Coorg Trip -2

Continued From Coorg Trip -1 .....

After that tiring incident we came back to the rooms and crashed on to bed at about 1:00 AM. Next morning I got up at 4:00 AM and my friend complained that the water was unbearably cold. We went down to talk to the watchman but luckily he had already set the boiler ablaze. We were late only by an hour and we checked out of the hotel at 7:00 AM. After a good breakfast we drove directly to Irupu falls. Video clippings of songs and dialogue from latest super hit Kannada movie “Munagru Male” kept us entertained during the three hour journey. Some good conversation with my friends who revealed their stories, their life in village, their dreams and their journey so far, their hobbies, all this I think contributed to make this trip a memorable one.

Irupu falls was a delight. We have to walk about a kilometer from where we park our vehicles. And luckily we could go near the water fall. A bamboo platform built in order to walk up to the falls was crowded with tourists who struggled there to get one splash of water at least. Whenever I stand beneath a water fall, it gives me a very different feeling, very difficult to describe, a feeling may be of cleansing, an experience of washing away; of what? Know not me.

Kavlz, M and I climbed to the top of the water falls, which was an adventure by itself. I recalled my days of childhood when at beach, my cousins and I would climb up the rocks and even have competitions to make it to the top first. In one way or other we are so much attached to the memories of the childhood or the first experience of any act.

Can You Spot Us There?

A small temple there felt like, filled the atmosphere with an unfamiliar but pleasant and recognizable aura of divinity. From here we drove to Nagarahole which is an hour’s drive. The national park has a few safaris arranged; you could also take your own vehicle in but is a little too expensive. So we took the safari organized by the government. The van in which they take us had open doors throughout the tour and the windows had no bars. So that could only mean – no wild animals. And after the tour we realized that it meant deer and more deer. A small band of elephant and a peacock was the only difference. But the feeling of driving inside a real forest cannot be matched. I reminded myself that it’s not important whether we go to some place and expect much from it, it’s how we react there is all that matters. We enjoyed that ride.

Nagarahole National Park

We left Nagarahole national park at around 4:30 pm, back to Bangalore.On the way back, we felt a need to have tea somewhere; the idea of tea and bun sounded appropriate. Once we crossed the forest area we saw a tea shop. A little hurriedly we asked the driver to stop and he I guess was also excited so took an abrupt stop and to add to this someone opened the front door in a hurry, all this came together to result in an accident. The vehicle forced itself beneath a branch of a banyan tree and got stuck there. The carrier on the top got bend and the attachments came off. We took a knife form the tea shop and slightly chopped the branch and then somehow got the vehicle out of it. But the carrier had come off. While this was happening a few other tourists were all excited to watch the fun, they stopped their vehicle and took pictures of the scene through their digital cameras. Probably they are thinking of a post on their blog, I thought. How easy it is to talk about others issue and laugh at others dilemma, is what made me learn that I should never, even unknowingly do such a thing like them.

We had tea and bun there, tasting like heaven, never so as before. We stopped a few miles after, at a cycle shop to fix the carrier. The cycle shop had few cycles for rent. So an idea struck to me to take them around the fields of Hunsur and enjoy the scenery while our vehicle was getting ready. The old man at the shop was too happy to say – “3 rupees for an hour, sir” so 5 of us set off on a ride. We rode along the widely spread fields as they melted away with the setting sun displaying vibrant, fantastic colors on sky and forming a picture perfect scene. Thanks to our friend S for helping the driver with fixing the carrier.

At 7:30 pm we left Hunsur and had our dinner at hotel Kamath at Ramnagar. Reached Bangalore at 12:30 AM and by the time we had dropped all of them and I got down it was 2:00 AM.

The entire trip went as per plan, nothing missed, nothing misjudged but still it is interesting to observe that some things that happen unexpectedly creates bigger impact as fun and laughter that we can re-tell and re-live through the smiles. Misty Hills at Tala Cauvery, Off trail walks, discomfort and fight at hotel spice, the minor accident, the cycle ride, Nagarahole safari full of deer’s, climbing up the water fall at Irupu; It is interesting to notice that sometimes these mixture of events make the trip more enjoyable and something to learn from; probably it maintains a balance somewhere and teaches us more about the power of human behavior towards dealing with every such situation.