This weekend’s trip to Seetha Nadi was great fun. Short, of course. 2 back-to-back 12 hour bus journeys would have been back breaking to say the least, but our enthusiasm levels made it bearable.

My camera died in the raft. We got stuck at one point. Water gushed in. Everything got wet including the camera, which stopped functioning after making uncomfortable noises. It served me well through the years (not the SLR, or I would have been heartbroken!) so was rather crushed. Anyway, no pictures from my side.

So instead of doing a travelogue this time around, I decided to write a bit about the folks I met during this trip. I only knew one person when I started off. And another one, via email exchanges.

But one of the fringe benefits of these trips are the interesting people you land up meeting and befriending! Some you will probably never meet again. But with some, the bonds strike instantly and you know that you’ll meet again, sometime, somewhere.

So here’s presenting the seven musketeers, in no particular order.

Apra

A blessing in disguise he turned out to be! He had that one vital quality missing in all of us : the ability to speak in Kannada. For many miserable moments on Friday afternoon, I tried communicating with the bus fella, trying to convey to him that I wanted 8 tickets to Hebri. If we had continued the conversation, we might all have been on a bus to Kerala! Apra stepped in and took over efficiently 🙂 A photographer to boot, he was found in many vertically and horizontally challenged positions after our rafting expedition. I am not sure of the pictures he came up with but we applaud his flexibility.

Ansh

Quiz question: Is it possible for someone to be in Bangalore for 5 years and not be on a single trip anywhere? The answer apparently is yes, as I discovered with Ansh. However, this Delhiite has not wasted any time discovering places outside India. Now, discover India, I say!

Another enthu photographer, Anshu was accompanied by his flashy Olympus camera. He also gave us demonstrations of his cool gadget while we drooled (you know how we women drool over anything that has many buttons!).

G-Gal

She first signed on for the Honnemardu trip, but it didn’t work out. G-Gal was determined to make it for this one and sms’d me from Chennai saying she was coming! Trouble was afoot when we boarded the bus and after about 5 minutes she wailed, “Are we there yet?” And then more trouble when she told me that she would feel more secure if she was belted in. Like in an aeroplane? Aha. G-Gal hadn’t done bus journeys for a while. Nor had she roughed it out in the jungle with basic accommodation and cleansing facilities. However, after this first encounter with living on the wild (and rather basic) side, she promises to go on more trips. We are counting on that G-Gal!

Wernie Boy aka Gypsy aka the Worm (actually, you can call him anything and he’ll respond)

What can I say about Wernie boy? Both G-Gal and I pounced on him the moment he boarded the bus : he is such a pouncable character. He thought we were the ‘evil twins’ after that and kept giving us suspicious looks throughout the bus journey. When he got a chance to stop eating BJ’s head, of course. Werner belongs to that school of thought that believes in speaking, irrespective of whether someone is listening!

Also, very impatient, Wernie Boy kept asking, What’s the plan? What’s the plan? This when it was obvious to everyone that it was raining cats and dogs and pretty much all our options like trekking and walking were impossible given the conditions. I didn’t kill him because I sensed he was genuinely asking the question. And not just acting dumb :>)

BJ

Moving on to the Texan who, when we were about 2 hours from the destination inquired politely if we could take a plane back. The bus journey obviously had proved a little too much for him. However, BJ has been in the country for about 3 weeks and one must say that with his initiation into the India season with the monsoon, I was wondering why he didn’t look more harassed. Even G-Gal managed to look more flustered at times at the lack of luxuries! And then when we were all seated on the raft, all ready to battle the elements, he asks rather curiously: “What river are we on, by the way?” And then a little later: “And we’re still in Karnataka?” Geography lessons for BJ, anyone?

The Prince

But we never quite discovered what he’s the Prince of! This gentleman has done 3 treks in his 4 months in India (Anshul’s jaw dropped to the bus floor at this point!). He’s adapting quite well to the Indian climes and when asked if he liked India and Indians, he said (looking in Wernie’s direction). “Yes, until now!” Poor Wernie. I think he got too much of our verbal bashing!

Ann ‘T’

A common friend introduced us knowing our common love of traveling. Ann mailed me one day asking if I’d like to do something over a weekend and thus plans were hatched. We zeroed in on the rafting plan. She asked if it was okay as she didn’t know how to swim! I said, all the more fun!! Ann T, thankfully turned out to be calmer and more serene than G-Gal and moi, who don’t usually know when to stop talking and blabbering (and laughing loudly!). Can you imagine 3 women talking at the same time? Recipe for disaster, I say!

And that’s me!

No! Yoko Ono didn’t come rafting with us folks – it’s only me!