Rant 3: take a hike mister!

me: i'm feeling bored as usual
mine: take a hike fool....

yeah...thats about how i decided to take a hike. A very scenic place here in manipal is End Point. basically a long road leading up to a hill formation and beyond it lies a beautiful valley complete with a snaking river.
even though there is a sort of beaten track leading down towards the river, i stepped in (or stepped down) at a very random point much before the road ended. what followed was a jungle trek like no other i had been to.
first things first, i was completely alone. no guides unlike mmy first step down on a slopey track almost got me a head injury from a friendly rock.

a friendly rock

However i was rewarded for my diligence in not falling down, by a very picturesque view of the river

a lot more of trekking later, i hit my first dead end. vegetation had taken over and i was forced to backtrack several times. there was an entire section of about 50 meters that was pure foliage and after crossing that i finally emerged at a high point some 300 meters from where i'd started coming down.

positioning

further down and i encountered the first humans of my trek. 2 gardeners from the river side garden were taking a break from their work. the guy on the left happened to be smoking a beedi and i couldn't resist sharing a puff.

note to self: there is a good reason why modern science discovered cigarettes.

finally after much more ginger stepping down slopes, i made to the river side. a winding road led me to a temple quite beautifully situated at the base of a small hill and overlooking the river.

on a long and lonesome road

different "roots"

the temple at the end of nowhere


and finally...


the blessed river