My first "Glamping" experience

Sipping on some hot coffee, standing in my balcony, I was wondering how it would be to stay at a place away from noises, away from people and only witness how nature heals, its sounds, its colors and its vastness. It was already 6 months since I've been locked at home due to Covid-19, only drawing sketches and reading travel quotes and day dreaming.

It was indeed time to step out and experience something entirely new. Me and wife had already planned to visit Bangalore and it was a good 17 day trip.

Inquiring about workations in Wayanad which was probably the only nature-filled place closest to Bangalore, there was a lot of confusion regarding Kerala government's guidelines for tourists for Covid. During the end of September, it was clear that Kerala option was out and we left everything to chance that we may get something good in Karnataka itself.

Browsing through Airbnb, we came across this dome stay called Bird's Eye Estate in Chikmaglur. We really liked the photos and we also knew this place is somewhere isolated in the outskirts of Chikmaglur and hence we planned to book it. The only concern was the internet connectivity just to login to the weekend courses my wife was taking. Thankfully the host Darshak assured me a Jio Wifi connection on the property and we just booked it right away.

Coming to the day of the trip, we were four of us - me, my wife, my sister and brother-in-law and we were locked and loaded with barbeque tools, raw meat, some potatoes, mushrooms and dry food. We had also prepared some hot dogs the morning we were leaving. By around 8:30am we left Bangalore towards Chikmaglur and boy what a road trip this was. Such clean smooth roads with tall coconut trees well arranged in a pattern on both the sides, cool fresh air in the morning and some melodious travel songs, it was finally a trip after 6 long months.

We took our first stop for breakfast at Dhruvthare which is quite famous given the fact that it had the most number of vehicles parked as compared to other restaurants. The waiters took all the precautions while taking and delivering orders. I had the most delicious ghee roast dosa and a strong filter coffee that woke up my senses. The washrooms were super clean and were being monitored every 5 min by the housekeeping.

Moving on, we took another short break at a small shop to buy some biscuits and soft drink, the weather was only getting better. Coming closer to the property, the trees started to close in and weather started to cool down even further. There were less and less vehicles and more silence to the extent that we thought we took the wrong road, plus there was no GPS and no connectivity. Thankfully, the hosts had shared the correct turns with us beforehand on Airbnb. We finally managed to locate the property in the midst of a dense forest.

Witnessing the domes from the inside was a treat for the eyes. I hadn't seen such well maintained cozy cabins, almost a 5-star feeling and that too, among the trees and cool breeze. It was indeed a physical and mental oasis for me. Right from the mini kitchen to the cozy bed to the pillows to the fancy washroom to the lighting and of course the view from the bed, I was indeed in a dream.

There was provision for own cooking, filter coffee and tea. We hooped on to the cute dining area in between the domes and savored our handmade tea just viewing the cloud crowned peak from our place.

The evening had just started and the caretaker arranged for the night's bonfire. It was getting a little colder and the strip lights just made the dome area look even more beautiful.

The lights within the dome and outside was heaven for our souls.

As soon as it was dark, the helpers brought our our raw food which was to be barbequed. We had chicken, prawns, mushrooms, sausages and potatoes on the skewers and bacon on the grill pan, everything together with wine and thums up. We were short of chicken so we requested the caretaker to bring us half kg. Mind you, there are no shops for food or liquor, hence it is recommended to bring alcohol along. Raw or cooked food can be arranged if you tell the caretaker well in advance.

We chilled a lot, pouring our hearts out, gorging on food and caring about nothing. More than 90% of the time the internet connectivity was limited esp. at the dome area which was good because I was done with browsing instagram every 2 min. If we wanted to use internet we had to sit next to the cottage stay where the JioFi connection was better.

We made a lot of videos together and of the bonfire and barbeque. That night we slept peacefully.

The next morning I was up early, jumping out of bed and out of the dome. Just listening to the sound of birds chirping, of the leaves whirring and feeling the cool fresh air all over my body. We had some more hot tea and I also tried to prepare filter coffee, but could only manage one cup, it was pretty satisfactory ;)

Filter Coffee/Kapi

Since everyone was lazying around, I decided to get some feel of the nearby off-trails and laced up in my hiking boots carrying my little daypack with nothing by a small tripod.

The trail went on and on and immersed me in. My feet kept on moving and in the midst of all this, I stopped and I just listened, listened to the silence, holy deep spiritual silence that I always longed for since so many months. It was healing, it was magical, it was everything in that moment. After I saw the dead end, I moved back to where I started.

Reaching the dome, to my surprise, my feet were filled with slimy leeches sucking on my blood. It was a unique experience that I never had but I was a little concerned too since it is not a very good sight to watch when you pluck out a leech and blood just keeps oozing out.

I strongly recommend full length boots that they have in those jungle ventures. The caretaker may help you with that.

It was around noon and we packed up and went to Chikmaglur city to check out some cool cafes. After exploring a little, we finally settled on Cafe Agape and enjoyed some good Pizza, Pasta and Sandwich.

Going back towards our stay from the city, we halted at another cafe called The Estate Cafe which is again very popular among youngsters. It had a very chilled out atmosphere with a Pool table, indoor and outdoor seating. I savored some warm black coffee, took some good photos and we went back.

Tonight had lots of chicken and yesterday's left over bacon for snacks and a whole course meal of 1kg chicken, rice, roti's and OH BOY that Payasam/Kheer that I almost ate the entire tumbler.

Our bonfire kept on for hours as we were, lingering around, drinking on and chatting lots!

Next morning, it was time or us to leave, we decided to leave early, but the surroundings were such that it was very difficult to go back literally. We dragged our asses back to the car and bid adieu to this wonderful place.

The return road trip was even better, with an even awesome weather and lots of memories in our hearts We reached Bangalore by 3pm in the afternoon after a 6 hour drive, happy and satisfied after a long long time.

I would like to thank the wonderful supportive hosts who gave us the opportunity to stay in such 5-star domes and give us an experience of a lifetime.