Skulls Gang Trip - July 23-24, 2010

Our friend Kicha was getting married, and he wanted to go for a trip with our gang - what other place to than our favorite Valparai. And so, we started. Our gang proved at Ukkadam that we still haven't matured. We stopped at a sweet shop for sweets and we three ordered mysoorpas for us and Kicha was quiet.

We: "Dei Kicha, what you want?"

Kicha: "No da, you three finish and wait outside."

We: "But why outside da Kicha?"

Kicha: "I've ordered jelebi da. Promise me that you three won't touch that."

Now, we knew. This guy has ordered a jelebi and he didn't want to share it. And this guy is getting married !!! Poor girl. True to our style, he didn't get even a molecule of the jelebi, we three finished that. And to add insult to injury, we made him pay for all of us.

After that straight to Monkey Falls. Luckily for us, it was full of water and pretty tourist girls (sometimes you just have to forget that you are married). With mind and body refreshed, we headed straight for Valparai. As with all trips, we hadn't planned on where to stay. For first-time travelers to Valparai - you don't have to break your head on which good hotel to stay in Valparai - there is only one good hotel there. Naturally, it was full and we were wondering what to do. Just then, Setty and Deva suggested that we should stay in "Mansion House." For non-alcoholics, Mansion House is neither a mansion nor a house. It's the name of a brandy :-) Finally, we got a room in a 5-room lodge of which we were the only tenants, and we knew why when we were hunting for bed bugs the whole night.

The next day I woke up at 10 a.m. over the sounds of a heated debate - the debate whether we should take bath or not. Kicha's logic was we would waste time. Deva's and Setty's were that no one knows us in Valparai and why the heck we should look clean. My logic was I have a more developed sense of smell than them. Naturally, my logic was shot down and they won. Finally, we had to stop down at a small stream on the way back to home.

It was great trip. When you are the midst of your friends with whom you grew up, with whom you have shared your secrets, who have helped you selflessly, who are so deeply worried about you - You pray that life should never end. And that's what I did throughout the whole trip.

KK Rocks, Prabhu (Parupu), Robert (Doctor), Anwar (Big 5), Shankar (Tata Shankar), Kicha (Oothal), Senthil (Setty), Deva (Head of Sumbais), Nanda (Thaadi), Manickam (Water), Ram (Driver), Natraj (Kottai), Sathish (Padips), Kathir (Paatai), and to the countless ones I have missed here - Thanks for being my friends. Thanks for all the wonderful times and laughter. I am lucky guys.

Route: Coimbatore-Pollachi-Valparai.

Distance: 250 km (round trip)

Expenses: You really can't calculate money when you are with friends right :-)