Adventures in Coorg, India

Preamble: Sorry it has been so long since the last post! TWU has gotten very busy. We are now into our last week, which is a project simulation. I’ll let you know how it goes. This post is about our trip two weeks ago. I haven’t uploaded the pictures yet, but I thought you guys might like to know that I am alive and well. I’ll try to upload the pictures soon.

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I’m not really sure where this post will be going, so please bear with me. The general gist is that I and a bunch of my fellow ThoughtWorks University mates went on a trip to Coorg this weekend, and I’d like to tell you about it. The unsure part is that it was kind of a mixed bag for me, and I’m not totally sure why, so you get to dive into the brain of Benjie and join me as I do some introspection. Warning: it can be a pretty bizarre place in my brain… you never know what you might come across. Some people have tried to figure me out and they were never heard from again. Proceed at your own risk.

Well right off the bat you will all think I’m crazy, because I didn’t think I had that great a time, despite all we did. This included stuff like an elephant ride on a beautiful bamboo covered island, visiting a gold covered Tibetan monastery, having a homestay at a 200 year old coffee plantation in rural southern India, hiking to a waterfall, and going on a safari in an animal sanctuary.

I’m sure you, like my roommate, are thinking “now Benjie, is it possible we’re just a wee bit travel-spoiled?” Or really, if you are him, spoilt, but that’s another issue.

It’s true, it is an amazing list of experiences to have in a weekend, and I really did have a good time at all of them, and especially hanging out with such a great group of people. But, it was totally not relaxing for me, and I think that took away a lot of the value for me. Another part is that I was half of the organizing team, and didn’t feel like I had good answers when people were asking me about our plans, and that was frustrating for me.

So I’m going to just start telling you about the weekend, and I assume by the end I’ll remember all the fun I had, and not remember anything else. My memory works very conveniently like that, just ask Rachel.

So Friday afternoon we finished off our week with our weekly retrospective, which the trainers very graciously kept to the minimum amount of time necessary to get the full value out of it. Then I gave everyone 15 minutes to run to their rooms, change, drop their laptops, grab their bags (which I had told them to have packed) and meet on the bus. About 45 minutes later we were all ready, and headed to the bus. Now, the very word “bus” is a bit of a misnomer. It was really more of a large van, with room for 13 people plus a driver. There were 12 of us. It was a tight fit, especially since we each had a bag. And if you think there isn’t a lot of legroom on the airlines…

So we piled in and off we went. The driver started by asking where we were going. That should have been a sign of things to come. Now, it turns out he meant “do you want to go straight there,” but it was indicative of a pattern. So we started off at about 4:15. On a Friday afternoon. In the fastest growing (and most under-infrastructured) city in India. It took us a LONG time to get out of town. And we had to cross basically right through the middle of town to get out. And once we got out it would be about 5-5.5 hours. Or so they told us.

Fortunately, the bus had a DVD player and we had brought DVD’s

Unfortunately, after about ½ an hour of trying to make it work, it became clear that it was not going to happen.

So we watched the world go by. Slowly at first, then more quickly once we got out of town, and then bumpily as we veered off the main road. I should talk about the main road. It is the road from Bangalore to Mysore. It was built in the last few years, and is kind of a revolution for them. It is 2 lanes in each direction, though the lane markings are more of a suggestion than a guide. Every few kilometers (At the most) you come to one of two traffic control devices. a) a speed bump, for which you have to basically stop to avoid damaging the vehicle, or b) a roadblock. This is a series of three metal barricades set up on the roadway in such a way as to force traffic to form a single file line, and then swerve right and then left and then right. The idea is that all vehicles have to slow down, and the townspeople want to be able to cross the road. What it means, is that your average velocity is shot. Good times.

So after a couple wrong turns we finally rolled up to the coffee plantation at 11:30. They first showed us our rooms so we could drop our stuff. We had a small incident with a Really Scary Bug, but the guy came in and took it out for us... with his hand! He insisted that it was harmless, but it looked pretty vicious to me! Then they gave us "dinner," which despite happening at almost 1:00 AM was quite good! It was nice to have food that was not from a hotel or a restaurant. Then we crashed. Literally. The beds were the hardest beds I have ever slept on. I don't know if I have talked about how hard the beds are in the Diamond District, but these were twice as hard and four times as lumpy. But I slept well because I was so tired!

