Topic for this Post is not yet decided.

You can choose from either of the three topics...

Know swimming to drive bike OR
Mumbai Beaten by Bangalore yesterday night OR
Banunami = Bannerghatta road's Tsunami

It was a normal day in Bangalore and I was returning from office after gruelling work :). I promised one of my colleagues to drop him at his house. I had dinner at his house. It was around 10:16 in the night i decided to come back to my room as I had a meeting early next day(9 am is definetly early for me). It was drizzling and I had no clue what I was going to see when I came out to the most famous road of Bangalore, The Bannerghatta Road.

I entered the road and I did not see any traffic coming in the opposite direction. This was a warning sign but I knew that situation would not be that bad as I have been travelling on this road for past one year. Interesting part of the story starts now. I drove few meters from Mandovi circle towards IIM Bangalore I saw a big traffic jam. Then the worst nightmares came true. There was lake where there used to be a road.

The right side of the road was flooded with water approximately till waist level. There were a number people pushing their bikes in a never ending stream of dirty and filthy drainage water. Few scenes that I could see were Cars jammed in the middle of water, helpless auto drivers trying to start the engine and pedestrians trying to walk on the dividers.

On our side of the road I mean the BETTER side, I could see vehicles coming from the opposite direction. Some pushing their machines against the mighty flow of garbage water. Then there was a one guy with a rumor that some electric pole had fallen some where near the next signal. Common sense would have said it cannot happen as there was water all over the place and one should get the shock where ever he is but still I was a bit scared. Then I had only few options either to kick start the engine, go with common sense and brush aside all rumors or to swim with the flow till the nearest lake. I was worried about my engine going down as I wont be able to push my Hunk (150 kgs) :D. In midst of this I met one of my college mates, we had a long chat :D. He was in a similar dilemma. He adviced me to switch off the engine and push it. As I knew it wont be possible so I went ahead and pushed the start button, on single tyre I mean on two tyres I started my journey again. I told him if we are alive we will meet again :O. Some stats about the incident. All these things happened within 50 meters of the journey. It took 30 mins to cross that 50 meters distance. About 20 vehicles trapped in that lake. Maximum water level was till the handle of Tata Indica. All exhaust pipes and silencers were in water so they were bubbling water instead of throwing carbon dioxide out. Instead of drinking the water, gutters were vommiting gallons of black water.

Few minutes later I came swimming(driving) out of the pond. I was as happy as a fish that just came into water after being kept out on land (this was the best similie i could think of). After this high adernaline drama the best I could do from my side was to advice few others not to go in that direction and stay back if possible. I had to take bath in order to avoid infections. I am normally scared of water, After seeing so much of water the worst thing I could imagine was to loose my bike in the middle of the road and swim with the flow. But always there was some hope that I could make it to the safe area.

To conclude I would ask god for either of these wishes:
"Make the bangalore roads better" or
"Give the humans with the intellect to make a transformable bike, which can swim, roll and fly at the click of a button." or
"Not to give such bad rain falls."

To tell such a story is easy but to experience it, is amazingly bad :(.

Sikkim the land of Hills

A picture is worth a thousand words, but thousand pictures would be less to explain the beauty of Sikkim

Things to Carry
1. Shoes
2. Umbrellas
3. Sweaters, Shawls, Gloves and socks (even in summer season as temperatures could go till 0 or even less).

Places of Interest
1. Shiv temple
2. Gurudumba
3. Chung Tang Lake
4. Gangtok Ropeway
5. Baba Temple
6. Ganesh Tok
7. Many Monasteries.

Apart from the above list there are number of water falls, snow peaks, valleys and plants on the way to these places. Oxygen levels at some places are below normal levels, so heart patients, kids should not be taken to such places.

Timings
Starting as early as possible in the morning hours is a good thing to do. Most of the places are closed after 12oclock in the afternoon. Driving time is high because of heavy rains and poor roads.

Weather
Rains are common across the hilly regions. Clouds surround the hills and temperatures are usually below normal.

Best time to visit
Best time to visit Sikkim is in summers. Winter season roads are closed due to heavy snow fall.

Cuisines
'Momo' a local snack is a good item. Number of food items available is limited. Rotis , rice and dal are the most common things. Maggi and noodles are also available.

There are many other places and natural beauty all the way within Gangtok and at easily accessible distances from Gangtok. They are Peling, Kurseong, Yangthung, Valley of Flowers, Nathu La ( near China border)very high altitude Lakes from where rivers originate. Transport system is efficient and disciplined. Cows, horses, yaks, goats loverly birds are every where. Cow milk has excellent taste may be because they feed on jungle herbs. Plastic is totally banned in this state. Toy train and tea gardens in Siliguri (a base station) are attractions too. Trekking and white water rafting are other attractions. Extreme cold, heat and lack of oxygen, hot water springs, India China border are all part of the show. With limited choice in food variety people may have to adjust.