2XMaYk-DNo0OIuBxp7zsnL-3Xv373-fkSs/s1600-r/LakePan1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFsVRyhxMhsytoKZh_Q0TIxjI2lIrs-BS1H2vE8nsoziKNOL5BV_eqnclgvR8WKk1HlNTnCV56vvdWfv4x9w4yuOiLmv8i3oIh044PEiCIws8WnoJSF6PkJbJsAiL3qxIxMVC3RQH1D8/s320/LakePan1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138528397476566866" border="0" /></a>sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-81083151401820109902007-03-12T23:07:00.000+08:002007-12-04T19:22:24.083+08:00Rinjani - the trek Day 1<span style="font-style: italic;">Finally after a long time, my first post on our momentous Rinjani trek. My thanks and apologies to everyone whose photos i have added here without permission.</span><br /><br />After the sucessful conquest of Mount Ophir in Malaysia, the next expedition had to be a much more challenging affair. After a great deal of research, Leo and Ravi had zeroed in on Gunung Rinjani in Lombok in Indonesia."Gunung" means mountain in bahasa. Rinjani is a whopping 3726 m high,about thrice as high as Ophir. What's more it is a transactive volcano.The crater of the volcano houses a lake 6km by 8.5 km. It is called Segara Anak -"child of the sea". A small volcano gunung baru on one side of the lake had erupted as recently as 1996.There was a lot to look forward to.Out of the five of us about to venture on the trek,four had been on the earlier trek to Ophir. The fifth one, Ela was making his trekking debut.<br /><br />The trek offered a chance for the two gastronomes, to put it more simply "foodies", shyam and ela to face-off.The clash of the titans was about to unfold into what would eventually be a disappointing end. More about that later.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NlR4-PP_Zdo5Uqp_WYmKpxSzHbzBER_Cq9dCDgRqj8kv7AVZfd6rQ89EBHjcyPBsNeTvxd9k_5KM214-b782fqUI4HW5HPnjFSmpgDmq9Haf3IQLVfLvJJXfvlEZ81CMifwbisryD7E/s1600-h/theMuchAwaited.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041060869697638258" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; cursor: pointer; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NlR4-PP_Zdo5Uqp_WYmKpxSzHbzBER_Cq9dCDgRqj8kv7AVZfd6rQ89EBHjcyPBsNeTvxd9k_5KM214-b782fqUI4HW5HPnjFSmpgDmq9Haf3IQLVfLvJJXfvlEZ81CMifwbisryD7E/s320/theMuchAwaited.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> Shyam Vs Ila- Who will win?</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"> (Pic: Leo)</span><br /><br />Finally we were off on christmas eve with a bottle of vodka and a few beer cans which would be consumed on the course of the trek to consecrate the trip. We were on the last row of seats (not retractable) on the flight to bali. Beside me was a very tall american who wondered what he had done to deserve this. Two and a half hours later we landed in Bali.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeU9m9N1j8nJf1ZXHsZ8EcbDcgENnwiYMxSomp-9yXR3jcABETnEaSNIlEJ3TXUmP81OdOaM3x0-k9rn0F48fM_VZWjYjJwFdqnic1kzsf7KNC3hGsA-0O2avlX9nCH02trf8QsuD_k8g/s1600-h/In+the+flight+-+Last+row+guys+P1010116.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041060023589080930" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; cursor: pointer; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeU9m9N1j8nJf1ZXHsZ8EcbDcgENnwiYMxSomp-9yXR3jcABETnEaSNIlEJ3TXUmP81OdOaM3x0-k9rn0F48fM_VZWjYjJwFdqnic1kzsf7KNC3hGsA-0O2avlX9nCH02trf8QsuD_k8g/s320/In+the+flight+-+Last+row+guys+P1010116.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> On board the last row (pic:Ravi)</span><br /><br />All of us were feeling the need to empty our bladders and it seems i was the most desperate one cos i went inside the ladies toilet.After relieving myself, as i came out i saw a lady preening herself in front of the mirror. For a couple of seconds i was actually wondering that it was a unisex toilet,if ever there was one. Thankfully i managed to escape unscathed.<br /><br />After meeting up with the trek organizers, we stopped for dinner at a restaurant where the waiters were dressed like reindeers with antlers on their heads. They looked unbelievably ridiculous.After dinner (the ubiquitous egg fried rice for me,what else!) and a couple of hours drive later, we reached padang bay to board a ferry to Lombok. Almost everyone on the ferry looked shady to me.It was pitch dark outside.I could see nothing apart from the stars.It was a bit scary. Reached Mataram in lombok around 5am.A 2 hour drive brought us to Senaru. After a sumptuous breakfast of banana pancakes, the trek started.After the first half an hour (actually might have been only 15 minutes), already some of us were showing signs of tiredness. Our guide,Anom informed us that this was just a straight stretch and the real trek hasn't really started. We resumed after a short break. We would go on to have a lot more of such short breaks.