28 May 2014
10 PM: After a nature hugging stay at Yercaud, we had now proceeded to Ooty, our main attraction of the trip.
It was a 5 hrs drive. The roads once again didn't give us any reason to complain. Flanked by coconut trees, we reached the Ghats of Ooty. The hair pin bends were 14 this time. They led us through the Nilgiris - The Blue mountains or The Queen of Hills. Negotiated well and the journey pleasant, we finally made it to the outskirts of Ooty. Before reaching Ooty, we passed through a town called Coonoor. There is a toy train managed by the Nilgiri Railways that takes you from Coonoor to Ooty. Though we didn't experience a ride in it, it seemed similar to our Neral- Matheran train.
Ooty, also known as Ootacamund or Udhagamandalam, was just like a small town cum hill station. There wasn't anything special about it. 15 minutes later, our opinion had changed.
We had reached Derby Green, Club Mahindra.
It was heaven on earth. Our minds were blasted away by its beauty. Overlooking the race course,
this sprawling Mahindra property was teeming with a highly diversified flora. Perfectly maintained as always, this resort would definitely rank amongst the best. The hospitality was as usual top notch. Once the kids were out of the car, their target was the Fun Zone.
It was lunch time. The buffet spread was lavish to say the least. Rasam is a staple part of the South Indian meal. It's supposed to have good digestive value. We spent the remaining part of the day at the Fun Zone playing Carrom,
table tennis, basketball, and cricket.
It had become quite gloomy and post sunset the temperatures seemed to have dipped quite sharply.
It had started to drizzle and the temperatures further nosedived. We somehow finished our dinner and rushed to the warmth of our room.
The dilemma now was whether to spend the next 2 days in the comfort of our resort and take part in the various activities organized by them or hop onto a car and move to the various guided tours in the Nilgiris. The selection was made by the kids and we had decided to stay put at the Green Derby.
29 May 2014
9 PM: Whilst the kids were busy with their schedule in the morning playing balloon games, answering a quiz show, and hiking upto a tea plantation, we decided to roam around the market place and get a little shopping done. Home made chocolates and Eucalyptus oil were amongst the specialities at Ooty.
A brief trip to the Ooty Lake
was mandatory. Fully commercialized, this lake is the major attraction at this hill station.
An Ayurvedic massage and steam at our Spa was relaxing and refreshing.
A carnival show
and a game of Housie ended the day's proceedings.
Very well written.
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