Here we are in India! Our first couple of days were spent in Coimbature, an industrial city known as the “Manchester of South India”, not exactly a tourist hang-out. I don’t think that we saw a Westerner during that time. We were pretty intimidated by the extreme heat, the hordes of people, the trash and garbage everywhere, the incessantly honking traffic, the nearly non-existent sidewalks which necessitated taking our chances in the street. In fact, an Indian man whom we met today, referred to Coimbature as “hell”. We paced ourselves there, taking India in small doses and then retreating to the peacefulness of our air con hotel room. As planned, after those 2 days, we set off, out of “hell”, in a hired taxi for the hill station of Ooty, about 60 miles away. (Before you gasp at the extravagance of a taxi for that distance, the cost was $40 for the 2.5 hour trip and seemed to be the only realistic option.)
Coimbature traffic
Going to school on motor scooters in Coimbature. Note how close our taxi is to these riders.
I was just about to try to take a pic of the engines on the other side of the wall (for Matt), when a man came along, shouting that I could get in trouble for taking photos of government equipment! Yikes!
Now that is a loaded scooter!
Our taxi ride from Coimbature to Ooty was memorable! Our driver, Pon, was, in essence, a good driver. But, he was a TAXI driver, which means that he drove like a madman, in and out of traffic, passing slower-moving vehicles, zipping through small towns, avoiding pot-holes and cows, driving way too fast for our comfort. When we came to the area where the road narrowed and the climb into the mountains began, I thought he would slow down. Nooo. He went nearly as fast – and now he was trying to pass on hairpin curves, as does everyone else, honking as they go, as if that will protect them! I also thought that perhaps we would be out of the area of big buses and large trucks. Wrong again. Since there were much bigger cities up in the mountains than I had anticipated, there was just as much need for trucks carrying cement and oil and wood, as well as huge, tightly packed buses for citizens. Needless to say, we were ready for a Kingfisher beer when we arrived. Ah…frustration again. Since this is a Hindu/Muslim nation, beer is not easily accessible (we’re guessing that is the reason). We settled in to our “cottage” for a nice cool glass of (bottled) water!
Close quarters on these narrow roads!
Here we are, nice and close, ready to pass!
Our “cottage” is actually a small apartment, set atop a building with conventional motel rooms underneath. Bruce had seen these “cottages” online, described as having kitchen facilities where we could make coffee in the morning. He had asked for a one-bedroom. We ended up with a two bedroom place with a small sitting room, a dining room, a kitchen, and 2 baths. Anyone want to join us? We have lots of room to spread out and even have 2 tv’s, which carry CNN! (First time we’ve had English TV since we left home!). It is very sunny and looks down onto a small valley neighborhood where we can see Indian life happening. Now for the problems in our little nirvana: no source of cooking/heating for that cup of coffee; variable hot water and water pressure sufficient for showers; fresh linens only after we stripped the bed and took the linens and dirty towels to the manager after a week; rather surly guys on the desk. All in all, we like the location and the space and the owner. So we’ll stay for the next week before we return to Coimbature and then fly to Delhi.
Neighborhood scene from our cottage deck.
Bruce had heard about the hill stations, left over from the British raj, where Brits had escaped from the heat and confusion that is India. They are located in the mountain ranges that spring up, nearly vertically it seems, from the hot plains areas, such as Coimbature. We had heard that Ooty, “Queen of the Hill Stations”, was touristy. In our ego-centric view, we had assumed that “touristy” meant Western tourists - and that a British colonial history and a mountain-top location would translate into a small, quaint town with lots of tea rooms and gardens. (I had even hoped that it wouldn’t be TOO unlike the rest of India.) Not to worry! This is still very much India, though I refer to it as “India Lite”. There are still lots of folks out on the streets all day and evening; lots of traffic rumbling by; a farmer’s market selling all manner of vegetables and fruits; animals such as goats, cows, and horses (even the occasional monkey) wandering around town, eating patches of grass by the roadsides, and leaving their “calling cards” on the sidewalks and streets. There are old folks and amputees and one horribly burned fellow begging. I gave one old gent our doggie bag one day and quite surprised him, I think.