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQArwEGMiyhU6FngaXdt09MT6Q57PW_hCQgIWdkD_zJlrCq_2PkGggTSVdsLik2BlLsq5RnJYeqR4Zl9VPJ-vJGc79o2T8VECtjwA0RT5ZeWFSPxTm6iBMYTxGGmdadSf-aKtgcnxNhcI/s1600-h/IMG_1291.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041062716533575554" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; cursor: pointer; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQArwEGMiyhU6FngaXdt09MT6Q57PW_hCQgIWdkD_zJlrCq_2PkGggTSVdsLik2BlLsq5RnJYeqR4Zl9VPJ-vJGc79o2T8VECtjwA0RT5ZeWFSPxTm6iBMYTxGGmdadSf-aKtgcnxNhcI/s320/IMG_1291.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> All set to start </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6hDcsfJz04AT93YEO3N_eSjq6BQy8XmtEOmV5PQqIeSsPglkHbXeE-DDs2ouVZpNIFwYe6V9nUX860Br8P5TAsuC-PWlG-Lgi8qiTRBlOAR_FpE19Dy1-xUeS6UieVgAs7vam36eyqo/s1600-h/guess+this+was+the+first+break+IMG_1073.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041063313534029714" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; cursor: pointer; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6hDcsfJz04AT93YEO3N_eSjq6BQy8XmtEOmV5PQqIeSsPglkHbXeE-DDs2ouVZpNIFwYe6V9nUX860Br8P5TAsuC-PWlG-Lgi8qiTRBlOAR_FpE19Dy1-xUeS6UieVgAs7vam36eyqo/s320/guess+this+was+the+first+break+IMG_1073.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> The first mini break (Pic:me)</span><br /><br />We were joined soon by an experienced trekker, one on four legs. A dog tagged along. It seems it has been on many treks before. There seemed a striking parallel of us with the pandavas from the Mahabharata. The five pandava brothers walked ,rather trekked their way to Mount Meru, the gateway to heaven. A dog (Lord Yama, the god of death in disguise) followed them all the way to the summit. I was the eldest of the five trekkers and i have a reputation for fairness akin to yudishtira. Next in line Ela could be equated with bheema on account of girth and body fat. The multi-talented Shyam easily slipped in to the role of Arjuna. Leo was our Sahadeva with his pearls of wisdom and a knack for predicting things. Ravi was the handsome Nakula. Only draupadi was missing and the only other member of the trek party was our guide Anom. In the original story, only Yudhishtira makes it to the top. We hoped all five of us could make it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJK2XuU6jjb1zZqMXGaiWS41dzIn9goPYRa-OJxx7vdxQur3QF6xsARlokhvd_DCOGDaYN3vZZuP7H9EqZDTtTeJsd_SoNlBk204yQwFHwrMLj8BdyMfObaC_KivLVMKYasvthPyHb4M/s1600-h/theUnexpectedCompanionIMG_1077.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041063970664026018" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; cursor: pointer; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJK2XuU6jjb1zZqMXGaiWS41dzIn9goPYRa-OJxx7vdxQur3QF6xsARlokhvd_DCOGDaYN3vZZuP7H9EqZDTtTeJsd_SoNlBk204yQwFHwrMLj8BdyMfObaC_KivLVMKYasvthPyHb4M/s320/theUnexpectedCompanionIMG_1077.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> Our Nakula & Sahadeva alongwith lord yama! (Pic:me)</span><br /><br />We reached POS I,our first main halt and halted for lunch. Till now the terrain was full of vegetation and we had to be wary of undergrowth ever ready to trip us. Leo and Ravi had lost some blood to leeches. Ravi turned on them with a vengeance. The rage in his eyes as he burned them was a sight to behold. Lunch was divine. We were accompanied by 4 porters who carried our food and water and cooked for us. They started behind us and finished ahead of us throughout the course of the trek. Each of them carried between 40-50 Kgs and did it with such a nonchalance that bordered on the condescending. A regular dose of marijuana or whatever it was they were taking definitely seemed to help. We were doing it for fun, it was their source of livelihood which put everything in perspective.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iNAILA0czNXdE_kJOFM8LrdUIWM0qXaEiDYpnzSx-RRcEZMoci3H9LotH0GIZATQkHWjqLmqqk9Xh6RTcgPdG9nigSUiveIaSNkrMnRd11mD-frE1A2CmpH-goBBRSGqhxvBvMf55qY/s1600-h/IMG_1099.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041064898376961970" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iNAILA0czNXdE_kJOFM8LrdUIWM0qXaEiDYpnzSx-RRcEZMoci3H9LotH0GIZATQkHWjqLmqqk9Xh6RTcgPdG9nigSUiveIaSNkrMnRd11mD-frE1A2CmpH-goBBRSGqhxvBvMf55qY/s320/IMG_1099.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9eyW9vA9Jj_m9dDCN_HouiYW4nEsewIVODPZzL8ObxCWkkUaFSkHrClsfPdVtufGZ2HEX_okFYT7Ss_iE1QovELbl7cuRgCJwNf5cbboISFqPZGYPLOA2UUX7P1A8oBvXWisAtPlLSGY/s1600-h/IMG_1120ViedoGraphingAMurderOfALeach_Ofcourse+i+was+bitten+by+one.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041065186139770818" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9eyW9vA9Jj_m9dDCN_HouiYW4nEsewIVODPZzL8ObxCWkkUaFSkHrClsfPdVtufGZ2HEX_okFYT7Ss_iE1QovELbl7cuRgCJwNf5cbboISFqPZGYPLOA2UUX7P1A8oBvXWisAtPlLSGY/s320/IMG_1120ViedoGraphingAMurderOfALeach_Ofcourse+i+was+bitten+by+one.