I started getting the idea that we were going to have a new adventure when S stayed up late in the night, fixing something in the kitchen, and wrapping it all up into neat plastic pouches. She filled up some bottles of water, including mine (I have this cool bottle that has an in-built dispenser – for some reason S prefers a regular bottle for herself), packed up sandwiches, boiled some eggs, and then started shuffling around the house packing clothes into plastic bags. I made sure I hung around and slept close to her bed, so that I wouldn't miss the action in the morning.
Her alarm rang unusually early, and instead of shutting it down and staying in bed, she jumped up and was ready in a jiffy. She pulled out the food she had prepared from the fridge and packed it all into a backpack, put my leash on and put me in the car. We picked up a friend of hers whom I had met before and get along with, and we drove out of the city down some winding roads.
The ride seemed unusually long, and they didn't seem to be sure of the route. S stopped the car along the way and kept asking for directions, and it was about three hours later that we finally parked at our destination. I didn't really understand why we had to drive that far, for I saw plenty of open spaces along the way that would have suited me just fine. Fortunately, S did stop for a while at a nice green field and let me take a little run off the leash and drink some water, so I wasn't too impatient in the car.
Our car stopped at this village where the road ended, and we got out on foot. S left her clothes in the car, and carried the food and water in her backpack. I had my harness on, but she let me walk alongside without a leash. We were walking on a dirt track, which was apparently too rough for the car to drive on (which I was thankful about for it was about time we got out of the car). The track went past some streams and waterfalls that S and her friend seemed to get quite excited about and they kept stopping to take pictures, though I honestly think they were just running out of breath and needed to rest a little. At one point they stopped to eat some breakfast – S had carried some butter sandwiches and boiled eggs for me, because I normally enjoy these while on a trek. But I had heard something that was much too exciting to focus on food, so I barely ate anything. She looked a little concerned that I didnt eat, but packed the food back into her bag, hoping I would eat a little later.
When she finally got moving I decided to investigate the noise I had heard – I knew exactly what it was for I had heard this noise before, and sure enough, there was this big langur sitting on top of a tree looking very alarmed when he saw me. I find it really funny that they are afraid of me and make these sounds out of fear, but I can never seem to get to them for they are way up on the branches, jumping from tree to tree when I try and go closer. I have never figured out how they do that, it looks like fun. S was explaining to her friend that I disliked monkeys because they would often climb into the balcony of our earlier apartment – I dont really dislike them though, I just think they play a great game of chase!
It took us about an hour to get to the next village and then the road disappeared and we were walking uphill on a narrow mud path.The track went through forests and there were many branches that came over the path – this didnt really bother me because I am short enough to walk below them, but S and her unusually tall friend had to keep bending while they walked so that the branches wouldn't hit their faces.
We walked a while through these forests, uphill for a while, and then downhill. S seemed a little confused for she wasn't sure that this was the right path. Apparently we should be going up something called a fort, and they couldn't see this fort at all thus far. But we all kept walking ahead anyway, in a single file, until I suddenly saw this open grassy patch in front of us. This was exactly what I was waiting for so I ran ahead into the open and rolled around in the grass. There is something about the wet, green, monsoon grass that makes it the perfect surface to roll on – S and her friend found me amusing, but I wished they would try it too. They also seemed happy to have come out from the forest patch, for now they could see the fort. All I could see was this big mountain in front of us – perhaps this is what they called the fort and wanted to reach the top of. They sounded a little unsure about whether it would be possible to go the whole way up, but we decided to give it a go anyway. Fortunately, they also stopped in the grass and unpacked some food, and here I agreed to eat some butter sandwiches too.
Our trek continued past some streams, through some more forests, and to a second grassy patch that overlooked a deep valley. S was really excited when she saw the view, and went a little bonkers taking pictures. She seems a little obsessed with taking "jumping shots" where one of them keeps jumping into the air while the other took pictures with the camera. S called out to me every time I went too close to the edge, and I came away when she called me. I am really glad she isn't one of those paranoid owners who wouldn't let me do anything on my own so I don't mind listening to her when she calls me away.
The climb hereon got really hard, it was steep and the humans had to use their hands to walk up. It wasn't difficult for me of course, so I kept running up and down the slopes and showed off a little while they struggled. It took us quite a while to get to the top, through the shrubs, trees and rocky patches, but we finally made it. S was red in the face when we got there but both of them seemed rather excited about having made it to the top. We sat there for a short while and then started walking back down – S thought it would be a good idea to climb down the steep bit before it started raining. That seems to have been a great idea, for as soon as we crossed the steep portion, it started pouring.
I have no idea why they say it pours cats and dogs – I have never seen cats or dogs in any of these downpours, and I can tell you that if they were any, they would have hidden from the rain in a sheltered place. But S loves the rain, so I don't mind walking in the rain with her and we continued our trek back to the village through the pouring rain. S wouldn't stop grinning and they both were talking about how soaked they were getting, and I could hear the water inside their shoes swishing about with every step. I was getting soaked too, and I shook the water off every time we were under a tree but it only took a couple of minutes before I was wet again.
We stopped at the waterfalls on the way back – they claimed they would "clean up", but they were really just playing in the water. I tried to join them but the rocks were slippery and the water was gushing, so I had to climb on to a rock and stay there until S rescued me and carried me out of the water. We got back to the car, and S dried me up with a towel and then wrapped me up to keep me warm in the car. She also changed into her dry clothes and we all drove back home.
The humans were gushing about how beautiful the place was, and how they loved the view of the valley. I was happy to have spent the whole day outdoors, without a leash, and be allowed to wade through streams, play in the grass and scare some monkeys. Everybody was exhausted, and we all slept very soundly that night, I even slept through most of the next day for I was "dog tired" – now thats a phrase I can related to!
-Sultan
Sultan is a rough collie, and mascot of the brand Slyly Simple Gourmet Kitchen. Ever since he has become a part of her life, his owner Surabhi Ganguly has made it a point to include him in all her plans – whether it is a career move or a travel destination. This article is about the experience of travelling with a dog in tow, and focuses on the journey rather than the destination!
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