Purpose of the Trip
Then : "We should cover as many places as possible"
Now : "We should just relax and "Chill"!!"
Frequency of trips
Then : "How about this week? We didn't go anywhere last week"
Now : "We went only 2 months back na"
Planning for the trip
Then : Detailed planning by Date,Time,From,Destination,Distance,Duration of journey,Reach by what time, Stay for how many hrs etc
Now : "We will decide the itinerary on the fly"
Kind of stay
Then : "Resorts? Isn't it for honeymooners? Anyway not for travellers like us. We just need a bed to sleep in the night"
Now : "Is the place good enough to relax? What about the ambiance? We might be spending the entire day there"
Room rent
Then : Rs. 500/- per room to be shared by 2-3 people
Now : Rs. 1500-2000/- per Head per day
Food
Then : Anything will do
Now : Food is the highlight
Treks
Then : "Tough trek? Yeh it's a challenge. We'll do it."
Now : "Moderate trek? Nope I can't manage"
Camera
Then : Film PoS , Film SLR
Now : DSLR , Digital PoS
No. Of Photos
Then : Snaps from 2-5 film rolls per head all of which were shared with everyone
Now : 300-5000 snaps in total out of which only 10-20 percent will be shared
If you are wondering what is it all about, it's just a peek into how our "Travel gang" transformed over the years. This gang consists of a group of seasoned travellers most of us from the same office. This "special interest group" was formed way back in 2003 in a training room as a result of our struggle to fight sleep ;) The first successful trip was in 2003 Oct to Wayanad with 10 members and there was not a single person in the group who knew everyone else!! That trip was a huge success in spite of the diverse group and troubles we had with the TT and it's driver.. There was no looking back after that. The gang continued it's journey almost every other weekend and covered almost all places in and around Bangalore most of them multiple times. Of course apart from the "core group" there were some additions and subtractions for each of the trips. Over the course of time the core group also expanded and the initial core members passed the baton (organising part) to some of the new entrants who managed to break the South India territory and took the gang to the top of the world (Leh).
But of late the frequency of the trips has came down drastically. It took us almost 4 months to plan for a trip after the Sikkim Trip that happened in April.. People who know us will certify that this indeed is a very long gap ;) In the last few trips some or other used to be missing and so the goal for this trip was to make sure that everyone could make it.. Finally after much discussions and more discussions , the gang - all the 8 of us - went to Nagarhole this weekend. It was a good trip and we had fun royally. But if you ask me what were the highlights of the trip I have to say "Dumb charades" :P Though we went for a futile safari, most of the trip was spend in the homestay itself which was really wonderful. We have stayed in 3-4 other homestays in Coorg, but this one is really nice . This house is in the midst of a 50 acre coffee estate behind Brahmagiri hills. We took a stroll in the green coffee plantations, walked along the paddy fields , played in the stream flowing behind the estate and devoured the mouthwatering dishes.. But alas all good things come to an end.. Before we realized it, our precious two days in those beautiful vistas came to a close and we were back in the urban rut yet again.. :(
9 comments:
DCM...snappppppppppssssss share mmmmmmmaddiiiiiiii.....don forget ur ex-team ppl :)
:))
I like the introduction :)
Very creative :)
@ Anu : Yeh sure. But I didn't have a cam. So I should wait for the others to share first :)
@ Richy : Thank you :) Just felt like comparing the first trip with this one.. We were only lazing around this time.. ;)
thats quite a big gang..My travel bunch is small 4-5..and we cover all the places in bike..the wayanad trip was the best i would say....
Sikkim sounds quite interesting..would love to see that place!!
Then: Used to take around 4 hour (incl. break) to reach Mysore
Now: last week, it took us around 2hr
Places have changed too, first time in wayanad, the place was so beautiful, It was an unexplored paradise
It was so untouched that during the visit to Suchipara, it took us almost 2 hours to reach the falls after parking the car.
It was very slippery after heavy rains.
Next time, it took us just 10 minutes. The entire path was well covered with granite!
Good or bad, depends on ur taste...i liked it as it was before.
Crossing Kuruva was in a bamboo raft :), next time it was in a motor boat :(
Hope that places like Ladakh, Sarchu, Nubra, Rothang don't change much in the name of luxury.....if it does, it will never be the same again...
hey the intro is damn good!! :)
Photos share maaDi.. Something new will be there in your photography too. :)
The problem: Less Time
The solution: Dont care about leaves :-P he he
Nice one dhanya! its the spending power that really takes the fun out of the trips. Its so much of fun when you have a small budget and travel in low cost modes of transport. How about travelling on top of a bus to travelling in an innova? ;)
Photography .. yeah! some charm is lost, but not all.. the power of imagination in hands. Too much technology can spoil the game :-)
The thrill lies in having an ordinary cam and taking extraordinary pictures..
Nice post Dhanya! Continue madi travellogues, its feels so much nice to read them.. :-)
@ Mathew : Yen gang is big as it evolved over the years. But it's not that all will make it for all the trips. Mostly it is 4-5 per trip. and yeah Sikkim is a great place :)
@ Pinto : So true. I also liked it as the way it was - the unexplored paradise. But things are changing :(
@ Sadhana : Think I should ask Ashwin for a new machine only to store the snaps :P
@ Bhatta : You know I don't care abt leaves ;) Both modes of travel has it's own pro's n cons. If you have the time, it's better to take the local transport and enjoy the experiences as well. I remember our first north kerala trip. But if you don't have the luxury of time it's better to have your own vehicle. That gives you lots of flexibility. And for the photography I always belive in "Camera's don't take photographs, people do " ;)
Nice introduction ;)
Think it is time for me to search for a new group. You ppl are getting old much faster than I could manage myself ;)
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