It was a tiring and tough climb. And to make matters worse, I had an injured ankle I had sustained playing badminton last weekend, which slowed me down considerably.

Thankfully, I had company in this really sweet young (but sometimes frustrating) thing called Carielle and we kept motivating each other in turns till we reached the peak – Tadeyendamol (also spelt as Thadiyandamol among other ways) at 1750 metres, the tallest one in Coorg / Kodagu district.

[Misty morning at the camp site where we spent the night]
A view of the hills from our camp site in the morning

It took us about 6 hours to complete it from Kakabe (the village where the trek starts) and we led all the way – from behind! But I’m just glad I could make it after doubts about whether my ankle would hold out. Anyway, that’s where I spent the weekend – on top of a misty peak among the clouds, camping in the wild, jumping over the forest streams, eating cup-o-noodles and ingesting enormous amounts of chocolate, not to mention a heavy dose of painkillers.

[The Namdroling Monastery]
The Namdroling monastery has three magificent statues
(Both pics courtesy Prateek Shah and his Olympus digital camera)

On the way back, we visited Bylakuppe, home to one of the largest Tibetan settlements in India and got a glimpse of the the Namdroling monastery (aka the Golden Temple), the largest Nyingmapa teaching centre in the world.

Also found this blog that is maintained by Daniel Brett dedicated to news about the Tibetan community in India. “India is home to around 100,000 Tibetan refugees. Around 4,000-5,000 Tibetans escape their native land every year, with most seeking refuge in India. There are 35 Tibetan settlements and numerous smaller communities in India.” (Info via Brett’s blog).

Pictures and the report as usual are underway.

(PS: Sorry for *dodging* the truth, Lavannya, but I knew I would be in for a verbal lashing (that I probably deserve too :-). Shankar, belated bday wishes for you. Looks like you had a great day and I missed being with you folks!).

Here are some totally experimentative shots that Madhu and I took with his brand new digital camera on a visit to Ebony (the 13th Floor where we initially headed was absolutely packed) last Tuesday. He was really excited about his new toy, though I landed up clicking more extensively than him. Since I had no clue about what I was doing, there are some really bad/abstract/shaky shots here. Some of the later ones are clicked at Shiok where Madhu concocted a rather nice drink made up of wine, champagne and Peach Schnappes. (PS: Jil, you must try it on your next visit, am sure you will love it).

Meanwhile, am off to attend to my exquisite aches and pains.