why am i addicted to the bunglow in the hills? here it is:

the route to vaalparai was fantastic. we made good time once out of city limits. but of course we slowed down once we were within view of the hills.

we were driving thro this kuchha road with dense foliage, the climate was very cool, with a touch of humidity – jus enough for comfort. suddenly the trees vanish, the air is icy, there’s a long stretch of shiny black road and at the end of that – these ENORmous pale blue mountains, streaked across by silver ribbony streams winking at you in the blond early morning sunshine – that was SO beautiful, it was downright overwhelming.

driving up the mountains, you pass the trademark tea shop – that temple of irony, haunted by bold monkeys and shy maiden, serving the best tea in the dirtiest glasses. i actually saw a monkey putting its snout or nose or whatever into those glasses YUCK but ya whateve – other ppl have survived this before so i guess i can too.

there’s something so earthy and rustic and natural about the hills – i feel so much at home there. once we reached our estate bunglow, i felt more at home than both the city and my out-of-the-way hostel-in-a-hole it was like the hills were singing to me.
just sitting in the garden, next to the bonfire, watching the moon rise, the way the stars seemed to give way to it, the shapes the clouds formed around it, the dance of the bonfire smoke, these seemed like something id done all my life. the grass seemed like my friend of old, and the call of the night bird warmed the cockles of my heart

i have no idea how i derived this much comfort from the bunglow. especially since its a known target for a herd of elephants. and a week back, a cheetah took away a lil girl from the next hill.

for some strange reason, this proximity to the wild makes me feel so much more human. yes, the city is just a couple hours’ drive away. but isn’t that what makes it all the more fantastic – the power of nature? here a forest, infested with wild animals, some miles out, metropolitan life. when i walk to the bunglow in the evening, i can hear nothing but myself breathing – when im at home, i can barely hear myself think.

and of course we have this WONDERFUL butler at the bunglow – he’s amazing! he can whip up the most delicious desserts with chocolate and cream and THAT makes him my Bestest Friend he tells me these really cool stories of how he was brought up in these forests and the traditions of the local tribals and he once gave me a little darling dog which my dad totally forbade from bringing home

so i guess its a mixture of all these that drive me to the valparai bunglow – and i do like the wild – that’s y i trekked around musandam and nearly got killed, went to bomdila and on the way back was held up by terrorists – but those stories another day