#indimeet

The #FlipkartOutdoors meet was no exception. If anything it was even better than usual, what with a day out at Mango Mist resort, an introduction to brilliant gadgets for the adventurous outdoors person, coupons to try our mettle at the various activities and great arrangements to get there and back.

It was a very enjoyable day out.

But let me start at the very beginning.

Thanks to Sid for the heads up about this Indiblogger-Flipkart event. The description said:

Join Flipkart and some of the finest bloggers on IndiBlogger for the latest and very best in outdoor adventure trends. Held at the Mango Mist resort in Bangalore, this event promises to give you an adrenaline rush and a window into the world of some of the coolest gadgets around to help you make the most of your outdoor experiences. If you love nature and adventure, you wouldn’t want to miss this one!

Yes, I was in with my favorite blogger friends for a fabulous day!

6.15 am on February 20, 2016 found my buddy Sid and self in a cab, armed with an extra set of clothes because who knows!.

We had a merry ride before we found the very obvious and prominent pickup point at Ulsoor Lake. We were a bit worried about getting there too early, but thanks to our cabbie’s generous extra ride trying to figure out where this particular Ganesh temple was located, we no longer stressed over that!

Buses were waiting and after a warm welcome from the energetic and always energetic Indiblogger team that helped us check in to the event, we set off to the venue – Mango Mist resorts, stopping en route at the scheduled pick up points for the rest of the bloggers to join us. We reached at around 9.15 and were ushered in.

I spotted this girl just outside the venue. Looking so sad – probably because she couldn’t join us?

  We received our venue bands.

  After fortifying ourselves with breakfast and admiring what we saw of the venue, we assembled in the meeting place to get our agenda for the day.

Anoop took us through the day’s program amid much laughter and jokes and then, Flipkart’s Prahlad and his colleague gave us a quick intro about the why and what of the day’s meet, some insights about trending products and why the highlighted products of the day were specially chosen.

To get us moving, Vineet very kindly taught us some warm up exercises. Of course we did them sincerely. And probably learned a step or two. To avoid.

We split into groups – cleverly ganging up with our bffs and armed with our task lists, started off with the product demos with our team leader, Shrinidhi Hande, a technology lover and an amazing individual.

Our first stop was the stall for the …

…Altec Lansing speakers

It took our breath away. Wireless, rugged, waterproof, shockproof and dust proof, the water literally danced off them while the music played.

They also had a beautiful pair of headphones and earphones! Just the right gadget to carry on an outdoors trip to enjoy our favorite sounds. And oh, my heart was still thumping with the stunning bass sounds as we moved off to the next product counter…

…the Polaroid cube

What a little beauty!

I’ve always yearned for a Polaroid camera – so fascinating to print out photos instantly with the Polaroid snap! These nifty little cubes are power-packed and come with a host of accessories for the complete photography experience. The slogan was apt – “live life spontaneously”.

Red Chief Shoes

were next, with biodegradable soles

Nothing like knowing that we are not killing the environment as we enjoy our outdoors adventure. The shoes looked very sturdy and rather heavy, and I was surprised to find that they were pretty light when I picked one up. Unfortunately they were all men’s shoes – not that I am gender biased, but I would have loved to try on a pair. In fact they encouraged us to, but all of them were a size too large even for my size 8 feet!. Hmph!

Sighing, the next stop was…

…Garmin Forerunner running watches

Well known in the GPS arena, they looked very smart., they were smartwatches after all, feature-rich shockproof and stylish with activity tracking, great for the fitness fanatic.

They come with a heart rate monitor and act like Big Brother keeping an eye on you and making sure you are active, indoors and well as outdoors, throughout the day. If you think you can hide in the water, they’re also water resistant so ha ha. They know exactly how much, how long and how active you are.

My eyes kept darting to the next counter where the demo of Sony action cameras was distracting me like crazy. And what a demo it was!

Sony Action Cam

Fastest auto focus action camera in the world? Entirely believable!

The range absolutely took our breath away and I’ll bet each one of us was coveting one for ourselves. We listened and watched spellbound as the gentleman from Sony explained and demonstrated the magic of the sleek Sony cam. He also told us about photography tours and the Alpha community that conducts free workshops. Yeah, some day!

Samsung Gear S2 Classic smartwatch was next

These posh watches are loaded with features that are really useful on the go, including health and fitness tracking, scrolling, smart notifications, voice memo – yeah, music player and a heart rate monitor!

      Oh yes, they also tell the time. They are customizable according to your lifestyle with a rather smooth interface and loaded with apps.

We wound up the product demo session with the…

…Coleman outdoor gear

…tents and accessories.

They had a couple of folding chairs that are really comfortable.

The tents looked great, and so did the gear – ice boxes, the insulated lunch box, bungee cords, compass and water bottles, which a few bloggers won. Why, they even had a cute portapotty! Probably takes camping to a whole new level!

Each team was allowed to carry the products of their choice and try them.

Of course there were plenty of contests for various activities using the products on display, but the predominant theme was to have fun, enjoy using the products and give feedback. Prizes were up for best videos with the Polaroid cube and the Sony action cam, fastest team to assemble the Coleman tent from scratch, test-driving the Samsung gear, fastest blogger to scale the wall rock climbing, most number of calories burned and – oh yes, sharing it all on Twitter.

We then collected our coupons for various activities at the venue. There was land and water zorbing, rock climbing, Burma bridge, quake walk, Russian ladder, rope ladder climbing, zip lining, paint ball, archery and shoot the mango.

Check it out!

Our teammates enthusiastically went for the adventure activities while some of us cheered till we were hoarse. They also serve who stand and wait! I would have loved to try some of these, but vertigo stopped me from even trying.

After a delightful time we proceeded towards the “shooting” and “archery” points. The idea was to round it up with a stint at the fish spa.

When we reached the shooting range, I was tempted to have a go at it. Of course I didn’t hit anything, but the point was to have fun, which we did. A lot.

Then came the archery point. Something woke in me. Must be the nostalgic memories of javelin throwing in school, or the dartboard freak in me … I just had to have a go at it. What bliss. I blew all my coupons, and a few more generously donated by my friends on archery. I just loved it!

Great photo by Sid! Standing: Sreesha, Vidya, Sid, Soumya Sitting:Shailaja, Deepa, Mayuri

After some group photos, we decided to go for lunch. Oh, but we had one more coupon left for a mocktail. The less said about that, the better.

We skipped the fish spa and had lunch.

We were scheduled to re-assemble at the meeting point at 2 pm. At the gathering, prizes were announced for best tweets, max calories burned, and fastest tent built and so on. We cheered the winners on!

Next on the agenda was paintball. Teams were made and they went to play, while those that didn’t participate enjoyed catching up with each other.

That’s one of the greatest thing about blogger meets – getting to meet our friends!

Shrinidhi, Sreesha, Soumya, Shailaja, Deepa, Ami, Swati

And some Zen moments too!

Some days you’re the Buddha and some days… :)

And getting to try on Soumya’s shades!

Thanks Soumya!

The day concluded with the mist dance. Yes, we heard the thumping music and tapped our feet!

A very pleasant time indeed! I clicked plenty of photos of the resort that I’ll share in subsequent posts!

Once again, we assembled to board the bus back home at 4.45 pm. We finally reached our drop off point at 7 pm, tired, but happy. After grabbing a much needed coffee, we started on our final leg home.

Pleasant memories An unforgettable day My heart asks, when next?

Very special thanks to Indiblogger and Flipkart for this memorable day.

Extra special thanks to Sid and Soumya for clicking some superb photos I will always treasure!

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