Exactly a week before, during this time I was busy packing for a trip, not knowing that exactly after a week , I would be missing it.. Sounds confusing?? Well you would be in the same state , had you been a part of it...
Ok !! Ok!! So here is a small note on an experience I would want to share with all of you..
2 months back, a sudden plan popped up in the head of Subhajit and Chitra for a small team outing, and with inputs from various sources(ahem!ahem!) it was decided that all of us would be going to Chikamagalur(well the original plan was Belur). To avoid drop-outs, we already booked the places and the cabs and the weekend that was chosen was the 6th March weekend.
So after all the planning and the speculation and waiting, the weekend finally arrived.. and we were all so excited that we were all actually going. Each of us were to be picked from our respective abodes. And thn at 12 my journey to Chikamagalur began.
Well let me introduce all my colleagues to you.. Shrawan, Sriram, Rouls, Prakash,Chitra, Simil, Anurag and Subhajit.. After picking Anurag from Malleshwaram , we started our journey through the Tumkur Road. As Anurag had bought a movie CD, we started watching "The Recruit".. The movie wasnt very interesting and all of us slowly dozed off... Only to get up when it was about to end.. [Prakash slept off when the movie had started and gt up with the ending credits :P].. And then deciding that we would not sleep.. the guys took the task of keeping us entertained with Ghost stories..[I still wonder wht is the charm of frightening ppl.. I dun believe in ghost stories.. bt then they ensured that they would continue telling till a point that I got really uncomfortable].. And then ppl were like oh.. look.. there is a lady in the saree.. and ppl were discussing how modern the ghosts have become and all.. [Chitra was dozing happily and when asked she said she just had her eyes closed and was listening.. And Prakash wanted a recap so that he was nt "out of page" .. :) ].. This continued for some time after we were done with our coffee somewhere in some town.. and then slowly when it was dawn and I was really sleepy we reached Kemmanagundi[Only to realize that we should have stuck to our planning and not listened to the driver :(].. Okay now a lil trivia.. we took kinda 6 hours to reach Kemmanagundi.. For the distance maybe look for the comments.. :)
Hmm.. So on reaching Kemmanagundi we decided we would go and capture the sunrise from the view point.. Which did not really happen.. we were happy loitering and clicking snaps.. bt then we did manage to capture the sunrise.. and the so called waterfall.. anyways after happily roaming around and clicking pics and a sumptous breakfast[M sure Simil would agree to the sumptous part :D].. we started our journey to the next star attraction of the trip.. Kalathgiri falls..which we reached in an hr.. i guess it was kinda 60-70 kms from Kemmanagundi.. And too our dismay.. there was nothing worth seeing there.. :(.. Then we decided that we would directly head to Silent Valley-Chikamagalur where the stay was arranged.
We were travelling in March and let me tell you, its nt the right time to travel to Chikamagalur.. coz its pretty hot in Chikamagalur as well.. Also please ensure that u keep ur tummy light coz the drive around the hill can cause sickness..
Now we realized that Silent valley was almost 100+kilometers from Kalathgiri and was on the other side of Chikamagalur district, ahead of a village called Kalasa, on the Kudremukh road.. So we kept travellin , only to reach Chikamagalur town by 12 and Silent Valley by 2.30 pm.. And man were we pleased to see the place[actually we were scared that the place might not turn to be good enuf.. bt we were nt disappointed].. After reaching the place , one thing was for sure, we were not travelling any more !!!!!
All of us were dead tired..
Ok now a lil about Silent valley.. Its this nice resort which is 4kms from the kalasa village towards Kudremukh.. It has nice huts and some decent facilities like a swimming pool, volleyball court,badminton court and is surrounded by some beautiful hills.. U have tree houses and swings and dorms and decent food!! what more could a tired person ask for.. Also the huts were pretty neat.. All in all a decent option ...
Once all of us reached, we decided to freshen up.. So while we gals were getting ready, the guys had their share of fun in the pool.. After a decent lunch..[Trust me the food was good..less spicy and edible.. and not at all costly.. Suggest that u have ur food in the resort].. we decided to play a game of carrom.. [i was the spectator.. M bad with carrom.. m sure i have a lot of support on that :P].. and then a game of badminton.. The experience was awesome.. Just imagine.. being surrounded by hills on all the sides.. Breezy.. and playing badminton.. making hulla..running around.. sadly some ppl were dozing happily and missed all of this.. :P [When Chitra woke ppl up, they said plz disturb when its dinner time :P. Papa rouls, he tried waking up ppl with rackets and shuttle cork , only to fail.. :(]...
After the game exhausted us.. we decided to relax at our huts and decided to play Dumb C.. It was fun.. with movies like Ballistic:Sever vs ecks[I knw.. It was subhajits idea!!] and haivaniyat ke dushman...[ u should have seen Anurag enact it.. Man!!! was it fun!!! ]..
