What a year 2020 had been! Initially, I wanted to spring some inspiration on you guys by saying some positive words and emphasizing on the lessons it taught us but that's not me. 2020 sucked.
I realized the true meaning of the word 'wanderlust' in 2020. All year long I lusted and longed to travel. Go camping or set off on a trek. I wished, even pleaded with the universe for the lockdown to be over so that I could be with the mountains. Take a big puff of fresh air, enjoy some falls, and soak in the greenery. But, to my fury, it remained arrogant. Arrogant than Arjun Reddy. Then, to everybody's joy, it decided to loosen its shackles a bit to allow travel but not before introducing a more terrifying threat for 2021. I am of course talking about the new mutant strain of Covid. It's like a fricking Jumanji movie.
Let's come to the trip part. For the last 3 years, I have gone on a camping or a trekking trip to celebrate the birth of a new year. Thankfully, this year too, I got to go on a camping trip to Thekkady. However, this time, it was more to cheer the end of 2020 than to celebrate 2021.
I decided to go with 'Exotic Camp adventures' as I had never travelled with them before. It wasn't a solo trip this time as 2 of my friends from my Toastmasters club (Chennai Speakers Forum) also accompanied me.
Dec 30 (Day 0)
We met the organizers Vijay and Joseph at the A2B restaurant near Koyambedu metro around 8 p.m. It'd be an understatement to say they had a little bromance going on. They were jovial, fun and kept roasting each other at every turn. By the time we finished our dinner we had gotten comfortable to the point where we joined in on the banter too. The remarkably short amount of time it took for us to get comfortable around each other showed the experience of those guys.
The van journey was typical to every other trip I had taken before. Seat-dancing to fast beat songs, discussing and roasting the movies, enjoying the drizzling rain in peace, and repeat. Bye-bye sleep.
Dec 31 (Day 1)
I think I slept a little because when I woke up around 6:30 I wondered what happened to 4, 5 and 6'o clocks. We had entered Kerala and the van was taking us on a scenic route. Just a short distance after we started climbing the hill the scenario changed. The road vanished, the trees vanished, and all the vehicles in the front vanished as mist engulfed the surroundings. It was like travelling through the clouds only we were on a road. I have no idea what the driver saw through the ghostly mist but he must've seen enough for he swerved effortlessly along the road, punching the brakes when necessary. Those few minutes were an adventure in and of itself. After a while, the mists dissolved giving us a gorgeous view of the scenery. But then, it enveloped us again and for the second time, our adrenaline kicked in.
After the thrilling ride we stopped at Kumily, got refreshed and had our breakfast. Our first stop was the Periyar Tiger Reserve. After signing the forms indemnifying the forest officials in case of any death (you know, the usual) we bravely ventured into the forest.
Leech attacks at Periyar Tiger Reserve
The organizers warned us that there would be leeches in the forest but I didn't realize that would be a gross understatement. Luckily, we took salt packets with us. No sooner did we switch from the road to the forest path did the leeches began attacking. The bloodsuckers started climbing on our shoes trying to get some skin. Almost everybody grabbed sticks and began fending off the leeches from their shoes.
We crossed the forest not looking ahead in the hopes to see some animals but looking down to spot leeches. We did manage to see some Sambar deers though. Throughout the forest path there were ferocious attacks between us and the leeches.
Some of them had won. Once we crossed the forest and returned to the road we removed our socks and shoes to check if any of the leeches managed to get on our skin. And, they had. Despite our preventive measures. I had a couple of them on my legs and I learned we could remove them with sanitizers! Many people had at least one grabbing hold of their legs, sucking the blood peacefully.
Then, we took a leisurely stroll along the road clicking pictures. There were mild showers at times, but the drizzling rain only elevated the beauty and the tranquility of the forest. Then we came upon the lake and feasted our eyes on its serene beauty. More photos, and finally we bid adieu to the forest after a nice group picture.
The Exotic Campsite
The van went into some questionable roads on its way to the campsite. But finally there it was! Like a gateway into paradise. It looked as if someone had painted the entire place green. It was a spectacular sight.
The entrance was flanked by hedges on both sides with flower pots neatly stacked alongside them. Then, to the left, it opened up into a beautiful garden with a pool. The end of the garden provided a killer view which would captivate you forever. Next to the garden was the hosts' house. It was magnificent surrounded by many different varieties of plants. On the right was the dining area and another stunning garden. More plants, more flowers with names specified next to every plant variety. The place felt bewitching. There was also provision for bird feeding as different species of birds came to visit the site. (Why wouldn't they? It's awesome!) Bird watching was an activity there! (Just see the video of the place)
Next to the house was I guess the guest house where we refreshed. By the time the lunch was ready I was starving. Every single food item was delicious and I ate more than my fill. I asked the organizer what the next plan was and he said, 'Chill bro'.
After a lot of 'just chilling' we went to put up the tents. The tent site was right near the cliff. So, you'd wake up to a breathtaking view of the clouds and mountains from the tent. Trust me, it would leave you awestruck!
Then, it was time for bird watching. We were lucky to witness two rare species of birds. (I don't remember the name though. But Yunis will tell recite every single detail about it.)
Then came snack time. Delicious bajjis, coffee/tea were heavenly to the fricking cold winds blasting our face.
Dinner, Ghost stories and finally, 'a happy New Year'
After some more chilling, there was an intro session. Yunis, one of the organizers, had been a forest officer before and he recalled an incident when an elephant had gone on a killing rampage, mercilessly killing other elephants, buffaloes and humans. His team had been sent to track and capture/kill the beast. After several days of tracking, when they finally locked in, the elephant attacked them and after miraculously escaping certain death they managed to subdue it. As I sat there, listening intently, the story sent chills down my spine.
But thankfully, dinner was ready by then. However, before dinner, we took a tour of the host's museum. Sorry, the house. To my eyes though, it was a mini-museum. Extensive collection of paintings created by Mrs. host- canvas, oil, and 3D paintings filled their home. They also had a vast collection of historical weapons and equipment used by the Indian soldiers and engineers. Then a giant bookshelf with diverse categories of books including Tinkle collection. Even the architecture of the building was a bit unique as they explained about the design. I was astonished by the fact they pursued different interests with fierce passion. Then, settling around the campfire, we gobbled down the parotta and gravy, and as icing on the cake they brought us ice-cream!
Then, 8 of us took a short walk, with only the moon lighting the path, and arrived at what seemed an abandoned house. Then began the ghost stories. Everyone shared an incident where they had been terribly scared and all the incidents were pretty frightening to even hear about them.
2020 was minutes away from ending. We opened the cake, cut it, and ravaged it and celebrated the birth of 2021 in the hopes that it would fulfil the things we wished for in 2020.
Stay tuned for Day 2!
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