Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Monday, August 16, 2004
Road Trippin'
I will keep this short, atleast shorter than my last blog. Primarily because after the last post people, some of them influential, decided that I was extremely jobless and I have been burdened with work ever since. Secondly, I promised not to disparage the one who gave me a lift, which being Nari, implies that the blog size will be cut in half.
To cut a long story short we started out on the bright and sunny last Saturday morning for a bike (+ car) trip to Mekedattu and Chunchi falls, somewhere around 100 kms from Bangalore, one customary hour late (This time me and Gokhs were the primary culprits). The couple of cars were of Jins' and Kapils'. Rest of the people had bikes, most of them being your regular pulsars and fieros. The notable exception was of course Deepak whose Enfield looked to be of the same vintage as the bike driven by Lawrence in Arabia. Also Himanshu made his grand entrance in his usual time, the very last moment. One thing about Hims is that he looks more like a biker than anyone else... at least his waistline does.
The first hour or so was spent in navigating the streets and heavy traffic of Bangalore and picking up people from Banashankari and adjoining areas (Seema, Rohan, Naveen). The actual biking therefore kinda started only after the Metro at Kanakpura road. From there each vehicle was more or less on its own with Nari trying to prove that his Pulsar can overtake Jins' Zen at 100 km/hr. Biju took a stop in between to pursue his passion for capturing lotuses and lilies on silver bromide. Others utilized the stop for eating Haldirams' savouries and biscuits. All in all the drive continued without any major incidents till Kanakpura, reaching where Nari gave me a brief about the political history of the place (basically Deve Gowda and some female called Tejaswini fighting it out... nice sight that would be). In between Gokhs' and Hims' bikes were caught by the authorities for having drivers without licenses, Richa in Hims' bike and Seema in Gokhs'. The funny thing is that both of them have valid licenses which they forgot to carry.
After hustling around the dusty streets of Kanakpura for some time, we got our breakfast packed and the bikes filled with fuel and continued with our journey. This track (from Kanakpura to Mekedattu and Chunchi) was of an entirely different hue from highway. The road was flanked on the sides by tilled fields and grasslands with an occasional hillock rising up at some distance. Moreover the road was completely empty and yet in a good condition. What is the probability of that happening in India? All in all the drive was one of idyllic ambience and though it was easy to rip off at speeds of 100+ most of us chose to cruise. Soon we reached the diversion we had to take to reach the Chunchi falls (Naris info: The river is Arkavathy. Moreover, isn't BDA in some shit because of a layout of this name?). In between Sumit, Gokhs and some others reclaimed their simian ancestery by climbing some trees at the roadside much to the amusement and glee of the locals there.
Reaching Chunchi I thought "Jisne bhi bola tha yahan waterfall he usse bahut maroonga, yahan to water bhi nahin he, fall kahan se aayega" (My verbatim thoughts all throughout are slightly edited since I expect honorable citizens of the society to read this. Those more knowledgeable may put in their choice adjectives at will). People however had started going down and I duly followed them thinking (in Hindi) that so many people wouldn't be making fools of themselves. Luckily, for me after some distance down I could hear the water crashing against the rocks and some distance ahead finally saw the waterfall. Rest of my time was spent in trying to reach the foot of the falls via various approach routes and gazing at the waterfalls thinking things like "Where is this much force generated?”, "Why is the water green?" etc etc. Also everybody, me later than others, had their afternoon brunch here consisting of the packed Rava idlis and Masala dosas from Kanakpura. Finally, after almost an hour at the falls it was time to move on. I saw Biju and Nari getting to the top via a more circuitous and difficult route and alongwith Seema and Gokhs decided to follow their example. Unluckily for us there was absolutely no marked trail to the top and hence we had to face two false leads as well as hordes of cacti and thorny shrubs before finding a rather long winded way up. On reaching top almost everybody had left, with Nari waiting for me, and Deepak telling us that we will meet at Sangam. On a side note what is the probability that two brothers will separately make a trip to the same place on the very same day. Nari and his brother defied those odds.
On a trip of this length it is inadvertent that there would be a few mishaps and slipups. Till this point we were lucky not to have any such incident. However the optimism was short lived. Just leaving the Chunchi diversion into the main road, Hims bike gave away refusing the most heartfelt coaxings of the owner for starting. What had supposedly happened was that Richa was driving the bike and she lost her balance causing a minor fall (Incidentally some time before someone commented that Hims bike looked good on Richa… which she then had duly corrected). However, the mishandling caused the fuel to get slightly rich and only Gokhs' pushing allowed the richness to go down the throat oops carburettor of the bike. Gokhs' commented wryly that "Thank God, Mere bike ke saath kuch nahin hua". Of course, nobody denies his lack of prescience.
As we moved a couple of kilometers ahead we saw Jins car as the center of all attraction (with a fluroscent yellow color you can scarcely avoid to be ...). A word now on the driving technique of Jins. He is evidently fond of curves and sharp ones at that. Earlier in the morning we (me and Nari) had witnessed Jins going around potholes with a sharpness and elan that even Schumacher (the Michael variety) would be proud of. However, his front tires did not like his antics and gave out on a rather particular juncture causing the car to swivel around the track tracing out a total of 360 degrees (this is hearsay ... actual figure lies between 180 degrees to 720 degrees). Rajesh and Abhishek, being first hand victims, were trying to milk as much popular mention out of the situation by claiming things like "our weight at the back made the car stay up, rather than topple". Just as the front wheel was replaced, Gokhs and Seema ride in with the news that there back brakes have gone kaput thanks to another near miss which the bike did not like very much. As a result, they had to drive the rest of the trip at a rather sedentary speed (I am sure much to the relief of the rest of the gang).
We managed to reach the approach to the Sangam (the place where Cauvery and Arkavathy meet) without any further incidents. The approach was down a hill and the road was full of sharp turns. Just as Nari took the first turn a Yamaha bike powered past us with great flourish and panache. I then said to Nari, "Yaar, isse zindagi se pyar nahin he kya". Emerging just around the bend, we saw a jeep slowly moving and on the side the same Yamaha lying on the ground while the riders were ruefully rubbing their ankles. Nari could not help but burst out laughing and I basked in the glory of my foresight. In the same stretch Deepak also decided to test his luck by trying to do a Fangio at Nurburgring, straightening out three curves into one. The bullet refused to bank under the weight of Deepak because of which he continued to move straight into the mud track and bushes wherein he finally regained control. Much to the astonishment of me and nari, Prachi was laughing throughout his whole episode. And just as we reached the Sangam, the bacchas’ (Anil and Sumit) came with the news that they too had a fall, with the result that Anils' ankle was twisted and Sumit bike's headlights were cracked.
To reach Mekedattu we had to cross the river Sangam and go around 4-5 km downstream along the edge of the river. The water at Sangam just came to my waist and the only pain crossing the river was taking off my shoes to ensure that they do not become wet and putting them on again. Hims found out this long staff that we both used for carrying our shoes across the water. On the other side, half of the gang took the bus and the other decided to walk. After walking for some distance me, Hims, Sooraj and Sumit decided to make our lives more interesting by forsaking the beaten path and took the path across the hills. After some meandering in the hills we soon realised the futility of the entire exercise and joined the main group. Prachi and Richa also had some brainwave and decided that time was ripe to burn off extra calories and hence decided to jog rather than walk.
At Mekedattu the river goes through a stretch of uneven rock formations causing the water to gush through at incredible speeds. In the main section water falls from two perpendicular rock faces causing an immense vortex at the foot. The speed of the water was such that when we dipped our feet in it, we had to hold on to the rocks for the fear of being washed away. Also to reach the water we had to climb down an almost vertical rockface, next to which were the rapids, giving a person very little room for error. I went down via another way though I later managed to climb up the rockface with much help from Deepak. In fact, the other way was not any easier, just slightly less scary. We returned from Mekedattu sitting atop the bus in what proved to be a very bumpy ride and with Rajesh regaling us with sings to "suit the mood at the moment". Gokhs' rather adventurously decided to dangle along the bus’s backside. Reaching Sangam we spent some time in the water, those who knew swimming showing off their prowess, those who did not just standing there lapping it all up. Rajesh and Hims now formed the "Mutual appreciation of each others' swimming club". Soon however it was time to get out of the water and prepare for heading back to Bangalore.
After drying ourselves and changing into dry clothes we had a rather late lunch consisting of Rotis, jam, pickle and mixture (and my Bhelpuri that Raju thought I made impromptu... am I one to refuse free accolades?). Also just as we had changed, it started drizzling slightly after an entirely sunny and spotless day threatening to bring to realization the unpleasant aspects of Murphy's law. Thankfully, nature spared us. In addition, Nari who had till now gone without any mishap lost his bike keys. He had given them to Richa and forgotten about them. I think Richa managed a wiggle a choc out of Nari.
The drive back was rather quieter with everyone tired. And most importantly we had no further mishaps. Reaching the outskirts, we bid adeiu to Rohan, Naveen and Seema and moved on to Talisma. Hims managed to pull one last stunt by getting lost in Malleswaram with Richa. Wonder why and where Malleswaram came in between Jayanagar and Sadhashivanagar? Kapil also managed to get lost thus holding up people whose bags were in his car.
And I. Went home after an icecream at Baskin Robbins. Ordered biriyani from Nandhini. Took a hot water bath. Ate. Slept till next morning 12:00 noon.
_Sriyansa
Disclaimers:
1. All thoughts are my own.
2. All offenses are intended.
3. Any lapses in memory are to be blamed on the heavy workload in office and not on my memory.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Meharban..kadradan...sahiban...
hindustan...pakistan...nadan..adan...
Dil tham ke baithiye...
aaa raha hai,
aapke saamne,
aapka apna.....
Jo aapko dega....
Bachcha, aaj dharti hil jayegi...aasman kamp uthega,
bijlee kadkegi, dharti phategi...jab...
(ok will stop here as its becoming a kind of cranky).
Guys, Santhosh's penchant to make 16$ even better has resulted in 16$'s Web Log. There are several advantages (I know Deepak swears by them):
1. One stop repository of all the T Logs of past, present and future.
2. It allows us to manage the comments at one place. You know, how messy it becomes when somebody wants to add anything to what Sathosh has already written in his travel log...and how all those beautiful comments are lost.
3. Will allow us to share the spirit of 16$ with ppl outside CVL in a better way.
So I have posted all the Travel logs on which I could lay my hands on at: http://adventuresof16dollars.blogspot.com/
Still need to post the pics...somehow my picasa client is not working(can anybody help me here please)
Please let me know your blogger ids, so that I can add you as members, and then even you can post.
