/* Available from March 11th 2014*/
2006 November Honda City Zx Gxi- Beige color.
Done 70,000kms
Excellent condition, Single hand. Factory fitted Alpine music system.
All papers in order.
Replaced new 4 tyres at 60,000kms.
Zero accidents; only minor scratches on bumper.
Price: 3.20 Lakhs (slightly nego). Contact: 97404 24256 (preferably between 2p.m and 9p.m)
Free Software Talk by Abhas - 7 June 2008 ------------------------------------------
The talk was presented by Abhas Abhinav, CEO, Deeproot Linux, a free software based company in Bangalore.
For a person who is new to free software movement, the talk may seem philosophical at times. However, the very presenter being a successful entrepreneur already in free software business, held the interest levels intact. The initial slides talk about the background of free software, why free software and what free software is all about. Even though one of the listeners wanted to jump to knowing about business ideas using free software, Abhas's commitment to educate on principles of free software business first was appreciable.
My idea on attending this talk too was about knowing at least handful of business ideas using free software. But as the presentation goes by one could realize that the session's objective was to educate on the idea of free software business and the model of doing free software business and not about discussing business ideas as such. May be it was only my expectation that was wrong. The session helped us realize how we are restricting our freedom and hence our knowledge in this proprietary software business model.
Abhas was candid about making us realize how much $$$ he may lose if someone adopts his idea and sells an improved product next door. But this is what the free software principle is all about. To be a successful entrepreneur in this, he emphasized the importance of 'Value' that you attach to your product. He says, its the value that you provide in terms of support and services for your product which differentiates between you and your competitors.
It may be true that proprietary software business can make you more rich than your FSB counterpart. But the knowledge you spread around by distributing your source and helping the community to build upon that is a greater achievement. This liberation of the mind is what is essential to be a committed free software follower and a FSB Entrepreneur as well. Hence they say, "Free software is not about price but about freedom. Think 'Free' as in free speech and not free beer".
Places Covered : Valparai, Top Slip No. of Persons : 7 (3 Couples + 1 kid) Starting Point : Chennai
Transport & Accomodation: 1. Chennai to Coimbatore and back: Train (Nilgiri Express)
2. Taxi from Coimbatore to cover Valparai and Topslip Booked a Toyota Qualis from ATS Travels, Valparai. Very descent company and professional too. It is safe to book a vehicle who can guarantee Valparai local as a driver. Ghat section of Pollachi to Valparai is not an easy one for someone who has not driven much on hills. More importantly, driving in tea estates of Valparai and nearby places needs special driving skills which mostly the local drivers are aware of. If you plan to go w/ ATS travels, then ask for Murugan as your driver. Very cool chap and quite amazing to see someone who practices 'Defensive Driving' so perfectly. He is a specialist when he climbs on ghats. Quite descent and talkative too. Only drawback is; you need to know well in advance what places are want to see else he is a guy who likes to skip places to take his time off :) Tarriff : Rs. 6000 for Valparai & Topslip (2nights, 3 days). Pickup and drop at Coimbatore railway station. This includes all charges. Still drivers would be happy if you tip something extra. They did not ask for a single paisa till I ended my tour. Single and final payment. ATS phone# : +91 94435 04984 / 94431 94509
3. Advance reservations:
Accomodation in Valparai : Hotel Green Hills Contact Person: Shanmugam Dlx Dbl room - 600/- Dlx 5-bed room - 750/- + 50/- extra person Ord Dbl room - 350/- Booking advance 1000/- or 1500/- to be paid Payable : Green Hills Hotel Pvt Ltd a/c : 11357936101 (SBI) Ph : 04253-222861
Written request to be sent to above address in advance.
Saturday Office open till 1p.m ; Sunday Holiday
Booking amount to be paid in person only
Permission for Grass hills to be obtained separately.
