[babupaul]

Theoretically we were to go for an outing in Feb . Busy schedules, family commitments etc tested our patience and finally we decided if it has to happen then Aug 8th will be the day

Got the finance approval from my boss who tried to bargain citing the global meltdown, unfortunately he never realized there was absolutely no meltdown in our spirits….blah, blah, blah and then with a grin on his face ….…………Yipeeeeeeeee
The D day arrives, all 5 ready to go for a whiff of fresh air to revitalize our choking lungs, courtesy Bangalore traffic, plan was to take off from office, we were literally counting every sec for the 10 PM take off( I Love driving at night….)

Wait a sec, its 4 PM and we do not know where we are heading? Kinda exciting coz this is the first ever trip with absolutely zero planning on the venue………there is confusion and a sense of sheer excitement on everyone’s face

Quickly zeroed in on a few places within 300 Km range from Bangalore………Options were Kutta, Waynad, Nagaharhole, Mudumalai, Mangalore, Chikmagalur, Ooty, Masinagudi…Googled on the weather conditions in these locations, accommodation options etc etc.

Tring tring tring, Surprisingly most home stays in and around Kutta(Coorg, to be precise, southern coorg just a couple of kms away from Kerala border and bordering Nagarhole) were completely booked and a few available were charging exorbitant rates( Rs1800/head+ for B&B)……..simple mathematics and our economic did not match

Finally, how about Chikmagalur? Less commercial and good reviews………..Its 6:00 PM and google again to the rescue……..Called Venu who runs a portal with a few homestays listed. He gave us a couple of options but were expensive so decided against it…….Again disappointment, what do we do now…………The guys are ready for a drive to Mudumalai and accommodation in a lodge or some place but we need to getaway from Bangalore ………..we start planning……….while the guys continue with their work, I head back home to drop my wife whi is on her way to Mangalore, quickly pack up and have dinner to head for the unknown…..Its 7:30 PM, Tringg tring, Venu calls me back and offers a good deal at a place called “GREENDALE” at a reasonable rate and on our terms……..Buy a few mins from him to check out the place and review and I find Ravi Bhat’s recomandation………..have read a lot of his blogs, I blindly trust his feedback and call back Venu to confirm(Thanks cheers: Ravi)…………Of course on our terms that is we leave Bangalore at 10:00 PM, reach Greendale around 4:30 AM, breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner and breakfast the nest day with 2 rooms…………
View from the bunglow.......in and around Greendale and trek to the plantation





















Drop my Wife off for her Bus to Mangalore(Her hometown), head back to office to pick up the gang………….I announce the destination and I see confused faces, Chikmagalur? For a few minutes I was confused and was abt to call Venu and cancel but my intuition said Go for it and the guys didn’t have an option…………………..

Not wanting to unconsciously break away from tradition(late start in spite of all plans) we only managed to hit the road at 11:30 PM, a good 90 mins delay…………The Innova is tanked up but the guys were not and Venu did mention we had to carry our own drinks and additional snacks as we will be away from all forms of civilization by a good hour and a half once we are at “GREENDALE”…………….its 11:30 PM and the moral police are out in full force in Bangalore, hey wait a sec, we all look at each other and a big smile, I guessed it, our good old joint at the corner of Brigade road brings a smile to all our faces………Police are all around, park opp Catholic club and the guy is at your service…….we had a few more guests at our back seats and in no time we are on Tumkur road.

Peaceful drive except for a few truckers and we reach Nelamangala – Kunigal – C R Patna – Hassan and hit the Hassan Belur road at around 3:30 AM……….Decent roads so far considering the monsoons and once upon a time this road used to be silky smooth…….Used to take this road on my way to my in laws place at Mangalore……

Hassan to Belur road was simply awesome and it immediately put me to sleep, especially the smoothness and perfect markings….from past experiences I realized its wiser to take a small break and a power nap……………break from 4:00 AM – 4:45 AM. Refreshes with a cuppa of tea at a small joint we move on and reach Chikmagalur. From Chikmagalur we take a left to Mullyangiri……..On the way we notice the change in landscape, terrain, drop in temp and the raindrops and multiple streams and small waterfalls……………We reached the estate at around 7:00 AM, Its terribly cold, a quick shower and breakfast and we are all asleep….Wake up around 11:00 AM and head for a quick trek around the estate and my worst dream comes true………while trekking deep in the valley we come across a stream and we are all pretty excited……..Head close to the stream and there they are waiting for our arrival………Bloody leeches …I am ok with them sucking my blood but these slimy creeps looks so disgusting……………….. …all of us are dancing in a trance to get these off inspite of being fully covered……..I had 2 leeches and the rest had close to six……………………

I m tired, never written a blog this big and I will let the pics do the talking……..