Regards
HimS
PS: Please go to the above link to post your comments. This mail is already posted there.
PPS: Santhosh, please fwd this to other 16$ members whom I have missed.
Dil tham ke baithiye...
aaa raha hai,
aapke saamne,
aapka apna.....
Jo aapko dega....
Bachcha, aaj dharti hil jayegi...aasman kamp uthega,
bijlee kadkegi, dharti phategi...jab...
(ok will stop here as its becoming a kind of cranky).
Guys, Santhosh's penchant to make 16$ even better has resulted in 16$'s Web Log. There are several advantages (I know Deepak swears by them):
1. One stop repository of all the T Logs of past, present and future.
2. It allows us to manage the comments at one place. You know, how messy it becomes when somebody wants to add anything to what Sathosh has already written in his travel log...and how all those beautiful comments are lost.
3. Will allow us to share the spirit of 16$ with ppl outside CVL in a better way.
So I have posted all the Travel logs on which I could lay my hands on at: http://adventuresof16dollars.blogspot.com/
Still need to post the pics...somehow my picasa client is not working(can anybody help me here please)
Please let me know your blogger ids, so that I can add you as members, and then even you can post.
Regards
HimS
PS: Please go to the above link to post your comments. This mail is already posted there.
PPS: Santhosh, please fwd this to other 16$ members whom I have missed.
Monday, August 02, 2004
On Cloud Nine and Back ... The trek to Mullyangiri and Baba Budhan -- Sriyansa Das
So what is next ... I am back from the trek I was supposed to go and boy was it good ... you bet it was ....
Cloudy skies, misty mountains, gusty winds, verdant scenery we had it all. Added to it a heady dose of rain, leeches, dumbCs and foot-in-the-mouth incidents (with Gokhale and Himanshu these are inevitable) the weekend was definitely one to remember.
We started on Friday night, the start being delayed by the customary hour. I was rather surprised at the relatively short delay. Guess working in a company gives one some semblance of punctuality. I hope it did that to me. Anyway, we started off on a rather sedentary note with almost everyone hitting the dreams the moment the bus started to roll. Deepak had pre-DJed the songs to be played in our times on the bus and I have to say that the choices were impressive. I remember getting a single seat to myself and still tossing and turning trying to find the most comfortable postion to catch a wink or two. And just as I had (or it seemed so) the bus lurched a halt in front of the Chikmagalur bus station. Trivia freaks might recollect that it was this constituency that gave Indira Gandhi shelter after she was thrown out by the people in Rae Bareily. Anyway, I guess or rather hope that it is known more for its excellent coffee.
Coming back to our trekking expedition and finishing off the morning exigencies at the bus stop, the packing for the trip started. The first task was the picking of the sleeping bags. Biju and me did one of our 'chance pe dance' items and picked out a couple of decent bags early on. Anyway regardless of the bag one got the major problem was that of packing them in such a way that water could not get to them in these rainy days. Gokhale wrapped his one in a Dominoes polythene and with his blue jeans and properly tucked T-shirt looked more like the model pizza delivery man rather than a trekker. On a side note Gokhale had lent me his sweat pants thinking they would not look good on him. Turned out that those were better suited to the conditions than his impeccable Lee jeans. Just one of many faux pax by him. Himanshu came with an ingenious idea to wrap 3 polythenes so as to cover his sleeping bag. And most of us stuffed them into our huge backpacks. All in the spirit of deepak saying "There is nothing worse on a trek than having a wet sleeping bag". In hindsight nothing could be more true.
Wrapping off the breakfast and refilling our water bottles we were on the bus again to get to the point where we would start our trek. During the breakfast came to know that Biju was getting married, and to who else but Aruma, a news that left both Saniye and myself flummoxed at the breakfast table. Within minutes after leaving Chikmagalur bus station, we were in the mountains and could see the greenery of the coffee plantations by our side and the rising clouds on the mountains above. I do not remember the checkposts' name where we got down but what do remember the view from down there was awesome and at the same time was just a whiff of what was to follow. It was not raining but rather drizzling slightly. Backpacks loaded, jackets and raincoats tightened we set out. Rain had made the moutain soil into slippery clay at most places so we had place each step in a careful and calculating manner. Initially I (and some more people) has some problems in dealing with the slippery surface but soon got adjusted to it. The hill we were climbing was called Mullyangiri and from Nari's info it was the highest peak in the state of Karnataka. We had actually covered quite some distance uphill on the bus itself but a significant amount of climbing was left to be accomplished.
I kinda stuck to the front of the group and hence missed some of the action that must be happening at the back. But one incident stands out in my mind. Halfway through the climb we came across this rockface that must have been around 10 feet in height. Not finding any trail circumventing it, we decided that probably climbing it was the only option. Saniye was at the head of the group and how she managed to climb that thing I do not know. Biju managed it front of my eyes with some unhealthy stretching of his leg muscles. Prachi went in next with Biju holding her from the top and Sooraj pushing up her legs from below. Sooraj also accomplished the task somehow. I was the next and managed with Biju helping me from the top. But Sujai had other ideas. He decided that not everyone would be eager to take up so much pain and would have found a easier solution and managed to find, after some searching a trail which circumvented the rock face. We sat there panting while the entire group merrily ran a circle around the rock. I felt genuinely stupid. Moreover, Biju was saying things like if you are a man climb this rockface. Just wondering whom he was trying to prove himself a man to.
After more trekking uphill and some water breaks, we came across this wonderful alcove with a small temple. A rusty looking old tree covered entirely with green moss and lichen gave shade. Lilac flowers of some unknown genus completed the picture giving the whole setup the look and feel of Impressionist painting. In addition, the view of the valley below was nothing short of incredible from there. We were by now quite a some distance up and could see the meandering river running across the plains, the greenery of the forests and a small town (was it Chikmagalur??) at a distance ensconced in them. That is when the clouds underneath us cleared enough. At this stage we were very close to the top of the hill and continued to climb on till we stumbled across a couple of caves. After some initial exploring, we left them and continued uphill. I was return later to these caves after Shankar shown pictures of the amazing rock striations on the walls of these caves. In fact, one fabulous rock layering looked like a Japanese Kabuki mask to my eyes. The cave itself was very low with me having to usually move on my knees or haunches.
Nothing and I mean nothing can really describe the feeling I got on reaching the top. There was the structure rising out of the mist that look like some kind of Paleolithic Stonehenge with stairs leading to its mysterious interiors (It later turned out be one of those fortress kind of walls). Wind was howling, yes literally howling as the clouds swathed everything around us in the mist that gave each of our physical embodiments an ephemeral nature. Forms became undefined as I squinted to look some feet ahead. Taking the stairs, we reached inside the compound and were pleasantly to see a functioning temple inside with people actually staying there. A thought struck me then and would come back to me later as we moved on about how these people would be feeling staying at this remote place.
We circled around the whole compound while waiting for Santhosh and others to climb and decide upon the future course of the trek. Before they came in Sooraj spotted a snakeling (I still wonder if it was a snake or a retarded earthworm?). Some photos of the snake and Himanshu wanting a bottle and few helpers to capture a 12 cm long snake it was decided that we take shelter for the day at the temple itself. In addition, from this point the fear of snakes manifested itself in Hims mind to an extent that he had to go to ludicrous lengths to pacify them. The priest had allowed us to use the hall provided we maintain some decency and keep our shoes away from the shrine. We were soon sequestered in the main hall of the temple, sitting on our mats, devouring the packed chapattis with pickle, jam, mixture or anything else we could put our hands upon. After this moment, the group was in a constant state of ingestion with biscuits, mixture, tea, coffee (and sugar in case of Hims) constantly reaching our stomachs. I fell asleep for some time inside a sleeping bag, without a zipper, which caused me to lash out my legs much to the discomfort of Prachi, and man did see berate me enough for this. And by the way I also found out that Prachi and Neha were both from Rourkela (you know, my hometown). On hearing this, for the nth time (n -> infiniti), I realized world is a small place. On further hearing they were Carmelites, a further remembrance of the days I used to (ok not correct entirely …) ogle at girls and curse St. Paul guys came rushing back. How weird memories are?? At the slightest hint, they just inundate you.
After an hour or so of sleeping and another meal of rice and rasam (which I did not partake being full) junta sat down to pass their time playing DC. When guessing movies people were saying things like “__________ of ____________” and Deepak always cracked the obnoxious joke, “Abbey Dash tere ko bula rahe hain”, while I was trying to sleep inside my rather comfortable sleeping bag … now a zipped one. After some time I realized the futility of the whole endeavor of sleep and jumped head on into the ongoing game of DC. I announced my participation by giving others things to act like “Requiem for a Dream” and “The Great Gatsby” and acting things like “lag” and “synonym of” in ways that seemed completely natural to me but were immediately dubbed by the group as IIT DC techniques. Baffles me. I mean if you show 2 fingers horizontal, parallel, one on top of another, what else can it mean other than “equal to”?? And of course there was this classic act where Gopika was trying Sooraj to guess the name of the restaurant in 3rd block Koramangala where they went for dinner. After some obscene number of hand gestures and Gopika’s frustration at Sooraj, the movie turned out to be “Steel Magnolia”, Magnolia being the name of the restaurant in question.
In between the DC and dinner, some of us went out into raging gale sometime in the evening. The venture outside was mainly due to the natural causes rather than any daredevil attempt to go out in the wind and pit our strength against it. However, the weather outside was much worse than earlier in the day. It was drizzling slightly and the wind was much more stronger, strong enough to blow away some instances of the Homo sapiens class into oblivion.
Dinner again was the usual romping affair with Hims putting sugar into all kinds of things to make them more edible (his opinion). Some more tired acting and guessing later we all were ready for bed. Rolling out the mats in the floor we snuggled into our sleeping bags to drift away into a night of dreams. Or were there any??
During our afternoon nap, Sujai had proved himself a master in the art of snoring. From Santhosh’s account in the morning, Sujai was the clear winner in the snoring competition with me and Sooraj giving a semblance of competition to him. I do not know about Sooraj but I am sure I do not snore. Anyway also from Santhoshs’ account of the night Abhishek was saying some things like somebody is opening a polythene bag and that I was virtuoso cycling in my sleeping bag. Wonder when Santhosh slept.
