The Enchanting Kodagu 2006

As the curtains came down to the year 2006 , a bit dramatic on the personal front, it was a perfect time to end the self imposed travel drought. My middleware EAI products training got over in time for a well deserved long overdue vacation.

Initially a drive to Ooty was on the cards. But owing to the swarms of people who would throng Ooty and the uncontrollable chill, the plan shifted to the Enchanting Kodagu aka Scotland of India.

Sunil the finance manager, Nithin the public relations manager, Sharath the facilities manager and yours truly Karthik the transport & events manager were the comrades of the tour christened as The Enchanting Kodagu 2006.

Day 1 - December 22 Friday

I promptly woke up despite the chill December cold even before my alarm could go off at 5 AM and alerted the other guys who were cozily asleep in different parts of the city. It did not take me much time to get ready and after the customary advice from my parents I vroomed off in my Maruthi Esteem.

At 6-30 AM in the Mysore road all of us were together in the car and we left Bangalore en route Destination Kodagu. The drive on the Mysore Highway is top class and its just plain cruising all the way. We reached Ramanagara in no time where we stopped at the Kamath Hotel for our breakfast.

After energizing ourselves we resumed and stopped over at my granny’s place in Chennapatna for a few minutes. It was here that I realized that I had forgotten my camera data cable . As luck would have it Sharath offered to pick up his Memory card Reader from his place in Mandya which was on the way. This was real good news for me as we could transfer all the photos on to the laptop without having to worry about the constraints of the memory card capacity.

The drive until Mysore was real smooth and from Mysore we took the Mysore - Hunsur ring road towards Coorg. We were occupied with good music and lively conversations throughout. Driving to Coorg was refreshing at the same time a challenging experience. But this was just the beginning...

At around 12 noon we reached Bylakuppe. Starting from this place all throughout Kodagu the teak wood trees are very prominent.



Bylakuppe was earlier a Tibetan camp, which now has a full fledged settlement. We could see the surroundings changing with boards appearing in Tibetian scripts and the typical colorful long flags appearing all around.



The Golden Temple monastery has very nicely landscaped garden and well maintained lawns. The huge deities and colorful paintings all around the temple are mesmerizing





The roads in Bylkuppe had speed breakers every few meters , I do not know for what joy? We had lunch in one of the Tibetian restaurants and the cuisine was not worth any special mention. After some conversations with the local Tibetian salesgirls in one of the handicraft shops much to the astonishment of Sunil & Sharath we made a move to Nisargadhama which is about 4 Kms off Khushalnagar.

We walked over a hanging bridge across a small watershed to reach Nisargadhama. It is an island populated with bamboo thickets



We strolled around the island and played in the swings tied to the tall trees. There were a lot of deer's in the interiors.



A ten minute elephant ride cost ten bucks. We decided not to go but to stay down and witness some romantic proposals going on atop the Jumbo amongst a college crowd.



Nithin and me being regular morning joggers couldn’t resist running here. At around 4 PM we were out of here and after quenching our thirst with tender coconuts we drove towards our Base Camp.



Gundicoppa Estate, about 17 Kms from Khushalnagar was our base for the next two days. I had booked this very scenic home stay after being referred to by my dad's friend who himself owns an estate in Siddapur. The drive on the mud roads lined with tall trees forming a natural canopy , coupled with some nice tracks playing in my car CD and garnished with numerous anecdotes from all of us was an ideal relaxing dose for the wearied minds.



As we drove through the gates into the estate, two dachshunds greeted us . For a moment I thought it was my dog. We were warmly welcomed by the Estate assistant manager / cook Edwin.



After settling down in our room and finalising the dinner menu Nithin , Sharath and myself set out for another round of jogging amidst mother nature at its best. We ventured out a bit far into the woods and from nowhere we encountered an Oxen whose bellow was like the roar of a tiger. I must admit that I was caught off guard, but so were the other two guys.



