Debapriya Deb
Active Member
My partner in crime during the college days, Saurabh was returning to India from an onsite assignment after 10 months. Although his office is based out of Hyderabad, he was keen to meet our Bangalore gang before resuming his official duty. 'Our gang' refers to a group of 5 batchmates - Biplab, Tapan, Rauben, Saurabh and Debo (yours truly) - from the Department of Computer Science, Assam University, Silchar.
So the plan was that Saurabh would land at Bangalore airport on Friday, the 14th of August, 2015 and I would go to the airport to pick him up. We decided to block the entire weekend of 15th & 16th August for the proposed reunion. At the end of the 2-day extravaganza, Saurabh would catch a flight to Hyderabad on Monday morning to resume his official committment.
Trip Planning:
With the schedule all set, it was time to fix the venue. So the four of us, except Saurabh, got in to a conference call. Saurabh was in a different time zone, so he was not a part of this discussion.
Last time out, we went for a trip to Valparai - a beautiful hill station in the Western Ghats ranges. This time, by the un-written norms that we have in place, it should have been a beach destination.
"Let's go for Kurumgad Island in Karwar. Trust me, it's a beautiful place" - Tapan put forward his suggestion.
"Dude, we just have 2 days in hand. Do you want to spend all the time on the road itself?" - Biplab was duly concerned about the distance factor.
"So what do you suggest? Don't tell me Mahabalipuram or Pondy, again?" - Tapan left the ball in Biplab's court.
Rauben was silent till that point. "I don't want to be tossed up from a hot grill to a fiery tandoor" - Rauben was his usual cheeky self. He continued, "Let's scrap the beach and plan for something else."
So after contemplating on Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram for a while, the beach plan was finally scrapped - mainly due to the hot and humid coastal weather expected during the month of August.
"Last time, you guys enjoyed a lot at Valparai in my absense. Let's plan for another hill station this time also." - Biplab, who was unable to join us on the trip to Valparai, seemed inclined towards a hill station.
I was just back from a family trip to Kemmanagundi only a week ago, and quite obviously, I was not willing to go to another hill station back to back.
"All the hill stations are the same - view points, lakes, boats, gardens and waterfalls. Moreover, at such a short notice, it would be very difficult to find a decent accommodation at any of the popular hill resorts. Let's try something different." - I was desperately trying to discourage any thought of going to the hills.
"So no to beaches and no to hills - how about going to Mars or Pluto?" - there's a hint of sarcasm in Tapan's voice.
I did not pay heed to the sarcastic remark and made my choice known - "If I was given the choice, I would have loved to visit a wildlife sanctuary. A tented accommodation with a campfire, silence of the forest with the occasional roar of wild animals - isn't it mind-blowing?"
There was a little pause - an indication that the idea is being seriously considered by all.
"I am with Debo. We have never been to a forest together. It would be a great adventure" - I was relieved to see Biplab stand right beside his best friend - as always.
After a short spell of 'analysis' on the feasibility part, Bandipur was unanimously decided as the final pick. It was now the time to look for our accommodation.
Accommodation:
A glance at MakeMyTrip and Go-IBIBO revealed that the popular resorts around Bandipur are all sold out for that particular weekend. 'Tusker Trails', 'Country Club' and 'MC Resort' had no vacancy, while The Serai was well over our budget at INR 19,000 per night. Last time around, when I went to Bandipur with my family members, we had stayed at the Dholes Den. I called up the manager, Mr. Murali, to check on the availability, but no luck there too.
Then I asked him to suggest us an accommodation near Bandipur for 5 persons. With the promise that he would call me back, I hung up the phone. Meanwhile, I thought to check out the options in hand at Nagarhole & Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary as well.
True to his words, Murali gave me a call back after couple of hours and it provided us with a ray of hope. He informed us about a new resort, Deep Jungle Home, which could accommodate us, but it was on the Tamil Nadu side of the national park, near the Madumalai section.
On learning that the resort was located at a distance of 20 KM from the Bandipur main gate, I readily gave him my consent. He told me that the manager of the resort, Mr. Karthik will call me up shortly.
Within 5 minutes, I received a call from an unknown number. It must be Karthik - I told myself and picked up the call. It was indeed him. They had four different types of cottages available with the price ranging between INR 2400 to INR 4500 - which I thought was pretty reasonable. I requested him to book a deluxe tree-house for the five of us.
He politely informed me that the tree-house was meant to accommodate only 4 persons and for the extra person, there will be an additional charge of 1200 per night. I had no reason to disagree and gladly accepted the offer of INR 5200 (4000+1200) per night for 2 nights. I offered him to pay the booking advance, but he told me that I could make the final payment on arrival. He just requested me to inform him at the earliest, in-case our plan gets cancelled for some reason.
When I coined the customary 'It was a pleasure talking to you, Karthik' at the end of our conversation, I really meant what I just said. It was indeed a pleasure to interact with such a thorough gentleman.
