Having 570 pictures to choose from made this blog post a little tough. And by having 570 pictures to choose from, well, I had a good time. You'll soon see that I shot mostly in Black&White, it was just the mystical vibe Ooty gave off, I guess. This trip came from a spur, I received word I had 3 days before my next meeting for work. Craving some solitude in the mountains and a proper trek, I quickly pulled up a map of India, and landed my finger on Ooty. A bus ticket was booked immediately and I headed to the station 4 hours later with nothing in mind but open skies and Nature.
I settled into my window seat, a book tucked nicely in the seat in front of me, headphones on, and a writing tablet in hand - ready for the 8 hour drive. I was jotting down a few ideas while doodling, and then my seat mate sat down next to me. I am not sure what it was, but I took out my headphones and struck up a conversation. His name was Vijay, an Ooty native with the biggest smile you have ever seen. He struck me as around 28. He essentially has two lives, spending 3 days a week with his parents and sister in Ooty, while working the other 4 as a software developer in Bangalore. We had lively conversation and freely delved further in philosophy. It was quite enjoyable, he also told me he was raptured by science growing up. I speculate that it spurred the current drive to create with computers. He invited me to attend an engagement party for his sister over the weekend, unfortunately, I had a return ticket for Friday night. Through this all, he had inquired on my plans in Ooty, and having no place to stay, put me onto a friend from school who runs a lodge. We got off the bus together a few stops prior to the final exit, and he walked me to the door of the lodge. By finding a place to sleep for the night, the potential for the any worry I had, vanished instantly.
It was about 6a.m., feeling remotely rested from the overnight bus journey, I started walking. I soon found myself in the city centre, feeling for food, I made my way into a small shop. I ordered a dosa and some tea, wow, two things Ooty is known for are tea and vegetables. I can now attest to that statement. My tea was fantastic and the potatoes in my dosa were something else. As I finished up here, I highlighted my aspirations to get to the tallest peak in South India... Doddabetta. I inquired and found that a bus would take me to somewhere called the Doddabetta junction, here I could hire a car or auto to drive me to the top... or trek it. The choice was plain as day! It turns out, the gates opened at 8am, it was about 730am... but being I was trekking and the woods have no gates... I took one big step forward, and my first Ooty adventure ensued.
This wasn't the hardest trek, it was a relatively gradual gradient, but spending time in the woods is always pleasurable. The peak was only about 3km from the junction, making for a very quick trek, in fact, it took out some of the awe-inspiring feeling of standing on top such a peak! I can only imagine the feeling for the people who simply drive to the top of it! How the magnificence of the place is belittled being so easy to obtain. Regardless of how one reaches the top, it is essential that it is a clear day to see from the over-view, and unfortunately, today was not a clear day. Yet, I wasn't in it solely for the view.
I followed a short trail leading away from the peak and found myself in front of a relatively steep rock face that led down into a forest opening. This was a steep rock face - dropping about 15 feet before reaching the soil. It was around a 45 degree gradient and a slickness had developed from the intermittent raining. Feeling adventurous, I tested my rock surfing abilities. Gradually, I lowered myself onto the angled surface until my shoes started giving way and I slid fearlessly (or fearfully) to the bottom with my weight heavily pressed on my back shoe. When I was about 5 feet from the ground I was semi-out-of-control and decided to jump, in doing so, I landed both feet square on the ground and sunk a good 6 inches into the mud. A quick recovery step followed, and I was into the forest once more. If that wasn't invigorating enough, here I am again in uncharted territory. When in these Indian mountains, it is necessary to always have a keen awareness for any movement due to unforgiving Tigers and Bison. I sauntered around, through brush, and in between branches. I love the freedom of hiking without trails, but then again, one step could be your last, I wandered for a bit longer and then found my way back up to the peak.