Very unlikely, I opened my eyes by myself in the morning. After brushing my teeth and I came back to find Raghu poking a sleeping Hims with his toe. On asking him what he was doing he replied “I am pinging him to see if he is alive”. Henceforth we forgot Raghu and were introduced to Pingu. Sometime later Raghu took a fascination to an antique rifle (or was it a musket?) hanging in the walls and wanted a couple of photos with it. The helper of the temple correctly identified him as Tiger Prabhakaran. I thought he meant the LTTE supremo but it seems there is a Kannada hero of that name. I keep on telling Nari that he can become a Kannada superstar but he does not listen to me. My beliefs were reinforced. Raghu was henceforth to be called only Tiger Pingu Prabhakaran aka TPP. Me started wondering what CPP stood for??
Anyway putting our feet into shoes wet from exposure to rain, hail, snow and god knows what during the night we set out down the hill on the second part of the trail. Our eyes were now adjusted to a visibility of 10 metres or so and it was intermittently drizzling so the ground was slippery and we were putting each step with care. More so as we were moving downhill. I broke away again to the front of the group with TPP, Saniye. Biju, Aruma and Shankar. I had my first experience with a leech on this part (more on leeches later) and my first slip crashing my bum on the rocky ground but still alive and kicking. The experience of trekking here was more like walking through the Scotland of Braveheart or the green misty environs of Lothorien in Fellowship of the ring. Quite some distance of the journey was on the edge of a cliff which sloped down into a deep forest that was purported to be tiger territory. My thoughts while walking through that part were like “Don’t slip. Don’t slip…”
Somewhere during this period, TPP saw a snake. It was obviously not one but he was petrified and insisted on informing others at the back before moving forward. Now I was without my contacts and only make out a vaguely make out something around a feet long and green in color. I thought it is probably a grass snake but then whats the big deal. After a minute or two of waiting, I decided to have a closer look and then found out it was a rather large blade of grass. Nevertheless, I had moved quite a distance ahead of the main group and very soon reached the end of the trek at a checkpost. Since the main group was still some distance away from the destination, we contented ourselves by gorging on chocs and guavas’ which I had carried the previous day and had insisted on distributing this morning so that my backpack weighed less.
After the main group arrived, we realized that we had told the bus driver to wait at another post 7 km down the road. However, luckily for us the driver applied his brains and first came to this post. Dumping our backpacks inside the bus we climbed onto the top to admire the scenery as the vehicle skirted around carefully on the mountainous terrain. Another first for me. Winding down the road, we were on our way to the spot where we could start the second leg of the trek leading to Baba Budhan. Incidentally, Baba Budhan is the one who got coffee out of Arabia into Chikmagalur and I am sure his shrine should be one to visit for any half decent coffee connoisseur. We had the mountain on one side of the road while the other had coffee and eliachi plantations on the downward slopes.
Going down we came across a waterfall (a man made one) with a chai stall in its side, where we got down, and took at few snaps. Someone then gathered some information that pointed to another waterfall a furlong away and bigger one at that. Now I do not think any of us knew how much exactly is one furlong is but guessed that it should not be more than a kilometer or slightly more than that. Anyway, we went for it. Sounded too irresistible. As usual, I kind of stuck with the avant garde. We must have trekked a km and a half before we saw and heard the first traces of the river. Soon we were climbing down to it. Also we could see a small waterfall and guessed that it was the one we came in search of.
Immediately Deepak went down into the water and Biju and me were testing the waters to see if we could also get in. At this time I suddenly realized that leeches were probably holding their version of Woodstock at the very same place. And Saniye already had one on her ankle. Aruma and Saniye rushed back. I wanted to stick around for slightly longer having came so much distance. Anyway, I also found a couple of leeches trying to get inside my socks. I now have a theory that states that leeches lack the sense of smell. I turned around and saw that Deepak had disappeared. I thought he had decided to take a dip in the water. Suddenly saw his head bob up with an expression which baffled me. Actually, he was like 20 feet away and I was still without my contacts. He went down and again his head came up in a expression which looked like he was gasping for air. Now I knew something was wrong. I called Biju and he realized the gravity of the situation and immediately went forward to help Deepak. However, by now Deepak seemed to have recovered himself and was swimming out to safety. Safety being first we moved as fast as possible from that place towards the bus. The trailing group was appearing and we pushed them back saying no point going there. Too many leeches and too deep water. Later Deepak told that there was a sudden depression underneath the falling water. Suddenly the chapter in my standard ninth geography textbook on water erosion came into full focus. We trekked back realizing always that the place was teeming with leeches and more leeches.
After coming back to the road we de-leeched ourselves by checking inside every piece of clothing. Still, Santhosh later said that he found a leech at his house. On a side note, Neha and leeches are a deadly combo. The height of the situation being when she mistook a small blade of grass for a leech and was jumping and stomping her foot trying to shake it off. It seems she took a photo of a leech to show what kind bloodsuckers were after her. As for me, I found two inside my left shoe and three more at various positions in my body. (I am sure you are not interested in the anatomic details). Another small detail. The waterfall we had searched for in the leech infested territory was missed by everybody but Biju, Hims and Shankar. Luckily Shankar had his absolutely brilliant digicam and so he took some decent videos and photos of the same to spare us some of the agony. And Hims got back leeches and as soon as he found on his waist start bawling like a 10 month old kid who is hungry and finds howling as his only form of expression. How true is the adage “There is a child in each of us”.
We started out towards the starting position of the trek towards the shrine of Baba Budhan sitting atop the rented minibus. When we reached there people who had already changed clothes were loathe to continue the trek in fear of spoiling the only pair of clean clothes they had. So some of them decided to continue to the shrine on the bus while we trekked our way up. Now some idiot had told that the trek to Baba Budhan was on relatively flat ground. As we trekked up the hill, I was running out of breath and could not wait to reach the flat track where the going will be easier. Alas! It never came. More than that, the path became steeper and the trails less distinct as we went up. But somehow we reached the top of the hill and from there the shrine which was to be our final destination for the trip.
Drenched to the skin by now we were eager to get out of our wet garments. Most of us managed to change in a dignified manner. Hims was however was upto his usual tricks he made the last seat of the bus a curfew zone for around fifteen minutes as he was doing god knows what. Finally, everybody was changed and we started down the hills towards Chikmagalur to have something as a late lunch. On the way, we bid our farewell to the hills talking the last couple of snaps. Reaching Chikmagalur we went to this place which served something called “Open Dosa”. After a year in Bangalore I had not heard of any such creation. Eager to try one almost every body ordered one of those. Turned out that it was pretty heavy and sufficed for a lunch and tiffin rolled into one.
Finally in the bus, dry and filled, it was time for DC again. The highlights of this session being Biju getting to my acting of Bekhudi as “back” and “Udi” or someone getting Tehzeeb from “The” and “Zip”. As they say, great minds think alike. However, around nine we had run out of movies and were so tired that we laid low in each of our seats waiting to reach Bangalore and go to bed to give rest to our tired limbs. It was finally around midnight when the bus stopped in front of the Talisma office and within half an hour I was in home, bidding adieu to my trekmates, trying to go to sleep while Ankit and Ajay wanted every single detail of the trip.
_Sriyansa
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PS:: Life was usual the next day. Photos were put up in share and experiences were shared. General agreement being that this was amongst the best treks by the 16$ trekkers.
Cloudy skies, misty mountains, gusty winds, verdant scenery we had it all. Added to it a heady dose of rain, leeches, dumbCs and foot-in-the-mouth incidents (with Gokhale and Himanshu these are inevitable) the weekend was definitely one to remember.
We started on Friday night, the start being delayed by the customary hour. I was rather surprised at the relatively short delay. Guess working in a company gives one some semblance of punctuality. I hope it did that to me. Anyway, we started off on a rather sedentary note with almost everyone hitting the dreams the moment the bus started to roll. Deepak had pre-DJed the songs to be played in our times on the bus and I have to say that the choices were impressive. I remember getting a single seat to myself and still tossing and turning trying to find the most comfortable postion to catch a wink or two. And just as I had (or it seemed so) the bus lurched a halt in front of the Chikmagalur bus station. Trivia freaks might recollect that it was this constituency that gave Indira Gandhi shelter after she was thrown out by the people in Rae Bareily. Anyway, I guess or rather hope that it is known more for its excellent coffee.
Coming back to our trekking expedition and finishing off the morning exigencies at the bus stop, the packing for the trip started. The first task was the picking of the sleeping bags. Biju and me did one of our 'chance pe dance' items and picked out a couple of decent bags early on. Anyway regardless of the bag one got the major problem was that of packing them in such a way that water could not get to them in these rainy days. Gokhale wrapped his one in a Dominoes polythene and with his blue jeans and properly tucked T-shirt looked more like the model pizza delivery man rather than a trekker. On a side note Gokhale had lent me his sweat pants thinking they would not look good on him. Turned out that those were better suited to the conditions than his impeccable Lee jeans. Just one of many faux pax by him. Himanshu came with an ingenious idea to wrap 3 polythenes so as to cover his sleeping bag. And most of us stuffed them into our huge backpacks. All in the spirit of deepak saying "There is nothing worse on a trek than having a wet sleeping bag". In hindsight nothing could be more true.
Wrapping off the breakfast and refilling our water bottles we were on the bus again to get to the point where we would start our trek. During the breakfast came to know that Biju was getting married, and to who else but Aruma, a news that left both Saniye and myself flummoxed at the breakfast table. Within minutes after leaving Chikmagalur bus station, we were in the mountains and could see the greenery of the coffee plantations by our side and the rising clouds on the mountains above. I do not remember the checkposts' name where we got down but what do remember the view from down there was awesome and at the same time was just a whiff of what was to follow. It was not raining but rather drizzling slightly. Backpacks loaded, jackets and raincoats tightened we set out. Rain had made the moutain soil into slippery clay at most places so we had place each step in a careful and calculating manner. Initially I (and some more people) has some problems in dealing with the slippery surface but soon got adjusted to it. The hill we were climbing was called Mullyangiri and from Nari's info it was the highest peak in the state of Karnataka. We had actually covered quite some distance uphill on the bus itself but a significant amount of climbing was left to be accomplished.
