Thursday, May 12, 2016

Aesthetic Sea








Floating on the sea, watching the sun set change the colors of the sky from a bright, calm blue to a fiery mixture of orange, pink and purple, is certainly a bliss. Running my  bare palm through the water as I was dragged in, towards the horizon, is something enjoyable. As I float inwards, I look down at the sea, changing colors. The change was so beautiful, better than anything I have ever seen. 

A while after the sun set, I walked back to the shore. Sitting down on the damp sand watching the sea, surrounded by people I love, was an unforgettable moment. Staring into the sea in the dim moonlight, I noticed a lot of beautiful ripples on the sea as the waves hit the shore, and dragged back some of the hyperactive crabs that were on the shore. 

Sitting on a rock, towards a cliff where the speed of the water was high, is scary at first but then one realizes that the waves wouldn't harm. The fierce waves hit the tall, black rocks, leaving behind beautiful pebbles and shells. 

Falling asleep by the shore and waking up to the sound birds and staring into the beautiful sunrise, before anything else, is an uncompromising experience. When I looked into the sea, it was so calm and so quite, waves very slowly flowing to the shore. The memories of last night's waves came back to me. The fierce and fast had transformed into the calm and quiet. 

Many may say that the calm sea looks the most blissful. But the truth is, the sea is beautiful at all times. Calm or fiery, blue or sea-green. The sea is something so enjoyable. 

Friday, April 24, 2015

That Time We Went To Windflower, Coorg




DAY 1
On the 17th of April, early in the morning at around 6:00 am, we embarked on our journey to Coorg. In one car (an Innova), us, kids (5 of us + 2 adults) and our FUNKY music and, in the other (a Jetta) the adults (4 of them) and their SOOTHING yet SLEEPY music. We took off at a great speed and reached Kamath Lokaruchi, Janapadaloka just in time for breakfast. After wolfing down the appetizing food, we spent a while playing with the rabbits. Now it was 9:00 am and we knew had to get going. We left Kamath. After a while of music and sleep, we reached Srirangapatna. In Srirangapatna, we went to a small and quiet Narasimha swami temple. It is just a few meters from the famous Ranganatha Swami temple. After a calm darshan of the strength-giving Narasimha swami, we left and drove to the WINDFLOWER resort, Coorg. All of us were ravenous after the long road trip of fun. And, so, we crashed at the restaurant. We were eating the finger-licking food laid down as a buffet with North Indian, South Indian, Continental, and Chinese cuisine. Chef Nandakumar came by to ask us what we would like for dinner. “Anything at all”, we said. As he left, we got a glimpse of the pool and it seemed beautiful. So, after we ate, we went to see the pool. We were mesmerized by the amazing pool with two trees sticking out of the middle and a forest surrounding it. Now, THAT’s what I call a pool. We then left to our rooms – 39, 40, and 41. The adults left us alone in a room for an hour or two and within this time, we brought a club into the bedroom, with music, dance and PILLOW FIGHTS! It was sad to spoil the fun and turn off the music when we were leaving to Thala Kaveri (Birthplace of River Kaveri). But, the trip to Thala Kaveri, about 50 kms from windflower, was amazing because of the great scenery. After the darshan of Kaveri, some pictures there and some swimming at Triveni Sangam, Bagamandala and more pictures, we returned to the resort. On the way back the stars twinkled brighter than I had ever seen. There were millions of stars, many identifiable constellations and shooting stars. They twinkled more and more as time went on. At the resort, we had a great dinner including an extremely well-baked dessert. Back at the room, the party began but went off sooner than expected. Some music and IPL and everyone was asleep. 





DAY 2

I awoke with a start knowing that we were going to a waterfalls. After the filling breakfast, we left to the private water falls in a jeep. The trip was rather bumpy, but was worth it. The waterfalls was amazing and extraordinarily massaging. An hour or so in the waterfalls and we were back for a dip at the pool (That was too much water for a day!!). After a long swim at the pool, we were tired and hungry. We changed and went to eat. We gobbled down the delicious white sauce pasta and great dessert. Chef Nandakumar told us that we would have Pizza, Garlic Bread, and Fries for dinner. But, it was just 4:30 when we finished eating and we didn’t know what to do. We drove the cycles, at a cost of Rs.60 per hour. It was just two of us. It was a really fun and speedy ride, but the cycles really need replacement. There were a few games of TT and we just killed time until 6:00pm. At 6pm, the resort organized a series of games. We had Form Groups, Blow The Balloon Till The End, Thermocoal run, Ball and Spoon, and Housie.  Our family won 4 categories of housie. After the games, we went to the rooms and were playing for a long time while the elders had their share of fun chatting well past midnight. 



DAY 3
In the morning, we had a plan of going on a plantation walk, but we decided to skip it. After breakfast, we checked out with a sad face. But, I did not leave the Jacuzzi alone. It was extremely great. None of us really wanted to leave. But, there is no place like HOME. On the way back, we went to the  Namdroling monastery at Kushal Nagar. It was magnificent and I was mesmerized by the golden Buddha. I captured Him in my mind and camera for memories.



Resort Review

Our stay at the resort was amazing. The beauty of the place and nature were the highlights. The games, events and activities were organized well and in a fun manner. The Chef was concerned about people’s choices and put up an amazing buffet throughout our stay there. The pool is extremely well maintained. The environment is clean. The room are very spacious. It has 2 TVs, 1 inside shower, 1 open shower, 1 Jacuzzi and a huge balcony with a forest view. There is a life size chess board. There is a friendly and cute cat at the resort which enjoys playing with anyone. The service is great. They have a daily clean-up of the room. This is one of the best resorts I have ever been to!