Initial plan: Attend Ravi Chandra`s marriage in Dharwad and go to Badami which was my place of interest to start off with
What actually transpired: 3rd century architecture of Badami appreciation took a backseat when plan was changed to go to Dandeli for river rafting by my schoolmate friends
Cast: Nishant Bogimane(Nishu), Prabhakaran(Tiger), Chetan Gowda(Doctor), Manu Ramaiah(Manu), Vikas Thimmappa(Vicky), Harsha Reddy(Appi), Mahesh and ofcourse yours truly me.
How exactly it happened?: Please be with me on this for a little while longer.
7th Feb 2014: I reached directly from office to catch up with Tiger near his house and pickup Doctor and Nishu. Meanwhile another group comprising of Manu, Vicky, Appi and Mahesh were already enjoying full 3 days in Goa. We were supposed to sync up with the Goa gang the next day. The journey started at 11pm and by 6:30 am the next day we were in Dandeli! If not for a detour we had to take owing to not choosing highways, we would have reached even earlier to Dandeli.
Our man Nishu`s cousin helped us in booking an Inspection Bungalow(IB) for us. Convenient but definitely not comfortable.
The IB was located facing the Kali river. So, the scenic beauty was captured by me while our boyz were conveniently taking nap after being awake most of the time during our night journey.
The IB was located facing the Kali river. So, the scenic beauty was captured by me while our boyz were conveniently taking nap after being awake most of the time during our night journey.
8th Feb 2014:
As soon as we reached the IB, we were all so tired that we took a nap till the boys from Goa arrived. Nap taking moments shown below :P
Boyz from Goa were informed to reach Ganeshgudi where we had planned for river rafting. For most of us, rafting was a first time experience and I was super excited to do it for sure.
Most of us had never done rafting before and I was so skeptical about rafting more so because I didnt know swimming. So, boyz met in Ganeshgudi and headed towards rafting camps.
Since it was weekend, there were many groups who had come for rafting and many were evidently excited. We were informed that the rafting cost was Rs 500 per head for 800 metres rafting which included max of 3 rapids. There were also a package which costed Rs2000 for 8km rafting. We obviously opted for the earlier as most of us were skeptical. Most of the guys who guided us for rafting are from North India who have conducted Rafting in tougher places like Ganges and all. So, initially the life jacket fastening along with the basics of rafting were taught which included the way in which the oar has to be held( T-grip and all)
Mahesh was unlucky to miss out on our raft. He got into a different raft. Remaining of us got into a raft which started off with acclimitization and boom, we were off. The guide usually takes the end position in the raft who guides the raft in the flow of the raft. we had some awesome dips and maneuvoured some rapids to bring the rafting to an end. Then, lunch at some small place and started off with the plans for the rest of the day. Enthusiasts got booze and got into a place where the river was shallow where we could sit and have a gala time discussing topics.
OK, and for the evening, there were two options. Stay in IB or camp in one of the resorts. We opted for the later where the resort boasted of campfire, tents. We got the food cooked from a person whom we met at the IB and spent the night till 1am in the resort. Camp fire and camping in tents setup in for us in the resort just next to the Kali river was a moment not to forget for us.
As soon as we reached the IB, we were all so tired that we took a nap till the boys from Goa arrived. Nap taking moments shown below :P
Most of us had never done rafting before and I was so skeptical about rafting more so because I didnt know swimming. So, boyz met in Ganeshgudi and headed towards rafting camps.
Since it was weekend, there were many groups who had come for rafting and many were evidently excited. We were informed that the rafting cost was Rs 500 per head for 800 metres rafting which included max of 3 rapids. There were also a package which costed Rs2000 for 8km rafting. We obviously opted for the earlier as most of us were skeptical. Most of the guys who guided us for rafting are from North India who have conducted Rafting in tougher places like Ganges and all. So, initially the life jacket fastening along with the basics of rafting were taught which included the way in which the oar has to be held( T-grip and all)
Mahesh was unlucky to miss out on our raft. He got into a different raft. Remaining of us got into a raft which started off with acclimitization and boom, we were off. The guide usually takes the end position in the raft who guides the raft in the flow of the raft. we had some awesome dips and maneuvoured some rapids to bring the rafting to an end. Then, lunch at some small place and started off with the plans for the rest of the day. Enthusiasts got booze and got into a place where the river was shallow where we could sit and have a gala time discussing topics.
OK, and for the evening, there were two options. Stay in IB or camp in one of the resorts. We opted for the later where the resort boasted of campfire, tents. We got the food cooked from a person whom we met at the IB and spent the night till 1am in the resort. Camp fire and camping in tents setup in for us in the resort just next to the Kali river was a moment not to forget for us.
On the D day of Ravi s marriage, somehow we managed to wake up at 6am and got ready to leave. The journey of 50kms from Dandeli to Dharwad was not a problem if you have Alonso(Manu) and Kimi(Tiger) as our drivers :)
Before leaving the resort, I managed to get the pic of kali river just next to the resort. It was so beautiful.
Later I came to know that the river next to the resort was infested by crocodiles :O
Finally we managed to go the marriage right on time and wish our good friend Ravi all the best for his future.
In company of our Trip boyz, no trip is boring and hope we go for many trips going forward.
Cheers!
In company of our Trip boyz, no trip is boring and hope we go for many trips going forward.
Cheers!
