Friday was hectic as usual..But then I had something to look forward to...our team was touring Kodaikanal, which is a picturesque hill station in the South...The climate was promising to remain good, the air was charged with positivity...the expectation of a great weekend lay ahead...

8.30 it was when the last of our team mates wound up withi his call to US, but still no sign of the Bus..another half an hour spent speculating about the ETA at Kodai. The Bus finally found it convenient to make an appearance by 9. By 10, after a round of pickup, we were on our way.

Friday was just fading away, and talks of code written and trackers sent that day were floating around...Within an hour, sleep was catching up, eyelids were drowsy, shoulders were drooping...Another long week was on its way out... It was then that the fun really started. A couple of us young bloods found it hard to digest that we were here to sleep. Every 10 minutes the silence was shattered by riotous sounds, loud enough to keep a charging herd of elephants at bay. Until about 1, this exercise continued... Curses could be heard flying here and there...Luckily we are not in the world of Harry Potter. By about 1 am, even the most energetic found it better to surrender to the wonderful all encompassing feeling..no of coz am not talking abt Love...its sleep..yeah what else...

The sleep was short-term though. We woke up to a deadly calm surrounding us, and realized that our Bus had punctured one of its tyres...What rotten luck. One hour was spend trying to find a shop to fix it. Right from the moment the bus started, many of us had a fleeting feeling that all was not well, and now our worst fears materialised...After the puncture came another GREAT news..the vehicle would go no faster than 60kmph. Motorcycles overtook us and we watched in disbelief as the driver stopped the vehicle to let others pass by.

17 hours of rickety driving later, we finally arrived at our destination, satisifed that we were still in one piece. The accomodation was out-standing. It was a welcome change in a tour filled with mishaps. The ambience was superb, and more so was the food. All of us gave in to the lust for food, and by the time we were finished, our stomachs resembled footballs...(oh yeah u cud say i was watching a lot of the world cup)

We may have succumbed to that wonderful thing called sleep again, but for our dearest friend Antony suggesting that we go for a trek. Yeah, the idea sounded dumb, especially after a sumptous feast, but there it was...One km was the distance originally mentioned. Oh yeah, as you already figured it out, it was much much more...Statistics were to reveal later that we trekked 17kms both ways. It is interesting how u miss out a figure sometimes...

It was quite late by the time we reached the destination, and our journey back was a once in a lifetime affair. We were in the middle of a forest (city dwellers call even a score of trees a forest, but this was the real thing), with the night settling; news that a herd of bison was prowling around added to the hyperbole...The most important thing we learnt off this adventure was that Nokia phones with camera have a powerful flash feature. Yes, you guessed rite. That was our torch, our leading light.

By the time we retuned, (the bison herd was for real, but did not create any worries-only because they were too far away) it was too late for further adventure. But this was the only night we had to organize a camp fire, which we did. The original plan was to cook over the fire and eat, but then with food, it is better not to take too many risks. The team sat around the fire and a fierce round of Antakshari followed...It almost ended up in a free-for-all, but for the intimation that another feast had been setup...


Dinner Time!!!...Hmm..it was growing to be a habit now. The trek had famished us all, but with it had brought in a ravenous apetite. Needless to say, the food vanished in no time...A good measure of fruit salad with icrecream saw us signing off with a flourish...

Again, the real party started at night. People who were not tired, because of the "Fire in the belly", partied late into the night. A game of cards with 6 people, was going on. Elsewhere, people were performing "monoacts"...It is interesting that such copious amounts of dialogues can be had for almost nothing..(err, well, a little)...

I saw Sunday Morning at 6.30 am. I dont see working days at these hours, and was surprised how a tour can tickle your bilogical clock to press the alarms at optimum times. By the time the entire team got ready, it was 9 am. Breakfast at 9, did i say delicious, was followed by checking out of the guest house, settling of bills and writing a than you note to the manager.

This day was devoted to sight seeing. We were about to see why Kodai was one of the best hill stations in the country. The climate was at its best. No rains, a perfect sunny day. We trekked pine forests, floated across the lake in boats, cycled its perimeter and finally shopped.......Righto, Shopping!!! What tour without shopping. Many people infact carried home more than what they brought.

When we finally started our journey back, it was 4.30pm. 12 hours later, we were back to where it all started. The honeymoon had ended; but all made sure that it was great while it lasted. Earlier, in the context of shopping, i said "Many people infact carried home more than what they brought." I would refine it to say "All people carried home more than what they brought"...This tour has helped us foster better relations and build new ones, meet with people whom we never knew existed, helped us understand others better and above all, bonded us together in a wonderful feeling of togetherness, of team spirit...which was the essence of the entire tour...

Everybody played a part in making it a grand success, but it would be grave injustice if i donot single out a few names..
Antony with his indomitable spirit, Aromal with his "cool as a cucumber" attitude and Sojan with a real display of leadership have done a wonderful job. I may have missed out a few names, but that is purely un-intentional. The success of this has me eagerly waiting for the next. I hope the entire team can participate, next time around.