HONEY VALLEY, KODAGU

    It is now 7:38 a.m. on my PC on a Friday morning and another weekend beckons already. I have kept my "Friday shoes" ready for work and am thinking of how quickly this week has passed ! On Sunday, my wife, her parents, her brother, his wife and their 1 and a half year old son went to Honey Valley, Kodagu. Their website is : http://honeyvalleyindia.in/ which gives some idea of the splendour of the place. I uploaded a few photos after returning and now my current challenge is whether I will complete the blog by 7:55 p.m. My own assessment: This is unlikely and almost impossible, knowing my tendency to ramble on and on in my blogs ! Note: Since I wrote those words, it is almost tomorrow already ! It is now 11:11 p.m. on the same Friday evening !

    Anyway on Sunday morning, we left at 7 a.m. in the morning in a Xylo taxi, hired at Rs. 9/- per km from Naik Travels. My brother-in-law (called B-i-l henceforth) and I took the last row. We opted for the NICE road to avoid the traffic and the poor road condition at Nayanadahalli. There was the usual weekend traffic on Mysore road. My wife's mother had prepared breakfast. We stopped near Ramanagara to eat it and drank coffee at Kadamba hotel on the way.

    By 10:15, we had taken the right turn after Srirangapatna towards KRS and headed towards Periyapatna. For a small stretch, the road condition was very bad, but it was manageable. We went via Siddapura to Virajpet. My B-i-l phoned Honey Valley to get the directions. With his son (called Junior henceforth ! ) around lisping our names and few words that he knew, our time was well occupied during the journey.

    It started raining. Even before we started, my wife's father was apprehensive about the monsoon and the fact that we may be locked into the home stay due to the rains. It appeared that his fears were coming true. Fortunately, the rain was not too heavy when we were in the car. Besides, we had four umbrellas, raincoats and jackets - just in case !

    At around 1 p.m. we reached Kabbinakad junction. We saw a narrow track of stones lead upwards. Our taxi had to be parked near the junction while we went in a four wheel drive jeep arranged by Honey Valley for 3.5 hours. The son of Honey Valley's proprietor also manages a guest house called Chingara Guest House, whose website is at http://www.chingaara.com/ for reference. Its manager joined us in the jeep. The manager showed us the Chingara falls and the guest house nearby and got down there.

    Our next stop was Honey Valley. There are several rooms here. Like all hill stations the bougainvillea and other flowers (anthurium and other breeds that I am unaware of) in the estate were bright and full.

The six of us were put up in the old house,  which was the estate owner Mr. Chengappa's previous dwelling. Six beds are accommodated easily and there are two clean bathrooms. We had to climb a few steps or ascend a mud track for a minute to get to the dining hall, which was again a previous dwelling of the family. Lunch stopped at 2:30 p.m. So our first priority was to freshen up and eat ! I relished the puris and the rajma among other dishes. After the sumptuous meal, we went back to our room.

    .... And stayed there ! The rain came down in torrents. It was surprisingly cold also for this time of the year, around 20 degrees Celsius. We were prepared: my B-i-l had purchased three packs of cards a couple of days ago. Resigned to waiting for the rain to stop, we played several rounds of rummy, most of which were won by my wife's father.

    By 4 p.m. or so, the intensity of the rain had reduced. My B-i-l suggested that we visit Chingara falls. I am an extremely reluctant trekker - at best ! My idea of a strenuous trek would be a 2 km walk in Bengaluru's Lalbagh ! When we came to Honey Valley in the jeep, we had to cross a stream. I was thankful then that I was in the jeep comfortably sitting inside, rather than on the trail struggling to cross the stream. Now here was my B-i-l saying that we cross the same stream, around 10 feet wide ! The lazy part of me suggested to use the rain as an excuse and stay put at the room ; the (slightly !) adventurous part of me urged me to go out and enjoy the walk to the falls. The adventurous part of me won the battle and my wife, my B-i-l and I set out downwards towards Chingara falls. My parents-in-law and B-i-l's wife stayed with Junior, who was asleep.

    The jeep track made for easy walking, actually. The downward slope also made it a comfortable walk. We had worn shower caps and jackets. Talking among ourselves and enjoying the coffee plants, the silver oaks and the spices in the estate, we proceeded towards the falls.

At the stream, my B-i-l suggested that we simply wade through the 12 feet wide stream. There were a few rocks on the side that we could have used as stepping stones, but I preferred to wade through. Rolling up my jeans, I happily sauntered through the 9 inches deep stream (or puddle !). My B-i-l is an experienced trekker. Knowing that it had rained for the last two days, he immediately asked us to stop and check for leeches. When I emerged and checked my feet, I found that it had spared me, but there was one leech on my wife's foot.

    We trudged along slowly after that, listening to the sounds of the waterfall progressively become louder. Soon, we came to an opening on the left that led to the falls, after having walked around 2 k.m. It was a mud track completely, with leaves strewn all over. My B-i-l led the way, my wife followed him and I came last, gingerly stepping on the slightly damp mud and hoping fervently that I wouldn't slip and fall ! Chingara falls is a private falls and as such it is rather clean. Due to the rain of two days, we did get to view the falls with some force. The sight was refreshing and the water pleasantly cold.

It was the cleanest falls that I had visited. We spent some time with our feet in the water and then headed back.

    My B-i-l gave my wife a stout stick to use as support. He also said that getting down was the tough part while going up was physically demanding, but easier. The stick was useful for my wife, particularly after her right slippers broke on our way back. We came back slower. This time, we went on the stones when we came to the stream. For a moment, I thought I would lose my balance on a stone, but the stick that my B-i-l extended provided stability. I was glad I didn't make a fool of myself !

