Introduction
This yearend we travelled the Queen of Hill Stations in South India - Ooty. The trip was 4night and 5day stay at Hill Country Resorts, Lovedale. One day was reserved for Toy Train trip and we all looked forward to that.
26th Dec 08 (Day 1)
8AM - We took a flight from Hyderabad - Coimbatore and landed by 10AM
10AM - A car was already there from resort to pick us up. This was 3hour journey by road through the picturesque valleys and nilgiri ghats.
1PM - Checkin the Cottage. This was a studio apartment with 2 rooms, living area, kitchen area and 2 bathrooms. The views from cottage were breathtaking. The one thing that stuck us was that the cottage didnt have ac/fan arrangements (reason being that the temperature is always low throughout the year). The cottage arrangements were neat though there can be lots done.
Rest of the day - We had lunch and later in evening approached the travel desk to plan our itinaries for next few days as we wanted to have relaxed travel and fun.
27th Dec 08 (Day 2)
9AM - Had breakfast in restaurant. A good spread of aloo-puree, idli, vada, dosa, bread toasts etc.
930AM - 630PM - Our cab arrived and we started for the tour of Coonoor planning to end day at Ooty lake. Places we saw at Coonoor
1. SIMS park
2. Dolphins Nose
3. Lambs rock
4. Doddabetta peak
5. Tea Factory (We bought some packs of plain tea, masala tea and green tea)
Lastly we went to Ooty Lake and had a ride on motor boat.
730PM - Had dinner though didnot like the place much. This was one problem we faced as no good restaurants were around for dinner and the food at resort was also not that great.
28th Dec 08 (Day 3)
9AM - Had breakfast in restaurant. Same spread.
930AM - 630PM - Our cab arrived and we started for the tour of Ooty. Places we saw at Ooty
1.Pykara Lake (beautiful natual lake of glistening water, Motor boating)
2.7th Mile (horseriding)
3.Pine tree forest (trekked up and down the forest)
29th Dec 08 (Day 4)
9AM - Had breakfast in restaurant. Same spread.
930AM - 630PM - Our cab arrived and we started for the tour of Ooty. Places we saw at Ooty
1.Botanical Garden
2.Fern Hill Palace (it turned out to be a Palace turned hotel)
3.Shopping (travel bag and chocolates)
4.Ooty lake (pedal boating)
5.Wax Museum (bought 2 Beer Cup Candles)
730PM - Had bonfire near cottage.
30th Dec 08 (Day 5)
9AM - Had breakfast in restaurant. Same spread. As checkout time was 11am we packed ourselves and all set to travel back to Coimbatore via famous Toy Train
11AM - We set out for Ooty station. We stopped midway for an early lunch
1PM - We reached Ooty station 2 hours early. While waiting we had icecreams and did some book shopping.
3PM - Train chugged in and we had our first glimpse of the cabin. Unfortunately the seat which should be for 4 is given for 6 people. This makes it quite a conjusted way to travel.
4PM - Train engine breaks for the first time in 40 years 4 kms after Coonoor
530PM - Train starts as an engine from Coonoor is sent and replaced.
530PM to 8PM - Train goes through the most scenic view but we are unable to enjoy as it has grown darker outside and hardly anything can be seen.
8PM - Train engine breaks for the second time 7kms before Coimbatore. We decide to call our Cab who was already at Coimbatore to pick us up from highway (which was not far from where the train stopped)
830PM - We were in cab travelling to Coimbatore to our lodgings for the night. As it was already very late we decided to have dinner on way but again unable to find a decent place to stop for dinner.
11PM - We reached our lodging after quite a disappointing long hectic day.
Few tips here for those planning to go for Toy train
- Check that you have ticket for S1-A (which is 8 per cabin and not 12 as in the S1)
- Do not carry luggage with you (luckily our 4 people luggage of 5 days travel was sent to Coimbatore by cab)
- Plan for day trip ( I had read somewhere that trip from Ooty to Coimbatore is picturesque but if it is getting darker we cannot enjoy it anyways)
31st Dec 08 (Day 6)
10AM - Took flight back to Hyderabad.
Summary
Most of the vacation was memorable and the places we have seen were indeed beautiful. We had planned this to be easy and relaxed trip and that is what it was. The only sore spot was the Toy train trip though we can see that as adventure of a kind :).
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