Tag Archive for 'hiking'
Today we (Jessica, her parents and I) headed out of Bangalore to get some peace and quiet in the Nandi Hills. This is an ancient hill fortress about 45 km north of the city, famous for the small temples built at the peak about 1000 years ago. It was nice to get away from the smog, get some exercise, and see some wildlife. One thing we found humorous was how several groups of Indian visitors wanted pictures with us, which we gladly agreed to. My Indiana Jones hat probably contributed to their amusement.
The hike up to the top from the lower parking lot is less than 2 km, and takes 15 minutes or so, even when hiked casually. Here were some scenes along the way.
Lawn art
Just blows me away
Nandi temple
One of the locals
The highlight for me was all the monkeys. We white folk don’t get to see them much unless at the zoo, so we snapped plenty of photos. I will say, though, Lonely Planet needs to mention the 500 or so inhabitants with a disclaimer. Monkeys are not afraid to approach humans and will take something if they want it. Case in point:
Curious monkey approaches
Initial inquiry
A friendly greeting
The plot thickens
Negotiations
Final attempt
Once things seemed to be getting out of hand, Jessica stopped capturing the events and we exited the situation. No one was (badly) injured. We witnessed two other water bottle heists, one from another foreigner and the other from Jessica’s parents. Lonely Planet will be getting an email shortly.
Mom, Maer and I hiked the Hollyridge trail to the Hollywood sign this afternoon. The hike is probably only about 2 miles round trip… worth it. The drive there (braving LA traffic) from my mom’s is the hardest part; I was feeling a little car-sick by the time we finally got to the trailhead. Note the lack of smog today!
Sign from Afar.
Smogless sky.
Mom and Me.
Mom and Maer.
Sign's backside.
Went to the REI flagship store in Seattle over the weekend, which happened to be during their anniversary sale. The place has a waterfall, bike and hiking demo trails and a huge rockclimbing wall. It was glorious. I bought the Solomon Techamphibian water shoes in camo using my $40 gift card, given to me when signing up for the REI Visa card. That, combined with the 20% anniversary sale discount and another 10% or so back in dividends made them way affordable. And I’ll look like a badass hiking Mt Fuji.