First take and review of Monkey Maze at Marthahalli, Bangalore

I had seen Monkey Maze many times on my drive over to WhiteField. It falls almost eye level on the left as you come off the bridge after Marthahalli. Today I finally took my four year old to it.

Monkey Maze is located above Pizza Hut, next To Purva Foundation Square. It is a huge, airy and well lit space. It has a nice play gym with slides, tunnels, climbing net walls, a ball pit and trampolines. It is not a huge gym but big enough for ten to fifteen kids to play comfortably in. Next to the gyms are toys of all sorts – kitchen supplies and soft foam puzzles and a few toddler entertainers like swings and push cars. In front to the gym is a café selling coffee, chips and juice. Lots of little tables and chairs near the café make it look like an ideal place for a kid’s party. At the other end of the huge space are a few book shelves with toys for sale sorted by age. The collection is not intensive but is interesting and there are a few puzzles that I plan to pick up for an eight year old from there.

Price Structure:

Rs 100 for 45 min of play

Rs 150 for 1hour of play + a cup of coffee + a drink (slice) + a pack of chips

Rs 200 All above + a surprise gift.

I took the Rs 150 package. While I paid Ashvin attacked the jungle gym. I joined him in there for a bit but the presence of other kids and a really helpful supervisor let me escape for my cup of coffee. I spent the rest of the time looking at their ‘store section’, taking photos, making faces at Ashvin and looking through their party packages.

The one in Marthahalli seems to be work in progress. Half the area seems to be undergoing some remodeling but this is shielded well and not obvious unless you walk around  and peek. It looks like a promising space with a lot of potential. Once they have more traffic and staff hopefully they will get regular pottery and other classes going for kids.

If Ashvin were to write the review I am sure he would say it was awesome. He had fun, so much fun that when his one hour was done he want  more time. As he is the one that matters at the Monkey Maze I’d say they have a good thing going and will see us back soon.

Address:

2ND Floor, Above Pizza Hut, Next To Purva Foundation Square, Varthur Main Road, Marathahalli, Bangalore - 560037

Phone:                 +(91)-(80)-40957631      

                                +(91)-9901117908

Email: www.monkeymaze.in

Hours of operation: 11:00 am - 08:00 pm everyday

Birthday Package details (please email them for the most up-to-date) please take a look at - http://kindazesty.blogspot.com/2011/09/monkey-maze-birthday-party-options.html

A weekend trip – Bangalore to Wayanad

One of my biggest complaints about Bangalore is the lack of things to do during the weekend in town. You can go to places like the mall or the zoo but during the weekend they are super-packed. As I am not one to sit and complain I have decided to do what I think is one of the best things In Bangalore – its surroundings. I have many trips planned. This weekend it was Wayanad.

The trip to Wayanad came into being by getting a link to Exotic Expeditions on Facebook. They had a trip coming up on the weekend. I called them up to find out if this was a kid friendly trip. Santosh – who runs this outfit – was extremely helpful and accommodating. After answering my questions I decided we would join them with my two kids ( 4 and 12) and two maids. Santosh dropped by the next day and picked up the payment for the trek.

Logistics:

Rs 2800 per person – inclusive of almost everything on the trip - transport, lodging, most food and all activities.

Pick up : MG Road at 10pm Friday

Drop Off: MG Road 10pm Sunday.

On Friday I found out that other people supposed to be joining us on the trek had dropped but Santosh did not bail on us. He got a Qualis that accommodated my group and another person who joined us. We left Bangalore around 10pm and after a few stops made it to Wayanad at 8:30am.

Stay in Wayanad: Hill View homestay. Basic homestay with clean big rooms and awesome food. The owner was a very nice welcoming man who fed us well and made sure we were comfortable.The homestay is not on any plantation but by a road. The rooms are on the first floor but it has a nice rooftop with a view. Not fancy but very comfortable and I must say we had a very nice time there.

Day 1:

The plan of the day was to first visit Meenmurty waterfalls. Meenmurty is  three kilometer roundtrip trek. Not a huge distance but pretty steep and thus not recommended for kids. We sent the kids and the maids off to Pookot lake for a boat ride while the rest of us went on the hike. After the boat ride they went on a plantation walk - seeing coffee, tea and cardamom trees.

