National Family Camping Nilgiris: Review

We were a part of the 20th May 2015 YHAI Nilgiris Camp in Ooty, Since this was the first time I had taken my spouse ( +SOUMYA JAHAGIRDAR ) and kid (6yrs) for camping, There was some amount of concern on what to expect. The internet was silent on YHAI family camps so this article is for all those who are thinking of camping but are not decided on whether to go for it or not.

Expectations

We often review stuff based on whether it met our expectation rather than based on whether what was promised was delivered or not, So I will start with my expectations before going for the camp.

1. Camp location to be far away from human settlement.
2. Did not expect basic creature comforts like electricity, running water, hot bathing water or bathrooms and loo's
3. More time to "walk the woods" and to "stand and stare"
4. A traveller experience rather than a tourist experience.

While some of the people shared my expectations there were others who had expected it to be a more touristy experience with sightseeing, mysore trips etc thrown in.

Reality

Location

Approx 30 tents

The camp is located on a hill in the middle of ooty town and occupies the empty space in front of the YHAI building which consists of offices dorm's, kitchen, dining area, bathrooms and loos. So while I am a bit disappointed that it was not in the middle of a dense forest, It was still a good place to relax and to unwind away from the noise of the city.

Comfort

All the creature comforts were a few meters away, the floor of the tent was covered with an 1/2 inch foam ground sheet(the black one that we normally use during trekking) adequate blankets were provided and the sleeping bags that we took with us ensured that we were warm and cosy and got a good nights sleep. The tent was large enough to accommodate a family of 4-5

View from tent of YHAI Office and Dorm's

The food was delicious and nutritious. The staff went the extra mile to accommodate my dietary needs.

Unwind time

While I was not heavy on the sightseeing aspect while planning the trip, adequate arrangements were made for it. 3-4 22 seaters from a local tour operator were booked on both the days to ferry us around. regretfully the driver on day one had some dispute with YHAI which he decided to take out on the passengers by not acting as a "proper tour guide" The replacement driver on day 2 more than made up for it.
I would have preferred less sight seeing, Instead of going to point X, then Y then Z my idea is to go to one good viewpoint and spend the entire day exploring the area. On the other hand my co-travellers would have liked to cover more points.

YHAI Office, The open space on left is the meal's area

Traveller vs tourist

A tourist experience is an insulated environment, you lock yourselves up in the hotel room, travel in a private car, do not interact with your fellow guests or natives, carries various trinkets as your souvenir of the visit
A traveller gets of know the natives and his co-guests, travels together, broadens his horizon and takes back the seeds of a new understanding as a souvenir of his visit.

I would put this as a mixed bag, The first two days were spent in frantic sight seeing. On the last two days I got to know an agriculturist from Chandrapur, An ayurvedic practitioner with interest in watershed management who had organized a visit to Hiware Bazaar and Ralegaon Siddi for a team of his villagers and was struggling to implement the same in his village, and ex-IT professional turned yoga instructor, each of them managed to chip away pieces of my cocoon and broaden my horizon in their own unique way.