Much needed break

The long weekend was an interesting getaway. Sakhib and I decided on thurday night to drive down to Coorg on friday morning. It was a last minute plan and it is only last minute plans that work for me. The drive started on friday morning around 8 30 am. It was a very comfortable drive through the highway. We took a break around Ramnagar in a Barista and drove till Hunsur where we performed our Jummah prayers. We reached Club Mahindra in Marcera at 4 30 PM. Entire drive was pretty good except some traffic jam around Mandya.

The evening in Club Mahindra was pretty good. Cozy is the exact word to describe that resort. A much needed break from the mundane life in Bangalore. We played snooker and had a walk through almost forest like atmoshpere in club Mahindra before having a good dinner and hitting the bed. The night was like the time spent in Hassan many years back where Sakhib and I met only during the holidays. Just talking nonsence before actually going to sleep.

The next morning began with a good session of swimming and a buffet breakfast. It was a filling breakfast before checking out from there. After checking out, we drove to Abbey falls. Met some students over their who guided us to the fort and we had lunch in a mughlai restaurant called Choice. The food was alright but the service was nothing to boast about.

Post lunch we checked into another hotel which was pretty ordinary compared to luxurious Club Mahindra where our booking was just for one day. In the evening we went to Raja seat which was really crowded. Followed by an awesome drive to the Tibetian refugee camp. It was an empty and well maintained highway. The up's and downs were fun. We expected something interesting but everything was shut pretty early. We made a Tibetian friend "Norbu". He guided us through the refugee camp. It was late then so we drove back hoping for an interesting visit next morning.

After a really good drive we got back home and caught up with some IPL action. It was really nice to see Rajasthan Royals beat the Deccan chargers. Now the points table looks very balanced. Other than KKR everybody has a chance. Even KKR can get back if they win every game, ofcourse depending on how others perform. Improbable not impossible.

Next morning, we woke up late and started our return journey at 10 30. Reached Bylacuppe where we checked out the Golden temple and the Tibet camp. It was just like visiting a new country. It was reminiscent of some of the Buddhist temples I saw in Japan but was unique in its own way. There was a bit of India and a bit of China in everything we saw. We had our lunch in a Tibetian restaurant. I had a Thukpa which reminded me so much of Soba(Japanese soup noodles). Sakhib ordered for Chowmein. It was full of Garlic and tasted pretty bad. Overall, it was an interesting experiment.

We drove back to Bangalore in about 4 hours. But we got stuck in a maze called NICE road trying to reach Kanakapura road. We entered Kanakapura road alright but started driving todards Kanakapura(wrong directions on the interchange). I realised if we have to go towards Bangalore we should be headed northwards but we were moving towards south(the setting sun showed us the direction). We took a U turn and drove back to Bangalore. Just to realise the weather had been much cooler in Bangalore in the last 3 days. The trip was fun. The standout feature was the lovely drive and complete lazy time spent in a new place. Especially spending so much time with my cousin after years. Looking forward to more such getaways in the near future.