And when we finished with the Dumb C and some rummy..(card game)and it was time for dinner.. And after a nice dinner.. it was time for some bonfire.. yippee..and some dumb c.. [I never seem to get bugged off this game.. Do u!!].. With names like Willy wonka and the chocolate factory, double indemnity and spidwick chronicle.. chitra and gang had a really tuf time.. and sipping some nice filter coffee and having fun, we never realized it was 12.. and so we decided to move to the next plan.. rummy..was fun.. and then somethg happened..
A power cut .. and becoz our cottage was secluded.. the guys decided that we shd nt stay alone.. and so while chitra dozed.. simil,sriram , prakash and me kept chatting.. from college stories to love stories to theories and wht nt... it was fun.. [also anurag went clicking pics of a doggie.. and there were stories on tht as well :P].. Thanks guys!!!.. Till I finally could nt keep myself awake and collapsed on a bed.. papa guys.. they managed on the two cots they had..till the power came back at 7.. and when me and chitra finally returned to our hut to sleep[how can i forget the attempt to wake chitra for the keys, when she threw a pillow and then again hugged it and slept back :P]..
After capturing some snaps of the misty mountains, we slept off till 9 till we were woken up by Subhajit.. and after freshening up and badminton.. we finished our breakfast and were all set to leave[all those plans to see the coffee/tea plantations went for a toss.. nobody really wanted to!!!].. So after some snaps and some quick games.. we set off on our way back to bangalore..
It was fun back to bangalore.. for there was some nice music[I really appreciate the collection our cab driver had.. it was amazing].. and some awesome fun.. teasing Subhajit with ahem ahem.. the gal in his life, it was real real fun.. and i really appreciate him for being so so sportive... and some dancing and drama by Simil and Sriram.. we reached Belur..
Belur is on the way to bangalore from chikamagalur and shd be a distance of 100 kms.. We reached Belur at around 4 .. And decided to spend nt more thn 15 mins[ ended up spending an hr.. thts a different story!!!]..
Now some quick facts.. belur is known for its famous temple of chennakesava.. It has some beautiful architecture and was built during the hoysala rule somewhere around the late 1300 AD.. for more details please google!!! :)
We did spend a lot of time there.. Clicking pics and searching for Anurag!! :P[Prakash even named a kid anurag!].. It was lots of fun..U shd see the pics and u wud knw...
Quick facts: Dun carry a mobile inside.. its nt allowed.. And u shd also plan Halebidu.. Somanath temple and Sravanabelagola.. They are beautiful when it comes to architecture...
And then it was back to our sweet home .. bengaluru.. which was 220 kms.. and with a pit-stop at Kamat..
And while we were on our way .. we had some thanksgiving from simil.. some judaai pics from simil sriram shrawan subhajit and chitra.. some planning for the possible next trip.. some part theory from Shrawan and Subhajit.. and loads and loads of fun..
I surely have lots of memories from this trip.. somethg i will always cherish..
And for the pics of the trip.. please refer the link below:
Pics
So till the next blog post.. bye bye..
Friday, March 12, 2010
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
A visit to the animal abode - Mudhumalai and Bandipur
Hi again, and here i return with another post as i recollect my experience with nature and animals .. at Mudhumalai and at Bandipur..
Now i would like to remind the readers that as usual, this blog would include my personal experiences and feelings and so guys please dont mind...
Well how did it start...One fine day , my good friend Ganesh proposed a plan to Dandeli and gave me the responsibility to get the details and co-ordinate with Manja...And after some r n d with Google, i finally gave him all the details, only a little dejected to know that people were'nt really interested with Dandeli. So wishing myslef all thebest for the next time, i got back to work as i had a long week of work ahead.
And then a lot of mails came in with a suggestion to see this place called bandipur. As I was a little vexed, i was not very keen with this place and till the last minute, i did not want to see this place...However Ganesh was a little too adamant on my coming and so i finally agreed to be one of the travellers to this place.
So the D-day was set to be the 29th of August.. With the plan to see Mudhumalai and Bandipur..
The guys had to pick me from my place at 11 30 and as usual they dropped in late...With a little fussing and yelling , we finally commenced our journey to this place, all excited(and yawning!) in a sumo. There were 8 of us and by the time we reached the outskirts of blr..people had started to doze, including me! To keep the excitement alive, the most enthu guy in the team, started singing aloud in his not so pleasant voice..(No prizes for guessing who it was ;) ) ... And then there was this weird discussion on which profession is the toughest...with me and Santosh on one side and Ganesh on the other...with Ganesh losing out badly to me and Santosh..( ha ha ha).. and not yet accepting that he had lost.. And all thru the way people wondering as to how my dear fren Anand managed to sleep, with so much of noise!!
Finally we managed to reach Bandipur at around 5.15 am in the morning, and as the tickets to safari would be available only around six...everyone decided to take a stroll.. Ganesh and Santosh having a small running race...Manja Nagesh and Nanjesh half asleep, and Vinod being the perfect naviagtor to the trip..and Anand terrifying me on the pig bites and the no-cure theory!!
