9. The Road to Ooty - 26 December 2015

We were up early for the six hour journey to Ooty, a town in the mountains of Tamil Nadu, where we have booked a room at 'Sinclair's Retreat', a hotel at the astonishing height of 8,000 ft.

We had rented a car and driver for the day at what seemed a good price, but unfortunately our man was not having the best of days : The engine overheated requiring several cooling down sessions and then he had a puncture and then he discovered that his spare tyre was not only flat but lacked any visible tread.....   

Luckily this happened in a village just before we reached the hills and the locals all turned out to help. We decided to seek alternative transport and before too long, we were en-route in a robust jeep with good tyres for the long climb into the Masinagudi Tiger Reserve.


We had planned two to three hours in the hills with a Park Ranger in the hope of seeing a  tiger but arrived too late. Luckily we met some Australians who had been there all day and they kindly let us have a short clip of 'their' tiger.

The road up the mountain seemed endless and even the jeep showed signs of  stress as the driver toggled between first and second gears to maintain momentum through the hairpin bends.  Now at sunset, with the cooling temperature, the high cloud, like a mist, was descending slowly into the valleys below.



The mountain road to Ooty climbs at an angle of  35 degrees involving 36 hair raising hairpin bends.






 







 .......... when you get to No. 1 you know you have almost made it. 
The road is not for the faint hearted or those with a fear of heights but when you get to the top the views will take your breath away............. 

 

 

8. Mysore, City of Palaces

Mysore, known as the City of Palaces, sits at the base of the Chamundi Hills in Karnataka State and is crammed with things to see and do - temples, churches, botanical gardens, a zoo, lakes, food markets, an endless jumble of backstreets and traders where it's fun to shop and barter. 

 

There's also the Mysore University, hospitals, dental surgeries, eye clinics and more offering first class medical services. 

 

Maharajah Palace Mysore

Designed by English architect Henry Irwin and completed in 1912. This is the most famous of the seven palaces in the city and official residence of the Maharajas of Mysore who ruled the princely state from 1350 to 1950. 

Within the Botanical garden



Choosing the pictures to add to the blog is difficult as there are just too many good photographic opportunities wherever we go......

Nehru park, Mysore

Our apartment, just off  MG Road (named after Mahatma Ghandi ) overlooks this small park which is a great place to just sit, relax and think.

The local grocery store

The apartment has a good kitchen and this is our nearest supermarket for supplies just a short walk across the road.

Lamb for dinner ?

On our first morning we saw these three sheep being tethered to the railings, where they remained all day, occasionally petted by passing children.  On the second morning there were only two ……

Roast beef is NOT on the menu

Holy Cow! - Hindus respect the cow for her gentle nature.  In honour of their sacred status, cows roam freely everywhere, even among the traffic of Mysore’s busy streets. 

Fresh fruit everywhere - all locally grown and just waiting to be eaten.



Time spent in Mysore : 6 days