Transportation:
Next in line was the transportation. I have a hatchback in Alto-800, while Rauben owns a Ford Figo. Biplab too has a 5-seater in Matiz. All three vehicles could accommodate our group of 5 members, but still a SUV/MUV would have been the best for such a trip. Saurabh has a Renault Duster, but sadly, that was residing in Hyderabad. We considered renting out a self-drive vehicle from Zoom, but the scattered geographic location of our residences meant that a single vehicle would be a sheer waste of time.
While I stay in South Bangalore, Biplab's place was far away on the North side and Rauben's apartment is off the Outer Ring Road. Tapan had recently relocated to Mysore, so we could just pick him up on the way.
Finally, it was decided that Saurabh will travel with me on my Alto-800, while Rauben will pick up Biplab from his residence. One of us would subsequently pick up Tapan from Mysore before proceeding towards Bandipur. Although having two cars could potentially result in compromising on the fun part, yet we had no better option.
With the 'mission accommodation' and 'project transportation' finally accomplished, we all were eagerly waiting for the D-Day - 14th August, when Saurabh will be landing at Bangalore airport in the evening.
The D-Day:
Saurabh's Jet Airways flight was supposed to arrive in Bangalore at 17:00 hours. However when it finally landed after one and a quarter hours' delay and he emerged out from the terminal, the clock had already gone past the 18:30 mark. After a frustrating 3 hours drive maneuvering the Friday evening mad-rush that Bangalore is known for, when we arrived at my place, it was almost the dinner time.
I asked him to freshen up and went to refuel the vehicle for our trip. I rushed to the Shell bunk near my house and tanked up the vehicle fully. Checked the air pressure and engine oil level. My 'Red Devil' had recently gone for a scheduled service, so quite expectedly everything was in fine tune.
After finishing off our dinner, we chatted for a few minutes before asking Saurabh to retire on the bed. Saurabh had a tiring day, and I wanted him to take as much rest as possible before embarking on the journey.
The Journey:
My alarm went off at 4:45 AM. Immediately I called up Rauben to check on the progress made. Rauben was supposed to pick up Biplab from his house at 5 AM. So by my calculation, he should have been on his way to Biplab's house by that time. I was wrong though. The guy who is often at the receiving end of jokes for being late, I was utterly surprised to find that Rauben had actually arrived at Biplab's place and they were about to set out on the journey.
Within 15 minutes, we were ready to hit the road. Wifey had already packed my backpack and Saurabh too had his bag ready. After a round of the special 'chai' that my better half is famous for, we started off at sharp 5:15 AM.
[To be continued]
Allow me a little time to pen down the reminder of the travelogue. For the time being, here's a couple of teasers for you.
There's a lot to come. Stay tuned!
Regards,
Deb
So the plan was that Saurabh would land at Bangalore airport on Friday, the 14th of August, 2015 and I would go to the airport to pick him up. We decided to block the entire weekend of 15th & 16th August for the proposed reunion. At the end of the 2-day extravaganza, Saurabh would catch a flight to Hyderabad on Monday morning to resume his official committment.
Trip Planning:
With the schedule all set, it was time to fix the venue. So the four of us, except Saurabh, got in to a conference call. Saurabh was in a different time zone, so he was not a part of this discussion.
Last time out, we went for a trip to Valparai - a beautiful hill station in the Western Ghats ranges. This time, by the un-written norms that we have in place, it should have been a beach destination.
"Let's go for Kurumgad Island in Karwar. Trust me, it's a beautiful place" - Tapan put forward his suggestion.
"Dude, we just have 2 days in hand. Do you want to spend all the time on the road itself?" - Biplab was duly concerned about the distance factor.
"So what do you suggest? Don't tell me Mahabalipuram or Pondy, again?" - Tapan left the ball in Biplab's court.
Rauben was silent till that point. "I don't want to be tossed up from a hot grill to a fiery tandoor" - Rauben was his usual cheeky self. He continued, "Let's scrap the beach and plan for something else."
So after contemplating on Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram for a while, the beach plan was finally scrapped - mainly due to the hot and humid coastal weather expected during the month of August.
"Last time, you guys enjoyed a lot at Valparai in my absense. Let's plan for another hill station this time also." - Biplab, who was unable to join us on the trip to Valparai, seemed inclined towards a hill station.
I was just back from a family trip to Kemmanagundi only a week ago, and quite obviously, I was not willing to go to another hill station back to back.
"All the hill stations are the same - view points, lakes, boats, gardens and waterfalls. Moreover, at such a short notice, it would be very difficult to find a decent accommodation at any of the popular hill resorts. Let's try something different." - I was desperately trying to discourage any thought of going to the hills.
"So no to beaches and no to hills - how about going to Mars or Pluto?" - there's a hint of sarcasm in Tapan's voice.
I did not pay heed to the sarcastic remark and made my choice known - "If I was given the choice, I would have loved to visit a wildlife sanctuary. A tented accommodation with a campfire, silence of the forest with the occasional roar of wild animals - isn't it mind-blowing?"
