February was here, and that meant one thing- annual vacation time. Its like the brain has been hardwired now. My last two travel holidays were in Feb 2019 & Feb 2020 and I had no plans to change the schedule this year as well. It’s that time of the year when the weather is cool and pleasant in most parts of India; and to top it, most places see very little crowd - thanks to the corporate targets/deadlines of Q4 and approaching school exams.
Vacationing in Feb is almost guaranteed to be pleasant and peaceful.
While in 2019 and 2020 (yes i managed a vacay before the pandemic :D) , I spent my vacations in Uttarakhand, I decided to go south this time.
Bangalore- Bandipur – Ooty
Although I had been to Bangalore before (albeit only for couple of days), I had never been to Bandipur and Ooty (a little shameful considering the fact that I am a south Indian).
Preparing for the trip and imagining about it often supersedes the actual trip :D and this time it was no different. Although office had kept me busy, one finds a way to day dream. :D
The day was here! I had an early morning Air India flight to Bangalore and on reaching the airport, I felt as if entire Mumbai was flying that day (possible as Friday that week, being a public holiday, had provided a good window to travel).
I had done my mandatory web- check in a little later than ideal. Usually I don’t web check in, I am someone who always reaches a place well before time. And why should I pay INR 300 for a window seat while web checking when I can get the same for free at the check in counter. But hey, this year was different. Web check was mandatory due to Covid norms and by the time I did my web check in, only middle seats were available ☹. For someone who loves gazing out of the window, clicking photos and getting lost in the world one see’s from above, I was slightly disappointed. Moreover, middle seat meant having to wear the PPE kit !
Anyway, the flight was on time, smooth and pleasant (have always wondered why Air India gets the flak it does).
After deplaning at Bangalore, getting out of the airport was short and quick (Mumbai and Delhi airports dwarf every other airport) and I took a nice AC Volvo bus to the city. This is one thing I wish Mumbai airport gets – a good dedicated public transport for the airport.
Bangalore city is far from the airport and during the bus ride I couldn’t help but rewatch this stand up comedy on Bangalore by Rahul Subramanian :D
Nevertheless the ride was pleasant and quick….magga :p
The plan in Bangalore was to meet my cousin & mama and spend a day exploring popular places.
I found Bangalore to be nice & easy going . For someone who has lived in Mumbai all life, no other city will seem fast paced. The weather too was very pleasant( my thoughts again went to the stand up comedy line ‘Shyam ke Mausam me kuch bhi kha accha lagega :D).
Notwithstanding cramped roads, the garden city was open and spacious. A standard house in Bangalore had lot more space when compared to Mumbai, and came at a much cheaper cost. The feel of staying in a spacious house with an open roof terrace (read my cousin’s house ) made me think about the quality of life we bear in Mumbai viz viz the cost.
The next morning, we first visited the iconic Vidyarthi Bhavan restaurant for breakfast. We reached there around 915 am and it was crowded ( half an hour waiting ). My cousin told me that the restaurant was the equivalent of Ramashray or say Aswad in Mumbai in terms of its popularity amongst local. Although Aswad does not retain the traditional ambience anymore, Vidyarthi Bhavan still maintained its old basic charm and stuck to its limited menu. Their dosa was different to the paper dosa we get in Mumbai. It was thick yet crisp and was served with only chutney (no sambar). Overall, a unique experience and value for money.
Up next was Lalbaug garden. It’s one of the oldest botanical gardens of India and will be liked by anyone who enjoys a bit of open space and fauna. The garden is huge and is home to some exotic flowers, old trees and not so common birds (for a city atleast).
With dedicated walkways, beautiful flowers and planned landscaping, it was a treat to the eyes. The only flip side being that a professional camera is not allowed inside as many people had started to use the place for photoshoots...frustrating but understandable.
The highlight for me at the garden was feeding squirrels by hand. The squirrels were not only brave enough to trust a person feed them but also showed their smart side by shuffling and picking the biggest peanut from the bunch we had in our palms :D
In short- Recommended !
Our next stop was an open roof Restaurant & Bar that offered a good view of almost half of Bangalore. Unlike Mumbai, Bangalore has very little high rise buildings and the meant being able to see half the city if you could find a space say.. above 10th floor. The place had some interesting beer variants and it was worth the time and the money.
My last place of visit in Bangalore happened to be Cubbon park (happens to be near the Chinnaswamy cricket station). We took the 'Namma metro' with a change over at Majestic station (Majestic is like Dadar/Kurla of Mumbai , Rajiv Chowk of Delhi)
The Bangalore metro is very similar to that of Mumbai with similar layout of the station and rake design. Of the metros that i have travelled in so in far, i liked the Delhi metro the best, esp its Airport express route.
Coming back to Cubbon park; although the park had good reviews to its name, i did not find it great. Probably because i didn’t explore the place thoroughly due to time crunch as the park was about to be closed.
