Wayanad Trip

Maybe sometimes it is about ticking places off your list. We went to Wayanad this weekend and though we saw a different Wayanad from the ones in Google images, the trip’s still worth a mention.

We were five of us this time, me and Venkat from Hyderabad and Vijaya, Shalini and Benoy from Bangalore. We rented a car (zoomcar.com) and started from Bangalore at 2 am last Saturday. The first thing I registered that night was Shalini’s contagious enthusiasm; she was all geared in for the trip, not sleepy at all at 3 am. We started playing A. R. Rahman’s “Andha Arabi” (Tamil Version of “Humma Humma”) and that set the tone. After an hour or two we stopped for tea and Vijaya took the wheels from Benoy. Ideally we were under the assumption that we had two drivers – Benoy and Vijaya, only that the last time she drove was three years back and so she had gotten somewhat rusty. So when Vijaya took the wheels, with Benoy re-teaching her, we were all on our edge with Venkat keeping track of speed breakers, Shalini literally taking stock of the gear…and we used to shout – “speed breaker-brakes-slow down-change gear”. She drove for an hour or so and dawn was creeping in when we crossed Mysore. The roads were beautiful with mist coming at us from all sides and enveloping us in this white shroud. We entered into the forest roads and instinctively knew we were nearing Kerala because of the meandering nature of its roads.

We reached Wayanad around 8 or 8:30 am and checked into the KTDC hotel which we had booked earlier. Exhausted by all the shouting, singing and staying up whole night throughout the drive, we all tumbled into our beds and fell asleep as soon as we got into our rooms. I think we got up after a short nap, to the sad news that all the three waterfalls were closed for the weekend. In my head I was cursing Kerala govt. or whoever had planned those road works during our visit. But, we decided to make most of our trip. So, after having lunch we started towards Kuruva Dweep. The recent reviews at trip advisor weren’t encouraging regarding this place, nevertheless we went along. There is a certain charm about Kerala roads, those ups and downs; it’s a different type of experience, different from Himachal roads and other Ghat section roads. And because I was sitting in the front seat I was enjoying the drive more, the speed, the now and then twists and turns along the way. We reached Kuruva Island around 2:30 pm and then took a bamboo raft to get to the other side. They had this rope tied to trees and they steered the raft via these ropes, which I found quite interesting, no fuel and less manual labor…so kind of indigenous. We got down on the other end and passed through small wooden bridges and a forest path with flowers and quite a lot of butterflies till we reached the water spot. We whiled away our time sitting in the water, playing in it, splashing at each other, the flow was forceful and we had our full. We also made a ploy to drench Venkat who was trying to stay dry. On our walk back we stopped at a place where we tried various Kerala delicacies like Pazham Pozhi (Ripe plantain/banana fritters), Gooseberry and Pineapple slices dipped in salt water with chilly, Mulayari Payasam (Bamboo Rice Payasam),Then Nellikka (Gooseberry in honey) and lazed in that late afternoon sun. Shalini lectured Venkat on his bad love choices; actually we all lectured him. And, then finally Shalini had enough and she went into a tirade of scolding in Tamil which got us all roaring with laughter.

While returning we decided to check out Chethalayam Falls; we had encountered a sign board and this wasn’t in the list of closed falls. It was evening and we stopped our car on the way and hiked till the falls. While on the road we were discussing exit strategies in case we were attacked by wild elephants or snakes and like. Vijaya also took us through a swampy detour which was fun when their feet got stuck in it and we blamed the idea on Venkat. We couldn’t go down till the bottom of the falls but at least we got a view of the waterfalls and I was inwardly happy. It was getting dark and we returned back with jugnus (fireflies) following us. We came back to Wayanad and after searching for a while for a place to eat (Apparently people cook in their own homes so not many hotels and that too after 9 pm) stopped at a road side place. Our taste buds were in for an adventure with Appam, Puttu, Pathiri, Parotta – all these with kadala curry for us vegetarians and chicken curry for Shalini and Benoy. And then we got lost for a while but the advantage of having a mallu (Benoy) among us was that we could ask the localites, which we did to find our way to the hotel. The guys retired into their room and me, Vijaya and Shalini were gossiping till late. And I remembered the long chats I used to have with di or Dipti and Suchi and I slept that night thinking that maybe we all need people and we need groups.

We had this elaborate plan of getting up at 4 am the next morning and trek to Chembra peak but either the alarm didn’t go or we forgot to set it, anyways by the time we woke up it was 7 am. So, seeing “misty” Wayanad was no more in cards. But, we weren’t a very cribbing/whining lot that morning. After having Puttu and Kadala (better Puttu than the previous night!), Bread Toast and coffee – a good enough breakfast – we started for Chembra peak. We passed through various tea plantations, again via snaking roads and the sun was near perfect that morning, the tea plantations, the climbing peppers, the lack of pollution, it all seemed as if we had entered some other place or we were in a place where time had slowed down.

