Coorg and Kabini

Monsoons, and the Western Ghats comes alive during the time when the water starved regions, barren lands, dry forests, brown hillocks come alive in various shades of green and numerous waterfalls spring up in nook and corner of the region turning the virtual entire into a carpet of greenery. When it rains, it pours in some regions diminishing the might of the Sun for a few days and the tree canopies prevent the lesser available sunlight to pass through them to hit the forest floors thus rendering it moist always. Leeches love this environment and numerous bugs, beetles, frogs, snakes thrive during the rains. In a corner of the forest, safe from the flowing water, the might King Cobra builds its nest carefully and tirelessly to ensure its eggs hatch. Frogs and toads come out of hibernation and so does many of the smaller insects virtually infesting the whole region with their calls, songs and music. With abundance of prey around, the snakes make the most of it grabbing a meal or two, whenever it can.

The smell of the land after a good rain is probably the best fragrance you could ever sense and a lush green thriving forest is probably the best sight you could see and the calls of the birds, insects and animals is probably the best music you would hear. A complete therapeutic treat to entice all of a human’s senses and re-energize the mind and soul.

We were well aware of the fact the Kodagu region comes alive during monsoons with many waterfalls springing up and the well-known ones cascading in full force and we always wanted to explore some of them at leisure and so we did traversing through Kodagu and tracing out hidden gems that come alive mostly during the monsoons. We did visit a few and we had to skip a few more owing to short time, but nevertheless it was a rejuvenating sight that lot of people miss even though they wander so close to them. Some of these need a hike and walking through unknown terrains and the area around the waterfalls are generally slippery, so you need to exercise caution before you head out deeper into the woods. If you are not sure, then take the help of a local to accompany you as it’s easy to get lost!

Rajasthan birding - Keoladeo Ghana National Park (Bharatpur)

Rajasthan trip report here...

With spare days now on hand and Raja not available in Jaipur, we dashed off to Keoladeo Ghana National Park or more commonly called the Bharatpur bird sanctuary to spend our remaining days of the trip that turned out to be an excellent decision with us being there at the right time. Bharatpur, is as small area but is an excellent avifauna sanctuary that hosts thousands of birds, especially during the winter season and people flock here for many reasons – photography, bird watching, cycling around the whole park or just walking and spending quality time listening to the birds and nothing else.

Rajasthan Birding - Jorbeed, Chhapar

Rajasthan trip report here...

Early next day, we were off to one of the most anticipated places on our list – a dumping yard! Yes. Jorbeed is a carcass dumping yard where carcass is treated and dumped and where you get to see a huge diversity of birdlife. This small patch of land is probably where you will see the highes congregation of vultures of many kinds, all in one place. Diclonofenac literally had wiped out the vulutre population from India, but awareness and banning of the drug has seen the population of vulutres recover slowly, but the threat remains large as few species of vultures are still classified as critically endangered.

#LiveLodgycal by BlogAdda

Cars have always fascinated for me and I try to keep myself updated with the happenings in the auto world and the dream of a LandRover still races in my head. So when Harish called me for an event at Goa and having been part of the last event for Tata Zest, I confirmed my participation without a delay. I got to know it was an event by Renault India for their newly launched MPV, the Renault Lodgy. What was more exciting for me was the prospect of meeting several bloggers of various genre’s and spending 2 days with them, that was something I didn’t want to let go off…

Unlike the last event, this one was to be for two days and I had just two things in minds, connect with people and have a fun time and well, I truly lived up to it :)

(L-R --> Ankita, Ankita, Tridib, Sushma from blogadda; Harish is missing here)

I truly appreciate the team of Harish, Ankita Vadhel, Ankita Banerjee, Sushma & Tridib at BlogAdda who took our feedback from earlier events and truly bought in those changes that ensured we had a pretty good time with a mix of leisure, fun, activities and purpose. Three cheers team, you guys are rocking the blog-o-sphere.