It was a lovely site to see the dawn slowly breakup and we decided to say hello to pur cute little nature friends- the deers and take some snaps of them.. Finally it was 6 and we decided to walk to the bandipur sanctuary reception office.(Note: Bandipur is a Tiger reserve, on the TN - Karnataka border.). But luck was'nt our side as we were told that the safari's had been cancelled due to heavy rains last night!! So deciding to giveit a try the next morning , we all decided to move to our next destination, which was Mudhumalai(Note:Mudhumalai is a tiger reserve in TN. )
Now the drive from Bandipur to Mudhumalai was'nt great, as it had rained and so the potholes were full. However we managed to sight some elephants and deers, and the guys took their cams to shoot the animals. Upon reaching Mudhumalai , we decided we would take the safari at 3 30 which wud give us enuf time to unwind and relax, and also finish our trek to this small lake where the guys wanted to go fishing, and Ganesh could swim (Note: To know what happened of the fishing and of Ganesh's swimming...continue reading!!)
We reached this sweet little cottage in the middle of the nature, called the Jungle homes. Though the cottage was not very appealing at site, it was a cozy little home tucked right in the middle of nature with all the modern amenities provided. Also all sorts of birds and animals were around and so the guys started shooting again. After freshening up and a hearty breakfast, we all decided to walk to this lake where we could have the Activity 2 of the day.(Note: Activity 1 had been postponed for Day2). Now the walk to this place was really nice, for it was a walk thru the forests and the farms , full of coffee and pepper plantations and these sweet flowers and cute little homes, keeping the cams occupied. At one place we had this range of mountains from where we could see the falls in Ooty, atleast that is wht the guide told us. We walked to this sweet little treehouse right in the middle of these farms, chilled out for some 15 mins..finally reaching this small creek where there was a lot of......dirty water. And the faces of the people with us was worth a watch.. esp..well i dun have to say..So we decided to get back as it was time for lunch.
So after a little disheartment and a long walk, we returned to the cottage to have our lunch and have the activity 3 for the day!
Now on our way back to Mudhumalai forest reserve, we had this game of antakshri which the guys started. Initially i wasnt very interested, however my team began to lose and it was time to have some fun...So i joined them..And so the time just slipped off fast and we reached the reserve. we were told that it would take some time and so meanwhile some guys just caught up with some sleep while the others had a refreshing cup of coffee . Then it was time for the safari and we all boarded the bus . We did manage to sight some elephants , monkeys , deers, peacocks, bisons and sparrows. And the ride ended, with us returning to continue playing antakshri and finally our team winning!!! It was lotsa fun...for every time the opponents thought they had defeated us, we surprised them!!! And as all of us were very tired, we decided to drop the idea of the campfire, have our dinner and a game of cards , finally catching up some sleep.
The next day we had to get ready and leave by six..but do u think that would happen.. The guys got up only at 6 15.. and took 2 hrs just to get ready(Poor gals are simply blamed!!)..It was 8 by the time we started and the last safari was at 8 30 at Bandipur..And the mission impossible had to be accomplished...So with all the slips here and there, we finally made it in time for the last safari on the day 2 .. And believe me, it was worth all the effort.
It was supposed to be a 45 mins stint with nature and the animals, with the van to be moving right thru the jungle. We were asked to keep silence, and not to disturb the animals. The weather had been excellent and we managed to sight some animals- elephants, deers, peacocks, woodpeckers, bisons, monkeys. The drive was really refreshing and we were a little disheartened that the safari got over. The only regret that I had that i was not able to sight tigers even thou it was a tiger reserve.. probably the tiger was too lazy to walk out of its home on a sunday ;)!!
After the ride, it was a time one som greeted the father(Doesn't make sense eh??), and the guys started feeding the monkeys around with groundnuts, with boards clearly instructing not to do so! But u see, we have this penchant for breaking rules and the guys wanted to have some fun.
But the monkeys had the last laugh when they snatched the groundnuts packets outta Manja's hands!!
All of us had been really hungry and so we chose this place called Pugmark restaurant near the sanctuary as our breakfast spot, after which we decided to see these so called falls called Balmuri , with the trip havings its share of difficulties(including a tire puncture). So we finally reached the Balmuri falls and after the guys having fun in the water, we decided to get back to home sweet home - bangalore. So singing and playng Dumb-C, with a lunch at 6 at Madhur, the trip finally ended . And we all returned home tired and smiling, with the tragoc feeling of having office the next day :( [Why God why..why did u make a monday!!]
And here I am on Wednesday , sharing with all of u my share of experiences om this trip . Also thanks to all the trip mates for their co-operation and plannin, else I would have never got this oppurtunity and would have never been able to break off the monotonous rountine of mine.
So Ganesh, I have finished my job as promised...And its a job on u guys to provide the little note on how the facts and figures on the little know-hows of the trip.
So till the next trip, its a cya from me Sandy!
Now i would like to remind the readers that as usual, this blog would include my personal experiences and feelings and so guys please dont mind...
Well how did it start...One fine day , my good friend Ganesh proposed a plan to Dandeli and gave me the responsibility to get the details and co-ordinate with Manja...And after some r n d with Google, i finally gave him all the details, only a little dejected to know that people were'nt really interested with Dandeli. So wishing myslef all thebest for the next time, i got back to work as i had a long week of work ahead.
