Still its like i am in the mountains winding through the spiralling paths ..as i did not have much rest from coming back on from my big trip on Thursday ..for all ..i had been to Araku and spent the whole of the 'Happy new year' time there, cut off from all signals ( mobile, Internet,land line) until Wednesday evening.A unique way of celebration i should say..
I know what my friends are thinking ' this girl has come from such a rocking place and see how coolly she is reacting' ..Well the high spirits are just beneath all the cool talk. I have been thirsting to go to some place for a long time and this has really cooled me for now, and will remain with me for some time to come.The reason for that well look ....below
Umm..the beautiful Araku...
Day one : Started in train at 5 45 to find a compartment full of men..and no sight of a single female ..except for the RAC not confirmed people..Silently vowed that the next time i travel alone it s going to be in the 3 -tier AC. ..or any thing better .. Reached vizag at 7 in morning and had to wait for Friends who turned up..man ..3 hours late ...had to pay a fine of Rs100 for waiting so much time in the station..but had no idea that such a system was there in IRS ..anyways cannot complain as they reduced (!!!) my fine from 650 to 100 , seeing my tatkal ticket..pretty hilarious situation actually , though i was tensed for a few minutes then..But every experience is interesting in itself and i befriended a jharkhand girl who was to wait in station till 4 in evening..but man i had company at least for then and was not really bored..what i observed was some people took platform ticket , finished their morning ablutions there , would go out for sight seeing , come back at night and sleep in the waiting room itself..(yuck) but still save money .
Reached the resort 'Jungle bells ' by after noon . Snapshot of same..
the resort here was in the shape of a igloo..with near to perfect arrangements inside, it was relaxing , just the sight of the beds was enough to make one sleep like a log for 2 days. well , the evening followed with a walk in the winding paths , and 'dhingri' dance by the tribal people there, of course arranged by the resort and a decent dinner. And a night so pitch dark , that i thought if the guiding light s were switched off i would be lost in the adjoining jungle or may be stamp on a snake .
Day 2 & 3: Woke to the silence again of the forest around , strange that there should be so much silence in the woods , not a bird chirping around .Later came to know that their is a bird trial and for which you have to walk with a guide into the forest up on the mountains.But still , i did not catch sight of a single unique bird , actually not even a crow or a sparrow. you can have room service and breakfast which is complimentary in the mornings . And after a dozen snaps around , in side the resort , we started for araku.
Cant even now get the images , landscapes of the mountains around out of my eyes .Really beautiful , but it was quite similar to Shimoga to sringeri paththough that path was more crowded compared to here , here there were only tribals to see , with their unique way of tieing the saree. Actually asked a tribal woman on how to tie the saree, which she showed quite promptly , and it was interesting to see all the pleats near the shoulder . So you just wrap it around and pin/tie the pleats near the right shoulder .
The resort in araku again of APTDC , were the most spacious compared to the other two .
The new year eve was spent around a bonfire , warming , people around dancing to the numbers , there were three parties along separately around their bonfires. They made elaborate arrangements unlike us , and had a huge table spread out with liquor in different shaped bottles spread and fully 'mast' in their own world. The adults in this party were so absorbed that a few kids slowly slided into our group , to play around the fire , and if possible to get more closer.
As we did not have any arrangements done and this was just a plan 'right then' we happily stepped into their tunes and enjoyed as much as we could.But the chief part of it was spent in talking , laughing , musical chairs , i tell what no matter how old we get when it comes to playing like this we get into school shoes , (actually never out grew them) . But compared
to previous new year eves , this was quite refreshing and it was so cold that if i blow out air it was coming out as vapour , new thing to me .
I know how to maintain a bon fire now ,simple , keep a petrol bottle ready , the sticks should be preferable dry , but they get damp from the snow , some news papers , keep the sticks in 2 horizontal over two vertical like pattern initially. and when the inside sticks get burnt out shove them inside and put some petrol if the fire is getting thin, and to connect the fire between the sticks , add paper, in the centre . And when the clock stuck 12 , it was a different 12 for the three groups :-) , we shouted ' happy new year ' in most non chorus fashion.
The resort rooms were facing the mountains view and at 6 the next morning it was impossible to outline the mountains from the balcony. The view here below is at almost at 7 30 ..
One can faintly see the mountains view here ...and three small doggies cuddled into each other.
This snap was at 9 30 ..almost..
We started from araku in afternoon and by the time we stopped by at 'Chaaparai' in between it was almost a late afternoon.Chaaparai is a peaceful waterfall actually a water slide and you can sit there with legs in water .Not much of depth of course , but the sight of such a a thing in middle of dense forest excites everyone , and there we were throwing water on each other. Another thing was, i in my stupidity put my foot on a slippery rock and 'thud' fell on my right side with my 'Happy new year dress ' wet on the whole of right side.
Day 3 : Reached Anathagiri hills and i will cal this place a heaven for all 'honey mooners ' ..and for once i regretted coming to this place all alone . It was just a passing thought but still i warn every single person to go there only if you have a partner , its worth it..to hold hands and watch the mountains in silence ..the resort view here is another treat ..as the resorts are mounted on peak of one of the mountains and the restaurant is at the top point.and the ambiance of the resort was like a 3 star hotel , with most tasty food compared to other three ..and primarily the view of the mountains was breath taking ..I wont bore you all with more description of the view s and landscapes but still the trip was one good thing happened in 2007 ,it was almost like a partaking gift from 2007 .. :-)
1 comment:
Looks like the trip was a Sooper Dooper hit :) u should be going frequently on such trips and have a travel blog......it was a good description.....i felt i was almost there in those dark and silent woods....
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