After the hike we had a good Kerala style lunch at Santosh Hotel and joined the kids at Soochipara falls. This waterfall was more accessible and easy to reach – half a kilometer walk maybe. We all played in the water and lounged on the rocks here for a long time.

Day 2:

Trip to Eddkal Caves – steep walk to come interesting and very old caves. They had carvings from 3000BC. There were juice and snack stall all along the way and besides enjoying the caves and the view from the top we really enjoyed pickled pineapple, mango and amla. There were monkeys that entertained us along the way and watching one eating a jackfruit off the tree was fun.

Phantom Rock: After the caves we visited phantom rock. It would have been great to climb it and I did see one local man lounging up there. We however walked through a rubber plantation, watched frogs swim in puddles and enjoyed the scenic view before walking back.

We stopped for lunch at Sultana Bathery and then drove all the way back to Bangalore. Reaching at 10pm.

Long story short. This was a great weekend getaway. Nicely arranged and executed. I will be going on more trip with them in the near future I am sure. 

Exotic Expeditions

811, 8th block, NGEF Layout, Near Old Madras Road Big Bazaar, Bangalore, India 560038

Phone	9986450370

Trekking/Hiking Shoes - what to look for and why I like Merrells.

Wayanad, Kerala

I love shoes. Anything with high heels especially but I must say my favourite shoes are my rather ugly Merrells.

I did not trek/hike/walk more than 2 kilometers till last fall when I signed up for an intense seven days in the Utah Desert with BOSS. This required a lot of prep work – physical and equipment wise. The biggest advice I got from people was GET GOOD SHOES. This was stated again and again. Get good shoes, with a good fit and break them in.

I was in India and could not find decent trekking shoes for women. Now that I know the place better I know you can get Quechua at Decathalon and WildCraft in Bangalore but last year I did not find any. I ultimately ordered two pairs from the US and had my husband bring them over.  After reading a thousand reviews ( literally) the two shoes I chose:

Merrell Moab Ventilator Mid

Keen Voyageur Mid

I tried them and liked the fit and ankle support of the Merrell’s though I must say the Keen’s looked better. I only had three weeks after I got my shoes till my trek so I broke them in by wearing them daily (including on my flight to the US). On reaching US I did drop by REI and got a new sole insert put in to make it even more comfortable.

I have worn the Merrell Moab for a year now. I wore it in Utah, for the Everest Base Camp trek and for numerous hikes around Bangalore, in Greece and Seattle.

During the BOSS trip seven out of nice participants had Merells – three Moabs. I walked for days in them, through water and sand and on boulders. The grip is amazing on rocks and they dry superfast after a river walk. I had no – ZERO – blisters. The ankle support is good.

Everest Base Camp too – on stony paths for thirteen days – not a single blister. Others in my team had Quechuas and found them to be very comfortable.

Boulder, Utah

Zappos just sent me a mail reminding me that my Merrells are a year old and they have new ones if I want a pair. I still have my Keen and the my Moabs are doing great but I know when they have lived their life to their fullest I am going for a repeat. I love these shoes.

What to look for in good hiking boots:

·         Fit: Try it on, if it pinches or hurts anywhere chuck it. Don’t think they will expand etc. There should be a little room for thick socks but no cutting or pinching feeling anywhere,

·         Support: Ankle and foot arch should be supported if you want something for long hikes. For the arch you can buy inserts.

·         Waterproof or not: Depends on where you want to trek a lot. Wet or dry place. I have liked Moab’s level of breathability – it is not completely waterproof but does not get my sock wet at the sight of a drizzle.

·         Traction: Make sure the soles are good. Vibram is the way to go I hear. Basically it should not skid easily. Good tread – almost like you are checking out a tyre.

Namche Bazaar, on way to Everest Base Camp

·         Weight: Lighter the better but don’t skimp on above mentioned feature just for weight.

·         Look – I’d say last on the list. Get some cool laces if it really bothers you.

Then break them in before a long hike. Wear them all around. When breaking them in look for hot spots.

Hot spots are places on the foot that are red, sore, burn etc after a long day of wearing the shoes. Too many mean a bad fit. For a rare one you can use moleskin or blister patch. Good socks help too.

Good Socks:

Try to wear a liner sock and then thick woolen socks for long hikes. Good socks are almost as important as good shoes.