Itinerary: Just spent some time to plan my trip to maximum possible details so that I can be well prepared to handle any possible deviations. I had prepared an itinerary after getting good inputs about Valparai, Top Slip from handful of websites (listed in references section). It looked like this:
<<<<<<> Arrive Coimbatore 9am -> Start for Valparai 11am -> Reach Valparai, Check-in Lunch, cover 2 or 3 places before 6p.m
26th August 2007 Cover 1 or 2 places before 12noon 12Noon -> Start for Pollachi 1p.m -> Visit forest officer, lunch 3p.m -> Start for TS 4p.m -> Reach TS, checkin Relax or IGNP walk
27th August 2007 6a.m -> Trekking 12Noon -> Return to guest house, lunch, rest 4p.m -> Start for Coimbatore >>>>>> My experience:
25th August, 2007 Reached Coimbatore at 5:30am. Managed to get the railways retiring room at the station itself. A bit expensive but very comfortable and time saving. Finished all our morning routines and checked-out in about 3hrs. Our qualis was waiting for us in the railway stn parking lot. We got into the vehicle at around 9a.m. The driver was very friendly. We headed straight to Valparai via pollachi. Stopped at Pollachi for breakfast. Had a bit heavy breakfast. Couple of places that I had planned to visit at Valparai were on the way to it. 1. Aliyar Dam 2. Monkey Falls The above two comes before you start the ghat section of Valparai.
Aliyar Dam ------------ Aliyar dam is a scenic place. Lower Aliyar is done w/ a descent park, chidren's play area while the upper part is where the dam is. Boating is allowed in the waters there but we did not make use of it. You can see couple of notice boards errected along the dam waters which gives the count of people who had died so far :) One has to walk through the park and climb the stairs situated at the other corner to reach upper Aliyar. View from upper Aliyar is beautiful. On one side you see waters and the opposite side is full of greenery. A good view of Pollachi's deep green coconut trees! Awesome view. Entry ticket : Rs. 4 per adult and Rs. 10 for camera
Monkey Falls -------------- Typical water falls. Cold water with great force was very refreshing. The front area of the falls is very very slippery. With so much crowd over there you can easily see someone or the other slipping every minute. That included me and my friend, Gowri :) He got reasonably hurt in multiple places unlike my digi cam, which just fell into the waters while saving him and was dead for next 2 days :) Good aventure, ehh!! Entry ticket : I believe Rs.15 per adult.
To Valparai ------------ Ghat section to Valparai starts a few kms after monkey falls. It is a terrific ghat w/ 40 hair-pin bends on a single mountain. 9th HP bend is a view point. You can see Aliyar from here. Along the way there are couple of small villages where one can find simple dhabas. Lunch, snacks can be had here. It costed about Rs.18 per lunch. Typical southy meals. After HP bends, along the tea estates, there comes mist-spreading-zone (sign boards visible). Really, the mist was terrific here. Also, one can notice the king of hills 'Grass Hills' on a distant sight. If you notice parrot green hills (literally shining in the sun-light) that is 'Grass Hills'. They will stand out among the rest of the hills.
After a couple of kms you enter Valparai town. Time: Reached Green Hills hotel at 4:30p.m
At Valparai ------------- Hotels:
So far as I enquired and seen, there is only one good hotel in entire Valparai. That is 'Hotel Green Hills'. A very descent hotel. A deluxe double room is quite comfortable with all basic amenities. Given the small town, the facilities in the room for the price of Rs.600 per night is quite welcome. The restaurant is also good enough. The cooks there seem to be specialists in fried rice, manchurians. Chinese food tasted too good (spicy enough) but the breakfast was a tragedy. Neither the over oily pooris nor the too-sour dosas were edible. There is a chettinad mess; about 5min walk from the hotel down hill. Tiffin items were good there.
