Aparna and Sridhar visit Coonoor-Ooty
We started our journey on September 9th, planning to visit Coonoor and if possible Ooty. Here is a chronological record of our visit. Apart from being a log of our journey, we also expect it to be helpful for travellers planning to visit these places.9 Sept 2005
- Started by a KSRTC bus to Mysore from Majestic bus stand at 8:00 PM. Fare - Rs. 64 per person.
- Reached Mysore around midnight and took an auto to hotel Mysore Dasprakash. This hotel was recommended by a colleague.
- The hotel is an old one and had clean beds and Hot Water. Due to a misunderstanding, we mistakenly took an A/c room - cost us 800/- whereas a standard non-A/C room would have cost us Rs. 365/-
10 Sept 2005
- Woke at 6:00 AM and had breakfast at the Hotel restaurant. Food was decent.
- Individual cars to Ooty are expensive (they charge 2-way fares even if you want just the one way to Ooty!), so managed to get 2 seats on a tour bus travelling to Ooty. Slightly uncomfortable seats, but overall a good journey. Paid Rs. 150 each.
- 1:00 PM : Reached Ooty Railway station and had a satisfying meal at the station for Rs. 20 each
- The Nilgiri Mountain Railway: Bought 2 unreserved tickets (I and II class tickets were sold out), but managed to get 2 vacant seats from Ooty to Coonoor. Rs. 21/- each
- The train started at 3:00 PM and reached Coonoor at 4:15 PM. The train journey provided us with many breathtaking views of the mountains.
- A helpful Auto guy at Coonoor railway station suggested Hotel Blue Hills, which was on our list also. So we reached the hotel, which is on the road to Bedford, for Rs. 30/-
- The Hotel looked second-rate from the outside, but rooms were good. I planned to take the standard double room at Rs. 500, but since I long wanted a suite, Aparna insisted on the suite. After discount, we got a suite for 700/-, but not really a suite. The other room was extremely small, more like a small seating corridor.
- 7:00 PM : Went for a long walk down to the main town in search of food. Found a veg hotel - Sri Lakshmi something. Not a great meal - North Indian food was especially pathetic.
- Back to hotel and bed.
11 Sept 2005
- Got up later than intended and went to the Railway station to enquire about train timings back to Ooty.
- Met the same auto guy, Mariappan, with Auto # 6252. We agreed for a trip to 4 places for 250/-. We preferred the Auto, since a car would have cost us around 700/- for the same places.
- Had breakfast at a veg hotel suggested by the auto wallah. we had Dosas, which were OK.
- One common observation - Coffee is pathetic in Coonoor and Ooty, which is surprising for hill stations!!!
- 11:30 AM: Started the trip with Laws falls. Went for the trek, which is a good 1.5 Km from the main road. No one on the track, Light rain, but manageable. The falls however were not worth the effort.
- Next stop Highfield Tea Estate. A company official took us into the factory and showed us how tea was made. We found that 4 kg of tea leaves yielded just 1 kg of tea!
- The company offers samples of its teas to drink. Bought half kilo of masala tea from the sales counter.
- The tea estate was great - rows and rows of plants set in a step-terraced field. A wonderful sight.
- Moved onto Sim's park - a vast park with different species of trees from different continents. It was tiring to walk in the park on a cold day!
- Had lunch at some Bhojanalaya opposite Sim's park. Good rotis and curry, but rice was awful (fresh rice, not the usual 1-yr old rice we were used to having). Lunch was a tad expensive at 45/-
- Renegotiated for another 150/- for a visit to Dolphin's Nose, a point where we could have breathtaking views of the valleys and the Mettupalayam town. A long trip, about 13 km, in cold weather. Unfortunately, a thick mist enveloped the mountain side, limiting visibility. A waste...of time, money and energy. We however had some good views during this journey, so maybe it was not so bad.
- 5:15: Reached hotel and slept till late evening.
- No dinner, had a few bananas and watched TV for sometime before crashing.
12 Sept 2005
- Planned to start for the 7:40 train to Ooty, but slept on due to overpowering sleep, cold and rain.
- 8:30 AM: Checked out of hotel and went to Railway Station. No reservation possible as the train had already started. Waited till 10:15 for "current booking" counter to open. Train was late; some problem with the tracks due to heavy overnight rains.
- Train arrived at 11:15. Caught up with the TTE and based on his information, managed to upgrade to the First Class, with only 2 tickets remaining (we got them both). Unreserved ticket is 6/-, II class is 21 and I class is 76/-. Reservation charges 25/ each. Paid a total of 107/- each. The Train has 4 carriages, 1 for I class, 2 for II class and the remaining 1 is for unreserved.
- 1:00 PM: Reached Ooty and had lunch again at the station. Lunch was not good this time.
- Went to the bus stand opposite the Railway station to deposit our luggage in the Cloak Room. Person had gone for lunch. Long, boring wait.
- 2:00 PM: at last, somebody came and took our luggage into the Clock room. 8/- for 8 hours!
Hired an auto for a tour of Botanical Garden, Rose garden, Ooty Lake and Children's park for 225/-. Later felt we were cheated :(
- The Botanical Garden is a huge place and must be delightful in summer, but today it was bleak due to rain and mist. Long walk.
- The Rose garden was next, but the same story. Not many roses in this time of the year, but the rose show every year is a huge attraction.
- Onwards to Ooty Lake - Had a delightful 30 minute ride in a row boat, rowed by a helper. Had pathetic "chaat" (spicy indian snack) at a local restaurant inside the lake premises.
- Didn't want to write about, but later realized that others could benefit. The Thread Garden and Children's park are two of the worst spots, but exaggerated as tourist spots. If you have very small children, the second is ok, but the thread garden is a no-no.
- 6:15 PM: Killed time in a cyber cafe
- 7:30 PM: Had a decent North Indian meal at Sharma Bhojanalaya, close to the Bust stand and Railway station (5 minute walk). I have a splitting headache. Intense cold.
- 8:45 PM - 9:45 PM : Killed time again at the bus stand.
- 9:45 PM: Boarded a KSRTC Mayura bus to Bangalore. Not very great, but fine for a night's journey. Reached bangalore on dot at 6:00 AM on 12th Sept.
A wonderful journey overall, but tourists need to keep their wits about them. Ask around for hotel tariffs (also ask for discounts - the policy is "Ask and ye shall receive"), taxi and auto fares before hiring one.
Be careful of what you buy; we bought a film roll only to discover it was not looking like a standard Roll. Have to figure out what it is yet.
Ooty is very expensive during the season - April to July - so if you are planning to visit, join a tour operator or book well in advance. do all the planning including vehicles, hotels etc. It can be upto 20-25 times expensive compared to the off-season rates.
Mail me at sherlocksridhar@fastmail.fm for any inputs.
posted by SherlockSridhar @ 10:30 AM
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