Riding through the clouds

The monsoons are in full swing in Bangalore and many parts of India. I had been wanting to venture out into a forest or to a hill station to experience the magic of the monsoons, before starting work. This plan had to be trashed however, my training was due to begin in July and I was upset that I couldn’t pull it off. But, life is full of surprises and you can never write anything off easily. I had the best time of my life during this short duration and met amazing and wonderful people. Those days definitely will stay gold forever. The last two days of it especially were a lot of fun and I was on cloud nine. Also, towards the end I was literally in the clouds.

A road trip plan to Nandi Hills took shape in few hours and 4 of us set off from the southern reaches of Bangalore to this hill station where we were expecting a beautiful sunrise. The 85km ride from Bommanahalli at 3:30 am was brilliant fun and neither the potholes on roads nor the numerous deviations on the airport road could taint it. Once we were off the highway, at around 6am the cold mountain air with the smell of the woods greeted us and the twilight made it more beautiful. There were a lot of curves and blind turns to be negotiated en route and every bit of the road was engulfed in a thick fog after a certain distance. Every corner offered an exhilarating view and we stopped many times to witness them before reaching the parking area. Bikes aren’t allowed to the top so we had to walk from the parking area, this part of the trip involved a walk through the woods engulfed in thick fog. The smell of the dew laden woods, the cool misty breeze, the sound of birds chirping made it all a very enchanting trek up to the peak. From atop the hill we could see nothing but a whitish grey expanse, the clouds that were moving rapidly. The winds were very strong near Tipu’s drop, so strong that I felt myself being pushed with it.

The trip was definitely worth it and the views were breath-taking, the fact that we couldn’t see the sunrise this time wasn’t disheartening because the rains make everything better. This was the first time I rode through the clouds on a hill and nothing beats riding through them. (My previous visit to Nandi Hills)

The pictures can do the talking now (Click on the pictures to view them large)