Confused.. Yes, It all started with Con-FUSION.
Place, People, Package, Plan. Uffff.. There were lots of questions running
through the head while there was nothing in place at that moment. Most of us
were in a state of dropping out of the journey as we were fused with Confusion.
Yet, we decided to go because at times, Confusion is “sometimes” happiness.
Destination was set to Ibbani resort, Sakleshpur. People
from five different project teams were interested to join the journey. Combined
together it was a total of 38 members. Plan was finalized finally.
We kick started our journey from Bangalore NH4 and
continued to NH48. As we moved further, music started grooving through
everyone’s head and body. Mind was very happy but stomach was crying for
breakfast. So we had a pit stop at a restaurant named Swathi. Nothing made us
as happy as a sound breakfast at that moment after which we continued our
journey towards our destination.
Most of the travelers play this game called "Dumb Charades”,
and we were no exception. Everyone was excited to play the game as no matter
how many times you play it, nobody can beat this game as the time beater.
Cheers, screaming, action, and guess work - We could all feel the energy boosting
within ourselves and I am sure each one of us enjoyed it. As the journey
continued flavors of coffee, areca , pepper and cardamom was filled everywhere.
Yes, it was a sign of letting us realize that we were in $akLe$pur. $akLe$pur
is surrounded and filled with lofty green hills full of coffee, cardamom,
pepper and areca plantations. A sense of happiness started running through us
that we have left the busy, congested metropolitan life behind as we travelled
ahead. We were close to nature and away from network. On one hand, we were
happy that we dint have network but on the other, we were wondering on how to
communicate back home. We could feel the hill station even more by the way the bus
started jerking backward. Roads were so narrow that no two vehicles could
travel at a time. If the bus came to a halt then it would have been a disaster,
as it was extremely hot and nobody wanted to take the heat. But luckily nothing as such happened and we
reached our destination without any glitch.
My first impression about Ibbani resort is "Green
everywhere". Ibbani is located in a slope area and is surrounded by chain
of mountains. Cottages were neat and clean. But we were a little surprised not
to see any fans inside cottage and had to wait till night to get an answer for
it. Food was good, especially the non vegetarian dishes. Activities included
mud volleyball, carom, cricket, badminton, rope walk, swing, trekking, Jeep
drive, friendly cards, camp fire, rain dance and few water activities. In this
trip, everyone had the liberty to choose their activity unlike in office where
the tasks or activities are decided by the leader ;). Depending on the energy
and interests people selected activities to get in. It was then snacks and
Coffee/Tea time. To be frank, since the place is known for coffee plantation,
the tastes of coffee dint match our expectation.
We then decided to go for trekking and started stepping
up. As we were stepping up, our cell phones started vibrating, Yo.. We got
signal and no one missed the chance to call home. Trekking was not as easy
as we expected, it was dangerous. We were accompanied by a guide and three
trained dogs. The movie 6-5=2 has impacted people so much that many were
talking about it during trekking and were worried what if we don’t return
back, as the place looks similar to the one in the movie. We ended up taking
few snaps at the hill point and headed back. 
We thought of playing friendly game of cards though we
didn't know how to play them. We learnt how to play bluff and got addicted in
the first show itself. This was followed by Camp fire, Antakshari and finally
Dinner. We felt the drastic change in weather from hot day to extremely cold
night. And nature finally answered our question of why there were no fans in
the resort rooms. Resort was covered with fog, hence the name Ibbani, which
means Fog (in Kannada). We were all exhausted and done for the day and rested.
Next day started with black tea and breakfast. We
decided to go for Jeep Safari. Initially we thought it’s just a drive through the
plantation areas. Believe me, this was the best amongst all activities. It was
a drive through forest area, Scary and Adventures. At certain points I was
holding my breath literally and praying to reach the resort safely.
After the Jeep Safari came the sad part of the trip,
packing and leaving for Bangalore. I totally enjoyed the trip with the
energetic group. All I could say is if you want to enjoy nature, fresh
air and fog, visit Ibbani :). Truly refreshing place.
