Yes, I seem to have taken a rather long time to write a post and much longer to write this one. My impending trip to Kodai has got me in the mood to relive my last vacation.
S and I are suckers for the hills and we are the happiest when we sit watching the rolling mists and the fine rain, with a cup of hot tea and hot hot bajjis to give us company. And somewhere in that heady mix, our rambling talks about our future plans to retire in the hills, also figure. Well...that, like my post, is definitely a long time coming.
So where was I? Yep...my last vacation. When the summer sun beat down on us mercilessly in May 2012, we decided to pack our bags and set off to Ooty - the Queen of Hills and all that. The only deviation from our regular vacation was that we were visiting Ooty during its peak season. In other words, for S and I, a time when million tourists flock the place and all the things that come with them - plastic, noise, nosiness and a general negating of the pristine surroundings for which we make the trip in the first place.
We got down at Mettupalayam station early in the morning. It was pleasantly cool and there was a light nip in the air. Unsuccessful in getting a berth in the Mettupalayam to Ooty passenger train, fondly known as the Toy train, we walked off to the taxi stand to negotiate a trip up the mountain. The fare had gone up, but we found one guy who was reasonable and settled into the ubiquitous Indica taxi. The first hint of the perplexities of the tourist season, was the serpentine line of other taxis and buses, as we negotiated the delightful curves of the Nilgiris. At every bend this was the scene.
And not to forget this monstrosity on the hill side, courtesy Vodafone.
My holiday had not started and already I felt bleak. I was not sure if this was still the Ooty I loved and enjoyed coming to. The smoke from the vehicles in front was drowning out the scent of the Eucalyptus trees and my happiness was getting drowned after every traffic jam we encountered (ha..how poetic was that? Corny...I know).
And then the driver suggested stopping at
Coonoor for breakfast and at the most unlikeliest of places - the Coonoor railway station, which he swore served excellent fluffy idlis. S and I were by now so hungry that we were willing to try out anything. We made our way to a crowded stall, where locals were stuffing their face with food. Our driver gave the orders. We were pleasantly surprised, when we were given big round steaming idlis with chutney and sambar on the side. I gobbled it up with un-lady like finesse and just about managed to stop a satisfactory burp at the end of it. But then this was the hills, and one tends to get hungry quickly. So quickly....that I didn't pause a bit before ordering dosas and crisp medu vada. Now, I am not a medu vada fan, but that breakfast made me a convert. S, meanwhile was savoring the ven pongal (a savory rice dish) and could not be disturbed. We had coffee which kind of brought us back to reality, as it was the railway sanctioned excuse for one, but I wouldn't let myself be swayed from my culinary heaven.
I wandered around with my camera, trying to grasp those images of Ooty, which makes us want to come over again and again. I found this little fellow pecking away at invisible grains on the platform.
Since I had read about the sparrow project in Chennai, I did my bit by capturing this guy through my camera lens. This was the first of the many bird-snaps that I took....no...tried taking. But I shall come to that later.
There is a reason why the season is called 'peak season.' Once we entered Ooty and checked into
Sterling Resorts - Fern Hill, I was bowled by the riot of colours everywhere. I had never seen such colours in our dry and dusty Chennai, except perhaps in the film posters here. Flowers were in full bloom and fat bees were buzzing around happily drinking nectar. I couldn't stop taking snaps of the flora, in all the days that I stayed there.
Here are a few of my favorites:
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| In Sterling Resort's garden |
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| In the Botanical garden |
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| At the Rose Show |
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| Another sunny one from Sterling Fernhill |
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| Plenty of colours here - Sterling Fernhill |
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| Beauty in red - Sterling Fernhill |
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| At the Ooty Golf Club |
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| Sunny flowers at the Ooty Golf Club |
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| The rolling greens beyond these pink beauties - Ooty Golf Club |
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| Back in Sterling Fernhill |
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| At P's ancestral house in Coonoor |
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| Lillies in their beautiful garden |
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| Flowers blooming on creepers - P's ancestral house |
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| Violets and pinks at Earl's Secret in King's Cliff |
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| A beauty, at Sterling Fernhill |
As I was saying, people horde these places during the peak season for a reason and S and I got the message loud and colourfully. Can't say I regretted any part of the trip. We did visit the time-honoured Ooty Rose Show in the Government Rose Park Ooty, but only on the last day, hoping that the crowd would have eased off. It did, marginally, but the flowers displayed looked wilted and sad. There were rows upon rows of baskets displaying different hued roses and floral statues of animals.
I was not particularly impressed by the display and was clearly not in high spirits while being pushed along by the throng behind us. After a few minutes, I couldn't take anymore. S was only to happy to walk out and around the garden. We realized that in a place like this, one needn't necessarily pay and get jostled around inside a closed area, instead, one need to merely step out and take a walk to see what colour and sights the town displayed.
I saw this hedge in front of a house perched prettily on the sloping hillside.
Of course, we went to the Botanical garden on the 20th May, the last day of the Ooty Flower Show, and had a chance to check out the bonsai collection and the well maintained gardens. The gardens are vast, with soft undulating slopes and good lawns to take a leisured stroll around. I thought this show was much better than the Rose Show.
Whenever I go on a trip I generally try to check up on shows or programs that we could attend while we are there and this time too, it was no different. I spent hours on the internet and jotted down the Ooty Dog Show conducted by the South of India Kennel Club (SIKC), that was to take place on the 12th and 13th of May 2012. This was in addition to catching the Ooty Rose show and the Flower Show.
What I didn't bargain for was the ignorance of the locals. Not a soul knew about the venue of the show. Some claimed that it was already over, while some others said that it was not being held this year. But I was firm in my belief of the reliable 'www' and we were in luck. A very helpful traffic constable (in fact they all were) showed us the way to the venue, which was to the Government Arts College grounds. And I got a chance to watch a well organized dog show and coo and admire a few fancy canine friends. Here are a few of them.
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| This one reminded me of White Fang. What a looker. |
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| There were a few of these sweet Saint Bernards |
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| I think this one is a Collie. But not too sure. All the same, she looks so pretty. |
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| I was mesmerized by this Great Dane. He was so sturdy and tall |
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| This naughty Daschund caught my eye too. |
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| This Boxer had a lovely coat colour but his eyes are so sad. Wanted to give him a hug. |
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| I can only call it a big, cuddly, furry darling. |
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| This Boxer meant business. I think he even won a prize. |
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| I loved these two. This dog was so perfectly poised and disciplined, but a pity he didn't win a prize. |
Alright, that's a lot of scrolling down that you have done. Thank you! Let me be considerate and write the rest as a second part. Rest in Part II (break ke baad :))
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