Just a bit of background on this trip and how it came to life. Well, after the shenanigans of the previous weekend, what with the rock jumping in the river and the moped adventures, I wasn't satisfied. I was still craving an awesome adrenaline rush...something I could compare to rafting down Nam Wa river in Nan (northern Thailand), combating altitude sickness on the way to the peak of Mt. Kinabalu or best yet, falling in the "washing machine" rapid in a river in Kota Kinabalu. The washing machine rapid is a rapid which keeps rotating around within itself like a washing machine, and while it was quite a thrill, it could also potentially be disastrous. For those of you who are unfortunate (or maybe fortunate lol) enough not to have heard the story...well, when I fell in, basically I felt wave after wave of water just hitting me. There was an extremely small gap of time to get the tiniest amount of air. Honestly, it required all my energy to swim out of that rapid safely without hurting myself in rocks, and by the time I got to the boat, I was just way too exhausted to even attempt to get back in the boat.
Oh, and then right before the trip, a friend of mine posts this picture in the internship group on Facebook:
So yeah, I was looking for some adrenaline rush, and a quick search on Google revealed that Coorg, which is about 250 km away from Bangalore, is the place to go. I sent an email out and as it turned out, there was some interest...provided someone plans it. And yes, I was desperate enough to agree to plan it :)
Planning it wasn't that difficult. I found a package from the Coorg Institute of Adventure Sports, which advertised a lot of stuff, including rock climbing, parasailing, and so on (http://coorgadventure.com/). Unfortunately though, due to the monsoon season, a lot of it wasn't available. But that's fine, we went anyway. Transportation wise, during a conversation with one of the cab drivers a week earlier, the dude mentioned how he's been to Pondicherry a couple of times, but because someone hired him to drive there. So I tracked down this dude, and he gave me his friend's number (the dude drives an Indica, and since we were 10 people, we needed a Tempo Traveller). So yeah, a bit of haggling in price here and there (didn't have to do much, as apparently a group of IIT interns had been there earlier that month, and I managed to get it to their rate :)) The package included four things...rafting, zip-lining, hiking and kayaking.
We were supposed to leave for Coorg at about 3.30 am on Saturday, but the Friday night earlier had been rough for some...well almost all of us....and we got a bit delayed. The journey was extremely rough as well, with the roads designed to break our internal systems and a lot of turns. So yeah, was pretty hard to sleep, but nonetheless, we eventually got there. The van could only take us so far though...as we had to walk the rest of the way through half constructed roads and a lot of mud. hahahah, awesome start!
The people organizing the package were all locals from Coorg, many of them having lived in the city (Bangalore) and worked in big companies, but eventually realizing that the nature is where they belong. And man, these guys love the nature. They are very close to it and they respect it highly. And they enjoy nature a lot too =)
We were put in a dorm, with a lot of bunk beds, and two toilets. Honestly, the accommodation was awesome, and although at first I wanted to camp and stuff....but seeing the condition of the ground, it wasn't feasible. After we reached, freshened up and all, we headed off to river rafting. It was quite a long drive away, and I got some sleep this time. We then had some lunch and then headed to the river. We were split into two rafts. The other raft's name was "Team Don't-Hit-My-Balls", while we were too cool to have a name. Our raft also included two newly-wed couples,, probably on their honeymoon. And oh my GOD! The lady kept screaming for everything. The tiniest rapids could get her to scream (and by tiniest rapids...I mean just when the water turns slightly white...).
Anyway, so the water levels weren't high enough (or so they claim), and the river rafting was just way too easy. Absolutely no adrenaline rush. Disappointment.
But hey! we did have fun throwing mangoes at each other's boats!!!! haha there were mango trees along the sides of the river and a lot of mangoes had fallen into the river, so we used it as a projectile =) I also had fun pulling a friend down into the river
Oh wait...almost forgot...there was ONE adrenaline rush part. At one of the rapids....once we passed it, the guide told the girls to go sit in front of the boat....like right in front. We were all wondering, what is going on? And then we understood...he turned the boat around, and then made up row backwards, into the rapid. As we got into the rapid. water began splashing into the boat. I was in the front, and it covered my face as well, so it was just amazing. We then did it again, and this time, I let go (for all the haters out there...YES, INTENTIONALLY! lol). and then we did it again for a third time. that was fun.
We then headed back to the headquarters, and none of us were smart enough to foresee getting wet, and hence bringing a towel or change of clothes. So our ride back was wet.
It was already gettintg late, so then the other activity for the day was zip lining. I was expecting something cool....but.....lol
There was a small pond nearby, and these nature-loving guys, after taking in the nature, took out a long rope and began tieing the line across the pond. We then all helped to pull it tight, but even then, there was still quite a bit of slack in the rope. Additionally, the rope was kind of wet in the middle, so everyone who went down could only go half way across the pond. We then manually pulled ourselves to the end, and then walked back, past a really smelly and decomposed dead animal...too decomposed for me to identify what exactly it was. The mess was horrendous though. But anyway, it was quite an experience.....half-way zipline.
