At last, I have managed to sort the 1500 odd photos that we three of us (Myself, Mouly and Vivek) had shot during our trip to Grand Canyon this Labour Day weekend. It was a wonderful trip to say the least and one of the most adventurous that I had ever taken so far. Even when we planned for the trip early in the month of July, we had Rim-Rim hike on plan. Though we were not sure if we would really take the hike- because we had read that the Rim-Rim hike was extremely strenuous and should not be tried to be completed in a day, we were very skeptical on taking the hike.

Come Grand Canyon, all this changed. We reached Grand Canyon driving from Phoenix at around 5:30 a.m and what a sight it was. Truly magnificent. I couldn't resist my urge to hike down till the river- now the Rim-Rim here means, South Rim to North Rim or North Rim to South Rim, along a well established trail- there are numerous trails to do this-but the point is, if you plan for a Rim to Rim, you would have to trail atleast around 8 miles along the river before you start your hike back to the Rim[This is because, you can take only the North Kaibab Trail to reach the North Rim and this is a 14 mile trail, which is more than the 6.3 mile South Kaibab Trail that you can use to come down and claim up the South Rim]. This is different from hiking from South Rim- River and come back to South Rim. This would save you the hike along the river and would save you much time.

But, we decided against going for a Rim to Rim- we would remain with the South Kaibab Trail only to go down and come up. But, there are few words of caution- if you are planning for a hike, to the river, make sure that you have planned it comfortably well in advance. I had been to hiking and trekking a couple of times-but Grand Canyon is unlike anyother trek- its unlike any other hike- the extreme temperatures coupled with abysmal humidity, makes it a deadly combination- the South Kaibab Trail has no water source till you reach the Colorado River, which is like 6.3 miles down- it might not sound much- unless you start walking and find the sun beating down on you mercilessly.

Certain things to keep in mind when you hike in the canyon.

Carry liquids- I am not saying just water precisely for a reason- though you would loose lot of water due to sweating, it is wise to carry salted liquid- or some salty stuff, like Glatorade or Lemonade- rather than just water- It is not just loss of water, it is also loss of bodily salt that can cause much harm and tiredness.

Carry lots of dry fruits, nuts and salted peanuts to supplement your food. Take more than enough food- eat twice as your normal- its not just lack of water that is dangerous, it is also lack of good food.

Wear cotton clothes- that can stay wet for a considerable time. It is advisable to wet your dress before you start the trail, if you are planning to start it after the Sun rise. It is wiser to hike during early morning and late evening/nights- if you are carrying a flash light, it is better to start your hike after 4 p.m.

Don't carry biscuits or glucose or stuff that would require even more water to digest them :)- the best food that you can carry are probably apples, oranges and fruits like that, which would quench both the thirst and the hunger.

When the temperature around is hovering around 100+F, the water in the river is near freezing- which might lead to hypothermia.

Last but not the least- never plan for a rim-river-rim hike in a day- never- and I mean it :)

All said and done, we did plan for the hike in a day- and we had to sleep on the trail, get lost in the night without a flash light, curse the silliness and sleep without water.

But then, all this apart, it was a wonderfull trip, that I would cherish for a long time to come- not the least because, it offered me good lessons.

For all things apart from the lessons, do take a look at the collection that I have got!

Now a days, every time I sit down to write something, I find an inexplicable reason to not proceed further. May be the lack of interest on my part is the reason for this. But, I did find a strong enough reason to blog now. It's been a week now since I landed in this country for the second time this year. The first thing to strike me was the difference this place has with Texas and Dallas in particular.

Dallas is vast, spacious, dry and hot and distinctly American or at least Un-Indian. This place is all opposite. It's cramped, wet and cold. The place that I stay in, is more Indian than most of India so to say. The first guy to speak with me after the immigration desk is an afro-american and the first question he asked me was "Taxi Chahiyae??". Earlier, I was surprised by the announcement in Hindi in the Newark International Airport- but I reasoned that it was for the Air-India passengers. But this question from that guy was enough to convince me of the "Indianness" of the place.

There were more surprises in store for me. The whole locality that I currently live in, is Indian- mostly Gujaratis. There are Subzi Mandi's, Hyderabad House, Bombay Chat, Indian Movie Theaters and behold- Saravana Bhavan. Our very own Saravana Bhavan is at walking distance from my home and I am just starting(after making this post for a sumptuous dinner there). I am sure I wouldn't have to have the "Onion" "Dosa" that I had in Dallas.

The journey to office is a story in itself. I need to take a bus, then a train and then a Metro-subway to reach office. An exciting journey in itself, as this extends just across Hudson to the Big Apple!

My office sits pretty near to the Newark Penn Station. And just peeping through the window from my seat in the 23rd Floor, I can see the Hudson curling around, I can see the distant NewYork-Manhattan skylines, the EWR airport and the flights landing and taking off. There are more to my New Jersey stay than this.

Like- the photo below!- Note the jet of water and the sea gull on top of it and also visit the album- there are tons of good ones in there!

From 2007-05-06-Ca...

Been to Hampi- one of my "must go" destination for a long time. I didn't want to go there without my own camera- preferably a SLR. Now that I have that with me, planned for a quick trip- one of the must visit spot there was the "Stepped Well"- Well, will come to that later.

Started off from Mangalore on Friday- a KSRTC bus was all could get- When we enquired for direct buses to Hampi, I was surprised when people asked me "where is Hampi?"-While I didn't expect people to readily give me an answer if there are buses to Hampi, I atleast expected that, they would know the place. Sad that people in Karnataka themselves don't know much about Hampi.

All set for the trip, we reached the bus-stand and was really thrilled to find a decent bus. Our thrill didn't last long- the road is awesome. You virtually visit the heaven's every now and then, when the bus tries tackling the numerous speed breakers- there are a series of speed breakers, wherever a gully or a small road meets the Highway- the speed breakers are in the highway. Some speed breakers should be definitely called back breakers. I don't understand the logic of having speed breakers in the highway, when a smaller road meets it!- So much for Logic!

The trip was so much eventful, that when we reached Hubli at around 4:30 AM, we were simply amazed to find an entrepreneurial guy, trying to sell the Duck-like-sound making doll at such an hour- you would have seen those toys that make sound when hit or shaken. He was selling that in such a devilish hour- Couldn't understand the logic!

But, once we reached Hampi. all these pains were replaced by pure bliss! Let the pictures speak the rest of the story!

From Hampi Visit