26th August, 2007
Balaji Temple:
In hill stations like these my idea of visiting temples is more than for religious reasons. Like I expected, this temple is in a scenic location. The temple by itself is a calm place to enjoy and also its beautiful small gardens around were pleasent. One can take a distant but good look of 'Grass Hills' from here. Approach : 45min drive from Green Hills
Nirar Dam:
The dam itself is a small one but the reserviour and the thick forest around it present a visual treat. It was raining and may be due to damp weather that we were lucky to spot a green viper right on the concrete structure where we were standing. The snake seemed to be a just born one measuring about 2 inches. Nicely formed hood and fresh green in color. Boating: It would be great to go on boating in this reservoir where one can travel in water in the midst of forest. But I learnt that boating is allowed only during the month of may when Valparai celebrates its annual cultural festival (thiruvizha in may 2nd week). Approach : 30min drive from Balaji Temple. Chinna Kallar is close by (about 30min from Nirar)
Nallamudi Poonjolai:
This is a view point and supposed to be very beautiful. Luck did not favour us much here as the place was covered with very very thick mist. We could not see much here. But being in the mist itself was quite enjoyable. Approach : 30min drive from Nirar
Sholayar Dam:
This is a huge dam and the reservoir is vast. Boating is allowed here too (see details above). Approach : 30-45min drive from Nallamudi Poonjolai
Akkamalai Grass Hills:
This is a must-see place. This is part of Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary for which, one must have piror permission to enter. Permission can be obtained from Wildlife Warden Office, Pollachi. I had to miss this lovely place anyway. I could not get the permission from Warden office since they had prohibited the place for visitors due to heavy rains. Some details that I got from our driver: 1. Grass Hills road is very steep and only vehicles like qualis, bolero, jeeps can drive through. Any low ground-clearence vehicles like sedans, ambassodor is not advisable. 2. We can stay in the forest guest house in Grass Hills. Very enjoyable place to stay itseems.
Other places to cover (that we missed): 1. Number Parai 2. Chinna kallar a.k.a Chinna cherapunji (after Assam's Cherapunji - highest rainfall region of India) 3. Kadamparai dam
To Top Slip --------------- It takes about 2.5hrs to reach Topslip from Valparai. We checked out Green Hills, Valparai at 5p.m and we were in Topslip at around 7:45p.m. The route is to travel downhill (40 HP bends), pass through Aliyar and take a deviation (away from Pollachi town) towards Sethumadai town. We have to produce the tickets (accomodation-cum-entry tickets) at this first checkpost.
As per Topslip rules, they are not suppose to allow any vehicle after 6p.m towards topslip. Though the cops can be liberal here but you cannot take them for granted. Eventhough I was aware of this rule my driver was confident that it is not a problem to go late. Only after starting on this ghat we could realize what the rule means! Topslip is known for elephant menace. It was damn scary to travel in this dense forest. It was pitch dark outside and you never know when an elephant would suddenly stand in front of you blocking the road. Our adrenaline shot up when we realized that our driver was tense. Before turning on every HPin bend he would almost stop the vehicle, flash the headlamps all over and ask me to look around all corners for elephants. Itseems elephants often stand in the curves and you cannot avoid them after you completed the Hpin bend. In one such bend I was checking for elephant at far sight when my driver suddenly alarmed...Bisonnn!! The beast was just 5 feet away from driver's door. To see its huge face and murderous eyes in such short distance was damn scary. His horns were awesome big. We silently accelerated the vehicle and moved away. It was height of adventure for us and just prayed that we don't encounter an elephant too!
It is about 30min drive from lower checkpost to upper checkpost. Two cops at this checkpost again questioned us too much to reason out why we were late. All the interrogation was for just 20bucks. We gave it and he let us through.
At Topslip ------------ Landscape in front of reception
The reception was closed by the time we reached on top. There is a descent canteen next to reception. Forest range officer (fondly called as ranger) was relaxing there. I had booked two rooms in Bison House guest house but the officer updated us that he had released those rooms to others since we were late. The rule is to show up before 6p.m Hence the rule at checkpost too. The ranger is a polite and responsible officer. I missed to note his name. Man w/ big mush (veerappan style) and roaring eyes. He was quite polite and arranged two rooms in Hornbill GH. Rooms were OK. Each room has 3 beds and costs 450/- per night. Blankets are provided. A guide accompanies you from the reception to your guest house. Another rule is that visitors are not suppose to venture into the forests without the company of a forest department guide. Vandering in your private vehicles too is prohibited.
