India Entry 10 – 8/19/07
I went to Ooty this weekend. It is a “hill station†about 150 km south of Mysore. About 28 people in all went this weekend. We were all split up into our respective cars – 7 in each car, and it seemed as if every car had a different agenda. I was smart and went along with 6 other people who understood and spoke Hindi which definitely had it’s advantages. They were: Aayush Jain, Samir Shah, Faisal Masood, Anish Mehta, Rohan Bhatt, and Sid (not sure of his last name). Our list of things to do was as followed: Go to Ooty, See a Waterfall, Trek a little bit, and Take a train to Coonoor.
Go to Ooty – This one we could not not do. The trip to Ooty was about 4.5 hrs and the roads were in terrible condition. Our driver found out that the “shortcut†was open so we took it. The shortcut road was a one lane road which winded around hairpin turns and at times bordered the edge of a cliff. When another car can in the opposite direction we would have to pull off of the road and let the car pass before continuing. I wish I had taken pictures of this road to show you how bad it was. But, before we knew it, tired and malnourished, we arrived safely at Ooty.
The first thing we did in Ooty was find a hotel. We had not made a reservation, and based on all of our past experiences in India we knew securing a hotel in Ooty wouldn’t be a problem. Hotel Kehms was the first hotel we stopped in to look at. They had a lot of vacancies which I didn’t like. When the clerk showed us the rooms (just to see) he had said he was showing us a standard. We really liked it. It had enough room to sleep four (two on a bed, two on a cot – which later we found out was just a thin mattress laid on the floor). Then he wanted to show us another room just across the hall, he said it was a standard. It was then we realized he showed us the premium room first, then the standard room. I didn’t like the place too much and decided along with a few others to go out on a hunt for a hotel. The very next hotel we went to, Hotel Silver Oak, only had a cottage available. We decided to take a look at it anyway. As soon as we walked in, we knew that was where we wanted to stay. It was more like a two bedroom apartment then an hotel room. It was 2500 INR plus 150 per cot (times three) plus tax and two decks of cards (~50 INR) – or 3375 INR total for seven people. That is about $85.
Now that we had a room to stay in for the night, we wanted eat, then go sight seeing. Our driver took us to some cool places: Doddabetta (the highest point in South India) and Kalhatty falls. The waterfall wasn’t anything like Shivanasamudra Falls, but was cool in it’s own way. I think what made it nice was the fact that you had to hike along a trail for ten minutes before you could see them. Then, if prepared, you could swim in a natural pool at the bottom of the falls and climb into some naturally embedded seats which water flows over. It reminded me a lot of the Duns River Falls in Jamaica.
Doddabetta had some good views, unfortunately a camera cannot capture the beauty that I saw on top of that mountain. It was strange to see horses at this altitude but there they were saddled up and ready to ride. I took this opportunity to rind a horse for the first time. For only 40 INR (roughly $1), I couldn’t resist. I hopped up on my horse and started up a hill. There was a guy walking alongside the horse until it got past a certain point, then he would let go of the horse and smack his ass with a stick. This I DID NOT find funny. The horse naturally started to gallop. Now, never had ridding a horse before and it starting to gallop is a freaking scary first experience. I listened closely to what he had told us in order to control the horse and pulled the rope back to stop it. Sitting there, I though it a good opportunity to get video footage of me on top of this horse. I got my camera out, kicked the side of the horse and before you know it the darn thing started to gallop again. With one hand holding an expensive camcorder and the other holding a rope, the only thing which will save my life, I pulled the rope and the horse obeyed. I didn’t have much time to put my camera away but I got it in my case and put both hands on the rope again. Not too long after securing my camera in it’s bag, the bouncing from the horse caused the Velcro to tear and down goes video camera. Not cool I stop the horse turn it around and the guy is there to pick up the pieces (battery, battery cover, SD card holder, etc). This time I zipper the bag up so the same mistake won’t happen again. All this happened while going up hill. The horse was trained well and knew where to turn around and did so obediently. It then proceeded to gallop down the hill, I thought it fun until I sensed the first hint of me falling to one side. I almost soiled my pants, but I made it back alive to the other guys which were waiting for their turn. Some other guys went. They were taking a long time so the person offered to let me go again (he said for free) on the account of my camera dropping. I collected all the guts I could and accepted. After the same experience (minus my camera dropping, which I left with the others this time) I got back, and to my surprise was demanded to pay an additional 40 INR. I thought this a really dirty trick and reluctantly paid an additional 10 INR.
After Doddobetta, we were supposed to go to the botanical gardens, but while there another group said they just came from the gardens and said it wasn’t worth the trip. Instead we went to this tiny amusement park which was situated alongside a river. We went in to ride a pedal boat, but realized there was no real reason to do it, so instead we rode the bumper cars, played air hockey, rode a mechanical bull, and ate some corn on the cob.
In between Doddobetta and the amusement park, we made a quick stop off at a tea factor called “the tea factory.†It was pretty neat to see the tea gardens (farms), then to see the processes it goes through to become bagged into what we know as tea bags. I learned new ways to make tea and what it can be used for. The factory was embedded into the mountain side and had some really nice view of the city below.
It was about that time to get some dinner. We really didn’t feel like going anywhere so we just walked downstairs to the restaurant in our hotel. Since we had the cottage, all the other groups decided to meet up at our place for dinner and drinks after. Nothing goes as planned though and the service at the restaurant was the worst I have ever seen, and because of it everyone was fed up and just wanted to go home which they did and left our hotel room with small bottles of half filled rum and vodka.
The morning after, we were all really excited to be going to Coonoor. We checked out and settled our bill at the hotel, hopped on our bikes and took off for Coonoor. That’s right, you read it correctly, we drove motorcycles there! I was so eager to do this. I have read other peoples blogs about them renting bikes, taking off and having a great time. I don’t have that much experience riding a motorcycle, but I rented one anyway and became quite good at it very quickly. Two in our group didn’t like the idea and stuck with our original plan to take the train. The train was supposed to have good views of the country side. I was so glad that we didn’t ride the train though.
On the way to Coonoor, I noticed a great picturesque mountain side, so I pulled over, stopped my bike and snapped away. The pictures I took really do not do any justice to the magnificent beauty observed and experienced.
We beat the train to Coonoor and waited for the other two to arrive. Once they arrived we followed our driver to dolphin’s nose – a mountain peak. Along the way we made a stop at a tea garden. Garden and plantation can be used interchangeably. All of the tea gardens looked so beautiful in their neatly kept lines and bright green leaves. Trees naturally break up the otherwise boring repetitive pattern creating literally breathtaking scenery.
Dolphin’s nose – the last stop on our journey to Ooty and Coonoor – was a disappointment. I mean, by the time we got there, we saw so many mountains cutting the baby blue sky that dolphin’s nose seemed just like the rest. After a few photo ops here we packed up and started on our long 4-6 hour ride home. Of course we had to stop in Ooty to return the bikes. God that was fun!