We were grouped into teams much before our arrival and the teams would compete in doing some activities that had prizes up for grabs. We were hosted at ‘The Leela, Mobor, Goa’ for the two days we stayed there. The property is huge and sprawling and caters to the elite class with a range of rooms and suites that cater to your taste and needs. The lobby itself was a huge sprawling hall and we were received cordially by the staff followed by the registration and welcome shakes from the Renault India and the BlogAdda team.

(our deluxe suite at The Leela, Goa)

Networking started from the airport itself where I met the Bengaluru brigade, about 12 of us, people from different genres of blogging and traveling on the same aircraft helped. Prashanth, Vamshi, Piyush, Giri, Parineeta, Madhumita, Thakker brothers (Nirav & Prateek), Jobo and Ankit were some of the bloggers whom I met with at the airport.

RJ Archana from Radio Mirchi, Mumbai was the host for the event who kept the bloggers involved through discussions, talk and fun. That was followed by the talk and presentations from the Renault India team briefing us about the history of the company, the making and all about the product. Well, they were glad to have us there and we all were more than excited. I finally met up with our team that had myself, Parineeta, Tina Acharya and Omkar Thakur (both from Mumbai) and we came up with a name for the team at the last moment… called #OrganisedChaos! (We lived up to the name being organized in the tasks and created good amount of chaos at the event).

(Team #OrganisedChaos)

Monsoon time and rains were evident all through the 3 days right from bloggers from Mumbai getting stuck in bad rain traffic to the rains lashing Goa through the two days of the event and it was fun driving around, lazing or at the beach.

(photos by Renault India team during the event)

(photo by BlogAdda team)

The next day was the day of the ride, filled with multiple tasks for the teams to complete and the twitter was abuzz with #LiveLodgycal, so much so that it was one of the top trending topics, power of bloggers you see! We drove up to The Lalit, about 35kms away for lunch and some video bytes shooting by the Renault India team and drove back to The Leela by evening. All of us shared the driving and photo sessions were multiple throughout the day. It was fun discussing various topics, completing the tasks and importantly the drive through scenic roads of Goa.

Since @ankita_vadhel was keeping a close eye on me, I just hide a small breakfast today @blogadda #LiveLodgycal pic.twitter.com/iMkDmOXxv0

— Dr Roshan R (@pythoroshan) June 21, 2015

The evening after the drive was much livelier with few bloggers sharing their experiences of their blogging journey and some of them were truly inspiring stuff to listen to. Post this was ‘complete energetic chaos’ for the next few hours as the number one band in Goa, Forefront took center stage and the dance floor was occupied by ‘spirited’ bloggers, dancing away to glory, truly living a bloggers life, celebrating an eventful day (Neha stole the show churning out some wonderful songs). I and few others also contributed to the high spirits dancing away to glory at the dinner plates and snoring away to glory much before the ‘spirited party’ came to an end.

Here's a small fun video I made of the party...

The BIGGEST PARTY OF THE bloggers is happening at #Livelodgycal here. pic.twitter.com/3q6mtuQ9pU

— BlogAdda (@blogadda) June 20, 2015

Through the event, I met up with Senthil, Dr Roshan, , Ayan, Deepak, Manjulika, Ankit, Rutavi, Sharon, Ragini, Ashwin, Sourabh and many others from different parts of India who had all come to experience the #LiveLodgycal way of life.

Yes, @cgiridhar, I do have a shot of yours! :) With Friends. #Bonus. #LiveLodgycal @blogadda pic.twitter.com/en5mEEhHwC

— Atul Sabnis (@atulsabnis) June 22, 2015

(with @payaniga Prashanth and Giri, @cgiridhar)

#LiveLodgycal @blogadda @payaniga @Harishk please have some points for last comers too... :) pic.twitter.com/IXQQxeKFg1

— Santosh (@santosh_bs) June 20, 2015

Isn't this awesome? Power of bloggers and power of blogging! #Livelodgycal #CelebrateBlogging https://t.co/dAMY7whX7e

— BlogAdda (@blogadda) June 19, 2015

I and Prashanth were up early and the rains couldn’t stop us from venturing to the beach, joined later by Giri and Vamshi in contradiction to others who were still lazing around trying to overcome the overnight spirits. We had heavy fun at the beach enacting few plays, captured them, edited, loaded and shared with fellow bloggers at the event nicknamed as the ‘Beach buggies’ series of videos, all done on our OnePlus One mobile devices, such is the power of the mobile device nowadays.

