10/11/12 off we go on a road trip "phiiir"

After spending a year or so in Bangalore I was itching to leave the metropolis and get to a more serene place, away from the hustle-bustle, colored air and the tring pring of the smart phone. It could have been anything from looking for wild animals in the reserve or enjoy the bliss of the tea plantation on top of the hill or the calmness of the sea on the shore. Each one of us wanted an option to retreat that helps them to disconnect from the routine and hence reconnect themselves. Life has been easier Alhumdulillah and I always wanted to explore places which fascinated me. I have always enjoyed the journey more than the destination and this time it was not any different. We all were very excited, more than what I am today writing this travelogue. By the way we were 9 of us and we booked a Purple Chevrolet Tavera for our road trip which we would like to call as "phiiiiiir" which would translate to "Once Again" in English.

Our route as seen by the blue line (click on the image for better view)

Day 1:

The Purple Chevrolet Tavera acted like the Nokia phone's snake game character moving aroung Bangalore and picking each one of us and all the necessary items which was required for a road trip. Our first stop was at Srirangapatna on the outskirt of Mysore which was once used to be the capital of Tipu Sultan. The mausoleum of Tipu Sultan, death place of Tip Sultan, "Sangama" the amalgamation of 3 rivers Kaveri River, Kabini River and Hemavati River, Big Mosque, palace of Tipu were the places of attraction. We covered the places quickly so as to get a peek of the famous Mysore palace. We reached at 7 PM, the palace was closed but we got the chance to see the lightnings of more than 96,000 lights which illuminated the palace for about an hour. While the bulbs glowed there was a narration going on which I think was of the history of how and what happened in palace but because of language barrier we had to just make use of our eyes (ears took rest). Night fell and we had to eat and sleep at some place but because this trip was completely a road trip finding such place was very difficult. Fortunately on driving some few kilometers we found a place near Gundlupet and you shouldn't be surprised when I say it was a bus stop. The plan was to stay very near to Bandipur forest reserve so as to reach there early morning for the Safari. At the bus stop we made our dinner, it was scary not beacuse of fear of ghosts or spirits but because it was highway and anyone could question us for our activities. Anyhow some kept eye on the road, some helped each other to cook food. An interesting phase went by and within an hour a delicious food was ready for us to devour. After the food we found a Masjid were we stretched our legs a bit, had rest till Fajr (morning prayer) and then left for Bandipur National Park.

Mausoleum of Tipu Sultan

The gateway to that Mausoleum

After the lightning show at Mysore Palace

Day 2:

Early mornig at Bandipur National Park. The place was very calm and quite with more monkeys than humans. We got the first surprise of our life when we got into the safari (a bus), surveyed the forest for an hour or so and did not even see a single tiger or lion. The only wild we saw was a hen or cow. It was shocker to us because we spent some 300 bucks for that 1 hour safari . When we demanded an explanation for that deception we were told that we were nothing but unfortunate. We gathered our hopes and energy and started to our trip again, this time on our way out of forest we did see some elephants and deers (smile came back). One lesson learnt if at all you go to Bandipur National Park don't pay for the safari just drive your vehicle through the forest you will be able to see more animals for free than you can see after paying Rs. 300. From there we started to climb the hills, our next destination  was Ooty. On the way we stopped at Masinagudi and we bought a rabbit, quails and a hen for the lunch. We knew that were to have a tiring time ahead before lunch and we were ready for that. The fortune of him who is sitting sits, it rises when he rises...it sleeps when he sleeps...it moves when he moves... Keeping these things in mind we kept twirling around the hair-pin bend of the hill. It took us some time after reaching Ooty to find a place where we could cook our food without a disturbance. Most of us never tasted a rabbit in his life, got a chance to have a taste, the quail was barbequed and rice boiled. No rest was taken after the lunch and we packed our things and went to see how Ooty looks. Ooty has been commercialized in recent times, a proper tourist place; fun parks, boating parks, tea planataions, etc. etc. We had fun while paddling the boat towards victory, watching handsome horses, shopping and collecting souveniors, eating carrots, cherries and chocolates. The temperature changed drastically when evening fell and we had to take out our warm clothes. All wrapped up we went downhill twirling again through the bends of the hill. It happened so that some chocolates tried to have fun inside the stomachs of some of us and as soon as we came to the plains, 3 of us had to puke. We decided to halt for some time so as to cook food and have dinner. This was fun because a hotel closed down at 11 PM and we took over them as soon as the left. All lights were off and we had to depend on the lights of our phone. Our food never tasted better because all were tired and hungry as wolf. After the dinner, the night was spent inside the moving car. All slept except the two drivers who took the command of the vehicle.

