"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai

raj.barcode · 14th June 2010, 16:10

“You can’t go out, not even into the smoking zone to puff in peace, you can’t have the radio too loud, you daren’t spend more than thirty seconds in the bathroom in case you arrive back at your chair to realize boss had called and didn’t pick the call; you can’t switch the tv loudly in case you don’t hear when the your client is calling you at odd hours to discuss something which will be absolutely unimportant.” I had enough of all this.

So, it all started in “grips” ( http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/team-b...bangalore.html) event, where we thought, that the work schedule was too much and all the holidays we were planning were blink and miss kinds. i.e a typical weekend outing would be drive, drive and drive (i can just burn rubber in nice road itself) see the place as quickly as possible because we need to rush back to home and office. we usually do photo shoot and enjoy what you had seen in the screen of a computer rather than the place of visit. We just didn’t want to do that. We didn’t want to do insane speeds nor drive in the night without sleep. But also importantly did not want to miss the good part of the weekends (like watch f1 qualifying, brilliant world cup football matches, etc).

So this is not just a travel story, but so much more. It is about a holiday in the land of wild flowers, land of misty 2 p.ms (afternoon) and lazing around. What we wanted an extended weekend to refresh our minds from the bustling activities of daily life

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03712_1067x800.jpg

Land of wild flowers no doubt

So handful of like minded people gathered, went through numerous travelogues; thanks to Team bhp and decided Kodai as the place, Cold, misty and laid back and not too far. We called up couple of hotels/resorts and booked in Kodai resort hotel as the place to stay.

Road we took while going

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-map.jpg

THANKS TO SREE 70: Bangalore>Krishnagiri>thoppur>mettur>bhavani>perun darai>kangayam>dharapuram>palani>kodaikanal Kodaikanal ~ 440 KMS NH7 & SH routes

Place of stay

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03876_1067x800.jpg

Come Friday 11th morning; we had put leave to our respective offices, importantly told all the clients to say "not in town "till Monday and headed towards Rocky’s place to start a rocking weekend.

The journey at 6 am…..first part ….

Roads that greeted us

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03637_1067x800.jpg

brilliant weather

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03641_1067x800.jpg

The vehicle that took us there

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03636_600x800.jpg

owner Rocky having a rocking time with his new canon

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03643_600x800.jpg

ladies of the trip feeling the cold

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03638_1067x800.jpg

Model just woke up

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03640_1067x800.jpg

we reached A2b near Salem after this photo shoot by 9:30

P.S : Kodaikanal : literal translation means gift of the god

brraj · 14th June 2010, 16:52

Good that you started on friday morning so that you can have a relaxed drive and enjoy the scenery.

by the way did u come across any paragliders?

waiting for more pictures..

ElantraGT · 14th June 2010, 17:00

Raj, the teaser pictures are awesome. Hope the trip brought in the peace you guys needed from your hectic schedule.

raj.barcode · 14th June 2010, 18:37

I am a complete foodie; people who know me vouch for it and my size too which seems to growing sideways rather than in height; so it did take a long time for me to finish my breakfast. The list is quite long to mention; finishing that became an event in itself.
Surprisingly rocky with his small size gave a run for my money when it comes to eating and chikku aka model would finish his breakfast with just one vada; man he is too much!!
The girls with us always worried about their xx-xx-xx ate only non oily items as usual and jealous of models appetite.

so we tank up both ourselves and the truck to the brim and head towards Palani via mettur.

en route pictures

took this picture seeing the clouds hoping kodai will be way better

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03646_1067x800.jpg

Picture from the bridge while crossing mettur

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03656_1067x800.jpg

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03662_600x800.jpg

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03666_600x800.jpg

Us all posing on the bridge

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03665_1067x800.jpg

Your truly, varsha, divya, rocky and model aka Chikku

random pic

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03660_600x800.jpg

From here on we travelled in State highway, on which routes were clean and little crowded for my liking but was pothole free

Nice road with tree lines

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03680_1067x800.jpg

ROcky mighty satisfied after you know what!!!

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03679_1067x800.jpg

Suddenly we thought it was Braj since the vehicle was behind us from 2 km.

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03681_600x800.jpg

Our truck resting

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-dsc03683_600x800.jpg

From here on the road to Palani was quite tricky as we lost our way quite a few times... thanks to our sleepy navigator

)

StarVegabond · 14th June 2010, 19:28

Hi Raj

great photographs there, traveling with friends is great fun.

i have never been to Kodai, waiting to learn a more bout one more perspective on Kodai through your words and lens

raj.barcode · 14th June 2010, 19:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by StarVegabond

Hi Raj

great photographs there, traveling with friends is great fun.

i have never been to Kodai, waiting to learn a more bout one more perspective on Kodai through your words and lens

yes it is a lovely place; imagine 12 to 14 degrees at 12:00 in the afternoon. brilliant i must say
Mine is an ordinary camera, but the two experts in photography have to still upload; there are some amazing ones from Chikku and rocky bhai coming

Quote:

Originally Posted by brraj

Good that you started on friday morning so that you can have a relaxed drive and enjoy the scenery.

by the way did u come across any paragliders?

waiting for more pictures..

