8th June 2010, 08:39
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| Team-BHP Support   | Ikonic journeys : Bangalore to Ooty & Coonor Ever since we moved to Bangalore and bought our own car, we had always wanted to visit Ooty. That we had seen various scenes of the place in movies, as well as heard a lot to look forward to, this trip was something which was always on the To-Do list, but which nevver happened so far.... till the last weekend ie. We got to know some of our relatives would be visiting somewher near Ooty, and since it had been a while since we had met them, thought of driving down, and in the process also visiting a place we had heard a lot about. Here are some pics from the trip.    More as I continue with the rest of the writeup. |
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8th June 2010, 09:27
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore
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| Finally - you are on the move  Waiting for the classic pictures. |
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8th June 2010, 21:45
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| Team-BHP Support | Quote:
 Got a bit busy with work, will be continuing the writeup soon. | |
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8th June 2010, 21:59
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| Senior - BHPian  | Niceee A travelogue after quite a while Ben. My last trip was to Coonoor as well in feb, though didnt really take too many pics.Looking forward to this. |
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8th June 2010, 21:59
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| Team-BHP Support | And so we're off! And so the plan was ready, and was decided to start early on Saturday morning so we would make it to Ooty by 10AM. We also took into consideration that Bandipur would be closed for the night, and we had to cross the place only after it opened. Checked up the route which we were to take, and hit upon dreamdiesel's travelogues to Ooty, which had the route mentioned, as well as places we could check out in Ooty. Since this wasnt exactly the so-called 'season', we didnt make any prior hotel bookings and decided to try our luck, and take it as it came. With the car tanked up, and with the alignment and wheel balancing which was done last weekend (unplanned), we were all set to go! Since i had slept late the previous night since i had to catch up with some work in office, i decided to get some early shut-eye since i had to drive. Hit the bed around 9PM, and awoke at 2AM, which was when we went through dreamdiesel's travelogues to catch hold of the names of some of the places we could visit. Left from home about 4AM, and traversed through the empty Bangalore city to hit the road towards Mysore. I had washed the car the previous evening, and so it was no surprise for me to wake up and see that it was raining when we started out. The rain Gods n me have this understanding we share so well, that it happens every time! This was the route which we had decided upon : Bangalore -> Mysore -> Nanjangud -> Bandipur -> Gundalpet -> Ooty. Stopped for an early morning cuppa at the Cafe Coffee Day at Mandya. Morning cuppa at Cafe Coffee Day @ Mandya  There were about 3-4 cars, which wasnt surprising at all, since it was the weekend. The snacks which we had werent all that great, though. Made it to Mysore negotiating the crazy speedbreakers along the SH, and took the Ring Road to bypass the city, and head towards Nanjangud. Here, the roads werent all that great, but there were no vehicle-breaking potholes. Made good time here, and reached the checkpost to Bandipur. At one checkpost, our bags were searched for any spirits, which i didnt take too well, since we clearly mentioned we werent carrying any. This is not the first time we've been subjected to such checks, while others have been let through with no scrutinizing. However, we didnt want to make that spoil our trip, and carried on to the famous hairpins to Ooty.  The 36 hairpins didnt seem too danting to me, having done a lot of such hill climbs over many journeys, however the car had to use the 1st gear to clambour up some of those slopes. Some pics along the way to Ooty    I expected cooler climate as we climbed higher, but that was not to be. We reached Ooty around 10:30AM, which also included a few stops along the way. |
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8th June 2010, 22:02
| #6 |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalore
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8th June 2010, 22:40
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| Team-BHP Support | Quote:
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Ooty was quite warm when we landed, and i was actually surprised. Will be covering this in the next post of mine. | ||
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8th June 2010, 23:12
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| Senior - BHPian | Quote:
Thankfully it wasnt really crowded so could enjoy. | |
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8th June 2010, 23:28
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| Team-BHP Support | Botanical Gardens - Ooty Our first stop was to be the Botanical Garden. We didnt have much problem finding the place, and both the local people as well as signboards were helpful in getting there.  Parked at a parking lot which had a lot of clothing shops around it, which were manned by people from the North-East. Clothings on offer included sweaters, ladies tops, etc. Wifey engaged herself in some shopping, and then we visited the garden. Entry tickets were priced at a rather nominal Rs.5/- and Rs.10/- for a camera. It was quite sunny, and it really had me wondering if i had indeed landed at Ooty!   Despite the heat, there were a lot of families and people around. It was slightly tiring to walk and cover most places of the garden, and soon we settled ourselves on a bench under a tree, and just watched people enjoying themselves. Sitting in the shade, we were soon aware of the difference in temperature, and we actually did began to feel cold.     After spending quite some time in the Botanical Gardens, we made our way outside, and bought some home-made chocolates. We then asked the shopkeeper for directions to Doddabetta which is basically the highest peak of the Nilgiris. When taking the car out of the parking lot, i was stunned to know that the charge for parking came to a grand total of Rs.45/-, which was fixed. There was also a printed ticket provided. For all i remember, except for parking at the International Airport, i have never paid such an absurd amount as parking charge! Last edited by benbsb29 : 8th June 2010 at 23:30. |
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9th June 2010, 10:35
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| BHPian  | Good to see you. I presume more pics are on the way. Quote:
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 . Next time ensure that you carry a couple of liquor bottles filled with some colored water, would be fun. | |||
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9th June 2010, 12:28
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They say today's Mysore is a mirror of Bangalore in the olden days, which i tend to agree with. However, with the way the city has started growing, wouldnt be too far away when it ends up like Bangalore. Quote:
I guess the fact that we looked young, and out on a joytrip to Ooty led them to believe we were lying. We've had a similar experience earlier at the last TN checkpost before the turn towards Palakkad. It was Xmas season and they literally opened and went through most of our bags to check for spirits. By the time they were done, i had a frown on my face while they had frustration written all over theirs, from finding nothing. | ||||
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9th June 2010, 13:25
| #12 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore
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9th June 2010, 13:29
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9th June 2010, 13:34
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| BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Hyderabad
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9th June 2010, 15:31
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| Team-BHP Support | Quote:
We were in Ooty on Saturday, and left to Coonor on Sunday. Started back to Bangalore on Sunday afternoon. Quote:
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