Destination Coorg
Finding a getaway from Hyderabad is quite a challenge, specially if have a ceiling on budget and frequency of repeat visits. Coorg if planned right, fits the bill of a delightful getaway perfectly. This hill station is not overtly touristy in feel and offers a certain tranquility that will definitely leave you rested 
.
Stay options come in choices of resorts, hotels and home stays. Choose according to requirement of facilities and budget. I stayed at the beautiful Depot Estate home stay, just 1 km from town, this choice of stay was a major factor in making the trip to Coorg delightful.
All major tourist pit stops can be covered in two day, a four wheeler is the best transport to get around the area. These can be hired on a full day basis or based on touch points to be covered. As most of the travel involves riving down the meandering roads along coffee and pepper plantations, it is a good idea to skip the A/C option, pull down the windows and let the lightly scented air in.
When in comes to eating out – Coorg was a disappointment. The two highly recommended restaurants Raj Darshan (opposite Raja’s seat) and Top In Town (On the way to Golden temple monastery) were extremely disappointing neither offered local cuisine, the basic ‘multi-cuisine’ menu, poor ambiance and power cuts during dinner were added put offs. Don’t get fooled by the long wait to get a table at ‘Top in town’ it certainly isn’t because of the food, I tried the specialty ‘veg meal’ which tasted exactly like the budget veg meal that I used to eat during collage days at ‘Swati tiffins’ Hyderabad.
In my case the best meals that I had were the ones provided at the Depot Home Stay. (Tip: In case you are a non-vegetarian and eat pork, you must ask the cook for their local preparations).
Sightseeing:
We could manage only a day of sightseeing, which included a visit to the Elephant camp. The elephants are lined up for a bath along the banks of Cauvery – extremely relaxing to spend a morning here. Incidentally this is also a place where you can go white water rafting during the months of October -November. ( Tip: If you visit during the summers, there is a section of the river that flows real low so you can walk across to reach the elephant camp – much more fun than the ferry)
Next stop was Nisargadhama park, where you get to feed deer, ride an elephant, climb up bamboo-shrub top huts ** and relax along the river side or take a boat ride. I wasn’t too keen on going here but the river section that is open to visitors was quite something.
We then headed to Tibetan Golden temple.The fact that a Tibetian monastery exists on the outskirts of Mangalore was in itself a little surprising. Not to mention the feeling of slight disorientation I felt when the temple doorway opened to the magnificent statues and prayer rows – not at all what I expected just off the road from the land of Idli, dosa and akki roti. This is a definite visit. The devotees were mostly dressed in traditional Tibetan attire and the whole vibe to the place was calming. This is also a place where you can do a little shopping (bags, save Tibet T-shirts etc) and maybe try some momo’s.
Our next destination was Abbey Falls for which we retracted back to Madikeri ( on the way we stopped at Triveni sangam – nothing exciting here, except a glimpse of a really large water snake). Abbey Falls was a disappointment simply because of the timing of our visit, it is during monsoons that it can be seen in all its splendour, this time around we saw not much of a fall and no more of river than a soft slow trickle 10 meters below the bridge.
The final stop was the ‘tala Cauvery‘ – the origin of river Cauvery. As evening sets in the hill that houses tala Cauvery gets engulfed in fog and mist – possibly the only place and time during a summer visit to Madikeri where it would feel like a misty hill station. The view from top is supposed to be quite breathtaking, but since we came in late all we could see was a cloud of white fog/mist all around.The temple and the gates leading highest peak of this hill close at 6, so plan accordingly.
Places that we missed – Iruppu Falls, Nagarahole game sanctuary, Harangi dam, sunset at Rajas seat, Gandhi Mandap, Omkarteshwara Temple, Gaddige.
Shopping:
Once done with sightseeing, it is a must to visit the local wholesale spice market/shops, where you can pick up spices, home made chocolate, coffee etc.
A few suggestions:
1. Plan the months you want to visit – December to March may be good time to visit for relaxation, but white water rafting and sights of falls in all their glory can be experienced only during monsoons.
2. Book tickets in advance: the only way from Banglore to Madikeri is by road, and if not in your own vehicle your best bet is to catch the 7 am or 11 am KSRTC Volvo. Believe me taking any other bus would be a bad choice, so reach Bangalore in time to make it to these Volvo’s. Also a word of caution to the folks traveling from Hyderabad to Bangalore- take the flight, train or APSRTC Volvo’s in that order of preference. No matter what you hear about Sharma, Khurana or any other bus service stick to non-private road transport.
