Feb 13, 2012 - Colder Weather

Friday morning I didn’t have Kalari, so I got to sleep in until it was time to go to the medicine man. It was only my third day, but he already had me giving oil massages on my own and he started teaching me how to wrap injuries. I can only imagine what a pro I’ll be by the time I come home! Other than that, it was another normal day working alongside the Ayruvedic medicine man (as if something like that could ever become normal). I also got to know his little daughter who can’t be more than three years old and is the cutest little girl...

Jan 26, 2012 - Ooty

Ooty is the most popular tourist destination in the section of the mountains known as the Nilgiris. It is a distinct region because two mountain ranges come together in this zone, and apparently it is very bio-diverse. For us, it was most exciting because we were finally couchsurfing! CouchSurfing.com is a website and a project devoted to helping like-minded people and travelers meet up. It is like a facebook focused solely on interesting interactions. People make profiles about themselves and indicate whether they would like to host other...

Dec 27, 2011 - Ooty

Each morning we set off early and then stopped for breakfast at a proper Indian type hotel, it was really good but I did get some funny looks from a few of the locals. Journey not so bad but getting a cold so that's not good. Drove over the hills to get to Ooty and went through a Tiger reserve (no tigers) but saw a few other animals on the way. Went to the lake, a couple of different gardens and Dodabetta peak. I did a horse ride round the lake in the afternoon, it was good and then we went up to the peak. When night came it was really...

Dec 20, 2010 - Goa/Hampi/Mysore/Ooty

We all feel much better after 5 days on the beach in Goa. Stayed at D'Mello GH on the main drag for $10pn. A bit noisy but at that price..... Lovely days of swimming, walking, eating and drinking beer. There are lots of beach-side cafes and restaurants to choose from, offering every cuisine under the sun - we've been into pizzas and chicken tandoori this week. The shop touts are extremely annoying though and lying on the beach attracts more. Ali, Joe and Peter were swimming one day whilst I guarded the bags. No less than 17 hawkers, selling...

Aug 22, 2009 - Mysore - Ooty

G'day, The trip from Mysore to Ooty (aka Udhagamandalam) went well. It would have to be one of the more exciting bus journeys one could take. The scenery was fantastic as we rose into the mountains. We drove through a tiger/elephant reserve in a national park and even though we didn't see any tigers/elephants, we did see a lot of deer and rain! The higher into the mountains, the colder it got and the crops changed from rice to tea. Here in Ooty (2240 m elevation) there are eucalypts everywhere! Tomorrow we hope to catch a miniature train...

Jun 21, 2009 - Ooty

Yesterday we drove up to Ooty and it was quite the drive. We drove past the clouds and the scenery was phenomenal. We took 36 turns into the mountain to reach the top. Our first day in the city was quite relaxed as we only ate and crashed in the hotel. The second day, we saw both the local tea factory and the famous rose garden. After we played Golf and much to our delight improved our game by a lot. We also noticed that there were many out of towners in the city as it is a famous hill station and travel spot. And tomorrow we look forward...

May 1, 2009 - Ooty - Hill Stations and Boarding Schools

We spent two nights in Ooty, followed by one night in Coonoor. Both of these are hill-station towns, built by the British to escape the summer heat. Ooty was downright chilly at night - in May! John's boarding school (elem - high school), Lawrence at Lovedale, is here, and so Ooty was the center of their 25-year reunion. The school was established in 1858, shortly after its founder was killed in the 1857 Mutiny. It was founded primarily as a school for (British) military officers' children, and then handed over to the Indian government in...

Mar 30, 2009 - Toy Train Ride on Nilgiri Blue Mountain Railway to Coonor

Today I rode the famous narrow gauge train from Ooty to Coonoor, known as the Nilgiri Blue Mountain Railway. One of India's most famous train rides, the approximately 1 hour train journey cut through the scenic local countryside, with small villages and tea plantations dotting the landscape. After eating a delicious lunch of sweet and sour chicken in Coonoor, which turned out to be the tastiest meal i've had since my arrival in India, I hired an auto rickshaw to take me to the High Field Estate in Upper Coonoor, a 2,000 acre tea plantation...

Mar 29, 2009 - Drive from Mysore to Ooty

We left Mysore this morning and spent most of the day in transit to the former British hill station of Ooty in the neighboring Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed beautiful scenery for much of the drive as we drove through an area of the Western Ghats known as the Nilgiris. As we edged further away from Mysore and closer to Karnataka’s border with Tamil Nadu, we entered the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which is comprised of several wildlife reserves. We sat on the roof of the overland truck as we drove through...

Jan 11, 2009 - Ooty

1-11 5 am up and to train w/ Thomas and Anne, waiting in queue w/ others who do not have reserved seats (we are 3-6 in line, ha!). Some confusion w/ conductor but Anne insists on coach w/ window seat and we change to their coach for the journey. Unfortunately, 7 Indian med students on holiday also in our coach which makes for crowd conditions. The narrow gauge Nilgiri Mtn RR was built 1896-99, is 46 km long and in places a steep 1:12 grade. This requires an Alternate Biting Teeth technology w/ steam rack & pinion engine…translation: there...

Nov 30, 2008 - Funny little Ooty

HIGHLIGHTS • A friendly bunch of bus passengers • An eye-opener – polio • A working elephant • A nature reserve • India, like Canada – tolerance of many religions DETAIL We set off and do the usual, pick up passengers and we set off for Udhagamandalam, lovingly called Ooty. At the second hotel for pickup, I get out and I ask a fellow passenger (b/s-ing) what time we will arrive. There’s a beggar, crouching down like a monkey, shaking. “Do you think he has Parkinson’s”, I ask. “Yes” comes a curt response, “I am a doctor”. “Oh my” I think,...

Apr 21, 2008 - Lunch at Pallakad (Palghat) enroute to Coonoor. Board Nilgiri Mountain 'Toy Train' to Ooty

'A quiet retreat, the Savoy Hotel offers a little pocket of paradise.' The Nilgiri Mountains Over 800 years ago the Nilgiris were called ‘nila’ meaning ‘blue’ by the then rulers of the Nilgiri Plateau region, the Hoysalas. ‘Nila’ is a name evocative of the lavender-blue flowers of Strobilanthes bloom in season that clothes the hills creating a misty surreal haze, compounded by altitude and slant of sun. And of note to me, the spiritual name bestowed upon me all those years ago by Swami Satyananda is 'Nila Ambari' ...as I was informed,...