Adventurous Road Trip to Coorg

Uff!! I am just back from an awsm and tiring road trip to coorg alias the Scotland of India, I can't vouch for the name, but its a very beautiful place indeed. Well, this was a trip to remember for everything it had to offer.

An unlikely group with 3 docs, an architect-the planner, an HR and an engineer aka me. All girls group, all busy working professionals, planned on a weekday, with hardly any solid plan. The main plan was to visit a place called Thadiyandamol(i know its hard to pronounce), to join an adventure camp. The rest of the trip was to be impromptu and all we had was a map with directions missing, a car to travel, and the spirit of "Go gals! enjoy your freedom" attitude.

The Route:



8:10:8: Begin
1 AM: We set off from Bangalore, picked up rest of the gals, and we were off on Mysore Road. Plan was to have takeaways from CoffeeDay on the way and reach Mysore by 4AM.
Missed the 24hr coffeeday and reached Mysore at 3:30AM. Not a bad start at all.

A: Lost
3:30 AM - Reaching mysore was a piece of cake, it was one long stretch of road, what was found difficult was to move on to Hunsur Road to carry on with our journey. At 3:30AM, we have asked every living waking soul on the road(mainly the security guards) trying to get onto the Hunsur Road. We did that eventually an hour later.

B: Wrong turn
4:00Am - Based on the directionless map and a verbose of How-to-Get-There instructions, we were to reach VirajPet and move on to Nagarhole then to Irupu falls. Well, we made it to the Irupu falls but purely based on the signboards, missing out on the instructions without realizing it.!!!We never made it to Virajpet afterall.

C: Thru NagarHole
5:30 Am - The morning was freaking cold and the fog had dimmed the vision. At the entrance of Nagarhole, we waited for the gates to be opened for half an hour. And it was then we had a slight 'Eureka moment' that we were just girls in a car all alone in the middle of the forest. This would not have bothered us so much if there wasn't a group of idiots in another car waiting with us at the gates. Well, smart that we were, we stayed miles away from them. But still there was a nagging feel.
P took turn to drive thru the forest roads, this was her first time on a tavera, and our driver was all too glad to take a break from driving, but we weren't, we had our hearts in the throat!!

We spotted herds of deers and stag, oh! they were awesome.



D: Empty Stomach
11:00 AM - We were all visibly tired, hadnt slept well the nite and still in our work clothes of the previous day's. We needed some refuelling for our body. Lays, krackjack, good day are good but not when you are really hungry. Few miles from Nagarhole called Kutta we were told of a hotel for breakfast. But sadly, the place just repulsed us and we had to make do with a pack of marie and nutrichoice and head on to Irupu falls. Again with constant help from the localites on the directions we reached Irupu. Its a mile long walk from the parking lot to the falls thru the forest. And yes, we did meet our group of idiots here too:(. And we made sure we stuck with each other and enjoyed things to ourselves without letting them spoil it for us. And we did the same. It was a pleasure to the eyes to see the gushing water flow down the rocky mountain. We had our moments in the water (trying hard not to get wet miserably), and shot a million photographs- drama queens that we all were headed by the bigger of the lot-P.

Irupu

E: To eat or not to eat
Noon - we were visibly famished. We were confused whether to break for food or travel to the camp and eat. We confused the guy at the camp too.

F: Almost there
Sometime noon - Ok, I was getting that "Are we there yet?" jitters already. For GodSake's! I was hungry, and the ghat sections make me sick. Oh! yes I have motion sickness and so does my sister, its in the blood you see, I stayed put near the window all the time.

G: Destination Base Camp
AfterNoon -With greater difficulty and a hard time pronouncing the name of the destination (Thadiyandamol) we got on track. The roads to the camp was just wide enuf for our vehicle to go. Any mistake, the vehicle would have been scratched and scathed beyond recognition. Was a real tuff job for the kid -the driver, but we managed to reach the camp. It was a huge open space with a creek in the middle of the coffee plantation. We met the crew, and freshened ourselves up - change of clothes was all we did. And finally the food. Ah! was I happy :)
The itinerary of the camp was simple: we were to do trekking,boating, rappelling and a night safari - all to be done until the noon of the next day. And we managed to pull it off all in one go the same day.

Boating - We did a bit of boating in the creek, well I stopped rowing on the way back after a lil squabble with my sis, but moreso coz my wrists were crying out with pain- followed ofcourse with multiple photo shoot.

Day Ride -The organizer-S came in rite in time after the coffee/tea and we were to start with the rappeling, but before that we were in for a surprise that the adventure would begin a lil earlier than we thot. We boarded the open truck and S drove us past thru the plantation on the tiny roads at high speeds and we were holding to the railings of the truck and to our dear lives, screaming, giggling, were all a part. The wind brushed through our face. It truly was a Krissh/SuperMan moment, well ofcourse without the cape and the weird dress.

