Just Walking Around

Family Vacation Part 2 ---- Jungle Country Coorg

Our next destination on the list was Coorg. Most people I checked with for advice as which is better Otty-Kodaikanal or Coorg there was a resounding affirmation on Coorg. Well known for is natural habitat and the many wild life reserves . So we embarked on an adventurous journey to Coorg. But before the road trip which was to take place in the afternoon I decided to be little adventurous myself with a little prodding from the missus off course. Till time in Mysore we were either having food at our hotel or in the hotels in the vicinity and mostly tried the roti-bhaji-chicken. The kids were bored as we decided to have some fun , we literally ordered a Dominoes Pizza from the nearest outlet from our hotel room and strictly specified that let the delivery boy know of the same and ask him to contact me when he reaches outside our Hotel. When the delivery boy called I promptly went down and collected the Pizza boxes and came back. While passing through the main lobby of the Hotel the gatekeeper or the Durban gave me a stern look , but I just smiled back and since he had observed me with our kids in the premises gave a sort off nod .As if saying “off you go”. Anyways all of us feated on the Cheese stuffed pizza , the garlic bread sticks with cheese dip and gulped the cola . Little Bhakti’s broad smile was infectious.

Soon the car arrived to pick us up and take us to Coorg. The road to out of Mysore is really great , properly paved and pot hole free unlike our Mumbai roads. Once out in the countryside we could see small village hamlets with tiled roofs and little farms. As we got closer to Coorg we literally passed through the forest reserve . The climate suddenly changed and it started to rain heavily for good distance. All of a sudden the clouds broke out and we could see sunshine and in the distant we could see huge Elephants roaming freely in forest. What a sight it was. A few yards away we could even spot some deers and the hyper active monkeys.The atmosphere grew cloudy again and the winding roads made the journey even more memorable.

I had booked us into an homestay to get the feel of nature amidst the greenery. We checked in around late afternoon and were given a room on the ground floor of the red sandstone (Chira stone) house which came with very basic amenities. Managed by a family of husband , wife and a kid. We had some tea and snacks (smart thing we carried some biscuits and wafers ). After which we went out for a leisurely stroll. Just walked past a few local houses and on the way I was able to show some interesting plants to our kids. Like the touch me not plant , growing there on the sidelines like a shrub and the leaves clamp up when you touch them. Then there were the small plants with bunch of colorful small flowers. When you pluck them and suck at their bottom tip you get the taste of honey as they are filled with nectar that the bees collect. Both Netra and Bhakti enjoyed it as they hade never experienced this. Made me remember my childhood in our native village when we used to roam around and pluck these flowers for their nectar or collect the juicy red berry “pitkal” from bushes near our village home.

We rested a while at a local bus stop made of concrete with proper seating area and a roof. As the sun started going down we could see the crimson sky and in the distance some lightning. We hurried back to our room with the breeze pick up. The dinner was a modest affair prepared by the lady of the house but tasty and fresh what with the vegetables used were from their own farm.

Next day we had planned for exploring Coorg. So hired a car and started off towards Bylakkuppe famous for the Golden Temple and Namdroling Monastery. Namdroling Monastery in Coorg was established His Holiness Pema Norbu Rinpoche in the early 1960's by a monk that, like the Dalai Lama, had left Tibet because of their conflict with China. The huge compound was built by monks over the years, and there are hundreds of hand painted traditional Tibetan Buddhist images adorning the temples and shrines. The main temple hosts a big prayer hall with three big Golden statues of over 40 feet height . At the center is the serene image of the great Buddha on its sides are statues of Padmasambhava and Amitavus .The alter is decorated with flowers , candles and incense sticks.

Many parts of the Monastery are open to the public, and over 5000 monks live, work and study in the grounds. New disciples as young as five live at the Monastery, and many Buddhist converts from around the world come to live and learn here also. The number and variety of buildings is impressive, and you are allowed to stroll around the perimeter of the Monastery's land to spin the traditional Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheels that are part of the walls. Monks and other visitors walk circles in silence around this ‘stupa' as a hardship by which ‘to accumulate cosmic merit and eradicate sins' . The monastery is a little off the beaten path with small Tibetan banners and flags fluttering lined all across the road to the Golden Temple. But the visit is well worth to experience the Tibetan culture.

We then proceeded to Kushalanagar to visit the Nisargdham , The 64-acre island, surrounded by the Cauvery river, can be accessed by walking across a hanging bridge. Established in 1989, the picnic spot with lush foliage of thick bamboo groves, sandalwood and teak trees has lovely river-side cottages. Elephant rides and boating are some of the other attractions. There is a deer park where kids and adults can feed them with their own hands. The children enjoy getting close to these timid animals and feed them the leaves from nearby. There are some tree houses and seating areas built with chipped tile pieces looking like scenes from fairly tales like Hansel and Gretal or Goldlilocks and the 3 bears in the children’s park . The forest area is filled with Medicinal plants and other huge tress. Tourists are allowed to get into water at a few shallow and safe points along the river. 

It was was high noon when we decided to move ahead and decided to have lunch at a local restaurant Hotel Athiti . A pure veg hotel which served veg thali food on banana leaf. A simple affair with 2 vegetables , a dal , puri , cucumber salad and rice. Also served was the traditional sweet the paysam made from lapsi / sooji cooked in coconut milk and sweetened with jaggeray. The best i have eaten. We ordered for two more vati’s and cleaned the bowls out.