Reveille was bright and early, because we had paces to go and monks to see! Breakfast was at 8:30, and we were on the road.... well the best intentions... We didn't really get going until after 10:00! I am sloooowly learning what time means in India, why they chuckle when they refer to the one time zone of IST, or Indian STRETCHED Time. Things here never really happen when you think they will, despite all the best planning and attempts. And it is different from Ecuador
(where the president was late for the ceremony to have everyone set their watches and try to be on time more). In Ecuador a time, once said, was more of a zone of time during which the activity may or may not happen (there is always manana, after all). In India, the actual time is agreed upon, and thing will actually happen, and some people will be ready at the agreed upon time, but the critical mass to start will not be there on time. And it isn't a standard delay, like you know it will be 15 or 30 minutes later than you said. It could be 15 minutes, could be two hours... you just never know.

So after 10:00 we rolled on the bus and headed out in search of elephants! We got to the destination, an old-west-feeling collection of a store, restaurant, broken-down pay toilets and small boats to ferry passengers across the river to the elephant sanctuary on the other side. So we piled off the bus, paid our half-dollar round trip fare, and piled on the ferry. And I do mean piled. Every seat was taken, and we shoved off. But we got stuck half way because there were so many of us! We used a stick to free the boat, and made it to the other side of the river. We got out and headed up to the elephant reception area, and asked about a ride and whatnot... but we were too late! They close at noon. You'd think maybe the river-driver would be kind enough to tell us that we might be too late... you'd be wrong. But it was only 11:40! But there was another group signed up for that slot already. But! There is another place, 9 kilometers down the river, where we could go and they would be open. Ok. So some of us walked, yes walked back across the river, some took the boat back. Then we piled back on the bus for another bumpy ride. We got out at the next place and it was a whole different story!

We found ourselves at some sort of nature reserve run by the government. It is a large beautiful island in a river covered with stands of bamboo. We crossed a rickety suspension bridge and walked for 10 minutes on a semi-shaded path before coming to the elephant ride area. We climbed up on a rickety cement balcony to get on the elephants. We rode four at a time, though the sitting platform for us was quite tilted and we had to lean a lot! It turns out I’m not that big a fan of riding animals, which must go along with the vegetarianism. So now that I’ve done it, I think that’s it. It’s the same with horses.

After that it was back on the bus, and we went to a Tibetan monastery (or monkery, as I like to say). It is open to the public, and is a beautiful complex with gardens, temples, fountains, gongs and monks. We walked around, left our shoes at the shoe depository, went in to the temples and looked around. Wow. They were amazingly elaborate. The outsides were covered with gold and bright colors. The insides had complex murals on all walls, with huge golden statues in the front. There were pads for the monks to sit on while they chanted and meditated, and a whole complex process that they went through. Unfortunately, we seemed to get there right before lunch, and then they sounded a gong and all filed out. We didn’t get to observe very much, but we got a taste, and got to feel less intrusive. After it emptied out, and we were walking around looking at the walls and the ornateness, I saw the funniest part of the weekend. One of the head monks was up at the front of the building, on the dais, shooing the pidgeons which were flying around the vast space and eating the seeds they had left in front of each monk while they were chanting. After he shooed for a while, completely ineffectually, he brought out… you guessed it… a slingshot! He (the head monk) proceeded to fire small pebbles at the pidgeons until he was satisfied that they would not return (which they did immediately). There was something immensely hilarious to me about a peace-loving monk firing rocks at birds. Right? If you don’t believe me (and I wouldn’t), check out the video I took (oh yes, I got video!).

Then it was back to the coffee plantation for a late lunch. A very late lunch. Like 5:00 PM. Then it was back on the bus. The guy at the plantation told us that we could drive to a waterfall, and from there we could hike about a mile to a beautiful lookout where we would watch the sunset. Unfortunately, we didn’t get good enough directions. So we got lost a couple of times, and then got out at what we thought was the path to the lookout. My roommate and I got out of the bus and decided to run so that we could make it up to the top before the sun went down. Not a good plan. At all. Seriously. We got maybe a kilometer up the hill… steeply… when we realized a number of things.