One the way back home, we stopped for dinner at a restaurant in Church street. Now, this is a place that I had not heard of and also wasn’t recommended by anyone, but I was glad that I happened to see it. It’s a 750 m long pedestrian only street -beautifully lit and with posh restaurants, showrooms on either sides. The street with polished paver blocks & aesthetic lighting resembled MG Road of Gangtok.
In addition to all the restaurants and high end showrooms, there was interesting display of art, live music, mimicry etc. A lot of the young and affluent Bangalore came here, and it was no surprise why. (Although never been here during day time ,i am pretty much sure that this place is at its best during the night)
That is all that I could explore in Bangalore and rest of the time was spent in watching Drishyam 2, eating at the terrace & drinking coffee. This was followed by eating again and drinking more filter coffee ..lol (not to forget coconut water in between :D ) My cousin’s family played a wonderful host and I loved my short stay at Bangalore.
Next destination was Bandipur Tiger reserve and I was eagerly looking forward to it. Me and my cousin took an early morning train to Mysore beyond which we had to take a bus to Bandipur. Although there was advise that taking a bus to Mysore would be faster , being an rail fan I preferred taking the train (train journey ke bina vacation wala feel adhura hai :P). And I am glad we took the decision of taking the train. The train was as empty as one can expect. Although I had read that the train was hauled by a ALCO locomotive (which had influenced me to opt for the train journey over bus) i realised that the ALCO would be uncoupled at Bangalore and a WAP 7 would haul the train during the 3 hr Bangalore - Mysore stretch. While the WAP 7 is no match to the feel and rhythmic - chugging sound of an ALCO locomotive , the acceleration of a WAP 5/7 is far superior.
We reached Mysore intime for breakfast (the coffee in Mysore is wow!) and took a bus to Bandipur. The bus journey was slightly tiring and uncomfortable as we could only manage seats at the back. After almost a 2 and half hour journey we reached Bandipur. The build up to Bandipur was great as we could see deers and elephants on the way itself.
We checked into the cottage we had booked through the official website of the forest department. Although there are private stays, they are significantly more expensive and probably wont offer the raw experience a basic cottage would. The cottage of the forest deaparment has a fixed tarrif of INR 1600 per night basis twin sharing (dorms are available for a cheaper cost) while the private resorts charge about INR 6000 per night (bundled with a few more activities though)
After checking in at the cottage, we went for the Jungle Safari (booked online along with the accommodation). This was supposed to be the best part, but unfortunately we could not spot anything except for a few deers, bison and an elephant (that too very far). Only silver lining was that I had opted for a bus safari which costed only INR 250. Had I taken the jeep safari (which costs 3000 per jeep) and seen nothing, I would been a lot more frustrated. Although the officials say that citing a tiger , leopard or herd of elephants is purely a matter of luck, I thought the entire experience could have been better arranged. They also charge a hefty INR 590 for a camera lens above 200 mm (which is more than twice of the ticket cost itself).
If you are a group of 4 or more, the jeep safari is the better option as the cost per head wont be significantly higher as compared to the bus. The bus window is small and not suitable for photography. Most importantly in a bus if you are seated to the right, you cant see/click much on the left and vice versa but on a jeep, you can pretty much see/click 360.
After returning from the safari in the evening we clicked some picture of the beautiful setting sun. The overnight stay at the cottage was nice, and although I wished to get out during the dark to see the night sky in hope of a star studded view, the officials had warned not to get outside the cottage after 9 pm as there was risk of tigers/ leopard roaming in hunt for deer.
As I stepped outside the cottage next morning I could see lots of deers grazing grass right outside and a peacock on a near by tree.
The crisp cool air with no pollution and pin drop silence made for an amazing feel. The silence was only broken by the chirping of birds and sound of wildlife from far inside the forest. I would day that the morning partly made up for the disappointment of the safari.
I would recommend Bandipur to someone who wants to experience a peaceful stay amidst nature and see some animals in their natural habitat. However I don’t think it’s the best place for tiger/leopard spotting.
From here on it was me solo, with me going to Ooty and my cousin heading back to Bangalore. The bus ride to Ooty was tiring and scenic at the same time. One gets to see beautiful streams of water flowing along side the road and once we reach higher elevations, the landscape is dominated by eucalyptus and tea estates of the Nilgiris.
I had not researched much about Ooty and was not sure how it looked like. And to be honest I was not very impressed on reaching the bus stand and checking into my hotel. The weather was amazing sure but the place seemed crowded and underdeveloped for a popular hill station. It was not how I imagined it to be.
However the next day , when I took a day tour by bus (costs you about INR 250 per person) to the popular places in Ooty, my impression about the town changed a lot. Ooty and Coonor have some beautiful gardens , tea estates and lakes.
I visited the Boat house lake, Dodabetta peak, Dolhphins nose, Tea factory and The Ooty Botanical Garden.
Two full days are sufficient to explore Ooty and Coonoor (a lot of the popuplar places are around Coonoor - a town 1 hour's drive from Ooty) .
