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| Hotel compound |
I'm back after an adrenaline filled 8 days.
They were so packed with activities that it felt like a month long trip, and
that's a good thing. Our tour was handled by "Pugmarks eco tours" and
they did an excellent job. Our first destination was Mahabaleshwar, a quaint
little city. We stayed at a homely resort. As soon as we arrived we were split into
teams, which would continue to hold till the end of the trip. My team was named
"Raighad". Our first task was to parody a popular movie, which turned
out to be surprisingly fun. We had to present it in front of the others, which
did bring on a lot of embarrassment. But we did it. Then we had a dip in the
pool. The pool is situated on a high ground, giving us the most breathtaking
view of serene mountains. The water was mind numbingly cold, but we didn't
mind. All of us enjoyed chasing each other and playing chicken. Then we headed
out to dinner. The food was delicious. And then off to our rooms where we
exchanged creepy stories and tales from school.
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| Pool |
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| Trek up Pratapgad |
The next day was our first trek up the
Pratapgad fort. This fort was one of Shivaji's forts; this is where he defeated
Afzal Khan. A wonderful structure and planned to the utmost strategic
precision. We climbed up and down approximately 500 steps. That doesn't sound
too bad. But if you've lived in Dubai for the past 10 years where there and
escalators and elevators everywhere you go this can be a nightmare. But we got
through it, even if we where huffing and puffing in the end. Then we went to a museum
of sorts that preserved what life was like in villages during the times of
Shivaji. It was a very informative trip and we actually learnt a few things. On
the way back we picked up some mulberries to eat (Berries are huge here,
especially strawberries and mulberries) they were the best I’ve ever tasted and
they stained my hand with a deep purple hue. We proceeded for lunch at Domino's
for a little taste of life back home and it was heavenly. We retreated back to
the hotel for dinner and rest.
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| Berry vendor |
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| Mulberry feast |
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| The Village |
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| View from Arther's seat |
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| Strawberry farm |
Next we left to Arther's seat, a point
where the old British officer Arther relaxed to write poetry and enjoy the surroundings.
It was a serene place. On the way there was spring from which we all drank
water and it was by far the best water we drank during the whole trip. It makes
you think about how the most unadulterated substances from nature are the most
pure. Then we went to the Panchganga, which is the origin of 5 rivers of
Northern India. The area was enclosed within a temple as it was regarded to be
sacred. The water from these rivers too was crisp and clean. From there we
proceeded for lunch to a small roadside restaurant with strawberry farm at the
back. Before sitting down for lunch we went out back to explore the farm. We
had another team activity where we had to make a collage out of natural
materials on the topic global warming. This was engaging and creative. We then
proceeded for Lunch. We had the best thali ever, continuing the streak of good
food. We then went back to the hotel where are amazing tour guides had
organized a dance party for us. The party was amazing and we thoroughly enjoyed
ourselves. After dinner we retired to our beds exhausted.
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| Dance party |
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| The farm house at Chesson |
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| View from our tents |
We then left for Panchgani. We arrived at
Camp Chesson. A place that I will never forget. It was a wonderful campsite
spread over a large area. Our first day we had to design a flag for our
respective teams, again using natural materials. Then we had to construct/
solve a puzzle which was nerve wracking and intense but fun at the same time.
Then we proceeded for lunch. We rested for a while and then they dropped a bomb
on us. We had to cook our own dinner, in our teams. We had to set up our own
stoves light up a fire and cook Khichdi. We had no clue how to set up a fire,
so our counsellors told us to dance and sing for a hint. Being helpless, we did
just that. They gave us the hint and we proceeded. We made our khichdi and it
honestly didn’t taste or look that bad. We were proud of what we had done. We
did get other food though since our khichdi wasn’t sufficient for 28 of us. I'm
glad to say that the good food continued.
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| Sunrise |
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| Still rising |
The next day we woke up early to see the
sunrise, which as expected was stunning. Then we trekked up a mountain to get
to the flat table lands. Once we got there went rappelling down the mountain
side. Rappelling was something that I had wanted to do for the longest time and
it definitely lived up to my expectations, If not exceeded it. After rappelling
we had a surprise activity, which turned out to be caving. IT was one of the
most exciting things I've done in my life. I felt like a much more grown up
version of Dora the Explorer. We went back up to the table land after our
adventure, had breakfast up there and went back down. We had some free time then
we had lunch and some more time to relax, after our rest we were called to do a
really cool team activity, where we had to hold up a small ball using a ring
tied to string which we had to hold and transport it across the field. It is a
really difficult game to explain without visual aids but hopefully the pictures
will help. Although our team came last, we had a blast doing it. We learnt a
great deal about cooperation and keeping calm.
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| The game |
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| The game |
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| The game |
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| Dancing |
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| Bonfire |
Then we had our second dance party, which
was even better than the first. The party ended with dinner. And just when we
thought the party was over they called us for a bonfire. We sung a few songs
really badly and sat next to the fire until it burned out.
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| STRAWBERRIES!! |
The next day was our last at the campsite.
Our first activity was a delicious one, strawberry picking. We were allowed to
pick and eat how many ever strawberries we could keep down. They were the best
strawberries I had ever tasted in my entire life. Next we proceeded to
the
almighty obstacle course. All the obstacles looked deceptively simple, but I
can assure you they were not. But overcoming them was most definitely an
adventure. The rest of the day was passed with the drive to Pune, where we
slept and got rid of all of our fatigue.
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| Comfort |
We arrived at Pune in the late evening,
after freshening up; we walked to a nearby mall to do some shopping and went up
to the McDonalds in the food court for dinner. It was a nice feeling of home.
The next day was our last day in India; all
of us were feeling quite gloomy because we didn’t want to leave India and the
wonderful people who showed us around. Nevertheless we had a city tour, ate a
scrumptious lunch and head off to the airport. With tears in our eyes we bid
adieu to our guides for showing us a phenomenal time.
And so I left India with memories of my
life as an adventurer and dirt under my nails.
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| All good things come to an end. |
