Mar 29-30, 2014 – Ooty & Coonoor, Tamil Nadu, India 🚌🧳🌳 (Part 1)

Where do I start with this?

Ok! Let me introduce the group first. Back in my Cognizant days, we had a group called M.A.H.A.N. It doesn’t take a genius 🧠 to figure out those were the initials of our names. We were a fun bunch of people 👨👩👨👩👩. Making fun of each other, laugh at each other’s stupid jokes, and what not. Basically, having a good time as all of us just started with our first job straight outta college. 💻

If I remember correctly, we started planning this trip, because, one of the members of the M.A.H.A.N. group relocated to Hyderabad 😥 and this was a good getaway to spend some quality time together. 🧡

We started planning and as none of us could drive and were going to Tamil Nadu 🇮🇳 for the first time, decided it was a good idea to book a driver 👨‍✈️ with a vehicle 🏎️. At the end, it turned out to be a good decision. I think and wonder about the luxurious things you could afford in India as compared to the states! 😌

We started our journey after leaving work on a Friday at around 11 PM 🌃. It was a bad timing, as we fought a heavy traffic ⛔ getting out of Bangalore. If you have ever lived in Bangalore or even visited it once, you will realize what I am talking about. I has only worsened over the years and I am not sure if the government has done anything about it! 🤷‍♂️

The first moment of relief came when we left the city and finally hit the highway. We started talking about all the random things that we did not get chance to talk about in the last month and a half.

The funny thing about catching up with friends is that it is never enough! The human being craves for more. 🙂

We were so engrossed in talking to each other, we did not even realize that it has been a couple of hours for us. People, it was 2014, so not everyone of us had smartphone; This helped us to have a face-to-face conversation instead of gluing to our phone, which I think, is rude and unnecessary. 🤗😇

As soon as we realized it was 3 in the morning, everyone agreed that it was “Chai Time” 🍵. I was a big chai person back then; And, there is nothing better than having a late night chai with your loved ones. 💖
Here’s me enjoying my chai. I don’t look too tired, do I? Oh, the good old days!! I can’t imagine staying up late till 3 AM and not yawn! 😫

After having this Chai Time, we headed straight to a jungle safari 🚌. The speciality of this “Jungle Safari” was that we got to see a couple of lions 🦁. I still remember the scenery from the “kind-of-open” bus that we sat in. It had big windows and roughed up seats (it was common scene in Indian public buses back in 2014; I am not sure if this changed over the last half decade).
Here’s my picture from that very bus.

I remember having a great time looking at all the wild animals and being humbled at the way these “animals” stay together in herds. It made me wonder and compare them with humans, who are self-centered and at times selfish. #thinkingtank
It was this day when I was reintroduced with the nature and realized one more time how much I love nature and will trade anything to be there, as witnessed the first time when I trekked at the Kudremukha. #naturalbeauty

I think this is a good point to end the part 1 of this trip.
We will pick up from here to the second part and continue with the trip.

Till then, take care everyone!