We then cleaned up and headed for dinner. The people over there then set up a camp fire and began taking in the nature again. The scenery was really nice at night, and there were fireflies flying around. Awesome atmosphere.
Then dinner was served...initially just the appetizers. Some Coorgi pork (their specialty) and coorgi chicken. Most of the people in our group didn't quite like it, which was a very fortunate thing as I loved it. So more for me :) Agreed, the pork had more of fat and bones....but the parts that wasn't fat or bone, was awesome! The rest of the dinner was mediocre at best, but I was starving and gobbled it all up. We also got a chance to try some Coorgi wine, a very sweet drink that tasted a bit like Sangria. I actually liked it a lot.
Following that, we went back to the camp fire to take in the scenery and enjoy the nature around us. Later on, the entire gang of locals (before only a few were with us), joined, and then they started cracking jokes in Coorgi. Then one of the dudes pulls out his phone and starts playing different songs in Coorgi. As it turns out, it was actually him singing the songs, and all the songs are originally english. I forgot most of them, but the one I remember for sure is the "The real slim shady please stand up" song. In the middle of the songs, people will start cracking up at the words and stuff, and I guess i can only IMAGINE but never know for sure what was said in the song. Highly amusing :)
The next day, we went hiking. Since no one had proper shoes to hike (hey, we came to bangalore to work afterall...), we went to buy rubber gumboots, and the institute agreed to buy it back for half the price. Good enough for us, especially since we knew that these gumboots were going to save us from A LOT of leaches. and yes, there were A LOT. Leaches were everywhere, and as one of my friend from Canada put it, that was all the adrenaline rush he needed for the day.
We hiked to some place in the forest, which overlooked a very beautiful valley, with a river below, and a waterfall nearby. The scene was breathtaking. The nature is just beautiful. Over there, we find out that one of the guys with us had a leech bite. In his belly button....no jokes! Pictures below
Unfortunately, we don't have pictures of the aftermath of pulling the leech out.
Anyway, after the hike, we were tired and ready to get out of there. Had some lunch, and found out about the kayaking....it was again going to be at that small pond. And they had only one kayak. On the phone, I expected the kayaking to be in the river but nah.....just a pond. So we just said our goodbyes, paid the money, enjoyed nature one last time and went back to bangalore. Stopped for dinner somewhere fancy, but with quite good food. The bill was a pain though, as the dudes over there screwed up big time.
Anyway, that's it :)
So basically the entire mood for the trip was "up and down and up and down. Like a sine curve". I had a lot of fun in total, but in terms of the pre-trip expectations and the adrenaline rush I needed...not quite there. Nature is awesome nevertheless!
Oh, and then right before the trip, a friend of mine posts this picture in the internship group on Facebook:
 |
| "last near death-experience white water rafting at source of the Nile...maybe there'll be a repeat this weekend @ Coorg? Unlikely, but still promises to be a good time...interested in going?" - source: ADB |
Planning it wasn't that difficult. I found a package from the Coorg Institute of Adventure Sports, which advertised a lot of stuff, including rock climbing, parasailing, and so on (http://coorgadventure.com/). Unfortunately though, due to the monsoon season, a lot of it wasn't available. But that's fine, we went anyway. Transportation wise, during a conversation with one of the cab drivers a week earlier, the dude mentioned how he's been to Pondicherry a couple of times, but because someone hired him to drive there. So I tracked down this dude, and he gave me his friend's number (the dude drives an Indica, and since we were 10 people, we needed a Tempo Traveller). So yeah, a bit of haggling in price here and there (didn't have to do much, as apparently a group of IIT interns had been there earlier that month, and I managed to get it to their rate :)) The package included four things...rafting, zip-lining, hiking and kayaking.
We were supposed to leave for Coorg at about 3.30 am on Saturday, but the Friday night earlier had been rough for some...well almost all of us....and we got a bit delayed. The journey was extremely rough as well, with the roads designed to break our internal systems and a lot of turns. So yeah, was pretty hard to sleep, but nonetheless, we eventually got there. The van could only take us so far though...as we had to walk the rest of the way through half constructed roads and a lot of mud. hahahah, awesome start!
