February 13, 2015
VALPARAI to COONOOR - 207km
Kumar's Mountain View Cottage 1500R ($23.50), including breakfast, hot shower, small fridge & wifi

 
Dave's Birthday Started Out Early 
 
We were awoken at 6:30 am by shrill music recordings. I suspected it was for religious purposes. From our window, we could see a steady stream of worshipers doing their knee bends and prayers at the small temple next door. 

To make matters worse, clouds of noxious fumes drifted into our open windows. Time to burn trash, I guessed. 
 
We showered and enjoyed eggs and toast in the small restaurant and then packed up. Those guys sure tried to please. At 9:30, we were on our way. 

 
Next Stop, Nilgiri Hills
 
The next mountains north are the Nilgiri (Blue) Hills. We had decided to head for Kottagiri, one of two smaller villages that sounded more inviting than the big and highly touted Ooty. All are cool hill stations and we appreciate the cool weather;)

The only way out of the Valpari high valley was to backtrack about 54 kilometers through some of the most gorgeous terrain on earth. That was no punishment at all. We motored past miles of emerald green tea plantations, draped over the steep hill sides, after which we descended the hair raising and spectacular 40 hairpins and the Aaliyar Tiger Reserve.

A graphic signboard warned us that elephants have the right away. We would have been delighted to have had the opportunity to yield for them. A signboard with a drawing of a hit tiger cub reminds traffic to slow down. 


Family of Monkeys
 
Again, most wildlife eluded us. Midway down the hairpins, we came to trees filled with monkeys. We got a kick out of two monkey mothers, with their babies, who were happy to pose for us. 
 
Our Pulsar performed like a champ, with our big load, up and down these perilous roads. And we're loving the ultimate freedom. 
 

Hot Hazy Plain

It was a bit hazier today than yesterday. All too soon, we hit the heat of the plains. Still, it was quite beautiful to drive between acres and acres of coconut and banana palms. Plenty small villages made up of simple homes often with one or two walls made of the woven palm fronds we watched ladies make yesterday. 

We stopped for a coffee and Kolfi, homemade ice cream served on a stick-like lolly. We bought some passion fruit and cucumbers from a road stand and got sorely overcharged. But I felt for the lady, sitting there all day in the hot sun. I pulled a BIG NO NO when I inadvertently handed payment to the lady with my left hand. I was clueless when she refused to accept it. She kept pointing to my right hand. Finally the light-bulb went on. I was embarrassed and then I handed her the money correctly, from my 'clean' hand. She waved it over her heart, then over her unsold fruit. All was well. 
 
 
....It took us a good hour and a half to make it through the spread out city of Coimbatore with it's endless chaotic traffic. Miraculously, Dave maneuvered unscathed through the mess.

The parking lot of "Oasis" restaurant in Mettupalayam was overflowing with cars and motorcycles. We took that as a good sign and stopped for lunch. Who knows what we would find in the smaller villages? We had driven 140 km to get this far.


Ascension to 1800 Meters (5905 feet)

Soon thereafter, we ascended again high above the plains into the Nilgiri Hills, cool mountains high above the hot plain. We had no hotel reservation and figured that we didn't need to worry midweek. Some fancy resorts were advertised on billboards but we hoped to find a cozy little B&B. 

We neared Kottagiri, the highest, oldest, and smallest (pop 29777) of the hill station villages. It didn't seem to have a true town center. It's pastel colored houses were spread out over a hill across the valley. But soon, it became apparent that it was attractive only from a distance. The few budget hotels in Kottagiri looked uninviting, with dirty windows and faded tattered drapes. 
 
The Nilgiri Hills are known for tribal groups that have been left pretty much alone for hundreds of years. Some women, returning from the tea field at the end of the day, looked like they might be tribal women with an updated wardrobe. Since we were in Kotagiri, we assumed they were Kota tribe. They did not speak English but we all smiled and nodded while wishing we could communicate more.  

We continued through town and found a nice looking Orange Pekoe Hotel with great views over the tea estates. At 3500 Rs ($55), we decided to skip it and aimed for Coonoor, about 20 km up the road. It was nearing 5 pm and getting down right cold as the sun dropped from view. We stopped and for the first time this trip dug out our polartec tops. 

 
Second Option, Coonoor

We put Serenity Manor in our cross-hairs which had great reviews on booking.com. The only clue we had was that it was a 20 minute walk out of town. Dave's cell had only intermittent reception, and after driving up and down the entrance of Coonoor, we finally were able to zero in on an address. We found the small side street. But no name was posted on any of the lovely homes. Dave was able to find the house number on booking.com and it showed they had rooms available. As we pulled up in front of the open gate, we were impressed with this homestay. Sadly, no one answered the door. Dave tried to book the room but the site would not confirm. Then he lost the connection. 
 