As i had only 1 full day at disposal i missed out on a few popular places like Wenlock , Pyakara falls, Catherine falls etc .
I would suggest people to skip Dodabetta peak, Dolphins nose/lambs rock and visit Wenlock & Pyakara falls instead. Anyone who is interested in a bit of wildlife exploration can also opt for a visit to Mudumalai tiger reserve . Basically Mudumalai and Bandipur are part of the same Niligiri biosphere, just that Mudumalai lies in TN and Bandipur in Karnataka. Wayand Wildlife sanctuary in Kerala too is a part of the same biosphere.
The next day (last day of the vacation) i had only a few hours to spare and I decided to search for a good café – like something that we see in movies and Instagram pics - picturesque hill side location and a steaming cup of coffee. Unfortunately, I don’t think there are any such cafes in Ooty ☹ Or may be my poor research, I could not find any. I did eventually go to a sweet beautiful café named Le Café. Although it has good food and is probably the best café one can find in Ooty, it falls way short of cafes at Rishikesh or Darjeeling, in terms of the surrounding and the view it has to offer.
My flight back to Mumbai from Coimbatore was late night and I had one final leg of my trip remaining , something I had researched well about- The Nilgiri Mountain Railway - More popularly known as Ooty Toy train. The 46 km railway line is a metre gauge line built by the British in 1908 and is the only rack railway in India (rack railway is a railway which has toothed rail between the bearing rails which engages with a cogwheel under the locomotive, so as to provide traction for climbing steep slopes).
The line runs from Ooty (Udagamandalam) – Coonoor – Mettupalayam and is touted to be one of the most scenic rail routes in India. Ooty is the highest point of the rail route and Mettupalayam ( which is a town about 35 kms from Coimbatore) is at the base of mountain line.
If you visit Ooty - the toy train ride is something you should not miss.
While most tourists from Bangalore/ Mysore do only the stretch between Ooty and Coonoor (and understandable as for people coming from Bangalore , going all the way down to Mettupalayam will take lot more time, as it would involve coming all the way back up to Ooty prior heading back to Mysore / Bangalore), I would still strongly suggest taking the train all the way till Mettupalayam. It is the section between Coonoor and Mettupalayam that has the best of bridges, tunnels, rivers etc. And most importantly the train is hauled by a steam engine on this stretch.
While the above images represent the Coonoor - Mettupalayam stretch , the train traverses the typical beautiful landscape of the Nilgiri with tall eucalyptus tree on the sides on the stretch between Ooty - Coonoor . The train is hauled by a Diesel loco on this part of the line. The section although scenic , fall short in comparison to the Coonoor -Mettupalayam stretch.
To sum it , the entire train journey was very beautiful indeed. A must do!
Through my experience, I have a few tips to offer which I believe will be valuable for anyone planning to take the toy train in Ooty.
1. Book a first class ticket ,and that too well in advance. The tickets for first class is available only through IRCTC (second class tickets are available through IRCTC and as well as through counters on the spot)
A first class will not only be more spacious and comfortable, but it will also give you better chance of a window seat. If I am not mistaken, each row of seating in first class has 4 seats as compared to 6 in a second class. With only 2 seats being window the probability of getting a window seat is higher on a first class.
2. Take the journey in the Ooty – Mettupalayam direction (downhill) as against Mettupalayam- Ooty (uphill). The reason being two fold -
a. Going downhill takes only 3.5 hrs as compared to 5.25 hrs uphill
b. The engine is pulls the train while going downhill while I understand it pushes the train while climbing uphill. Who would want to see a loco at the back with the steam billowing away? Yuck.
3. The best views come on the right side of the journey if going in the direction from Ooty to Mettupalayam (left side during the other direction). Although this is beyond your control, to give myself a better chance of finding a seat on the right side i did my journey by booking tickets seperately ..one for the Ooty- Coonor stretch and one for the Coonor - Mettupalayam stretch and as luck had it ..I got to view both sides of the railway line !
So, do that to have a better chance of finding a window seat towards the more scenic side.
The journey ended at Mettupalayam around 6 pm and after getting down I rushed to Coimbatore airport by taking a cab (the rates are expensive and rigid in TN ☹) .
I had already started feeling bad that my vacation was over and to add salt to the wound, the talk with the cab driver made me feel even worse. No fault of the guy though, he was only being genuine in his advice about a few things that are already are a sour point in my life.
But isn't that what travel is all about? Meeting new people, getting to know their perspective, seeing life in a different way! What I thought to be an unpleasant conversation at the start really turned out to be one with an advice which I hope I can be thankful for one day.
It’s amazing what travel does. Fills your mind with a whirlpool of thoughts, thoughts which never hit you during the busy city life.
Travel leaves you with a bunch of memories and a lot of questions about life. Questions to which you promise yourself to find answers. But will the normal working city life ever allow it?
Hopefully to more such travels.
Travel to live, travel to love and travel to forget. Please travel - Because travelling is therapeutic!
Until then.. Ciao !
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