Like a Virgin

I’m about to embark on something I’ve never done before. It feels strange and exciting and scary all at the same time.

Yes, yes, I’m going camping and mountain climbing. Its gonna be my first time so I’m a trekking virgin :P

It’s years since I’ve been to a proper hill station and the cool (more like brrr…cold at this time of the year) climes are something I’m greatly looking forward to. Not to mention cramming the poor camera with tons of some beautiful and some timepass pics :D

I feel like a bride all set for an adventure of a lifetime. In a way, it’s a lot like getting hitched. Its all new, fun, and weird. There are going to be wild beasts (hopefully they will come outta hiding)—the real ones that is. In a marriage, those would be the outlaws and other sundry relatives, and hopefully not the husband. There is going to be scenic breathtaking beauty, so that replicates honeymooning in exotic locales. There is going to be a campfire and lots of singing and dancing, so that’s like the wedding ceremony.

The old English tradition at the time of a wedding in the Western world follows this quaint, but super-cute custom of gifting the bride with a few mandatory things. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase before in books or movies or seen it for yourself. It goes like this:

Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue

Each item in this poem represents a good-luck token for the bride. If she carries all of them on her wedding day, her marriage will be happy. So in keeping with the custom, I’ve got something to cover all those points….the shoes are old, the protein bars are new, the backpack and the jacket are borrowed, and the jeans are blue!!! So hopefully my trekking trip will be a fun and happy one too. Ahahahaha. I have officially lost it. The fellow group members are gonna have to suffer my lunacy. I hope poonam ki raat happens on the trip :P

Alright, enough with the crazy imagery and the exaggeration :P

The group I’m going with are people I hardly know at all, complete strangers most of them. Don’t even know half the names though I see them everyday at work. So that is yet another adventure. I think its rather brave of me to take off without knowing the people I’m traveling with, the itinerary, the arrangements or anything. TGFI, don’t you think this point qualifies in your ‘proud tag’ :P Just following Nike’s phamous tagline “Just Do It” and going with the flow.

For the usually cautious me, this itself is a big deal. And its funny for someone who has traveled a few countries and cities a few times all on her ownsome. But that feels like eons ago now. Its been a while since I’ve settled into a life of complacency and a dulled sense of security. So this trip is gonna shake me outta my self-induced stupor in more ways than one. Excited!!!! :D

Since its monsoon, the group decided to stock up on cheaply available raincoats from the roadside, the wear and discard types. Mine is a bright pink flowery one. The other colors are blue, orange, green and god knows what else! The pristine beauty of the mountain ranges and tea estates are gonna be witness to an eyesore of a fashion disaster! With all the backpacks, shoes and socks, water bottles and raincoats, we feel like a bunch of school kids out on a picnic, yabbering away nonstop! For sure, there will be the mandatory singing/antakshari in the bus to top it all!! I just hope we don’t start waving at people on the roads while sitting in the bus. Everyone’s getting carried away with the thrill of getting away from stifling work schedules!

Looking forward to being an observer of nature in all her glory. Being in the lap of Mother Nature is a high all by itself.

Will be back next week with pics, stories and other sundry jaw dropping info. Stay tuned and have a great weekend y’all! :-)