And then a lot of mails came in with a suggestion to see this place called bandipur. As I was a little vexed, i was not very keen with this place and till the last minute, i did not want to see this place...However Ganesh was a little too adamant on my coming and so i finally agreed to be one of the travellers to this place.
So the D-day was set to be the 29th of August.. With the plan to see Mudhumalai and Bandipur..
The guys had to pick me from my place at 11 30 and as usual they dropped in late...With a little fussing and yelling , we finally commenced our journey to this place, all excited(and yawning!) in a sumo. There were 8 of us and by the time we reached the outskirts of blr..people had started to doze, including me! To keep the excitement alive, the most enthu guy in the team, started singing aloud in his not so pleasant voice..(No prizes for guessing who it was ;) ) ... And then there was this weird discussion on which profession is the toughest...with me and Santosh on one side and Ganesh on the other...with Ganesh losing out badly to me and Santosh..( ha ha ha).. and not yet accepting that he had lost.. And all thru the way people wondering as to how my dear fren Anand managed to sleep, with so much of noise!!
Finally we managed to reach Bandipur at around 5.15 am in the morning, and as the tickets to safari would be available only around six...everyone decided to take a stroll.. Ganesh and Santosh having a small running race...Manja Nagesh and Nanjesh half asleep, and Vinod being the perfect naviagtor to the trip..and Anand terrifying me on the pig bites and the no-cure theory!!
It was a lovely site to see the dawn slowly breakup and we decided to say hello to pur cute little nature friends- the deers and take some snaps of them.. Finally it was 6 and we decided to walk to the bandipur sanctuary reception office.(Note: Bandipur is a Tiger reserve, on the TN - Karnataka border.). But luck was'nt our side as we were told that the safari's had been cancelled due to heavy rains last night!! So deciding to giveit a try the next morning , we all decided to move to our next destination, which was Mudhumalai(Note:Mudhumalai is a tiger reserve in TN. )
Now the drive from Bandipur to Mudhumalai was'nt great, as it had rained and so the potholes were full. However we managed to sight some elephants and deers, and the guys took their cams to shoot the animals. Upon reaching Mudhumalai , we decided we would take the safari at 3 30 which wud give us enuf time to unwind and relax, and also finish our trek to this small lake where the guys wanted to go fishing, and Ganesh could swim (Note: To know what happened of the fishing and of Ganesh's swimming...continue reading!!)
We reached this sweet little cottage in the middle of the nature, called the Jungle homes. Though the cottage was not very appealing at site, it was a cozy little home tucked right in the middle of nature with all the modern amenities provided. Also all sorts of birds and animals were around and so the guys started shooting again. After freshening up and a hearty breakfast, we all decided to walk to this lake where we could have the Activity 2 of the day.(Note: Activity 1 had been postponed for Day2). Now the walk to this place was really nice, for it was a walk thru the forests and the farms , full of coffee and pepper plantations and these sweet flowers and cute little homes, keeping the cams occupied. At one place we had this range of mountains from where we could see the falls in Ooty, atleast that is wht the guide told us. We walked to this sweet little treehouse right in the middle of these farms, chilled out for some 15 mins..finally reaching this small creek where there was a lot of......dirty water. And the faces of the people with us was worth a watch.. esp..well i dun have to say..So we decided to get back as it was time for lunch.
So after a little disheartment and a long walk, we returned to the cottage to have our lunch and have the activity 3 for the day!
Now on our way back to Mudhumalai forest reserve, we had this game of antakshri which the guys started. Initially i wasnt very interested, however my team began to lose and it was time to have some fun...So i joined them..And so the time just slipped off fast and we reached the reserve. we were told that it would take some time and so meanwhile some guys just caught up with some sleep while the others had a refreshing cup of coffee . Then it was time for the safari and we all boarded the bus . We did manage to sight some elephants , monkeys , deers, peacocks, bisons and sparrows. And the ride ended, with us returning to continue playing antakshri and finally our team winning!!! It was lotsa fun...for every time the opponents thought they had defeated us, we surprised them!!! And as all of us were very tired, we decided to drop the idea of the campfire, have our dinner and a game of cards , finally catching up some sleep.
The next day we had to get ready and leave by six..but do u think that would happen.. The guys got up only at 6 15.. and took 2 hrs just to get ready(Poor gals are simply blamed!!)..It was 8 by the time we started and the last safari was at 8 30 at Bandipur..And the mission impossible had to be accomplished...So with all the slips here and there, we finally made it in time for the last safari on the day 2 .. And believe me, it was worth all the effort.
It was supposed to be a 45 mins stint with nature and the animals, with the van to be moving right thru the jungle. We were asked to keep silence, and not to disturb the animals. The weather had been excellent and we managed to sight some animals- elephants, deers, peacocks, woodpeckers, bisons, monkeys. The drive was really refreshing and we were a little disheartened that the safari got over. The only regret that I had that i was not able to sight tigers even thou it was a tiger reserve.. probably the tiger was too lazy to walk out of its home on a sunday ;)!!
