Bangalore to Coorg

Peppers at Coorg

The restless Travel Bug in me was set free, yet again as we embarked on our journey to Coorg. This was an extended weekend and we decided to visit Coorg only a week before. As we started calling the various resorts, cottages and homestays, we realized we were a tad too late. Everything that had good ratings on Trip Advisor was booked! But, what came to our rescue was a referral by a resort to this particular homestay. So we spoke to the owner, looked at the pictures on their website. Satisfied enough, we transferred a certain amount to the owner’s bank account and we had our booking done. This was the ‘Coorg Bamboo Grove’.

Where we stayed: Homestays are very common in south, particularly hill destinations. Many are not the authentic homestays though. Several cottages/rooms built on a tea/coffee estate and run commercially are also termed homestays these days. However, we stayed at a proper homestay in the Ammathi, Vontiangadi area of Coorg. We were with the owner’s family in their house; having meals with them and sharing their personal space. Of course we had a room to ourselves with an awesome balcony. The experience is akin to visiting some distant uncle’s house. It’s a bit weird in the beginning but you get used to it as Coorgis are really friendly, open and a hospitable lot.

How we travelled: We set out from Bangalore at 6:00 am in our car and reached the stay at 12:00-12:30pm (distance of approx. 260 km). The drive wasn't much though. The road condition is pretty pathetic in some stretches. Some patches are so bad it’ll make everything you've had since morning squished and churned into a frothy foam.

What we did: This March, it was really hot during the day, so mostly it was morning walks amid-st the coffee estates, lazing around in the homestay balcony or verandah. A visit to the Cauvery river nearby in the evenings and driving around on narrow roads surrounded by green. We did drive down to Madikeri with plans to check out the various tourist spots (Abbi Falls, Raja Seat, Dubare, Bhagamandala etc.) But after our visit to Abbi Falls and Dubare, we realized they were nothing out of the ordinary. Things we can easily skip without remorse. And with the heat killing us, we did a U-turn to our cool homestay retreat.

Cauvery River

Tips: According to our homestay owner and several coorgi colleagues, the best time to visit is, in the monsoon months; June to August. Just laze around on a hammock, chill in the breeze or sit by a sparkling bonfire; its really what one does at Coorg. And the more, the merrier it’ll be!

Chilllax-ing and Eat-ing is what you can do best at Coorg. Pandicurry anyone???

Related Posts:
Bangalore to Ooty
Bangalore to Pondicherry

Mom vs. Biker Bhaiyu

This December I visited my utterly chaotic, dusty, shivering  and world famous town of Agra. December is the time of the year when I usually visit home as the work load is less and being there in winters is so much better than the mercury melting super hot and sultry months of Apr-Aug.

Development in my town is taking place 10 times slower than people would like and there is nothing much the aam-aadmi can do about it. So, people there manage somehow, they adjust, they bend and go about their lives in circumstances a person from a more developed part of India will go crazy in.

One of the worst things about Agra is the driving sense of the educated-illiterates, the autowallas and the biker-bhaiyus. I’m not saying that all are bad but, majority is like that. Utter chaos on the roads is an understatement!

There is this patch of road from Dayalbagh to Bhagwan Talkies … while you are it, you will encounter all possible kinds of modes of transport coming at you in all possible directions. There would be cars, suvs, buses, lorries, autos, bikes, scooters, cycles, push-carts, people on foot (who will be lost in their world and no amount of honking can dare make them move to the side … no sir, they are the kings and queens of the road. It will be an insult to them, if they let your vehicle pass by) and several species of animals (it’s a zoo of human donkeys and real cows). Behind the wheel, I feel my world has gone berserk! I have to say a slient prayer to save me from the mayhem while at the same time swear at the vehicle in front, back and side of me. It’s a family joke that anyone who can drive on that patch successfully should be awarded with an international driving license, no questions asked!

Now, this one day, my mom who works at a renowned bank in Sanjay Place decided to go for some fruit juice with her colleagues after lunch; a few meters across the road from her office. While crossing the road, she has to be mindful of the traffic. She knows from experience that anything can happen, traffic is unpredictable and the driving sense of the locals is anyway classic. Cautiously, she stands at the side of the road, looks left … its clear … looks right … its clear. She takes two steps forward to cross to the other side… quickly looks both ways again … all clear. Feeling confident, speeds her pace … suddenly she hears a cry “auntyyyy…”; it’s like a flash, a bike has materialized from nowhere and its charging straight at her. A man has his hand outstretched and his speeding towards her. She lets out a cry and the next moment, is lying flat on the road. What the hell happened???

The man (let’s call him ‘biker bhaiyu’) had the decency to stop and help out my mom. Below is the dialogue that ensued:

Biker Bhaiyu: (helping my mom get up) Sorry aunty … sach mein sorry …

Mom: (Cringing in pain) Sorry? What Sorry? Sorry se kya hota hai? (how does sorry help?)

