Camping in Nilgiris, a survey

Most of you might already know that Nilgiris is one place that I love a lot!

I have been thinking of setting up a place in Nilgiris for sometime now. Though a full fledged place is not economically viable for me, esp given the changes in my life post March, I was wondering if I could start something small, off-beat and catering to a niche like camping. Of course, being able to run the place without having to be there all the time would be important too.

The kind of crowd I would want to attract is a niche group, but slowly on the rise in India… travellers, campers, birders, cyclists, etc. Not the typical tourist who would want all the bells and whistles of a luxury accommodation.

While I am on the lookout for places that fit my budget, taking my own sweet time , I would also like to do some market study and research too.  Your inputs here could be immensely helpful!

Could you please spare a couple of minutes to fill the survey below?

For your convenience, I have already chosen few options and made them the default so that you don’t have to click if you agree. Of course, they also indicate my choices too .

Camping in Nilgiris:

TFN day 3: 1 stop, 6 guys & 27 eggs!

‘Si.. Sisi.. Si Do la da,

Yaku sine ladu banaha….’

The kids of Vidyodaya sang the African greeting song and danced. We watched in merriment!

Riding through the forest:

Earlier in the day, Santosh had instructed all riders to ride in groups of 5. It was tusker territory.

We rode in groups. In our group were Sameer, Chiddu, Shilpa, Mayank, YVR Vijay, Manju,Priya and Pramod. The route was fabulous!

Heavenly, if I may add!

Go Green! Go cycle!

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Wish you a fantastic 2011!

Wish you all a fantastic 2011!

May all your dreams come true! May the travel gods smile upon you! May your bikes take you places! May your cameras click wonderful images! May you live the life you always wanted to! May there be more leaves when you want to travel!

May your life be wonderful!!!

2010 through the rear-view mirror:

2010 to me was fantastic in terms of travel and photography!! Initially, I thought I would do a full fledged year review, but thought year reviews are too personal and hence wanted to save you the trouble of reading through yet another boring review.

So, I thought I will just list a few memorable moments of 2010.

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Power of the pedal!

(This is an article I wrote for my company’s newsletter. Thought I will reproduce it here too.)

This New Year, when you are still contemplating on a gym membership, worried about your lipid profile report, stressed and anxious about a zillion things in life, do a small thing to help yourself!

Get onto the saddle! Get into bicycling! Get into that childhood hobby of yours! Go Green!!!

Why?

1. Stay fit
2. Lose weight
3. Reduce stress and anxiety
4. Save money
5. Have lots of fun!
6. Reduce carbon footprint
7. Explore places like never before

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TFN Day 2: Cyclists or movie stars?

‘Anna, neevu racing maadtha idhiraa?’ (Brother, are you racing?)

Niranjan and Srinivas, the 2 kids, asked me as they pedalled with me for 2-3 Kms at Vaddagere, 110Kms from Kollegal.

‘Illa, sumne cycling maadthaa idheevi’ (no, we are simply cycling), I told the kids who clearly weren’t pleased with my answer!

‘Neevu, nijavaglu Bengaloorindha bandidheera?’ (are you really coming from Bengaluru?)

‘Nim cycle ge stand ilva?’ (doesn’t your cycle have a stand?)

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