A Kick of Kodai - Days III & IV
Sun
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07:30 - Rise and Shine! That seemed to be the spirit of this bright day dawning on us. It felt like another hostel, but in Kodai, not IIIT-B. The mood was upbeat, having driven away our previous days' fatigue with a good night of sleep.
10:00 - Breakfast had been as usual, except for the fact that people ended up having Breakfasts! A minimum of 3 courses per head, as far as I remember. Anyways, an army marches on its stomach, so I think we were justified. Back to the hotel, we were all waiting eagerly to start off on a proper tour of Kodai. But then, there were small issues regarding the order of places to cover. More importantly, there was a forest drive, which required approval
from the Forest Dept, since we were driving our private vehicle. Govt.al stuff in India.... is governed by touts! And they manage to appear anywhere, such as right in front of our hotel. Jadoo & some others (eager to hold the reins) started the tussle for the permission to be granted. I am myself unaware of what actually transpired (as I was busy in a photographic session), but it took quite some time. Finally, after almost 3/4 an hour, we were all set to go; with 1 problem, we had less than half an hour to get into the forest... before the gates were shut!12:00 - Hoorah! We just made it through, inspite of weathering some heavy traffic at the forest entrance. But the forest was not as dense as we imagined it to be; maybe it was the sheer number of tourists that day who made it seem like a National Highway!! We had about 6-7 places to see in this forest. Let me recount each of them, one by one...
- Silent Valley (12:15) - Truly a specacular sight to behold, wherein this huge ravine was enveloped by hills on all sides. But can't take the silent part seriously, considering we were there. I have no count of the # of snaps we took... but lo, tragedy befell! My digicam conked out... and it seemed to be a mech. problem! So much for Sony!!
- Fire Watch Tower (12:30) - A short distance ahead, it was meant to look out for any forest fires. One crowded place, esp.
when 17 of us posed for a snap! - Low pressure Valley (12:40) - Don't be misguided by the name! It was another steep valley, wherein the wind flow created a low pressure. Legend said that if we threw a cap (esp. Popli's!) into the valley, it would come flying back!! Pity he did not part with it!!
- Forest lake (13:00) - The final destination in the forest (road's dead-end). We found ourself surrounded by a beautiful environmental theme park, adjacent to a lake. There was even a bull temple for those who believed in God, not Nature!! An ideal place to relax ourselves, and click some amazing pics! But we also had another important issue to deal with.. hunger. Thankfully, a no.
of stalls were lined up for our service, serving soft drinks, chips, chocolates, and almost every kinda junk food!! All 17 of us were on it in no time, for no single item. Since Jadoo held the money, it would only be safe to say that it was a miracle that he didn't enter into a fist-fight with the stall-owner over the billing.. Anyways, anyone would have faced a similar plight if he were keeping track of the expenses!!
14:45 - Famished and fatigued that we were, I was hoping to up my glucose levels with a decent meal back in the city. En route, there was this sudden rush that developed for seeing the Guna Caves, an ancient natural structure carved in the mountains very close to the forest. But the main problem was none of us knew how to get there. Nor were we able to find some able assistance. Arguing over it, we had almost reached the city. (The roads from/to this forest area were one ways, to facilitate smooth movement.)
15:30 - Back to the city, rewarded with a splendid glimpse of the golf course; but lo, some streetmonger comes up to tell us those Guna Caves are less than 2km away! The cave enthusiasts were delighted at their luck, and therefore vetoed for a diversion towards it. Luck, it seems, was on no one's side that day. We ended up driving back to the very same forest, to the very same gate, and then back on the one-way which leads us back to the city!! The caves were situated on the highway, and were mistaken by us for some temple!! Had I been energetic enough, a spectacular fight would have probably been in the making.. However, those few of us who could hardly move a muscle resorted to curses, and vowed not to see the caves.
16:15 - Fate, as I already said, was on no one's side!! Those chosen few who ventured down into the caves came back to swear that it was the most beautiful thing ever seen in this trip! Scary, dangerous; yet beautiful!! Thanks to the natural darkness, photographs didn't help them either in getting the beauty captured for us.
17:30 - Back to the city, AT LAST! Mr. Phanse resembled a mini-volcano about to erupt! There were only 2 ways of stopping this eruption: (a) Take him for his ultimate experience, a Boat-ride on the Kodai Lake (b) Stuff him with Ice-Cream! Unfortunately, the boat ride was ruled out, thanks to a swelling crowd, and thinning timings. Not that the 2nd option was an easy alternative; he was still jetting out some steam!!
18:00 - We found ourselves in a swanky Cafe... Surrounded by pretty foreigners, good books & some really delicious snacks / drinks. Spent a long time there, cooling our brains/bodies (& temper in some cases!)
19:30 - Shopaholics had a field-day (night), buying all sorts of cheap clothes, some crazy Ayurvedic med.s / foodstuffs & sweetmeats!
20:30 - If someone thought the action was far from over.. boy, were they wrong?? Everyone had promised (God knows to whom) that the last dinner in Kodai would be a gala, lavish affair at a much-hyped 3-star joint. Problem was its name, and location. Jadoo took the lead as usual, with Monty & Baba for support. I am still confused what was the name that he found out.. but we all set out looking for it, on foot!! Halfway, some of them turned back, smelling a rat. The rest of us contd, smelling hope.
21:15 - Finally, we stumbled upon a decent-looking restaurant, serving both non-veg & veg. But only a few items on the menu-card were available. A bird in hand is better than 2 in the bush (in this case, make it "zero" in the bush). So, 3 of us stayed put there, and placed our orders. The rest of them (those who had started heading back halfway then, had miraculously re-joined the group!!) continued in their search for their Holy Grail. Pity that what they found was worse than Silas' sudden dead-end at Saint-Sulpice Church!! (Please pick up a copy of Da-Vinci Code now and finish it asap)
21:50 - BURRRP! That was me, after a really satisfying meal. The restaurant had gradually crowded since we came. But the crowd that came now (our noble, failed Grail-seekers!) were the pick of the lot. The waiter there went beserk taking the orders of 10 guys at once! Somehow, they managed to feast on what was left the ever-dwindling menu items. Jadoo & Baba had decided to choose the place they set out to search, and ended up eating there. They joined us much later.
22:45 - Everyone's ready to go.. but what the HECK!! I was in for a rude shock when I discovered that my double-sided jacket was missing :-( To this date, its disappearance is a mystery to me; and I prefer not deliberating on it any more. Enough awaited me at home, was all I knew.
24:00 - ZZZZzzzz.....
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(To be contd. and ended very soon..)
posted by Vivek Kant Indrayan at 7:54 am
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