I was feeling increasingly restless for a past few days after my return from Denmark
A drastically short haircut followed by a very loud hair color elated my mood for 72 hours, beyond which boredom grasped my new avatar. And in the midst of the unsettling future, ghost of past relationships and a lost soul were all adding on to the pressure of accepting the Chennai lifestyle. Under the circumstances, when my office colleague suddenly came up with the idea of a weekend trip to 'Coorg', I clinged onto the plan as if it was a lifeline provided to a dying individual.
It was a very hot Wednesday afternoon when I along with 2 colleagues of mine were lazing in the cafeteria munching on some hybrid food (which I don't remember now), when this proposal drifted in like a cool breeze. My colleague was in touch with one of the Tour Organizers who was working for the company for arranging recreational tours, and it was in his FB, he had posted an upcoming event of 'Coorg White Water Rafting'. It was my heart's desire since long to go in for rafting but somehow it never happened in all these years. So this time I was determined to utilise the opportunity to the fullest. An instantaneous decision followed by blackmailing friends in order to fulfil the requisite number of head counts took most of our time in the next week. And finally we hijacked 3 victims and set out for the grand plan.
Considering this to be a full fledged Travel Blog, I would try to give the necessary info re. the Tour, to guide interested people find the right package.
The link to the Event for this year's Rafting is (all the contact information are given herein):
There is also an official website run by these fellows though I am not much sure of the online bookings, so it is a better idea to call them in person.
The owner of the Tour is Alok Ayappa, a Coorgi by birth, who owns a coffee estate in the lush green fields of Coorg, near 'Kutta' village and himself is a good rafter and trekker. I was really curious to know the cultural bent of this amazing nature encrusted place, and a little chat over a cuppa of hot tea after the water splashed (it was definitely much more than splash though) rafting enlightened me with the history of Coorg in the narrative of a Coorgi. Coorgi people by origin are 'Worriors' of Deccan Plateau, who have adopted Coffee Plantation as their primary source of income since long. Every Coorgi, hence owns a large Coffee Estate (Girls, you can think of a nice marriage out here, these people are both hot and rich...;)..), and after the Tourism Boom in Karnataka, they have constructed breathtaking cottages inside their estate to entertain and pamper tourists to make their stay in Coorg a memorable affair. And it was in 1 of these innumerable cottages dotted over the hills of Coorg namely 'Coffee County
For those who will be interested in knowing more about this amazing district and want to plan some activity or simply a few lazy days, you can check out the link, else google the info by yourself...;)
http://www.coorgcreek.com/index.htm
http://www.coorgcreek.com/index.htm
As it was an organized tour, we were asked to reach Bangalore Hyderabad
Kamath Restaurant @ Mysore Road, Off Bangalore
After the breakfast, the drive was a dull one with nothing eventful happening till we reached Rajiv Gandhi National Park Gates, now known as Nagarhole National Park Reserve Forests
- A Wildlife Sanctuary is a place of refuge for animals.
- A National Park is an area owned by the State and dedicated for the conservation of scenery and the natural and historic objects of national significance and to the conservation of wild animals and plants by such means and leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of present and future generation.
- A Forest Reserve is exactly that an area of
Forest which is protected in its entirely, trees, vegetation and wildlife and usually protected from the public.
The Destination Kutta and Srimangala near the Nagarhole National Park
Once we entered the Park, the whole surrounding slowly morphed as if some magician had cast an 'Atmospheric Charm' (Courtesy: J.K.Rowling), from the wide green fields it transformed into a beautiful dense forest, all the sound ceased and it was a feeling of entering a different world or travelling in a separate time zone. We all perched our necks and craned our heads in quest of some sudden luck to spot an occasional animal, but alas, that part of the dream is yet to be fulfilled. I guess I need a Jungle Safari badly as my next expedition, or maybe just run away to the Wild Africas ........
The roads started becoming wilder and more irraceable, we were barely moving 5 KM per hour once we were deep inside the jungle. The calmness of the jungle had cast a silence on us, and after 1 and a half hours we managed to emerge on the other side. By this time we had reached the rural Coorg and asking passerby for the direction to the Town 'Kutta'. But the lack of communication power in the local language played the Hand of God and we had taken a wrong turn without knowledge. After wandering in the forest lanes and amidst identical Coffee Estates for about 1 hour, we finally realised that we have lost our way. Panic started engulfing our mind and it heightened as we noticed 'No Network' on our cell phones. But to think of it now, the whole incident gave us an opportunity to explore the virginity of a nature in its full bounty. After trying literally hard, we managed to call our Tour Organizer and it was with his detailed direction that continued for next half and hour, we managed to reach our destination.
