MUA with a difference!
Yes it was an MUA with a lot of difference. A few of the differences listed below:
1. It was a semi-MUA, since not all the MUA-ites were informed.
2. This MUA had 3 families going with us. In fact it is the other way around :-))
3. We ditched our bikes for such short (just 220km) a trip!
It is highly unsurprising for
V to go for frequent trips with her family friends. So when she told about the BR Hills trip they had planned for Feb9, nothing was unusual in it. But what caught me by surprise was when one fine day, she asked me "Are you coming?!". After a few minutes of laugh and talk, I got to know that she is serious. 2 couples ditched them, and now there are 4 slots to be taken up! With the slightest of thought process, I nodded Yes. A call to Bin. Reply "Lets go blast". Another call to Gasper. Reply "Ready!". Jim n Sow were not available. While we were looking for the 4th voyager, we thought, we would call Pretz just for a horror. But for our horror, she said "Yes I'm coming"! Now that the team is set, no more calls needed. I packed my bags, and set for a trip (not to B R Hills, but to home town. B R Hills can wait for 7 days :-D )
Bin was all enthu about the trip. He had been telling "What the (*$)_($. It has been such a long time, with no trips at all!". B R Hills came as a big relief. For Gasper, any means to stay in touch is good. Be it watching TV @Pluto, or roaming around on bike. And I'm game for any hangouts.
2 days to trip, and Pretz calls up "Do I really need to come?". Some "very nice words" from this end got rid of the dilemma in her mind :-D
Friday night was very hectic. The onus of buying the snacks was upon the bachelors. Bin and I roamed around and bought all stuff, which we thought would pacify the kids. And some other stuff for the grown up lots. For the health conscious lots, we packed some fruits too. We also cooked up a quick FAB (which was from our home-biking-trip). Also burnt a CD full of mp3 songs. A mix of hindi, kannada, tamil and malayalam songs. For the movie buffs, we had 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' fresh unopened pack, delivered at Pluto just a day back. All set, and packed. And sleep time was 1.30AM
Up at 4.30AM. The aim is to reach
V-house by 6 in the morning. This would be after all 3 of us get ready, go pick up Pretz, and then head for
V-house. Sounds an achievable target ? Yes, but delayed by a good 40 minutes. At the gate, we expected the face of an angry young man. But it was a rather welcome smile. Luckily for us, the van hasnt reached yet. The driver is the culprit. And its always exciting, to have someone to blame :-P
Our bikes were asked to rest inside the house, for safety purposes. We were hesitant initially, but then the hosts were too concerned for the bike, than the floor. So the bikes got in and rested there cozily.
Family2 had already reached. Rohan and his parents. He is a lil shy natured. But he was busy breaking ice with Ananya and Sharanya. Sharanya is very active, runs around, jumps around, and is not very uncomfortable with strangers.
Soon the van also arrived, and off we started!
Picked family3 on the way - (yet another) Ananya and her parents. This Ananya is the senior most among the kiddo batch. The bachelors occupied the back seat. Gasper got himself seated into a single seat with the over-ambitious intention of catching up some sleep. But the rest of us ensured that his intention remains just an intention and nothing beyond that.
The journey was smooth, except for a 20-30 odd km, where there was no road. Other than our Tempo Traveller, we could only find bullock carts on that route!
The last stretch of the onward trip was magical. The surrounding was all misty. Open the window and the white mist sneaks in! Visibility had dropped to very low. The driver, I guess, was driving through a no-tree route, which all of us assumed is the road.
Took a pit stop towards the fag end of the trip. One of the voyagers developed uneasiness due to the climb, and the zig-zag bumpy route. Managed to capture a few pics at this point.
Reached the top in a few more minutes. We were greeted by ppl in military outfit (sans gun). The staff at the Jungle Lodges have this dress as the uniform.
Our guide gave us the welcome 'speech', and then guided us to our cottages. The 100m walk from there to the cottage was nice. It was drizzling slightly, and still foggy. They had provided us with umbrellas - the long, U-type handle waala. In fact, every room has 2 such umbrellas (to fight with a stray tiger in the night?!)
Bin got into the Santosh Sivan mood, and started cinematography. Camera on crane, on tree top, models on crane, on tree top and what not!
Not much of time in the room, coz its lunch time! Lunch had non-veg option, and was served hot.
Post lunch, we had the option of getting into the room and sleeping, or roaming around freely. We opted to walk around. Played a little game of TT (which none in the group has played before).
Spotted a pond nearby, and an elephant doing morning walk.
