Journey $ Bangalore -> $akLe$pur -> Ibbani Resort $

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.