It had started to rain rather heavily, so I took refuge in one of the tea stands at the top of the mountain. I ended up indulging in a few cups of tea while enjoying some local made chocolate (Ooty is also known for the chocolate). I wrote for a bit, and then when the rain let up gently, I consulted the tea-man and he suggested I start trekking down. On the way out, I came across a Tamil Nadu Government project initiative for medicinal plants. Highly interested in this at the moment, I chatted for a bit as well as purchased a vial of tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, and almond cream. Doddabetta is one of eight Medicinal Plant Development Areas (MPDAs) in Tamil Nadu, and is on the forefront of the developmental process. There are also eleven areas across Tamil Nadu designated as Medicinal Plant Conservation Areas (MPCAs). The totality of the project is in strong collaboration with the Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health and Traditions (FRLHT).
Soon enough it was raining heavily. Not wanting to dwell on whether or not the weather would stop, I headed out into the storm with a few casual onlookers probably thinking I was a bit odd. On the way down, I decided to take the first path that led into the forest. This was either my best idea, or my worst. I soon found myself deep into unknown lands. My 360 degree view consisted of towering trees, with the trail quickly disappearing, I simply ventured farther down. The rain has not yet ceased, and I am becoming increasingly saturated with water. As I went deeper into the forest, I became aware of disorientation, luckily, I had my trusty compass. Soon enough, I came to a passing stream, and knowing that water leads to villages, I followed it. The stream ran through slick rock, and this is where I took my second fall on the decent. The first occurred on a misstep and I was able to catch myself on my hands. This one, not so much. A slight angle to the rock face sent my right foot sliding quickly across my body to the left side, tossing my body swiftly horizontal and crashing down hard on my right arm pit. Luckily, I am 22, and a bit resilient, so fortunately the potential broken hip and dislocated shoulder were nothing more than temporary bruises. :)
At last! I saw a path! As I crawled out of the unforgiving forest, I saw this sign. I don't know about you, but hiking somewhere with the name "Tigerhill Reservoir", tigers or not, was a bit un-comforting. But then again, who needs comfort? ;)
I followed the tiny path as it appeared to be opening to tea crops. Large plains, some with no vegetation, and some with much.
Continuing onward, I saw a 'trip' of goats (what a funny name for group) coming out of a side street like a constant river! I patiently observed, and actually have a video of them all jumping around. Then the nucleus was this nice old lady, whom was actively shooing the stragglers toward the rest of the group. We conversed through the Universal language of body motions. She pointed me in no particular direction, and I headed there with full conviction.
I have been walking for about 2 hours now. I have completely descended Doddabetta - about 8km thus far. It is raining harder than ever. I do not recall a single time in my life where I have been more wet. My only fear is that my camera will get damaged, luckily I had chosen the one true waterproof pocket in my jacket to house it. This was one of the most pleasant walks I have taken, I recall chuckling to myself at one point "I don't know where I am going, but I have all day to get there."
With that being the mindset for the jaunt, I was very blissful and exchanged much small talk and smiles with passerbys. At one point, I ran into a tour bus that was pulled to the side of the road. I approached the door and asked if they knew where we were or how to return back to Ooty. The answer was no, and I kept on walking.
About another 20 minutes later, the same bus passed me! The guy I inquired with previously was leaning out the door and gave me a signal wondering if I wanted a ride, I obliged and hopped on board. This bus was full of Ayurvedic students from Mangalore, a far West city in Karnataka. After a barrage of initial introductions and small talk, I proceeded to have my picture taken with every single person on that bus. It was quite funny, and a little odd, but I enjoyed it.
The students were on their way to the Tea Factory, a tourist spot in Ooty. Since I had no plans, and it was still raining, and I was still drenched, I stayed on board. Unfortunately, we arrived at the Tea Factory and for some unknown reason, turned around and headed to the "boat house". No complaints from me, and the adventure continued.
When we arrived at the boat house, we piled out of the bus, and after much talking - I had exchanged contact information a few times and then headed off on my own. Quickly making my way to the nearest fruit stand for a fresh Cherimoya. After this rejuvenation, I wanted to be inside for a few minutes as it started to rain once again, I saw the "thread garden". I spent about 5 minutes in here, and it was either incredibly impressive, or terribly sad. This was a completely fabricated garden made out of nothing but thread. It took 50 people 12 years to complete...