We started around 9:30 for the trek towards Chembra Peak along with a guide. Vijaya and Venkat were ahead of us and soon Shalini joined them, while I and Benoy along with our guide started the climb up slowly. Climbing uphill isn’t my cup of tea and in all the treks I am usually afraid of this part. But we were in good spirits that morning and so I started my climb, in my own pace, without any worry. I was reminiscing about my other treks, comparing them with this one. We came across groups of school kids, coming down, few foreigners going up or returning back. Then there were other groups who passed us by and we were still left behind. But none of these perturbed me that day. I kept asking the guide “how far?” and also the people who were coming down, but at least I didn’t feel like quitting. I took a lot of stops, sometimes to check the view below, at others to just catch my breath and rest awhile. I had one Red Bull which actually helped and I had those salted gooseberries which I chewed on as I climbed. There are a lot of thoughts which plagues one during these uphill treks – the futility of it all constantly nagging at the back of your head which keeps asking – to what end? I never used to think that just because I’ve climbed a mountain I’ve achieved something, I usually do it for some or other waterfall at the end of my climb. And this time there wasn’t any, and still I felt good. It was nearing noon but the sun wasn’t harsh. There was this one place in between when we were crossing from one hill to the next and there were tall grasses – the yellow ones and they were moving with the direction of wind and I remembered this Sting’s song “Fields of Gold” specifically these lines: You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky/As we walk in fields of gold… /See the west wind move like a lover so/Upon the fields of barley… .

We reached the top 40 minutes after the trio and I saw that heart-shaped lake Hriday Saras. The localites say that the water doesn’t dry up even in the harshest of summers. I sat there dipping my feet and I was thinking how to add more mysticism to it – that there’s this lake nestled between mountains, which you reach after crossing hurdles and obstacles, which moves you just by being there, which is peaceful in a strange way and I wanted someone to weave a fairy tale around this lake. Who knows maybe it did have a story brimming with elements of wonder, beauty and magic and now people have forgotten the story. All that remains of it now is the shape of that lake, and the vicinity had a dual effect of unsettling you and calming you at the same time.

While returning I was taking my steps cautiously and I met this other guide who saw me and then helped me, he literally held my hand and down I came ‘tumbling after’. And I’ll remember that feeling that he was dependable, stopping my falls and helping me at every step. We took almost 2-3 hours to climb up and we came down in about 45 mins. (It gives one something to ponder about…). Anyways we were all famished by the time we the time we got down. We had ordered meals before starting the climb and now it was ready. The food was the best we had in Kerala. We had Kerala style Rice, Sambar, Rasam, Cabbage Fry, Mathanga Erissery (made of Pumpkin), Vellarikka Kichadi (cucumber cooked in curd) and Papad. There was special Meen Curry (Fish Curry in coconut milk) for Shalini and Benoy. So, it was a very satisfying lunch. We dropped the plan of visiting Banasura Dam as Benoy had to drive us all the way to Bangalore and we were all a little tired. We started for Bangalore, and had a small incident - Vijaya’s palm was crushed when Shalini accidently closed the car door. Thankfully she didn’t break any bones, and we were all pulling Shalini’s leg that she didn’t want Vijaya to drive us on our way back.

While returning to Bangalore we stopped mid-way to have those sip-up ice-creams which was something different for us. And since we had the time to spare we made few more stops on the way for pics etc. Vijaya took the wheels for a good amount of time on our return trip. Venkat was still apprehensive and he was on edge almost the whole time till I think we scolded him. He didn’t even let Vijaya hum words of song asking her to concentrate the road. So, when she crossed one of those speed-breakers without any bumps and Venkat commented “Perfect!” it was actually a genuine compliment which she acknowledged. Meanwhile I and Shalini were enjoying Vijaya’s slow drive to A.R.Rahman’s melodious renditions from Bombay and Roza. We stopped at Mysore for dinner at RRR and the food was equally good. After dinner I, Vijaya and Benoy took a night stroll around Mysore Palace for an hour before starting for Bangalore.

The distance from Mysore to Bangalore was again shared by Vijaya and Benoy and I think Venkat dozed off for some 20 min or so – the ultimate proof that he finally trusted Vijaya’s driving. One of the highlights of this trek was Vijaya’s driving, another was probably the food, and one thing I can’t leave mentioning was the music. We were five people from five different states and music was what connected us best. We could listen to Rahman’s Tamil songs and hum the Hindi words. We had songs in sync with our driving speed. We listened to all kinds of songs, in different languages. There was Dil Chahta Hai, Rang de Basanti, Zindagi Na Milegi Doobara, we had some old Hindi songs, Afro Jack, Lungi Dance, Honey Singh, Manali Trance (which almost became an anthem sort of) and others I had never heard of - and strangely I enjoyed them all despite my biases.

I learnt about people in this trip, that there are stuffs we can’t enjoy alone. And that there are so many emotions and so many sides to each one us, that there are different definitions of having fun, and that Nature humbles us whether we want or not and finally travelling leaves us with something indescribable and wanting for more.