I have lived in many parts of India and yet never had the opportunity to go to the nearby worthwhile visiting destinations. Lived in Mount Abu n never saw the Indian desert nor went to Jaipur, Jaisalmer, lived in Chandigarh,Delhi n did not visit Manali, Jammu etc, lived in Pune and never got to see Lonawala or Khandala and the worst of all, living in Chennai and never been to Mahabalipuram!!! It was always a wish to go to some nearby place n trek or enjoy the beauty of the place. So finally i did the unthinkable for myself(considering my nature), i went on a trek to Coorg with people whom i never knew or met before. Got a mail one morning on my official mail id regarding a trek trip to Coorg being organized and I promptly replied. Till date this was the best decision i ever made as i did things i never did before.
We started our journey from Bangalore at around 11 pm and reached Coorg by 6 am. The drive was amazing through all the lush green forests and mountains and of course the wonderful roads which i didn't expect. We reached the base of the home stay and the quiet and misty surroundings made me feel wonderful. The home stay was in midst of forests and plantations. It was a 3km walk up and a open jeep/mini truck would be there to pick us up. Instead some people in the group and i decided to start walking till the jeep picked up the others from the base. Soon we were picked up by the jeep and this ride was even better than the roller coaster ones. Initially none of us could imagine a vehicle up on those paths--hats off to the driver. On reaching the home stay we freshened up, had breakfast and set course to trek to the highest point. I finally also got the opportunity to try my hands on photography(a long time interest but never did anything about it) Some of the shots i took can be seen at www.aprajitha-art.blogspot.com
As we went higher some people decided to return and the others and i continued. The walk through the edge of the mountains, the deep valleys, marshy areas, rocky paths, bushes, trees was mind blowing. Looking back i wonder how did i even decide to walk through the edges n rocks- one wrong step i would have fallen down 1000's of feet below. Finally we reached the peak and the view was breathtaking!! We were all too excited and exhilarated as we reached the peak by overcoming small little odds like no water, hunger and leech bites. But at that time these odds were a big concern:) On return we were fortunate that lunch was still being served. After devouring on the delicious food we all decided to rest for while before setting course for the next walk. However our plans were ruined as it started pouring for the rest of the evening. Surrounded by greenery, clouds, and the perfect weather i got some hot 'pakodas' to eat and the rest of the evening was spent chit chatting with others or just gazing out through the veranda. It also happened that it was my first time to play a game called BLUFF and am never going to play it again :) I met a Japanese guy over there during dinner and when i asked his name, he replied 'Chandrasekhar'. Soon i got to know the guy permanently lived in India and his guru had given him this Indian name. He was at the home stay for the summer season. It was a wonderful evening and i didn't imagine i would have so much fun talking to all the new people.
Next day we all went to the waterfall. It was spectacular and without thinking twice i jumped into the water :D It was freezing and the breeze made it even better :) Hungry after being in the waterfall for a while, we finally headed towards coorg city to have lunch. Unfortunately vegetarian food was not served in any restaurant and i had to eat fruits :( ( I don't like fruits except few) Our final destinations for the trip was to see the dam and the Buddhist temple which are very famous in coorg. And again the view around to reach these places were amazing.
This trip was my first trek and was fantastic. Hoping to have more fun ahead.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
daily stuff
Standing at the bus stop as early as 7:20am when traffic jams are supposed to be non existent, i hear buses, cars, trucks, scooterists honking away to glory. In a span of five-ten minutes i observe people spitting ..yikes!! n the spit in all possible colors and some of the "sophisticated ones" who probably had no time for daily routines munch some mouth freshener ,to be discarded on the road. These people constitute the so called "educated people" with all the collars and tags along with the others masses. Next, i see people of all genders especially "sophisticated and educated ones" puffing away early morning adding to the inconvenience of others in spite of the GOVERNMENT rule imposed-"smoking banned in public areas". Maybe some one should take them back to primary school to learn to read and listen.
I soon board my private bus to the office expecting not to be bothered about the "small little" stuff. However my mind refuses to stop. First coming to the basic courtesy of sitting in the bus-- no one owns the entire seat, yet people love to spread their legs wide apart n sit along with their bags at their side...and a request to move the bag gives a look of- "OK i will do you this favour"!!!! Once seated, at the next pick up point, i get jolted by people walking into the bus with their bags on their shoulders,could someone tell them--this is not a platform for ramp walk. Then i notice my bus mate following the mantra of - An apple a day keeps the doctor away- not bad so far but the next action of throwing away the leftovers on the road on some poor creature without hesitation, disgusting!!!
Once i reach my destination , it takes me a while to enter my second home as people are busy trying to -who can get in first- without forming a queue. The rest of the day is smooth except for certain things i find it difficult to digest during eating hours-- why do people have to shout out their plans/future/gossip etc for everyone to hear, its not a public talk that everyone must know or be aware of, second why cant people eat in a civilian fashion rather than dropping all the chutney/sambhar/vegetables/kurma as they walk along or on the tables-- is it so difficult to maneuver the coordination between the five fingers?
Finally my day of observations come to an end and in the evening i again get to see the same rituals performed in the morning. And am left wondering why cant people have the basic courtesy and common sense?
I soon board my private bus to the office expecting not to be bothered about the "small little" stuff. However my mind refuses to stop. First coming to the basic courtesy of sitting in the bus-- no one owns the entire seat, yet people love to spread their legs wide apart n sit along with their bags at their side...and a request to move the bag gives a look of- "OK i will do you this favour"!!!! Once seated, at the next pick up point, i get jolted by people walking into the bus with their bags on their shoulders,could someone tell them--this is not a platform for ramp walk. Then i notice my bus mate following the mantra of - An apple a day keeps the doctor away- not bad so far but the next action of throwing away the leftovers on the road on some poor creature without hesitation, disgusting!!!
Once i reach my destination , it takes me a while to enter my second home as people are busy trying to -who can get in first- without forming a queue. The rest of the day is smooth except for certain things i find it difficult to digest during eating hours-- why do people have to shout out their plans/future/gossip etc for everyone to hear, its not a public talk that everyone must know or be aware of, second why cant people eat in a civilian fashion rather than dropping all the chutney/sambhar/vegetables/kurma as they walk along or on the tables-- is it so difficult to maneuver the coordination between the five fingers?
Finally my day of observations come to an end and in the evening i again get to see the same rituals performed in the morning. And am left wondering why cant people have the basic courtesy and common sense?
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