    My wife narrated our adventure to the others when we reached back. We went to the dining hall and ordered hot pakoras to accompany the coffee. The pakoras were yummy ! By this time it was nearly 6 p.m. and after spending some time around the rooms, we went back to our room. In the room, Junior's antics kept us busy. We again played cards and also "dumb charades" before we headed for dinner.

    I slept reasonably well during the night. In the morning, it was a pleasure to wake up, open the curtains of the room window and see lush greenery fresh from the rain the previous day. We could also hear birds cooing and welcoming the new day. It was an overcast morning and soon, a drizzle started, which turned into a continuous downpour as the morning wore on.

    The previous day, we had collected a booklet on trekking trails. Encouraged by my walk, I decided to join my B-i-l in the trek that he definitely wanted to do. We ate breakfast at around 9:00 a.m. The dining hall contains an interesting collection of books. Outside the dining hall, I spotted a red looking bird that looked different from the usual birds that I know. Wearing umbrellas, shower caps and jackets, my B-i-l, his wife, my wife and I went to Dry Pond. Dry Pond is literally that - a crater which is around a kilometer away from the rooms.

At Dry Pond also, the view is superb, since the place is surrounded by hills on all sides. We decided to go towards the ridge. The views on the way inspired us to go further.

I urged myself and the ladies on, simply to get out of my "comfort zone". The ladies were more adventurous and took the lead in climbing up the ridge. We went over a snake hill and zig-zagged up the ridge on barely perceptible narrow foot trails. We climbed almost 70% up the ridge when we found that the trail stopped and there were only rocks to be climbed. My B-i-l advised that while we could climb up, getting down would be tricky. The trail could also be slippery. So, we decided to stop and savoured our ascent for a couple of minutes and then began our downwards trek back to Dry Pond.

    A few ants bit me when I stepped on them on the ground. My B-i-l's wife pointed out a 6 inch long centipede (or millipede). We also saw fresh mushrooms near the Dry Pond. We met another couple from Bengaluru who had explored another trail. They said that they saw a herd of domesticated cattle head our way, towards the ridge. We had seen only a single cow. We were back at our room by 11:30 p.m. or so, tired but refreshed !

    I started reading "The immortals of Meluha", which I had purchased to read in case we were left in the room due to the rain. I like fantasy stories like "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy a lot. "The Immortals of Meluha" kept me engrossed for more than an hour while the rest of our trekking gang got ready. I feel that Amish Tripathi has created a world that could well have existed. Seated on the room ledge in the sit, reading the book, I enjoyed the time to myself as much as the sights and views seen during the trek. It was while I was reading the book that I noticed a leech entwined around my third toe. I had a tough time taking it out. Much to my wife's worry, the bleeding lasted for a few minutes. It stopped eventually. I also had another two leeches bite during my walks. It looked like the monsoon rains brought most of the leeches out. The spot where the leech bit became warmer later, but otherwise there was no sensation during the time the leech bit.

    My B-i-l and his wife felt that Junior was left constrained in the room since there were few activities for kids in Honey Valley. They visited Chingara Guest House before lunch. My wife and I played badminton for some time. When they returned, they said that they had arranged for us to move to a room in Chingara Guest House that night.

    I bathed and then we ate lunch. We took photos of our rooms and settled the Honey Valley bill. At around 3:30 p.m. the jeep came and we left for Chingara Guest House. The Guest House is a more professional establishment. There was a more generous reception cum dining area, a badminton court, benches in front of the guest house and covered area for young children to play. There were also indoor games like chess and carrom.

    We unpacked our luggage and took the jeep to Chingara falls. The jeep took us to a gate through which we could directly view the falls. Thus, even my wife's parents and Junior could see the falls. After returning, we played badminton and sat on the benches in Chingara Guest House. In the evening, we met another family in the Guest House. The child there was the same age as Junior. Watching the two of them attempt to play made for good viewing while we drank coffee.

    Junior petted Kunti, the friendly dog named after the Mahabharata queen. We learnt that there was also a dog named Ghatotkacha, named after Bhima's son, probably due to the size of the dog. I only wonder how they addressed him : "Ghatotkacha, sit here. SIT DOWN, Ghatotkacha", that sounds like quite a mouthful ! The guest house also has dogs moving to and from Honey Valley called Blackie, Brownie and the oldest, Julie. I think Julie stays now only at Honey Valley. There was also a donkey couple called Shiva and Leela at Chingara Guest House ! Home stays have dogs most of the time, usually friendly stray dogs. I remember a dog called Jimmy in another home stay in Mandagadde, but seeing donkeys here was unusual.

    We played carrom for some time and then returned back to rummy. We ate dinner at around 9:00 p.m. and soon settled for the night. The room had a double bed and a stair case in the room that led to two beds at a higher level. I suppose I could call it a duplex, but that sounds too grand ! Any way, the beds and the sheets were comfortable. I had a good night's sleep after reading more of the book.

    The next day was bright and clear.

My B-i-l lamented the fact that the previous day was not like this ! We went for a morning walk around the guest house. As we got ready turn by turn, we had time to take a few photos. 

After that, we ate breakfast, settled our bill and waited for the jeep to come.

    From Honey Valley, we returned via Madikeri. We visited Raja's Seat in Madikeri and then went to Bylekuppe. The grandeur of the Tibetan idols is always a sight to behold.

We ate lunch at Kushalnagara and returned, drinking coffee at Kamath Lokaruchi.

    My wife and I reached home at 7 p.m. As I write these words, what stays in my head is the sight of the bright flowers and the trees fresh after the rains had fallen. I will use the memories of those sights to end this blog.