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Old 16th November 2008, 15:32   #1
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The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor

The planning started in September 1st week about visiting Ooty in 3rd week of October.

We wanted to add KRS as well, so final plan is prepared in couple of days. But suddenly there came sign of lot of changes in my workplace, heat of global recession so on. So we decided to figure out If there are any takers of our well maintained Innova the highway star!! Within 2 days we found genuine buyer and offer is closed within no time after vehicle quality check done by Toyota. I felt sorry I dragged the story because I couldnot fully decide in last moment.

Even If we are moving abroad we decided to execute Ooty trip and then proceed. If our Innova is handed over to new buyer we would have hired Logan for travelling.

We booked Royal Orchid just to spend evening and night at KRS. Booked Sagar Resort Ooty for next 2 days.

Day1: As we still own Innova we decided to take Innova and left Bangalore at 7AM and by 8AM we started breakfast at Janapada Loka Kamat Hotel and then headed towards Ranganatittu and reached there by 10AM. Since its just start very less tourists there and we hired private boat for us roamed around and then checked into Royal Orchid in KRS near Mysore at 11:45AM.

I heard Circus show is there in Mysore and having travelled in Mysore multiple times decided to visit there to entertain our daughter and it turned out to be good show for us too.

We came back to KRS by evening 5PM and rested for a while and walked a bit in KRS Gardens and had evening snacks by 6:30PM.

For our bad luck rain started heavily at 6:30PM so we couldnot visit garden again in the night to see lights but we are lucky enough to see the fountains, lighting, rains from our KING size room/balcony.

Royal Orchid Hotels

About Royal Orchid: Place is very neat, clean, silent. It provides almost 5 star facilities with good food. Its dam costly though.

Few pictures of day1.

Lotus in Ranganatittu small Pond:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0291.jpg

Small Garden in Ranganatittu:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0294.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0297.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0298.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0299.jpg

Crocodile and birds:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0304.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0305.jpg

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The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0343.jpg

KRS Side view From Road:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0361.jpg

Road side beautifull view:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0364.jpg

KRS Garden:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0380.jpg

Garden Chess at hotel:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0384.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0386.jpg

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Royal Orchid:
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Night view of lighting:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0401.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0402.jpg


Regards,

Ravi.

Last edited by ravibhat : 16th November 2008 at 15:40.
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Old 16th November 2008, 16:01   #2
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The journey before the seperation, is it Ravi!

Must have special.

Royal Orchid seems good. How was the service?
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Old 16th November 2008, 16:04   #3
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Day 2 Mysore - BandiPura - Masinagudi - Ooty

Few more photos of day1:

Birds in Ranganatittu:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2395.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2398.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2420.jpg

Ducks in Hotel Garden:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2478.jpg

Story: We checked out of Hotel at 7AM and headed towards Mysore and ended up with confusion to reach Kamat Madhuban as we took RING road which is never ending. Anyway by 8:30AM with 1 hour waste of roaming to reach near Kamat Madhuban.

I forgot this waste of 1 hour when I spotted this KING (Safari), I could remember photos loaded by Mr. RamKumar in TBHP. Met him also in hotel and talked to him for few minute and thanks for your time RamKumar.

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2479.jpg

We started in no time to cover up lost time. Around Gundlupet except for 10km bad road drive was very smooth with less traffic after NanjanaGudu.

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2482.jpg

We zoomed and reached TN broder and entered Masinagudi ghat by 11:20AM.

We spotted only few animals:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0445.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0446.jpg


Lot of fog all around and we stopped in few places for photo click.

Water Falls:
The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2500.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0449.jpg

This Masinagudi ghat is very narrow and 36+ hair pin curves, luckily my daughter enjoyed the drive no travel sickness this time.

Onething we appreciate is roads in TamilNadu, 5 Star rating!! good JOB by government.

By the time we reach Ooty and started our lunch at Nahar (one of the, the best hotels I ever tasted, thank you bombatt for advise) its exaclty 1PM which is my lunch time. We checked into Resort by 2pm and spotted train in few minutes. We decided to visit Ooty Lake and Kids garden/play area in the evening and planned to do shopping and we executed it easily and called the day around 10PM after switching on much needed heator.

Few more photos:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2530.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2532.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2544.jpg

Nothing much to talk about Ooty Like which is not clean and not good but shopping centres around are good ones. Masinagudi drive is excellant with breathtaking scenary although dense fog was there on the day we travelled.

