My first trip to Munnar.

Who doesn’t love taking trips, especially with the gang? 

The one common dream everyone has is to take a long trip with our friends. But we all have that one best friend who cancels the trip at the last moment and tell that they will be definitely joining the next one. Isn’t it?

During my Engineering days, I had a very big gang and we all always planned taking trips to different states. But what we could do was taking trips to different districts and we were glad doing that but one regret that I will always have from my Engineering days is to  not take a trip to Manali. I know this is the case of many. I still remember some amazing trips I took with my friends to Mysore, South Canara and Coorg, I cherish those days so much. I love travelling and taking trips with my friends made me a travel blogger too, because the amount of different experience I got was worth penning it down. 

My Engineering was done but my zeal for travelling increased. I work for an International NGO, I met some incredible people there and soon we turned from strangers to friends to family. We are a group of travel enthusiasts as well. We used to randomly make plans and take short road trips or go for a long drive. But this time that was not the case.

It all started in a very funny way making plans for Thailand then directly to Rajasthan and then to Ooty. 

But this time it was serious and literally everyone said ‘YES’, can you believe that? It was indeed surprising.

But what was not a good surprise was the weather reports of Ooty as we had planned this trip during Monsoon. This made us change the destination and not the trip.

We then planned for Munnar, Kerala. Everyone agreed again but this time the Monsoon had better plans and help us cancel the trip cause it was raining  cats and dogs at Munnar. You know what, the bookings and other arrangements were done and I did shop hell lot of clothes. Hmm! I was disappointed  but also thought whatever happens, happens for good. Our bookings didn’t get cancelled, it was just postponed. 

This happened in July and no one of us ever thought that this trip will make out of group chats in the month of August. We packed our bags and the trip began. We were a group of eleven and it was the road trip that began from Chickmagaluru. 

Our first destination was Isha foundation, Coimbatore. We started our journey at 11’0 clock in the night. It is a struggle for me to pass the ghat section and for my goodness we were crossing approximately  27 hairpin bends at Satyamangala forest area to reach Coimbatore. It was crazy but the view was fantastic. The view I witnessed made me forget the struggle and enjoy the trip. 

We reached Isha foundation, Coimbatore in the noon. This visit was a serene experience. I was lost in the world of divinity and peace. We spent some beautiful time there, clicked pictures, shot reels and left with a feeling of serenity. The words cannot describe the essence of Isha foundation and its heritage.

This was now time for us to leave for Munnar. It was dark and the roads were narrow, also you know how the roads of Western ghats be. The drive was indeed an exciting experience and as we reached Munnar all we could see was sky full of stars and pretty lights. 

It was the next day, we had some good breakfast and everyone dived into the pool. 

Later, we visited Munnar top station. The view was magical. The mountains there looked so unique , it looked like a painting. As a writer when I looked at those mountains I could experience the rush of words to describe the beauty of that region but the words couldn’t justify the experience and a set of emotions I felt that day. The calmness, sense of joy and fresh breeze of air made everything better. The sky turned from blue, orange to lilac as the Sun sets, witnessed this between the tea estate, hmm! Felt life is beautiful. The way the Moon accompanied us in this journey, sometimes hiding behind the hills made this journey an ineffable one. Felt each hill greeted us with a smile and had a story to narrate. 

We all were so quiet throughout the journey back to our resort as everyone  spent time with themselves and nature. And this silence helped us know how well we all are connected with each other. This silence had many things to tell and actually I remembered Farhan Aktar’s dialogue from the movie  ’Zindagi na milege dobara’.  And I penned, 

“It was indeed a different sky to say,

Said ”hello’’ with a new smile,

“lost the way”, I said,

The mist whispered ”all is well”

Saw a cloud passing by telling,

It is a way for happy days.”

It was the next day, we visited Ripple Adventures. The zipline experience over the waterfall is a must try spot in Munnar. The zipline experience makes us feel travelling to heaven. After the zipline we all sat on a rock near the waterfall spoke about life, future plans, clicked some pictures and enjoyed the nature to the fullest. Our visit to Munnar tea estate will always hold a special place in my heart.

We visited just three places in three days but the journey and memories we created was for lifetime. We all believed ‘Journey is more important than destination’ and this turned out to be true.

While returning we took Munnar to Madurai route to reach Bangalore and then Chickmagaluru. This route made me remember the routes and mountains of Alaska. The mountains that we saw in Munnar and here were so unique. It was a treat to eyes. This was the longest route that we took but it was worth it. As we all witnessed some spectacular view and got to spend some more time together.

This journey was special and will always be. I realized so many things, I understood it is the company and journey that makes any destination better. The longest road trip, the best decision and the best people. ‘Desha sutti nodu, Kosha odhi nodu’ is one of the essence of life.  Each place has got its own story to tell and it is up to us how we grasp it and consider its essence in our lives. One journey, three destinations, eleven people and infinite memories and what we live with is ‘memories’.