Tirupur Payaṇam

Sep 11 - Started my journey from Kalyan by 1013 Coimbatore express @ 11.30 pm . Early morning, we realized that Mumbai-bound Duronto Express derailed near Kalburgi in Karnataka at around 2.30 am. Due to this , our train got delayed by around 8 hours .  However, the train covered couple of hours delay and I reached Tirupur @ 12.30pm on Sunday.

Sep 13 - Had nalla sapda at my friend's house ( groom) and then we ( I and Kaams ) started our journey towards Ooty ( Udagamandalam).
 There are 2 options to go to Ooty-
1. We get direct buses from Tirupur new bus stand every  hour .
2. We can board bus for Mettupalayam  which is more frequent(every 15 mins ) and from there, board bus for Ooty which is more frequent.
So, we chose second option and boarded bus for Mettupalayam which took around 2 hours and we reached around 6pm. From Mettupalayam, we boarded another bus around 6.30 pm. On the way , there are many hairpin bends and steep cuts ( route followed was Coonoor ghat ).Normal journey time is around 2.5 hours . However, our bus driver was Schumacher and we reached in 2.25 hrs. He was an expert in driving , no doubt about it, but we were about to collide 3 times - a bus, a truck and a car coming from the opposite side. It was full roller coaster ride and the driver was not interested in waiting at any of the turns. So, for obvious reasons, if the opposite side vehicle didn't wait, we would run into situation where we are face to face . In case, you were in the vehicle on opposite side , you would be terrified .Finally, after a nerve-cracking journey, we reached Ooty @ 8.45 pm. We checked into the hotel which was near Ooty bus stand and came out for dinner. Had veg fried rice and Uttapam both of which were really good ( not sure if it was because we were really hungry ). It was a pure veg restaurant on second floor  (don't recollect the name ) near bus stand.

Sep 14 - We came out for  morning walk cum jog @ 6.30 am . We went to Rose garden which has around 4000 varieties of roses.  Ideally, it opens at 9am but if you have good social skills, you can visit it early morning which is really good time.

 

After that we had hot milk (brand  Aavin ) and boarded bus for Doddabetta. It is the highest mountain in the Nilgiri Hills and must visit for anyone going to Ooty,   Bus drops you at the bottom of the hill and another 3-4 kms of upward journey has to be done by jeep/auto. It is preferable to book auto from Ooty itself. We were fortunate enough to get one at the bottom of the hill and reached Doddabetta around 10am. Had hot chhole and savored home made chocolates at the top of the hill.

We get fresh carrots and colored raddish ( looks really good  but teekha bahut hai ) over there.

After that did miscellanous shopping. Famous takeaway from Ooty is sweet warki and home made chocolates. We returned to the hotel , got ready and went to Ooty lake .

At the lake,  there is boat house where there are 3 options of boating.The boat house offers boating facilities with Paddle boats, Row boats, and Motor boats.We did paddle boating for half an hour and enjoyed the cool soothing atmosphere of the lake.

After that , we had food, checked out of hotel and boarded toy train from Ooty to Mettupalayam @ 2pm which is known as Nilgiri Mountain Railway. We had done tatkal booking one day earlier which starts @ 11am on irctc. This train is one of the must visits when going to Ooty. The train was almost empty till Coonoor railway station and after that , group of college students ( around 30) accompanied us till Mettuapalayam. It was mix of antakshari ,dance and other activities done by these college students in the train and the journey became even more interesting for us.

Beware of the monkeys at Hillgrove railway station.

Finally, we reached Mettupalayam railway station @  5.30pm   and went to bus stand which is at 10 mins walking distance. We boarded the bus for Tirupur and went to Poppys hotel.  Had good dinner and after that, there was sangeet ceremony at night . The hotel has marriage hall as well. Rooms are quite good with private swimming pool where we stayed.

 Sep 15 - Rituals started with ladies putting garlands of fruits/vegetables on the groom. After that, we had engagement ceremony. In the evening , the groom was taken to temple for worshipping and from there, he came on chariott to the marriage hall.
Food was awesome for the complete stay ( from breakfast to lunch to dinner ) with lots of varieties available each time.

Sep 16 - D-day aka Marriage day for my dear friend . Got opportunity to try south indian attire for wedding and meet old friends.

Afternoon, we left for Coimbatore ( got bus from Avinashi ) since I had early morning flight next day. Checked into Skylite hotel near airport. 