With every step that we took in the later part of the journey, we were awed at the vivid green, and the untamed vegetation, and all our surprise bustled out once we caught the first glimpse of the Cottage. It was located in the furthest corner of the world with no habitat within a few kilometers. A vast stretch of land there stood a small white Cottage for the owner, and 3 red cottages which were let out.
One of the 3 cottages available for Hiring
The Dining Place.....I loved the Concept, Coorg surely has a sense of Beauty
The booking happens per head and not Cottage wise (Rs 1500 per person per night including lunch, evening snacks, dinner and breakfast). I do not want to go to the trivial details of the Menu, but I would like to provide a glimpse to the offerings, as I have had the opportunity to taste 'Coorg Special Fried Pork' one among the several items offered in snacks. Surely nobody would like to miss out on that one...;). We reached the Estate at 5 in the evening, had a very late lunch. An additional service was offered by the landlady who willing asked us whether we would like to have drinks in the evening and the we must send her driver to the nearest village before 7. So, securing that end of the loose rope, we set out to explore the serene forest, the lofty hills and the darkened coffee estates. The short trek was uneventful, but relaxing and energizing, as the purity of the air seemed to lengthen our lifeline which is brutally cut short everyday by the vicious city pollution.
The clouds engulfing the peaks of the hills of Coorg, captured during our evening expedition
When we returned from our expedition, the campfire was lit outside out cottage, and table was laid down with empty plates and glasses, as if waiting for us to start. As we comfortably settled down beside the fire (it was pretty cold to enjoy the warmth), drinks and snacks were served. The evening wore by with chat and laughter and music, and throughout we were deliberated on the feeling of loneliness, as the hostess and her assistants were tactical enough to be invisible until we need them. Truly a place to enjoy the nature on your own, and Coorgis are undoubtedly the most magnificent host I have ever experienced. We enjoyed the smell of coffee beans mixed with the sniff of alcohol, till we were too tired to drop down to bed......the next day was about to begin with a lot of excitement.......
The Campfire....we chatted happily around it....
July 3, 2011
Next morning we all woke up very early, got dressed in swimming trunks and had a fast and heavy breakfast. It took us half an hour to reach the Srimangala Town
The occasional glimpse (partially hidden by the thickets and dense shrubberies) of the vast river that stretched before us is known as Upper Barapole , and as gathered from our Instructor, has Rapids ranging from Class II to Class IV. As soon as we were through with our signing formalities, we were introduced to our Instructor cum Guide for the Session. He is by birth a Nepali who has a quirky way of speaking and a pretty acknowledge-able sense of humour. He started giving out instructions in his own peculiar tone, and by the time we got used to his words and pronunciations, we had missed half of those important 'To Do' stuffs. He asked in a matter of fact way 'How many of you know swimming'. I was among the 2 people who raised their hand with a shameful face for not knowing this vital surviving trick, in the light of present situation. He coolly appreciated, and assured that we all go in together as he himself knows no swimming. It was pretty hard to judge at that point of time, how serious is he in delivering this comment and we all chose to ignore it.
The instructions followed for 20 long minutes, and it started raining by the time we were handed out our life jackets and paddle. We learnt how to tighten our life jacket, and as usual, the normal size was too big for me. So they had to replace it with a smaller version, and Alok, sensing my strength, without further ado, fastened it himself to save me the botheration. Next followed average size Metal Caps for others and a reduced size for me. When we had learnt how to handle the paddle (not using it, just holding it), our Leader asked me sit on the ground beside the raft (by this time, the sitting technique and explaining different parts of the raft was completed), as he wanted to demonstrate the way to pull up a Rafter from the River, lest he fell into the flow! Before I could realise what he is intending to display, I felt him holding the Shoulder Seam of my Life Jacket and without warning pull me with all the force into the raft. That gesture was not at all appreciated considering he found me to be the easiest of all for the successful and hazzardless display, and I was flying into the air with the force of the pull before crashing inside the raft headfirst.
When all the demonstrations were over, we carried the raft into the river following a mud sodden path which led to one of the banks of the river, and pushed it inside the cold water. One by one we got into the raft and took our position before he pushed it to the open water and jumped onto the rear side. We were followed by a second rafter on Kayak, who was there for monitoring the waterway and rescue operation, as explained by our Leader. I didn't know what rescue operation refer to until the next one hour though.