I leave you to watch them and please share them if you like it.

We were back at the breakfast table to hog before our flight but a delayed flight ensured we had more time than wanted to spend at The Leela and we finally made to the airport after hogging lunch and bidding goodbye to the fellow bloggers who were returning on different flights. It was a well-orchestrated event with loads of fun, laughter, sharing, networking, knowledge, activities and most importantly driving around the new Renault Lodgy.

I had a jolly good time meeting a lot of new bloggers and having awesome fun along with it and true to our team name, we created organised chaos and emerged as the top team to help ourselves to an iPad each, #OrganisedChaos.

I made a short video collage of the entire event, please have a look...

If you want to look at more photos from the event, please head to Renault India Facebook album here or the BlogAdda Facebook album here.

And, also do read the experience posts of these fellow bloggers.
BlogAdda post on their blog here
Dr Roshan
Piyush
Ankit Jain
Giri

I was a part of the #LiveLodgycal Drive by BlogAdda.com in association with Renault India.

The new ‘big boy’ in town - Renault Lodgy

Disclaimer: The entire opinion showcased here is my ‘own’ and I was part of the 40 blogger contingent that met up for the #LiveLodgycal drive at Goa hosted by blogadda sponsored by Renault India.

Renault, the French auto giant has the Pulse, Scala, Duster, Fluence, Koleos (in order of their price) lineup of models in India and the fact is that other than Duster, none of the others have anything to boast in terms of numbers sold or popularity and in this scenario, now comes the Lodgy, the new MPV (big boy) in town comparing against the likes of the Maruti Ertiga, Honda Mobilio, Toyota Innova, Mahindra Xylo, a MPV segment jammed with many competitors, a product Renault is hoping to work for them and to repeat the success of the Duster. There has been none to beat the Innova till now… well, I said ‘till now’.

(picture by Renault India team during the event)

First thing first, you spark the Renault Lodgy to life and it’s pretty hard to accept that it is a diesel vehicle you are seated in. I was surprised to hear it could do 0-100 in flat 12 seconds, faster than any of the competition here.

Look & Feel: The Lodgy name itself sounds a little odd to me though and it’s a big vehicle on appearance and is cleverly concealed when viewed from certain angles. Look wise, it’s not a head turner and looks boxy from the rear (but better than the Innova or the Xylo). Lot of chrome is used on the exteriors and interiors, something liked in a market like India though! The interiors are very practical and appear pleasing to the eye. Plastic quality is good and sturdy and many bits are carried over from the Duster. The seats are cushioned well and provide ample comfort. Overall, you feel good in a Lodgy.

Interiors: First thing you notice is the cabin is very airy and well-lit owing to the large glasses all around. Plenty of storage spaces, be it on the dashboard or the seat pockets, the door pockets or the arm rests. Reading lamps for all three rows and charging sockets too. Overall, appeared to be good and looks long-lasting. Small gear level, neatly laid out layout, practical dashboard, cruise control buttons and steering mounted audio controls are some of the eye-catching features that you notice instantly.

Ride & Handling: I only got the chance to drive the 100ps variant and it cruises above 2000rpm, below which it lags and needs frequent downshift of gears. Overtaking on highways is an easy task and exceptionally low noise levels inside the cabin. The ride quality is good across roads and many a time I didn’t feel like driving a big vehicle, a completely small-car like drivability. Really, need to test it out on a ‘long drive’ to be able to tell the steering response and confidence of handling this ‘big boy’ on the faster highways.

(picture by Renault India team during the event)

Space: Well, the biggest news is here. Owning a Xylo that’s massive on space, no other vehicle came close to that in offering space to all 3 rows of seats till now, but the Lodgy dispels that to an extent, albeit not entirely to my satisfaction. I couldn’t just digest the fact that the 2nd row seats are fixed. (Just imagining the scenario where I remove the 3rd row seat altogether and have 4 tall people with some luggage, translating it means more space for the luggage than the people itself).