Biker Bhaiyu: Muje bhaut kharab lag raha hai aapkse takkar ho gayi … (im feeling bad about ramming into you)

Mom: (now somehow standing on her own) Sirf sorry kehne se kya hoga? Theek se chalana nai aata? Dekh ke chalao! (just a sorry isn't any good! can't you drive properly? be careful while you drive)

Biker Bhaiyu: Arre aunty aap naraz ho rahe ho. Itni dur se main chilla raha than na … ‘aunty hat jao, aunty hat jao’ (why are you getting upset aunty. from a long distance i was yelling "aunty move to the side, you werent listening")

Mom: Chilla rahe the tum??? Arre apni gaadi sambhalo! Breaks maro! Chillane se muje kaise sunai dega road pe??? Break nai hai gaadi mein? Break lagane ki jagah tum chilla rahe ho??? Hadd hai tumhari!!! (you were yelling? Instead drive carefully, apply breaks! How could you possibly think shouting on the road will help in this situation? This is unbelievable)

 Biker Bhaiyu: (with not much remorse in his stance) Arre aunty … gaadi ke breaks dheele ho gaye hain … (ohh aunty ... my bike's breaks have gone loose...)

By now a crowd had gathered and mom’s colleagues were concerned about her. Thankfully she was able to stand and walk indicating nothing was broken. She lets the biker bhaiyu leave and goes back to work.

One day after the incident, my mom lay in bed with a hot water bottle seko-ing her bum; narrating the story to us. I couldn't help bursting in peals of laughter as she described the whole thing to us. At the same time, I couldn't help feeling sorry for her and many such moms who become victims of this street menace, day in and day out …

I wish the roads were safer for all moms in Agra.

Yeay It's Diwali

There is something about Diwali. It makes me all happy and warm inside. It livens up my spirit and makes me want to decorate the house with tiny lights and fragrant candles, makes me want to clean and cook and dress up for the evening. It makes me want to light up crakers, just some … as a token, for the spirit of Diwali. It keeps the child in me living …

I don’t know why Diwali does this to me exactly … maybe it’s got to do with fond remembering from childhood. Our anu chacha’s enthusiasm was infectious and got us all kids excited. He is the one who raised the funds from my dad, grandad and nani. Then he would add his own contribution and we would have a huge corpus for Diwali shopping.

The way we went cracker shopping from wholesale shops in Agra, then laid them all out and admired them before lighting them up. The way I was so possessive about Anaars, my favourite fire cracker; and selfishly sneaked 1-2 only for me.

It was fun to decorate our house with flowers and impatiently wait as our driver and anu chacha put the lights all over the house. It was exciting to place flower petals in a rangoli and place diyas around it. It was fun struggling to make the candles stand with my siblings as the hot wax dripped on our hands; and then fight against the wind to keep them lighted. And after everything was lighted it was fun to run into the street and look up at our house and sigh at the gorgeous view.

It was fun fighting with the neighborhood kids trying to steal our patakas. It was fun to put the anaars in a row and light 3-4 at the same time; people struggling with their ‘reel wala’ cameras to take that perfect shot. Boys displayed their bravado by jumping over chakris and blowing off red ladis in their hands. It was fun to cringe and cover my ears as I saw sparks from a bullet bomb about to go off. It was fun to turn around and wait for the sutli bomb to blow off and then feel my body jerk with the impact.

It was delightful to take a break from all the cracker bursting and have a hearty meal. Hot pooris being served by mom with me occasionally helping out. And Aloo, Paneer sabzi, boondi ka raita, dahi vada to go with it.

It was fun to finally go to our terrace and light all the rockets and our special items. Special items were the most expensive ones … parachutes and umbrella crackers which we saved for the very end. Sort of like a grand finale … from the terrace we would call out ... "mummy, dadi ... jaldo aao, hum special items jalane waale hain" ... 

It was fun to discover that even after lighting crackers for hours, till we were tired and spent with aching limbs; we still had some crackers remaining … it was exhilarating to realize that we would be able to light crackers the next day as well ...

The next day after Diwali we would collect all the paper and cardboard, empty out the contents of the burnt crackers (barood) and set it all on fire … then waited for our painstakingly collected barood to go off in a huge puff of smoke and feel as if we had achieved something extraordinary... a pleasure other kids were incapable of, lighting just their usual crackers … we were the great minds

Diwali is this and more for me. Being away from home for so many years and not being able to be with my family for the past few Diwalis, I’ve realized it’s also about being with your dear ones and sharing the love, joy and excitement … and creating cherished memories. It's about smiling, rejoicing, living for yourself, lighting up your life. Diwali 2012, the first one after shaadi (even though not with our family) was wonderful with Deepak ... together, we have created and captured memories we will cherish for years to come :-)

Here is wishing all the readers a very happy and joyous Diwali! Hope you all had fun!

