Vaikunta ' Heaven ' on Earth

Had been to ooty with my colleague - oops manager Matt - Mathew Fuchs, who had been down to Bangalore from Charlotte. My colleague n good friends Ashutosh and Nithin too came along. We left Bangalore straight from Matts hotel - The windsor sheraton in a ford Ikon driven by Srinivas who was a jovial fellow all along the trip.We left for Mysore on saturday Jan 15 2005.Dropped into my village on the way n had tender coconuts . Had a quick whirlwind visit of mysore n left for ooty on the same day. The drive to ooty through the bandipur forest reserve - the very forest which was ruled by the now late brigand Veerappan ., was an experience in its own way. Saw deers , a baby elephant n a wild boar.Reached ooty at about 1 am in the night .The place where this photo was taken is known as Dodda Betta or the big mountain. It provided many classic views of Udhagamandalam