Next agenda was a safari. Lucky(?) we will be, if we spot a tiger or a leopard. They have a display white board, which is updated on a daily basis, with the animals spotted on that day. Gasper, using his analytical skills arrived at the conclusion that as per the numerological concept and the available statistical data, today we wont see any tiger or leopard. It required 2 hours of first-gear driving inside the jungle, to prove this intuition of his!
A disappointed bunch of ppl returned to the base. Bin was the most disappointed in the lot. Deers were roaming around in plenty, saw a boar, some special variety of 'chicken' and all other unwanted species of animals - which we can see if u walk through the hometown narrow streets.
At the base, back to rooms, freshen up, and meet up for a jungle video. Nothing different from an 'animal planet' program. But the video gives specifics wrt to the Indian forest, and is a little informative. They use a cd player with a projector and white screen to screen the video.
Another interesting fact about the place is that, there is no govt supply of electric power. The electricity requirement of the facility is met by means of a huge diesel generator, which is operational between 6pm and 10pm every day.
Camp fire next. Not much of activities there. No music. And the crowd was a little tired too. The kannada crowd shared some jokes withing themselves. We had our own jokes to laugh at.
Dinner, then sleep.
Day2:
Trekking early in the morning. Gasper was in the perfect trekking gear. A uniform ash colored t-shirt and bermuda, and a white paragon slipper to go with it. Perfect combination! But then this was more than enough, since it was more of a morning walk than any hi-fi trek.
The guide showed us different varieties of birds on the way. Bachelors were little fascinated by this. And they opted for photography, and videography.
Back to base for breakfast. Then an elephant ride. With a mallu mahout. We asked the mahout if the elephant is a mallu too :-S
The ride was just to get a feel of it. And to get some jungle info about the place.
After the ride, we packed up. Covered two temples in the return trip - Devasthana near B R Hills, and Nanjangud Temple at Nanjangud.
Temple 1 - Devasthaana
Nanjgangud Temple
Lunch was at 4pm, at Nanjangud. Enjoyed Kal Ho Naa Ho during the return trip. Back at V-house by 9.30PM. Dinner at bro's house by 11PM. The delay, thanks to rain. Dropped Pretz by 12AM. Again thanks to rain. Back to Pluto by 1AM. Rain again :-)
Random Picks:
Saviour Bin!
Tree Art
Our Hut
Waiting for Rambha !
The Dil Chahta Hai Gang
A cloudy view of the Nanjangud Temple
Tail:
1. The back seat was the most sought after place in the TT - especially by the younger lot. Come sleep, and they are offloaded to the back seat :-P
2. On day 1, while taking lunch, Ananya senior came to our table and said "Youuu eating non-veg??!!". Her mom added "She is telling, mama, these ppl will eat all the animals in this forest" :-))
3. Gasper was not at all silent during the trip.
V was curious to know why we were late to sleep on friday night. She asked "Why did you sleep at 1.30AM?!!", and Gasper replied "becoz we were sleepy" :-S
4. Pretz has formed a very 'nice' impression about Gasper, post the trip :-D
5. Bin developed cold and headache, and was sleeping during most of the return trip.
6. The FAB that we had carried proved helpful. Sharanya wounded herself while getting into the van. And the eldopar tablet helped many disturbed tummies.
7. Another funny incident of the trip was during the onward journey, when the van stopped for filling diesel. I stepped out of the van (stupid I). The driver said "3000 rupees sir". A disciplined me echoed this to one of the familymen. And he said "oh.. give it". And I was :-O Bin sensed the situation and stepped out to giv financial backing :-P
8. We, the back-seaters gave fancy name to the different ppl inside the van. A super active voyager was pet-named 'dynamite'. A sing-along indian idol got the name 'echo'.
9. The video shoots at B R Hills were funny. The director Bin gave instructions to the heroine to walk between the trees, when the camera rolling. She became obedient to such levels that, later, whenever the cam is switched on, she would judiciously walk in some arbitrary direction!
10. In another video, it was all going so well. The heroine's part was done. And the hero (Gasper) was supposed to walk away from the cam. Walk he did, but then he started jumping, howling, running, bending over and all such nasty things. The director and the onlookers couldnt but stop laughing their hearts out :-D
11. Aasish called into my mobile, and got greeted by Pretz voice. They talked some topics and hung up. A few days after our return, a puzzled Aasish told Bin. This vodafone is so stupid. I call Rat, and the call goes to Pretz!!
Labels: trips