#LiveLodgycal @blogadda @knithaurs @tina_acharya @GodsentEvil @RenaultIndia... The interiors of the Lodgy... pic.twitter.com/oXqkrShqHc

— Santosh (@santosh_bs) June 20, 2015

Surprisingly, the 3rd row seats are ‘usable’ (far better than others in the MPV segment but not yet close to the Xylo) and can seat 2 adults or 3 kids or 1adult+2kids. You remove the 3rd row seat altogether and fold up the 2nd row seat to reveal a massive storage space. With all seats up, you find less space and can fit in 1 medium suitcase plus a couple smaller ones. Still, it’s pretty decent on space and comfort.

#LiveLodgycal with plush captain seats which add luxurious comfort to every drive: http://t.co/herF0pjoPg pic.twitter.com/g8IsnHcb1V

— Renault India (@RenaultIndia) June 14, 2015

Pricing: Slotted bang in middle of the Ertiga and the Innova, this big boy has it spot-on and capable of moving people away from Ertiga/Mobilio on being more practical and usable and from the Innova on being more faster, refined, drivable and cheaper buy a good 500 thousand rupees. But, it can’t match the confidence an Innova evokes even at speeds of 150kms.

To summarize, I would list my pros and cons as below…

Pros:

• Pleasure to drive above 2000rpm on the highways (I’m generally seen on the highways, you see)

• Superb drive quality and zero noise

• ABS standard on all variants

• Very airy cabin with ample light seeping in (feels good to me)

• 6 speed shift on the 110ps variant (I miss it on my Xylo)

• Rear large windows completely roll down

• All 3 rows get AC vents and charging points (only on the top variant though)

• Usable 3rd row seats (yes, I repeat usable for adults)

• Plenty of small storage spaces (but front door pockets are small)

• Massive luggage space when the 3rd row is completely removed and offers multiple combinations to suit all

• Smart lever to tumble the middle row seat (not clumsy nor hard)

Cons:

• Fixed middle row seat (how can they do that!) and limited middle row legroom (especially for tall people)

• No dead pedal and the clutch pedal tad small for my liking

• The indicator levers on the left side of the steering (It’s takes a long time to get used to it, not to my liking though)

Overall, it would not be wrong to say that Lodgy is a good vehicle to own, a firm competition to the ageing Innova at a lesser price and is an overall good package.

Test it and go for it!

(picture by Renault India team during the event)

Finally, it leads me to one point – ‘how about after sales & service’... well, only time can tell!

If you are looking for a detailed review, then go nowhere else than this review on team-bhp.

I was a part of the #LiveLodgycal Drive by BlogAdda.com in association with Renault India.

Interviewed at Adda

Following up the Best Travel blog award from Blog Adda at WIN, the folks at Adda were very eager to fire some questions at me and I was more than pleased to score off their questions in the best manner I could :)

What impressed me was their preparation before sending across the questions, they did a background study of each person and their blog and the questionnaire was targeted at the person basis his/her interests and not a general interview, the individual personalized gestures bowled me over. Thank you Adda!

You can find the link to the complete interview here and it would be great to have your feedback here and there :) Roger that!

http://blog.blogadda.com/2014/04/17/interview-santosh-bs-best-travel-blogger-india

Best Travel blog

Some good news to all the readers :)

Won the best 'Travel' blog award at the recently held BlogAdda awards ceremony at Mumbai, #WIN14, the link here... Happy to see that the content is helping out people and efforts of keeping it running over the past 5 years is yielding results and recognition. Hope this journey goes on...

Definitely an occasion of joy and happiness and this being the first award of any kind the blog has been recognized with.

Credits definitely does go out to the blog readers, followers and friends who have been a constant source of encouragement and support and to each person who lets me know how useful they have found the information relayed here and also to the numerous silent visitors who do come, read and go.

Thanks to all who voted and supported! This is award is not only for the blog, its for all of us, time for some joyous celebration :)

more about BlogAdda here...
and all about the even #Win14 here.