After the ride, it was a time one som greeted the father(Doesn't make sense eh??), and the guys started feeding the monkeys around with groundnuts, with boards clearly instructing not to do so! But u see, we have this penchant for breaking rules and the guys wanted to have some fun.
But the monkeys had the last laugh when they snatched the groundnuts packets outta Manja's hands!!
All of us had been really hungry and so we chose this place called Pugmark restaurant near the sanctuary as our breakfast spot, after which we decided to see these so called falls called Balmuri , with the trip havings its share of difficulties(including a tire puncture). So we finally reached the Balmuri falls and after the guys having fun in the water, we decided to get back to home sweet home - bangalore. So singing and playng Dumb-C, with a lunch at 6 at Madhur, the trip finally ended . And we all returned home tired and smiling, with the tragoc feeling of having office the next day :( [Why God why..why did u make a monday!!]
And here I am on Wednesday , sharing with all of u my share of experiences om this trip . Also thanks to all the trip mates for their co-operation and plannin, else I would have never got this oppurtunity and would have never been able to break off the monotonous rountine of mine.
So Ganesh, I have finished my job as promised...And its a job on u guys to provide the little note on how the facts and figures on the little know-hows of the trip.
So till the next trip, its a cya from me Sandy!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
A day in the land of clouds...Trip to Kalavaarahalli Betta
Its 7:55 now and I m here at a cafe below my home...thinking and smiling of the wonderful trip to the land of clouds ...Kalavaarahalli Betta..
It all started when i accepted to meet up with my old school frens working at blr...Harsh introduced me to this wonderful set of people at a coffee day at Brigade road..
Then out of blue, one day suddenly , I got this mail inviting me for this trek to kalavarahalli betta. I agreed to it ...cannot say instantaneously..coz Ganesh( ahem...not ganshu... I have a fren by the name Ganesh too..) kept coaxing me that the trip would be worth a try...and we ended up actually having a bet(long story...bottom line...i won..:P).. And believe me ...It was the best decision of my life...
Kept trying to get along my frens ...which dint happen( :( )
Anyways the D-Day was decided upon to be 30th of june , which happened to be full moon day..
The plannin had started a week before, with inputs flowing from harsh, ganshu, shilpa, lakshmi..
The list of requirements, the meeting place, the number of people, the way of transportation everythg was communicated thru a list of mails which kept flowing in all thru the week...
On the D-day, after a quick pack, lunch with Anitha and Ganesh and a quick rush home, I finally set for the meeting place which was decided as KGBS, Bangalore.
Despite setting in around 30 mins before time, I got stuck in the stupid traffic of Blr and so got late...(Point to be noted people: Everytime u plan for a trip, please take into consideration before u leave for the place- Bangalore traffic :P)
After a rush and total chaos, I reached the KSRTC bus stand to meet my mates for the trip..
Ganesh(ganshu), Shilpa, Meera, Swati, Swagath and of course...Harsh..
So the trip started with all of us boarding the bus from KSRTC bus stand , on our way to Chikbalapoora, a small village near our destination. The place was supposedly 75 kms from bangalore and would take around 2 hrs for us to reach..
So all set , we had to stop the bus in the middle to pick up some more frens of ours..Lakshmi Soumya and Yonit....However the best was yet to come.. the bus driver did not stop at the supposed place and we realized we missed them out ..
So we got down from the bus and waited for our frens to join...and then set out on our journey again...to Chikbalapura...all laughing ...giggling and being the centre of attention for the entire group of passengers in the bus...was total fun...
We reached the place ...Chikbalapura main bus stand near "Hotel Hindustan",where our guides for the trip , Mr.Yogi and Mr.Ravinder joined us from OutbackIndia <www.outbackindia.com> ..As it was already close to 9 and we were all hungry(despite having biscuits all the way...:P)...we started on a mission ...Mission dinner(the name of the mission sounds bad...I know)..
All of us split to find food, and the second goof up was there to happen...Search for a hotel called Darga mahal, which dint exist...I remember Swagath sayin...this is the second goof up of the day.. :)
Then finally got some food packed with some biscuits and lots of water( Pre-requisite for the trek: please carry a lot of water and dry stuff...there is nothing good available at the place...it really helps )
We then set on our trip to the base camp..a small village at the base of the hill...All thru the way harsh ...badly trying to scare the gals with his Ghost stories...which turned out to be a failed attempt...We took autos which costed us around 70 Rs per auto...
Finally we reached a small mutt at the base of the mountain , where we decided to get fresh and have our dinner...After having a sumptous meal and a small stint with a doggie and the beautiful background music( I remember Lakshmi commenting that she sung better than the female singing there :) )...we were instructed by the guides to fill in certain forms...a formality..
Yogi then instructed us on the dos and the donts for the trek:
1. We march at the pace of the slowest trekker.
2.No littering on the mountains
3.No lifting stones or disturbing the wild animals on the mountains
4.Team together...obvious
The package we took included the trip uphill and downhill , tenting there and a campfire.
