Hand Me Down Hiking Partner for Every Trip - Sumi

Oh, who wouldn't like a hiking trip when everything else seems to be going downhill?

If you ask me to choose between a salary hike at work and a hiking trip, I pray, can I have both, please? I really need the extra money and a little adventure in my life right now.

This does take me back to a couple years ago. I've never been on solo trips and this ended up being one. Or should I say, it started being one, but not so much a solo trip as it ended. Would you call it a solo trip if I ended up a different person by the end of it? Technically, that's two of me, eh? Well, all thanks to two good friends and a million memories that I made through the trip, I am a changed man now (still a man that wouldn't mind a hike at work, though. :-D

"Two good friends, you say? Tell me more".

One of them, a living breathing soul. It's not every day you end up meeting a person that mirrors your passion for the little things life offers. Like, a hot bewitching cuppa' tea by the foothills of Sengottaraayar Malai, near Ooty. That's where we first met. We shared a table first, but ended up sharing a hike-load (if that's a word) of memories later.

The other friend though, is not so much a living soul, but a solace. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Sumi. I met Sumi before I booked my tickets to Ooty. My penchant for online shopping, I searched for online backpack India, and chanced upon Sumi. The name in itself fills me with the wisdom and tranquility of a Zen master, somehow. I started this trip with what I thought was a backpack, but culminated in being my confidante, companion and a friend forever (Trust me, the durable heavy-duty canvas Rolltop backpack with genuine leather details  guarantees a forever).

My lazy legs don't go well with my adventure-thirsty soul. The hilltop would gift you with a breath-taking view of all the tea-estates around, wrapped in the morn's fog. But, to my lazy legs, hiking was never their cup of tea (pun intended). All thanks to my living soul of a friend, we had a whale of a time hiking. Sumi, one of the best online backpacks in India was however, relentlessly carrying all my essentials with ease.

It had:

• Side pockets for my water bottle and energy drinks
• A cotton lining that snugly fits against my back, like a soft toy
• I enrolled in an online course at the time. My laptop needed a safe home while I hiked. Sumi took good care of it, with a padded laptop compartment. Yes, it's a laptop backpack.
• Smooth gliding YKK Zippers at the rear, to ensure I can access my laptop exclusively
• As I said earlier, Sumi was my confidante. It had zipped internal pockets that held my journals and diaries over the years. It knew all my secrets, but never spilled one out.

We were almost at the hilltop until I realised this would be incomplete without a selfie. I slid my hands into one of Sumi's external pockets, pulled out my camera, and Click! A picture. My friend and I, sweating it all out, while my rolltop backpack's just chillin'.

And there we are, on what felt like the top of the world to my spirits. A ceaseless view of the most astounding tea-estates. The aroma filling my soul with euphoria. Neatly wrapped in fog and petrichor, this was a moment best filled with silence than words. Anything you speak will only dilute the magnificence of the moment. I take a good look at my friend, who's basking in that silence, just as much. A dandelion flying by, and we make a wish. Wild flowers, us. Our spirits running wild, our minds silent as ever, our hearts pumping with joy. Those few moments, I felt no baggage (Oh yes, Sumi's good at that!) in life. We were 1800m above sea level, but we felt one with the earth, than ever.

We had to get back to the base by evening. A campfire to end the day with. My friend and I, bonding over our common taste in music. I get back to my room, Sumi still by my side. I pick my diary and write my heart out. Sumi will hold it safe, I know!