Date: 4th June 2010 to 11th June 2010
Car: FIAT Palio 1.2 ELX
The transition from singular to plural i.e from “I” to “WE” happened on the 30th of May 2010 by tying the wedding knot. With the marriage rituals coming towards an end. My fiancé (oops, now my wife) had planned for a honeymoon to the Munnar hill station. Now we then discussed the mode of transport, which again I won the round of discussion (at least at the beginning of the new life) that we would drive down to Munnar. Though there was a bit of hesitation from my parents, they agreed to the plan. So we start off on the 4th of June 2010.
Day 1: 4th June 2010
Started off from my residence at sharp 5 am. Drove straight to my M-I-L’s house in BEML 3rd Stage, Rajarajeshwarinagar. Then drive off from there at 6.30 am straight to the silk board and then took the elevated expressway towards Hosur. Filled our stomachs (ourselves and the car) in Hosur (Fuel costs lesser across the border you see). Continued driving on the NH-7 from Hosur at around 8.30 am to reach Dindigul by 12.15 pm.
Stopped at Dindigul for an early lunch. After leisurely lunch, started towards Pilliarpatti via Natham and Tirupattur. The roads were good, but a bit on the bumpier side. Reached Pilliarpatti at 3 pm and with the temple being closed had a chance to take a good nap for 45 mins with the AC running in the car as it was pretty hot.
The temple doors opened at 4 pm, and we went for the darshan and moved out from Pilliarpatti at around 4:45 pm and drove towards Madurai. On reach Madurai outskirts, it started raining very heavily with gusty winds. Though the speeds were low, the drive was fun with the sunlight still left. Then lost way in taking the deviation to Theni, entered the Madurai city and wasted a good one hour finding the correct route. With the rain following us we made slow progress and finally reached Theni at around 7.45 pm. Early dinner, then off we leave towards Kumily where we had planned to stay. By this time, wife was into questioning mode as to how long do we need to travel. Kept on telling another 15 mins and finally reached Kumily by 9.15 pm. Off we to go the Hotel we had earlier booked and hit the bed by 10 pm.
No pics on day 1. Lazy me, had forgotten to charge rechargeable batteries. Put them to charge overnight to ensure the pics are clicked atleast on day 2.
Day 2: 5th June 2010
As per the instructions of my wife not to wake her up till 9 am in the morning, decided to shelve the boat safari plan at Thekkady. This came as a punishment for the previous day’s almost continuous drive. Got ready and finished breakfast by 11 am, then headed for the elephant ride. Had our chance to ride on Mr. Unni Krishnan (the 25 year old male elephant).
We headed to the nearby restaurant, finished lunch and drove off towards Kottayam to find a tea estate to give the camera a bit of work.
Headed back to the room after having lemon tea. It was time to watch a Telugu movie “Pravarakyudu”. We both liked the movie very much. A movie about love which is not so romantic, which is a bit weird.
Ending the day by hitting bed, but not before having the kerala parotas for dinner.
Day 3: 6th June 2010
This time I was successful in getting my wife up and ready by 5.30 am for the boat safari. We headed to Thekkady from Kumily which is about 5-6 kms away. Waited at the check post to buy the entry tickets.
There was another queue for the boat tickets. We bought the upper deck tickets and off we go at 7 am for a 2 hour boat safari. Though the water levels were a bit low, both of us had high expectations of spotting a few tuskers at the least. But luck had something else in store for us. We spotted a few wild boars and Bisons. Then on the way, it was time for a nap close to half an hour as it was boring with no animals to be spotted.
Woke up when we almost reached back the boarding place. It was time to head back to the hotel to pack up things and leave from Thekkady to Munnar.
Drove via Pooppara to take the NH – 49. After driving about 4-5 kms on the NH – 49 one can spot the Anayirankal Dam. Need to take a sharp ‘U’ turn and drive down for about a kilometer to reach the dam. Again the water levels were pretty low. Drove back to the NH – 49 and continued driving on the NH – 49. With quite a few stop overs to click pics and have tender coconut.
