By now anyone reading my blog would have guessed that I am becoming a regular customer at Exoticamp. So when the host mentioned that their Sri City camp is ready with all the facilities I badly wanted to pay a visit. After finishing a really comical movie my friend and I started for the camp which is roughly a 100km drive. And man! The bike ride was fun except for the hot hot sun. It was almost 4:30 pm when we reached the camp site. And we both were immediately ushered to the lake area for some fun activity – Kayaking.
Now… I have only seen kayaking and stuff on TV or on the internet. Never once have I touched a paddle or done something like this. But the briefing given was clear and there were enough people assuring us that they will be right by our side in case we do fall in water. You know that is exactly what you need when you do not know an ounce of swimming and you are being pushed into the water on a plastic boat. Kayaking towards the sunset is something you guys should do at least once in your lives. Trying to direct your kayak towards the edge of the lake and getting tired was one thing. But the sunset and colours reflecting on the water surface gives you enough energy to start paddling again.
As it started getting darker we went back to our camp site. While some of the guys started playing cricket the others just sat by the lawn and were chatting away. All this time they were preparing the barbecue. Yummy grilled chicken, paneer, mushroom and pineapple were being served and the camp fire started. Now the actual fun began. Getting to know the other campers! In between the ice breaking session and the tasty food that was provided we actually lost track of time. The host then offered to take us for a night stroll. Now this is not your usual kind of walk you get to do around your apartment complex. We are talking about pitch black almost forest areas filled with a lot of thorn shrubs and a lot more nocturnal reptiles.
That guy was recalling his own travel adventures as a bunch of walked through the dark path. I am not sure if this is mentioned as one of the activities in the itinerary. But I loved it. It was our lucky night. There was a temple festival happening in the nearby village. We could hear their music and sounds in our camp sites. The curiosity got the better of us and a few of us went towards those sounds. That festival was unlike anything I have seen in my life. Seriously it made me wonder what all fun I have been missing out on with this city life.
Thanks to Exoticamp, not only did I get to spend time with nature but also I got to witness a bit of rural experience as well which I would never ever get in Chennai. Its fun when you camp with friends. It is even more fun when you make friends at such camps and spend the entire night. I literally went to sleep at 4 am. It was almost like the camps that I missed out as a school kid(was never allowed to attend scouts and guides camp)
I am getting to experience such moments with these guys. Morning rolled in and now they asked us to gear up again with the life jackets. Turns out there was a creek that ran from the lake and due to the rains it had good water flow. You do not need swimming classes. The life jackets were pretty helpful and so were the guide rope that they had tied up for us. I am not sure how long we were playing in the water, but we stayed there until all our fingers had gone wrinkly.
And finally after some mouth watering lunch we sort of whaled around due to the heavy food intake. Also most of us didn’t want to leave the camp.
My biggest highlight in this camp was the fun puppy Zoey. To see her play and swim in the water was just a joyous thing for all of us.
A camp with good facilities that is totally kid friendly and pet friendly is sort of one of its kind according to me. There were 4-5 kids under the age 5 and they also had a lot of fun as far as I could see. 10/10 would definitely recommend this camp to all of my friends. Especially the ones with a little one at home.