So after the instructions we started our trek uphill somewhere near 9 45. Ravinder was to lead us and Yogi would be the last person.
All of us then begun the trek on the lovely full moon night with lots of enthu..smiling and giggling
and occasionally clicking pics...
we were asked not to drink a lot of water and not to take a lot of breaks ..which could actually tire us ...
So slowly and steadily all of us climbed the mountain...There were a lot of people trekkin along with us and we actually did not require any torch lights as the moonlight was quite enuf to guide us...
At around 11.15 we reached half the distance , a small wall which was the part of a fort to be constructed by Tipu sultan...All of us were so happy and nearly jumped out with happiness..
Then again we began our journey and actually ended up taking a lot of breaks...coz a lot of people had actually started tiring up and started complaining of breathlessness...It happens as we trek up...At one point of time , I had given up myself, because the trek uphill is always v v challenging and if u are a beginner , u actually end up straining urself to the max( A small suggestion: Before a week of the trek, any trek for the matter, make sure u walk upto a kilometer atleast so that u are a little fit)
But the grand hill seemed to challenge me saying that : U think u can do it? And a challenge is supposed to be taken up...The never give up attitude helped me finally reach the hill amongst the clouds with my mates at around 1 in the night ...and my my , what a climb it was..
I actually wondered as to how i managed to climb the entire stretch.. I remember Harsh commenting...U look like an ant but have a lot of dum...Bhaiya jee...appearences are deceptive..:)...
So we finally reached the top of the hill...the view seemed to get beautiful as we climbed higher...and on the top what we could see was jus mist and fog...thankfully the rain gods were merciful that day...else the climb would have actually become really really difficult( Point here: Try avoiding to trek in case it rains, the place may actually get dangerous)
So here again we started to search for a place which would actually serve our next to-do on the list of jobs we had.. a place to pitch our tents...which was found by Ravinder and Yogi...
So all of us got down to pitch the 2 men and the 5 men tents which came up by somewhere around 2 ... a good lesson and must no for every wanna be trekker...
Then we were asked to collect twigs to lite a campfire...which happened soon...
Then tried to lite the campfire...which we actually tried continuously and failed...
Ravinder then instantaneously lit the campfire...For the champ he is in trekkin...
(Point here: Please carry newspapers and match boxes in case u want to have a campfire...Also carry warm clothes as on the climb u dun feel cold..but once u reach there...Its hell chilly...So gloves , caps, jackets, shawls...needed) ...
After warmin us for sometime till the fire died ...we finally settled down in the 5 men tent...munching and deciding as to wht next...deciding upon to hit the sack for some time, we dispersed...
Not able to sleep.. I waited for it to get brighter so that I could walk out...(point here: please carry some basic medicines on the trip...u never no wat may happen)..
Finally it got brighter and we all walked out...the gang in the 5 men had walked out long back...not having an option...:)
So after packing back all the stuff ...the tents basically we walked back on our journey downhill...somewhere around six...Ravinder told us the trip downhill should take us around 2 hrs...
As we reached the pole which was at the peak, we came at this lovely place where the nature was at its best...winds blowing really really speed...I went up to the point and scared that i mat actually be flown off...came down to wait for the rest of them to enjoy...
As we walked down the trip ...we came across points where nature was at its best...All that we could see was mist clouds and winds...Actually admiring the beauty of the nature...untouched ..unadulterated and so pure....
The clouds played hide n seek with the sun, and the land below...and the sight made me feel as if i was in heaven and was blessed to see this sight...
We slowly walked down ...people clicking the natures beauty in their cams...
At a point there was this vertical rock and we were challenged by ravinder to climb it..to which we were like impossible and wat we saw was impossible happening...Ravinder actually scaled that piece of rock without anythg ...no rope nothing...jus with the bare confidence on his feet and hands...Kudos to him...It was amazing...
Finally after 2 hrs ...slippin grumbling yet enjoying the sight, we made it to the base...With Shilpa actually hurting herself ...
All of us sat down at the base , I wondering as to wht all can human confidence do...It can actually make u conquer mountains and do the impossible possible...
Also the nature has many facets...it can be beautiful, silent and yet furious...Everythg we are today is her gift to us and yet we neglect her ... So at times she has to remind us that we better mend our ways..
nature has 2 be a feminine...because she is silent, beautiful and at the same time strong within, having the power which when unleashed can make impossible possible and can bring typhoons and disasters...Never challenge her...:) (Guess gettin a little carried off)
So coming back to the flow...we took autos to our next destinations...each v tired yet v v happy to be a part of this trek to the hills ...
We reached the restaurant at Chikballapoora called Shree Shanthi Sagar..( the trip back costed us the same around 60-70 bucks)...had our breakfast and then boarded the bus back to bangalore...
And I realized this was the end of it...:(
As we travelled , we had lots of pleasant and unpleasant experiences..:)...but each of us were so very tired that we actually dozed off on our way to KGBS...the tickets costed us around Rs.30..
After finally reaching the KGBS bus stand, it was time to say good bye...And I left for home..