Rappeling - Rappelling wasn't new to me. The first time I tried, I quit just after I was harnessed, I was only 9 then. The second time I did was in Savandurga- another adventure camp I had been to last year, and I did a pretty good descent. But this was different, it was a 180 foot rock just close to the water fall, the rock was slippery coz of the moss, the vision was not great coz of the water sprinkling from the fall, and the angle was an amazing 90 deg. To everyone's surprise all of us did a cool descent off the rock, and yes posed for the photgraphs too.:) Were we adventurous or what??!!


Night Ride - The girl in the movie "The girl next door" asks the guy, "What is the craziest thing you have done in your life?". This is the one for me. This is the one for all 6 of us.
10 PM - Dinner and sleep. Still no proper plan for the next day

H: Abbi Falls
10 AM: Bid adieu to the crew, and started off from the camp, and the plan was to check out another water fall near Coorg called the Abbi falls. Again with lots of help with the localites reached Coorg and went to Abbi. Amazing water fall this was, it was wider than irupu and the water was more forceful. Did our photoshoot, ate some junk and had our pleasant peaceful
moment, before we headed back to coorg.
1 PM: Quick Lunch, towards KushalNagar.




I: Instintive Turn
1:30 PM : Heading towards Kushalnagar, we took an impromptu turn to Dubare- an elephant sanctuary for a quick elephant ride. Once there, realized that the rides were post 4:30. So instead hopped into a boat with a guide for a lil micro-rafting. This time I rowed.:). Few took a dip in the water, and took there first swimming lesson from the sole swimmer, and yes posed well for the camera too.

J: Way to Golden Temple
3 PM: We dint want to miss the Golden Temple near Kushalnagar. A huge piece of land in coorg has been given to the Tibetian refuge, once u enter the place it almost feels like you are in tibet. The temple is great, even with the loads of ppl and noise, it inflicts some kind of peace into you. Wish we could stay a little while more there, but time was a constraint and we started our journey back Home.


K: Back Home Tired
5PM : Wasnt very eventful, except for missing out on the CoffeeDay yet again, and a major confusion on the final accounting.
Thanks to the extra 3 years of math I studied, we tallied the numbers good enuf and all was well. We did a bit of review of the snaps taken.

9.10.8: End
10 PM: I was the first one to be dropped, went home, bathed and slept like a log till the next morning. Wish I could chuck office.

After Death

My way of looking at death has drastically changed, but that will be something to write about some other time. Going through my huge wallet I realized that I don't have the much needed Eye donor card in there. Yes, I want to have my eyes donated when I die.

Way back in mid-90s, Aishwarya Rai pledged to donate her eyes in a Public Awareness Ad on national tv, and that impressed me a lot, if a beauty queen one like herself with the most beautiful eyes can give up her asset why shouldn't I?. It was more of a fantasy to me then, and its been more than a decade and i have not signed up for it, its not exactly an easy decision to make when you are young- to make a will for your eyes.

Come to think of it, its just not eyes, there are a bunch of organs that one can leave behind for the better of the deprived. Glancing over the list, I have come around with a few ticks myself, I am ok with passing on my eyes, kidneys,pancreas, lungs and liver. What I am still not ok with is my heart and my brain. I have this lame idea that if there exists something called a heaven and I end up there, I would want my heart to beat over every joyous minute and if there exists something called hell and I end up there, I would want my brain to crack a scheme to get rid of any trouble I will have with the Devil. Yea I know its a bit childish and the most lame reason but then, I cant justify any better. Anyway, I have got to get my eye donor card to begin with.

PS: All you need to do is sign up for the eye donation in any eye hospital in the city and you will be given a card that carries your name and your will to donate. Also do let your close ones know about your intentions, high chances your last goodwill wont be done otherwise.
PPS:I just remembered the famous Kannada actor Dr.Rajkumar had his eyes donated to a kid.

Why so serious?

Ah!! Finally I made it to the movie Dark Knight before it got removed from all theaters. And I am so damn excited!! What a shame it would have been if I were to be content watching the movie just on DVD?
I did watch it on DVD first though, and that made me think it to be too unfair if I dint catch the movie on big screen. I was overwhelmed with everything the movie had to offer, starting from the casting, the acting, the setup, the dialogues, the stunts and the story - is just ultimate.

Following the rage of movies coming out based on DC and Marvel Comics superheroes - Superman, Spiderman, Wolverine, DarkKnight stands out to be different. It shows batman to be just another mortal and with flaws, as a matter of fact, Will Smith tried to portray the same perception in his movie Hancock, but somehow it missed the intensity that DK carries through the entire movie.

I have fallen head over heels for Heath Ledger, pity he is no more. He is so good at being the Joker, and its hard to believe he was just 28 yrs old. What a talent! One has gotto see this movie for him atleast and I have no words to describe how much impressed I am with the movie. I am glad I dint miss it.

