If you want to experience bumper to bumper traffic, blaring sounds of vehicles honking and general chaos, I have a new destination to recommend, go to Kodaikanal during the May 1st holiday season, especially if it falls on a weekend. I did just that last week and was shocked by the experience, to say the least. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I used to walk on the Kodai streets with both my hands in the ears trying desperately to cut out the noise from the honking vehicles.
Day 1 of my trip to Kodai was a nightmare to say the least. The bus from Palani didn’t turn up, the cab that we hired got stuck in long queues of vehicles at the ghat section and when we entered Kodai town it was raining and we were at the very end of a 1 km long traffic pile up. God, the punishing heat of Tiruppur from where I headed to Kodai was so much better. Anyways, we managed to somehow get in and checked into the hotel. Fortunately the hotel that we had booked (Apple Valley) was like an oasis in a desert. The place had fresh, clean and comfortable rooms and has a bright look to it although it’s bang on Anna Salai/PT Road, close to the bus stand.
Day 2 we got up nice and early in the morning and had a sumptuous South Indian breakfast at the hotel and I thought to myself, ‘not bad, promising start for the day’. Was I mistaken or what? We headed to Coakers walk which is like ½ a km from the hotel and was again met with a sea of humanity, all of whom were trying desperately to catch a glimpse of the gorgeous views. I was thinking to myself, ‘thank God, Mr. Coaker (whoever that gentleman was) is not around to witness this’ We finished that and headed to Bryant Park and the Lake which are all within walking distances. Again the same story, hoards of people, traffic and blaring sounds from vehicles. Unfortunately I don’t have anything good to report yet! Oh sorry, one great thing did happen on Day 2. I had heard about this restaurant called Tava and many people had recommended it online. Being a foodie of sorts I was keen to try it out and accidentally when we were walking back to the hotel in the evening we saw it tucked away in the basement of a non-descript building. Nothing impressive about the place itself but the food does deserve much praise. Basic and simple, home style North Indian food, prepared fresh and served hot. Try the humble Bhindi fry and you won’t be disappointed. I was feeling extremely happy about finding Tava and the food there turning out to be better than what I had expected. I must also make a mention about the owner of that place. A hands on middle aged chap, who does everything from cleaning the table to taking orders and keeping the entire show under control. No nonsense and straight forward character. I liked his strict yet courteous way of dealing with customers. Anyways that was day 2 and thankfully had a much better end than the previous nights due to the Tava experience.
Day 3, first thing we decided in the morning was to get out of the town. Fortunately by then the weekend crowd had left and it looked as tough 3/4ths of the people had suddenly disappeared from Kodaikanal. We hired a taxi and went on a forest tour which took us to the silent valley and a few places around. Kodai is so much better when you get out of the town and get into the wilderness. We trekked for 3-4 hours and took in as much fresh air as our lungs could hold. It was bit sad when we had to go back to the town. I don’t know if it is a result of meditation or me growing older but nowadays I just can’t stand noise of any kind. I had in fact written to the United Nations and had appealed to Mr. Shashi Tharoor on Twitter to institute an ‘International day of Silence’, a day when the whole world just shuts up! Unfortunately but not surprisingly I didn’t get a response from both sources. If you are a person with some clout and if you happen to be reading this blog post (which is unlikely) please do consider my idea of a day of silence across the world and help me take it to a logical conclusion. Coming back to Kodai, Day 3 went of peacefully in the forest reserve areas of Kodai and we were much glad about being in Kodai than the previous days.
Overall the trip was fine but I only wish that our hill stations, in general, were managed better. It’s painful to see a beautiful and pristine place like Kodai turning into an urban jungle. If you are going to Kodai just to beat the heat it’s ok to go during the peak summer season otherwise I recommend that you plan your trip during off season, especially around Nov time and don't be in the town except for night stay (and may be for Tava)! You are likely to have a much better time.
No comments:
Post a Comment