Took a bus and man i slept off again...which rarely happens...:)
Ordered for food to be delivered home , freshened up...feeded myself on pizzas...and then dozed off...Had a sound sleep and after 2 days of work and masti...m here typing down my experiences to share with my near and dear ones...
Thanks guys...for without u, this trip would have never materialized...
Facts:
Trip cost: Around Rs.700
The total distance uphill and downhill: About 20-25 kms
Carry with you:Torches, warm clothes, lots of water, dry food, medicines
Dos and donts: Read the blog... :)
Best time to go: Full moon day, No rains , preferably in the night
Trek organizers(officially):Outback India
Time Now: 9 15
Take care guys...Do post in your comments and let me know how it was...
So till the next blog ...Take care...Stay cute..keep smiling
It all started when i accepted to meet up with my old school frens working at blr...Harsh introduced me to this wonderful set of people at a coffee day at Brigade road..
Then out of blue, one day suddenly , I got this mail inviting me for this trek to kalavarahalli betta. I agreed to it ...cannot say instantaneously..coz Ganesh( ahem...not ganshu... I have a fren by the name Ganesh too..) kept coaxing me that the trip would be worth a try...and we ended up actually having a bet(long story...bottom line...i won..:P).. And believe me ...It was the best decision of my life...
Kept trying to get along my frens ...which dint happen( :( )
Anyways the D-Day was decided upon to be 30th of june , which happened to be full moon day..
The plannin had started a week before, with inputs flowing from harsh, ganshu, shilpa, lakshmi..
The list of requirements, the meeting place, the number of people, the way of transportation everythg was communicated thru a list of mails which kept flowing in all thru the week...
On the D-day, after a quick pack, lunch with Anitha and Ganesh and a quick rush home, I finally set for the meeting place which was decided as KGBS, Bangalore.
Despite setting in around 30 mins before time, I got stuck in the stupid traffic of Blr and so got late...(Point to be noted people: Everytime u plan for a trip, please take into consideration before u leave for the place- Bangalore traffic :P)
After a rush and total chaos, I reached the KSRTC bus stand to meet my mates for the trip..
Ganesh(ganshu), Shilpa, Meera, Swati, Swagath and of course...Harsh..
So the trip started with all of us boarding the bus from KSRTC bus stand , on our way to Chikbalapoora, a small village near our destination. The place was supposedly 75 kms from bangalore and would take around 2 hrs for us to reach..
So all set , we had to stop the bus in the middle to pick up some more frens of ours..Lakshmi Soumya and Yonit....However the best was yet to come.. the bus driver did not stop at the supposed place and we realized we missed them out ..
So we got down from the bus and waited for our frens to join...and then set out on our journey again...to Chikbalapura...all laughing ...giggling and being the centre of attention for the entire group of passengers in the bus...was total fun...
We reached the place ...Chikbalapura main bus stand near "Hotel Hindustan",where our guides for the trip , Mr.Yogi and Mr.Ravinder joined us from OutbackIndia <www.outbackindia.com> ..As it was already close to 9 and we were all hungry(despite having biscuits all the way...:P)...we started on a mission ...Mission dinner(the name of the mission sounds bad...I know)..
All of us split to find food, and the second goof up was there to happen...Search for a hotel called Darga mahal, which dint exist...I remember Swagath sayin...this is the second goof up of the day.. :)
Then finally got some food packed with some biscuits and lots of water( Pre-requisite for the trek: please carry a lot of water and dry stuff...there is nothing good available at the place...it really helps )
We then set on our trip to the base camp..a small village at the base of the hill...All thru the way harsh ...badly trying to scare the gals with his Ghost stories...which turned out to be a failed attempt...We took autos which costed us around 70 Rs per auto...
Finally we reached a small mutt at the base of the mountain , where we decided to get fresh and have our dinner...After having a sumptous meal and a small stint with a doggie and the beautiful background music( I remember Lakshmi commenting that she sung better than the female singing there :) )...we were instructed by the guides to fill in certain forms...a formality..
Yogi then instructed us on the dos and the donts for the trek:
1. We march at the pace of the slowest trekker.
2.No littering on the mountains
3.No lifting stones or disturbing the wild animals on the mountains
4.Team together...obvious
The package we took included the trip uphill and downhill , tenting there and a campfire.
So after the instructions we started our trek uphill somewhere near 9 45. Ravinder was to lead us and Yogi would be the last person.
All of us then begun the trek on the lovely full moon night with lots of enthu..smiling and giggling
and occasionally clicking pics...
we were asked not to drink a lot of water and not to take a lot of breaks ..which could actually tire us ...
So slowly and steadily all of us climbed the mountain...There were a lot of people trekkin along with us and we actually did not require any torch lights as the moonlight was quite enuf to guide us...
At around 11.15 we reached half the distance , a small wall which was the part of a fort to be constructed by Tipu sultan...All of us were so happy and nearly jumped out with happiness..
