Seriously, I really need to learn the names of the place I'm visiting. So the itinerary for today is just to scale a mountain and then visit a man-make lake. Sound simple enough right...
Was drizzling on the way to the foot of the mountain. After breakfast, the rain subsided and we carry on with our plan. The guide got onboard at the foot of the mountain and we went informed that the peak of the mountain is closed as it is summer and as a result of a forest fire. Thus, the hike became a 1 hour event from the a full day event.
We soon reach the midway point, where we were suppose to trek on foot from there on. The weather was great, with a cool and refreshing mountain breeze. Since it was a 2km trek, and the path was pretty gentle, I guess everyone took it easy. Chit chatting, singing songs along the way. I even broke away from the group and went on a different path (only to get chased down)
We reached what we thought was the end of the "trek", a tower with a toilet and a great viewing point. As typical Singaporeans, we started our weird acts in all tourists attraction. Soon enough, we heard our guide call out to us. Apparently what we thought was the end of the trek is just the beginning of it.
So here comes the mountain path. Omg, the terrain was treacherous and slippery. The guys were armed to the toe with 2 x 1.5 litre water bottle and food, and some of us wore just slippers (I dun think I could have make it with just slippers). Midway through the climb, it started pouring...not just a drizzle, it was almost like a torrential rain. At this point in time, we were already scaling on rocks instead of paths, which made the climb all the more challenging. The only consolation we had was the spectacular view, the misty forest pic that always get posted online. The rain was intermittent, coming on and going off without warning.
We soon got to the peak, where we were greeted by this heart-shaped lake. Spend some time there trying to replenish our energy, rehydrate and munch on some bananas. Ja, Jon and I tried to bash through to get closer to the lake, but decided that it wasn't worth the effort. Now...imagine our horror when we were informed that we had to hike down the same path
Midway through the hike up, Jon lost his slippers and was doing the hike barefooted. The downhill hike was especially tough on him, since he can hardly land on the gravels and stones to gain traction due to the pain, while the smooth paths were too slippery for him to walk on. The rain and win has gotten s lot heavier by this time. As a result, the rest of the gang hiked downwards first, while Ja, Jon and I took our time, with Ja lending his hand to Jon while I just covered the rear. You will not imagine the number of close shaves we had, from the near misses at the edge of the cliffs to the countless cuts on our hands as we steady ourselves on all fours. Without a doubt, this was the most physically challenging activity I had in my life...though it was quite rewarding at the same time
We finally made it to the gentle section of the hike, from there one, it was just a walk through the merciless rain to our bus. By this time, Jon could not walk on the path any longer, so I piggy-backed him for a short distance through the rocky path. Thankfully, our bus driver was kind enough to allow us to enter the bus in our drenched state. By this time, the soles on both my shoes has been completely torn off. Our original plan was to proceed on to one of the largest man-made lake in India. But given our state, we decided to just head by to our hostel to clean ourselves us.
Washed up, did laundry, and went out for "lunch". It was around 5pm then, and dinner was supposed to be at 730. Ordered macaroni and ginger tea (to fight off the effects of being drenched in the rain). Went to the hypermarket and got myself a bar of snickers and some chocolate cookies before returning back to the hostel to meet Sumanahalli's auditor and our landlord for dinner. They were especially nice, ordering Chinese food knowing that most of us are Chinese, and even picked up the tab at the end of the meal.
So this is all for the day! Going to a wildlife nature reserve tomorrow...at 5am...
Mark
PS: Jon is so going to rewrite his itinerary for today for those coming on the second run
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