There was a little pause - an indication that the idea is being seriously considered by all.
"I am with Debo. We have never been to a forest together. It would be a great adventure" - I was relieved to see Biplab stand right beside his best friend - as always.
After a short spell of 'analysis' on the feasibility part, Bandipur was unanimously decided as the final pick. It was now the time to look for our accommodation.
Accommodation:
A glance at MakeMyTrip and Go-IBIBO revealed that the popular resorts around Bandipur are all sold out for that particular weekend. 'Tusker Trails', 'Country Club' and 'MC Resort' had no vacancy, while The Serai was well over our budget at INR 19,000 per night. Last time around, when I went to Bandipur with my family members, we had stayed at the Dholes Den. I called up the manager, Mr. Murali, to check on the availability, but no luck there too.
Then I asked him to suggest us an accommodation near Bandipur for 5 persons. With the promise that he would call me back, I hung up the phone. Meanwhile, I thought to check out the options in hand at Nagarhole & Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary as well.
True to his words, Murali gave me a call back after couple of hours and it provided us with a ray of hope. He informed us about a new resort, Deep Jungle Home, which could accommodate us, but it was on the Tamil Nadu side of the national park, near the Madumalai section.
On learning that the resort was located at a distance of 20 KM from the Bandipur main gate, I readily gave him my consent. He told me that the manager of the resort, Mr. Karthik will call me up shortly.
Within 5 minutes, I received a call from an unknown number. It must be Karthik - I told myself and picked up the call. It was indeed him. They had four different types of cottages available with the price ranging between INR 2400 to INR 4500 - which I thought was pretty reasonable. I requested him to book a deluxe tree-house for the five of us.
He politely informed me that the tree-house was meant to accommodate only 4 persons and for the extra person, there will be an additional charge of 1200 per night. I had no reason to disagree and gladly accepted the offer of INR 5200 (4000+1200) per night for 2 nights. I offered him to pay the booking advance, but he told me that I could make the final payment on arrival. He just requested me to inform him at the earliest, in-case our plan gets cancelled for some reason.
When I coined the customary 'It was a pleasure talking to you, Karthik' at the end of our conversation, I really meant what I just said. It was indeed a pleasure to interact with such a thorough gentleman.
Transportation:
Next in line was the transportation. I have a hatchback in Alto-800, while Rauben owns a Ford Figo. Biplab too has a 5-seater in Matiz. All three vehicles could accommodate our group of 5 members, but still a SUV/MUV would have been the best for such a trip. Saurabh has a Renault Duster, but sadly, that was residing in Hyderabad. We considered renting out a self-drive vehicle from Zoom, but the scattered geographic location of our residences meant that a single vehicle would be a sheer waste of time.
While I stay in South Bangalore, Biplab's place was far away on the North side and Rauben's apartment is off the Outer Ring Road. Tapan had recently relocated to Mysore, so we could just pick him up on the way.
Finally, it was decided that Saurabh will travel with me on my Alto-800, while Rauben will pick up Biplab from his residence. One of us would subsequently pick up Tapan from Mysore before proceeding towards Bandipur. Although having two cars could potentially result in compromising on the fun part, yet we had no better option.
With the 'mission accommodation' and 'project transportation' finally accomplished, we all were eagerly waiting for the D-Day - 14th August, when Saurabh will be landing at Bangalore airport in the evening.
The D-Day:
Saurabh's Jet Airways flight was supposed to arrive in Bangalore at 17:00 hours. However when it finally landed after one and a quarter hours' delay and he emerged out from the terminal, the clock had already gone past the 18:30 mark. After a frustrating 3 hours drive maneuvering the Friday evening mad-rush that Bangalore is known for, when we arrived at my place, it was almost the dinner time.
I asked him to freshen up and went to refuel the vehicle for our trip. I rushed to the Shell bunk near my house and tanked up the vehicle fully. Checked the air pressure and engine oil level. My 'Red Devil' had recently gone for a scheduled service, so quite expectedly everything was in fine tune.
After finishing off our dinner, we chatted for a few minutes before asking Saurabh to retire on the bed. Saurabh had a tiring day, and I wanted him to take as much rest as possible before embarking on the journey.
The Journey:
My alarm went off at 4:45 AM. Immediately I called up Rauben to check on the progress made. Rauben was supposed to pick up Biplab from his house at 5 AM. So by my calculation, he should have been on his way to Biplab's house by that time. I was wrong though. The guy who is often at the receiving end of jokes for being late, I was utterly surprised to find that Rauben had actually arrived at Biplab's place and they were about to set out on the journey.
Within 15 minutes, we were ready to hit the road. Wifey had already packed my backpack and Saurabh too had his bag ready. After a round of the special 'chai' that my better half is famous for, we started off at sharp 5:15 AM.
[To be continued]
Allow me a little time to pen down the reminder of the travelogue. For the time being, here's a couple of teasers for you.
There's a lot to come. Stay tuned!
Regards,
Deb
