Beautiful Coonoor

Tears at breakfast, Ambush in the afternoon.

Within 10 minutes of us having checked into our hotel room the night before, we knew we could not stay for more than one night.  
The hotel was located at the edge of the Nilgiri forest, in a stunning wooded valley, however our room looked out directly into a tree canopy, so we had no view at all.  There was one other sitting area outside, close by the swimming pool, which had some uncomfortable wooden benches, and otherwise there was nowhere to sit apart from the restaurant, or a dark reception area.
We tried to go for a walk, but the walking track was closed (as it was Jack Fruit season there were a lot of elephants around, so it was not safe to walk), so it all felt quite claustrophic.
One other problem (which should have been obvious to us before booking!), was that as the hotel was a few miles downhill from Coonoor, we were out of the tea plantation altitude, and we had come to Coonoor specifically to see tea plantations.

Happy days!  We had not paid in advance, so the hotel staff kindly accepted that we could just stay one night instead of two, and we booked into the Taj Gateway in Coonoor for the next day, (which actually was cheaper than where we were, and we loved it).

Therefore, at breakfast the next morning I think I was a bit emotional due to feeling a bit guilty about moving out, and maybe even by having disturbed a sleeping black snake on my way to breakfast, and watched him slither into a swimming pool drain hole.   So when I had the delightful and humourous conversation with the waiter about the identity of some of the breakfast dishes, I was moved to tears when I got back to the table.  There we were, kicking up because the hotel was 'not quite up to our liking', and we meet so many Indian people who have so much less material wealth than us, but have a dignity, happiness and grace that we don't often see in the 'West'. 

After breakfast we moved out and started the steep curving ascent into Coonoor.   As per the previous evening coming down the mountain, the traffic was a bit crazy, as all the lorries and buses had to take up the whole road to turn the hair pin corners, causing lots of traffic queues on the narrow roads.  As we watched some cars drive the wrong side of the road trying to overtake, our driver who is from Kerala rolled up his eyes and muttered 'Tamil drivers'!  

The final part of our short journey back to Coonoor brought us back to the stunning landscapes of the tea plantations.   They are the most beautiful landscapes, as if exquisite rich green velvet has been draped over the hills and mountains.

After checking into the Gateway hotel, (complete with welcome drink and flower garland, and lovely room with fireplace (as this is Indian hill country where it can be quite cold in winter)), we headed off for a walk to Highfield Tea Plantation via Sims Park.

Sims Park was pleasant, with an astonishing variety of tree types (apparently over 1000 different species).  We thought that only the British could have planted such a park, as it included trees from all the countries of the British Empire, I am not sure what other entity would have had the resources to plant this over 100 years ago.   While we were sitting enjoying the park, a few members of a family picknicking near us came over to ask us where we were from etc.  They were nice, one of the girls was studying in Coimbature University.   One odd thing happened as we passed them when moving on, the grandmother of the family held out her hands to beg from us.   It was so surprising, as seemed at odds with the relatively sophisticated conversations we had just had with her grandchildren.

We then wandered along the quiet country road to the tea plantation factory.   On the way a car stopped to ask us for directions, then suddenly 4 burly men jumped out.   In any other country that would be terrifying, however as this was India, they just wanted their photograph taken with us.  They were very jolly, told us they were on holidays from Kerala, established that we had been married for 20 years but did not have any children, took turns to have their photographs taken with us, then jumped into their car again and off they went.   All in the space of a few minutes, a very Indian moment.

Highfield Tea factory was good, so interesting to see the tea leaves being processed.  It was fairly dusty with antiquated machinery, however as I had never been to a tea factory before I don't know what other ones are like.

A magical trip to Hampi

The moment we stepped off our overnight train from Bangalore, we were assailed by India, - noise, crowds, colour, drama, - and all of this just on the platform of Munirabad train station.

We were met by a driver from our hotel (Hampi Boulders), and having thrown my apple core to a foraging pig in the station car park, we set off.

The 10 Km drive to the hotel, through the countryside and small villages, was superb, a lot of it on single track twisting roads.  Landscape wise, it was as if giants had thrown huge rocks and boulders all over the place, and then had hastily swept them up into various piles, with flat countryside in between.  Some of the piles of boulders were seemingly impossible, with huge boulders supported on small rocks. 
Bird life wise, we saw lots of kingfishers perched on wires, with herons and egrets standing in the freshly harvested paddy fields.   Of course, there were also water buffalo, and cart towing buffalos with painted horns, and the ubiquitous cows and dogs hanging around the villages.   We also hit the morning school rush hour, passing neatly dressed children walking to school.  As usual in India, we marvelled at how smart the children look.   It always seems extraordinary to me that children living in one room houses, with dirt floors and intermittent electricity, can be so well groomed.   I can often look like I have been dragged through a hedge backwards even when I have all facilities and clothes at my disposal.

