[hothatchaway]

If I had to tell you a story and I had only a moment, this is what you would see



If you bade me Godspeed, this is what I have in return



If you wondered if I had a restful night, then this is what greeted me in the wee hours



...and so we were off again, with our pedal to the metal and rubber hitting the road. A song in our hearts and wind in our hair (when the windows are rolled down anyways!)

With another national holiday giving its 'come hither' look on May 1, we had just enough time coupled with our insatiable appetite for travel to set off, this time to cool and leafy Coorg,a place which suddenly makes my tummy pine for some dark and sinful 'Pandhi curry'.

But first, we had to negotiate a village road which leads the way, aka Mysore road or SH 17. Each of the speedbreakers give you an occasion to remember this road fondly by and the traffic clogs make you contemplate turning back many times over.



Soon it was me, the wife and the snarl of my beauty of a 3 pot motor


The Mysore bypass via KRS, patchy yet picturesque




Sight for sore eyes


A riot of red!


Stretching on SH88


First glimpse of the cool hills


and the pitter patter start






Getting heavier...


...and a tete-a-tete that made the drive paisa vasool, out of the dark foliage steps out this majestic beast, gingerly regarding its surroundings before crossing the road. We drove past it dumbstruck regaining composure in time to turn back and around to grab some facetime. We could have gotten more snaps, taken a video perhaps but it all happened in such a blur that these are the only snaps we managed







It started pouring hereafter with sleet




after it cleared


the verdant greenery of Coorg


a long shot of 'Coorg cuisinette' whose tangy curries were no less a motivation to drive down






Curving along the Mangalore Hwy, enroute to our homestay




the path leading to our haunt

[hothatchaway]

drawn to some oddities around






a panoramic snap of the rain drenched surroundings


got up early for this!










Thus a day and a night's solitude was done and we headed back, stopping this time at KRS dam for some pics


Would have been fun to do some drags here!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing!

[mpksuhas]

You are on a traveling spree. First fish curry and now Pandhi curry.
How is Kushalnagar - Madhikeri road condition now ? Also, could you please let know details about your homestay.

The elephant I guess is not wild, I guess we can notice its legs are chained. Also I guess it is very rare to find wild elephants with such huge tusks thanks to years of poaching.

[ankan.m.blr]

Hi Hothatchaway, on seeing your thread title, I thought you visited Nagarhole WLS in Coorg. After opening the thread, I was pleasantly surprised to see the elephant on (I assume) Mysore - Madikeri road. Kindly mention where exactly you spotted it, I am really curious. Where did you stay in Coorg ( I guess on the road to Bhagamandala?)? Nice photos ; Coorg looks beautiful in the rains. Thanks for sharing.

[maju]

hi,
the homestay where you stayed looks very nice. cab you share some details. its not a wild elephant.

[pgupta]

The elephant looks royal. Nice photo. I was in Coorg last month and while driving thru the roads it never felt like being in a forest where such a large animal can be seen. Watching this elephant alongside the road must have been quite an experience. And folks who could not see its chains they must be telling stories about their to their wildlife encounter ;-)

[sajusherief]

The pictures are beautiful indeed. Couple of months back I too took the same route and this made me nostalgic. Like others pointed out, the elephant doesn’t look like a wild one with the chains, but really majestic! Even the majestic pose of the elephant is not enough to look away from the idiotic XUV driver, look at the way he has stopped the vehicle! Pathetic

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

You are on a traveling spree. First fish curry and now Pandhi curry.
How is Kushalnagar - Madhikeri road condition now ? Also, could you please let know details about your homestay.

The elephant I guess is not wild, I guess we can notice its legs are chained. Also I guess it is very rare to find wild elephants with such huge tusks thanks to years of poaching.

Thanks Suhas - yes been bitten by the travel bug of late! the roads are fab, especially SH 88 is a dream to drive on, we did decent speeds even through that downpour. Yes did notice the chains after you guys pointed out; there goes my romantic wildlife encounter memories!

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

Hi Hothatchaway, on seeing your thread title, I thought you visited Nagarhole WLS in Coorg. After opening the thread, I was pleasantly surprised to see the elephant on (I assume) Mysore - Madikeri road. Kindly mention where exactly you spotted it, I am really curious. Where did you stay in Coorg ( I guess on the road to Bhagamandala?)? Nice photos ; Coorg looks beautiful in the rains. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Ankan, we stayed at Euro homestays which is on the road to Mangalore. The property is nice but the facilities are really basic and dont expect any star comfort. The owner does his bit to make you feel at home

Originally Posted by pgupta

The elephant looks royal. Nice photo. I was in Coorg last month and while driving thru the roads it never felt like being in a forest where such a large animal can be seen. Watching this elephant alongside the road must have been quite an experience. And folks who could not see its chains they must be telling stories about their to their wildlife encounter ;-)

Yes and so have I been before the chain was pointed out and my bubble burst, grr!

Originally Posted by sajusherief

The pictures are beautiful indeed. Couple of months back I too took the same route and this made me nostalgic. Like others pointed out, the elephant doesn’t look like a wild one with the chains, but really majestic! Even the majestic pose of the elephant is not enough to look away from the idiotic XUV driver, look at the way he has stopped the vehicle! Pathetic

Yes I guess all the city desk jockeys there got excited, after all, being subjected to the jungle that is bangy traffic, a taste of the real thing did get all and sundry excited

[rajathv8]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Thanks Ankan, we stayed at Euro homestays which is on the road to Mangalore. The property is nice but the facilities are really basic and dont expect any star comfort. The owner does his bit to make you feel at home

Nice review.
I will be visiting the same homestay in the following week. Can you please mark Euro homestay on google maps or post an image of its location here?

Thanks