Every Nook and Coonoor. Review on Coonoor

Bob Marley's "Rainbow Country" rings in my ear when I think of Lamb's rock at Coonoor. I had never looked down from an altitude and found a perfect semi-circle of seven colors before. As we approached the place we were disappointed to see the entire place thickly covered with mist but having come so far we stuck around. Slowly, heaven unfolded before us.

The mist cleared, warm rays of sunshine came through, there was a very light drizzle briefly and Lo! there was a rainbow. As we rode in a rickshaw (the most famous Indian three wheeler) we passed long stretches of cool hilly gardens. The aroma of tea blending in the fresh air was intoxicating. A mystifying experience of near perfection. Perfect weather. Perfect time. Perfect place. Perfect partner. Did I say near perfection before?? Nah! You couldn't ask for more. :-)

On second thougths....maybe better roads and cleanliness in the place. I personally felt that the transportation and food were a rip off but thinking hard I realised that tourists were their main source of income. if they let go of tourists without hard sell that means an uncalled loss of income.

The interesting part is that Coonoor is not really a very far off place from Bangalore but terrible roads from Bandipur to Ooty to Coonoor has made the road journey tough to enjoy any scenic beauty en route. if you are a kannadiga you will be pleasently surprised to find many of the rickshawalas talking in Kannada. Mind you! They can easily pass off as Tamilians as they speak the local language excellently.

As a vegetarian it was tough to enjoy food as most places had a mix of Veg and Non Veg food. We read the most hilarious menu cards (Sorry! Since I am in the area of communications I could not but help proof read all the menu cards). One had 'Lips-matching Soups'. Guess what they were trying to say? "Lip Smacking soup". Phew! Everytime we had to find a restaurant of our liking we would resign to the fact it would be a long trek. Nice to build your appetite though.

The tea garden experience is surely a must for every tea lover. You will love your daily cuppa even more! I bought almost every flavor of tea they sold there. Maybe I am just a weak customer :-).

As far as our one-day trip to Ooty goes...Phfft! Dirty roads in the south indian queen of honey mooning places. Poor choices to eat! Couple of years ago we used packed Rotis with Achar and survived not knowing how slim the choices had become by now. Imagine how it is in 2007?!

Sometimes you feel saddened how large industrial houses ruin your surroundings. But Tata's Taj Garden retreat retains the splendid beauty of the little hill station within its limits. A lovely colonial building with a neat garden and path to walk. Bicycles lined up for children to go around the Hotel. I couldn't resist. So I mounted a bike and soon lost my balance. My partner rode his own with ease and left me gazing at him lovingly.

We had booked for a 3 day visit. On staying there for 2 days we decided to extend our trip by one more day. On the last day we signed out after a luscious breakfast and black tea. Off we were, to another city . It is called our hometown. Just another city in this great country.