The Ringing Rock of Basara

Basara (or Basar) is a small town on the state of Telangana in India that is popularly associated with the Gnana Saraswati Temple where many come as a pilgrimage to pay homage to the Goddess of Learning, Saraswati.

However, the town also has another quaint attraction that is less known to outsiders, but a source of pride and joy to the locals; and they will quickly and proudly point out to you the location of their village's Magical Rock or Ringing Rock, which is located near the town's bus station.

The Sounding/Ringing Rock of Basara - the locals are quick to show you where to strike the rock to get
the best ringing tone from the rock

The Veda Shilaa is surrounded by a fence, and there
are houses nearby the site. A friendly goatherd or
local farmer may come to your assistance in
helping you 'ring' the rock.

This rock, called Veda Shilaa or Sri Vedavathi Shila, is what you would call a sounding or ringing rock. Ringing rocks have the peculiar characteristics of producing a resonate sound like a bell or metal bowl being struck.

The Ringing Rock of Basara has a sort of a hollow metallic ring when struck with pebbles, sounding almost like a cowbell being hit, except with a bit more resonate tone, especially when the listener is on the opposite side of the struck surface.

So if you are around Basara, and temples are not the thing for you, try making a tune out of the Ringing Rock of Basara.

Ethipothala Water Falls

Ethipotala Falls as seen from the viewing point. The falls would be spectacular in the wet season. Alas this was taken in
the heat of summer. Still, the geological formation and natural environment are a sight to behold.

A visit to the Ethipothala Falls in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, India in the dry season is a surreal experience worth doing. From the nearest town you drive on for hours through scrub-land filled with stunted, spiny trees and cacti, and the soil that looked more promising of having dust storms than a 70 feet waterfall.

The dry scrub forest landscape before reaching the falls.

Only as you come closer to the confluence of the three streams that give rise to the falls will you see how the presence of water changes the landscape tremendously. Vegetation suddenly become a plenty and the lush tropical feel returns to the landscape.

From the waterfall viewing point, one can see that the falls must be huge during the rainy season, for rock surfaces that bear testament to the erosive forces of water spans a large area of the falls.

Part of the falls that have water in summer.

The water from the streams that form the falls appear to magically fall off the rocky cliff and onto a green pool of water. We managed to see water from two water source, possibly two of the three streams that form the falls had more water at that time.

We walked about the park area where the viewing point was, and the view of the surrounding scrub-land and the falls do make a good backdrop for photos.

Other than seeing the falls with your own eyes and taking landscape photos, there is nothing much to do here. We were told that the path to the pools is to the right of the entrance of the viewing area (as you are exiting the park). There is a concrete arch, and a sandy rock path/steps that seems to meander into the bushes.

It is a good to walk down to the pools of the falls if you have time (or make time for it). There are a few small shrine/temples, and the local priest will probably try to extract a donation from you for showing you around. The pools at the foot of the falls are inviting, but they are apparently used for crocodile breeding projects!

Steps down to the pools of the falls.

We met some interesting local folk at the pool
of the waterfall - a native in her traditional gear.

 SUMMARY:

• It is worth seeing even in the dry season.
• There is a stall that sells drinks and snacks in the viewing area - the staff will wield a cane to chase away pesky monkeys when you are having a drink or snack.
• Do spend time to go down to the pools at the foot of the falls.
• Swimming in the pools is at your own risk! 

Ooty - Queen of the Hill Stations

After Mysore, we were headed for Ooty, which is a popular hill station in the Nilgiri Hills. Also known as the Queen of Hill Stations in India, it was the summer time retreat for the British during the colonial era.

View of part of Ooty... the hillsides are dotted with houses and farms or tea plantations.

From Mysore, our drive took us through the Bandipur National Park (a tiger reserve) and Mudumalai National Park, which was very relaxing and scenic. As the road ascended the hills (not too harrowing or with sharp corners), the view of the hills and the valley below got us all excited. Tea plantations started to dot the landscape, and there were small tea shops along the way. A good thing if you need a break or motion sickness gets to you, these stalls serve a mean cup of chai.

A motorcyclist riding through Bandipur Tiger Reserve... meals on wheels for tigers?

The view as we ascend the hill towards Ooty.

Tea plantations dominate the landscape as we ascend the hills.

We reached Ooty around 2pm local time, and headed straight for our accomodation, which isn't really in town (bummer... yeah) but located on the south-western edge of Ooty, west of West Mere. The place (Deccan Park Resort) has cottage like units surrounded by gardens and even has a tea plantation (sort of an unkept patch) that we can view from our balcony. You have to walk a short distance from the reception and dining area to reach your 'rooms' but the park along the path is cheerfully planted with flowers along the way. Couldn't resist in taking shots of the flowers around the place.

The 'cottage' like units.

From the 'tea plantation' looking back to
the units

View of the room, quite cozy
actually.

Pretty blue Lupins.

Orange California poppy to brighten the day.

