Tranquiliser…

By Dipti Dayal (Yet again)!

So, we were off on another weekend getaway. Having done quite a few in the past it was more like a drill, my husband would make sure that all the snacks, alchohol, music and of course the camera were in, while I was left to make sure everything else was packed. Having finished his part, sitting on the couch frowning, his worry was that we were already 15 minutes behind schedule. Being a stickler for time, this was just unacceptable for him even though we were going on a holiday. We reached Wayanad at 11.00 and my husband would be appalled if I did not mention the time we did it in. So here it is – Bangalore to Wayanad in just 4 hrs 30 mins. We were staying at the Tranquil resort (kupumudi estate), the property is more than 100 years old but it has been renovated to include all amenities us city brats cannot live without.

Our stay at the tree house was for one night. It was more like a room from a luxury hotel was picked and perched up a tree, a huge branch that ran through our room was the only reminder that we were on a tree. It had a TV (I must admit I was glad to see the idiot box) a mini bar, basically the works. Since the IPL season is on, it meant we would hardly leave the room I thought. But much to my relief and my husband’s dismay there was no room service. It would’ve been perfect if there was no mobile connectivity. Anyway, we freshened up and spent some time in the patio. The view was great just miles of greenery. Whats nice about this place is that the property which is basically a coffee plantation is about 400 acres and there are just 13 rooms so it never gets too crowded, the best part being that they intend to keep it this way.

It was time for lunch so we headed to the dinning area where we met the family running this place. We were introduced to some of the other guests as well and we all sat together for lunch which I found a little odd at the beginning and my husband being the more sociable one had already made friends (by that I mean, sent friends request on facebook). Not wanting to be left out, I joined the conversation and ended up having a great afternoon. We decided to rest for a while before we went for one of the walks (as there are many trails to choose from). We woke up to the sound of thunder and it was raining, and now I know why the tourism dept in wayanad promotes the place most in monsoon, it was an absolutely gorgeous sight. This place really comes alive in the rains.

It’s a custom here for all guests to gather at the bar around 8 PM, but since it had begun to drizzle again the venue was moved to their indoor bar. I thought this was rather sweet of them to do considering that it was  inside their house and they had around 15 people to accommodate. Some of the guests were leaving early the next day so we all decided to retire to our respective rooms.

We spent the next couple of days taking walks around the estate, swimming, relishing the good food and most importantly socialising with a great bunch of people. Be it the staff or the family, they always ensured we felt at home and made sure we had a great time. We are definitely going back to this place again.