Night Camp - Vikarabad

Twenty One people, headed to ananthgiri hills for a night camp. What followed was a good time and a good time which was dominated by singers!

Ananthgiri hills is around 80 kms from hyderabad and offers a good place for camping. We found one such place for setting up our camp. From here, a good view of vikarabad could be had. The twilight brought out some good views of the place but we were late, as usual and we had to get to work!

6 cars with 21 people reached the place around 6 in the evening. People got out of the car and got down to work, realizing that the fading sun would offer light only for sometime. So, the girls took care of the cooking department while the guys took care of setting up the tents and collecting firewoods. Few knew how to set a tent and i was not one of them, sad. but the better part? i learnt something about it! There was no light, how could we continue our work? The cars came to the rescue.

What's cooking?
The girls were quick in getting everything ready, that was required for their cooking. Few got down to cut/peel the vegetables while others were sorting ingredients out. Few guys volunteered to hold the torch and throw light! With all the hard work, finally there was rice, dal and a curry, waiting to be served.
One person was busy piercing chicken into the sticks. The chicken-pierced-sticks were handed out to guys and were asked to roast it over the fire, which was created.

After the meal was prepared, a quick round of introduction was done around the campfire. Then, it was time to eat. There was light shower, accompanied by a gushing wind, when we commenced our food. Few of us had to rush to save the tents, which were not grounded. The water drops were for a little time. Post dinner, it was singing all the way. 3 teams were formed and a good number of songs played. Well into the night, the singing carried on and at some point it was decided that the group will go out for a night walk. A good walk and the singing began....again! We found a place downhill which offered a beautiful view of the lit city far away with the starry sky. The moon with its beautiful crescent was a watch. We sat down and people sang few good numbers. One of them suggested complete silence and enjoy the view. I liked this part. A sense, which is hard to describe, set in. Imagine in a surrounding - A cool breeze hitting your face, on a place which had a picturesque view, under the star-filled-sky. So, that was it! It was time and we decided to return. The singing went on! and when we reached back it was time to play cards. A good time with cards. I learnt something, for i knew nothing about playing cards.

What's with the toothpaste?
The maha-idea of one/two of the members, to apply toothpaste on the face of sleeping humans. I'm sure they had a lot of fun doing so and in the process being 'called' by a person on whose face they tried to apply. The best part was the explanation of what 'actually' people thought that paste was [LOL as i think of it!]

The next day, we had a short walk to catch the first rays of sunlight but unfortunately we couldn't see as the clouds has blocked the view. So, had to return, slightly disappointed. We reached our base, packed stuff and left the place with a pretty long ride back home, with of course, fun memories placed in the brain!

Thank you Ranjitha, for all the cooking and Anitha, Shraddha for supporting the cooking department. Thank you monty, srikanth, prasanna and nataraj for holding the torchlight for sooo long and assisting the chefs!
Thank you, shwetha, for the wonderful chicken [i think the left over marination paste was applied on someone's face! oh no. he thought so!!!]
Thank you everyone for the humor and fun.

Car and Bike ride to vikarabad.

It was wee hours of Sunday morning. A chilling morning with the riders and drivers set to go on a ride/drive to vikarabad. 3 cars and 5 bikes with 21 people on the vehicles drove their way for a trek followed by a lake side relax.

People assembled at the cross roads as mentioned in the trip schedule. The wait was for around 15 minutes, for others to assemble, after which, it was time and the riders had to bite the cold morning while the car occupants had a pleasant ride!

The morning brought with it the rays of sun and a picturesque view that was 'simply' beautiful. The ride was a good one with me changing speeds for the fun of riding. The intention of having bikes on the go was to have the fun of riding. The ride was close to 80 kms, single way. We had to make stops in between to ensure no one was far behind or left out. We had a good breakfast at a restaurant in Chevalla. After the good breakfast, the group headed forward to ananthgiri hills, the prime destination of the trip.

It was around 0900 hrs, by the time, we reached ananthgiri hills. A quick round of introduction was done and then the trek began. Ananthgiri hills is an easy - moderate trek. Few parts of the hills are totally covered with dried plants and the surfaces do not have rocks for balance. oh oh! It makes it a little difficult but with care it shouldn't be a difficult one. We had few people with bruises as the slopes with soil made it difficult to balance and bruises were inevitable. Precisely, the reason why long sleeve shirts are advised. The trek was concluded at 12oo hrs. The weather was against a second trek as the plan was to head to the lake at around 0200 hrs for a good lunch and a jump in the water. But then the weather prompted us to make it to the lake early and we left the hills at 1215 hrs.

It was around 1230 when we reached Nagasamudram lake. People plunged into water and there was hardly any slack time from the moment we reached the lake till the jump into the water. So, you now know how the weather was. eh? Nonetheless, few people had a good time in water, few chose to rest by the lake and few [including me] decided for a small walk around the lake. Looking for new ways in getting to the other side lake. On return, food was waiting and had a good amount of it, after which there was a lot of time to relax and have a small chat with others on varying topics. Since, there was nothing else to do, it was decided that we head back and at 0330 hrs we started back to hyderabad, with a stop for tea at the same place where we had our breakfast.

The return ride was tiring [for me] but overall it was a good ride and i realized one thing when i reached home, it was my first long distance ride and i had pushed my bike to the limit!