Ambuli Illam:
"Ambuli Illam" is the best guest house among all. It is an old 2-storey building. Dining hall is in the ground floor with its own kitchen. Caretakers are appointed there and they can cook food per your menu. Bed rooms are in first floor. There are about 5 rooms if I remember right. Among them one or two are reserved for VIPs. The best part of staying in ambuli is that it is situated little deep into the forest. It is 2kms away from the reception area and surrounded by dense bamboo trees.
The cook updated us that they spotted a bear right in front of the building the previous night. So, thatz the catch! If you love to see animals, more chances here than other GHs.
Other Guest houses:
Bison House
Hornbill
Tree top
LH
Around the santuary at night:
Around 10:30p.m, we requested a forest guide to accompany us in our vehicle. He obliged. We spotted a bear, herd of 3 bisons (one cute calf) in just 100mts distance from our Hornbill GH. Little further we could also see a big group of 30-35 spotted deers. Couple of them had huge horns. Lovely sight. The thumb rule is that we should restrict with a glance (not more than a minute) and move on. Else, they might get disturbed due to brightness of our torch lights or vehicle headlamps.
Trekking:
To trek is the best thing to do in top slip. Specially an early morning trek. I missed it however but vowed to do it next time. Hence, for trekking details I would rather point to other blogs (in references section) for accurate information.
I learnt from other blogs that a forest guide by name Aarumugam is the best guy to hire for trekking. However, I enquired about him and learnt that he is no more in topslip. It seems he got transferred to Vandalur, Chennai to train elephants there.
Elephant Ride:
One can do trekking on elephant. It costs Rs.400 per elephant for 1-hour ride. Seating capacity is 4 adults. A flat bed with rods all round is arranged over the elephant's back. We can sit comfortably holding the rods for grip. The guide sits on its neck and constantly pedels its ears which, he says, is the accelarator-cum-brakes. The route is a regular one but after going little distance in the forest he would stop at one forking point. One route is lengthier than the other. If you are ready to pay him extra amount he would take you in a lenghier route else shorter route. In shorter route you would return in about 30min (whereas the promise was for 1-hour). You cannot argue! The longer route would bring you back in 40 to 45min. Still 1-hour mark is never touched :) Rationale: You can do elephant ride just for the heck of an expereince of sitting on an elephant. Otherwise, in elephant trek chances of spotting any animals is very bleak. Two reasons: 1. These treks are conducted between 10a.m and 3p.m which, is an odd time to spot animals naturally. 2. Heard that by sensing the approach of elephants all animals and birds naturally move away. So, where are the chances???
Canteen:
The canteen is quite helpful. You get snacks, lunch, dinner, morning tea/coffee/milk etc. Both veg and non-veg dishes are served for lunch/dinner. It will not have variety of items as in a hotel but quite satisfactory to meal there. Mr. Rajendran (canteen incharge) is a polite person. They cook on need basis and so we may have to confirm in advance whether we need food. We can also choose items among his restricted list so he can serve us with. Coffee time : 7:30 a.m to 8:30a.m Breakfast : 9a.m Lunch : 1:30p.m Dinner : 9p.m
Phone# at Topslip: 04253-245002. Just in case you end up reaching late at Topslip you can call up these numbers to keep them informed. Also, you can confirm your wish to have the dinner so the canteen incharge can reserve some food for you.
Parambikulam dam:
This dam is about 30kms (not very sure) from topslip. We have to cross kerala checkpost in between. So, yellow board vehicles will have to have kerala permit or pay entry fees at the post. The tarriff was something like Rs10 per person and Rs.100 for Qualis. Big vehicles may have higher rate. So, I believe even for private vehicles, we need to pay something there (atleast for persons travelling). All this must be entry fees for visiting the dam as such. Taxi permits may be extra. Not sure though!!
Conclusion: If you are a nature lover, Valparai and Top slip are the places for you. You can just forget the urban life for a wonderful treat from nature. You will only see greenery, animals and those scanty, polite, helpful villagers around these places. You can combine Valparai and Topslip for a quick weekend get-away. However I realized that Valparai or Topslip each is worth for a separate weekend.
Happy Journey!!! Do feel free to drop your comments or post any queries at mviswanat@gmail.com