There was a calm stretch of water in river part where we started, and he made us practise the maneuver of the raft in that area. My arms started paining vigorously by the time we got our sense of direction right and coordination organized. Then suddenly without warning or explanation or even merest of hints he started pushing us one by one in the water. The first 2 people to go down were caught completely unaware, and before we could protest, we all found ourselves into the deep water, clumsily trying to float back to the raft which he majestically steered away from us. As the initial shock mellowed out, we were happily playing in the water as the life jackets were doing good job in helping us float comfortable. After we got accustomed to the cold water and the first phase of the fear receded, he again pulled us back into the raft, and this time all of my fellow companions experienced the flight fro water to air before landing onto hard ground (actually rubbery raft), and this time, I was not careful enough and paid the price by spraining my wrist badly as it was twisted with the fall.
But there was no time to ponder over such trifles, and we set out to the wide river course to meet our first Rapid, a Class I called 'Morning Coffee'. It was a tiny rapid, with very small rocks visible above the water surface, and we glided past it very easily and deliberately. Our Leaded kept on twisting the raft in circles to make us feel more adventurous, when we reached 'Grasshopper', a Class II. This was our first encounter with a rapid in its true sense and the sudden thrill and instant rush of adrenaline for a brief period of 30 seconds felt like eternal bliss. I will cherish that moment of my life forever, and I am sure all my companions would do the same as it was out first bite at adventure sports.
After crossing 'Grasshopper', we relaxed on another calm stretch of the water, where our Leader started showing off some stunts. Firstly he did a somersault and jumped into the river, then without our help jumped back in the raft as if he was some kind of a fish. Then he asked us to try our luck on a 'Spiderman Stunt', as he calls it. It involves standing at the edge of one end of the raft, stretch your arms fully like the 'Titanic Pose', and lean forward without bending your knees towards the water. He will of course place a hook tightly grasping your life jacket and pull you from behind to maintain your balance. When you are comfortable and stably leaning forward, he will ask the remaining rafters to row in all possible direction, but following a rhythm, like forward, right and left, and this will go on until you hit the water body face down. Doesn't that sound amazing? Well it is fun as long as you are not the one hanging from the rope end or falling into the 60 ft deep water with contact lens and no swimming capabilities. But it was surely a lifetime experience, dangerous, and feels uncomfortable for the time being but a memory you cherish throughout.
All these relaxing and fun activities were finally over in another 30 mins and we were enjoying the calmness of the place,the silence overbearing the incessant water rushing through the rocks, the deep untamed jungle, the water plants, the barren rocks......all these was having tremendous impact on my emotional front. before I could actually decide onto stay back and become a vagabond in the Nilgiris, however, our Leader decided to start the next lap. After rowing a few meters, we caught the first glimpse of the most dangerous rapid off all "Wicked Witch" a Class III+, but very tricky because of the rock formation surrounding it. We laughed out loud at first on hearing the name at the ingenuity of Alok (who named them all), but unfortunately, the witch took it on her pride, and seldom we knew that she is planning for a revenge.
Following the instructions we started rowing fast, and as soon as we reached the leap, were asked to slide back inside of the raft retreating our paddles owing to the rocks jutting out from all the sides. This was one of the most unforgettable moments of my life, as I remembered sliding into the inner side of the raft, and next moment I felt cold water rushing from all sides and pouring vigorously onto me. Before I could analyse my condition and reason behind such an water assault, my sixth sense called for help, and mind began to panic. If I think back now, I am not sure when I actually realised that I had majestically left the safe abode of the raft beat to turn and twist madly inside the churning rapid, still my contact lenses on!!......But there are two versions of the incident, my desperate bid inside of the rocky and tormenting rapid and my not so lucky spectators having a hard time to comprehend the extent of the damage, having a real hard time themselves.
