An Amazing Workshop at Orange County

It was just a couple of weeks ago that I held my very first workshop in India with Aimee. It seems like a lifetime away, this amazing time that we had in a setting that seemed to come straight from the Jungle Book. Even though I had been to Coorg before, this time it left me not only awe struck but it changed me completely. I have always been a city girl, but being in the surroundings of especially what the Orange County Resorts have created, I can safely say I am converted. The awe inspiring beauty of the region is also reflected in its people. You may have heard countless stories of Indian warmth and hospitality. Coorg embodied it all.

After a 6 hour drive from the Bangalore airport, the last 20 minutes were spent on a beautiful winding trail within a coffee plantation, lined with bushes upon bushes of coffee shrubs and the most gorgeous flora and fauna you ever will see, to finally reach and reveal, the quietly hidden Orange County Resorts. Everything from the reception area to each and every villa has the most charming detailing. The owner takes pride in being responsible for every characteristic that exists at the resort, as they should be because it is perfect in every detail. It is so beautifully designed that it just blends into its natural botanical background.

But it is the people that construct such an atmosphere and to that I bow my head to the team at Orange County. Every person made each and every attendee and me feel as if we were special. They never said no, not even to the most outlandish request. For every attendee that participated, India came through shining. And that was the whole purpose and the idea of these workshops in India. A side to India that never finds its place in media lately. The quiet pristine nature, the empty streets, the gentle and kind people. This is India.

And the food! The food was just unbelievably good. Day in and day out everyone was served the very best of Indian food from different regions. I have not seen such a high quality in food. Aimee and I were welcomed into the kitchen as if it were our own. The atmosphere, as if I was home. Thats how cosy and intimate it was. Orange County is a haven in our busy crazy lives.

The attendees and I had the best time. We laughed and joked with each other as if we knew each other forever and we all became thick as thieves. We dined in the most exotic settings and learned to the extent that by the second session, the attendees were outdoing both Aimee and me! What greater compliment could there be?

I came away with making the most amazing friendships in the attendees and my boy Shivesh! He is the nicest sweetest person and I am so impressed at how savvy and energetic he is. He and I, despite our age difference hit it off like a house on fire.

Our welcome dinner really set the tone to the workshop. It seemed like a spot out of a movie. And our dinner within the plantation approached in a safari truck, while being stung by branches and laughing and screeching to reach a scene from a safari adventure!

I had also arranged and planned a coffee tasting at Tata Coffee that have a plantation in Coorg. From the moment that I spoke to the people at Tata I was amazed. For a company as big as Tata is, each and every person at their office was humble and so friendly. Long distance arrangement is not easy but Sunil at Tata coffee not only knew his stuff and performed the tasting, he was also one of the nicest people I have met. Thank you Sunil. I hope I see you again soon. His manager Ricky actually sat with us all and served us coffee. Only in India would someone, at an organisation like TATA, take the time to talk to you. It is a quality I do not see anywhere else in the world. That human side is so prevalent, it makes us who we are.

Thank you to each and every person at Orange County Resorts that helped me make this workshop come true. To execute my vision to such magnificence. Thank you!