Second Choice, Kumar's Mountain Cottage
 
   
We had driven past another lovely place, and Dave's second choice, Kumar's Mountain View Cottage. We were greeted like long lost relatives by William and shown a very homey and spacious room. William then opened another room and gave me a big smile, "Why don't you move into this room". It was no doubt an upgrade and I exclaimed "That's perfect. Its Dave's birthday". 

Outside the rooms was a comfortable sitting area and upstairs, on the third floor and roof terrace, was the dining area. Stephen, the cook, who spoke perfect English, came out and introduced himself and asked what we'd like for dinner and at what time. Veg and not spicy we told him. And we went down to clean up and relax. It had been a long day in the saddle. 

 
Surprise Cake   
  
We immediately felt at home. All refreshed, we went to the roof terrace restaurant and enjoyed a hot cup of coffee. William and Stephen suddenly appeared with big grins on their faces and put a birthday cake in front of Dave. What a surprise. That's how we started with desert before dinner. Not until later did we discover what a great cook Stephen is. We had played it safe and requested vegetable soup, mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes. It was not spicy. We were happy.

   

 
February 14 to17- COONOOR 
Kumar's Mountain View Cottage 


Breakfast was a great spread; eggs "as you wish", toast, fresh fruit, juice, yoghurt and coffee.

We watched the birds in the trees around us. We decided to stay on for an extra 2 days, It's a wonderfully place to stand still for a bit. 
 

Everyday Lunch Spot
 
We checked out town and found a great little place for lunch. Park View Restaurant, just in front of the entrance to Sim's Park, served up a tasty garlic ginger chicken and veg noodles.  

After lunch, we hiked through Sims Park, a well maintained municipal park with hedges and flowerbeds that promises to be an explosion of color come springtime. It was the weekend and lots of Indian families have come to visit. They picnicked and rode the pedal boats in the small pond. Trees are labeled and azalea hedges were just starting to bloom. It's a lovely peaceful place. 

 
Great Green Tea
 
Most tea shops don't let you sample the teas. I found Long Ding tea, a special green tea, delicious and smooth. It is processed here but is actually a famous Chinese tea. The barrel shape tea spears unroll into full leaves when they are steeped in hot water.

We spent the rest of the late afternoon and evening upstairs on the terrace back at the hotel. Dave has a big job sorting and editing the pictures for the blog. We're 2.5 months behind. 
 
Stephen had to leave for a funeral. Our dinner had to be prepared by William and another staff member. It left a bit to be desired. The soup was way too salty and the chicken had too much pepper. Oh well, can't win them all. 

We enjoyed our little stop in those beautiful surroundings. We could have visited a tea factory but we've seen the process many times before, so skipped it. There is Tiger Hill cemetery which did not sound interesting either. We were happy to go for walks around and chill. 
 
With Stephen back, dinner was a treat; breaded fish and fries with delicious mixed salad in homemade dressing. We felt totally spoiled. 


Computer Troubles Returned

Dave's computer stopped charging. William gave Dave a name of a repair shop. After much roaming around the sprawling village, Dave found the place. The sign out front said "Computer School" and not the name William had written. The repair guy popped out of the shop when he spotted Dave with a lost look on his face. William had called him and told him to be on the lookout for Dave.
 
The technician pulled out a multi-meter and expertly isolated the problem. It was a problem, not with the charger block, but with the wires in the cord. They must have broken right at the barrel plug. An aftermarket charger would take 3 or 4 days to arrive and would be expensive. "Too expensive because the machine is 3 years old," the manager said. "But don't worry. We will fix it the Indian way." The tech scrounged around the pile of used components and found an old charge with the right size barrel plug. He clipped it off and soldered it into Dave charger. Good as new! Repair charge - $3

Dave's getting the hint that it is time to get a new computer now. Our traveling style is rough on computers and this Toshiba has taken a beating.

Chronology of PC Repairs:  
Purchased PC (Hong Kong (Dec 2011)
Capacitor in charge exploded (repaired in Rishikesh India Nov 2012)
Windows Software rebuild (Bucharest - Jul 2013)
Hard Drive Failure (replaced in Tblisi - Nov 2013)
Windows Software rebuild (Istanbul - Mar 14 )
Processor Failure (replaced in Guwahati Assam - Nov 2014)
Keyboard Malfunction (replaced in Kolkata - Dec 2014)
Cable wire brake (repaired in Coonoor - Feb 2015)