Wicked Witch which took me inside
I will narrate my version first, to exploit the privilege of being the proud author of this story (Sorry, hard truth). Now if I remember correctly, I mistook the 2nd command from our Leader to 'Roll Back' as 'Roll Out', (no idea why I would do so though, considering the stakes) maybe because I was sitting in the front end of the raft furthest from him and couldn't hear his words properly over the gushing water. Owing to a number of facts like,
- I am extremely thin to qualify as Feather weight,
- The raft was twisting and turning in a crazy frenzy and gravitational pull was playing hard on all of us to maintain our balance, and
- Lastly but not least-ly, I chose the perfect moment to slide out when the raft was exactly 70 degrees tilted towards the water surface while going down the rapid,
I had a majestic dive into the water. I could feel the chocking sensation inside the turmoil, and foe 3 seconds it was a black out when I sensed fear of death. Whirlpool taking a go at you, water filling in your nose and ears, absence of oxygen fogging your mind and chocking your breath, all these happened in those brief 4-5 seconds I unwillingly spent under the water. But beyond that, the lack of malfunctioning of the protective gear (which happens so commonly in our blessed motherland), I was soon heaved up to the water surface. Still groping for breath, and recovering from the shock of recent incidents, I vaguely heard somebody asking me to throw my paddle forward. Only then I discovered to my surprise that I am still holding the paddle in spite of such an underwater stunt, and almost mechanically held it forward as if in trance. But I could hear some cries of confusion, and no force pulled my paddle. After drinking and choking on a lot of fresh cold water I opened my eyes which were till this time shut tightly from the fear of losing the contact lenses, and found them still sticking to my pupil surprisingly. My fogged vision directed me towards a fast moving grey object, and I started steering myself towards it with heart full of hope. The Kayak came very close in a few moments, and I hugged it tightly from behind at which the paddler started to shout out protests and supposedly asking me to cling onto some strap, which of course I was unable to locate in all the panic. And suddenly it flashed out in front of my face, and with a streak of happiness I grasped it and very conveniently left the paddle float away on its own accord.
My saviour kayaked me through the water avoiding the rocks as much a possible and then left me hanging onto a bigger rock, where I am supposed to wait half immersed in water till our raft picks me up.It was not at all a good option and I started to panic yet again when he left me there for the quest of others. Water sodden, beaten and fallen warrior, that was the feeling filling rapidly inside my chest. I started wondering where my fellow rafters have gone, as they should have reached the spot much before me, when after a long time (seconds seemed too long at this point, so would not try to estimate the length of the wait), I saw red heads emerging between the rocks. They made their way towards me, and forced me to get into the raft crossing boulders full of crawling black spiders, barefooted!!....I swear I would have never done it if they had not threatened to leave me there unless I do it......it was so gruesome.
I broke into laughter at my inability and 'agility' (with which I glided into the deep water where everybody managed to stick inside) as I reached the safe abode of the boat. My fellow rafters were not finding it funny at all, and they started blabbering their versions. In all the uproar, I could manage to understand that they didn't realise my fall, till the boat came back to its normal position from the tilt, when they noticed somebody was missing and soon found a red dot floating away behind them against the current. This was really unusual, and I realised that as I fell, I was steered away by the reverse current underneath the raft. But at this point their raft got immobilised owing to two huge rocks blocking the water passage, and they were immovable without any means of freeing themselves. Hence they were least bothered about my whereabouts and by that time I was forced by the forward current to flow out into the open river crossing the river. The wicked witch played with me as some limp object at her mercy, and I am glad of my miraculous escape with 206 bones apiece. As I was washed out in to the open mouth, the raft was still stuck, and in all the panic, one of the rafters had successfully broke his paddle and another one was sitting with bleeding fingers owing to the combined pressure exercised by the weight of other four when they fell over her. Thankfully unlike me, they still had our Leader, who leaped onto a nearby rock with the skills of Spiderman, and kicked the raft hard to detach it from the rocky tavern. While the raft went out of control ad started moving freely towards the remaining rapid, he jumped back into it (It was amazing Stunt)!! and finally they came for my rescue..
The Last Lap, I hated it to be the last
There was another Rapid left to be covered, 'The Big Bang' and I was glad that this time none of us meddled though we were two paddles short, and managed to finish the session smoothly. There I was standing unscathed, only a severe sprain the right wrist owing to the vehement pull, and shivering allover. We climbed the muddy pathway heaving the raft along with us, which seemed more tedious than rafting as this time we had to climb uphill. But at the end of the journey, the sight of Alok standing with his jeep, was the most welcoming sight of the day. Shivering (in cold) and twitching (in pain) we made our way to the base camp amidst coffee estates and the green was shimmering in rain and sunlight. It was as though we had reached God's own Holiday destination.....I would like to come back here again and again and again, no matter how many times I go down that rapid and see Death face to face, because after that you start appreciating the trifles of life all the more!....
