God's own country

Breaking News: This gang of girls complete their third trek together (the first in 2009!) and the group only gets bigger & better!!
For all those who thought that the imagination and conversation amongst a bunch of girls couldnt go beyond lipstick and kitty parties, cannot adjust and stay united in thought, cannot rough it out, cannot dare to reach the top...the truth is out and myth is broken!
Wayanad in God's Own Country was the chosen spot. The idea germinated in Archana's email in the beinnin of January and by 15th i guess we were all set. As the group got bigger (9 of us) we chose a tempo traveller with a video coach and comfortable seats.
On 24th early morning we set off as a bunch of 9 (7 girls and 2 guys) at 4 Am. The route we picked was via Mysore - Bandipur - Sultan Bhatery. We reached Wayanad at 11 Am. After checking into a cozy home stay with Mr Mathew in his Herbal Nest we began our quest for adventure with a Edakkel Caves.
Our driver was a "khadoos khandaani" and refused to open his paan stained mouth. As an after thought I guess it was much better that way. In Aditya we found our able navigator. He would tirelessly get down, seek directions and be our guiding light. Thank you Bhai!
Oh we were at Edakkel Caves, werent we...We were told that it is a heritage place and archeologists are still studying the paintings on the caves. We Indians have scant respect for our history and that shows in the poor infrstructure that these Caves have. A popular site for College and school excursions it is extremely crowded. A few locals get up the caves to get drunk and play spoilsport by harrasing the tourists. Even if you do manage to bite your teeth and bear the heat, crowd and the hooliganism you shall certainly sucumb to the precarious and dangerous climb.
Once on the top the view of the parallel rocks and beauty of the caves will restore some peace and give you a sense of relief.
Post the dust and heat we decided to beat the exhaustion by relaxing at Pookad Lake. We reached there only by . The drive through the tea estates and greenery all around revived our spirits.
The next day morning was a jungle safari at Muthanga Wildlife sanctuary. The woods are lovely, dark and green..!! We saw tiger marks and a herd of deer completely disturbed by our presence. They ran away at our sight. Elephants too were hard to find. The sun beaming through the trees and the sound of chirping birds made it a memorable ride.
After a quick brunch we made our way to Kanthanpura Falls. It wasnt as grand as the Meenamutty but was a good place to just sit and relax. There was hardly any crowd and that to me was a huge relief. From there we travelled west towards Banaswara Dam....and dam we missed the boating again! Shameless begging by me and Shaonli did not save the day for us. We gave in and settled for a walk by the dam. It was sun set and there was hardly anyone around. Anju, Naveen and me meditated for about 15 mins and it was totally worth it to have come all the way.
It was time for Camp fire when we were back. Mr Mathew the kind man he is, lent us his speakers. After a lot of failed attempts to get the music started Naveen and his sheer genius had us rolling at 1145 pm. Food by the fire, dance by the fire and then it was grand R Day celebration by the fire. Aditya did carry a flag (very thoughtful indeed!) which we all swayed and sang patriotic songs. We even wet ourselves with Appy Fizz (a cheap proxy for champagne!)!

While Anju and me clung dearly to our pillows the rest enjoyed the "Shanghai Time". This is a ritual that bonds us together and is a true barometer of fun quotient. Archie won as usual while Arpita still wishes she had the 5 of Diamonds!! Agle baar phir sahi..:)

They say save the best for the last as all is well that ends well. So we did unintentionally. Kuruva islands beckoned us on 26th morning. It was trekker's delight. For the first time I was on a water trek. We had a wonderful guide Sukumar (quite handosme actually...i can see all girls giving a nod of approval). It was the guys who did all the falling. Their mothers were called out for quite frequently :). We began a ride on the raft. Trekked through the jungle. Then began walking on knee deep gushing water. The slippery rocks beneath, monkeys for company on the engulfing trees, colorful butterflies, noisy birds, the shade of the trees made us feel so close to nature. We had 2 hours of this bliss at the end of which we were allowed to swim. Khusboo swam like a mermaid to her hearts content and the joy on her face summed it all up.
Back to Herbal nest by 4 it was time to leave. We played fish bowl as we returned. We also dedicated a full 2 hours to singing all Shah Rukh Songs!! He would be quite touched i am sure.
This trip for Rs3K per head was completely paisa wassol!! Next one will be at Chikmagalur...so until then hang in everybody!
Signing of with the verse from a song in Dilli 6:
Kudiyon O Kudiyon
Kar Man Maani Man Maani
Na Dariyo Na mudiyo
Kar Naadaani!!