Sagar Resort: good place to stay but not to eat 2km from Ooty in coonor Road, the location of the resort and roms excellant very nice scenary. Good service with 24 hours hot water and heator available on demand.

@happyWheels: Service at Royal Orchid is very good, people are very friendly there, food is dam costly but very very good.

Regards,

Ravi.

Last edited by ravibhat : 16th November 2008 at 16:13.
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Old 16th November 2008, 16:36   #4
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Ravi, so the Innova's finally going, eh? You people are moving abroad, as well?
Shall wait for the rest of the report to come in.
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Old 16th November 2008, 16:51   #5
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Day3 - Best Day of the trip :)

According to our plan woke up at 6AM and got ready and completed breakfast in Nahar (Man I am ready to drive to Ooty just to eat in that place) by 9AM and we headed towards DoddaBetta.

We knew like because of dense FOG we cant spot anything from viewpoint. It was nice drive to reach the peak and as usual excellant roads. Good signboards.

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0478.jpg

We came down in no time after some 20minute shopping.

Items Purchased: Antique for ladies, Ooty special chocolates, Tea powder, oils, some crazy hats.

Next visit is Botanical Garden, very well maintaned place and need at least 2 hours to cover up. We liked the place. We took lot of photos from 3 cameras we own. Our daughter enjoyed the place.

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0516.jpg

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The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2683.jpg

Then we headed to Rose Garden which is neat as well. Hats off to British who founded these places and TamilNadu Tourism department, one must learn from them how to make place attractive. I wish one day Karnataka will be developed like this.

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Its excatly 12:30PM we are in our usual place to eat lunch

Afternoon our plan is visit conoor and visit surrounding places like Dolphin Nose, Sleeping Lady so on.

I will come back soon with details after I buy Tomato Sause(Ketchup) to prepare BailPuri at home

Regards,

Ravi.
Attached Thumbnails
The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2650.jpg  


Last edited by ravibhat : 16th November 2008 at 17:03.
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Old 16th November 2008, 16:58   #6
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Nahar is one of the best and it the place I usually stay on my trips to Ooty.

And I usually end up getting a fair enough discount also due to local contacts!

There is one chinese restaurant, which lies on the second round about when going from Nahar (come out of Nahar, take right, round about left and keep going straight on next round, you will find it on the next round). Not sure if you already know, but they serve some good food, and the quantity is very good along with the quality. Will recommend this place if not yet visited.
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Old 16th November 2008, 17:19   #7
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Day 3 Afternoon - Conoor

Few more photos of Rose Garden:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2755.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2762.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2759.jpg


We reached conoor by 2PM and headed towards Dolphin's Nose, We hire Guide on the way to cover the places fast. Road between Oooty - connor excellant and around Conoor also very good road considerring its single narrow ghat road with heavy rains.

Few curves are dangerous to drive but scenray is awasome! After retunring to conoor we realized its well worth taking good guide (100/- rs. for 3 hours.) to save time and we could easily visit all view points. Its difficult to remember all place names but guide explained it very well. There are so many film shooting places and now after coming back from Ooty we could realize those places in most of the pictures. We reached back Resort at 6:30PM and headed to city for shopping followed by dinner. Few pictures:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2776.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2791.jpg

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The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0604.jpg

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The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0614.jpg

Climate was cold with fog and sunshine and windy. Luckily except doddabetta we could see breathtaking views in all places.

@benbsb29, We have handed over Innova right after Ooty Trip and they do lot of trip as well soon will join TBHP I hope.
@HappyWheels, Thank you I will try that Chinese restaurant next time for sure I didn't knew.


Regards,

Ravi.

PS I am sorry for loading too many pictures and this time quality is not so good :(

Last edited by ravibhat : 16th November 2008 at 17:36.
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Old 16th November 2008, 18:11   #8
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Final Part Day4: Ooty - Pyakara Lake - Gudalur - Mysore - Bangalore

Few more photos of previous day:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0619.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0625.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0626.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0633.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0634.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0637.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0643.jpg


Day4: We checked out of Resort at 7:30Am and completed last breakfast at Nahar in this trip and hoping to visit again and left Ooty and drove towards Gudalur. Road is amazing also scenary.

On the way we reached small Reservoir and did Horse ride, it was fun.

