Blogs from Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia - page 4

0615: Mit einer deutschen Viertelstunde Verspätung fahren wir los, zunächst Richtung Erode, dann über Landstraßen nach Mettupalayam und weiter über Serpentinen nach Coonoor. Dort steigen wir in die historische Eisenbahn nach Ooty, es werden zwei weitere Waggons angehängt, weil so viele Leute mitfahren wollen. Im Bummelzugtempo geht es hinauf nach Ooty, die Fahrt wird kurz unterbrochen, wenn der Zahnradantrieb zugeschaltet wird. Unser Fahrer erwartet uns bereits am Bahnhof, gegen Mittag sind wir an unserer Unterkunft im YWCA. YWCA: Young Women's Christian Association, in einigen Teilen der Welt sind Männlein und Weiblein auch im CVJM noch getrennt. Der YWCA unterhält ein Gästehaus, es hinterlässt einen eher schlechten Eindruck. Die Zimmer sind kalt, das Bad ist gegenüber auf dem Gang Gegen 1500 wollen wir zum Touristenbüro fahren, aber unser Fahrer hält uns auf. Er hat einen A... read more

Ooty can be reached from Mettupalayam by means of an old steam train that winds it’s way up the 46km track by means of a ‘alternate biting teeth’ technology, necessary because it’s 1:12 gradient makes it the steepest in India. At the end of which you are deposited 6159 feet further up amongst the tea plantations and the vegetable plots. There is an eriry feeling of England that hangs over the town, probably brought on by the market stalls filled with carrots and potatoes and the need for socks. After months of plus 30degree heat it’s bliss to have a hot shower and sleep under a duvet. Because my train from Ernakulam was delayed I never saw a bed that night - arriving in Coimbatore a little before 4am, then catching a train to Mettupalayam at ... read more

we decided in all our madness to drive down to ooty, indeed its what everyone did from bangalore. mcdonalds on the mysore highway is always a convenient stop for us. past mandya and mysore we read the signs to follow the road out of mysore until we had reached bandipur. there is a jungle lodges and resort at bandipur as im sure there are others which give you reasonable accommodation while you go searching for tigers. once we entered the bandipur forest the greens and coconuts gave way for forest shrubs and bushes. we craned our necks for wildlife sightings and saw some monkeys and i think some deer on the way back. they have now stopped night time movement through the forest after several animals died. the same forest continues into tamil nadu and is ... read more

They say life begins at forty or almost - that’s what we made believe when a bunch of my friends and I set off from Hyderabad to Ooty as part of a three day retreat to the ‘Queen of the Hills’. With hubbies at home, kids taken care of, the home and hearth in order; it was time for some ‘ladies time out’! And so on a beautiful summer day we assembled at Hyderabad’s RGI airport to embark on what was to be my ‘first of its kind’ vacation sans family…If there were any apprehensions before; they became a thing of the past and as we boarded our Coimbatore-bound flight, all those feelings were allayed - tucked in along with our seat belts! Coimbatore’s airport was a far cry from Hyderabad’s swanky one - nevertheless it ... read more

Hi All, We’re still trying to catch up on all the blogs. Our current location (Alleppey) seems to ‘close’ at nine so there really isn’t much else we can do…No ‘special tea’ served here. So, this part of our trip led us further and higher inland to the Nilgiri Hill Stations in Tamil Nadu state. The hill stations are a cluster of about three or four little towns built alongside the railway. Our plan was, in effect, to travel down the stations backwards but we’ll get on to why travel in India doesn’t always go to plan later. We were roughly 2000m above sea level and the highest peak lies at 2600m. This meant a new type of chilly weather was to envelope Nikki’s bronze skin and serve to make Gail feel more at home. We ... read more