July 14th to July 18th – Shivasamudra Falls and the Importance of WiFi

After finishing class on Monday, we spent the evening planning a day trip for Tuesday as we had no classes. After looking at a number of locations and narrowing them down, we chose to go to Shivasamudra Falls, a set of waterfalls located in the north of Karnataka, the state which has Bangalore as the capital. After talking to the program director, we organized a car for four people to take us the seven hours round trip journey, only costing us 3000 rupees or $50 for the day. Leaving early in the morning, we journeyed from Bangalore to the waterfall, passing through rural villages and towns far off the main highway. Arriving at the park, we climbed down from a hill that overlooked the area to the foot of the waterfall. While the park itself was isolated away from any major cities, it was still packed with tourists swimming in the water and walking around observing the stunning waterfall. After walking around for a while, we wanted to try to get even closer to the waterfall. Along the lake at the bottom of the waterfall, a number of small circular rafts were collected. For only a dollar, a local took us out on one of the rafts right to the foot of the waterfall. We could feel the strength of the water as it sprayed us, the mist drenching our clothes. The view from the bottom of the waterfall was spectacular and it was amazing to feel the force of the waterfall as we passed near it. Having fully experienced the Shivasamudra waterfalls, we travelled back to Bangalore.

During the latter part of the week, I began trying to plan a trip for the upcoming weekend for a group of the students. In total, 17 of the students decided to go to Pondicherry, a former French colonial city in the neighboring state. In order to do this, however, I needed to book us both transportation and hotels for the weekend. However, right in the middle of this planning on Wednesday, the WiFi in our apartment completely shut down. This left me without a phone or internet connection and only with an hour or two to use the WiFi on campus in a computer lab each day. With only a day to finalize our plans, I managed to get two private buses organized for the group and compile a list of hotels in Pondicherry that were located around the same area and affordable for the students. With everything finally confirmed on Friday afternoon and everyone excited to explore Pondicherry, we packed our bags and left that late Friday evening.