So day 3 - Plan was to go to jog falls about 70 kms away. My aunt stays there in a small place called Kargal (not to be confused with kargil). We decided to set off after breakfast so that we can be back home by early evening as we had to drive back to Bangalore the next day. At 9:30,we get ready and are ready to leave when we see that the car has a flat (thanks to the atrocious stretch near Shimoga). So changing it and repairing the flat sets us back by a good hour and a half. The rest of the drive being quite uneventful. We reach Kargal at 1:00 pm.
Kargal's a town which caters largely to Karnaraka Power Corporation and Karnataka Power Trading Corporation (KPCL and KPCTL) staff and workers. It's clean,neat, well maintained and beautiful. We have a hearty lunch made by my aunt. The only next thing is to take a nap, especially given the weather and our full stomachs. About 4:00 we set off to see the Jog Falls , it's a drop of almost 829ft and is quite unnerving to look over the edge to the bottom. The falls need to be visited in monsoon to see it in all it's glory. Last time I visited there, it was nothing short of majestic. This time, after the monsoon, it's a ghost of it's monsoon self. Still a vision to see though. One can also visit the Linganmakki dam nearby. The rules have changed now due to the threats. Earlier, one could, with permission visit the power generating plant. We dint visit the dam as to was late and it would be closed. My uncle and aunt took us around Kargal and told us stories of china gate and mohini circle (yep..mohini circle..heheh..) and we sat around for a while, went home, had dinner and left. We reached home at about 10:00 or so. The neighbours were worried and were about to call us to and find out (that's how it's there, I dont even know my neighbours in my apartment and we've been there for almost a year).
Next day, we left for Bangalore at 1:30 pm hoping to reach home at 8:30 or so. The roads were terrible and worse than we thought, also the traffic had considerably increased, making progress slow. Picked up cousins alongthe way and stopped for tea late evening. After we left, we had a flat tyre again. Prashanth replaced them..again..and we set off...stopped at a village after tiptur to repair the flat..just in case. Rest was an uneventful drive. We reached nelamangala..finally... and took us a good two hours to navigate through traffic. We finally reached home at 10:30 pm. Something has to be done about those roads, because there were quite a few cars along the way with flat tyres. It's a punishment for any vehicle that is not a truck, bus or a jeep.
I would recommend the hornad/malnad area for anyone who wants to see Karnataka. Please visit during the onset of monsoon or just after the monsoon season. Not during, at that time the rain just does not let up. It's breathtakingly beautiful place and one has to see it atleast once in their lifetime.
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