"Kodai". Hey don't worry it's not about the umbrella :-)! I am talking about the hill resort Kodaikannal. One of the most beautiful places that I had ever visited.
One of my dreams was to join a CMM level 5 company. I guess "Some dreams come true"! But as the saying goes "Dreaming is important, not whether it becomes true"! Well luckily my dream had become a reality by the time I visited Kodai! Yes, I had joined Satyam Computers(Chennai) a CMM level 5 company. What more? On one hand excited about Satyam and on another going on a company sponsored tour.We a bunch of UXM guys (UXM is the team I work for) went on a fun spree. We had reached Kodai on a Saturday morning and headed straight to the hotel by road. We landed up in one of the best hotels I had ever stayed in, "The Carlton". Just check out this link to know more about the hotel.
Once we stepped in we were allocated 2-in-ones! Sounds Crazy right? Even I was excited about getting a 2-in-one. I am talking about the rooms though! (2-in-one room). I had to share it with my teammate- A 30+ year old man who was wanting a chance to get rid of his wife for a while or not really I guess :-) I was given a choice though! I could take a room as long as my room partner was a man. So, I chose this "good pal" of mine-also booze pal to be precise :-)!! Once we got ourselves ready we headed straight to have breakfast.That's when I got the buzz "More excitement in store" from our ever smiling "DK" a man with split personality. Split personality because he was our tour guide, Financier, Advisor & entertainer. I had never seen a bugs bunny live. But here was our man entertaining us with his smile! I was guessing what could the excitement be?? May be a latino girl doing a Brazilian samba? Or was it some sort of gifts (my first choice was wine). As I was guessing, a van arrived with a group of girls & guys! Yes, a team from our Bangalore office. Most importantly couple of girls were good looking!
After breakfast DK arranged for a photo shoot and interactive session between the teams. The "man of the show" was none other than our team mate and pal David who played the role of event manager introducing our team to the girls! He took great care in introducing the UXM design team members to the girls! "Good PR with team members Dave" I said to myself, although fuming inside!!
After this, a cab was arranged and we were taken on a tour to some of the coolest spots in Kodai! To name a few we went to Suicide Spot, Berijam Lake, Coaker's walk...The best one I must say was the Coaker's walk, especially the view of the landscape from the telescope mounted near the exit.
I made new friends during our trip that day (Anil & Murali both Telugu) and when we returned back were informed about a big party that night! I wanted to be well prepared for the party. "Well prepared" I must say is an understatement. I wanted to be "pumped up" and get into a "yo-yo" mood! Before the party my pal & myself joined David and gulped a few drinks! Soon, we realised that the party was getting started and had to leave behind what was remaining in our bottles. Once we reached the dance floor, I joined the UXM design team members and was dancing my wits out!
My pal cajoled me to ask the girls from Bangalore for a jive! But, unfortunately neither did I have the courage nor did the girls show any interest! They were so much in shackles and were confined to a corner dancing in a separate group. "Come on Girls! Behave like a social animal I screamed deep inside". However we UXM guys stole the show! At the end of the party the guys from Bangalore said "Well done! That was great dancing!" Well, girls as usual were dumb! I mean voiceless. :-)
The next day morning we were informed of a visit to a theme park nearby. Well, nearby acording to Bugs bunny was a few 130 kms :-). "My goodness!" that was quite a drive and by the time we reached the theme park "Athisayam" it was already 4:00 pm!Luckily the theme park was all about water rides. Myself & my new friends "Anil" & "Murali" quickly removed our dress! Hey don't mis-interpret! That was inside the change room! We quickly put on our shorts that we hired and headed straight to the longest water ride! We spent nearly 3 hrs swimming and playing polo. Before I realised, the Bangalore team left the place to catch the last train in a hurry.
To sum it up, it was a great experience having been there and would love to visit the hill station again!