First, it was unclear how far we had gone, how far we had to go, or even if we were on the right path. Second, however much farther it was, the later it got, the farther the sun was already setting, and we weren’t going to get much of a view by the time we got wherever we were going. Third, I began to get a sharp pain at the base of my brain. Of all of these things, that was probably the most concerning. I thought it might be an altitude thing, but whatever it was, my brain was hurting in a way that it has never hurt before. Huffing, puffing, and sweaty, I let him know that I didn’t think we should continue. He concurred, and so we turned around. The others were disappointed when we reached them, but we let them know that another ten minutes would get them no closer to the alleged view, but 20 minutes darker. So we all turned around.

Then it was back on the bus and back to the compound. I was in a serious need of a shower. Unfortunately, all they had was a bucket and a cup. Yep. So They filled the bucket with hot water, and I used the cup to pour it on. Similar to a shower, yet… somehow different. Apparently this is not so uncommon in India. I think it may come from the water not being safe, or the water supply not always running.

After what was one of the most necessary and satisfying non-showers I have ever had, they had set up a bonfire for us and another group that was also staying there. It seemed great until they turned on thumping loud music which kind of shattered the pastoral-hill-station-under-the-stars feeling we had been going for. But then I got into it and really enjoyed it. We had picked up a few beers in town and had a good old time.

When they had started setting up the bonfire they set it up right under a tree, so they had to move it. Oops.

We were worried that since we had had “lunch” at 5ish, it had been considered “dinner” too, or at least “linner.” This worry turned into concern and then dread as the hours increased. When we passed 9:00 I started to give up, and told my stomach that for today, beer=dinner. Then, miraculously, they brought out some food. It was two plates, and it was still unclear if it was an appetizer or a snack, but it was like manna from heaven. Of course, only one of the dishes was vegetarian, but mmmm, it was good! It was some sort of spicy masala peanut dish. I’m told it is just called chakna, kind of like a thing to go along with beer.

So we ate, drank, and were merry under the stars on a hilltop coffee plantation in the Coorg region of India. Good times. So often during this trip I have tried to figure out how exactly it is that events in my life have conspired to bring me here. Here to India, here to Thoughtworks, and here to the specific moment. All I can come up with is that I am ridiculously lucky, and have not hesitated to go through doors as they are presented to me.

After the bonfire, we had a delicious dinner, which was very fortunate, because it would have been a long night otherwise!

The next morning we were up and back on the bus pretty early. It was time for waterfall 2.0. We got better directions, and went out in search of the waterfall we had been trying to reach the previous day. We did find it, and it was very nice. We had to hike a bit to get to it, but it was worth it. There was a pool that nobody swam in because it wasn’t clean, but it was nice to look at, and people did walk along the rocks until they were under the spray, and had a nice time. Some of us took some paths up and around to the top of the fall, which was a pretty river valley that opened up into very pastoral and picturesque land with a couple huts, some grazing cows, and a bridge made out of bamboo! We were walking along, in no particular direction, when I yelled “SNAKE!” and jumped back. There was a large snake slithering off into the dirt at the side of the river. It was probably about three inches in diameter and at least two meters long. I didn’t get a great look at the patterns on its back, so I couldn’t positively ID it. I’m OK with that, because it means I spent all my energy getting away from it and none looking at it. If I’m far away from it, I don’t care if it was deadly or not. Only one other guy caught a glimpse of it, but he didn’t get a good look at the patterns either. He, however, chose to go closer rather than farther, against my pleadings. All was well though, and we turned back and headed to meet back up with the others.

Then it was back on the bus, back to the plantation for lunch, and then we took our leave. On the way back we stopped at a national park where we went on a “safari” so see the animals. We got in one of their busses and they drove us around for about an hour. We didn’t see the main attraction, which is tigers, but we did see monkeys, elephants, buffalo, peacocks, deer and more!

Then it was back on the bus for the long journey home. I can’t actually remember where we did dinner, but we didn’t make it back until about 1:00 AM. We didn’t realize it yet, but it was to set an unfortunate precedent for the trips to come…

Turns out I had a pretty good time after all.