“Having travelled on a bus overnight (this one did have doors and windows) for 10 hours – we must be mad – we arrived in Ooty (Ootacamund) “
The overnight bus journey was different to those previously experienced in that it was just an ordinary bus, not a coach, just a bus with slightly higher than normal seats. Two or three comfort stops were very welcome although the whole experience was a little bizarre. The bus appeared to break down around 20 kilometres from our destination and we all had to change to another bus.
We stayed in the YWCA in Ooty which was OK once you got used to it. It was quiet and you could get something to eat or drink throughout the day and evening. Air-con was not a problem as it was very cool after being down on the plains. Our room also had a TV which seemed to fit in with the cooler evenings at this altitude.
We went on a Tourist Board tour of the area which included visits to a silk farm, tea plantations, Ooty Lake, Dodabetta Peak, Dolphin’s Rock and Sim’s Park and the Botanical Gardens all for around £1.50. As we stayed a little longer than intended, we went on a day trek in the nearby hills, through villages and to a peak which overlooked the plains below.
Ooty itself is interesting with many little streets with local shops. On one side of town it has its own racecourse and on the other side of town there is a lake. The botanic gardens are a haven of greenery and well worth a visit.
This is 7,500 feet in the Niligri mountains. It is a lot cooler here and even gets cold at night. We have been here for 5 days recharging our batteries. It is much more relaxed than previous places. It is the place some Indians come for weekends and for the summers to avoid the extreme heat on the plains.
We are pretty much a novelty item as there are very few Westerners around. We have had requests from families to have their photos taken with our little group. We had them queuing up the other day! We had a lovely day walking in the hills yesterday.
We are going to stay here longer than expected as it is less frantic and cooler and will just stay 1 night in Madurai to see the huge spectacular Hindu temple, Sri Meenakshi. We then head towards the coast and Kerala. We are told it is more relaxing here, but it is all relative.
The ‘Blue Mountain Railway’ steam train took us down off the highlands on to the hot sweaty plains once more where we switched to yet another sleeper train for our journey to Madurai. We all seem to be getting the hang of sleeping on these despite the pretty dire conditions.
