In order to catch the ‘toy train’ to Ooty we had to
spend a night in Coimbatore, a rather industrial town in the north of Tamil Nadu. After a
relatively quick train journey from Cochi to Coimbatore we had
an afternoon to spare in town. Being a large centre for textiles Jacqui got
excited about going to look in some silk and sari shops. After several attempts
we found the right road and wandered around several huge department stores full
of multicoloured material and pushy sales assistants who wanted to sell us wedding
saris (the most expensive kind of course! for 3,500 rupees each). We had an
early start (5.30am train!) from Coimbatore the next morning to get to Metapuyalam on time for the train to
Ooty at 7.30 am. Even after our super early start, we were still exited to be
catching the Ooty train. The train ride from Metapuyalam to Ooty has been given
world heritage status as this historic tea route is operated by an old
fashioned steam engine. We arrived in Metapuyalam at dawn and immediately we
saw the little steam train that would be puffing its way up the mountain. We
had seats in first class right at the front of the train. We had an excellent
view since the steam engine was actually at the back of the train pushing rather
than at the front pulling. On the way up we had stunning views of the Nilgiri
hills and valleys, of jungle and tea plantations, rivers and animals. We had to
stop regularly, about once an hour, for the engine to be refilled with water.
About half way, at one water/tea stop in a small village in the mountains, we
got off the train to find we were surrounded by hungry monkeys. They obviously
had learnt that train = food. These cheeky monkeys were very bold, stealing
food from people’s hands whilst they weren’t looking, and even drinking left
over tea in cups left standing on the platform.
The train ride was very romantic and a lot of fun but it
was also painfully slow at times, and the train would often stop and wait to
build up steam and momentum before continuing on its way. When we arrived in
Ooty (after 5 hours + 1.30 delay) we staggered off the train into a cool
mountain climate. Ooty used to be a hill station that was established by the British
in order to escape the heat of the south. The government that used to operate
from Chennai would spend the hot months of the year in the hills in Ooty instead
(hence the nicknamed ‘snooty ooty!’). We found a really nice room in the YWCA
(as opposed to the YMCA!) in a little bungalow with a nice view of the
racecourse. Jacqui was very excited that it was cold enough to wear a jumper J. The first evening, wandering around Ooty, we found a really nice
fresh produce market sporting neat piles of fruit and veg amongst many other
things. The produce looked so good that we bought loads of fruit and decided to
have a little picnic dinner at home to try them all. We had avocado, mango,
banana, jungle apple (?) and a fruit that looked like a kiwi fruit but was
brown inside and tasted just like brown sugar! We had an early night and the
next day we went trekking. After a big breakfast we set off for Doda Betta, the
highest peak in south India, around 1,200 m. The first part of the trek took us through Ooty
town. First stop was the famous rose garden. However, as we discovered when we
arrived, that March is not the season for the roses to be in bloom. After a
quick appraisal of the muddy flower beds peppered with crusty bushes we decided
it wasn’t worth the 20 rupee entry fee and we continued on our way. A few
blocks further down the street we walked past a cricket ground. We might have
walked past it if it hadn’t been for the noise. We stopped to see what was
going on, there were surprisingly few people but they were very excited. In the
stalls a group of about 30 girls all wearing the same purple and pink sari were
neatly seated in regular rows. This was the Indian version of cheerleaders. Every
time someone scored a point, a drum would sound over the tannoy along with a
long and complicated explanation of the change in tactics and some cheering
from the purple sari girls. Carrying on up the hill we went old Ooty where we
saw many small and neat multicoloured houses and green fields of carrot, neatly
layered into the side of the hill. The next stop was the tea factory which was
about half way up the hill. We stopped to eat our packed lunch with a great
view of the valley (and we could still hear the cricket match going on down
below!). After lunch we took a short tour of the tea factory, learning about
the history of tea in general as well as its history in India. We
also saw how the tea leaves were prepared and dried, sorted, cut turned and
curled and the equipment that was used during this process. At the end of the
tour, the most important part- a nice fresh (and free!) cup of masala tea J followed by a quick stop in the chocolate factory next door. Fully
recharged, we marched up the rest of the hill, spotting a giant squirrel and
wild jungle fowl. After a last push we made it to the top of the hill. First of
all we were greeted with a car park, then a line of street vendors on the path
up to the entrance of dodda beta. We finally made it to the top and the
panoramic look out point to find the view was totally obscured by think jungle
fog. It was like we were sitting on an island of land floating in clouds. At
least it was refreshingly cold, which was a welcome relief from the sticky heat
of kerala. After our long days walk, we settled back into our little bungalow
for a restful evening.