Reached Munnar and reached the SN Deluxe Properties where I had requested to block a room. It was misty and a good weather for the evening to be spent.
Day 4: 7th June 2010
It was a lazy cozy cold morning to start off with. This made our schedule go a bit hay wire. With lot of perseverance the new home minister agreed to finally get out of the bed and then head out to see the places. Wifey is dead against the cold weather. Nevertheless we decided to visit the Ervikulam national park and the Luckam Falls. Headed for an early lunch and then we drive off to the Ervikulam national park which is about 12 kms from Munnar.
The roads though in decent condition, I decided to drive pretty slow, enjoying the cool weather. We reach the Ervikulam national park entrance and it was time to buy the ticket and head to the Anaimudi in the bus service provided by the forest department of Kerala
Started off towards the Luckham falls and on the way, stopped at many places to sooth the nature and the greenery.
We reached the Luckham falls, the water levels were pretty low. Not so exciting. Returned back to the lodge to chill off for the day.
Day 5: 8th June 2010
The day did not start off too well with me; the previous day’s Gujurati Thali took its toll on me. The first half of the day gone, decided to have a light and a bit late lunch. Back to Saravana Bhavan for the lunch. After lunch was loitering around the town doing nothing, but ensure I saw all the roads in Munnar.
Then headed to one of the view point, oops I missed the name. It is located on Ernakulam route. A few pics from day 5.
Day 6: 9th June 2010
For a change my wife woke me up pretty early, a little surprising though. Got ready and finished our breakfast quite early by 8.30 am, which was actually a rarity. Headed off to Matupatty dam and the Top Station. It was nice drive all along.
I was very disappointed when I reached the Matupatty dam to see very shallow waters. Skipped the boating part and moved on towards the Kundala Lake. It was even worse. With high disappointment taking over control, drove back to the hotel room to pack up everything and vacate from the hotel.
Did so by 11.30 am, and headed straight to Saravana Bhavan, for an early lunch. It was time to bid adieu to the Munnar hill station but not before we bought quite some tea and other ayurvedic stuff from the TATA CTC shop. We decided to drive towards Chalakudy and halt for the day. With ample time on hand, drove very leisurely.
After a few kms from Munnar, the mist had completely covered the hills around. Thick mist I must say, visibility was very low. Time to get the head lights on at around 12.30 pm. It was like a competition to spot the right way contest all along the road for quite a few kms. Then the mist eased off after descending in the route for about 8-10 kms. Then a serious of spice gardens and the water falls greeted us through the route. The road is narrow and broken at a few places, the rest of the roads are in good condition.
Then after the ghats we took the Kothamangalam – Aluva route. Once we reached the highway still in broad daylight with only about 30 odd kms to Chalakudy. I wanted to drive more, so took the deviation towards Cherai Beach. On reaching the place, it was already raining heavily and also the road that leads to the beach was closed for some repair works. With a heavy heart headed back to the NH – 17 towards Edappally. From here turned left on the NH – 47 towards Chalakudy. Refueled on the way and halted at Chalakudy.
Day 7: 10th June 2010
The day started off as expected. We had breakfast (appam) at Chalakudy and then headed towards Chalakudy. It was raining all through, the rain varying from a drizzle to heavy showers. Reached Chalakudy around 9:30 spent half an hour or so clicking pictures of the falls and the headed towards Valparai. As usual the forest check post noted all the details like no of plastic bags, bottles, etc. Drove slowly enjoying the serene forests which is pretty dense. Sparse traffic made things better for me, but not the same for my wife. She started telling me it’s boring because I had just covered about 15 kms in an hour.
Drove on and reached Valparai around 2 pm. By this time, my wife was already home sick, so decided not to stay at Valparai (a reason enough to drive here again sometime later). Had lunch and continued our drive towards Pollachi through the hair pin bends. The roads were covered with mist and tea plantations on either side made the journey very pleasant. The visibility was ranging from reasonable to poor.
