After the high-octane trip to Rameshwaram and Danushkodi the previous day; everyone needed more time to rejuvenate themselves. For the first time in the last few days; we all got the privilege to wake up at our usual time of 7:00 A.M. We went to a nearby hotel and had breakfast at 9:30 A.M and started on our return journey to Palakkad around 10:00 A.M. The journey was uneventful compared to our trips over the past few days. Again, we avoided the Sempatti route and went to Dindigul and from there to Pazhani. We had missed the Thiruvavirumkudi Kulanthai Velayuthar swami temple during our previous trip to Pazahani. We decided to make amends and visit the temple this time. This temple is actually the third Arupadai veedu of Lord Muruga. We parked our car near the temple and got a very good darshan of the deity. We decided to skip visiting the hill temple as we had gone there only a month back. Secondly, there was lot of rush as the Sabarimala season had started. We started our journey from Pazhani around 1:00 P.M and reached Pollachi by 2:00 P.M. We had lunch at hotel Ramanujam near the Pollachi bus stand and decided to go to my wife’s ancestral home at Somantharai, Chithur. We also went to the coconut grove and had the customary tender coconuts. We had a competition on how many tender coconuts (water) we can drink and the maximum count was four which was shared by me and my wife’s cousin Prashant. Both Prashant and Vignesth wanted to go to Coimbatore for a New Year party; so, we dropped them at the Pollachi bus stand and continued our journey to Palakkad. We reached Palakkad around 6:30 P.M. The total distance covered in these six days was 2248 k.m
Welcomed the New Year by being at my home doing nothing. This was deliberate as we had to embark on our last leg of the GWT the next day. So, basically used up the day to recharge our drained batteries.
DAY 8
We started our return journey to Bangalore. However, we did not taking our usual route. We took the Ooty-Mysore-Bangalore route with a stop over at Ooty. We started from Palakkad at 7:00 A.M. We reached Coimbatore and took the Metupalayam road. Traffic was very heavy and we were only able to at speeds of 30-40 km/h till Karamadai. From, there the situation improved. After Metupalayam; you need to take a right turn towards Ooty (NH 67). The straight road goes to Kothagiri (SH 15). We noticed a barricade at the right turn with space left for only a LMV to get through. In Bangalore, this means that heavy vehicles are not allowed and only LMV is allowed. This is the fool proofing done by Karnataka police. So, I took the same meaning and squeezed the Tata safai through the barricade by the folding the mirrors. The roads were very good and the ghat sections start in a few kilometers after crossing a metallic covered bridge. After traveling, more than 10 kilometers in the ghat section road; we were told by a vehicle coming in the opposite direction that the road is closed because of the landslides near Coonoor couple of months ago and the police will ask you to turn back. Maybe, this was the real reason for putting the half open barricades after Metupalayam. For prospective travelers in this route; I would recommend you to make some enquiries near the NH 67 junction before taking that route. Later, I got information from a cab driver in Ooty that if you pay 50 bucks; then the police will let you use the road till Coonoor. I cannot vouch for the authenticity of this information; but risk takers can take it was the Coonoor route is very short when compared to the alternate route via Kothagiri. Coming back to our journey: I decided to take a U turn in the narrow ghat section road (My bad) without thinking that mine was a diesel car. As usual, I had put the car in reverse, to complete the turn. However, as the road was narrow; I had to go to the left side of the road where there was an open fall to some 1000 ft below to the ravines. After that, when I put in the first gear; it was not responding and in one second; the car went back and was closer by 1 metre to the ravines. In panic, I did not think of putting the car in hand brake and revving it above 2000 rpm and then releasing the hand brake. Still, sanity prevailed as I stopped and put the brakes; then put two stones behind the back wheels and then took the car. I was to know the disadvantage of diesel cars in hill stations later. I really learnt the perils of driving a diesel vehicle in ghat section roads. Now, I can really empathize with the bus and lorry drivers who drive on the opposite lanes at hair pin bends in ghat section roads. We had to go all the way down to outskirts of Metupalayam and take the SH 15 road towards Kothagiri. This detour increased the distance by another 60 km which translates into 2 hours in the ghat section roads. Going to Kothagiri is a never ending climb which will become steeper and steeper as you cover more distance. We witnessed an accident on the way. I vouched that I would never drive on the opposite side of the road and overtake in those turns. Finally, we reached Kothagiri and took the right turn towards Ooty which was still around 30 km from Kothagiri. Finally, we reached a five way junction with roads to Ooty, Dodabeta peak, Coonoor and Kalhatty (and obviously the one coming from Kothagiri). From there we took the Ooty road and decided to go to the Tea Factory and Museum. Once you, pay and enter; a person will explain the tea manufacturing process (In English or Tamil) and then take you around the factory. You will be able to see the individual manufacturing processes. Finally, on your way out; you will be given a complimentary cup of tea. You can also buy different types/grades of tea from there.