I have never rode a horse before.
So I did.
Now, I don't know if it was wholly because of my menial horse riding technique, but how painful. A constant bombardment on the spine. I found the entire ride enjoyable overall, though (I'm lying). After a quick crash course (hold this, pull left for left, right for right, tight for stop) I was let to ride on my own...... which made me laugh, but I survived.
Oh, and it started pouring rain once again. Pretty surreal riding a horse through it... but I cannot stress enough just how wet I was. Every part of my clothing was soaked, my waterproof jacket was defeated, and hair had rivers flowing through it.
After the horse riding, I decided it was time to call it a day. Flagging down an auto, I made my way back to the lodge. Now, a piece of advice for all the rest of the spur-of-the-moment travelers: if you are going to a rainy place, BRING MORE THAN ONE PAIR OF CLOTHES! What a mistake. I spent the rest of the day freezing, wrapped in a towel and spare t-shirt. Sending warming thoughts to my strewed about clothes, which I dauntingly had to wear the next day. I ended up sleeping quite early after a great episode of Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman... oh, TV... It was about the hypotheses and theories of extra dimensions, very cool.
With the sun came no dryness to my clothes, and I had to properly prepare myself to put them on. Being discouraged by the cold and wetness, I decided today would be a relaxing day, where I would stow away in a coffee shop, read and then continue on to some good dines throughout the day... my day could not have contained more of the opposite.
I headed out in search for a bakery I had heard good things about, "Hot breads", I'm thinking, I like hot breads. Yet, to no avail. It was no where to be found, and then when I found out it had changed hands in ownership and no longer existed, this discouraged my attempts further. I strolled around until something caught my eye, going into an empty little shop, I had my dosa and tea while waiting for the day to unfold. It had not started raining yet, so I figured I would do outside things until it did so, another day in the rain would be overwhelming. I soon began toward the Botanical Gardens...
The Botanical Gardens were great. This was particularly clever!
I emerged out of the Botanical Gardens with a smile on my face and no direction. The rain had yet to start, and I recalled that I read some information about the "Tribal Research Center" which was about 12 km outside of Ooty. I thought, why not? And I walked to the central bus stand.
I found my bus, and was on my way to the Tribal Research Center, located just outside of a small village called M Palada.
I found my way there, and on the ride out, wow, I was blown away by the vast greenery of the country side. It was flowing with tea crops, carrot crops, potato crops, everything! Small villages cut out of the hillsides. It was so peaceful, so serene.
When I found my way to the Tribal Center, it contained two guys sitting in an office. I was a bit confused, as I expected a large museum. Though there were two typewriters in the office, and I mused myself in speculating if this was part of the exhibit. They told me to sit and I waited for about 15 minutes, and then one got up abruptly and signaled to follow him. We trekked up a small hill while having small talk. Then I saw it, the Tribal Museum. It was locked, meaning... no one was inside. I was getting a private tour of this museum!
It was incredible! What a wealth of knowledge and artifacts! I signed the guest book upon leaving, and I was the only visitor in the last 2 days.
The museum was great, it focused on tribal communities of Tamil Nadu: the Kota, the Toda, the Irular, and the Paniyan. There were full descriptions of all of these tribes, as well as full reconstructions of their homes! Again, such a wealth of Anthropological information. There was also a section of the museum devoted to the tribal usages of medicinal plants, interesting, impressive and informative.
Instead of waiting on the street for the bus, I decided to walk into the city of M Palada after finishing up at the museum.