Bangalore to Ooty

Ooty Vista

I have been to three hill stations down south and the same number up north. The biggest difference between these? North hilly areas are much more commercialized with lots of activity, shopping, eating and stay options. Those in the south are more like small hamlets surrounded by calm, quiet and peaceful life where you sit back, relax and enjoy with friends over drinks and food at night. Some of the best stay options here are the homestays which generally offer lodging+food packages since there is a possibility of not finding any eating joints for miles at a stretch.

Also, the picturesque splendor is different in the two regions. North is high mountains, treacherous roads and striking scenery. South is mellower with small hill tops, loads of greenery and lakes.

Since, I started living in Bangalore, I have been to Wayanad, Chikmangalur and very recently to Ooty. Wayanad was a fun adventure trip where we visited caves and trekked a hell lot. Here isa detailed account of the trip. Chikmangalur was a mix of adventure and lots of lazing around. We went for a trek, had coffee in the middle of nowhere at an estate and sat around a bonfire with awesome local food being served by the night. Click here to read a humorous account of the same.

This September, we went to Ooty over the weekend. We decided to take our car as local travel is best if you have your own vehicle at your disposal. There are two routes to Ooty – one is the slightly longer route via Madhumalai, an approx run of 330km. The other one is 36 Hair Pin bend which is about 280km.

The beauty of travelling to Ooty is that you get to drive through the Bandipur jungle. It feels heavenly to drive through all that natural beauty, lush greenery and the pure environment. You can even get lucky and spot some animals. We got to see deer herds and elephants, an entire family in fact.

Elephant spotting while driving through Bandipur

The 36 hair pin route is not very treacherous. If you are a decent driver, there won’t be any problem. Moreover, the path is well paved and has mirrors at each bend to avoid any mishap.

Houses on a Hill at Ooty

Ooty is also like a small hamlet but it’s just a tad more commercialized as compared other hill stations in the south. You can visit the botanical garden, Ooty lake and you will feel like a pakka Indian tourist with paddle boating, toy train rides, bhutta chewing, the whole works. 

Something that is absurd but we really enjoyed was visiting the Lovedale train station. It’s the smallest train station I’ve ever visited – typical one where you can walk on the tracks and get photos clicked and watch the small little blue train arrive and depart.

Morning walk amidst tea estates while stopping by at a chai tadhi and then stopping by at a really amazing view point was really energizing. The gale at the viewing point was so cold; it made our hands numb and noses red. Having chai and hot pakodas in that state, just across the street was so pleasurable.  It was one of those rare occasions when I didn’t mind getting up early.

For the way back to Bangalore, we took the longer route via Madhumalai. What we did was first visit the picturesque Pykara lake. Now this is located well between the mountains quite far away from main Ooty but you’ll be amazed to find tourists even here.  It didn’t make sense to go back all the way to take the hair pin bend route. We continued further on the Pykara route which connected us to the Madhumalai route.

I would say, one weekend is good enough to cover Ooty unless you want to laze around more … this is one of best options!

Related Posts:

Trip to Wayanad - Part I

Trip to Wayanad - Part II

Crazy & Gay at Chikmangalur

Winter Visit to Manali

Club Cabana Bangalore

Wave Pool @ Club Cabana

Club Cabana, located at Devanahalli near Bangalore International Airport, is generally popular for official team outings.
They offer several packages ranging from Rs. 800-1,350 (plus taxes).

More information on how to reach and rates at the links below:
Mouthshut Reviews
Amenities and Tariff Details

Water
We went for a team offsite and overall it was a nice experience for a day's outing. The wave pool and water slides are pretty decent. This is where we spent the maximum time. You also have a lazy river, open jacuzzi and another pool for children. You can rent towels and swim suit but its best to carry your own. Lockers are also available on rent.

Games
Then you have the regular games - cricket, table tennis, tennis, volley ball, badminton, carrom, chess, snooker. You will need to rent out the equipment for some of these. So you might want to carry your own bat, racquets, football/tennis/volley ball etc.
They also offer bowling but the alley is not well maintained. Several balls are chipped and machinery sometimes get stuck. They offer archery as well but, we didn't try that.

Food (unlimited)
Breakfast was decent- included idli, vada, sambhar, chutney, omelette, poori + aloo sabzi (was really nice)
Lunch was okay - included salads, yellow dal, paneer sabzi, palak corn sabzi, raita, curd rice, fish, chicken and breads. Gulab Jamun + Vanilla ice cream for dessert was really good
Evening Snacks - included tea, coffe, cucumber+tomato sandwiches, samosas (tea was good but other stuff was bad)

Tips: 
1. Choose to go on a weekday to avoid crowd
2. Carry your own swim suit, towel and games equipment
3. Apply/Carry suntan and sunglasses if you are going on a sunny day