However, unlike the rest of India, the temperatures are actually rather cool, especially in the windy shade. We’ve been sleeping with 3 blankets on our bed, and we’ve pulled out our jeans for the first time since we left home in January. There are tourists here, after all, but most of them are from other parts of South India, escaping the heat just like the Brits had done. It’s also something of a honeymoon destination. It makes sense that families and honeymooners would come here for the relatively clean air and the clear starry night skies and the lovely, huge botanical garden and surrounding forests. Ooty is the capital of the Nilgiris District which encompasses other hill station cities. It is located in the state of Tamilnadu. Perhaps by Indian standards, Ooty is small, but it has a population of about 90,000 . Coimbature is a much larger city of 2 million people, and perhaps that is why I have seen Ooty referred to as a “township”. The area is famous for producing Nilgiris teas and for its homemade chocolates! We are enjoying both!
Cow on the main street of Ooty. Note the scooter rider talking on his cell.
Downtown Ooty.
We have been a little surprised by the number of churches here, though considering the British influence, perhaps we shouldn’t have been. I have not seen any Buddhist temples and only a couple of Hindu places of worship. Being totally ignorant about public worship among Hindis, it’s something I’m going to have to research.
Union Church, next door to our cottage. We attended services here yesterday on Palm Sunday.
A religious parade that we happened upon. Note the pots of fire being carried in the crowd.
Hindu temple near the parade.
Research, in the modern Internet way, is difficult. For the first time since we left home in September, we have no wifi! This is one of the many ironies of modern India. There are so many technology wizards being trained here and exported to the United States (including our friend, Muthu) and yet the Internet infrastructure is rather lacking. So, we are becoming familiar with “browsing centers” in Ooty and have found one that we like. However, it takes patience and persistence to get anything done, as the power is shut off all over the city between 8-10am and 2-4pm each day. It seems to be accepted that more power is needed in Coimbature, where there is more industry and where there is need for air conditioning. (No need for air con here!) In Coimbature, we found the electrical power cutting out for a few seconds only, but happening every hour or so. Apparently there is just not enough electrical power to meet the demands of so many people and so many businesses. A nuclear power plant is planned, but, as in the rest of the world, it is controversial and is being blocked by protesters at the moment.
So, that is our first taste of India, a fascinating place, full of sights and experiences too numerous to include in our blog. Despite the somewhat gruff interactions with some of the people, we’ve also had some absolutely lovely encounters with others. I’ll write about these soon!
Coimbature traffic
Going to school on motor scooters in Coimbature. Note how close our taxi is to these riders.
I was just about to try to take a pic of the engines on the other side of the wall (for Matt), when a man came along, shouting that I could get in trouble for taking photos of government equipment! Yikes!
Our taxi ride from Coimbature to Ooty was memorable! Our driver, Pon, was, in essence, a good driver. But, he was a TAXI driver, which means that he drove like a madman, in and out of traffic, passing slower-moving vehicles, zipping through small towns, avoiding pot-holes and cows, driving way too fast for our comfort. When we came to the area where the road narrowed and the climb into the mountains began, I thought he would slow down. Nooo. He went nearly as fast – and now he was trying to pass on hairpin curves, as does everyone else, honking as they go, as if that will protect them! I also thought that perhaps we would be out of the area of big buses and large trucks. Wrong again. Since there were much bigger cities up in the mountains than I had anticipated, there was just as much need for trucks carrying cement and oil and wood, as well as huge, tightly packed buses for citizens. Needless to say, we were ready for a Kingfisher beer when we arrived. Ah…frustration again. Since this is a Hindu/Muslim nation, beer is not easily accessible (we’re guessing that is the reason). We settled in to our “cottage” for a nice cool glass of (bottled) water!
Close quarters on these narrow roads!
Here we are, nice and close, ready to pass!