The cool and fresh air meant it was a good time to go back to town to do some sightseeing and also to get a meal before heading back here for dinner. Now Ooty is well known for one thing... local made chocolates! in all sorts of flavours and sizes. Nuts or fruit, plain or dark, you name it, they got it... well, don't ask for Guylian or Lindt chocolates here, we are talking about 100% local stuff here.

One of the many many shops that sells chocolates in Ooty.

Other than chocolates... the sweets and cake shops are everywhere! Anyone on a diet and coming to Ooty, please beware. Either put a blindfold on or just give in to the temptation. The fun part is to try the various chocolates and then buy some... guarantee you will be full and would require no lunch.

There is even a shop that sells crisps (potato, banana etc) and Indian snacks. Try to buy when the crisps are fresh from the wok - delicious on a cool afternoon in Ooty.

Shop selling crisps and snacks.

What to see around Ooty town:

• Chocolate and sweet shops.
• The local stalls that sell flower, vegetables and snacks.
• The main market area - you can get anything here, vegetables, meat, fish and even macaroni.
• Shops along the street that sort of descend down to a small cramp space.

After a good walk, we headed back to our accomodation... where dinner was a surprise. The place is more of a health sanatorium, and the meals are fully vegetarian as they hold on to the healing principles of Ayurveda! The verdict - it was a good meal, even for a meat lover like me.

Going Up Taipei 101

Taipei 101 - taken on a Thursday - so the lights
are green!

Taipei 101 was the tallest skyscraper in the world (until March 2010) at the height of 509.2 m. Despite no longer holding the world record as the tallest skyscraper, it is still worth it to go up the observation deck.

The design of Taipei 101 is made to withstand typhoon winds and earthquake tremors that are common in that area of Taiwan. The tower takes inspiration from the pliable but strong bamboo. The tower lights are coded according to the day of the week:

• Monday - Red
• Tuesday - Orange
• Wednesday - Yellow
• Thursday - Green
• Friday - Blue
• Saturday - Violet
• Sunday - Purple

The elevator travels at the speed of 60.6km/h, taking only 37 seconds to reach the observation deck at 89F. When you are in the elevator, keep an eye out on the timer on the display, and do notice how smooth and silent the ride is. The staff inside the elevator does a good job in guessing what language you comprehend and gives an intro about the tower in those languages. When we went up, he did Mandarin, English and Japanese, all by the same person! I guess we were easy as we were talking in English as we entered the elevator.

Once you reach 89F, you can get a good view of the surrounding area behind glass from this floor. Do not look straight down if you suffer from vertigo!

The elevator display shows you how long
the ride takes to the 89F.

The 91F outdoor deck will only open if weather conditions are good. If the 91F outdoor deck isn't open, go to the 88F and marvel at the 'Golden Ball', a 5.5m diameter, 660 ton weight (tuned mass damper) suspended within the building to offset the force of wind that frequently buffet Taipei 101. Under strong windy conditions you can actually see with your own eyes the ball moving to offset the sway of the building.

The tuned mass damper ball viewed from 89F onto the 88F.

Besides the tower, there is nothing much to do at Taipei 101, unless you are into shopping at high end designer branded shops (very much like KLCC, Malaysia). However, the lower floor has a decent food place that is worth your money and you can also do some shopping for Taiwan products there at a reasonable price. So do check it out down there.

The Streets of Jiu Fen - walking through Miyazaki's Inspiration

Jiu Fen is a popular tourist attraction located in the northeastern coast of Taiwan. As a little village on a windy road up the steep hillside, the old street of Jiu Fen is quaint cobblestone path that is lined with shops, temples, guesthouses and viewing platforms. Notably, there are a large number of food stalls, and you can get almost any kind of Taiwanese food here, from noodles to taro balls to grilled sausages.

Part of Jiu Fen's old street.

Jiu Fen rose to greater limelight after Miyazaki's Spirited Away was released, for scenes of the shop leading to Yubaba's bath house are supposedly inspired by the old street of Jiu Fen, and Ah Mei's tea house bears an uncanny semblance to Yubaba's bath house.

Most tours will drop you off at the 7-Eleven, where the entrance to the more popular section of the cobblestone path lined with shops starts. Depending on the time, it could be jam-packed with tourist or it could be an easy walk up the cobblestone path.

Houses and guest houses along the path.

Curio mask shop in the old street of
Jiu Fen.

Tea houses with lighted signboards
and lanterns.

There is a temple just below the 7-Eleven entry point to the old
street of Jiu Fen.

Do:

• Walk all the way to the top, there is a temple and school at the end of the street at the top of the hill.
• Explore the various parallel paths and side street. Do not be afraid to get lost, the locals will happily point out how to get back to the old street.
• Enjoy the view, it is free.

Negatives:

• Tea houses are a bit 'touristy'.
• Food here isn't as good as other places in Taiwan, in my opinion. Feels more like a touristy trap, but you can eat your way to the top.
• Can be a very muggy and sweaty experience if there are many bus loads of tourist all trying to get onto the cobblestone path.