Main Menu
| Home |
| The Blog |
| Gadget articles |
| Gadget overview |
| About me |
Like this site? Click the button below and enter the URL of the article you've been reading to share it with others!
Content View Hits : 18722
| Kodaikanal to Pollachi |
 |
|
I really enjoyed my time in Kodaikanal, too bad it rained so much, though, but I definitely recommend it! It was also very relaxing not having to shower 3 times before going to bed and waking up soaked every 2 hours. I slept like a baby! There appears to be a significant Tibetan community in Kodaikanal. Tibetan refugee camps are usually found closer to the Indian-Tibetan border in the north, but I guess they enjoy the cool air and mountain views as it probably reminds them of home. Everywhere you go you can see graffiti like "Save Tibet", "Free Tibet now" and so on, and I even went to a Tibetan restaurant, which unfortunately was not very good. I ordered too much food and could only eat half of it, got the rest wrapped up and decided not to eat it as the wrapping was a newspaper. That night there were no beggars in the streets (probably too cold for that), so I couldn't give it to someone who needed it either. The restaurant seemed to be popular, though, and the waiter was extremely polite, handing me my change with both hands and a bowed head as a sign of respect.  After a long journey from Kodaikanal (stunning views on the way down as well) crammed in a bus next to a guy who was constantly burping, I found myself in Palani looking for a train, but apparently there were no trains that day, and people hardly spoke English at all, so I didn't get to know why. I caught a bus to Pollachi and discovered there were absolutely no hotel rooms available. A travel agent helped me make a few calls, I spent half an hour waiting for the forester to fill out forms in the Indira Gandhi wildlife sanctuary's office (he asked "how it is possible" that I traveled alone, and I should have answered "why shouldn't it be", but we were interrupted) and I ended up in a rest house belonging to the sanctuary, where I am hoping to spot some wildlife. The rest house is actually a whole house with dining room and all, and I have it all to myself. The caretaker's communication skills, however, could only be worse if he lacked arms and legs. He spoke absolutely no English at all, but explained everything in Hindi or Tamil (who knows) and very loudly and slowly, to make sure I got it all. This place is so quiet, there are birds everywhere and beautiful mountains in the background. It was close to 6 pm when I finally could take my backpack off and as I had not eaten much (nor been to the restroom) since 9 or 10 am, I walked down the main street while the entire village was watching (including the chickens) and sat down in the "restaurant" that had the freshest coat of paint and most electrical lighting inside. The owner did not seem very interested and only served breakfast/lunch dishes, so I ordered idli again and waited for my food while the owner sat in his chair burping. The meal was served quickly (I have never experienced fast food faster than in India!) and was so tasty I had three helpings. The cook was super friendly and actually spoke a little English, so I complimented him on his food and had a chai (tea boiled with milk). Then I started looking for my life savers, salt crackers, and water and bananas for breakfast in the morning. Turns out no one else in the village spoke English and most shops had around 20 different types of sweet biscuits only, so I gave up and bought Marie. According to an Indian TV commercial, they're really healthy and make you run fast, so I'm pretty eager to see some results. By the way, in town today I finally figured out how women (probably a beggar though) pee outdoors. They do it standing up, just letting it flow, wetting their feet and saris. Eww! I did manage to get to the sanctuary, but it was a little disappointing. The only animals I saw were some poor elephants chained and hand fed. The forest was beautiful and lush, it was raining all the time though, and I am now in Mettuppalayam ready to book a ticket for the miniature train to Ooty tomorrow!  |
Copyright © 2010 Around the world with 80 gadgets. All Rights Reserved.
Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.