Before the pics start the talking…………. GREENDALE HOMESTAY is an awesome 150 Acre coffee plantation bordering Bhadra wildlife sanctuary, A MYSTICAL place that plays Hide and seek with the clouds. An awesome owner named Arvind, a coorgi Manager, the caretaker Satish whom I nickname as the king of Hospitality and his assistant………..These guys pampered us so much with their services that for a moment I was in doubt if I was the Owner of this estate……….What a feeling…Fresh and hot bfst, lunch, snacks, dinner served based on our timings and quantity would have fed at least another 5.

Imagine an estate owner in his modified four wheel drive taking us for a drive at 1:00 AM to mullyangiri peak. Its raining moderately, there is mist all around visibility at a few places were almost zero, its cold, freezing and he zooms on this treacherous road at 60 km even on blind curves, even a slight miss or slip we will have landed in the deep valleys but such is the vehicle and arvinds skill they were a perfect complement to each others ability…………….Once on the peak its zero visibility and for the first time I experienced winks that were close to 100KM. What a force and maddening sound pounding our jeep that we were literally swaying, of course we were stationery but imagine a 2300 Kilo vehicle with 5 fully grown adults……….Simply awesome and an experience of a life time…………..Down hill was even more scar coz of the crazy speed……..reached back the estate around 2:30 AM and we are served HOT dinner…….What a way to sign off for the day…..

Sunday, day to head back, plan was to leave around 7 and by the time we left it was close to 9:45 AM............Reached home at C V Raman Nagar at 4:00 PM......Total distance travelled, Approx 590 KMs, FE 9 - 10

Note from the Team-BHP Support Staff : Your post has been edited since it contained one too many smilies. Team-BHP is viewed by people from all walks of life, and they prefer an uncluttered post protocol. We would much appreciate you restricting the smilie usage to 2 per post.

[babupaul]

Some more pics..........Please excuse the picture clarity, it was taken on a N73

[babupaul]

The last set, hope I haven't posted too much of pis here :-)...........these pics are on the way back...........Have a greak weekend and I would recommend this place for the long weekend, not sure if this booked or not :-)...........Worth visiting for the pure mountain air.

[Samurai]

Babupaul, kindly take special notice of forum rules 8 and 12 at Team-BHP - Announcements in Forum : Announcements - TeamBHP Admin

Green Dale is not new to Team-BHP considering many of us have been there. Aravind drove my Grand Vitara when he took us to Mullainagiri. Yes, he is extremely skilled in mountain trail driving, our heart practically stayed in the mouth when he drove. When we visited he was un-married and had no homestay manager. So he did all the managing and playing the host. I guess he can't do that anymore since he is married.

My trip report from Green Dale: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-of...reen-dale.html

[DKG]

Gorgeous countryside. There's so much beauty. All those rain washed forests look divine. Thanks for sharing the lovely pictures.

[akroy]

Nice pics babupaul but your writeup needs improvement (as Samurai officially said). Still i can see lots of DOTS in between sentences.

Abhi

[babupaul]

Ooops, me bad, trust me these were unconscious errors in my rush for time.....Travelled a lot but never had the patience and time to write. Next one would definitely be an improvement to this one :-)

Arvind is extremly skilled with good control and passion for offroading inspite of keeping himself extremely warm before we headed for that drive of a lifetime.

Samurai will definitely read your blogs in the coming days...enjoiyed your Agumbe blog and the pics

[snaronikar]

Babu, nice pics and travalogue. Follow what akroy and samurai has mentioned.

[-GT-]

Amazing pictures, breathtaking places - can you please teleport me over there?!!

[srishiva]

Nice place. Seems from the pics that you didn't move out much (lots of photos from the place stay). Maybe it was the rain.

[zenx]

Ahh, the hills and mist. Of course, with the kids + leeches combo, these are pretty much out till the sun shines :(

[ravibhat]

I like visiting hill stations in rainy season its different experience for sure! GreenDale is good place to stay there for sure. They have website: :: Green Dale Holiday Home :: come touch the Sky

Regards,

Ravi.

[manojgautham]

Originally Posted by babupaul

The last set, hope I haven't posted too much of pis here :-)...........these pics are on the way back...........Have a greak weekend and I would recommend this place for the long weekend, not sure if this booked or not :-)...........Worth visiting for the pure mountain air.

Is that Amit Dutta & Rajesh Gopinath in those pictures?