Into the Jungle: Part 3 [Monkeys]

We last left off as the crew headed out to explore the other areas of the Jungle Lodges & Resort. It was at this time that the monkeys came out to play.

DSCF3268 by sumeet.moghe on Flickr

If the monkeys weren't enjoying a Coke^® by the water, they were hanging out on the net.

DSCF3278 by sumeet.moghe on Flickr

Sumeet's place was the center of most monkey business, as a group engaged in some rough-housing. [Update: added video]

Maybe what is most amazing about all of this is how regular it seems to everyone. Certainly this day was my first time seeing monkeys in any setting but a zoo. It was already my second time seeing monkeys out of captivity, however. We stopped for breakfast at Mysore and found some rather hungry and bold monkeys -- one even stole a sugar cane!

DSCF3200 by sumeet.moghe on Flickr

The last bit I have to share comes in the form of advice derived from stories we've heard since being here: don't feed the monkeys. It's well-known that monkeys are smart. Once they get food, they start to expect food. It's not long before they become ornery with visitors who aren't feeding. With all of this in mind, I've never seen a better-placed sign.

Mascal Camping: SG Hill Meets Nature (part 4)

Note this is fourth and final post in the camping series

• Part 1: Arriving
• Part 2: Team Race
• Part 3: Rappelling

I gingerly made my way back down the rocks after deciding against rappelling. The conversation on top of the rocks was a fear-incuding unforgettable moment. Let's recreate it here:

me "What's the weight limit for the harness?"
him "Down...you go down"
me "No, I know. What is the limit? kilograms?"
him "Down down down."

Keeping in mind I had now nearly capsized a kayak and absolutely shredded a pair of pants on the way up the hill, this sequence was enough to send me skipping back down the rocks where the next activity awaited.

Raft-Making

For making our rafts, we had the following supplies:

• 5 inner tubes
• 4 bamboo poles
• a bunch of rope

The beginnings of our raft-smithing were thwarted by a 5' snake in the water. We were told it was a water-only snake...and then it slithered on land.

Once the coast was clear we put our heads together and came up with possible designs:

1. A snake-like design, with parallel poles for the frame
2. A triangle

I was, and continue to be, a proponent of the triangle. Who doesn't love the symbol of equilateral goodness and strength?

The raft was soon completed and Team Green set to paddle back to the campsite, which was at least 1 kilometer away. During the paddling of that 1 kilometer, the sun turned to rain. Heavy rain. Here we see the view from a dry tent of the team coming in.

This trip was eventful and memorable for many reasons. In any sort of company getaway you'll have the inevitable result of coworkers getting to know each other better. If you're going on a getaway with me, however, you're in even more luck -- because you get to know what I look like with any sun exposure.

Note The raft photos were taken just 1 hour and 3 minutes apart. We have a saying in Michigan -- if you don't like the weather...wait 10 minutes.

It's much more true here.

Mascal Camping: SG Hill Meets Nature (part 3)

No outdoor adventure is complete without a trek. After we finished our team games and lunch, we walked another few kilometers for the next activity. Goats and cows covered the fields.

The fields quickly turned to water-side trails as our canine companion happily (and frighteningly) walked by our sides. All four teams gathered on the giant rocks and looked out into the reservoir as we waited to be kayaked one-by-one to the other side.

Once on the other side, it was time to head up the hill. Hiking is tough work. It's almost impossible to capture the difficulty of climbing up rocks in photos. I hung back from rappelling for some awesome pictures, such as Hardik's First Step

If you can believe it, Hardik was the most vocal about trying to get me to join in the rappelling. No worries, Mom, I stayed on solid ground.

The day didn't end here, either. There was one more event headed our way, including the exciting wrap-up of what I took back from Mascal.

Mascal Camping: SG Hill Meets Nature (part 2)

In the last post we took a look at getting to the remote and gorgeous part of India known as Mascal.

Team Race

What would a ThoughtWorks University outing be without some sort of team-based race? The 36 of us split into four teams: Black, Green, Orange, and White. We then partook in four different events for five minutes each.

1. Mine Sweeper

Our first event was the most challenging. A course was laid out with oars. Plastic pieces were in spread throughout the course. The object was to get through the course without touching anything. One other thing: we had to be blindfolded and spun around before beginning. One person would go at a time, with the rest of the team guiding. We had two attempts and zero successes.

2. The Spider Web

Our next game was also played at the only other camp I've attended: 6th grade camp. There are two poles with strings tied in criss-crossing patterns, leaving several holes open. Each member of the team must get from one side to the other without touching the strings, or going through the same opening twice. Our strategy was to have two heavyweights go through the bottom holes and send the lighter people through the top holes. One of our trainers, Felix, used his Kung-Fu skills. Demonstrated here after the completion of the games.

3. Austrailian Australian Car

I can't be sure why this is the called the Australian car, because our Australian driver let us know they've got real cars down under too. Five people from our team had to stand on the planks, hold the strings, and move together. The object was to walk as far as possible. It wasn't easy, but Team Green did quite well in my very biased opinion.

4. Inner Tube Walking

I couldn't manage to get a photo of this event -- oh how I wish these getaways had a photographer to capture all the moments. Our team had to huddle up and get as close as possible for a circumference measurement. The reason why wasn't clear, but we ended up the smallest with three lightweights on the shoulders of the three heavyweights. We then stretched an inner tube to accommodate all of us and started to walk up the hillside. The winner of this event was the team that walked the farthest.

We proudly took fourth place overall and headed to lunch. We were advised to eat a lot; there were big things in store for us.

Mascal Camping: SG Hill Meets Nature (part 1)

TWU XVIII escaped for a camping adventure over the weekend to a place called Mascal.

In what seems to be the start of a tradition, we ThoughtWorkers mention three things in our posts about Mascal:

1. Mascal is virtually impossible to find.
2. It lies 40-45 km away from Bangalore's Diamond District.
3. Search engines returning nothing -- nothing but ThoughtWorker blogs.
• J'adore Bangalore (July 2010)
• Marjorie Pries: Don't believe everything you think (August 2009)
• wend: to journey (June 2009)

Background

Thanks to my awesome GPS-enabled phone, I've been able to put this place on the map. The journey was 2 hours and 47 minutes in a bus. Just when I think I can't possibly be surprised any more, I get into a bus that makes a habit of passing cars and driving 3 inches from the edge of a dirt road carved out of a hillside.

Our 49.4km route:

View Larger Map

The trip was arranged with Outback India, who employ some of the nicest people around.

Both of our paid guides were going to school and doing this on weekends. We also had an amazingly nice volunteer who does this just to meet different people. An avid How I Met Your Mother watcher, we discussed the US-Candian relationship as told by the show. He's headed off to London for Audio Engineering next month.

Arriving

The last leg of the bus ride is a trip through an extremely small village. We step off the bus and are greeted with super skinny cows.

It was clear from the beginning this was going to be far different from another day at the office, though you wouldn't know it to look at me. Who else could pull off bringing a camera, collared shirt, and water bottle camping?

The trek from the bus to the campsite was about 1km through fields and over rocks.

Once there, we basked at the marvel that I call mini-stonehenge. It wasn't long until some of us had made our way out to the lake and conquered the microwonder.

We didn't spend this day alone, either. A very friendly street dog had decided to spend the day with us.

Luckily she was a very low-key and non-threatening dog, as she stayed well into the night.

Activities

Of course it didn't just end with getting to the campsite. We had a day full of activities...