Its the time of year to utilize the annual leave balance and when you are in an organization where I am, this balance is in abundance. Having taken 20 leaves and being in Bangalore on my current project, I found it a good idea to travel South of India known for its natural beauty, plantations etc. Here is my account of the first of few South India trips I have planned in next few days.
Wayanad - a small district in north east of Kerala is just about 300 km from Bangalore. Almost the entire stretch is a "Makhan" road passing through Mysore, Nanjangud, Gundulpet, S.Bathery and in to Wayanad. You can easily start imagining that you are driving abroad before you encounter very rare pits and cows that I guess are there to make you feel at home (read India).
DAY 1: We started our journey on 20th Dec (Saturday) morning at 6.00 a.m. After initial hurdles in Bangalore (with all the diversion that have come up in the name of infrastructure projects) we were able to touch the highway around 6.45 a.m. Entry to Mysore highway is amazing, I just hope the toll plaza that is coming up there don't result in similar traffic jams that we encounter on Gurgaon-Delhi expressway. We took our first stop at "Indradhanush" restaurant on Mysore highway to have our breakfast.
Having tried different types of cuisines, I have found that south indian breakfast is globally "The Best". Its tasty and you dont feel sleepy after having it. Food at "Indradhanush" was fresh, hot and tasty. With our belly full, it was time to again start our journey and after that it was a non stop four hour drive to Wayanad. As already told the road overall was very good. Stretch between Mysore to Nanjangud is uneven but not that bad either. After crossing Gundulpet we entered Bandipur Forests and the drive through thick dense forests was a life time experience. 
We had already got our booking done in Wayanad at "Wynberg Resorts" after having read very good reviews about the resort on "holidayiq.com". Even before we reached Wayanad, we started getting a taste of exceptionally good customer service that we were to get over next 3 days. Mr. Vanchy, the owner of resort started calling us when we were in Mysore and kept giving us directions so that we dont lost our way. We reached the resort at 12.30 p.m. Since the resort is there in the plantations far from city traffic, last 3 km of the journey were bumpy. But that too was fun. Once at the resort I was really amazed to see the location of out cottage. Just in front were the hills, with plantations(tea, coffee, cardamom, rubber, vanilla, banana etc) all around.
The gracious host Mr.Vanchy welcomed us and made us feel at home. We had booked an Eco-Friendly family cottage. After refreshing ourself we had out lunch. The food was good so were the staff members serving the food.Their was that personal touch in the service that we found during our complete stay at the resort. Mr. Vanchy suggested we can visit Edakkal caves, but we decided to relax that day and enjoy the quiet, fresh environment of the resort. We all slept for sometime in the resort garden occupying all the "Jhoolas". The fresh cool air around beat the best of ACs in the world.
Once we were fresh after a good two hour sleep, we had our evening tea and went for a stroll around the resort. The place was all green with all sort of trees around. The pictures below captures the beauty of the place for which I don't have any words.
As it got dark we returned to the resort and spend rest of the evening in the activity centre playing carrom, table tennis and reading books. Dinner was very tasty, especially the chicken curry. It was a three course dinner, something you don't expect in Kerala. We went to bed after an exciting day all set for another refreshing day.
Day 2: It's 6.00 a.m in the morning, I get up and come out of my cottage. My first reaction was....WOW..How can a place be that fresh. There was mist all around, the hill that we could see in the evening was no more visible. The only sound that you hear was that of falling of mist in the air and that of birds chirping around. Such a refreshing morning I havent seen in my life till now and the image is going to remain in my memory for a very long time.
After taking morning tea we went along with Mr. Vanchy to visit his plantations. There were all sort of plantations his family owned. He explained the processing of each of the plantation in detail and it was a nice feeling to be a biology student again after 10 yrs. Collection of rubber from the tree was a very interesting process, I never knew this is how the rubber we use in tyre is prepared. Infact we all never knew that a pineaple grows not on a tree but a small plant. We spend around 2 hours visiting the plantations and it was a very different and good experience.
Day 2: It's 6.00 a.m in the morning, I get up and come out of my cottage. My first reaction was....WOW..How can a place be that fresh. There was mist all around, the hill that we could see in the evening was no more visible. The only sound that you hear was that of falling of mist in the air and that of birds chirping around. Such a refreshing morning I havent seen in my life till now and the image is going to remain in my memory for a very long time.
After taking morning tea we went along with Mr. Vanchy to visit his plantations. There were all sort of plantations his family owned. He explained the processing of each of the plantation in detail and it was a nice feeling to be a biology student again after 10 yrs. Collection of rubber from the tree was a very interesting process, I never knew this is how the rubber we use in tyre is prepared. Infact we all never knew that a pineaple grows not on a tree but a small plant. We spend around 2 hours visiting the plantations and it was a very different and good experience. 
