Team outing: "The Serai" Chikmagalur-Part2

Day2:
Glorious morning:
The next day when I woke up , the bright morning sun was already shining through our cottage’s big glass window. It was indeed a very beautiful morning we had experienced lately, when no bad thoughts of getting up early, no traffic, no office, and no work, only concern was to celebrate every moment in that stay. Then it was around 8 AM when I completely left the bed, one of the roommates was already getting ready and another was busy preparing coffee. It was surely a morning we had the privilege to experience sun rays, of listening to birds’ chirps against our everyday electro-mechanical crazy noises around us. We had this luxury of having personal small swimming pool in our cottage. So directly from my bed after a few photo clicks, I jumped into this pool, stayed there for 30 minutes , lied on that big mattress for some time and finally got ready for 2nd day's activities. 

In all other cottages where our team was staying, similar things were happening. From  cottage’s boundary wall, we could see outside , our teammates running, cycling, posing for camera’s, walking in the coffee plantation, previous day’s (click Day1) tiresome activities had very little effect on our enthusiasm and energy levels. Even after our day1’s volleyball session which went for at least two hours that too in rain, no one had caught cold or fever. Such are the benefits of playing hard, raising the bar and testing your limits, especially when done collectively as in a team. We were told to assemble at 9AM, after the breakfast for tracking to the Mullayanagiri peak. So quickly we got ready, in shorts , T shirts ,shoes, caps , my friend packed his monstrous SLR camera, wrapped it in a plastic cover first and then inside the backpack. Plastic bag, in case it rains on the way. Soon after the breakfast we boarded the bus, which would drop us some 8 KM before the Mullayanagiri peak. Then we would go by walk right up till the top. There was an alternate actual short-cut-track as well but ours was planned for the road track, which was safe for novice like us who live in apartments and use lifts. If you ever get a chance to visit Chickmaglur then you must cover this trek if you have time. Just make sure you carry enough water and some light snacks to eat up there, if you are planning to cover those 8 KM by walk. We forgot water and snacks both. The breakfast we had in resort was burnt in the initial 4 KM rest 4 KM we covered by burning our preserved fats.

Walking those 8KM in that serene and scenic road in a group was fantastic, everyone covered it successfully, drinking water did become a scarce resource for some time until we reached the top, which has a temple and a small police control room in same compound ( I believe a wireless control room). On the way, our little group got little confused and climbed(conquered) a different peak hence lagged other groups by around 30 minutes, so when we reached at the peak , at the temple most of our team mates were already started descending.

This peak is the highest point in the Karnataka, 6,330 ft. The last phases to reach this temple compound at this peak are some 200 stairs , this is the place when you meet the clouds, as the altitude increases the wet clouds and the strong windy blow hit your body , you be careful and watch out for your steps there are no barricades surrounding the stairs. I must share this as well; the wind was so strong that it sometimes pushes you up in those stairs but sometimes it might blow you across the hill as well, visibility was poor too in day time and so you got to be careful in those stairs.

Meanwhile we found a place in the temple compound where we had two rounds of hot black coffee it tasted as the best on earth then, it was indeed. It was little bit cold, wet and cloudy so the coffee re-energized us. Someone talked to those holy men and asked if we can get something to eat. They said rice - Sambhar can be the only choice if we have 15 minutes, only rice had to be cooked Sāmbhar was almost ready. We now a group of five hungry guys, thought and decided to wait for 15 minutes. 15 minutes IST (Indian stretchable time) became 45 minutes, but we decided to wait. Bus would wait for us and still 8 KMS to cover down the hill was our main concern. But our hunger won and we ate rice and Sāmbhar of our lives, cooked by holy men (may be police men, I don’t know, they were wireless operator people) we gave them 300Rs for 12 coffees and 5 life saving rice-Sāmbhar plates. Everyone was happy at the end. Soon after this we started our descend and covered the stairs and further one KM very fast, to everyone's relief we saw one of our colleague came to pick us in his car. Six healthy people somehow adjusted in that Alto car, one sat back in that open diggi. Three cars were used to ferry people in groups from the stairs to the bus stop. 

Back in resort:

We finally reached to the resort at around 3 PM, rushed directly to the dining hall, ate a lot again and went to our cottages for shower thereafter . Evening started once again with various activities some cricket and some football practice using the same volleyball, spent some time in kitchen garden and from there directly went to the main swimming pool, gave some swimming lessons to few others, and stayed in there till 8 pm, it was really a great fun. The resort had planned a treasure hunt activity for us which got cancelled finally , public was either tired or busy in their own engagements , drinking, billiards table , cycling, roaming around , dinning , photography or chatting in cottages. Night came and so came the end of day 2, tomorrow morning we are leaving for Bangalore, we have a plan to visit Belur temple which is somewhere on the way.

Next day once again started with a sunny morning; I repeated my stay, exercising in this private pool for 40 minutes which was a luxury in a way. How often do you get your own pool in India in your backyard. Finally around 10 AM after breakfast we left the resort and started for Bangalore, stopped directly in Belur town. It was the capital of Hoysala Empire in early 12th century and is now famous for Chennakeshava temple for its beautiful Lord Vishnu. The temple compound has beautiful sculptures everywhere considered as one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture. The pillars, the carved three dimensional sensuous dancers everywhere in the temple walls are unmatchable, really spell bound. The guide we hired gave a quick guided tour of temple. I bet you search more history and facts about this amazing temple. We spent around 1 hour in the temple, stopped once again on the way for lunch somewhere in kamath hotel. It was a just okay lunch. Finally we reached Bangalore at around 5 PM and there ended our fantastic trip to "The Serai". So are you planning to visit Chikmagalur ? Please do visit this album below by clicking on this image, and leave your comments at the end.

ALBUM: "THE SERAI" , CHIKMAGALUR & BELUR