Few trips have been as unforgettable as this .....thanks to all those unexpected twists and turns we had to deal with through-out the journey. Presenting the star-cast of this amazing Action-Adventure - 1) Me.
2) Rama ........the main planner and chief negotiator..........who has just been rightfully named 'Mr. Cheapo' [ courtesy Akansha ;) ]
3) Ms. Akansha - the most bubbly element of our gang !
4) Pradeep Gopal - the 'Silent-killer' ....Speaks at the right moment and delivers the deadliest punch !
5) RakeshKrishnan Balakrishnan ....the one thing he hates is to drive within the safety speed-limits :)
6) Ranjani - she has this amazing ability of speaking so softly on the phone that no one around her can hear what she says, but only the person she speaks to can !
7) Ruchi Yadav - Akansha's old school/college friend from Cambridge, whom we picked up from Birmingham and dropped at Leicester.
Day 0 (23/5/08) - Driving our hired 7-seater Vauxhall Zafira car towards Cumbria.
First stop - we drive into Birmingham city centre to pick up Ruchi and have some dinner.
That's Ruchi standing next to our car !!! [ Btw, our car is on the other side of the camera ;) , and not the black Lamborghini seen in the background]
Can you imagine these 3 ate so much between themselves ??? ;) ..........at Macdonalds, Birmingham.
Ranjani at work :)
Day 1 (24/5/08) - The Travelodge at Kendal, where we had crashed in for the night.
The gang outside the Travelodge ... [I'm not in the picture as I clicked this]
Gearing up for the day ...
Walking up to the 'Stock Ghyll Force' waterfalls at Ambleside.
Trekking through the woods towards the waterfalls ....
On-the-rocks !!! .........Ruchi is missing yet again ! :)
No comments :)
Some people wear sunglasses even when there's hardly any sun :)
That's all 7 of us ...L to R - Pradeep, Rakesh, Akansha, Rama, Ranjani, Ruchi and me
Ranjani and Ruchi posing in the foreground, while Pradeep tries to strike a peace deal between Cheapo and Chikki in the back-ground ;)
If it hadn't been for Rama's sealed lips, this photo could have been used to promote Colgate :)
There was hardly any water in the stream below as it hadn't rained in a while
Rama showing off his photography skills !
I was forced to retake this pic atleast 5-6 times, before it was deemed perfect by the girls :)
Resting on a bench....
'Cheapo' Rama orchestrated this pic [ ...to remind me of my project-team at office ] by suddenly getting the other guys to move off :)
Pradeep in front of the waterfalls.....after 45 minutes of trekking through the forest to get here, the waterfalls turned out to be nothing greater than an open tap :(
'Chikki' trying to lean as far away from 'Cheapo' as possible :)
On the bridge !
Wonder what was so great about this tree.....everyone wanted to pose with it ....First Rama ...
.....and then Ruchi ....and a whole lot more !
Rakesh always found these wonderful angles to click us from !
Rama with the ladies !
Seriously discussing the Karnataka State elections ;)
Rakesh reveals his secret passion for female purses ;)
Emerging out of her country-home ;)
These girls always dress up similarly :)
More posing ......
Returning from the Waterfalls.
Relaxing at a swanky locality in Ambleside.
Pradeep gets a shave :) ........ Lunch at Tagore Indian restaurant, Ambleside.
At the parking lot at Ambleside town
A camping site next to the parking lot.
The Lake Windermere.
A very candid moment
Waiting for the boats ....
The beautiful docks ...
Guess who ??? To find out the answer, go 3 photos ahead :)
Pradeep guards fort ...whilst the rest doze off in front of the lake !
Rakesh couldn't afford to get his jacket soiled ...so prefers to lie on the bench :)
The answer revealed :) .... [ to find out the question, go 3 photos back ]
Rama and Pradeep in their life-jackets ...about to board the motor-boats .......
Steering the motor-boat in to the lake
Ranjani takes over our boat......
Rama tries his hands at the wheels ....only to have the boat going round in circles .....right in the path of a huge, speeding Sail-boat ! :)
Taking a moment to relax
Rama's second stint at driving the boat ...this time, he was more composed and had good control !
The rest of the junta pass by on their boat
Ruchi at the wheels
Pradeep .....
Me ....
Rakesh confirming the number of toes on his feet !
Group photo !
Ishtyle :)
Rama and I
Caught on camera - Pradeep tries to dump a chocolate wrapper into Akansha's purse.
Ranjani is all smiles on getting her cup of coffee !