Reached Coimbatore, refueled and stopped over for coffee at Ayyappan Restaurant on the Mettupalayam road. This route is nightmare with loads of traffic driving at their own will. The private buses racing with the TNSTC buses. Crazy bikers with no helmets riding like morons. With all these, it took more than an hour to cross Mettupalayam.
The roads got better with lesser traffic. We started climbing up the ghats towards Coonoor. An interesting incident happened on the way. On nearing one of the hairpin curves, I spotted something weird in the night moving around. It was an elephant. An innova who was tailgating us did not spot this and overtook us. The moment he was taking the U turn, the elephant which at the corner started moving forwards and threw its trunk towards the innova. The innova missed it by a whisker. I wait back turning the headlights for the elephant to move away. After about 5 mins, the elephant uprooted a board and disappeared into the woods. Wifey was all excited and wanted more of the elephant to around. Being her first experience she was excited not knowing what a lone tusker can do it when it goes on destroying things it can see. Started driving up the ghats and reached Ooty by 9 pm. Halted at the Gangothri Sunrise in Ooty.
At around 11 pm, wife told she was hungry as she had skipped dinner. Ran out to the Barista shop close by, picked up a sandwich, cookies and a cappuccino for myself and headed back to the room to keep the hunger of my better half away.
Then finally it was time to snooze off after an eventful drive from Chalakudy to Ooty.
Day 8: 11th June 2010
Off we go from Ooty towards Bangalore which brings a big smile on my wife’s face who is already feeling home sick. Up and running with a cup of tea in the morning. It was pretty chilly as there was a cold breeze. Drove towards the Masinagudi route. It was misty through half way down the ghats.
After ghats slow drive with anticipation of spotting a few animals. This time we were not disappointed.
Then we headed to Gopalaswamy Betta. At this time of the year, it will misty all thru the day and winds blowing at pretty nasty speeds sometimes. A visit to the temple and we were back down the hill towards Mysore, no trek this time around.
Stopped at Mysore for Lunch and after the lunch it was a nonstop drive to Bangalore. Paid a visit to M-I-L’s house and then headed back home.
Car: FIAT Palio 1.2 ELX
The transition from singular to plural i.e from “I” to “WE” happened on the 30th of May 2010 by tying the wedding knot. With the marriage rituals coming towards an end. My fiancé (oops, now my wife) had planned for a honeymoon to the Munnar hill station. Now we then discussed the mode of transport, which again I won the round of discussion (at least at the beginning of the new life) that we would drive down to Munnar. Though there was a bit of hesitation from my parents, they agreed to the plan. So we start off on the 4th of June 2010.
Day 1: 4th June 2010
Started off from my residence at sharp 5 am. Drove straight to my M-I-L’s house in BEML 3rd Stage, Rajarajeshwarinagar. Then drive off from there at 6.30 am straight to the silk board and then took the elevated expressway towards Hosur. Filled our stomachs (ourselves and the car) in Hosur (Fuel costs lesser across the border you see). Continued driving on the NH-7 from Hosur at around 8.30 am to reach Dindigul by 12.15 pm.
Stopped at Dindigul for an early lunch. After leisurely lunch, started towards Pilliarpatti via Natham and Tirupattur. The roads were good, but a bit on the bumpier side. Reached Pilliarpatti at 3 pm and with the temple being closed had a chance to take a good nap for 45 mins with the AC running in the car as it was pretty hot.
The temple doors opened at 4 pm, and we went for the darshan and moved out from Pilliarpatti at around 4:45 pm and drove towards Madurai. On reach Madurai outskirts, it started raining very heavily with gusty winds. Though the speeds were low, the drive was fun with the sunlight still left. Then lost way in taking the deviation to Theni, entered the Madurai city and wasted a good one hour finding the correct route. With the rain following us we made slow progress and finally reached Theni at around 7.45 pm. Early dinner, then off we leave towards Kumily where we had planned to stay. By this time, wife was into questioning mode as to how long do we need to travel. Kept on telling another 15 mins and finally reached Kumily by 9.15 pm. Off we to go the Hotel we had earlier booked and hit the bed by 10 pm.
