Some People make you Laugh a little Louder..
Smile a little Brighter..
And Make your Life a lot Better..!!

As we go forward with our lives, we come across a lot of people, but we don’t get along and write the next line of our story with everyone. We all do have a handful of people with whom we bond as our own kinsfolk. What is life if you do not pack your bags and spend a day or two with them? So there we went —> off to Chikmagalur.

For the Mountains were calling and this time, we all had to go 🙂

We started our Road Trip around Friday Noon from Bangalore and the only destination on the map for the day was Coffee Nest Homestay. As dusk arrived and daylight was slowly slipping into the horizon, we left the city and hit the highways towards Chikmagalur, those landscapes on the way sure does tell the story of what we miss in the city. That beauty, that calm and still life, that sounds of nature, that smell of fresh wind, and above everything the pure laughter of my friends around, I took it all in, for this is what I missed the most in life.

We did have our own escapade in finding our way to Coffee Nest  homestay, the steep hill roads, complete darkness, no cellphone network, zero knowledge of where the hell the homestay was located and of course to add spice, a few mountain ghost stories made the drive a total roller coaster.

Situated in the middle of mountains, our homestay was a warm and beautiful place to stay.  Once we settled in, the campfire was up, and we huddled around with drinks and delicious dinner. Just like the birds coming back to the nest after a long day, we snuggled around in the middle of the mountains, with the warmth of the burning fire. As we started getting cozy, everyone had a story to tell, for campfire nights are the best and everyone becomes a storyteller. We unwinded, we laughed, we shared, we cared, we loved, we bonded and that is how TEN turned into ONE.

 

Beneath the star studded sky..
With the crackling of fire..
Amidst the whistling tunes of nature..
Another day passes..
The night turned into a beautiful Morning..
With friends who turned into Family..
And I was born again..!!

It was more than blissful and I was very much grateful, when I grew an year older with the laugher and love of my friends. 

In the early hours of morning, in harmony with nature we did go quite to catch a few hours of sleep, as the daylight welcomed us, we started to Jhari Falls and what awaited was a bit of bumpy ride. But with friends everything is fun, we had a backbreaking drive down the mountain roads, 11 in one jeep and bumpy roads, I needn’t say more, but the drive was worth the fabulous view that awaited us.

Around Noon, after ingesting some coffee, omlet and certain foods with no names in all the small eateries, we headed to the sprawling hills of Baba Budan giri, if you are a free spirited soul, seeing the lush hillside would make you run like a gazelle. Just one small fruit cart and the crunchy golden grass on the rolling mountains with a few cows gives a different sight to the eye like a picture straight out of an album, untouched by humans. The world is such a beautiful place and once in a while to remind yourself about it, go to a hill top and devour the view.  Also I should say, driving in the steep mountain roads more or less turns out to be an adventure sport.

When the moon started peeping, we were back to our homestay and we settled down to have fun with some games. We did start with Cricket and when the campfire started gleaming, we moved to Mafia. I should say the City never went to sleep the whole night, laughter and fun was never ending until early morning.  

As a surprise to all of us, after 2 hours of sleep, before the sun even considered coming up, we were up and made our way to Mullayanagiri, the highest peak in Karnataka. Early Morning trek on the hills was out of the world experience as we climbed up the mountain in the dark amidst clouds and cold air. With such a fabulous view on top of the hill, God made it a humble abode for himself, there was a small temple and may be God exists in such places after running away from humankind. 😉

As the cold air on the misty mountains called out the sun..
From the deep horizon, there he was slow and steady..
And in few minutes he lit the whole sky..
With its warmth and beauty..!!

On our way back was our divine stop for our trip, no surprises there, we visited Chennakeshava Temple, Belur as our final destination of our Road Trip, the Architectural excellence Of Hoysala Empire.

 

With a bag of memories, we returned to Bangalore at the end of the day. It was a short weekend getaway but when you see mountains around with all shades of greenery, you come back as a different person, a beautiful one just like the place you have been to isn’t it ??

Travel Not To Escape Life But For Life Not To Escape You..!!