We were on our way to the Grizedale forest park , when one of our tyres burst near this pub/inn at Outgate ......Being a very deserted countryside, we were lucky that it happened near this pub, which was just about the only building in the near vicinity !
We ended up getting stranded here at the pub for 4 hours (till 10:45 pm), until the AA emergency services sent out taxis to pick us up ! [Playing cards to wile away the time]
Day 2 (25/5/08) - This is the YHA (Youth hostel) at Windermere where we had crashed in for the night
The spectacular views of the valley and the lake far ahead, from the Youth Hostel.
Me...at the entrance to the hostel.
This AA van picked Rama and myself up, and we drove all the way to the Outgate pub, removed the damaged tyre, drove an hour to Kendal, bought a new tyre, came back and fit it on the car !
The newly fitted Bridgestone tyre !
Driving to the 'Rookin Farm House' near Ullswater.
At Rookin house ...The first activity in store was Archery !
Loading the ammunition !
Lined up with our bows and arrows ! I won the game ..well clear of the nearest rivals - Akansha and Rama !!!
Horse-riding ...we badly wanted to try this, but there were no available slots.
The Argo-cat ride ! This was one hell of a bumpy ride ...zooming up and down the slopes, the rocky terrains and the streams !
On board the Argocat ....
They both stayed behind for the next round since the Argo-cat could only take 5 people at a time.
The Argo-cat charges down the slopes !
The suit was a little too loose for Rama :)
Lined up for the race - L to R -> Pradeep, me , some Brit, Rama
The girls have just returned from inspecting a Nuclear Power Plant :)
Race 2 - Pradeep, Ruchi, Akansha and Ranjani.
Charlie's Angels :) ....coming back from the race !
I desperately waited for the horses to turn around, so that I could get a better angle, but they just wouldn't move :(
One of those RARE moments when Tom and Jerry weren't arguing with each other ;)
Not only do they dress-up the same way, they pose similarly too :)
With Ruchi and Rama
Tired after a day of fun-filled activities at Rookin Farm House.
No comments ...yet again :)
There were no mobile signals here ...else she'd have been on the phone :)
The country side !
We had just arrived at Keswick town when we realised that the wheel was badly bent ....we immediately called up the AA, and 2 hours later, the recovery truck came and carried our car back to the hostel !
Day 3 (26/5/08) - Early in the morning, the AA recovery truck calls-in at the hostel and recovers the damaged vehicle. By this time, we had got our replacement 'Land Rover' :) ...and so we were more than happy to see this nuisance off !
Entering the arena for a game of football .....In the background is the YHA hostel at Hawkshead where we had stayed for the night.
The game in action......
Ranjani charges to tackle the ball from Rakesh
Thats me trying to dribble the ball past Rama and onto Ruchi .....while Rakesh looks on, hoping to intercept :)
3 goals down ....and Rakesh loses all hope :)
Pradeep takes a penalty !
Finally, the mobile signals are up .....Ranjani is all excited !
These 2 can never stay too far away from each other :)
Exhausted and gasping for breath after a game of football and Chain-Chain :)
Basking under the sun !
We would have moved to the shade, if only we had the energy to get up !
Rakesh lifts the ball from the back .....captured in the nick of time by my Ixus :)
The LAND ROVER !
Classic 'Land Rover' moment :)
Modeling in front of the Land Rover .....
4 X 4, Fully-Automatic, Diesel powered beauty, costing £150 a day .....but we got to keep it for free for 2 days :)
More modeling ! :)
The lake near our hostel at Hawkshead
What a location to have a house !
Uncle Scrooge !
We were seriously running out of poses !
At the lake side !
The water was freezing cold !
Rama and Ranjani were posing behind the Land Rover for this pic , while unknowingly I began reversing the vehicle :)
At the wheels, in the Land Rover !
The Sat Nav brought us to a road that led right into the Lake !!! A few minutes later, this ferry came along, and we boarded the vehicle onto it.
She snatched my cap off me ..... Grrrrrrr :)
With Rama and Akansha .......no trip is complete without one of these photos :)
Crossing the lake on the ferry !
Crowding in for the picture !
Who's got the widest smile ???
We stopped at this 'Service' on the way from Cumbria to Leicester.........The motorway is in the background .
Rakesh takes on the wheels, while I settle in to see the snaps on Ruchi's laptop
When the Land Rover overtook a Ferrari .....courtesy Rakesh !
I was made to sit in between Tom and Jerry to prevent the possibility of World War 3 breaking out :)
The back seats of the Land Rover were not the most happenning of places ......Ruchi sleeps away to glory !
.........accompanied by Ranjani :)