As we drove up the hotel avenue we were surprised by the unexpected pet emus and deer.  The deer was an elegant small Indian chital deer, with beautiful big eyes, and long slim legs.  It was also very sociable, as we found out later when it wandered into our hotel room. 

Even though we had arrived over an hour later than expected, the hotel cooked us up a super breakfast, and we sat in their open walled restaurant having delicious dosas with pineapple juice and good coffee, while gazing at the boulder strewn horizons.  After breakfast and check in, we set off to catch the ferry across the Tungabhadra river into Hampi.

Health and safety as we know it is not practised by our friendly ferry man.   The boat was packed with people, as he encouraged us to sit as closely together as possible.   Then once we were all on board, a motor bike was wheeled onto the brow of the boat, and off we set across the river, with not a life jacket in sight.   It was a lovely lazy river, wending its way between the boulder piles, with fishermen fishing off their bread basket shaped coracle boats.  

The other side of the river was Hampi proper, and we landed beside the old stone Ghat (bathing place).  Our first afternoon was spent wandering through Hampi village, and visiting the currently used Virupaksha temple, and the surrounding ruined temples.  We were impressed by the beauty and completeness of the ruined buildings, not knowing then just how spectacular the rest of it all was.   As is usual in Indian tourist spots, we had our photographs taken about a million times, as for some reason a lot of young Indians like to have their photographs taken with westerners.   Also as usual, they were all so nice, and polite.

Back at the hotel we were talking to other guests and happened to stand beside a coconut tree, when a coconut fell down.   Didn't think so much of it until the hotel manager came out, looked up, and asked us to move away quickly.   Then a second coconut came down.   There was a monkey in the tree, which is dangerous because as they steal the coconut milk they drop the coconuts which can injure anyone under the trees.
We taken on an evening walk to an island in the river, which had lovely views over the area, passing by a large group of beautiful gray langur monkeys.

We were even more overawed by our second day in Hampi.   Following another crowded boat journey across the river, we bumped into 2 different weddings, one at the river side which involved a lot of flowers, and one in the Virupaksha temple involving a lot of turmeric and water being smeared on the bride and groom.

We then went on a tour to the ancient ruins, first taking the lovely riverside walk along the river to the Vittala temple.  It was a glorious walk, apart from a nagging concern that we were not going the right direction, as there were no other tourists around.   We passed the pillared Courtesans' Street on the way.   The Vitalla temple was superb, the quality of the stone carvings was amazing.  

We then visited the other sites, the extent of the ancient ruins taking us by surprise, and each site seemed more beautiful than the previous ones.

While a day and a half was OK to explore Hampi, you could easily spend another day or so, exploring the ruins in even more detail. If we go back, we will hire bikes next time to get around, as those flat dirt roads were perfect for cycling.

On our last morning we went for a walk down to a small waterfall. It was a peaceful spot, with beautiful stone sculptures carved by the river.

We then went for a walk along the dirt road from the hotel. We passed the emus, with their graceful postures and ridiculous hair styles, helped the security guard from the hotel try to herd the two pet deer back into the hotel grounds (they were not cooperating), and passed through a troupe of langur monkeys, who were gracefully leaping and lounging around.

We caught our final ferry across the river to go back to Bangalore by KSRTC bus from Hospet.  As we walked along the road an auto driver who had a group of men loading his auto with sand bags asked us where we were going.   We told him, thinking that he had a friend who could take us.  However, suddenly the sandbags were being unloaded, and we were told to get on.  We tried to say no, and apologised to the other men, but no one seemed too concerned.  We agreed a price, got in the back, two of the sandbag men got into the front with the driver, and off we went towards Hospet.  A third of the way there, the two men got off, another man jumped on, and we continued on our journey.

A grand journey back from Hospet to Bangalore, interesting scenery, though road happenings a bit scary sometimes.  Speeding buses, cars and lorries are dangerous when sharing the road with bullock carts, goat herds, and wandering cows.

Hesaraghatta, Nrityagram Dance Academy and Bangalore Sailing Club

One Saturday we went to Hesaraghatta village, 30 Km, NW of Bangalore.

First we visited the Nrityagram Dance Academy, which is a dance school teaching Indian Classical dance.   They allow visitors in to tour the dance school, and its pretty, rural village layout.   Our timing was really lucky, as three dancers were practising Odissi dancing, which is the traditional dance from Orissa state.   Their practise session was an incredible performance, and it was lovely to watch it in the open air.  We lived in Budapest for two years, before moving to Bangalore, and saw many fantastic ballets there in the Opera House.   I would rate this Odissi dancing experience right up there with those brilliant ballets.

When the dancers finished, the apprentice dancer bowed and kissed the feet of her seniors, who had been instructing her.   It seems in India that there is huge respect shown towards certain teachers, - in my yoga class we all bow to the teacher, and the others call him "Sir" (I do not yet call him Sir, though I think he is wonderful, just don't like addressing anyone as Sir.....).