Para gliders no but we did ask around and realized that an adventure club closed down recently

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElantraGT

Raj, the teaser pictures are awesome. Hope the trip brought in the peace you guys needed from your hectic schedule.

You bet it did; i suggest such travel to everyone who have a busy schedule

@ri · 14th June 2010, 20:11

Hey Raj,
Nice pics!!! :-)
I am planning a trip to Kodai soon, could you help me with the time it took as well as some nice halting places en-route as it is going to be a family trip and some in the family are on the other side of 60!
~@ri

raj.barcode · 14th June 2010, 20:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by @ri

Hey Raj,
Nice pics!!! :-)
I am planning a trip to Kodai soon, could you help me with the time it took as well as some nice halting places en-route as it is going to be a family trip and some in the family are on the other side of 60!
~@ri

Will pm you all the details by tomorrow.

rabnawaz_b · 14th June 2010, 20:31

Nice write up raj. Weather looks awesome for drive/ride.
I did Kodai last month and the drive was hot because of May summer.

rocky080 · 14th June 2010, 20:52

As promised by Mr raj.barcode here are a couple of pics from me for today as i am going out tonight will upload the rest in installments from tomorrow.

My beast on the inviting roads near krishnagiri.

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-img_0001.jpg

All the models of the group chikku just missed the cut as he got out late.

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-img_0002.jpg

The Hills around Krishnagiri engulfed with fog.

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-img_0012.jpg

The hungry lot was getting angry fast, so had to reach this A2B near thoppur tollgate.

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-img_0021.jpg

At the pitstop for both man and machine.

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-img_0019.jpg

See the hungry lot with that fake smile on their faces and growling tummy's. If i had reached the place even 15mins later they would have started eating me alive

.

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-img_0018.jpg

At the bridge near mettur dam peeping at the grime filled water.

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-img_0024.jpg

My beast on the bridge that sways and moves when a heavy vehicle moves on it.

"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai-img_0028.jpg

.

_chikku · 14th June 2010, 21:07

guys, my pc got crashed. Pics will come . .

s3va · 14th June 2010, 21:17

another swell time missed ! lets the pics flow !

Raj, how come you didnt take the Elantra and managed to sit on the passenger side, cant digest

Nikhilb2008 · 14th June 2010, 22:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by s3va

another swell time missed ! lets the pics flow !

Raj, how come you didnt take the Elantra and managed to sit on the passenger side, cant digest

Why do you think it rained so heavily today?

mjothi · 14th June 2010, 22:15

Good one. Guys, it so good to see these group drives. I keep missing such wonderful group drives.

Wish I could join one of those trips.

raj.barcode · 15th June 2010, 10:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjothi

Good one. Guys, it so good to see these group drives. I keep missing such wonderful group drives.

Wish I could join one of those trips.

Yes sir; we just didn't want to drive in separate cars this time; we need to conserve energy and time so that we can use it all up in the trip. holiday! we meant it.

14th June 2010, 16:10	#1
raj.barcode BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 706 Thanked: 273 Times View My Garage	"The Gift of the Forest" -Land of misty afternoons- kodai “You can’t go out, not even into the smoking zone to puff in peace, you can’t have the radio too loud, you daren’t spend more than thirty seconds in the bathroom in case you arrive back at your chair to realize boss had called and didn’t pick the call; you can’t switch the tv loudly in case you don’t hear when the your client is calling you at odd hours to discuss something which will be absolutely unimportant.” I had enough of all this. So, it all started in “grips” ( http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/team-b...bangalore.html) event, where we thought, that the work schedule was too much and all the holidays we were planning were blink and miss kinds. i.e a typical weekend outing would be drive, drive and drive (i can just burn rubber in nice road itself) see the place as quickly as possible because we need to rush back to home and office. we usually do photo shoot and enjoy what you had seen in the screen of a computer rather than the place of visit. We just didn’t want to do that. We didn’t want to do insane speeds nor drive in the night without sleep. But also importantly did not want to miss the good part of the weekends (like watch f1 qualifying, brilliant world cup football matches, etc). So this is not just a travel story, but so much more. It is about a holiday in the land of wild flowers, land of misty 2 p.ms (afternoon) and lazing around. What we wanted an extended weekend to refresh our minds from the bustling activities of daily life Land of wild flowers no doubt So handful of like minded people gathered, went through numerous travelogues; thanks to Team bhp and decided Kodai as the place, Cold, misty and laid back and not too far. We called up couple of hotels/resorts and booked in Kodai resort hotel as the place to stay. Road we took while going THANKS TO SREE 70: Bangalore>Krishnagiri>thoppur>mettur>bhavani>perun darai>kangayam>dharapuram>palani>kodaikanal Kodaikanal ~ 440 KMS NH7 & SH routes Place of stay Come Friday 11th morning; we had put leave to our respective offices, importantly told all the clients to say "not in town "till Monday and headed towards Rocky’s place to start a rocking weekend. The journey at 6 am…..first part …. Roads that greeted us brilliant weather The vehicle that took us there owner Rocky having a rocking time with his new canon ladies of the trip feeling the cold Model just woke up we reached A2b near Salem after this photo shoot by 9:30 P.S : Kodaikanal : literal translation means gift of the god Last edited by raj.barcode : 14th June 2010 at 16:14.
	() Thanks

