Being in Goa, in the month of May, can be one of the “stickiest” experiences one can have. With the temperature and the humidity soaring up early in the morning, one just feels like going to Antarctica So one of my friends had come up with an idea of spending a holiday away from the Goan summer…..not in Antarctica but in Ooty. The hotel rooms, the train tickets and the traveler was booked using the magical Internet facility. And so came the day when the ten of us office colleagues( more of college friends) had to leave to Ooty in the world famous Mangala Lakshadweep Express, which travels through a 500 km sea tunnel from the Lakshadweep Islands all the way to the railway station in Margao, Goa. We boarded the train (which arrived 3 hours late) at 11 pm and sweated in the Sleeper Coach as we lay in our individual berths trying to get some sleep. By the way, I was kidding about the sea tunnel part.
We arrived at Kozhikode, Kerala the next day at around 8 am, from where we had to travel a 6 hour journey by road to Ooty. The climate in Kerala was no different than that in Goa. We met the driver of our uber cool, 75bhp tempo traveller. After setting our luggage in it, we were all set for the road journey. But first we had to have breakfast! Now, South India is very famous for its breakfast of Idli, Vada-Sambar, Masala Dosa etc. So no matter if you would give us the entire Mc’D menu for free, for our breakfast, we wanted Idli, Vada-Sambar, Masala Dosa etc. So we stopped by a restaurant on the way. I don’t remember there being a time shift of 12 hours between Goa and Kerala, but the waiter offered a dinner menu for us! And for vegetarians, he specially went to the chef to ask for the varieties in vegetarian dishes and told us that they had Vegetarian Khurma only! It seems that in Kerala, the breakfast consists of parathas, chapaties and khurma and nothing else. So we had our compromising breakfast and set off to Ooty.
The very humid climate in Goa and Kerala, made me believe that there can be no other place on this entire planet which can be cold during May. When the driver told me its going to be cold in Ooty, I could not believe him. I mean, Ooty is where? Antarctica ? With a Bollywood movie playing for 2 hours, we reached the out skirts of Tamil Nadu. (Summary : Margao is in Goa, Kozhikode is in Kerala and Ooty is in Tamil Nadu). The temperature was cooler, the humidity was very less and people were actually wearing sweaters! Now either it gets cold in Ooty or people are pretending to make tourists believe that the weather is cold. I still did not believe that a summer can be cold. As our vehicle swirled through the scenic mountain roads, calm lakes and the misty clouds welcomed us here and there. Thick pine trees covered the mountains from the base and smooth roads surprised us with splendid scenery at every turn. Cruiser motor bikes roared past us, as groups of bikers made their way in a biker’s paradise. We reached Ooty around 3pm and checked in to our hotel. After a refreshing meal we headed to the Ooty market. We found a large number of shops which sold warm clothing. Most from our group at once started buying sweaters, sweat shirts and mufflers which were available at very affordable prices. And as we walked through the city streets, the weather grew chilly. This was what I was waiting for. I did not wear a sweat shirt just to enjoy feeling the cool weather. Vapors blew out of our mouths as we spoke in the cold night. And, I had to agree that it really was cold in Ooty.
We woke up the next day to visit the nearby tourists spots. The morning was warm and crisp. After a much awaited South Indian breakfast, we visited the Pykara water falls, which did not have much water in it. After that we headed towards Pykara lake for a boat ride. With the click of cameras surrounding everyone of us, we climbed the boat which took us into the waters.
Pykara Water Falls
Pykara Lake
By late afternoon, the weather got cloudy and it started raining! Not only was the summer in Ooty cold but it was also wet! As the heavy rains slowed down to a drizzle, we visited 9th mile. This is a vast mountain grassland with lot of tourists. With steaming, boiled, spicy peanuts and sweet corns in our hands(and mouth) we climbed the slopes of the grassland.
9th Mile
Any cow will be extremely happy to see a mountain full of food! It was just grass and grass everywhere. The clouds hovered around us to give a mystical feel to the place. After having clicked pictures with poses suitable for Mr.World and Miss World competitions, we left 9th Mile for the famous Botanical Garden. The Botanical Garden is a gardener’s paradise, with a guy like me finding it more of a forest than a garden. There were just plants around everywhere, just like in a forest, but with sign boards next to them. After the hour long walk in the Botanical Garden, we warmed ourselves with a cup of cutting chai and signed off the day by buying lots and lots of home made chocolates.
Botanical Garden
The next morning excited us with the Toy Train ride. It traveled from Ooty to Connoor winding up the slopes of the hills and overlooking the small town of Ooty. The train took us through pine forests and over high bridges.
Toy Train, Connoor
We reached Connoor and traveled by road to a tea garden. The tea garden was indeed beautiful! With 70 year old tea plants lining the slopes of the billion year old mountains, we were introduced to the sight of endless greenery.
Tea Garden, Connoor
A local guide took us through the tea manufacturing process and let us do what we had come for – take photographs. And we clicked of course! We clicked as if that was the last chance of our survival and we clicked until the battery in our cameras could take no more. After the tea garden we traveled through the steep, winding slopes to Dolphin’s Nose. The roads leading to Dolphin’s Nose were stone paths. The surroundings, with beautiful mansions, circled by well kept gardens made me feel as if I was in Italy! For the first time, the vehicle in which I was travelling created a traffic jam. We were stuck at a turn as huge cars zoomed on the other lane and our vehicle could go ahead only by crossing to the other lane and then taking that hairpin bend. Me and my friend got down and stopped the vehicles on the other lane for a while so that our vehicle could move ahead. After having successfully regulated the traffic, we climbed back on our vehicle and reached Dolphin's Nose in 10 minutes. Dolphin's Nose is a mountain peak overlooking the tribal villages in Connoor. As we finished touring the location fast, we had a quick lunch and set off to the railway station to board our toy train back to Ooty.
Once we reached Ooty in the toy train, we visited the Thread garden and Rose garden. The Thread garden is a garden full of various flowers stitched and embroidered by hand over a period of 12 years! And the Rose garden is a garden full of extremely healthy rose plants and the roses that grow on them are LARGE! I wanted to see a black and a green colored rose, but could not find them.It was getting cold and we were tired to appreciate the intricacy of every rose and also there were some thousand roses in the garden. So we decided to return back to our hotel and pack as we were leaving to Goa the next day.
Thread Garden, Ooty
Rose Garden, Ooty
We had to check out of our hotel the next day at around 11:30 am so that we cover the 6 hour journey to Kozhikode by 6 pm. We had to board our train from Kozhikode to Goa. The return journey to Kozhikode was not as exciting as the earlier one. Most of us slept as we were drugged by anti-puking pills. We reached the railway platform around 6:30 pm, just in time for our train, which arrived 10 minutes later. As we traveled in the train we went through all the pictures that were clicked in Ooty.
Ooty Railway Station
(In picture, from left, Me, Shweta, Mayuri, Shuchi, Prema, Shreya, Gauree, Rachna, Priyantha, Pushkin)
It all seemed like a dream now, as the weather of Kerala made us sweat in the train. The green hills which kissed the skies, the cool lakes with smooth ripples, the pleasant weather which gave peace to your mind were all being left behind us. Truly, nature's wonders can relax us and make us awe its creations all the more!