When we came back amidst laughter and denials about the ' frightening ' incident we found our friend Sunil relaxing in the hammock after a refreshing bath. The sun had set down and darkness had engulfed the estate. This time we recognized him from a distance and there was no scope for any more frights.



All of us freshened up with a relaxing bath and packed ourselves with woolens to counter the much talked about Kodagu chill. But we were disappointed as the chill did not match the hyped description. It was more of a pleasant cool breeze under the dark sky illuminated with a million stars and I am not exaggerating here, I hadn’t seen so many stars ever in my life. Unfortunately I could not capture the scene due to lack of knowledge. I tried a long shutter speed & ISO 400 but in vain.

We kicked off the celebrations with some vodka and this was for celebrating the close of the year and many fruitful incidents in our individual lives during the course of the year 2006. It was fun for the next 2 hours with wagging tongues and we were having a great time. We laughed on this Bangh intoxication episode experienced by the great Providien team in the premises of Accenture. The incident was graphically narrated by Sharath who was in full form. This was the first time that Sunil was introduced into alcohol and I bet his body would tolerate two full bottles of vodka. But the guy gave up after a few sips quoting parental control as a lame reason. I have lost the appetite for liquor after the now famous (amongst my friends circle) Booze party in my house sometime in April 2006. So I did not venture into top gear.



After a delicious meal we retired in our room in anticipation of a new and more exciting day. Sharu's laptop served as an apt entertainer and we did not feel that we were out of Bangalore. We were having the best of both worlds - technology & nature.

Day 2 - December 23 Saturday

I woke up early expecting thick fog outside and an unbearable chill. But it was just like our own Banaglore. The hill opposite to the estate presented a picturesque view. This photo and the word Picturesque ' do not do justice to the real visual beauty of the place.



This is a view from the Tree house in the estate. Surprisingly I was the only one to climb here in the three days we were there



After getting ready we left for Madikeri at 7 AM. The drive from Gundicoppa estate - Somwarpet to Madikeri is a real treat to any driving freak. It was fantastic. The song uyirin uyire a track from the Tamil movie Ghazni (though all of us were staunch Kannadadigas) was a constant every single morning. This peppy song along with Nithin's static body dances were a whacky combo.



The experience of driving through the hills and the valleys interlaced with some of the finest estates (including the Tata coffee estate) in the area were a treat to the eyes.





We reached Abbey falls. To reach the falls we walked through a private estate. The morning rays of the sun were trying to sneak in throughout the gaps of the tall trees. It was the perfect time to be there.



We trekked to the bottom of the falls and did not indulge in too much of heroics as in trying to get into the water and to the top of the falls.



Sharu wanted to be photographed in various angles in order to get a master shot.



We had skipped our breakfast to get here early. The sugarcane juice that we had on our return from the falls intensified our hunger. Postponing the breakfast we moved towards Talakaveri, the origin of the river Kaveri which is the pride of the people of Karnataka. Driving through the winding roads and the treacherous narrow uphill paths we reached Talakaveri.



In Talakaveri we had a taste of the holy kaveri water / theertha. As per the local puranas, every year on a particular day and at a particular time the river Kaveri springs out and gives Darshana to her devotees. This is on 17th October every year. That day is known as Tula Sankramana.

Later we trekked up the Bramhagiri peaks which borders the Kerala state.





This place Brahmagiri parvatha is supposedly where Lord Brahma had come on an excursion to earth and performed meditation. Another belief is that Saptha Rishis had gone for a penance here and obtained Moksha.



I heard that we could see Kudremukh, Chamundi Hills of Mysore and Vainad hills of Malbar. But we couldn’t identify them individually.



We were perched high on the top looking at the world below and discussing worldly matters. This one was shot using a self timer.



On our wayback from Talakaveri we had a very simple but satisfying lunch in a roadside (still on the hills) Mangalore hotel . The two mangloor belles were very sweet and hospitable. When we are hungry even the most simplest of meals looks like some exotic cuisine.