When the dancing had finished, we wandered around the gardens, and saw some bullock ploughing.

Had a reason to be very grateful to the creators of Riverdance, the Irish dancing show.  We got into conversation with an Indian couple who told us they were fans of Irish dancing, because they had seen Riverdance.  It is great that one show has created such a positive image of Irish dancing worldwide.


After Nrityagram, we went to look for the old Bangalore Sailing club. 

We had read on another blog that Hesaraghatta Lake was the site of the old Bangalore Sailing club, and there was an old clubhouse there.   The lake was almost completely dry, the only water being two or three animal watering holes.   It was difficult to imagine how this had ever been a full lake.
  

In the distance we saw a small building at the edge of the 'lake', and had a lovely walk for about 1.5 Km along a dyke towards it.   Yes, this was the old clubhouse of Bangalore Sailing Club, which has seen much better days.  
The building is quite decayed, with holes in ceilings, broken windows etc, but because the prize boards are still up on the walls, the fireplaces are intact, and there are some tables in the room, there was a strange atmospher.   You could almost imagine everyone turning up again for the Saturday race....



You can see in this Helmsmans trophy prize board that the first recorded prize was 1938, and there were bi-annual competitions every year, until the last race in 1981.  The entry for 1982 is "Lake dry".  

We still have not worked out why the lake dried so much.   A pity for Bangalore Sailing club, as judging by their clubhouse and boat sheds, it must have been a very active sailing centre at one stage.

Next time I am sailing on Dublin Bay, and moaning about the rain or wind, I must remember to be grateful for the fact that we have water.

Some July Snippets

• Accommodation:  Spent remainder of July in the Fortune Hotel, Cunningham Crescent Road.    Very nice hotel, restaurant staff especially were so lovely.
• Having a driver: We have a driver allocated to us, for 6 days per week, and we were lucky and got Sakti.  Seemed very strange at first, though now I have got very used to sitting in the back of the car and being driven everywhere.   On my first day, I walked towards the car in the hotel car park, and Sakti scolded me for this.  Apparently I have to wait in the hotel porch, and he will drive to me......    My husband also got a surprise, as when he signed off for the day, and was getting out of the car, he noticed that Sakti had disappeared.  When he got out he realised that Sakti had rushed out of the car to open the door for him.
• While it is great to have easy transport, it cannot be good for people (e.g. politicians!!!) to be driven around and treated so well year after year, as it removes you from reality a bit too much.
• Estate Agents: We spent a week viewing apartments, with 2 different estate agents.  One classic estate agent speak was when I asked about a hole in the garden, (I wasn't sure if it was a rat or snake hole).  The agent advised "It is a rodent hole madam, it will be covered up".   Hmmm, that would have confused Mr Rat for about 5 minutes.  We didn't take that apartment.
• Cultural stuff: Attended a concert by the Bangalore School of Music.  It was great, wonderful earnest musicians, with an arrogant but comical conductor.   They played European pieces, the Funeral March by Edvard Grieg was particularly beautiful.   One of the sponsors gave a speech where he recommended that all Indian children should learn at least one musical instrument, and said that in China all children can play an instrument by the age of 3.  The comparison was a bit surprising, though it probably would be a good idea for all children to play an instrument.   As this was our first Indian musical we were surprised by the length of time given to announcing the credits, as all people involved in the production were named and applauded.   This takes some time...                                                                                             We also attended a Monty Pyton Spamalot production in the Chowdiah Memorial Hall.  It was brilliant, very well performed, and very funny.   I was impressed by the accents, as the Indian actors had the regional english, and french accents mimicked precisely.   The Chowdiah Memorial Hall is dedicated to the memory of a violin player, and shaped like a violin, (e.g. ticket office is in the scroll, the auditorium is in the main body).
• Excursions outside BGL: We went to the Nandi Hills for one day.  Was great, mainly cause we were getting outside the city, and seeing the countryside, which in India is always a kaleidoscope of colour and happenings.  Strolled around for hours, and sat looking at bird life.  Had our photograph taken about a million times, as lots of people wanted their photos taken with us.   They were really polite when asking, and even though there were crowds in some of the shots, the guys were always careful with me to not encroach on personal space.   My husband was surprised one time to find that one guy has held his hand for the photo (Indian men often walk around holding hands, as they are generally a warm friendly casual lot).

July 2011 Arriving in Bangalore

First blog about our trip to Bangalore.   My husband has started work for a multinational company here, and I am here as a 'dependent wife'.   Don't like the title, but am putting up with it as we are very happy to spend some time in South India.   We have spent the past few years living and working in different cultures, and had always planned that India would be one of the places to spend more time in.  A work opportunity for Bangalore came up, and after much flying around to visit family, and discarding, packing and storing of belongings, we arrived here on the 16 July 2011.