A Misty Mountain Hop
Saturday, December 03, 2011
We were sitting in the boarding area awaiting the announcement from a Kingfisher official of our flight to Coimbatore. I was twiddling my thumbs and trying to shake off the starry eyes and drowsiness as a result of the Deepavali celebrations from previous day. The wife was making sure that her iPod shuffle was in her handbag and getting tensed that the taxiwala (Tangavelu, as we later came to know him as) did not call up with the cab information and or confirm that he'll pick us up from the Coimbatore airport.
Although I had a poker face on, the same thought process was going inside my head. What will we do if he doesn't show up, are prepaid taxis available at the airport? Is it the best option we had? Are there any other mode of transport? Why hasn't he called yet? I must admit that this was one of the quick and probably the most unprepared trips I was about to start. And that too, not having traveled in India in the past decade or so did not help. The India that I knew of had changed, lack of information had become almost non existent. Distances had been reduced by more than one half by the availability of quicker means of transportation, the ease of travel and the luxury that you can avail of during your trip had grown by leaps and bounds. Why was I in a dilemma? Why the hesitation and the plethora of questions? Something I can never explain; In India, after being away for almost a decade, I was acting up like a tourist with his hands all over his pockets and eyes scanning the crowd to find the person about whom he had read in the tour guides and travel books by people who had visited the country.
After I started getting a feeling that I've been sitting in the wide leatherette seat in the boarding are for hours, I got the call I was expecting. Sir, mein tangavelu bol raha hoon. Aapne taxi bola tha to mein Coimbatore airport pe aa jaoonga. Aap pahunchne ke baad call kar deejiye. 'I'm the cabbie and I'll be waiting for you at the Coimbatore airport, please call me once you land and I'll pick you up'. Phew! I wasn't expecting Hindi from him at all. the last two days had made me think that its probably difficult to find someone who knew Tamil in Tamil Nadu. Cutting the chase, we boarded the Kingfisher flight after traveling in the pick up bus for what seemed to be a million kilometers. The bus turned left then right and then again left before repeating the same for about a bazillion times. Finally we were seated in what seemed to be a full flight headed to Coimbatore.
Udhagamandalam, Ooty, was about a 3 hour drive from Coimbatore. One doesn't get a 5 days long weekend in India that often, I was told. And hence, we decided to make a trip somewhere and somehow ended up going to Ooty. The previous day's Deepavali celebrations, again a get together and a festivity that I hadn't attended in almost a decade, was short and sweet. We lit some firecrackers, had some sweets, did some rangoli and were immersed in the lighting and the celebrations that followed. I was still getting starry eyes sitting in the flight the next day while I was trying to get some sleep. Although we did not get a window seat, the wife and I were seated comfortable near the rear of the airbus. After about 2 hours we landed at the Coimbatore airport and headed out. The cabbie was waiting just outside the exit door and we were able to get in to the car, get out of the airport periphery with ease. I conveyed to him that we need to get a quick lunch and a pit stop at a store to get some refreshments etc. He took us to a nearby restaurant where we filled our tummies with some thali meals served on top of a banana leaf in a bronze plate and a variety of tamizh delicacies topping it off with a chikku juice. We finished our lunch and the Tata Indica started zooming on the two lane highway kicking off a three hour long drive.
The route from Coimbatore to Ooty is a well toured road. One could spot a taxi or a rental car every few minutes either going to or heading back from the tourist place. After about a couple of hours, we were driving past the mountain ranges and slowly the mountains were getting a coated by the low lying clouds; some dark, some white as cotton. We asked Tangavelu about the whether in the past few days and were disappointed to learn that it has been raining and the forecasts did not look good at all. We hit the first set of traffic on one of the curves heading onto the mountain range. The cars and SUVs were all lined up and I had a few moments to capture some snaps after rolling down the windows of the Indica. Aaney! Elephant! he yelled out, there are designated routes for elephants to cross the main road. I pointed my Canon to the road side but no elephant in sight. Someone who walked past the queued up vehicles informed us that a volvo bus had caught one of the low lying wires on the side of the road and that's what was causing the delay.
The sky was getting dark by the minute and it was hardly 4 pm. Although we were used to see that in the winter months, it was a bit unexpected in the Indian subcontinent. And suddenly it started raining, taking our hopes of getting out and enjoying Ooty into the drain with it. We reached our hotel with the car drenched in rain water and our umbrellas and rain jackets out. Dumped our luggage in the hotel room and waited. An hour went by with no respite from the rain. And then two hours - still raining. Finally we gave up, asked the cabbie to take us to a restaurant nearby where we had our dinner. He then drove us back to the hotel where we bid adieu. He said his replacement would be coming in to take us around tomorrow.