I kinda stuck to the front of the group and hence missed some of the action that must be happening at the back. But one incident stands out in my mind. Halfway through the climb we came across this rockface that must have been around 10 feet in height. Not finding any trail circumventing it, we decided that probably climbing it was the only option. Saniye was at the head of the group and how she managed to climb that thing I do not know. Biju managed it front of my eyes with some unhealthy stretching of his leg muscles. Prachi went in next with Biju holding her from the top and Sooraj pushing up her legs from below. Sooraj also accomplished the task somehow. I was the next and managed with Biju helping me from the top. But Sujai had other ideas. He decided that not everyone would be eager to take up so much pain and would have found a easier solution and managed to find, after some searching a trail which circumvented the rock face. We sat there panting while the entire group merrily ran a circle around the rock. I felt genuinely stupid. Moreover, Biju was saying things like if you are a man climb this rockface. Just wondering whom he was trying to prove himself a man to.
After more trekking uphill and some water breaks, we came across this wonderful alcove with a small temple. A rusty looking old tree covered entirely with green moss and lichen gave shade. Lilac flowers of some unknown genus completed the picture giving the whole setup the look and feel of Impressionist painting. In addition, the view of the valley below was nothing short of incredible from there. We were by now quite a some distance up and could see the meandering river running across the plains, the greenery of the forests and a small town (was it Chikmagalur??) at a distance ensconced in them. That is when the clouds underneath us cleared enough. At this stage we were very close to the top of the hill and continued to climb on till we stumbled across a couple of caves. After some initial exploring, we left them and continued uphill. I was return later to these caves after Shankar shown pictures of the amazing rock striations on the walls of these caves. In fact, one fabulous rock layering looked like a Japanese Kabuki mask to my eyes. The cave itself was very low with me having to usually move on my knees or haunches.
Nothing and I mean nothing can really describe the feeling I got on reaching the top. There was the structure rising out of the mist that look like some kind of Paleolithic Stonehenge with stairs leading to its mysterious interiors (It later turned out be one of those fortress kind of walls). Wind was howling, yes literally howling as the clouds swathed everything around us in the mist that gave each of our physical embodiments an ephemeral nature. Forms became undefined as I squinted to look some feet ahead. Taking the stairs, we reached inside the compound and were pleasantly to see a functioning temple inside with people actually staying there. A thought struck me then and would come back to me later as we moved on about how these people would be feeling staying at this remote place.
We circled around the whole compound while waiting for Santhosh and others to climb and decide upon the future course of the trek. Before they came in Sooraj spotted a snakeling (I still wonder if it was a snake or a retarded earthworm?). Some photos of the snake and Himanshu wanting a bottle and few helpers to capture a 12 cm long snake it was decided that we take shelter for the day at the temple itself. In addition, from this point the fear of snakes manifested itself in Hims mind to an extent that he had to go to ludicrous lengths to pacify them. The priest had allowed us to use the hall provided we maintain some decency and keep our shoes away from the shrine. We were soon sequestered in the main hall of the temple, sitting on our mats, devouring the packed chapattis with pickle, jam, mixture or anything else we could put our hands upon. After this moment, the group was in a constant state of ingestion with biscuits, mixture, tea, coffee (and sugar in case of Hims) constantly reaching our stomachs. I fell asleep for some time inside a sleeping bag, without a zipper, which caused me to lash out my legs much to the discomfort of Prachi, and man did see berate me enough for this. And by the way I also found out that Prachi and Neha were both from Rourkela (you know, my hometown). On hearing this, for the nth time (n -> infiniti), I realized world is a small place. On further hearing they were Carmelites, a further remembrance of the days I used to (ok not correct entirely …) ogle at girls and curse St. Paul guys came rushing back. How weird memories are?? At the slightest hint, they just inundate you.
After an hour or so of sleeping and another meal of rice and rasam (which I did not partake being full) junta sat down to pass their time playing DC. When guessing movies people were saying things like “__________ of ____________” and Deepak always cracked the obnoxious joke, “Abbey Dash tere ko bula rahe hain”, while I was trying to sleep inside my rather comfortable sleeping bag … now a zipped one. After some time I realized the futility of the whole endeavor of sleep and jumped head on into the ongoing game of DC. I announced my participation by giving others things to act like “Requiem for a Dream” and “The Great Gatsby” and acting things like “lag” and “synonym of” in ways that seemed completely natural to me but were immediately dubbed by the group as IIT DC techniques. Baffles me. I mean if you show 2 fingers horizontal, parallel, one on top of another, what else can it mean other than “equal to”?? And of course there was this classic act where Gopika was trying Sooraj to guess the name of the restaurant in 3rd block Koramangala where they went for dinner. After some obscene number of hand gestures and Gopika’s frustration at Sooraj, the movie turned out to be “Steel Magnolia”, Magnolia being the name of the restaurant in question.
In between the DC and dinner, some of us went out into raging gale sometime in the evening. The venture outside was mainly due to the natural causes rather than any daredevil attempt to go out in the wind and pit our strength against it. However, the weather outside was much worse than earlier in the day. It was drizzling slightly and the wind was much more stronger, strong enough to blow away some instances of the Homo sapiens class into oblivion.
Dinner again was the usual romping affair with Hims putting sugar into all kinds of things to make them more edible (his opinion). Some more tired acting and guessing later we all were ready for bed. Rolling out the mats in the floor we snuggled into our sleeping bags to drift away into a night of dreams. Or were there any??
During our afternoon nap, Sujai had proved himself a master in the art of snoring. From Santhosh’s account in the morning, Sujai was the clear winner in the snoring competition with me and Sooraj giving a semblance of competition to him. I do not know about Sooraj but I am sure I do not snore. Anyway also from Santhoshs’ account of the night Abhishek was saying some things like somebody is opening a polythene bag and that I was virtuoso cycling in my sleeping bag. Wonder when Santhosh slept.
Very unlikely, I opened my eyes by myself in the morning. After brushing my teeth and I came back to find Raghu poking a sleeping Hims with his toe. On asking him what he was doing he replied “I am pinging him to see if he is alive”. Henceforth we forgot Raghu and were introduced to Pingu. Sometime later Raghu took a fascination to an antique rifle (or was it a musket?) hanging in the walls and wanted a couple of photos with it. The helper of the temple correctly identified him as Tiger Prabhakaran. I thought he meant the LTTE supremo but it seems there is a Kannada hero of that name. I keep on telling Nari that he can become a Kannada superstar but he does not listen to me. My beliefs were reinforced. Raghu was henceforth to be called only Tiger Pingu Prabhakaran aka TPP. Me started wondering what CPP stood for??
Anyway putting our feet into shoes wet from exposure to rain, hail, snow and god knows what during the night we set out down the hill on the second part of the trail. Our eyes were now adjusted to a visibility of 10 metres or so and it was intermittently drizzling so the ground was slippery and we were putting each step with care. More so as we were moving downhill. I broke away again to the front of the group with TPP, Saniye. Biju, Aruma and Shankar. I had my first experience with a leech on this part (more on leeches later) and my first slip crashing my bum on the rocky ground but still alive and kicking. The experience of trekking here was more like walking through the Scotland of Braveheart or the green misty environs of Lothorien in Fellowship of the ring. Quite some distance of the journey was on the edge of a cliff which sloped down into a deep forest that was purported to be tiger territory. My thoughts while walking through that part were like “Don’t slip. Don’t slip…”
Somewhere during this period, TPP saw a snake. It was obviously not one but he was petrified and insisted on informing others at the back before moving forward. Now I was without my contacts and only make out a vaguely make out something around a feet long and green in color. I thought it is probably a grass snake but then whats the big deal. After a minute or two of waiting, I decided to have a closer look and then found out it was a rather large blade of grass. Nevertheless, I had moved quite a distance ahead of the main group and very soon reached the end of the trek at a checkpost. Since the main group was still some distance away from the destination, we contented ourselves by gorging on chocs and guavas’ which I had carried the previous day and had insisted on distributing this morning so that my backpack weighed less.
After the main group arrived, we realized that we had told the bus driver to wait at another post 7 km down the road. However, luckily for us the driver applied his brains and first came to this post. Dumping our backpacks inside the bus we climbed onto the top to admire the scenery as the vehicle skirted around carefully on the mountainous terrain. Another first for me. Winding down the road, we were on our way to the spot where we could start the second leg of the trek leading to Baba Budhan. Incidentally, Baba Budhan is the one who got coffee out of Arabia into Chikmagalur and I am sure his shrine should be one to visit for any half decent coffee connoisseur. We had the mountain on one side of the road while the other had coffee and eliachi plantations on the downward slopes.
Going down we came across a waterfall (a man made one) with a chai stall in its side, where we got down, and took at few snaps. Someone then gathered some information that pointed to another waterfall a furlong away and bigger one at that. Now I do not think any of us knew how much exactly is one furlong is but guessed that it should not be more than a kilometer or slightly more than that. Anyway, we went for it. Sounded too irresistible. As usual, I kind of stuck with the avant garde. We must have trekked a km and a half before we saw and heard the first traces of the river. Soon we were climbing down to it. Also we could see a small waterfall and guessed that it was the one we came in search of.
Immediately Deepak went down into the water and Biju and me were testing the waters to see if we could also get in. At this time I suddenly realized that leeches were probably holding their version of Woodstock at the very same place. And Saniye already had one on her ankle. Aruma and Saniye rushed back. I wanted to stick around for slightly longer having came so much distance. Anyway, I also found a couple of leeches trying to get inside my socks. I now have a theory that states that leeches lack the sense of smell. I turned around and saw that Deepak had disappeared. I thought he had decided to take a dip in the water. Suddenly saw his head bob up with an expression which baffled me. Actually, he was like 20 feet away and I was still without my contacts. He went down and again his head came up in a expression which looked like he was gasping for air. Now I knew something was wrong. I called Biju and he realized the gravity of the situation and immediately went forward to help Deepak. However, by now Deepak seemed to have recovered himself and was swimming out to safety. Safety being first we moved as fast as possible from that place towards the bus. The trailing group was appearing and we pushed them back saying no point going there. Too many leeches and too deep water. Later Deepak told that there was a sudden depression underneath the falling water. Suddenly the chapter in my standard ninth geography textbook on water erosion came into full focus. We trekked back realizing always that the place was teeming with leeches and more leeches.
After coming back to the road we de-leeched ourselves by checking inside every piece of clothing. Still, Santhosh later said that he found a leech at his house. On a side note, Neha and leeches are a deadly combo. The height of the situation being when she mistook a small blade of grass for a leech and was jumping and stomping her foot trying to shake it off. It seems she took a photo of a leech to show what kind bloodsuckers were after her. As for me, I found two inside my left shoe and three more at various positions in my body. (I am sure you are not interested in the anatomic details). Another small detail. The waterfall we had searched for in the leech infested territory was missed by everybody but Biju, Hims and Shankar. Luckily Shankar had his absolutely brilliant digicam and so he took some decent videos and photos of the same to spare us some of the agony. And Hims got back leeches and as soon as he found on his waist start bawling like a 10 month old kid who is hungry and finds howling as his only form of expression. How true is the adage “There is a child in each of us”.