Claytopia review– a place to make memories.

I have made four trips to Claytopia so far and everytime I like it even more. The first was to check it out for a birthday party. I ended up looking around and eating at their bistro making a mental note to return. The next three trips of mine were with the kids.

Claytopia Bistro in Indiranagar is in their words:

A fun place to hang out and have good food, while indulging your creativity. The Bistro is attached to Studio Claytopia, a "Paint your own pottery" studio.You can paint on white bisque ware,which is the base required for you to color your ceramic ware. Once you choose from the various molds we have, we provide you with the colors, brushes, palettes, stencils, stamps, books etc. to color with; you can sit all day and paint. After this we glaze it and fire it to 1100 degrees Celsius and return it to you in 10 days. Your masterpiece is ready!
You can do this while indulging in our delicious food, like burgers, pastas, sandwiches, subs, salads, soups, all day breakfast, waffles, pancakes, desserts, coffees and more.... 

There are many ceramic pieces to choose from – little show pieces to utilitarian things like trays, plates, cups, vases etc. The price for the pieces ranges from Rs 250 up and is inclusive of paint, glazing etc. For the first two visits I let the kids choose whatever they wanted but now I have a rule – you have to choose something you can use. I can only have so many dinosaurs and rabbits around the house.

Table all setup.

Once you choose a piece you get to choose four colours per piece (you are allowed to share colours so the more people you have the more colours you have). They have tables indoors, outside and even at their bistro and you decide where to sit. The paper covered table is ladened with paint brushes, stencils, and design books to help unleash your creativity. Beautifully painted ceramics decorate the walls and even the trees around you. The ambience, inspiration and material are all there for you.

I have only been there during weekdays so I can’t vouch for busy weekends or times when there are birthday parties but we had all the time we needed. Enough time that I went through two cups of coffee and ordered snacks for the kids as they carefully worked on their masterpieces.

Soup, pasta, shakes to help the artist work.
Pretty coffee for the mom.

Quick note on the food – I love their burgers – spicy chicken one and coffee. The children gobbled up the cheese toast and pasta. While I was delighted to see thukpa ( tibetian noodle soup) on their menu I must say it was a disappointment but their ores milkshake (so so good) more than made up for it.

Once the painting and eating is done the pieces are taken away for drying and glazing. The process takes ten days so you have to come back to pick up the pieces and if you are like us you end up painting another piece and the cycle continues J

So all in all it is not cheap. With food and ceramic pieces you end up paying around Rs  400 - 500 per person but you do end up with a full stomach, an afternoon of fun and a maybe an artistic but for sure a personalized cup, plate, paper weight of some sort.

An afternoons worth of work.

The best part is once you are done you can walk around and see all the pieces waiting to be collected. In nooks and shelves piled high. They are not delicate. They are not out of design books. They are not the kind that decorate the walls. But they are just like yours. Little smudged, little chaotic, very imperfect but under the glaze you see it – an afternoon of fun.

Address:

Claytopia
318, 6th Main
HAL 2nd Stage
Indiranagar, Bangalore 560 038

Tel: 080 412 67163
Free home delivery no: 080 41323394

Email: claytopia@gmail.com

FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000110173278

Options and Price List for Birthday Parties:

Part of Bistro

Tiles decorate the entrance.

Shiro Bangalore Review

Located in UB City it is a higher end Chinese/Japanese/Thai restaurant. Decorated nicely it has plenty of seating – inside, by the bar, outside and around two teppanyaki tables. A meal averages Rs $1500 pp and can go up considerably with alcoholic beverages.

Awesome – sushi and dimsum buffet during weekdays (~ 1000 INR).

Good- Teppanyaki table. Good entertainment and decent food ( ~ 1500 INR). Good mojitos and other cocktails.

Blah – Some of the Korean dishes off the alacarte menu and during rush hours their service. You have to work hard to get attention from the servers.

Point to note – it is a good place to take children along during the day – add a little sushi and dimsum to their lives -  but in no way during Friday, Saturday or Sunday evenings/nights. It is a party place at that time.

Weekend nights - Great for adults to hang out and have fun but not a place to lounge and chat. Loud music, lots of smoking. Fun for a bar scene and people watching.

They take reservations:

2nd Floor, UB City Mall,
Vittal Mallya Rd, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
080 41738864