something to see at Bandipur National Park

Deers as seen from the roadside of Bandipur Nation Park

At Ooty Water Park

Day 3:

The next day, early morning we saw to the surprise of our eye, the beauties of the hills, the fog, dew on the grasses , waterfalls which were close and and far from us tempting us to stop and have a more detailed look at them. We couldn't but stop and basked in the glory of nature, really Allah is the greatest no one else but HE could have made such a thing. We were now headed to the best part of our trip, it was one of the places near Munnar where we got to see a football ground, a tree with a shade, a small stream flowing just by the side of the ground and we guessed that there must be a waterfall nearby. We stood there, ahead of us was the most beautiful scene which we could have only imagined in our dreams. We played football, bathe at the river, cried Azan, called for Namaz and prayed Zohar (afternoon prayer) and then left for other sight seeing in Munnar. The trip was nearing end as sun decided to set and we had a long route back to Bangalore. It was decided unanimously that we will cover the roads at night and will see what the next morning holds for us.

One of the better images taken

Just fooling around, the beauty of Allah (swt) can be seen behind us, as displayed by nature

The ground discovered and played upon by us

Something which shouldn't have happened

Should have been censored

Another nicely captured image

Day 4:

The owner of the car who was also driving it had already decided to take us back home. When we all opened our eyes at around 5 AM we were already nearer to Bangalore by 50 kms. We were surprised as, discussions and grumbling started but the driver cool as a cucumber didn't pay heed to us and we were moving nearer and nearer to Bangalore. When the patience crossed the limits it was then when we decided that whatever happens we won't let the mood spoil. "Let's go to any place in Bangalore itself", "Wonderla!" somebody cried out. "Nandi Hills!!!!" 2-3 shouted. For most of us it would have been the first time in Nandi Hills except for the driver which made us even more wanting to go to Nandi Hills so that we can irritate him since he has already started by not listening to us. Time for another hill, a small one this time; Nandi Hill is an ancient hill fortress famously known as the summer palace for Tipu Sultan. Nothing so extravagant about it but any place with friends is always a money to spend on. Even the monkeys belonging to the place become a piece to play with when friends are there to give you company.

On top of Nandi Hill

Just as the sun rose and we had breakfast. This image clearly shows how lively and how fresh we are even at the end of our journey

The illustrious tour would end so abruptly, I  would have never imagined. I imagined that we all would take rest and discuss about our journey but no that was not to happen, The Tavera dropped each one of us one by one to our house for us to take rest on our own. I came back home tired but full of vigor and many stories to tell. The trip was after all the first proper road trip of my life with all the things from cooking, eating, sleeping, having adventure all happening on the road without booking any room. Well what was ought to happen had happened and it took me a while to write it down. A couple of month passed without even publishing the stories to the world, I took my time, describing the journey by each day and here it is for you to read and enjoy (it wouldn't matter to you until you were a part of this)

2 things to remember:
1. You shouldn't visit Bandipur Reserve.... Our Rs. 300 per head got wasted. We expected lions, tigers and bears and what not but to our shock it was wild cat, hens, cows and all those animals which we could have seen without even going that far.
2. As we scrolled out of Bandipur Reserve there we saw a bamboo erected toll and a person standing in a policeman's uniform. The trucks and other small vehicles were let go without stopping them. But that as seen policeman stopped us and asked for Rs. 20 and send us off without giving us the required ticket or chalaan. Don't know what to say but we were very shocked to the injustice we faced and we vowed to tell this to the world.

The toll as it can been seen

All thanks to Allah who blessed us with this eventful and enjoyable journey without whom this wouldn't have been possible. HE made the journey easier, fed us and made us meet people who would help us.