A great trip

I don’t think I had such fun for a really long time. I feel 10 years younger (considering Iam always 16 that would make me a child but never mind).
First, the drive was amazing. Great roads. We could maintain 100 kmhr easily. (though Aashish said Balaji drove pretty slow) . I always feel relaxed in a car on a long drive. Reminded me of our great road trips in the 6 years we were in US. We have been traveling like this since Maya was a baby and lucky for us she was never cranky and enjoyed the trips as much as we did. Sound accompanied us in the car and seemed to be a multifaceted personality. He answered Maya’s questions on geography very well. I would give him 100 on 100 if not for a tiny flaw that he likes Mumbai better than Chennai. (Aaashish, you also lose marks on this score).

Second, the bungalow we stayed in. I was a little apprehensive about our accommodation but I really liked this place. It had a cozy atmosphere instead of being impersonal like most hotels. The weather was just right. I was very glad of the fact that Yelagiri didn’t offer too many tourist attractions (or distractions) to spoil the ambience. You could just chill out without having to rush from place to place.

Third, the trekking (or non-trekking as Aashish feels that it is not politically correct to call it that). I wore the most unsuitable outfit, thanks to the fact that I have recently gained a lot of weight that I couldn’t fit into my jean. Me and Balaji used to be the Laurel and Hardy pair, but slowly Iam catching up with him. I had a lot of bruises on my arms from the thorn bushes. As one team member said Balaji maybe the driving force of the Statestreet project, but it was Santa who was the driving force in making most of the ladies reach the summit, by saying that we will be there in 5 minutes during the whole climb, dragging some of the girls,
providing water, lemon, glucose and encouraging words.

Last but not the least, the guys and gals who made this trip a success. It is always fun to see the reality as compared to Balaji’s description because they are so different.(like the time when Balaji said his friend Somayajulu is a short and stout country bumpkin, I was totally unprepared for this guy who would talk nothing but stylish English and who wore designer clothes. Later I learnt that he hails from Tirupati so Balaji called him a ‘grammathan’).Somu’s sweet smiling son Ganesh Kumar and of course my very own daughter, Maya were the icing in the cake.