"Where the eagles fly, on a mountain side..."!

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Hey!

So from the pits to the beautiful Ooty - Previously a hill station for the British in the time of the Raj!!

We caught the train from Mettapalayam, where we spent the previous night - and experienced the BIGGEST storm.....the roads flooded and I had to wring my whole skirt out before entering the restaurant which we'd rushed into for dinner. The thunder was deafening and the lightning was amazing, turquoise, purple and pink!

A complete change of landscape and the MOST beautiful train ride - We even went 1st Class!! It was an old steam train that pushed our carriages up to the highest points in Southern India, nearly 2500ft above sea level......Chilly (but more about that in a bit!)

The train took us from the tropical surroundings up to evergreen forests, past waterfalls, and steep drops and tea plantations....we even saw some elephants on the way back down!!

Our first night was a bit of a shock - back to English temps (although Dad seems to think it's warm enough for BBQ's already??....V jealous!!) We had no blankets, havent needed any here, so we ended up sleeping in all the clothes we'd bought - and there's not many warm ones amongst them....see pic of Dan......Brrrrrrr, freezing!

We hired a motorbike yesterday - woo hoo we're hooked

Dan - Obviously not a touch on your bikes Dad & Ry but it done the job, you'll both be pleased to know that I delt with the India town traffic and mountainous roads pretty well with about 36 hairpins down and 36 back up again...that said my riding skill had to shift from concentrated driving to the 'reflex' way of riding, bikers will know what i'm talking about, ' a little gap opens up in the traffic and bosh whack it through' !! We plan to get an Enfield Bullett next time!! VOOM VOOM BAAAAMMMMMM BAAAAMMMMM

Nic - ...And I was more than happy to sit and watch the world go by!!....(Was nice to be able to sit so close to Dan for once, as they frown upon us not being married and we have to keep our distance most of the time!!)

We're now back to sweating constantly (ie, down from the mountains!) and are hanging about till our sleeper train (sleeper trains we like as it saves paying for a room for the night)...taking us to Vellore, in Eastern Tamil Nadu...should be some nice temples etc. So until then,

Adios.
xxxxx

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Photos

Weak bridge...
...We hope not!

Tiger reserve
we rode through on the bike!

This beast met us on the tracks...
we had to do an emergency stop and reverse for it

Comments

[DAD JOHN]

nice to speak
Hi to you both what a great day today, speaking to you and betting on 3 rd and 4th on the national. Great to hear you are well and having some great experiances[be carefull on those moter bikes]. hells indian angels!!! Great photos keep them comming . Be carefull LOVE DAD XXX

[Ryan King]

Yo!!!!!!!!
Easy peeps!! You really are getting around aren't you?! Dan, I hope you got your knee down on those hairpins? I'm sure the roads are smooth enough!! Maybe your monkey friends can show you a few racing lines!! Keep looking after each other and enjoying yourselves!!! Next time wear a helmet!!