We had some personal work and so roamed around in Coimbatore . Note that Siruvani water which is the worlds second tastiest water is available in Coimbatore and I enjoyed drinking this water every bit of it while we were in Coimbatore.
Famous takeaways are Shri Krishna sweets ( for Mysore paa ) and A-1 chips.

Sep 17 -  Boarded flight from coimbatore and bid adieu to this sweet trip with lots of good memories.

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Mahabaleshwar Trip Travelogue

21 Sep – Started off with the travel journey from Mumbai. We had booked Neeta Sleeper Volvo bus for 23.30 from Kanjurmarg but because of less number of passengers traveling , Neeta guys called up 4 hours before and told that the bus has been cancelled and asked us to board the bus at 22.30. One hour packing time reduced.Whew..

 Finally, we boarded the bus from Gandhinagar bridge near police chowki at Kanjurmarg . Comfy 2+1 sleeper bus

22 Sep -

We reached Mahabaleshwar around 5 am morning. We didn’t have any issue in finding the hotel since it is in the centre of market and next to Police station.

 

Next to the hotel is a nice Hanuman temple

First day, we visited Panchgani which is famous for boarding schools where Kajol and Twinkle have studied (that’s what every taxiwala or guide tells you  J )

Visited Table land on a horse –

Some of the sightseeing activities -

 Pandav footmarks

The one and only tree on tableland where some song was sung ( STML :)  )

There is a cave on one side of table land –

Ganapati visarjan lake –

Beware of the monkeys  on table land. They can pounce on you if they see any eatables

One of the famous boarding schools on the way back from Table land –

Parsi Point: This scenic point is situated on the way to Mahabaleshwar, and overlooks the Krishna valley and the blue shiny waters of the Dhom Dam.

Bhilar waterfall –

Next in line was the Malas Factory. Localites say that it is the best as compared to other brands like Mapro.

And then finally visited the Mapro Garden. There is a transparent window through which we can see how chocolate is being made.

Some of the scenic views from Mapro Garden –

Nice seating area

One should not miss the fresh pizzas and strawberry shake with cream

And then returned back to hotel. Took some rest and strolled around the Mahabaleshwar market

23 Sep –

Next day, we went for Mahabaleshwar tour .

Visit to old Mahabaleshwar :

Panchganga mandir –

Mahabaleshwar temple –

There are many more temples within the city

Next in line were the ten points –

Lovely whitish fog seen at these points in the valleys.. It's like milky ocean all across..

Next in line were the below mentioned 3 points –

Beware of the monkeys at this point.

Beautiful elephants head –

Next visit was to Strawberry Lite Garden & Restaurant where the guy gave us info about strawberry plants –

And yummy strawberry shake with ice cream

Done for the day... Came back and took rest at hotel

Sep 23 –

Security guard at our hotel - Bhoomar

Came for next round of Mahabaleshwar tour.

Wilson point ( also known as sunrise point )

And then visited Kings chair with the help of a guide. One needs a guide at this point since this is more of a trekking point where we need to travel through a dense area before reaching the top.

Fortunately, the rain gods were also happy and so, it started raining –

Kings chair can be seen at the extreme right in below picture –

Green dense forest behind

Some more walking

Old people and those with knee pain are advised not to visit this. Instead, they can stay at the Lord Ganesh Temple and others can proceed to  visit the Kings chair

Next in line was the Lingmala waterfall . Too many steps for old and weak people

There are 2 points. Once is a small doha which is nearby( when I say nearby , one has to still walk along the steps for 10-15 mins one way )

 

Other one is big waterfall for which one has to walk around 1.5 kms

Then visited Venna lake which is famous for boating

Savoured the corn and chai at this point and came back to the hotel

Sep 25 –

Leisure day to relax and stroll around. Since this was Navratri time , Lordess Durga showered her blessings by giving darshan

 

At 21.15, we got a call from Neeta saying that our next day afternoon bus had been cancelled and we were being given semi-sleeper which was one hour late. Immediately, we decided to catch the same night bus at 21.30 since that was sleeper bus. So, we packed our luggage and checked out of the hotel in a matter of 15 mins.

This reminded me of a similar adventure I had with my wife where we had woken up late to catch early morning flight from LA to DC and had rushed through the packing/checkout/travel process and finally boarded the flight at last moment.

Journey through Neeta sleeper bus was pretty smooth and reached home sweet home early morning at 4.30 next day