We started out towards the starting position of the trek towards the shrine of Baba Budhan sitting atop the rented minibus. When we reached there people who had already changed clothes were loathe to continue the trek in fear of spoiling the only pair of clean clothes they had. So some of them decided to continue to the shrine on the bus while we trekked our way up. Now some idiot had told that the trek to Baba Budhan was on relatively flat ground. As we trekked up the hill, I was running out of breath and could not wait to reach the flat track where the going will be easier. Alas! It never came. More than that, the path became steeper and the trails less distinct as we went up. But somehow we reached the top of the hill and from there the shrine which was to be our final destination for the trip.
Drenched to the skin by now we were eager to get out of our wet garments. Most of us managed to change in a dignified manner. Hims was however was upto his usual tricks he made the last seat of the bus a curfew zone for around fifteen minutes as he was doing god knows what. Finally, everybody was changed and we started down the hills towards Chikmagalur to have something as a late lunch. On the way, we bid our farewell to the hills talking the last couple of snaps. Reaching Chikmagalur we went to this place which served something called “Open Dosa”. After a year in Bangalore I had not heard of any such creation. Eager to try one almost every body ordered one of those. Turned out that it was pretty heavy and sufficed for a lunch and tiffin rolled into one.
Finally in the bus, dry and filled, it was time for DC again. The highlights of this session being Biju getting to my acting of Bekhudi as “back” and “Udi” or someone getting Tehzeeb from “The” and “Zip”. As they say, great minds think alike. However, around nine we had run out of movies and were so tired that we laid low in each of our seats waiting to reach Bangalore and go to bed to give rest to our tired limbs. It was finally around midnight when the bus stopped in front of the Talisma office and within half an hour I was in home, bidding adieu to my trekmates, trying to go to sleep while Ankit and Ajay wanted every single detail of the trip.
_Sriyansa
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PS:: Life was usual the next day. Photos were put up in share and experiences were shared. General agreement being that this was amongst the best treks by the 16$ trekkers.
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Happy birthday Santhosh -- Sriyansa Dash
Santhosh b’day was this Friday. Had sort of a reunion of the group at lunch in Chungs. Befitting, since he was responsible mainly for the arrangements and the logistics of the entire trek.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
A long one from Mullayangiri......-Santhosh KC
All,
So finally after a bit of hesitancy, a bit of drifting and drafting we managed to complete yet another successful trek (Or rather should I say it as mountaineering as some others were pointing out... J) to Mullayanagiri, Athigundi and finally to Baba Buddanagiri.... (If u check our last trip was almost one month old... J)
Here's a recapitulation of the beautiful trekking experience we had before the details fade out of our minds - though I'm sure the experience will remain unforgettable. The end of the trek is a good time to reminisce on the highlights of the trip, cos our energy during the actual trek seemed to be spent mainly in that half-second that it took to put one foot in front of the other and keep climbing.
First of all, thanks to all of you for executing the trek admirably without any incidents. The camaraderie, bonding and group dynamics were fantastic. The planning worked like clockwork and right things happened at convenient times, a great showing in all.
Special mention to the new comers of our trek which includes... Aruma (Aka... Biju A for Aruma), Gopika (The Silent of all), Dash (Ever Vibrant ), Shankar (Photo Maniac), Sujai HK (The Snorer), and all others who managed to bring out the best for completely enjoying the present moment, and the next, and the next... laughter made the experience 200% more fun for everybody else.
Some moments in time stand out like snapshots frozen in memory step by step (No offences made to any one...). The log is a bit more than I had expected. It takes much more time than the previous ones which had taken time to read...... I might have missed out a few things in the travel log. If anyone has any more experience to share please do that.....................
23-07-04:-
As usual the initial packing of sleeping bags, mats and who will carry the lightest weights in their bags....
The wait for the three PM's (Deepak, Sardaar (Abhijeet Gokhale for those who doesn't know), and Himanshu )
And for all of you who didn't know what Sardaar was doing ... he was filling up his weekly report form..................
KK's last minute dash to the CVL facility (but for a change than all the previous occasions he was not to join us)
All Set and All Packed finally at 12:30 we started our move to Chickmagalur
The nasty dosing by the vehicle conductor
The subsequent cane beatings by the driver on the Conductor
After a few beatings Our Sujai was trying his own bit to the conductor not get beatings by pinching him J
The road from Hassan to Chickmagalur was undergoing repair.... So the roads were in very bad condition... and only Sujai, Myself and Biju knew about this since we were the only people awake at that point of time...
Not much incidents in the night journey........
24-07-04:-
Reached the first destination of Chickmagalur at 5:30am.
When some one asked me the time at 6:00 in the morning I had to tell it is 7:00 and later when it was 7:00, that person was cursing for not allowing sleeping for some more time.
Went to Trekkers early morning hideout... Bus Stand Facilities and finished our early morning needs...
All the food items were shared across so that no one will have more weight to carry (Except for their own weight)
Packing of the bags went on for some time sine all the sleeping bags needed to be packed inside the
polythene covers (So that it wont get wet in the rain)
And our Sardaar was fully dressed for the monsoon trek with a JEANS and a Back Bag which was like our Talisma BAG which had support only from one side!!!!!! (Now the funny thing was that he had given his trekking dress to Dash J and can you believe the second part of it.... He had given his backpack also to DASH.........J )
All were fully thrilled up by seeing the surroundings with full lush green environment and it started to drizzle also.
So finally at 7:45 we started after our Breakfast and to Sarpadari our starting point of the trek
On the way the scenery was very beautiful as we were gaining height with every move in the vehicle
Finally at 8:10 we reached to the Spot named Sarpadari were we had to get down from the vehicle and start our much awaited monsoon trek
All got ready and let the driver go to Chickmagalur and told him to be there in Athigundi were there is a Check post.
We got an idea as to how the trek is going to be since it was very misty and the visibility was very poor....... (No one except Shankar had climbed this peak before)
Finally at 8:30 we were all charged up for the trek and suddenly I got a call from Naveen asking how'z the trekking going on......
He was wishing all of us to have a good time in trekking and an even amazing time with the Leaches....... (Felt bad that he couldn't make it for the trek..... with a broken hand L)
After a photo session we started our trek trying to conquer the Mullayanagiri hills (The tallest hills in between the Himalayas and Nilgiris.......)
Biju as usual leading the pack with Aruma, Raghup, Saniye and others to follow. (The path of the trek is so very narrow that only one person can go in the track....)
The back benchers were Sooraj, Gopika, Myself, Neha, Shankar and Deepak
And the starting of the trek didn't look so interesting for Neha (Who incidentally is coming for her first TREK in her life) since she had a minor fall
The path looked very slippery and very scary...... and the visibility was very poor that beyond some 30 meters nothing was visible except for the Fog.
But slowly and steadily we managed to climb for about 30- 45 minutes and had a feeling that we were going in the wrong track since the path looked very unused and look out for any other side you could find another path.
But the problem we faced was that even if get to know that the path we were going was wrong there is no way we could have got down the hill since the descent was very difficult
And finally when we asked our One time trekker to this hill Shankar as how we should proceed he had no clue except that we have to go between a small forest cover..... (Since he had gone there almost 4 years earlier)
And finally we decided that wht ever it may come go forward and keep to your right.......(Always making sure that the leading and the lagging batches are close enough in vicinity)
Our Sardaar was finding leaches everywhere (But it turned out to be either snails or earthworms........ J ). But there just a few countable leaches on the way to Mullayanagiri we could actually seee...
Finally we made up to the proper track and went past the forest cover
In between our trek master Deepak Aka PGMT (Even if he has moved to PM team now he will still be our good old PGMT to us....) had a small fall
There was a small climb on a Rock which was a bit difficult one (Sujai was finding difficult and he found another easy to climb up)
The climb was difficult for me since I had my Digicam tied to my Tummy......
All along the way our other PM Himanshu kept on saying "I don't like that, I don't like this ........" and all sort of cribbing and he was still climbing the hill with utmost ease J
Finally after an hour and half (10:00) we reached a beautiful tree which had a NANDI idol below it and the view of the tree was amazing which cannot be explained
A small break for some time with a photo session also was done over there (Rain started coming down but not in a brisk pace.....)
Started again and we moved in a brisk pace (In between a few were asking as to how much more we need to travel and the only answer which I could give was we have covered more than 3/4th of the trek and only another 30 minutes more ) which continued for another hour
We managed to reach a Cave on the way and it was a beautiful site inside the cave with all the vibrant colors.......
A batch went ahead without stopping for us and came back in another 30 minutes saying we are in the top of the hillll...............
Group by Group we managed to go inside the cave and came out (Saniye u missed out something since she was scared of darkness......)
After all was done we all managed to climb to the top of the hill and onto the Shiva Temple on the top of the hill by around 12:30
Shankar and myself went first and spoke with the Poojari of the temple and he was happy to give us Food and Shelter in a big hall over there..
But the only problem is that we couldn't wear the Shoes in the Premises of the temple and the surroundings were we were staying...
So we had to walk barefoot in the chilling climate there and had to pack the shoes in a cover and keep in a safe place..
In between a few were lucky enough to see a few small snakes.....
The wind speed was so much that we felt as if we would be blown away by the winds............
Finally we made into the Hall and ordered for the Poojari for a good lunch with Rasam and pickle
In the mean time we opened our rations, Stove and started heating the Chapathi's which I had packed the Previous day from Sakthi Hotel in Malleshwaram
All had enough (i.e. 2 per head) chapathi's, Bread, Mixtures and Saniye prepared Lemon tea for all of us.
Once the stomach was occupied with some food one after the other started settling down inside the sleeping bags..... (Which was a must to sit)
I tried my level best in sneaking in a few but finally had to take out another sleeping bag and retire into it.
Started pulling each others legs... And Raghu got one more name in the mean time (Raghu P and P for Pingu.. Now don't ask me what Pingu is... It was invented by Deepakkk PGMT)
Time passed by quickly and it was 2:30 in no time... and the lunch was ready
There was a helper of the Poojari who was irritating all of us...
