Last (to last .. to last now) weekend
was the perfect holiday any one could possibly have asked for. An adventurer especially!
It wasn’t a trip I expected would bring me so much peace, fun and adrenaline;
so, it did come as quite the surprise!
Shivpuri is a tiny, picturesque
village in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, surrounded by hills, and the beautiful
sounds and sight of the calm Ganges. Oh, and it’s clean! Our forty-five minute
journey from Dehradun Airport to our camp at Shivpuri was filled with unparalled
views and perfect opportunities for click, click, click. However, we chose to
laugh, play antakshari, and laugh
some more.
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| Airport Selfie ;) |
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| On our way to Camp Panther |
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| Didn't know we'd be in one of these rapids ;) |
The girls were a little worried,
let me add, ‘coz we were told about the “loo-y” issues in tents – things like “you’d
have to sing out loud if you don’t want your roomie unzipping the loo and
walking in to your sounds and smell…” eew :S…. err… Well, much to our relief we
were put up in villas (called huts at Panther Camp), with proper beds, AC,
indoor and outdoor baths, and yes, you heard me sing, Dooooors!! LOL
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| Camp Panther |
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| By the Pool... :):) |
Day 1 was all about presentations
(did I forget to mention this was an office offsite? :P), and with a 34 degree
temperature outside, it felt no better than Bombay. ACs on in full swing, we
managed to share some laughs on the really humourous serious business data. Later
that night, a little trek downhill took us to the gorgeous beach side where we
had our camp-fire under a zillion (visible) stars. Soothing sound of the Ganga
and some live strumming of the guitar kept us company. A lot of Aashiqui 2
songs later, we went back to our beautiful huts for a great night’s sleep. The relaxing
sound of Ganges lulled us to sleep.
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| Best Team Award |
Day 2 started with some yummy
breakfast at the Panther Camp – they have amazzzzzzing food there! With a whole
bunch of us being a little scared and skeptical of the rafting exercise planned
for the day, we signed our WeAreResponsibleForOurOwnDeathIfThatHappens forms. A
ride reallllly uphill, a little walk down the scarrrrriest path ever, we were
back at the surreal, serene, and silk in blue Ganga. She’s beautiful, you know!
Few in the team needed some pep-talk and prodding, but we wore our life
jackets, and excitedly started our fabulous rafting experience. I loved every
minute of it! The water was quite cold and it did take some guts to have it
splashed on us. The best part, however, was when we jumped in into the gurgling
rapids (minor one, really) and the sweet water sweetly hit us, and brought out
our ear to ear smiles. It was lovely, refreshing, slightly fearful, and
magically comforting - all at once. Well, mildly put, it was enchanting, and
out of the world. (Now you get the “Liril” connection for the title?! Hehe…)
We went for Grade 3 rafting, uptil Three Blind Mice, and stopped just before Good
Afternoon, at the same camp site as the previous night. After some fun-filled
tug-of-war and beach volleyball, we went back to our huts, showered, slept a
little, and came back out to do the Flying Fox. Now, apparently the day was
quite windy, so we were divided into two groups. The lighter ones were asked to
do the stunt (I’ll tell you why I call it that) the next day. I coyly waited
back :P:P.
We swam, relaxed, clicked some pictures and generally enjoyed ourselves. True enjoyment,
like actually being with people, not on our phones ;) !
Later that night we had some gambling rambling, cricket screening and lots of Bollywood
dancing!
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| That SCARRRRRY Walk Down to the Rafts |
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| All set to Raft |
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| Oars and Moi ;) |
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| The serene Ganges |
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| Surreal Ganga |
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| That water was COLD!!! :| |
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| Does that even look like an "Office" offsite?! |
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| The Cold Cold Ganges |
Day 3 was a short one to be honest,
‘coz we had our flight back the same evening. However, I was yet to finish the
Flying Fox “stunt”, so the left-over guys from the previous day, and the light
ones *coy smile again* (LOL) went to experience the thrill of a life-time. Little
did I expect to get that scared! No,
really, this was SCARY!!! We were given instructions, and I told everyone who
could listen to save me should anything happen to poor little helpless me!!! Phew!!
Wore our gears, practiced at a small practice-zone, and went up to do the real
thing. Mountain to mountain, Ganga in the middle of it! Hey Bhagwaan, sochne par bhi darr lag raha hai!! I shouted out to
all the Gods and then zoooooooom I went. Perfect landing, beauty around and
beneath, winds saying hello, all the jazz, and I was still dreading the journey
back (it is via the cables again… cryyyy)….. Shouting to all the Gods again, I started
coming back, and….. and….well and…. I kept turning like a little disco ball in
those winds. Then, in the middle of it all, I got stuck! *can I curse everyone
now*.… I had to do the “Khatron ke Khiladi” stunt of pulling my way back to destination
(See pictures below), and all those idiots I asked should came and save me,
kept saying “aa jaao madam… bas thoda aur”… In my head I was like“ Arrey gadho,
koi toh aa kar mujhe bachaao!!!!” Anyway,
I did it… I landed back, and yes, you guessed it right, I’ll definitely do it
again! Hehe…
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| Feeling Brave! Across the Ganges |
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| Khatron ke Khiladi!! Phew!!! |
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| "You didn't come to save me, you fool!!!" Grrr |
Bas, fir kya… bags packed, we left
the beautiful Shivpuri. Dehradoon airport welcomed us once again, and took us
back to a rather stressed looking Mumbai.
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| I miss it already!! |
All I want to say is, this was a
blessed break. Fun-filled, relaxing, happy, truly divine kind of break! Go
there some day, do all we did, much more, and you will come back and thank me,
just how I am thanking the organizers!
Love,
Lavi
