Finally a trip to Ooty!!

 Hi,

        When I informed my neighbour and relative that we were going  to Ooty with our running group, they blinked and confirmed twice when I said I am going to see that hill station for the first time! In my school,  my classmates used to circulate this small poem : 

            'First do your duty,

            Then marry a beauty,

            Have honeymoon at Ooty, 

           Bring back a kutty.(child)'

 My husband dismissed it by saying what sub standard poems we were circulating! 

            Majority of the readers would have gone to Ooty and so I do not feel I should give a grand description of the place! My first and perfect impressions of Udhagamandalam was shattered when I saw many of the places there was spoilt by commercialization and over population which has led to lot of deforestation and building houses and other structures on many of those hills! The houses on those hills looked colourful from the far though there was no uniformity as we see in western nations. Local population follows steppe cultivation and so we saw hills with tea gardens. Ooty, Kodaikanal, Nilgiris, Coonoor were popularised by Britishers who chose them as summer destinations to escape the harsh summer heat of Tamil nadu. That is why one can see many places and roads with English names. 

                  There are not many 'must see' places that one needs to cover and make the vacation hectic. The main attraction were the various chocolate factories, Dolphins nose which we missed seeing, the train journey in the train that is more than 100 years old, the boat house that has not just boat rides but also various rides and other games. Our cottage was in Coonoor and we felt we need not roam around when we could get awesome views of nature right in front of the cottage. 

                The cottages were built in old English style with chimneys on the roofs and the windows in English style. There were lush green lawns in front of cottages with lots of flowering plants and bushes making them an inviting place to sip morning coffee or tea while listening to the peaceful chirping of birds which are lost to cities!

                 Going with couple of families and with kids means being pushed into pedal boating, games, thrilling and scary rides, stimulated 7D movies, horror house, toy train rides! I enjoyed everything as the child in me came out!! The dinner at the palatial dining area in Cherrie Berrie supermarket is something to be cherished with fondness!! 

               On our way back we took a detour to Coimbatore to visit the massive statue of Lord Shiva at Isha yoga foundation!! 

             We felt rejuvenated and fresh to go back to the city life after a short and sweet vacation !! I hope to be more active here with some more topics!! 

Deepa.