That guy wanted the Mixture, Biscuits we were having and we gave it to him
But that was not all ..he even wanted our sleeping Matts, Bags and wht not he even wanted the Cigeratte lighter which we were using to light the Stove
And in the mean time he gave another name to Raghu P .. (Raghu P looks like Kannada Actor TIGER PRABAKHAR J)
All had the lunch and one surprising what we could see was hat Himanshu having Rice with Rasam and Sugar............. (To the shock of all others.......)
Again people started settling down in sleeping bags..
Saniye stole my sleeping bag and on top of that she gave one comment which I would not like to put it over here....
And then started the Snoring session from Sujai HK and Raghu was also trying his bit to snore but was unsuccessfull....
Evening came very soon and the Poojari prepared the milk from the milk powder given by us and we had a nice tea/ coffee biscuits and all other eatables..
A few of us made a valiant attempt to go outside and see the nature from hill top but had to return back very soon since the wind speed was way too speedy....
Once agin all settled inside their sleeping bags and we made two teams for Dumb Charades... and it continued till we had our dinner with Rice, Rasam, Chapathis, Pickle, Side dish and Papads ans as usual Himanshu's Sugar...
Once again the Dumb Charades continues until all was feeling sleepy (We learned a few techniques from the IIT language from DASH......).
And who can forget the Hotel Gopika was trying to get from Sooraj as a name of one of the movies..... (I managed Sooraj to reach till Kormangala 3rd block but Sooraj couldn't get the name....)
Abhishek was getting cramps in his legs by this mean time but was not severe enough.
A few people wandered into the darkness (Now please don't ask me why they were missing for some time in the wilderness)
And again a competition started in the night as who will be the best snorer in the trek.. The Competitors were Sujai, Dash, Sooraj and a few small time snorers
One thing I learned form the night was that never sleep next to Abhishek since in the sleep he feels like some one is opening the Plastic Covers, some one is speaking and all such types of weird things...
25-07-04:-
And by the time I got up in the morning he (Abhishek) had changed his sleeping place without even his knowledge
Made all get up early by 7:00 am and Saniye and myself started preparing Maggi Noodles for our break fast.
First time in two treks/ trips I could hear a loud voice form Neha (Yeah she was fuming on Sardaaar....)
Again had all sort of things like noodles, sauce, pickle, jam, bread, mixtures and even coffee and tea also as per choice and Himanshu's Sugar
Finally packed all things up, prayed in the Shiva Temple and we were all set once again for the next trek to Baba Buddan Giri
One more photo session and we were back on track a new track a bit easier one compared to the first day by around 9:20
Rain started again and this time Shankar took charge of leading the team
Initial downward movement was a bit difficult as Neha and Gopika were finding a bit difficult
And the movement continued when our Raghu had a fall and later was yelling down to the back markers saying "Careful Guys, Its slippery out here". (Myself and Aruma saw him falling and no no Raghu I didn't tell it to any one else)
There was yet another rock this time not to climb but to pass across which I found a bit difficult and had to stay like Spiderman for sometime (No no one noticed it so no problemz.... J)
Getting Neha was a difficult task for Deepak and Biju across the rock
And for every movement Gopika was finding Sooraj's hand more than the rocks or the trees to hold one.......... (Mein Hoom Na.....)
Sardaar and Raghu saw a Fig and were yelling in full volume saying "There is a snake in the path".
A few stops here and there to make sure all are together and there is not distance between the first and the last trekker
One stop for Chikkis and finally the front walkers were missing and we could see the Road just below us
Deepak was shouting in his full throat but they were missing
Deepak and myself walked a bit further and found the Check post in KK Gandi at around 11:00am (Not in Athigundi as we had told the Driver)
10-15 minutes passed by and the vehicle was in the check post (If we were not there in the check post the driver would have taken the vehicle to Athigundi which was another 7 Kms away....)
All kept their bags into the bug and climbed to the top of the vehicle and the drive started to our next location which was Athigundi.
There was a small water fall were all got refreshed a bit.... And had tea in the tea stall
Tea Stall fella told some one that there is a big water fall just one Kms behind on the left hand side of the road
Enthu rejuvenated once again and all were once again to the water fall without any luggage (First mistake of not carrying Water or Chuna or Salt for Leaches or Rope since we were going to a waterfall.... L )
Walked back the road for 500 meters and a gate in the left side of the road and we were all into the Coffee Estate where the Suspense of the whole trek lied
A few of the gang went ahead casually walking in the estate in search of the waterfall
A few snaps here and there and suddenly Sujai showed a Leach and then started the terror ( People we have entered into the LEACH PARK)
Salt, Chuuna all are lying in the Bag in the vehicle
I took out my shoes and socks and in disbelief could see 4-5 leaches hanging on my socks and that's it...... no more waterfall started to return back (The walk in the Coffee estate was more than 1 Kms.....)
And then came the scary news from Aruma and Saniye that Deepak got almost drowned in the water
But then there is no way we could stop in there as every minute you spend in there the Leaches were tormenting you.
Came to the road an then each started removing their shoes and socks and (Except Sooraj) all had a few leaches in their body ....
I was counting each and every one passing by me and could count up to 13 in the 16 member gang and still three are missing (Biju, Himanshu and Shankar )
Tried calling them up but in vain... Came back to the tea stall had a few teas and then Deepak, Aruma, Myself and Sardaar walked back to find the three missing guys..
Walked almost till the Coffee Estate Gate and we could find the three Heroes coming with a deep satisfaction like conquering the Mt Everest (The 3 lucky guys who had made it to the waterfall )
And don't ask me where and all there was leach bites for Biju and Himanshu....
Once again a few on the Vehicle Top started towards the search of a Mosque from where there is another trek towards Baba Buddana Giri....
Raghu, Shankar and Sujai were not interested in another trek and hence decided to go in the van to Baba Buddana Giri.
Another descent trek (Again without luggage another mistake of not carrying water or salt ), a few intersection of the Road to Baba Buddana Giri and finally in another hour we were in Baba Buddana Giri
Went to the Shrine in the pouring rain and all of us got settled down getting ourselves refreshed and finally finishing our trek
Started back on our final destination to Bangalore with enjoying a feel fresh drive with all sort of eatables on the way back to Chickmagalur
Stopped in a hotel for our Lunch Cum Evening Snacks.....
The Pre Honey moon parties.. Biju- Aruma and Sooraj - Gopika took a table and the rest of us in another table (Sujai and Deepak were later to spoil the party of theirs)
All satisfied with the Open Dosa's and a few upset stomachs... (Sooraj....)
And there was one incident which involved me, Sooraj and Neha which will be lying with me only as I don't intent to spell it out here.... (Wht say Neha????)
All set and the final return trip started with Dumb Charades giving company almost 60-70 Kms before Bangalore till we almost ran out of movies.....
Back to Bangalore at 11:30 pm... after yet another wonderful trek from the 16$ Trekkers.......
What I can say is that I HAD BEEN TO A LOT OF TREKS. BUT THIS IS MY BEST TILL DATE. THE SHEER SCARINESS WAS TOO MUCH. WORDS CANNOT EXPLAIN IT. I AM NOT MAKING OTHERES FEEL JELEOUS BUT GUYS YOU MISSED IT.... A WONDERFUL TREKKING EXPERIENCE.
The photoz are shared in the below mentioned shares...
\\replication\Photoz\Mullayangiri-Bababuddangirion24250704
\\brahmos\TripPhoto
and
\\calidad\mulliyangiriNbudanagiri
A few more roles are under development.......
And by the way don't forget to read the name of the Snaps..... (Courtesy Santhosh and Himanshu for the first share ............ )
Sorry Neha, Aruma and Gopika, I know u will not be able to see the snaps... Will try to upload some snaps in the Yahoo site.
As usual the disclaimer follows..........: - This mail is not intended to harm anyone. If anyone is offended by this mail, please I can't help it. This is how 16$ Trekkers are............
Look forward for the space for the next trek right after the monsoons........................
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Santhosh Kumar.C
Talisma Corporation
Office: 23613377 - 4234
www.talisma.com
So finally after a bit of hesitancy, a bit of drifting and drafting we managed to complete yet another successful trek (Or rather should I say it as mountaineering as some others were pointing out... J) to Mullayanagiri, Athigundi and finally to Baba Buddanagiri.... (If u check our last trip was almost one month old... J)
Here's a recapitulation of the beautiful trekking experience we had before the details fade out of our minds - though I'm sure the experience will remain unforgettable. The end of the trek is a good time to reminisce on the highlights of the trip, cos our energy during the actual trek seemed to be spent mainly in that half-second that it took to put one foot in front of the other and keep climbing.
First of all, thanks to all of you for executing the trek admirably without any incidents. The camaraderie, bonding and group dynamics were fantastic. The planning worked like clockwork and right things happened at convenient times, a great showing in all.
Special mention to the new comers of our trek which includes... Aruma (Aka... Biju A for Aruma), Gopika (The Silent of all), Dash (Ever Vibrant ), Shankar (Photo Maniac), Sujai HK (The Snorer), and all others who managed to bring out the best for completely enjoying the present moment, and the next, and the next... laughter made the experience 200% more fun for everybody else.
Some moments in time stand out like snapshots frozen in memory step by step (No offences made to any one...). The log is a bit more than I had expected. It takes much more time than the previous ones which had taken time to read...... I might have missed out a few things in the travel log. If anyone has any more experience to share please do that.....................
23-07-04:-
As usual the initial packing of sleeping bags, mats and who will carry the lightest weights in their bags....
The wait for the three PM's (Deepak, Sardaar (Abhijeet Gokhale for those who doesn't know), and Himanshu )
And for all of you who didn't know what Sardaar was doing ... he was filling up his weekly report form..................
KK's last minute dash to the CVL facility (but for a change than all the previous occasions he was not to join us)
All Set and All Packed finally at 12:30 we started our move to Chickmagalur
The nasty dosing by the vehicle conductor
The subsequent cane beatings by the driver on the Conductor
After a few beatings Our Sujai was trying his own bit to the conductor not get beatings by pinching him J
The road from Hassan to Chickmagalur was undergoing repair.... So the roads were in very bad condition... and only Sujai, Myself and Biju knew about this since we were the only people awake at that point of time...
Not much incidents in the night journey........
24-07-04:-
Reached the first destination of Chickmagalur at 5:30am.
When some one asked me the time at 6:00 in the morning I had to tell it is 7:00 and later when it was 7:00, that person was cursing for not allowing sleeping for some more time.
Went to Trekkers early morning hideout... Bus Stand Facilities and finished our early morning needs...