No pics on day 1. Lazy me, had forgotten to charge rechargeable batteries. Put them to charge overnight to ensure the pics are clicked atleast on day 2.
Day 2: 5th June 2010
As per the instructions of my wife not to wake her up till 9 am in the morning, decided to shelve the boat safari plan at Thekkady. This came as a punishment for the previous day’s almost continuous drive. Got ready and finished breakfast by 11 am, then headed for the elephant ride. Had our chance to ride on Mr. Unni Krishnan (the 25 year old male elephant).
We headed to the nearby restaurant, finished lunch and drove off towards Kottayam to find a tea estate to give the camera a bit of work.
Headed back to the room after having lemon tea. It was time to watch a Telugu movie “Pravarakyudu”. We both liked the movie very much. A movie about love which is not so romantic, which is a bit weird.
Ending the day by hitting bed, but not before having the kerala parotas for dinner.
Day 3: 6th June 2010
This time I was successful in getting my wife up and ready by 5.30 am for the boat safari. We headed to Thekkady from Kumily which is about 5-6 kms away. Waited at the check post to buy the entry tickets.
There was another queue for the boat tickets. We bought the upper deck tickets and off we go at 7 am for a 2 hour boat safari. Though the water levels were a bit low, both of us had high expectations of spotting a few tuskers at the least. But luck had something else in store for us. We spotted a few wild boars and Bisons. Then on the way, it was time for a nap close to half an hour as it was boring with no animals to be spotted.
Woke up when we almost reached back the boarding place. It was time to head back to the hotel to pack up things and leave from Thekkady to Munnar.
Drove via Pooppara to take the NH – 49. After driving about 4-5 kms on the NH – 49 one can spot the Anayirankal Dam. Need to take a sharp ‘U’ turn and drive down for about a kilometer to reach the dam. Again the water levels were pretty low. Drove back to the NH – 49 and continued driving on the NH – 49. With quite a few stop overs to click pics and have tender coconut.
Reached Munnar and reached the SN Deluxe Properties where I had requested to block a room. It was misty and a good weather for the evening to be spent.
Day 4: 7th June 2010
It was a lazy cozy cold morning to start off with. This made our schedule go a bit hay wire. With lot of perseverance the new home minister agreed to finally get out of the bed and then head out to see the places. Wifey is dead against the cold weather. Nevertheless we decided to visit the Ervikulam national park and the Luckam Falls. Headed for an early lunch and then we drive off to the Ervikulam national park which is about 12 kms from Munnar.
The roads though in decent condition, I decided to drive pretty slow, enjoying the cool weather. We reach the Ervikulam national park entrance and it was time to buy the ticket and head to the Anaimudi in the bus service provided by the forest department of Kerala
Started off towards the Luckham falls and on the way, stopped at many places to sooth the nature and the greenery.
We reached the Luckham falls, the water levels were pretty low. Not so exciting. Returned back to the lodge to chill off for the day.
Day 5: 8th June 2010
The day did not start off too well with me; the previous day’s Gujurati Thali took its toll on me. The first half of the day gone, decided to have a light and a bit late lunch. Back to Saravana Bhavan for the lunch. After lunch was loitering around the town doing nothing, but ensure I saw all the roads in Munnar.
Then headed to one of the view point, oops I missed the name. It is located on Ernakulam route. A few pics from day 5.
Day 6: 9th June 2010
For a change my wife woke me up pretty early, a little surprising though. Got ready and finished our breakfast quite early by 8.30 am, which was actually a rarity. Headed off to Matupatty dam and the Top Station. It was nice drive all along.
I was very disappointed when I reached the Matupatty dam to see very shallow waters. Skipped the boating part and moved on towards the Kundala Lake. It was even worse. With high disappointment taking over control, drove back to the hotel room to pack up everything and vacate from the hotel.
Did so by 11.30 am, and headed straight to Saravana Bhavan, for an early lunch. It was time to bid adieu to the Munnar hill station but not before we bought quite some tea and other ayurvedic stuff from the TATA CTC shop. We decided to drive towards Chalakudy and halt for the day. With ample time on hand, drove very leisurely.