The people organizing the package were all locals from Coorg, many of them having lived in the city (Bangalore) and worked in big companies, but eventually realizing that the nature is where they belong. And man, these guys love the nature. They are very close to it and they respect it highly. And they enjoy nature a lot too =)
We were put in a dorm, with a lot of bunk beds, and two toilets. Honestly, the accommodation was awesome, and although at first I wanted to camp and stuff....but seeing the condition of the ground, it wasn't feasible. After we reached, freshened up and all, we headed off to river rafting. It was quite a long drive away, and I got some sleep this time. We then had some lunch and then headed to the river. We were split into two rafts. The other raft's name was "Team Don't-Hit-My-Balls", while we were too cool to have a name. Our raft also included two newly-wed couples,, probably on their honeymoon. And oh my GOD! The lady kept screaming for everything. The tiniest rapids could get her to scream (and by tiniest rapids...I mean just when the water turns slightly white...).
Anyway, so the water levels weren't high enough (or so they claim), and the river rafting was just way too easy. Absolutely no adrenaline rush. Disappointment.
But hey! we did have fun throwing mangoes at each other's boats!!!! haha there were mango trees along the sides of the river and a lot of mangoes had fallen into the river, so we used it as a projectile =) I also had fun pulling a friend down into the river
Oh wait...almost forgot...there was ONE adrenaline rush part. At one of the rapids....once we passed it, the guide told the girls to go sit in front of the boat....like right in front. We were all wondering, what is going on? And then we understood...he turned the boat around, and then made up row backwards, into the rapid. As we got into the rapid. water began splashing into the boat. I was in the front, and it covered my face as well, so it was just amazing. We then did it again, and this time, I let go (for all the haters out there...YES, INTENTIONALLY! lol). and then we did it again for a third time. that was fun.
We then headed back to the headquarters, and none of us were smart enough to foresee getting wet, and hence bringing a towel or change of clothes. So our ride back was wet.
It was already gettintg late, so then the other activity for the day was zip lining. I was expecting something cool....but.....lol
There was a small pond nearby, and these nature-loving guys, after taking in the nature, took out a long rope and began tieing the line across the pond. We then all helped to pull it tight, but even then, there was still quite a bit of slack in the rope. Additionally, the rope was kind of wet in the middle, so everyone who went down could only go half way across the pond. We then manually pulled ourselves to the end, and then walked back, past a really smelly and decomposed dead animal...too decomposed for me to identify what exactly it was. The mess was horrendous though. But anyway, it was quite an experience.....half-way zipline.
We then cleaned up and headed for dinner. The people over there then set up a camp fire and began taking in the nature again. The scenery was really nice at night, and there were fireflies flying around. Awesome atmosphere.
Then dinner was served...initially just the appetizers. Some Coorgi pork (their specialty) and coorgi chicken. Most of the people in our group didn't quite like it, which was a very fortunate thing as I loved it. So more for me :) Agreed, the pork had more of fat and bones....but the parts that wasn't fat or bone, was awesome! The rest of the dinner was mediocre at best, but I was starving and gobbled it all up. We also got a chance to try some Coorgi wine, a very sweet drink that tasted a bit like Sangria. I actually liked it a lot.
Following that, we went back to the camp fire to take in the scenery and enjoy the nature around us. Later on, the entire gang of locals (before only a few were with us), joined, and then they started cracking jokes in Coorgi. Then one of the dudes pulls out his phone and starts playing different songs in Coorgi. As it turns out, it was actually him singing the songs, and all the songs are originally english. I forgot most of them, but the one I remember for sure is the "The real slim shady please stand up" song. In the middle of the songs, people will start cracking up at the words and stuff, and I guess i can only IMAGINE but never know for sure what was said in the song. Highly amusing :)
The next day, we went hiking. Since no one had proper shoes to hike (hey, we came to bangalore to work afterall...), we went to buy rubber gumboots, and the institute agreed to buy it back for half the price. Good enough for us, especially since we knew that these gumboots were going to save us from A LOT of leaches. and yes, there were A LOT. Leaches were everywhere, and as one of my friend from Canada put it, that was all the adrenaline rush he needed for the day.
We hiked to some place in the forest, which overlooked a very beautiful valley, with a river below, and a waterfall nearby. The scene was breathtaking. The nature is just beautiful. Over there, we find out that one of the guys with us had a leech bite. In his belly button....no jokes! Pictures below
 |
| Credits: JC and thanks ADB! |
Anyway, after the hike, we were tired and ready to get out of there. Had some lunch, and found out about the kayaking....it was again going to be at that small pond. And they had only one kayak. On the phone, I expected the kayaking to be in the river but nah.....just a pond. So we just said our goodbyes, paid the money, enjoyed nature one last time and went back to bangalore. Stopped for dinner somewhere fancy, but with quite good food. The bill was a pain though, as the dudes over there screwed up big time.
Anyway, that's it :)
So basically the entire mood for the trip was "up and down and up and down. Like a sine curve". I had a lot of fun in total, but in terms of the pre-trip expectations and the adrenaline rush I needed...not quite there. Nature is awesome nevertheless!
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