All the food items were shared across so that no one will have more weight to carry (Except for their own weight)
Packing of the bags went on for some time sine all the sleeping bags needed to be packed inside the
polythene covers (So that it wont get wet in the rain)
And our Sardaar was fully dressed for the monsoon trek with a JEANS and a Back Bag which was like our Talisma BAG which had support only from one side!!!!!! (Now the funny thing was that he had given his trekking dress to Dash J and can you believe the second part of it.... He had given his backpack also to DASH.........J )
All were fully thrilled up by seeing the surroundings with full lush green environment and it started to drizzle also.
So finally at 7:45 we started after our Breakfast and to Sarpadari our starting point of the trek
On the way the scenery was very beautiful as we were gaining height with every move in the vehicle
Finally at 8:10 we reached to the Spot named Sarpadari were we had to get down from the vehicle and start our much awaited monsoon trek
All got ready and let the driver go to Chickmagalur and told him to be there in Athigundi were there is a Check post.
We got an idea as to how the trek is going to be since it was very misty and the visibility was very poor....... (No one except Shankar had climbed this peak before)
Finally at 8:30 we were all charged up for the trek and suddenly I got a call from Naveen asking how'z the trekking going on......
He was wishing all of us to have a good time in trekking and an even amazing time with the Leaches....... (Felt bad that he couldn't make it for the trek..... with a broken hand L)
After a photo session we started our trek trying to conquer the Mullayanagiri hills (The tallest hills in between the Himalayas and Nilgiris.......)
Biju as usual leading the pack with Aruma, Raghup, Saniye and others to follow. (The path of the trek is so very narrow that only one person can go in the track....)
The back benchers were Sooraj, Gopika, Myself, Neha, Shankar and Deepak
And the starting of the trek didn't look so interesting for Neha (Who incidentally is coming for her first TREK in her life) since she had a minor fall
The path looked very slippery and very scary...... and the visibility was very poor that beyond some 30 meters nothing was visible except for the Fog.
But slowly and steadily we managed to climb for about 30- 45 minutes and had a feeling that we were going in the wrong track since the path looked very unused and look out for any other side you could find another path.
But the problem we faced was that even if get to know that the path we were going was wrong there is no way we could have got down the hill since the descent was very difficult
And finally when we asked our One time trekker to this hill Shankar as how we should proceed he had no clue except that we have to go between a small forest cover..... (Since he had gone there almost 4 years earlier)
And finally we decided that wht ever it may come go forward and keep to your right.......(Always making sure that the leading and the lagging batches are close enough in vicinity)
Our Sardaar was finding leaches everywhere (But it turned out to be either snails or earthworms........ J ). But there just a few countable leaches on the way to Mullayanagiri we could actually seee...
Finally we made up to the proper track and went past the forest cover
In between our trek master Deepak Aka PGMT (Even if he has moved to PM team now he will still be our good old PGMT to us....) had a small fall
There was a small climb on a Rock which was a bit difficult one (Sujai was finding difficult and he found another easy to climb up)
The climb was difficult for me since I had my Digicam tied to my Tummy......
All along the way our other PM Himanshu kept on saying "I don't like that, I don't like this ........" and all sort of cribbing and he was still climbing the hill with utmost ease J
Finally after an hour and half (10:00) we reached a beautiful tree which had a NANDI idol below it and the view of the tree was amazing which cannot be explained
A small break for some time with a photo session also was done over there (Rain started coming down but not in a brisk pace.....)
Started again and we moved in a brisk pace (In between a few were asking as to how much more we need to travel and the only answer which I could give was we have covered more than 3/4th of the trek and only another 30 minutes more ) which continued for another hour
We managed to reach a Cave on the way and it was a beautiful site inside the cave with all the vibrant colors.......
A batch went ahead without stopping for us and came back in another 30 minutes saying we are in the top of the hillll...............
Group by Group we managed to go inside the cave and came out (Saniye u missed out something since she was scared of darkness......)
After all was done we all managed to climb to the top of the hill and onto the Shiva Temple on the top of the hill by around 12:30
Shankar and myself went first and spoke with the Poojari of the temple and he was happy to give us Food and Shelter in a big hall over there..
But the only problem is that we couldn't wear the Shoes in the Premises of the temple and the surroundings were we were staying...
So we had to walk barefoot in the chilling climate there and had to pack the shoes in a cover and keep in a safe place..
In between a few were lucky enough to see a few small snakes.....
The wind speed was so much that we felt as if we would be blown away by the winds............
Finally we made into the Hall and ordered for the Poojari for a good lunch with Rasam and pickle
In the mean time we opened our rations, Stove and started heating the Chapathi's which I had packed the Previous day from Sakthi Hotel in Malleshwaram
All had enough (i.e. 2 per head) chapathi's, Bread, Mixtures and Saniye prepared Lemon tea for all of us.
Once the stomach was occupied with some food one after the other started settling down inside the sleeping bags..... (Which was a must to sit)
I tried my level best in sneaking in a few but finally had to take out another sleeping bag and retire into it.
Started pulling each others legs... And Raghu got one more name in the mean time (Raghu P and P for Pingu.. Now don't ask me what Pingu is... It was invented by Deepakkk PGMT)
Time passed by quickly and it was 2:30 in no time... and the lunch was ready
There was a helper of the Poojari who was irritating all of us...
That guy wanted the Mixture, Biscuits we were having and we gave it to him
But that was not all ..he even wanted our sleeping Matts, Bags and wht not he even wanted the Cigeratte lighter which we were using to light the Stove
And in the mean time he gave another name to Raghu P .. (Raghu P looks like Kannada Actor TIGER PRABAKHAR J)
All had the lunch and one surprising what we could see was hat Himanshu having Rice with Rasam and Sugar............. (To the shock of all others.......)
Again people started settling down in sleeping bags..
Saniye stole my sleeping bag and on top of that she gave one comment which I would not like to put it over here....
And then started the Snoring session from Sujai HK and Raghu was also trying his bit to snore but was unsuccessfull....
Evening came very soon and the Poojari prepared the milk from the milk powder given by us and we had a nice tea/ coffee biscuits and all other eatables..
A few of us made a valiant attempt to go outside and see the nature from hill top but had to return back very soon since the wind speed was way too speedy....
Once agin all settled inside their sleeping bags and we made two teams for Dumb Charades... and it continued till we had our dinner with Rice, Rasam, Chapathis, Pickle, Side dish and Papads ans as usual Himanshu's Sugar...
Once again the Dumb Charades continues until all was feeling sleepy (We learned a few techniques from the IIT language from DASH......).
And who can forget the Hotel Gopika was trying to get from Sooraj as a name of one of the movies..... (I managed Sooraj to reach till Kormangala 3rd block but Sooraj couldn't get the name....)
Abhishek was getting cramps in his legs by this mean time but was not severe enough.
A few people wandered into the darkness (Now please don't ask me why they were missing for some time in the wilderness)
And again a competition started in the night as who will be the best snorer in the trek.. The Competitors were Sujai, Dash, Sooraj and a few small time snorers
One thing I learned form the night was that never sleep next to Abhishek since in the sleep he feels like some one is opening the Plastic Covers, some one is speaking and all such types of weird things...
25-07-04:-
And by the time I got up in the morning he (Abhishek) had changed his sleeping place without even his knowledge
Made all get up early by 7:00 am and Saniye and myself started preparing Maggi Noodles for our break fast.
First time in two treks/ trips I could hear a loud voice form Neha (Yeah she was fuming on Sardaaar....)
Again had all sort of things like noodles, sauce, pickle, jam, bread, mixtures and even coffee and tea also as per choice and Himanshu's Sugar
Finally packed all things up, prayed in the Shiva Temple and we were all set once again for the next trek to Baba Buddan Giri
One more photo session and we were back on track a new track a bit easier one compared to the first day by around 9:20
Rain started again and this time Shankar took charge of leading the team
Initial downward movement was a bit difficult as Neha and Gopika were finding a bit difficult
And the movement continued when our Raghu had a fall and later was yelling down to the back markers saying "Careful Guys, Its slippery out here". (Myself and Aruma saw him falling and no no Raghu I didn't tell it to any one else)
There was yet another rock this time not to climb but to pass across which I found a bit difficult and had to stay like Spiderman for sometime (No no one noticed it so no problemz.... J)
Getting Neha was a difficult task for Deepak and Biju across the rock
And for every movement Gopika was finding Sooraj's hand more than the rocks or the trees to hold one.......... (Mein Hoom Na.....)
Sardaar and Raghu saw a Fig and were yelling in full volume saying "There is a snake in the path".
A few stops here and there to make sure all are together and there is not distance between the first and the last trekker
One stop for Chikkis and finally the front walkers were missing and we could see the Road just below us
Deepak was shouting in his full throat but they were missing
Deepak and myself walked a bit further and found the Check post in KK Gandi at around 11:00am (Not in Athigundi as we had told the Driver)
10-15 minutes passed by and the vehicle was in the check post (If we were not there in the check post the driver would have taken the vehicle to Athigundi which was another 7 Kms away....)
All kept their bags into the bug and climbed to the top of the vehicle and the drive started to our next location which was Athigundi.
There was a small water fall were all got refreshed a bit.... And had tea in the tea stall
Tea Stall fella told some one that there is a big water fall just one Kms behind on the left hand side of the road
Enthu rejuvenated once again and all were once again to the water fall without any luggage (First mistake of not carrying Water or Chuna or Salt for Leaches or Rope since we were going to a waterfall.... L )
Walked back the road for 500 meters and a gate in the left side of the road and we were all into the Coffee Estate where the Suspense of the whole trek lied
A few of the gang went ahead casually walking in the estate in search of the waterfall
A few snaps here and there and suddenly Sujai showed a Leach and then started the terror ( People we have entered into the LEACH PARK)
Salt, Chuuna all are lying in the Bag in the vehicle
I took out my shoes and socks and in disbelief could see 4-5 leaches hanging on my socks and that's it...... no more waterfall started to return back (The walk in the Coffee estate was more than 1 Kms.....)
And then came the scary news from Aruma and Saniye that Deepak got almost drowned in the water
But then there is no way we could stop in there as every minute you spend in there the Leaches were tormenting you.
Came to the road an then each started removing their shoes and socks and (Except Sooraj) all had a few leaches in their body ....
I was counting each and every one passing by me and could count up to 13 in the 16 member gang and still three are missing (Biju, Himanshu and Shankar )
Tried calling them up but in vain... Came back to the tea stall had a few teas and then Deepak, Aruma, Myself and Sardaar walked back to find the three missing guys..