Next on our list of places to visit was the Dubare Elephant Camp. The winding roads accompanied by lush green forest led us to Dubare. Since we still had time ,as entry is from 4-5.30 pm in the evening , Netra and Bhakti enjoyed a quick horse ride and ready to go. But nothing prepared us for the adventure that was to come ahead. As the waters were shallow the usual boat ride to the elephant camp was not available. Everybody who wished to see the Elephant had to cross the river using the many rocks that line the across the river. This was easier said than done. Initially me and Netra started walking and with little Bhakti on my hips it was getting difficult. Kashmira was scared but egged on by Netra she too started walking cautiously. All of the visitors were seen helping each other giving hands to grip and making sure no one slipped. But due to the slippery stones it was becoming difficult to cross. The only inspiration to reach the camp was to has a close encounter with Elephants. We finally reached the gates and took some time to ease our breath. A little ahead we could see the humongous tuskers. We were literally mesmerized. Such huge Elephants at close quarters. We feed them hay and touched their trunks. There was even a baby elephant that caught little Bhakti’s attention though scared even she offered him hay and enjoyed the scene when the baby elephant lifted its trunk to swallow the ball of hay and rice grains.  The surrounding was lush green and we could see at least 20 elephant in the distant forest . The agonizing walk across the river was worth the trip. We said bye to the elephant’s walked back to the gate. Sudden a storm brew across the skyline with madly gushing winds with leaves and flowers flying across as in those Hindi movies. We some how reached the gate and dreaded at the thought of having to walks across the stones. But like a God’s send a rafter had just anchored his rubber raft and was offering a ride across the river for Rs.100 per person. A family of 3 with a little girl started haggling as we reached the spot, he cut the price to Rs.50 per head and started filling up his raft. He need 12 persons to balance the load , more people joined and we were ready to go. The rafter gave 4 oars one to me and 3 to other and he himself seated at the back to rudder the raft. We all started to row with all our might so that we could reach the other side quickly. Just as we reached the river bank it started to rain literally pouring cats and dogs .We had to take shelter in a make shift enclosure on the river bank. All of us got wet but were safe . Too much adventure for the day . 

We decided to head towards the main town of Madekeri . On the way we could see  lots of tea and coffee plantation on the side .The sun had set and it became dark when we reached Madekeri. Had a mesmerizing view of the valley from the Raja Seat at the heart of Madekeri. Then we went to the local market to pick up some fresh spices. Coorg is known for its world famous spices which are exported globally. At the shop you could smell the fragrances of different spices be it Cinnamon (Dalchini) , Cardamom (Elaichi ), Nutmeg (Jaiphal) , Bay leaf (Tej patta) and the famous black pepper (kali mirch). You can also buy the best ever tea in various flavors Masala , Chocolate ,Vanilla , and even the coffee comes in those exotic variations like Arabica and Robusta blended with Chicory coffee beans.And don’t forget to pick the mouthwatering and melting home made chocolates

With tired legs and handful of shopping bags we started back to our homestay in Virajpet. Netra and Bhakti dozed off in the car with wind caressing their faces and were lost in their dreams. A memorable day well spent amidst the nature with the Sun , the Earth and the cool Cauvery for company….

We had a harrowing time that night at our homestay with the power off and Bhakti not keeping well . Early in the morning we decided to check out and headed to Madekeri and checked into Hotel Valley View , the most clean and well serviced hotel at the heart of Madekeri overlooking the valley at Raja’s Seat. Run and managed very professionally by Karnataka State Tourism Department. It had all the rooms facing the valley. Great hotel with good support staff and a restaurant to match the pallets of its guest. Our day was spent in resting and nursing Bhakti to recovery. And recover she did with the changed environment. The next day was spent idling around the hotel property. In the afternoon we check out and decided to head to Bangalore.

We reached around 6 in the evening at the hotel in Bangalore . As we had been invited to dinner at my cousin sister Deepa place, a small get together was planned with her family and Padmakar Mama’s family. We rested some time and then reached her home little before dinner. Old memories were shared , old photos were looked at accompanied by small talk and fun. Had a great dinner with best ever home cooked food which we longed for during our entire trip.

We said our byes and promised to visit them next time and headed back to our hotel .With a day to spare we decided to visit the Bannergutta Wild Life sanctuary on the outskirts of Bangalore. We took the safari and thoroughly enjoyed the ride in the mini bus across the forest reserve. The Sanctuary is clearly demarcated into 4 zones , herbivorous section with deer’s and Neel gais. Huge flock of deer’s can be seen up close. An added attraction again is the elephants roaming freely. Next on the route is the Sloth bears section with huge black sloth bears basking in the sun or under the shade of the trees. Huge doors are opened and we head to the next section where we encountered the Lions again in great numbers. lying across the side walk , lazing away at the water hole . And finally the highlight of the safari was the sighting of tigers the beautiful White tiger and the ferocious Royal Bengal Tiger. Cooling off at the water hole or just laying around. One of the Tiger decided to come very close to our bus and just walked past us made a U-turn and walked back . All of us shrieked with delight a that this awe inspiring sight.

The tour was over and we very ready to go back to human habitat to the chaos of the city life.

A trip of our life time with loads of sweet memories we headed back home and in the flight back to Mumbai looked at the memorable clicks we snapped on our mobiles reliving every moment , the fun and adventure in the Jungle country of Coorg……