Then again we began our journey and actually ended up taking a lot of breaks...coz a lot of people had actually started tiring up and started complaining of breathlessness...It happens as we trek up...At one point of time , I had given up myself, because the trek uphill is always v v challenging and if u are a beginner , u actually end up straining urself to the max( A small suggestion: Before a week of the trek, any trek for the matter, make sure u walk upto a kilometer atleast so that u are a little fit)
But the grand hill seemed to challenge me saying that : U think u can do it? And a challenge is supposed to be taken up...The never give up attitude helped me finally reach the hill amongst the clouds with my mates at around 1 in the night ...and my my , what a climb it was..
I actually wondered as to how i managed to climb the entire stretch.. I remember Harsh commenting...U look like an ant but have a lot of dum...Bhaiya jee...appearences are deceptive..:)...
So we finally reached the top of the hill...the view seemed to get beautiful as we climbed higher...and on the top what we could see was jus mist and fog...thankfully the rain gods were merciful that day...else the climb would have actually become really really difficult( Point here: Try avoiding to trek in case it rains, the place may actually get dangerous)
So here again we started to search for a place which would actually serve our next to-do on the list of jobs we had.. a place to pitch our tents...which was found by Ravinder and Yogi...
So all of us got down to pitch the 2 men and the 5 men tents which came up by somewhere around 2 ... a good lesson and must no for every wanna be trekker...
Then we were asked to collect twigs to lite a campfire...which happened soon...
Then tried to lite the campfire...which we actually tried continuously and failed...
Ravinder then instantaneously lit the campfire...For the champ he is in trekkin...
(Point here: Please carry newspapers and match boxes in case u want to have a campfire...Also carry warm clothes as on the climb u dun feel cold..but once u reach there...Its hell chilly...So gloves , caps, jackets, shawls...needed) ...
After warmin us for sometime till the fire died ...we finally settled down in the 5 men tent...munching and deciding as to wht next...deciding upon to hit the sack for some time, we dispersed...
Not able to sleep.. I waited for it to get brighter so that I could walk out...(point here: please carry some basic medicines on the trip...u never no wat may happen)..
Finally it got brighter and we all walked out...the gang in the 5 men had walked out long back...not having an option...:)
So after packing back all the stuff ...the tents basically we walked back on our journey downhill...somewhere around six...Ravinder told us the trip downhill should take us around 2 hrs...
As we reached the pole which was at the peak, we came at this lovely place where the nature was at its best...winds blowing really really speed...I went up to the point and scared that i mat actually be flown off...came down to wait for the rest of them to enjoy...
As we walked down the trip ...we came across points where nature was at its best...All that we could see was mist clouds and winds...Actually admiring the beauty of the nature...untouched ..unadulterated and so pure....
The clouds played hide n seek with the sun, and the land below...and the sight made me feel as if i was in heaven and was blessed to see this sight...
We slowly walked down ...people clicking the natures beauty in their cams...
At a point there was this vertical rock and we were challenged by ravinder to climb it..to which we were like impossible and wat we saw was impossible happening...Ravinder actually scaled that piece of rock without anythg ...no rope nothing...jus with the bare confidence on his feet and hands...Kudos to him...It was amazing...
Finally after 2 hrs ...slippin grumbling yet enjoying the sight, we made it to the base...With Shilpa actually hurting herself ...
All of us sat down at the base , I wondering as to wht all can human confidence do...It can actually make u conquer mountains and do the impossible possible...
Also the nature has many facets...it can be beautiful, silent and yet furious...Everythg we are today is her gift to us and yet we neglect her ... So at times she has to remind us that we better mend our ways..
nature has 2 be a feminine...because she is silent, beautiful and at the same time strong within, having the power which when unleashed can make impossible possible and can bring typhoons and disasters...Never challenge her...:) (Guess gettin a little carried off)
So coming back to the flow...we took autos to our next destinations...each v tired yet v v happy to be a part of this trek to the hills ...
We reached the restaurant at Chikballapoora called Shree Shanthi Sagar..( the trip back costed us the same around 60-70 bucks)...had our breakfast and then boarded the bus back to bangalore...
And I realized this was the end of it...:(
As we travelled , we had lots of pleasant and unpleasant experiences..:)...but each of us were so very tired that we actually dozed off on our way to KGBS...the tickets costed us around Rs.30..
After finally reaching the KGBS bus stand, it was time to say good bye...And I left for home..
Took a bus and man i slept off again...which rarely happens...:)
Ordered for food to be delivered home , freshened up...feeded myself on pizzas...and then dozed off...Had a sound sleep and after 2 days of work and masti...m here typing down my experiences to share with my near and dear ones...
Thanks guys...for without u, this trip would have never materialized...
Facts:
Trip cost: Around Rs.700
The total distance uphill and downhill: About 20-25 kms
Carry with you:Torches, warm clothes, lots of water, dry food, medicines
Dos and donts: Read the blog... :)
Best time to go: Full moon day, No rains , preferably in the night
Trek organizers(officially):Outback India
Time Now: 9 15
Take care guys...Do post in your comments and let me know how it was...
So till the next blog ...Take care...Stay cute..keep smiling
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