Day II was a bright and sunny day. The yellow rays of sun filled the hotel room asking us to start our day early. We beat our estimate and got out to explore. Ooty to Coonoor the toy train ride was first on our hit list. The scenic train ride took us through the ups and downs of the misty mountains and tea estates. Kids, Family, Tourists, School Kids and Daily commuters, they all thronged the train. Thanks to some forums, we had booked tickets for the train ride in advance. We occupied the window seat which gave us an excellent view of the small towns on the way. After about an hour the train pulled in to the Coonoor railway station. We had already filled almost half of the SD card in our camera and our trip had just started. Jaykumar, the new cabbie, was to pick us up from the Coonoor railway station. After a few minutes wait, we got in touch with him and took to the task of visiting the hot spots in Coonoor. Tea estates were the first stop. Mist covering the estates was a pleasant sight. A light wind made sure that the mist shifted now and then letting us view the best sights from the top of the hill and enabling us to capture the Kodak moments in our Canon. After stopping at a few tourist attractions on our way, we were back to Ooty visiting the Botanical garden (deemed as a must visit for any tourist) Rose gardens and a few other attractions.
Ooty is a small town, some say one could have a peaceful stay and an excellent tour of the town and nearby places about a decade ago but over the last 5-10 years, an increase in the number of tourists has not made the infrastructure and facilities improve to accommodate them. However, we were staying close to the town and did not feel so. Of course it would be buzzing with activity mainly during the summer months and tapering off after October before picking up after March. Jayakumar made sure that he gave us some background about the town and other attractions. He informed us that he has been driving in and around Ooty for more than 20 years! He knew the history of the town way back to the British days. It was indeed nice to see that he could very well fill in the shoes of a tour guide. A multifaceted person who just loves to drive!
Satisfied with the day's achievements, though tired, we reached our hotel in the evening. The next day, we were to drive back to Coimbatore to continue our onward journey. We turned to the Idiot Box to provide us with some news and/or entertainment. I had totally forgotten about technology the last couple of days; a place like Ooty can do that to you! I caught up on my emails and took to the task of planning the remainder of our trip. We checked out the next day early morning, visited Dodabetta peak, the highest peak in South India on our way back and resumed the 3 hour long drive back to Coimbatore.
Although I was itching to drive the car on more than one occasion, I choose not to. Let the professional do what he does the best yeah? It was probably the first vacation where I hadn't driven a vehicle. Felt nice, less stress; should do more often :)
Until next time ....
Although I had a poker face on, the same thought process was going inside my head. What will we do if he doesn't show up, are prepaid taxis available at the airport? Is it the best option we had? Are there any other mode of transport? Why hasn't he called yet? I must admit that this was one of the quick and probably the most unprepared trips I was about to start. And that too, not having traveled in India in the past decade or so did not help. The India that I knew of had changed, lack of information had become almost non existent. Distances had been reduced by more than one half by the availability of quicker means of transportation, the ease of travel and the luxury that you can avail of during your trip had grown by leaps and bounds. Why was I in a dilemma? Why the hesitation and the plethora of questions? Something I can never explain; In India, after being away for almost a decade, I was acting up like a tourist with his hands all over his pockets and eyes scanning the crowd to find the person about whom he had read in the tour guides and travel books by people who had visited the country.
After I started getting a feeling that I've been sitting in the wide leatherette seat in the boarding are for hours, I got the call I was expecting. Sir, mein tangavelu bol raha hoon. Aapne taxi bola tha to mein Coimbatore airport pe aa jaoonga. Aap pahunchne ke baad call kar deejiye. 'I'm the cabbie and I'll be waiting for you at the Coimbatore airport, please call me once you land and I'll pick you up'. Phew! I wasn't expecting Hindi from him at all. the last two days had made me think that its probably difficult to find someone who knew Tamil in Tamil Nadu. Cutting the chase, we boarded the Kingfisher flight after traveling in the pick up bus for what seemed to be a million kilometers. The bus turned left then right and then again left before repeating the same for about a bazillion times. Finally we were seated in what seemed to be a full flight headed to Coimbatore.