PS: Din't realize there was yet another sequel to Terminator coming up, its called Terminator-Salvation, and its got Christian Bale(Batman), well I am not gonna miss this one either. :)

A Wednesday on a Tuesday.

Well, am talking about the movie "A Wednesday" that I watched yesterday the Tuesday. Why not Wednesday you ask, well I have a late night meeting tonight that's why. hehe.

Anyway, this movie is a Naseeruddin and Anupam Kher starrer with few other low profiled but yet good actors on the support. The casting seems perfect except for Deepal Shaw, what were they thinking putting her in a reporter's role, she can barely squeak the lines. Naseeruddin stands out in the movie as an extortionist demanding the release of 4 terrorists and Anupam Kher being the Commissioner of Police with the hi-tech war room at his disposal to track the baddies. Jimmy Shergill looked good for the role, wonder why talented actors one like himself don't get to be in many movies. Basheer was great, especially the first interview he gives on camera - that was funny.

The dialogues are impressive, they are crisp and witty. The first half, slow but introduces us to all the main characters, their signatures and the current pitiful state of Media(news channel in particular). Its the second half that gets you excited. The climax with Shah speaking out his intentions and reasons seemed a bit of a drag, though it carries a message to all Indians, it could have been made a lil' shorter and straight to the point. Seemed like the director was trying to justify the climax.

All in all, a good movie to watch, and the best part its over in less than 2 hrs. A clean straight intelligent movie worth watching if you appreciate one.

Bangalore-Hyderabad-Warangal

Well, its been a hectic and a long weekend for me. Been traveling for 36 off the 60 hrs I was away from home! It was a trip from Bangalore-Hyderabad-Warangal a kutty village in AndhraPradesh. A trip worth remembering for all its oddities.

My Best Friend's Wedding: This was something I would not want to miss.I have known these two imps for about 4 years now separately and together too. They are poles apart, he being the quiet, smart types and she loud-mouthed, bindaas types. (I would'nt say she aint smart, but she does seem a lil not too smart when hez around, I wonder if she puts up an act just for him!!). Talk about opposite attracts huh??
Anyway, the wedding was all over a week back in Dehra Dun(her place), we were just attending the reception here in Warangal. It was a grand affair, with tons of relatives(mostly his) bustling around the hall, wanting to catch up on one another's tell tales, getting a snap with the bride and the groom who were visibly tired (What would you expect after a day long picnic in the scorching sun?). But kudos to both, they managed to pull it off, well of course with a lil' squabble but then it wouldn't have been them if they dint have an argument once in a while!!
My other fren and I were decked up in the saree(counting up, this was my 5th or 6th time in saree). She carried it off pretty well(count-countless),and went on saying that saree is the sexiest dress ever, well, I beg to differ I was looking anything but sexy, I was just struggling hard to manage it, but I think I did look good.(I am kinda good looking anyway!!!).
The fiesta ended with the food and the generally-funny-photo-sessions turned out be way too hilarious with a baccha party for an audience!!

My Travel to Warangal and back: I owe this trip completely to my other best friend who has narrowly escaped from me killing her. She was my companion to this wedding. I have had to put up with her and her tantrums - she had me waiting at the bus stop, had no plan howto reach warangal, did not pick up the gift and the worst- her mental absence. Well the reason for her behavior has a completely logical explanation- her new boyfriend. Need I say more.!!!
OMG!! I couldn't have believed that she would be this if I hadn't met her myself in flesh, was I in for a shock. She would be on the phone all the time, except for when there was no signal.lol!! Now thinking back, it was painingly funny!!
Onwards, she wasn't all that enthu about going at all, of course the reason already mentioned. Anyway, she had all hopes on me cancelling out in the last minute (I am pretty good at that) which I did not and she had to unwillingly tag along with me.
Return, she was pleasantly glad that she had come to the wedding, she saw a ray of glowing hope that things might work out for her too, and yes, I had stuck to my part of the deal and had woken up at 6AM to leave. The sad part though, We had the bride and the groom wake up at 6AM to drop us off at the bus stop, felt a bit unkind.

My Stay at Hyderabad: After Bangalore, Hyderabad is my home. I know this city better than Bangalore, everytime I drop in here, it makes me feel like I am in charge of my life.(Not completely though!!). Yes, I had to stay put with my aunt for the rest of my trip. She's always wanted me to be more girlish, wanted me to indulge in shopping for things like jewellery, accessories, salwars, while I on the other hand successfully disappoint her time and again. I am sure one day I will surprise her.. one day..

My Travel to Hyderabad and back: Oh! I almost thought I will be missing my train onwards to Hyderabad, but bless the auto fella who promptly dropped me off the station a good 30 mins ahead. Everytime I am in the train alone, I follow the same routine, dump the bag onto the upper berth, climb up, open a bag of lays, pull out a book, read, eat and doze off until the next morning. This time I picked Medusa- had it borrowed from a fren, not sure I will ever give it back to him!!. Prolly will write about it once done.