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2945.jpg

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Next we spotted shooting spot, need to walka nd climb small hill, once we reach the spot very nice view. Because of lack of time didn't take much good photos.

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf2989.jpg

We proceeded to Pyakara Lake and checked in to see its about to open at 10AM. Made payment towards motor boat ride and roamed around, Its as usual nice boat ride.

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0653.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0693.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0695.jpg

Pyaka Lake is very beautifull and one can spot few animals around there. Road between Oooty - gudalur is excellant and scenary is amazing.

Few more photos of the drive:

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf3041.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf3050.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf3066.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf3089.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf3099.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf3113.jpg

The Last TRIP in Innova before selling it - Mysore - Ooty - Coonor-dscf0699.jpg

We reached Mysore Kamat Madhuban at 2:10PM and had heavy lunch with Icecream (ladies demand) reached Bangalore by 6PM. It rained heavily between Mysore - Bangalore so traffic was less. We enjoyed every bit of drive.

Summary:

People: Myself, wife and our 4 years old daughter.
Toyota Innova BLUE G3 august 2005, 32000km driven Highway cruiser.

Day1: Bangalore - Janapada Loka Kamat Hotel for breakfast - Ranganatittu - KRS Royal Orchid - Circus in Mysore - KRS Garden fountain - signoff for the day.
Distance travelled: 180km

Day2: KRS Gardens - Mysore Kamat for breakfast - Bandipur - Masinagudi - Oooty and Oooty Lake - shopping complex.
Distance travelled: 160km.

Day3: DoddaPetta - Botanical Garden - Rose Garden - Conoor - dolphin Nose and surrounding places - Shopping.
Distance Travelled: 110km

Day4: Oooty - Pyakara Lake - Gudalur - Bandipura - Mysore Kamat Madhuban for lunch - Bangalore.
Distance Travelled: 300km

FE: Around 9.5kmpl with 30% Ac/Heator Usage.

Rating of the place: 5Star except Ooty Lake.

Places need to be carefull: Masinagudi ghat section very very dangerous one If driven carelessly. Take care in Gudalur ghat also in many curves especially where road side work going on because it remembered Bangalore residential streets where people dump sand/rocks on road itself while bulding the house. Places around Conoor have lot of narrow roads where its difficult to pass even 2 cars, so be alert. Avoid 5th gear in these areas.

Regards,

Ravi.

Last edited by ravibhat : 16th November 2008 at 18:16.
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Old 16th November 2008, 18:22   #9
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Mind blowing!

Ravi you are a great photographer as well!

Cheers!!!
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Old 16th November 2008, 18:26   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deepgautam_qa View Post
...Ravi you are a great photographer as well!...


Great photos, Ravi!
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Old 16th November 2008, 20:53   #11
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Ravi,

Lovely! I grew up in Ooty (did my schooling there) and your travelogue brings out fond memories.

@Happywheels: I think the chinese restaurant you are referring to is Shinkows, one of the most popular eat-outs in Ooty. They have been around for ages and as you rightly pointed out, their portions are huge.

Cheers,
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Old 16th November 2008, 21:22   #12
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So Ravi, you had a great farewell trip with your Innova. Snaps are really nice.
After reading your feedback on the Royal Orchid Hotels I was trying to find out their room tariffs - but their website doesn't give you the slightest clue about that part. It only shows some photos of some fantastic rooms. Are the rates also equally fantastic? Do you mind sharing the details?
Thanks.
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Old 17th November 2008, 07:11   #13
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Ravi,
Superb photos which clearly depicts the necessity of travelling to these places just after Monsoon!
I am planning for a Ooty trip with wife and parents for Dec 14th weekend.
Can u pls specify the tariff of Sagar resort and can u post a few snaps of the resort ?

Regards
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Old 17th November 2008, 07:38   #14
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Ravi, really good and informative travelogue. The pictures are really well taken and have come out beautiful. I will be doing a 4 day roadtrip to Ooty and Coonoor in a couple of weeks time with my family. Your travelogue came up at the right moment when I was trying to find out weather and road conditions to Ooty and Coonoor.

So the Innova is gone. Hope the owner takes good care of the Innova just like how you have taken care of it.
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Old 17th November 2008, 09:25   #15
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Nice stuff Ravi.

Now that your Innova is gone, what's your next ride going to be?
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