Slaughtering chicken and taking the steam train in Ooty

Ooty (or if you prefer Udhagamandalam) used to be a British hill station on 2,240m altitude. Now it is a welcome escape from the heat of the lowlands for both foreign and Indian tourists and honeymoon couples.
We had a more or less pleasant walk through the hills and tea plantations. Although in the dry season it rained quite heavily in the morning. Some people thought that irreversible climate change was taking place but I guess weather conditions are changeable in the mountains. I was most impressed by a mountain village and its welcoming tea shop. Starbucks could learn a lot from this place - nice company and personal service, delicious chai and (very sweet) sweets for 6 people for the outrageous price of 50 Rupees (1 Euro) alltogether. Some village boys told us about how the different religious communites live together in the village. Apparently the Hindu, Christian and Moslem community live together peacefully.
The secluded bazar of Ooty was a photographer's paradise. People were posing happily behind their stalls, displaying all sorts of produce and meat.
The mountain steam train from Ooty to Mettupalayam is one of the big attractions. You get dramatic views of the hills, tea plantations and waterfalls. After all the train drops app 1,500m the reach its destination. Going through tunnels is very exciting for everybody as there are no lights...
I met this amazing Canadian family. They were travelling for 7 months all through Asia with their children aged 14, 11 and 7. They were so relaxed about the whole trip and taught their children the school lessons they missed in crowded trains. When we had to take the unreserved train for a short trip we were a bit apprehensive. Could we get on with all our bags? As it happened, getting on was not the problem. When we tried to get off people had already jumped on the moving train and stormed into the carriage before we could even make a move...

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