After a few kms from Munnar, the mist had completely covered the hills around. Thick mist I must say, visibility was very low. Time to get the head lights on at around 12.30 pm. It was like a competition to spot the right way contest all along the road for quite a few kms. Then the mist eased off after descending in the route for about 8-10 kms. Then a serious of spice gardens and the water falls greeted us through the route. The road is narrow and broken at a few places, the rest of the roads are in good condition.
Then after the ghats we took the Kothamangalam – Aluva route. Once we reached the highway still in broad daylight with only about 30 odd kms to Chalakudy. I wanted to drive more, so took the deviation towards Cherai Beach. On reaching the place, it was already raining heavily and also the road that leads to the beach was closed for some repair works. With a heavy heart headed back to the NH – 17 towards Edappally. From here turned left on the NH – 47 towards Chalakudy. Refueled on the way and halted at Chalakudy.
Day 7: 10th June 2010
The day started off as expected. We had breakfast (appam) at Chalakudy and then headed towards Chalakudy. It was raining all through, the rain varying from a drizzle to heavy showers. Reached Chalakudy around 9:30 spent half an hour or so clicking pictures of the falls and the headed towards Valparai. As usual the forest check post noted all the details like no of plastic bags, bottles, etc. Drove slowly enjoying the serene forests which is pretty dense. Sparse traffic made things better for me, but not the same for my wife. She started telling me it’s boring because I had just covered about 15 kms in an hour.
Drove on and reached Valparai around 2 pm. By this time, my wife was already home sick, so decided not to stay at Valparai (a reason enough to drive here again sometime later). Had lunch and continued our drive towards Pollachi through the hair pin bends. The roads were covered with mist and tea plantations on either side made the journey very pleasant. The visibility was ranging from reasonable to poor.
Reached Coimbatore, refueled and stopped over for coffee at Ayyappan Restaurant on the Mettupalayam road. This route is nightmare with loads of traffic driving at their own will. The private buses racing with the TNSTC buses. Crazy bikers with no helmets riding like morons. With all these, it took more than an hour to cross Mettupalayam.
The roads got better with lesser traffic. We started climbing up the ghats towards Coonoor. An interesting incident happened on the way. On nearing one of the hairpin curves, I spotted something weird in the night moving around. It was an elephant. An innova who was tailgating us did not spot this and overtook us. The moment he was taking the U turn, the elephant which at the corner started moving forwards and threw its trunk towards the innova. The innova missed it by a whisker. I wait back turning the headlights for the elephant to move away. After about 5 mins, the elephant uprooted a board and disappeared into the woods. Wifey was all excited and wanted more of the elephant to around. Being her first experience she was excited not knowing what a lone tusker can do it when it goes on destroying things it can see. Started driving up the ghats and reached Ooty by 9 pm. Halted at the Gangothri Sunrise in Ooty.
At around 11 pm, wife told she was hungry as she had skipped dinner. Ran out to the Barista shop close by, picked up a sandwich, cookies and a cappuccino for myself and headed back to the room to keep the hunger of my better half away.
Then finally it was time to snooze off after an eventful drive from Chalakudy to Ooty.
Day 8: 11th June 2010
Off we go from Ooty towards Bangalore which brings a big smile on my wife’s face who is already feeling home sick. Up and running with a cup of tea in the morning. It was pretty chilly as there was a cold breeze. Drove towards the Masinagudi route. It was misty through half way down the ghats.
After ghats slow drive with anticipation of spotting a few animals. This time we were not disappointed.
Then we headed to Gopalaswamy Betta. At this time of the year, it will misty all thru the day and winds blowing at pretty nasty speeds sometimes. A visit to the temple and we were back down the hill towards Mysore, no trek this time around.
Stopped at Mysore for Lunch and after the lunch it was a nonstop drive to Bangalore. Paid a visit to M-I-L’s house and then headed back home.