I made it to the other end of the town without the bus passing me (which is inevitable, as there is only one road). It had started to rain, so I took shelter under a small roof, the owner of the shop came out and conversed with me. His English was perfect and that led to a fun conversation. He asked if I had been to Avalanchi, which was about 25km farther down the road. I had not, and he said instead of catching the bus in the direction to Ooty, take any bus the opposite direction and you will reach Avalanchi, which is very scenic. After chatting for a bit, a bus rounded the corner and I tried to wave it down, but in the 50 feet it had until reaching me, there was no way it was going to stop. I parted quickly with Shiva, the shop owner, and sprinted after the bus down the hill. I made it just in time, resembling James Bond, I maneuvered a swing onto the first step of the bus. Shocked to find my nose in the back of someone on the second step, the first step was the only room in the bus! This led to me hanging out of the bus for a few kilometers! ... I said I wanted to go to Avalanchi, and the conductor said no no, you go to Lawrence. I didn't really know the difference, so I said sure. An old fellow nearby spoke some English, and cleared things up, informing me that the bus doesn't go to Avalanchi at this time, and Lawrence is about 6km from it. I said that's fine, and after a seat opened up, I spent the following time with my full attention directed outside the window! What a beautiful place!
I didn't really intend to stay put in Lawrence, so I continued to walk along the road traveling from village to village.
During my walk, I encountered a few people, all of whom spoke English! It was fun, as they are all more than intrigued as to why I am walking on their village roads. An odd sight I was, indeed.
I made my way back into Ooty about 4 or 5pm, and was certain that I would spend the rest of the day relaxing until my bus at 1030pm... but once again, my day proved otherwise.
I saw "The Ooty Coffee House" on my way to the bus stand prior to heading to the research center. I had it in my mind that I would find it once again and spend the rest of the day there. I walked inside and inquired their menu... first came food item after food item, and finally a small section where the words 'coffee' was not read anywhere at all . Baffled, I sheepishly asked the question "do you serve coffee here"? Only to discover that they, in fact, do not serve coffee! ... the deception, the utter deception ...
This spurred a laugh and some more walking, I saw a sign and headed about 4km to the "Rose Garden"... Now, I did not know this was straight up hill prior to heading there. Again, I was the only person who was walking up the hill! How exhausting after a long two days! But, I made it to the top, peaked into the garden (reminiscing about my Moms Garden) and decided I would rather grab a tea and sit.
---
I had a show of tigers right in front of me! ... well ... baby tigers ...
That was good - I asked the shop owner if he could point me to a place to sit and have some food, he said Thandala. Walk down this street, first right, walk until you see it. I followed his directions and I was soon there.
Prior to arriving, the Moon showed it's face! Next to this colossal tree... (moon is 45 degrees to the upper left of tree)
Finally I found my place of dining. Ordered Veg Pulao, which is essentially a rice dish with vegetables. I wanted something that wasn't curry based, as I didn't find that to be the best idea prior to getting on a long bus ride. It was one of the best meals I have had to date! And ironically, it came with a side dish of curry to pour on the rice... which I shamelessly refilled three times.
I sat and read for an hour or so, and then emerged to see this beauty!
I then headed out walking once more... the portrait in the background caught my attention, and I went in to meet these fellows. Mahenal and Shivalingam, the guy on the left is an artist, and the guy on the right does commercial work for art. For instance, making posters or signs for certain causes or businesses. But the artist, wow, Mahenal was incredible, in the picture he is sketching in my book.
I left here around 8pm, and still had a few more hours in Ooty. I ran into another man, Sri Sri Girshnam. He called out to me, and we talked for a bit, a nice man --- he took my hands and wished me well on my journeys.
I finally ventured into a coffee shop around 9pm, had a hot chocolate and read a good portion of "The Invisible Man" while passing the time. Of course stopping in the last chapters to build the anticipation!
Soon enough, I was on a bus, and soon after that, awaking to a Bangalore Sunrise...
“Wandering re-establishes the original Harmony which once existed between Man and the Universe" Anatole France
“Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the Earth and you will bear witness. In this Way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless Kindness and bottomless Cruelty of Humankind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” – Mark Jenkins
☮ & ♥
Eric, this is absolutely incredible! Keep up the journeys and I look forward to living vicariously through you.
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