Kodachadri...an eye opener...

 “Too often. . .I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen.”

Journey to Kodachadri

 The Month was July and the date was 23^rd (of 2010) I was pursuing my MBA, stepping into 3^rd semester… college had not yet begun and I was bored…by bored I mean BORED…

So I decided to go for a trip… went to the internet searched for some places where I can go… and found Kodachadri as a nice place..so asked couple of friends whether they were interested to go…but they were in their own world and din want to go… so I decided to go alone..

I packed few stuff and started the journey… went to Mangalore bus stop at 6:30 in the morning…reached there at 8. There was a bus to Shimoga at 8:30 so went and booked the ticket immediately…

Bought something to eat and boarded the bus.. was listening to music and munching on few food items… the bus left at 8:30 AM… the journey was good went through agumbe was lost in the hills and the beauty.. (Sometimes I wonder why we don appreciate god for his creation and all we wanna do is work)

It was a good journey to Shimoga… after 5 hours I reached(am writing this after 2 years so kindly bear with me if the details are not precise)..

When I reached Shimoga the time was 1:30 PM the first thing I did after I got down from the bus was, asking the conductor about Kodachadri and how to commute till there..

The conductor took time and explained that there are 2 ways one is wait for a bus which drops u to the trek point (it’ll come at 2:30 pm) and second one is hire a jeep which will drop you to the trek spot.(problem is the jeep charges 800 rs). So I found the bus idea better, so waited for the bus and boarded once it came..

Got down at the point and saw that there was no one but me there…and started walking into the Jungle there were Jeep tracks, so thought that if I had hired the Jeep would’ve lost the fun…

King of the Jungle :-)

When I was walking I saw an Oriental giant squirrel (golden brown tail) could not take a pic as it was a glimpse and I din find it again although I searched for a while…

As I walked further I had a strange feeling me alone in the jungle no one to talk to and stuff..

Well after a while I heard a bunch of monkeys fighting at a close distance… for a moment I got scared as I’d heard there are flesh eating baboons in the jungle… so I walked silently without making noise… and nothing happened :-)

I walked a lot…. Saw couple of jeeps en-route.. but felt I did a better job walking…bcoz in the jeep it wouldn be fun per se..

Finally after a long time I reached the trek start point.. there was a tiffin spot.. I went and asked him the distance I’d walked.. the shopkeeper informed that the distance from the bus stop to the guesthouse on the peak was 11 kms and from his shop to the guesthouse was 6 kms… So I’d walked almost 5 kms…Phew… but it was fun I tell ya..

Well after drinking water and filling up my bottle began walking…it was a decent trek…moderate u might say.. was a little moist so the leeches were ready to attack :-) After the tiffin spot I found many people returning from the trek as it was almost 4 PM… most of them were from Kerala (they spoke Malayalam) most of the time I din understand so simply nodded along and smiled :-) (believe me it works).

Lonely Tree!!!

Well I was walking continuously as I had to reach before the light disappears.. I found a tree a lonely tree…The resemblance was uncanny :-) I saw myself when I saw the tree..

Well I walked ahead and saw a cute girl walking towards me with a surprised look on her face… She came upto me and started speaking aggressive Malayalam…did not understand much but buy her expression and worried look guessed that she was worried as to when I’ll trek and return as it was almost 5PM and soon it’ll get dark… so I replied “ Malayalam ariyile” listening to that she burst out with laughter… I din get it…(but later when I returned from the trip and asked a friend she told me that I asked her if you don’t know Malayalam…I got the joke then, asking a mallu if u don’t know Malayalam!!! lol)

Well after an amazing laugh she bid farewell and left… I started walking faster as the time was almost eating up...

After a long journey I finally reached the peak.. it was amazing.. I saw a temple and asked shelter there but they were scared to let a person alone, as there were cases of suicides.. so I had to stay in the guesthouse… when I reached there I felt that i can finally rest and continue tomorrow peacefully…little did I know whats coming ahead…

Guest house (pic clicked in the morning)

I booked the guest house and the caretaker gave me a mat and a blanket… he took me to show the guesthouse…and there it was..wow.. I’ve never seen anything like that..old worn out house… real scary…

Well it was dark soon…and I went to chat with the caretaker as I was bored… the caretaker was already asleep…I looked at the time it was 7:30 PM….i was like people do sleep very early :-)

Well I was bored dunno what to do so sat out in the cold chilly weather.. looking at the sky… talking to the sky..asking  few questions running in my mind.. When you are bored I guess even time gets bored so it moves very slow..

the room and a mat...

I had a tough time passing  time.. so I went and lied down thinking I’ll fall asleep… but it took a long time before I fell asleep.. but soon I slept like a baby..

Itsy Bitsy Spider... got into my pants

In my sleep I felt a hand feeling my thighs… I suddenly remembered that am all alone and who’d it be… I opened my eyes and saw there was no one but I still felt something moving.. I jumped up and started dancing ( believe me I put in lot of amazing break dance moves), and when I did that.. something fell and ran towards the wall I took my mobile and captured an image…it was a spider…huge spider in my pants…damn.. I was still under shock so couldn sleep..

It was 01:30 Am and not feeling sleepy.. so I went out..it was cold… so came back and rolled myself in the blanket.. I just sat on the mat and without knowing what to do started exercising :-) ya I do that wen I get bored :-)

So I did my regular Push-ups and sit ups etc and sat quite again…saw the time.. it was 2:30…well this is when things got freaky…

I suddenly heard the creaking sound of the door… the door when closing and opening makes a weird creaking noise I heard that… I got goosebumps… I was like where was the sound till now? Was I fast asleep when there was that noise? I had absolutely no idea.. I did what others would feel best “IGNORE”

After a while around 3 AM I heard anklet sounds….i frankly don’t know whether it was my imagination or actual sound.. I din have the courage to go out and check.. I told myself I’ll check it in the morning…

Low visibility

I couldn't sleep..the sound of the wind was adding to my miseries… well I just sat and starred at the door..without knowing what to do… I sat like that for almost 1 and a half hours and fell asleep…. Got up at 6:30AM  and rushed outside to check which door made the sound…found out that there was a door with the creaky sound.. din worry much packed and got set to travel back…

I saw that the mist was covering the mountain.. the visibility was bad… so waited till the mist reduced… found a person who was also planning on trekking down…

Finally a leech got what it wanted...

He knew only Malayalam so couldn't communicate well…although he got annoying when he started wasting my time by chatting with each and every passer-by…dam I felt like pushing him…don’t worry din do it :-)

So we reach very late and finally meet the shopkeeper.. I eat puttu (kerala dish) and leave that friend I came with and start walking… when I reached the bus stop where I got down and began this wonderful journey.. I found out that buses are not frequent…. So started walking…. It mentioned 11 kms to Kollur the place I had to board bus to mangalore..

The lift in a lorry :-)

I walked for almost an hour and then saw a lorry requested for a lift… He was happy to drop me… I reached Kollur in no time and boarded Mangalore bus…

Met a friend: Name-"Slow Joe"

The journey was awesome when I think about that night I still get goosebumps…

Thanks for your precious time…..