Kodaikanal-Ooty-Trip-2016 on Sauvik Biswas

Day 5: Nothing to see in Ooty

Wed, 04 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

We went to Connoor. All we saw were cliffs, valleys and generic tea estates. There is a small botanical garden called Sim’s Park which was in full bloom. Ironically, this smaller sister of Ooty’s Botanical Garden had better flora than its elder sibling.

Some random shots of flowers to show off my camera.

Some more camera-show-off stuff.

Day 4: Caught a cold and a glimpse of Pykara at Ooty

Mon, 02 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

An overnight bus ride from Kodaikanal to Ooty #

The bus journey from Kodaikanal to Ooty wasn’t particularly a pleasant ride. As soon as the bus descended to Palani, the heat and humidity made us feel uncomfortable. To top it off, the bus stopped at at least 3 places for over 30 minutes each time. The temperature dropped rapidly as soon as we ascended the hills again. When the bus reached Ooty, it was 4:30 am in the morning. The temperature was 12 degrees. The bus conductor said that we would get an auto easily. He was wrong. We abandoned any hopes of a vehicle and walked the 750 meters from Charring Cross to our hotel using Google Maps as our guide.

Day 3: A trip to Berijam Lake

Sun, 01 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Our hotel did not disappoint us with the breakfast. We checked out at 10:00 am. Prakash was late because he had gone to get permission for our visit to Berijam Lake and was stuck in the traffic.

Meanwhile, I went around clicking some photographs.

This strange and absurd sculpture was in the fields in front of our hotel. Bush and Bin Laden proxying as scarecrows?

Day 2: Kodaikanal is not a place for site-seeing

Sat, 30 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

The unrestricted area of Palani Hills Forest #

We hired a car for the entire day to roam around the forest. Our driver Prakash kept calling this trip ‘one-way’. I realised later that the trip was a round one-way trip. Maybe that’s why he called it so.

Since this is the tourist season and today being a weekend, a lot of tourists had flocked into Kodaikanal from the neighbouring cities and towns. This made driving through the narrow and congested roads very difficult for Prakash. Still, it wasn’t as bad as Bangalore roads after office hours. Prakash stopped at various designated spots. These spots are well marked by the forest department. To tell the truth, Kodaikanal isn’t a place that has much historical or natural significance. Instead, it is well suited for a leisurely vacation. In fact, that’s exactly why this place was built.

Day 1: Walking around Kodaikanal town

Fri, 29 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Yesterday, it took us 122 minutes to cover a distance of 16 kms from my home to silk board. By the time we reached our boarding point, we barely had 15 minutes to gulp down some dosas and board the bus. The bus was supposed to drop us at Kodaikanal at 6:00 am today. Thankfully, it was late by two and half hours. We were not equipped to combat the early morning temperatures of 14-16 degree Celsius.