Saturday, January 16, 2010
Reflections again!!
I had planned to write a year end blog entry on 31st Dec 09. I then remembered a similar blog post I made at the end of 2008.
Re-reading what I had written then made me realize that I always seem to be stuck. The more the things change, more they remain the same!!!! Infact I looked at the draft I had made for 2009 and saw that many things were the same as already posted in 2008. I just hit the discard button and never posted anything.
Here I was, thinking that I made some really crucial decisions in 2009, significant events of life blah blah . . turns out that I am running around in circles, year after year:-)
But definitely, 2009 was a year of HIGHS (10,000 ft above ground)
and LOWS(below the ocean seeing corals)
and LOWS(below the ocean seeing corals)
LOST!!
Prologue:
N woke up to the sight of a rain ravaged beach (same story during the last 4 days); infact the beach was completely washed away! His sunny, lazy, lonely- beach island vacation to Thailand at the peak of the swine flu season had been a damp squib and showed no signs of getting any better.
The good shepherd woke up with a sore back (thanks to the marathon kayaking session the previous afternoon) and pulled out of the trek in order to be ready for the evening’s scuba diving lesson. That left bugger, N and their German friend Chris to join 4 other German tourists and a Thai guide.After a short ride in an open jeep shivering in the rain, they stopped right at the entrance of a jungle and geared up with insect repellent, energy drinks, water, food etc stuffed into backpacks. The group followed a narrow trail which soon disappeared into a dense dark jungle. The rain got heavier and everyone was soaked to the bone; but none seemed to mind coz the beauty of the forest had taken away their collective breaths.
How long were they lost in the dense jungle???
N woke up to the sight of a rain ravaged beach (same story during the last 4 days); infact the beach was completely washed away! His sunny, lazy, lonely- beach island vacation to Thailand at the peak of the swine flu season had been a damp squib and showed no signs of getting any better.
The good shepherd woke up with a sore back (thanks to the marathon kayaking session the previous afternoon) and pulled out of the trek in order to be ready for the evening’s scuba diving lesson. That left bugger, N and their German friend Chris to join 4 other German tourists and a Thai guide.After a short ride in an open jeep shivering in the rain, they stopped right at the entrance of a jungle and geared up with insect repellent, energy drinks, water, food etc stuffed into backpacks. The group followed a narrow trail which soon disappeared into a dense dark jungle. The rain got heavier and everyone was soaked to the bone; but none seemed to mind coz the beauty of the forest had taken away their collective breaths.
Progress was slow, partly due to the absence of a trail and also to give Chris an opportunity to sharpen his already excellent photography skills. The landscape changed fast; dense green forests gave way to bamboos which gave way to vines, interspersed by small & large streams. Intermittently clearings in the woods allowed mist covered peaks to be sighted.
N was getting hungry, when guide announced lunch. But bugger and N hardly ate anything, coz they could not stand the smell of even the so called veg. food guide had brought for them.
Guide then announced a compulsory relaxing foot massage for all. Everyone was supposed to strip down to swim trunks, discard all bags and climb up a waterfall!! Bugger and N being the only non swimmers in the group were totally taken aback, coz they had to swim against a strong current to even get to the foot of the waterfall.
While the two of them were contemplating their plight, the rest of the group had gone across and started climbing already. So this duo had to either follow them or wait with the footwear till the others returned. N decided to take the plunge, bugger followed suit. That was the start of a terrific (or terrible- depending on whom you ask) adventure. They crisscrossed across strong streams by hanging on ropes, diving under rocks, clutching at straws to stay afloat and what not!! 
In all this excitement, no one noticed the raining coming down harder than ever. It was only after about nine-tenths of the way up did they realize the magnitude of the rain, when even the crazy guide would not risk going the rest of the way due to the heavy currents. The group decided to turn back. Very quickly it became apparent that they were in deep trouble. The path they had taken earlier had got submerged under the torrential rain. Wading through the water was ruled out due to the strong current & the hard rock combination. The ropes they had tied across the streams on the forward journey had disappeared. They were marooned!!! There was no way out . . LOST in a forest in a foreign land, without a clue !!!!!
.
.
N was getting hungry, when guide announced lunch. But bugger and N hardly ate anything, coz they could not stand the smell of even the so called veg. food guide had brought for them.Guide then announced a compulsory relaxing foot massage for all. Everyone was supposed to strip down to swim trunks, discard all bags and climb up a waterfall!! Bugger and N being the only non swimmers in the group were totally taken aback, coz they had to swim against a strong current to even get to the foot of the waterfall.
While the two of them were contemplating their plight, the rest of the group had gone across and started climbing already. So this duo had to either follow them or wait with the footwear till the others returned. N decided to take the plunge, bugger followed suit. That was the start of a terrific (or terrible- depending on whom you ask) adventure. They crisscrossed across strong streams by hanging on ropes, diving under rocks, clutching at straws to stay afloat and what not!! 
In all this excitement, no one noticed the raining coming down harder than ever. It was only after about nine-tenths of the way up did they realize the magnitude of the rain, when even the crazy guide would not risk going the rest of the way due to the heavy currents. The group decided to turn back. Very quickly it became apparent that they were in deep trouble. The path they had taken earlier had got submerged under the torrential rain. Wading through the water was ruled out due to the strong current & the hard rock combination. The ropes they had tied across the streams on the forward journey had disappeared. They were marooned!!! There was no way out . . LOST in a forest in a foreign land, without a clue !!!!!.
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.
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.
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How long were they lost in the dense jungle???
Did they get back to civilization?
What were the risks they took??
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Epilogue:
6 PM Koh Chang Thailand, 5 Km off lonely beach resort . . . . .
A ragged looking bunch of seven bruised, soaked and half naked men, woman and a kid emerge out of the jungles, some wearing shoes on only one leg, others with only their bathing suits, yet others with torn shirts. One of them breaks off from the group and hurries into the forest on the opposite side; the rest of the group fight off dogs and mosquitoes and begin to count their losses against the backdrop of a setting sun as they wait for the guide to return (with the car’s spare keys)
Martyred: A cute little Nokia 5310
Missing in action: guide’s car keys, shoes, clothes, more shoes (only one of the legs!!)
Maimed: passport (!!!)
6 PM Koh Chang Thailand, 5 Km off lonely beach resort . . . . .
A ragged looking bunch of seven bruised, soaked and half naked men, woman and a kid emerge out of the jungles, some wearing shoes on only one leg, others with only their bathing suits, yet others with torn shirts. One of them breaks off from the group and hurries into the forest on the opposite side; the rest of the group fight off dogs and mosquitoes and begin to count their losses against the backdrop of a setting sun as they wait for the guide to return (with the car’s spare keys)
Martyred: A cute little Nokia 5310
Missing in action: guide’s car keys, shoes, clothes, more shoes (only one of the legs!!)
Maimed: passport (!!!)
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