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> Our guide Anom (Pic:Leo) <br />Ravi's revenge (Pic:Leo)</span><br /><br />The trek from POS I to POS II, which was to be our camp for the night,was characterised by a bout of heavy rain. We looked quite a sight with the ponchos on.Ravi was cursing the trek organizer, Pardi, for being ambivalent about rain<br />being a problem. It was a bit amusing to see him curse Pardi but i was more worried about my SLR getting wet. Finally we reached POS II. POS I and POS II were both basically small wooden shacks.After some hot tea to revive our spirits, we indulged ourselves in some card games.Our footwear dried near the cooking fire.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 51, 255);">Drying our shoes (Pic:Leo)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-tzCDyclvBTrnUh9Wn9i-fRm7CuI198LVKR9DCXE9rXak9lRtCOJgCkFRBzgmtB_64Ur5uK36nleTvCZrh-hJq_bFGA0tQEekPv9ctmb6UPdFKaAftI6B2eaX9WDXeygnBzW2LFhMKY/s1600-h/cooking+cum+drying+IMG_1142.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041066289946365906" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-tzCDyclvBTrnUh9Wn9i-fRm7CuI198LVKR9DCXE9rXak9lRtCOJgCkFRBzgmtB_64Ur5uK36nleTvCZrh-hJq_bFGA0tQEekPv9ctmb6UPdFKaAftI6B2eaX9WDXeygnBzW2LFhMKY/s320/cooking+cum+drying+IMG_1142.jpg" border="0" /></a>Our tents had been made for us nearby. Couldn't see them as it was so damn dark outside. We were also told that the sleeping mattresses that were promised were not there. It was quite cold outside and i was apprehensive of having a good night's sleep. Fortunately they had sleeping bags and those were quite comfortable.I was quite tired and dozed off. Day 1 of the trek was coming to a successful conclusion. The next day would have us scaling new heights.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">To be continued<br /><br /></span>sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-75981385065736570712007-02-13T14:03:00.000+08:002007-02-13T13:34:41.831+08:00PappiI once heard someone say "Opportunities are like receding hair. You have to clutch on to it when you have enough of it. Once it passes by there is nothing left to hold on to". I missed one such opportunity when i was in my eighth grade. There was this tall, cute gujju girl with luscious lips in my class. I too looked quite cute then.It's not that i am bad now, if only i can find the inclination to shave regularly. Coming back to the story, one fine day when the teacher was absent and everyone was generally lazing around, this girl comes and sits next to me and puts her arm around me. Imagine! Her face next to mine. I can feel her breath. She asks me for a "pappi". Imagine the incredible good fortune! But you see I wasn't as smart then as i am now.<br />U wouldn't believe what i said to her.<br />I asked her :"what breed?"<br />I can't quite remember the look on her face.<br /><br />[P.S. For those who don't quite understand what pappi means, it is slang in hindi for kiss.]sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2047006344815167003.post-1775609571793910272007-02-12T17:20:00.000+08:002007-02-13T09:35:13.621+08:00Vocab building can be funPreparing for GRE and other competitive exams requires a mastery of english words, some of which we may never use in our lifetime. Cramming down entire wordlists doesn't come naturally to everyone.Learning words through etymology is a very interesting way to go about it . Anyone who has used Norman Lewis' "Word power made easy" will agree. It is even better if the words themselves are interesting. The one word from Norman Lewis that immediately comes to mind is callipygous or callipygian. The word means having a beautiful, shapely posterior or in layman terms, having a nice ass. The word comes from two greek roots <span style="font-style: italic;">Kallos </span>meaning beautiful and <span style="font-style: italic;">pyge </span>meaning buttocks. Now anyone who comes across this word will not forget it for obvious reasons. Immediately the mind wanders to the next obvious question,which could be what is the equivalent term for an ugly ass (for pessimists) or what is the term for a beautiful pair of well u know what(for optimists...or perverts). This got me thinking and i coined a few words from my knowledge of etymology<br /><br />cacopygian<br />callimastian<br />megamastian<br />pusillomastian<br />platymastian<br />pseudomastian<br /><br />Apart from the first word, i couldn't find any of the others listed in any online lexicon.<br />I leave it to my readers to figure out the meanings of these words. I strongly ask everyone to contribute more such words to the queen's language and in the process building up your own vocabulary.sivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17878646060542108491noreply@blogger.com6