Near the Tea Factory and Tea Museum: 8600 ft above MSL
We had lunch after that and proceeded to the hotel where we had booked for accommodation. The Lake View hotel is very much near the lake and the cottages were excellent. We thought it was a steal of a deal to get a cottage for Rs. 1500. I was not in a mood to drive the big car around the narrow alleys in Ooty and find parking spaces. So, we took a taxi for Rs. 650 for four hours. I was surprised to see that all the taxis in Ooty were Hyundai Santros. I got to know from our taxi driver that diesel cars like Indica et all will be very expensive to maintain in hill stations as there will be more starts and stops and mostly the driving will be in the higher gears. Our first destination was the Botanical gardens. It is a very beautiful place. However, me, my wife, her cousin and her uncle all had similar interests when it came to Botany and we finished the seeing the gardens in 30 minutes. Our next destination was the Dodabeta peak. This place is open only from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. However, we reached there on the nick of time just before 5:00 PM and somehow were able to squeeze through. Dodabeta peak is the highest peak in South India with an elevation of 8640 ft. We went to the Wax Museum which was good but cannot give any competition to Madame Tussad’s. We went to the shopping center near Charring Cross and had dinner after the shopping spree. We reached our hotel by 8:30 P.M. All of us were bushed after a long day and we all retired to bed around 9:30 P.M.
DAY 9
We woke up around 7:00 A.M. Had breakfast at 8:00 AM and was on our way by 8:30 AM. There are two ways to go to Mysore from Ooty. Both the routes intersect at the Mudhumalai national park. The first route is through Masinagudi. This is the route with the very famous 36 hair pin bends. Commercial vehicles are not permitted through this route and the distance from Ooty to Mudhumalai is around 36 km. The latter route is through Gudalur and from there; you need to take the right turn towards Mudhumalai. I took the latter route as I wanted to cover the Shooting Medu, Pine forest and the Pykara dam which are on the way. We did quick stops at all these places. At shooting medu, I ran to the top and then felt that I was having a cardiac arrest as the oxygen craving body did not get sufficient oxygen.
Me and My Wife @ Shooting Medu near Pykara
When we reached Gudalur; we thought we were back in Kerala. Everything was written in Malayalam. I had to double check whether we passed any state border. We found the reason for that very soon. Gudalur is a very big junction town with separate roads to go to Sultan Bathery, Wayanad (42 km), Ooty (65 km), Calicut (109 km) and Mysore (121 km). We took the right turn towards Mysore and reached the Mudhumalai. Very soon, we crossed the Karnataka border and reached the Bandhipur national park. We were lucky enough to see a deer herd near a water hole. We stopped our car and took some pictures in Vignesh’s black berry (Unfortunately, the snaps were not very good).
Deer herd @ Bandhipur (I did warn you about the pictures)
We traversed through Gundulpet where the roads were very bad (The road work was going on and in a single lane, traffic from both sides need to go) and then Nanjangund and finally we reached the heritage city Mysore. We did not stop at any place in Mysore. We took the ring road which was really a bad idea as we had go around 22 km in the ring road. The alternative is to come through the city which is much better and faster than taking the ring road. I have done multiple trips to Mysore and will publish a consolidated post from all the trips. We reached the four laned SH 17 connecting Mysore to Bangalore and whizzed through Srirangapatna and Mandya (Sugar city). We had lunch in Maddur. This place is very famous for Maddur vadaa and we all had that along with our lunch. We bought some Chanapatna toys for our daughter from a nearby shop and was on our way again in an hour’s time. We passed through Chanapatna (Toy city) and Ramanagara (Silk city) to reach the suburbs of Bangalore. We decided to take the NICE road. The NICE road is 99% complete now. We had pay toll of Rs 29 till Bannarghetta road. After that, we had to take a small detour which will again connect to NICE road. The toll from there to Hosur road was Rs 15. We reached Hosur road and took the turn towards Kudulu village and from there to Sarjapur road. From there, Outer Ring Road-Marathahalli-Brookfields-Hoodi. We reached our house at around 3:30 P.M. Here ends the Grand Winter Trip chronicles and hopefully I will be able to pen some new travelogues very soon.
