Chikmagalur chit chats

How was your trip?
Awesome!

What did you do?
Nothing!

That’s a typical conversation between my friends and me after my visit to Chikmagalur.

We started early on Saturday, cheating the Bangalore traffic. The drive was smooth, with only a couple of missed / early turns, both in cities. The weather was cloudy, but fortunately, it didn’t rain. Finding Woodway estate was not difficult, thanks to the precise-to-the-last-meter direction by our hosts at Woodway resort and estate. Let me introduce you to them, because they were a big part of this trip of ours. Shreedev Hulikere and his wife Susmitha runs this resort, along with the huge coffee estate. The Woodway bungalow was till recently the residence of the Hulikere family, and the rooms are still referred as “Parent’s room”, “Shreedev’s room”, etc! Shreedev is actively involved in environment and wildlife protection, and plays an important part in protecting the local ecology. Susmitha looks after the resort operations. Susmitha collectively calls their two kids - Shiva and Vaid - “two little men”.

Now, back to activities, which we did. Immediately after reaching the estate, we chatted for a while with Susmitha over the excellent cup of coffee. Next we strolled around the estate, and met Shreedev, and chatted for some more time. Lunch was simple but tasty, with the Koli Saaru (chicken curry) stealing the show. After the hearty lunch, some of us went for a siesta, while some of us went for a walk. In the evening, we spoke about life in a coffee plantation and local food and drinks, this time Shreedev’s parents sharing their knowledge with us. Coming back to our rooms, we enjoyed a quiet evening by the fireplace (yes, good old fireplace) over drinks and the seemingly endless snacks, provided by the very efficient staff. We enjoyed the outdoors for a while too, but soon, we were back in the comforts of our rooms. The dinner included some delicacies like “Akki roti" and fish curry.

Next morning, we took off for a long walk. Came back, had breakfast, and just when laziness was happening yet again, Shreedev came and shared with us some jungle and coffee plantation experiences. We were so engrossed in the interesting stories; we never realized it was getting late. An almost-evening lunch later, we were ready to leave for Bangalore. Just when we were leaving, we noticed a flat tyre, and that gave us an opportunity to chat for some more time and also to have one more cup of fresh coffee.

The return journey was mostly uneventful, other than the fact that we took a state highway by mistake, but ended saving a few kilometers and time due to that.

“Nothing” is an awesome thing to do!