Our “cottage” is actually a small apartment, set atop a building with conventional motel rooms underneath. Bruce had seen these “cottages” online, described as having kitchen facilities where we could make coffee in the morning. He had asked for a one-bedroom. We ended up with a two bedroom place with a small sitting room, a dining room, a kitchen, and 2 baths. Anyone want to join us? We have lots of room to spread out and even have 2 tv’s, which carry CNN! (First time we’ve had English TV since we left home!). It is very sunny and looks down onto a small valley neighborhood where we can see Indian life happening. Now for the problems in our little nirvana: no source of cooking/heating for that cup of coffee; variable hot water and water pressure sufficient for showers; fresh linens only after we stripped the bed and took the linens and dirty towels to the manager after a week; rather surly guys on the desk. All in all, we like the location and the space and the owner. So we’ll stay for the next week before we return to Coimbature and then fly to Delhi.
Neighborhood scene from our cottage deck.
Bruce had heard about the hill stations, left over from the British raj, where Brits had escaped from the heat and confusion that is India. They are located in the mountain ranges that spring up, nearly vertically it seems, from the hot plains areas, such as Coimbature. We had heard that Ooty, “Queen of the Hill Stations”, was touristy. In our ego-centric view, we had assumed that “touristy” meant Western tourists - and that a British colonial history and a mountain-top location would translate into a small, quaint town with lots of tea rooms and gardens. (I had even hoped that it wouldn’t be TOO unlike the rest of India.) Not to worry! This is still very much India, though I refer to it as “India Lite”. There are still lots of folks out on the streets all day and evening; lots of traffic rumbling by; a farmer’s market selling all manner of vegetables and fruits; animals such as goats, cows, and horses (even the occasional monkey) wandering around town, eating patches of grass by the roadsides, and leaving their “calling cards” on the sidewalks and streets. There are old folks and amputees and one horribly burned fellow begging. I gave one old gent our doggie bag one day and quite surprised him, I think.
However, unlike the rest of India, the temperatures are actually rather cool, especially in the windy shade. We’ve been sleeping with 3 blankets on our bed, and we’ve pulled out our jeans for the first time since we left home in January. There are tourists here, after all, but most of them are from other parts of South India, escaping the heat just like the Brits had done. It’s also something of a honeymoon destination. It makes sense that families and honeymooners would come here for the relatively clean air and the clear starry night skies and the lovely, huge botanical garden and surrounding forests. Ooty is the capital of the Nilgiris District which encompasses other hill station cities. It is located in the state of Tamilnadu. Perhaps by Indian standards, Ooty is small, but it has a population of about 90,000 . Coimbature is a much larger city of 2 million people, and perhaps that is why I have seen Ooty referred to as a “township”. The area is famous for producing Nilgiris teas and for its homemade chocolates! We are enjoying both!
Cow on the main street of Ooty. Note the scooter rider talking on his cell.
We have been a little surprised by the number of churches here, though considering the British influence, perhaps we shouldn’t have been. I have not seen any Buddhist temples and only a couple of Hindu places of worship. Being totally ignorant about public worship among Hindis, it’s something I’m going to have to research.
Union Church, next door to our cottage. We attended services here yesterday on Palm Sunday.
A religious parade that we happened upon. Note the pots of fire being carried in the crowd.
Hindu temple near the parade.
Research, in the modern Internet way, is difficult. For the first time since we left home in September, we have no wifi! This is one of the many ironies of modern India. There are so many technology wizards being trained here and exported to the United States (including our friend, Muthu) and yet the Internet infrastructure is rather lacking. So, we are becoming familiar with “browsing centers” in Ooty and have found one that we like. However, it takes patience and persistence to get anything done, as the power is shut off all over the city between 8-10am and 2-4pm each day. It seems to be accepted that more power is needed in Coimbature, where there is more industry and where there is need for air conditioning. (No need for air con here!) In Coimbature, we found the electrical power cutting out for a few seconds only, but happening every hour or so. Apparently there is just not enough electrical power to meet the demands of so many people and so many businesses. A nuclear power plant is planned, but, as in the rest of the world, it is controversial and is being blocked by protesters at the moment.
So, that is our first taste of India, a fascinating place, full of sights and experiences too numerous to include in our blog. Despite the somewhat gruff interactions with some of the people, we’ve also had some absolutely lovely encounters with others. I’ll write about these soon!
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