14th June 2010, 16:52	#2
brraj BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: bangalore Posts: 913 Thanked: 1,281 Times	Good that you started on friday morning so that you can have a relaxed drive and enjoy the scenery. by the way did u come across any paragliders? waiting for more pictures..
	() Thanks

14th June 2010, 17:00	#3
ElantraGT BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 441 Thanked: 12 Times	Raj, the teaser pictures are awesome. Hope the trip brought in the peace you guys needed from your hectic schedule.
	() Thanks

14th June 2010, 18:37	#4
raj.barcode BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 706 Thanked: 273 Times View My Garage	I am a complete foodie; people who know me vouch for it and my size too which seems to growing sideways rather than in height; so it did take a long time for me to finish my breakfast. The list is quite long to mention; finishing that became an event in itself. Surprisingly rocky with his small size gave a run for my money when it comes to eating and chikku aka model would finish his breakfast with just one vada; man he is too much!! The girls with us always worried about their xx-xx-xx ate only non oily items as usual and jealous of models appetite. so we tank up both ourselves and the truck to the brim and head towards Palani via mettur. en route pictures took this picture seeing the clouds hoping kodai will be way better Picture from the bridge while crossing mettur Us all posing on the bridge Your truly, varsha, divya, rocky and model aka Chikku random pic From here on we travelled in State highway, on which routes were clean and little crowded for my liking but was pothole free Nice road with tree lines ROcky mighty satisfied after you know what!!! Suddenly we thought it was Braj since the vehicle was behind us from 2 km. Our truck resting From here on the road to Palani was quite tricky as we lost our way quite a few times... thanks to our sleepy navigator ) Last edited by raj.barcode : 14th June 2010 at 18:38.
	() Thanks

14th June 2010, 19:28	#5
StarVegabond Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,891 Thanked: 42 Times	Hi Raj great photographs there, traveling with friends is great fun. i have never been to Kodai, waiting to learn a more bout one more perspective on Kodai through your words and lens
	() Thanks

14th June 2010, 20:11	#7
@ri BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 140 Thanked: 8 Times View My Garage	Hey Raj, Nice pics!!! :-) I am planning a trip to Kodai soon, could you help me with the time it took as well as some nice halting places en-route as it is going to be a family trip and some in the family are on the other side of 60! ~@ri
	() Thanks

14th June 2010, 20:31	#9
rabnawaz_b BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 122 Thanked: 3 Times View My Garage	Nice write up raj. Weather looks awesome for drive/ride. I did Kodai last month and the drive was hot because of May summer.
	() Thanks

14th June 2010, 20:52	#10
rocky080 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 305 Thanked: 37 Times	As promised by Mr raj.barcode here are a couple of pics from me for today as i am going out tonight will upload the rest in installments from tomorrow. My beast on the inviting roads near krishnagiri. All the models of the group chikku just missed the cut as he got out late. The Hills around Krishnagiri engulfed with fog. The hungry lot was getting angry fast, so had to reach this A2B near thoppur tollgate. At the pitstop for both man and machine. See the hungry lot with that fake smile on their faces and growling tummy's. If i had reached the place even 15mins later they would have started eating me alive. At the bridge near mettur dam peeping at the grime filled water. My beast on the bridge that sways and moves when a heavy vehicle moves on it. .
	() Thanks

14th June 2010, 21:07	#11
_chikku BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Puttur Posts: 330 Thanked: 201 Times	guys, my pc got crashed. Pics will come . .
	() Thanks

14th June 2010, 21:17	#12
s3va BHPian Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dubai Posts: 646 Thanked: 5 Times View My Garage	another swell time missed ! lets the pics flow ! Raj, how come you didnt take the Elantra and managed to sit on the passenger side, cant digest
	() Thanks

14th June 2010, 22:15	#14
mjothi Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,287 Thanked: 231 Times View My Garage	Good one. Guys, it so good to see these group drives. I keep missing such wonderful group drives. Wish I could join one of those trips.
	() Thanks