3. Although after my trip a home stay comes highly recommended, do ensure that you are comfortable with the idea, remember it is not a hotel but rather your home away from home. Also check on rules for smoking, drinking etc to make sure that both you and the hosts are comfortable during your stay.
You can check some pictures of the sightseeing here.
Also find pictures of the beautiful home stay that was our home for the weekend here.
If you know any other great places to stay, or sights I may have missed do leave a comment. happy weekend .
**just like tree-top houses only build on Bamboo shrubs instead
Picture perfect
Along the stone stair up on a fort up high
My hands are outstreched
Catching a cloud passing by
It feels like mist on a sunny day
In hues of blush
Orange pink and aglow
Reflecting the setting sun
And traces of the sea below
The piece of heaven in my hands
Zig zags as it finds its way
Up .. up
A dance before
Falling in place on a beautiful day
Motor Cycle
chal chal chal motor gadi
o motor gadi
chal le chal khatara kheench ke
chal yaar
dhakka maar
puncture hai cycle tyre
chal yaar dhakka maar
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Mcdonald’s Kitchen tour
I may well be eating more at McD’s than I do at home, and as a possible privilege of frequenting their store the McDonalds staff was kind enough to invite me on a tour of their kitchen.
The tour begins with a ”You got to wear the hair gear to prevent any ‘hair in my burger’ situation”, followed by a show of the equipment ( the deep fryers for the wedges, fries, cold storage in the kitchen area, the grillers, wrap station etc.). The vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections are well separated leaving absolutely no room for any mix-up of the chicken with the potato .
We also got a live demonstration of the ‘making of a McChicken’. With proper planning and mind-blowing equipment it is no wonder that they keep up fast service.
For a kitchen that looks just enough to accommodate the staff and all the equipment, the doors magically open up to cold storage, dry storage, office area, dishwashing and hygiene section.
The impressive equipment, friendly staff and a super clean kitchen certainly won them points all the way. Not to mention the coupon’s provided at the end of the tour as a sign of appreciation.
Can we ever forget ?
Watching my three year old niece grow up reminds me a lot of my childhood. Not just memories of prancing around and how good it felt to be thrown high up in the air – but also memories of a familiar pattern of parenting.
When it comes to dealing with a naughty child, I was quite amazed at the similarity of parenting that my brother showed to those used by my father years ago.
While a tough parent always made us pledge that we would never be like that, in retrospect I truly admire the tricks and techniques my parents used to bring up, us, three little brats .
The truth is, while we may take years to ‘forgive’ all the ‘injustices’ , we can never forget just how fine everything turned out.
Reviews
Restaurant : Sigree, Hyderabad
Lunch here was by chance, but boy am I glad we went. This restaurant from the Speciality group, kept scoring with its great food courses and service.
For cocktails, we tried the Hawaiian Iced tea and Sangria both well made, this was followed by the in-house recommendation of paneer rawalpindi starter which was spicy and very well done (although I would have loved if they had a little more salad to cut the spice). For the main course we tried multani paratha and tawa veg ..both phenomenal , the tawa veg used European veggies like cherry tomatoes, radish, zucchini (definitely a gamble that paid off ). For dessert we stuck to safer options of gulab jamun and makkhan icecream - nothing extraordinary, but no complaints either.
Although this time I stuck to trying out the vegetarian offerings, I have all the reason to believe that their non-vegetarian dishes would be good too.
A definite recommendation for Indian food.
Book : Isn’t it obvious by Eliyahu Goldratt
Classic Goldratt, concepts of retail inventory and supply chain based on holding high inventory are challenged in a narration involving a ‘real’ life situation. Although, the logic may not come as an eye opener for people familiar with TOC or even basic operations. The narrative does provide a ease of understanding to new readers of the concepts. A definite suggested read if you like the previous books or are just beginning to understand ‘operations’.
Sales : Samsonite Black label sale, Hyderabad
Some amazing discounts on great pieces. Sales on till 14th Feb 2010.
What next?
Nope, this is not about the latest fad that hit town, but rather about the very many annoyance’s that we continue to endure as people copy popular ‘trends’.
Like for example, a camera near any form of water body is enough reason to make people leap and give you a ‘Titanic pose’, not the Kate Winslet one, this one:
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The other day when rushing past the stinky Hussainsagar lake, I saw a couple try their version (obviously, in their minds the pose is still in vogue). With no wind or icebergs and the water 10 meters away, I wondered how these two douche bags planned on pulling it off .
The outstretch may have worked a decade ago, but today the odds were in favour of a splat!!
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