Two weeks ago, a dozen of us headed out for a trip to Coorg. Quite a varied bunch. We had amongst us a marketing head honco, Communications Manager, Teacher, Software Guy, Traveller, Pro-photographer, Radio Jockey & Lawyer. It’s the diversity of characters that I loved. The only common thread that connected all of us was that we were all bloggers and travel lovers.
Since we all had to fly in from Chennai, Bombay and Delhi, we chose the Bangalore Airport as rendezvous. Once all of us gathered together, we huddled up in a van and headed on our 7 hour journey to Coorg. Most of the gang didn’t know each other but the holiday spirit helped break ice real quickly.
Having had an insignificant breakfast on the plane, I was hungry. So were a few others but our bangalore friends asked us to hold our appetite until we made the 40 km journey outside of Bangalore for a hotel called Kamat’s. It’s a mangalorean specialty restaurant and it absolutely stood up to the hype and made it worth the wait. We gorged.
It was nightfall by the time we reached the Club Mahindra Resort and had a traditional welcome. The welcome drinks were served and our bags were whisked away in an electric vehicle to our rooms.
The flower arrangements at a small pond amidst the wood carved lobby was a photographer’s delight.
The rooms clearly exceeded my expectation. The room was far bigger than any hotel room that I had stayed in. And much later, I came to know that it’s the smallest category we had stayed in, the Studio. I can only imagine what the other villas looked like. The wooden floors, lovely view from the balcony, the attention to minor details stood apart.
On the first night, we witnessed a traditional dance performance from local coorgi women.
…followed by performance from the Coorgi men.
It’s a snap that I had taken and I love it. I didn’t have my camera and that helped me experiment with cameras from other folks.
The early morning views were to die for. Here’s one atop the highest point in the resort which had a mega chess board.
We had really good guitarists and singers amongst the bunch. After downing enough alcohol, the mistakes in chords and pitches didn’t matter. It took be back to my college day memories.
I must’ve put on atleast a couple of kilos in the two days that I was there. Every meal had different menu and we were really well fed.
The best part of the breakfast was the view. The other side of the building was a drop and it felt like we were afloat amongst the trees.
Our guide was appropriately named ‘Joy’ and boy, were we glad to have him around. The guy had a nice sense of humour and amazing level of enthusiasm. Club Mahindra had worked out a real packed schedule for the three days we were in. Someone out there had done their homework really well.
Sqatting by the Cauvery.
Ever had a feeling your heart was about to burst? Well, I had after a couple of us made a bravado decision to run up the 300 odd steps to a hill near Tala Cauvery in one single burst. I was the first to reach the top, which in a a way was a good thing. I must’ve rolled over in pain trying to assuage the acute burning sensation in my heart. By the time the others caught up, I had time to recover and put on my macho face.
The really cold pool isn’t for the faint hearted. Once we braved the first entry into the pool (the smartest way is to just jump in), we had good fun playing water polo.
I had to return two days earlier to catch my trip to Amsterdam. Reading other’s travelogue and looking at the pictures, it looks like I missed quite a bit. More travelogues…
Arun Nair : The key guy from Club Mahindra is a new found blog enthusiast. Inspired enough to start his new blog and he starts off with a bang on his Coorg travel tales.
Mridula : Hey, teachers are supposed to be docile types, right. Wrong? She made mince-meat of all of us at the game of table tennis. Also a travel freak.
Sudhir Syal : The motormouth and clearly the guy who got away pulling everyone’s legs. The fun guy. A fun travelogue to read.
Anil: What kind of a guy quits software to join advertising? Answer: The interesting and creative type of guy. And his travelogue reflects just that.
Srinidhi : The most vociferous critic of Club Mahindra gets a chance to experience the resort for himself. Quite interesting to read his take.
Anita Bora: The chronic traveller is yet to put her travelogue up. Just a small teaser up. Should be worth the wait, much like the Kamat hotel that she recommended.
Dev Amritesh : My friend from college who now heads marketing at Dominos Pizza. Has the most ‘I care a damn’ attitude in expressing his honest views. Nice read.
And yep, don’t miss the full catalogue of photos taken by the gang from which I shamelessly lifted all the photos mentioned here. Not surprisingly, most folks had high end Nikon and Canon cameras, befitting their tag of travelbugs.