In the early evening we stopped over at Raja's Seat in Madikeri. We did not witness the supposedly beautiful sunset as i wanted to avoid driving in the night. Other than that there was nothing special about this place. I had presumed that we could get a glimpse of the Arabian sea with the aid of binoculars. I remember having read this somewhere. From a few locals around I heard that we could have seen the sea from the Bramhagiri hills. A madikeri blogger journo friend claims that it is not the Rajas seat nor the Brahmagiri estate but a particular view point from her estate four kilometers from Madikeri. Would have loved to see that though.



After refueling in Madikeri we drove back on the scenic winding roads every now and then coming across the beautiful Mapillays (Malyali muslims) who were Nithins favourites. We reached the estate at about 5 PM. After savoring the authentic Coorgi pandi curry we retired for the night in the comforts of our room.



Day 3 - December 24 Sunday

I woke up leisurely at 6 AM and played with the two Dachshunds Coffee and Cookie. Coffee the brown dachshund bitch looks so much like my Browny.



I met an elderly gentleman who had come down for the first time to this part of India. He had been working for the last 35 years in a government office in Delhi. Those were the good old days of our parents where people used to stick to a single company for an entire lifetime.



Nithin and myself decided to walk to the Golf course which was 4 Kms away from the estate.



It was a very beautiful sight with the vast open space in front of us and the morning breeze and silence everywhere. It was truly mesmerizing experience and if we were poets we would have played with words and penned the best of poems.





The atmosphere stirred Nithin’s emotions and he was shouting out in full glory remembering his long loved girl. Suddenly we were inspired to jog back to the estate without stopping anywhere and we did so with surprisingly no resistance from the body.



After tasty breakfast comprising of akki rotti and capsicum palya we left to the Dubare Elephant Camp 13 Kms from Kushalnagar. We took a motor boat to the other side of the river towards the Dubare forests. The Mysore Dasara elephants are housed here.



There was nothing much to do here except watching the elephants bathe in the water.





The best part of Dubare was when we walked back across the river. The entire experience was exciting and challenging though to a very little extent. Sharath going to the extent of hanging his boots around his neck to get the best shot.



For a change I am the model here and Sharath playing the role of the photographer.



On reaching the other side we immediately left back to the estate. We were tempted to go to the Kannada version of the Bollywood sizzler Murder named Ganda Hendthi mathhu Boyfriend which many say would shy even the daring Mallika Sherawath. Failing to come to an unanimous decision on this one we decided to go back to the estate and enjoy a dip in the pool under the bright mid day sun.





After a wonderful time in the pool we satiated our hungry tummies with a yummy lunch. We relaxed for sometime watching a titillating Madonna starred Body of Evidence.



This being the final evening of our stay we explored the estate and drove down to the golf course in the evening.







That was a wonderful view of the scenic Somwarpet.





We packed our bags and got ready to head back to Bangalore on the next day. After dinner we watched the flick American Pie 2.



Day 4 - December 25 Monday

We woke up early on the Christmas day and after clearing the bills we left for Bangalore at 7 AM.



Gundicoppa Estate would remain in our minds for a long time to come. It provided the ideal setting for a stay in the Enchanting Kodagu. I am sure no other home stay would have been so scenic or if not better than this. I will definitely come back here sometime down the line in my journey of life.



We reached Mysore at 9 -30 am. After breakfast and a stroll in Kukrahalli Kere , dropped Nithin to his place in Mysore and started back to Bangalore.





Sharath got off at Mandya , and from here it was just Sunil and me all way till Bangalore. We reached Bangalore at 1-30 PM. As they say all good things have to come to an end, so was our trip which finally concluded at the same place from where we had started. It was very memorable and well spent holiday. The 800 odd Kilometers drive was just a bonus for me. Thank you fellow comrades!!!