Udhagamandalam, Ooty, was about a 3 hour drive from Coimbatore. One doesn't get a 5 days long weekend in India that often, I was told. And hence, we decided to make a trip somewhere and somehow ended up going to Ooty. The previous day's Deepavali celebrations, again a get together and a festivity that I hadn't attended in almost a decade, was short and sweet. We lit some firecrackers, had some sweets, did some rangoli and were immersed in the lighting and the celebrations that followed. I was still getting starry eyes sitting in the flight the next day while I was trying to get some sleep. Although we did not get a window seat, the wife and I were seated comfortable near the rear of the airbus. After about 2 hours we landed at the Coimbatore airport and headed out. The cabbie was waiting just outside the exit door and we were able to get in to the car, get out of the airport periphery with ease. I conveyed to him that we need to get a quick lunch and a pit stop at a store to get some refreshments etc. He took us to a nearby restaurant where we filled our tummies with some thali meals served on top of a banana leaf in a bronze plate and a variety of tamizh delicacies topping it off with a chikku juice. We finished our lunch and the Tata Indica started zooming on the two lane highway kicking off a three hour long drive.
The route from Coimbatore to Ooty is a well toured road. One could spot a taxi or a rental car every few minutes either going to or heading back from the tourist place. After about a couple of hours, we were driving past the mountain ranges and slowly the mountains were getting a coated by the low lying clouds; some dark, some white as cotton. We asked Tangavelu about the whether in the past few days and were disappointed to learn that it has been raining and the forecasts did not look good at all. We hit the first set of traffic on one of the curves heading onto the mountain range. The cars and SUVs were all lined up and I had a few moments to capture some snaps after rolling down the windows of the Indica. Aaney! Elephant! he yelled out, there are designated routes for elephants to cross the main road. I pointed my Canon to the road side but no elephant in sight. Someone who walked past the queued up vehicles informed us that a volvo bus had caught one of the low lying wires on the side of the road and that's what was causing the delay.
The sky was getting dark by the minute and it was hardly 4 pm. Although we were used to see that in the winter months, it was a bit unexpected in the Indian subcontinent. And suddenly it started raining, taking our hopes of getting out and enjoying Ooty into the drain with it. We reached our hotel with the car drenched in rain water and our umbrellas and rain jackets out. Dumped our luggage in the hotel room and waited. An hour went by with no respite from the rain. And then two hours - still raining. Finally we gave up, asked the cabbie to take us to a restaurant nearby where we had our dinner. He then drove us back to the hotel where we bid adieu. He said his replacement would be coming in to take us around tomorrow.
Day II was a bright and sunny day. The yellow rays of sun filled the hotel room asking us to start our day early. We beat our estimate and got out to explore. Ooty to Coonoor the toy train ride was first on our hit list. The scenic train ride took us through the ups and downs of the misty mountains and tea estates. Kids, Family, Tourists, School Kids and Daily commuters, they all thronged the train. Thanks to some forums, we had booked tickets for the train ride in advance. We occupied the window seat which gave us an excellent view of the small towns on the way. After about an hour the train pulled in to the Coonoor railway station. We had already filled almost half of the SD card in our camera and our trip had just started. Jaykumar, the new cabbie, was to pick us up from the Coonoor railway station. After a few minutes wait, we got in touch with him and took to the task of visiting the hot spots in Coonoor. Tea estates were the first stop. Mist covering the estates was a pleasant sight. A light wind made sure that the mist shifted now and then letting us view the best sights from the top of the hill and enabling us to capture the Kodak moments in our Canon. After stopping at a few tourist attractions on our way, we were back to Ooty visiting the Botanical garden (deemed as a must visit for any tourist) Rose gardens and a few other attractions.
Ooty is a small town, some say one could have a peaceful stay and an excellent tour of the town and nearby places about a decade ago but over the last 5-10 years, an increase in the number of tourists has not made the infrastructure and facilities improve to accommodate them. However, we were staying close to the town and did not feel so. Of course it would be buzzing with activity mainly during the summer months and tapering off after October before picking up after March. Jayakumar made sure that he gave us some background about the town and other attractions. He informed us that he has been driving in and around Ooty for more than 20 years! He knew the history of the town way back to the British days. It was indeed nice to see that he could very well fill in the shoes of a tour guide. A multifaceted person who just loves to drive!
Satisfied with the day's achievements, though tired, we reached our hotel in the evening. The next day, we were to drive back to Coimbatore to continue our onward journey. We turned to the Idiot Box to provide us with some news and/or entertainment. I had totally forgotten about technology the last couple of days; a place like Ooty can do that to you! I caught up on my emails and took to the task of planning the remainder of our trip. We checked out the next day early morning, visited Dodabetta peak, the highest peak in South India on our way back and resumed the 3 hour long drive back to Coimbatore.
Although I was itching to drive the car on more than one occasion, I choose not to. Let the professional do what he does the best yeah? It was probably the first vacation where I hadn't driven a vehicle. Felt nice, less stress; should do more often :)
Until next time ....
Labels: Deepavali, India, Mist, Mountain, Ooty, Winter
Posted by Rajesh @ 4:33 AM; PERMALINK,