Walked almost till the Coffee Estate Gate and we could find the three Heroes coming with a deep satisfaction like conquering the Mt Everest (The 3 lucky guys who had made it to the waterfall )
And don't ask me where and all there was leach bites for Biju and Himanshu....
Once again a few on the Vehicle Top started towards the search of a Mosque from where there is another trek towards Baba Buddana Giri....
Raghu, Shankar and Sujai were not interested in another trek and hence decided to go in the van to Baba Buddana Giri.
Another descent trek (Again without luggage another mistake of not carrying water or salt ), a few intersection of the Road to Baba Buddana Giri and finally in another hour we were in Baba Buddana Giri
Went to the Shrine in the pouring rain and all of us got settled down getting ourselves refreshed and finally finishing our trek
Started back on our final destination to Bangalore with enjoying a feel fresh drive with all sort of eatables on the way back to Chickmagalur
Stopped in a hotel for our Lunch Cum Evening Snacks.....
The Pre Honey moon parties.. Biju- Aruma and Sooraj - Gopika took a table and the rest of us in another table (Sujai and Deepak were later to spoil the party of theirs)
All satisfied with the Open Dosa's and a few upset stomachs... (Sooraj....)
And there was one incident which involved me, Sooraj and Neha which will be lying with me only as I don't intent to spell it out here.... (Wht say Neha????)
All set and the final return trip started with Dumb Charades giving company almost 60-70 Kms before Bangalore till we almost ran out of movies.....
Back to Bangalore at 11:30 pm... after yet another wonderful trek from the 16$ Trekkers.......
What I can say is that I HAD BEEN TO A LOT OF TREKS. BUT THIS IS MY BEST TILL DATE. THE SHEER SCARINESS WAS TOO MUCH. WORDS CANNOT EXPLAIN IT. I AM NOT MAKING OTHERES FEEL JELEOUS BUT GUYS YOU MISSED IT.... A WONDERFUL TREKKING EXPERIENCE.
The photoz are shared in the below mentioned shares...
\\replication\Photoz\Mullayangiri-Bababuddangirion24250704
\\brahmos\TripPhoto
and
\\calidad\mulliyangiriNbudanagiri
A few more roles are under development.......
And by the way don't forget to read the name of the Snaps..... (Courtesy Santhosh and Himanshu for the first share ............ )
Sorry Neha, Aruma and Gopika, I know u will not be able to see the snaps... Will try to upload some snaps in the Yahoo site.
As usual the disclaimer follows..........: - This mail is not intended to harm anyone. If anyone is offended by this mail, please I can't help it. This is how 16$ Trekkers are............
Look forward for the space for the next trek right after the monsoons........................
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Santhosh Kumar.C
Talisma Corporation
Office: 23613377 - 4234
www.talisma.com
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
How to read the T.Log -- Santhosh Kumar C
All,
Ok... ok... This is not the Transaction Log of SQL Server which Sumanth was talking about the other day in the SQL Server Training.
This is another type of log, a Travel log which all of us are interested in reading again and again after the wonderful (Can I call so?????????) trip (And not Trek for a change from the 16$Trekkers)J.
As always thanks to all of you in making the trip a successful one.
And the usual the Special thanks awards should go to our New Comers.... ManuG, Vijay, Rosh, Ankit (Gyan's Brother... at least by the resemblance), Raghu, Sriti and Neha (The Cute Girl as pointed by SalmaJ).
And here are some of the moments which still exist untouched in my memory.... (By the way I have a very Bad memory.....)
After lying low for more than 5 months we became active with a Trip being organized to Coorg District...
An Extra Special Thanks to Salma and her father for taking a lot of trouble in trying to arrange the
- Getting the newcomers accustomed to the 16$ Environment...
- Praseed KK's last minute dash to the Trip (As usual .... But the difference this time was that he had almost pulled out from the trip and came in at the last minute...)
- Finally at
- The DJs for the trip was initially taken care by Manu, Su (Our Sumantha Vasu for the new comers......) and Rohit D and should I mention about the Songs being played by them?????????????
- Manu's desperation for a good dinner and the Driver stopping the vehicle at a perfect spot where there was only Banana's and Chips available... L
- Sleepy start for the trip where most of them were snoring.... And by the way Gyan has the ultimate knack of sleeping when put in any part of the vehicle....
- (Want any proofs????????? Check the snaps shared)
- How can I forget the Super Police of Karnataka Dept. taking 20/- for coming in a Road which has been blocked from one side and open from the other side.. (Want to know the reason??? There are a lot of Dacoits in that roadJ).
- Stops at each road junctions in search of the Kabini Reservoir ....
- Finally the dawn of Saturday morning near Kabini...
- Search of Madevappa, Ishwarappa and all sorts of Appa's for getting a Room available for the morning needs...
- And the satisfaction when Madevappa agreed for a single room to be given fro a timings of one hour.
- The early morning Queue..... (Shld I mention the reason for it .. Nah ... Nah..)
- Bangaluru style of taking bath by Deepak, KK, Manu and all others and the Surprising look in the Kids of HDKote.
- So the calculation continued for 60 minutes.... 20 people and 3 minutes per head..... Which was duly agreed upon by the Female troops...? (And maan they were very very much on time) and only Sumanth, Raghu and Myself got the time to take bath in the IB guest house....
- Gyan's swim and the sudden climb to the shore after he got a feeling as if something had touched his feet (And later he realized that there are Croc's in the Reservoir... J)
- How can we forget the Awesome look of the Kabini Dam and the subsequent climb to the Dam and the beautiful scene from there.
- Morning Break Fast which included from Bread Jam,
- Started the tour back to the much awaited suspenseful drive back to Nagarahole forest....
- And so here starts the DC which kept us company in the Tempo till we reached B'lore (DC... Dumb Charades)
- Finally we reached the entrance of the
- That was followed by the happy news that Governor is leaving to
- This trip in the forest with all enthusiastic eyes and heads including mine popping out of the window to get some glimpse of the Elephants, Bison's and Deer's....
- Ok ok no gifts for guessing ...... and we could see Elephants, Bison's, Tigers, Lions etc etc......... (and that was all in the dreams J) but we managed to see herds of Deer's locking around in the forest..
- And finally we reached the Nagarahole Forest Office was located with a lot of Hope...
- All hell broke loose when we saw the lots of Police Vehicles ...and the frustrating part of it was the Police wasn't allowing us to stop also in the forest...
- And so here went the Safari as a Dream (Not) Come True..... and finally we reached Kutta for a brief Tea Stop.
- After tea raced forward for another hotel were we had our dinner.... (Pukka Mallu E-Style..... The Boiled Rice, Fish curry, Chicken Curry, Parota ...... and the list continues.....)
- After a photo session continued further ahead with the Tasty Lolly Pops... (By the way wherez the share of the Video Album being shooted by our Ace Director Suvasu?????????????)
- The painful look in the face of few after getting down the Van expecting a Drive on the Tempo Top which our Driver rejected L.
- And finally we reached the Iruppu falls ..... and what an amazing falls it was.......................
- After the n'joyment in the falls we started back to Madikeri.....
- Finally Landed up in Virajpet for a brief Coffee break and lots of Dosa's..........
- But it turned out to be that we had to make our Night halt at the Lodge in V'pet.
- All things got settled down quickly in the rooms and then started the story of Talisma.. Ex- Talisman's and all stories .....till finally all got sleepy and that ends the second day for most of us... (Except for a few .... J)
- Steady Abhishek was so studies that he got up at
- In another room we could see that the planning was so perfectly done that Animesh and Deepak were sleeping on one bed and Su, Manu and Vijay on another bed and the poor Rohit was lying down on a Bed Sheet.
- Ask Vijay how was the sleep the previous night as he was grumbling *&^%$#@!@#$%^&**((#!!@#~!@~ ; since ManuG was sleeping next to him (Please don't misunderstand now....)
- As usual the Late Latif's KK and Yashwant got ready finally.
- Started to the Thala Kaveri... Bhagamandala after the morning Break Fast.
- And the un-forgetfull dialog of "
- On the way the story telling started with Yashwant, KK, Su and the Youngest and the Bestest being the centre of attraction...
- It started from Yashwant, KK, Su and xxx till it ended for the part 1.
- Started again one more story which was the Part 2 with Yash (Not Yash Chopra its our Yashwant Singh Chouhan), KK and xxx's kids and ended in the place where it had started in the first part.
- With all these stories we managed to reach Thala Kaveri and the Rain greeted us there but it was a beautiful climate to be over there.. Rain, Misty....
- The climb to the Brahmagiri Hills and the subsequent scene over there as nothing could be seen below since the whole place was covered with mist.
- Without much of a noise we managed to reach the
- With all the advices which Apna Gyan Bhai couldn't resist himself in getting the Bag to have a swim in the Abbey falls.
- But it turned out to be that there was a death in the Falls, the previous day Police was guarding the Bridge so that no one could enter the Falls.
- Finally after all the Photo and Chai Sessions we left Abbey to Madikeri for a lunch and the subsequent travel to our next destination to the Tibetian Monastry.
- Disaster was waiting for our Poor Driver since there was the RTO officer who took our drivers Vehicle Documents for no reason.
- So finished our lunch there and then had to wait for the RTO for giving the documents after the driver handed over 500/- to him and the reason Xtra members in the vehicle.
- And so we reached the final spot at Bylakuppa in Kushal Nagar where the structures were simply amazing..
- And so started the Dumb Charades for the next 5 hours continuously.
- And the struggle of myself, Sooraj and Su when getting a Hindi movie to enact was simply superb (Coz we didn't know the meaning of the word) but full marks to us since we were able to get the answer from our team by enacting...
- And the enacting skills of all have to be applauded... (The desperate look when one gets a name like The Spy Who XXXXXX Me, Basic Instinct was simply not to be explained but worth watching).
- Finally at
The photoz are shared in the below mentioned shares...
file://///replication/Photoz/Coorg26&270604 and file://///talisma255/Nagarhole-Coorg
And by the way don't forget to read the name of the Snaps..... (Courtesy Santhosh and Praseed for the first share ............ Rohit for the second share)
Sorry Raghu, Rosh, Sriti and Neha I know u will not be able to see the snaps... Will try to upload some snaps in the Yahoo site.
As usual the disclaimer follows.......... : - This mail is not intended to harm anyone. If anyone is offended by this mail, please I can't help it.
This is how 16$ Trekkers are............
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