Back from Kodaikanal

After 3 fun filled days in Kodaikanal, it does not feel very nice to be back at TAPMI. The break was a well deserved one, and when you are traveling anywhere with 13 others, its definitely a gala time. Let me recollect the trip daywise -

19th March

I left with the other gang at 6:30. Reached Mangalore by 8:30. The train was at 9:15, so there was time for dinner at the vegetarian canteen. The dinner was not great, but then when you are traveling by train, the options are few. I managed to get a berth since there were lot of empty berths in the train. Had a nice time in the train, which included a long chat with Rupak.

20th March

Reached Palghat in the morning at 5:15 and went to Anirudh's house. Had a superb breakfast. His mom had prepared 'Puttu' (Rice Cake) and 'Kadala Kari' (Horsegram Curry). By the time the breakfast was over I had more than one 'Kutti' (The vessel used to prepare one serving of Puttu) puttu.
We left for Kodai at 9 in a van. The van was a 16 seater and had TV and a CD player. We brought "Bad Boys 2" and "The Rumble in the Bronx" to watch on our way. The Bad Boys CD was not good and hence we abandoned it half way. Watched one CD of Rumble in the Bronx when we reached the starting of the Ghat section for Kodai. We decided to switch off the CD and enjoy the nature.
During the ride, the fun I had with Raju was very memorable, he will remember it for a long time - "Mazza Aa Gayee".
The climb was good. Lush green forests around, one or the other view of the plains. We reached Kodai by 3. Kept the luggage at the apartments booked by the gang and went out for lunch. We went to "The Hill Top Inn". The food was terrible. In the meantime, I had contacted my gang and asked them to come to the center of Kodai.
Met them after lunch, and then I rejoined the original gang with which I was initially supposed to go.
I went for shopping with them, and got thoroughly bored. The gang with whom I came to kodai comprised of 13 guys, so it was fun. My gang was also 13 members, but there were 7 girls, so the idea of shopping crops up every now and then. I hate shopping, but still tugged along.
Went to our cottage in the evening. It was a cute cottage, great rooms and the service was excellent. The owner of the cottage was a great fellow. He arranged a camp fire for the 14 of us and it was great fun, we even had a disco.

21st March

We started the day with a trek near a beautiful location in Kodai. Had a great time, and due to my adventurous spirit, I gave a tough time to the guide who was constantly trying to tell us the dangers of being adventurous.
After the trek, we went to the house of the owner, who owned a horse. It was an Arabian horse, which he had bought after it retired after racing. He gave us a free ride. It was my first horse ride, and I came to know the reason why these animals are called the "Ship of Land". I rode after having a heavy lunch, and if had taken another 10 minute ride, I would definitely have puked.

22nd March

The day was for sight seeing. Went to a lot of places - Upper Lake View, Dangerous Spot, Pine Forest, Suicide Point and Pillar Rock view. The guide was good and we enjoyed the time very much. After the sight seeing, we decided to spend the rest of the time near the Lake, we took a cycle and went around the lake once. Its a huge lake and it took half an hour for the ride. By the time we returned to the pick up point, it was late and there was just enough time for us to pack and leave for Palani for the return trip.
The return trip was in the night, and the view of Palani City in the night was magnificent.
We reached Palani at 11, and reached the station well before time for the train. Boarded the train at 12:15 and had a good sleep before we got down at Palghat at 4am.

23rd March

The connecting train from Palghat was supposed to arrive at 4:2am, but it was late by 70 minutes. I slept off after boarding the train at 5:30 and slept till 9:30. After that, I spent the rest of the journey at the doors.
There was an incident near Tellicherry. As the train was approaching the station, I could see a few people running away from the tracks. As I was standing near the doors, the things became clear to me. A man standing near the tracks was run over by the train, and as the train passed by the spot, I could see his body - half outside the track half under the train. He would have had an instantaneous death.
We reached Mangalore at 2pm, and some of us took a connecting train to Mangalore, owning to their bad health while others opted for the bus. Buses are cheap and also the ride is quiet comfortable. I opted for the bus.
Reached Manipal at 4:30, took a leisurely bath and reached Systems Lab by 6, to write a few CD's and to check my mails.

I uploaded the photos of the trip in my Yahoo! Photos album. They can be viewed here.

I searched for a few sites on Kodaikanal. They provide a lot of information for a new visitor. The best one according to me can be viewed here.

We stayed at J's Heritage resort. The service there was good, and I would definitely recommed the place to anyone going to Kodai. They have a lot of packages to offer. you can get more information about the resort here.

I would like to mention the names of the gang members with whom I made this memorable trip. Gang 1 is the gang with whom I made the trip to Kodaikanal. The excess baggage of their trip, I did enjoy each and every moment I spent with them. Gang 2 is the gang with whom I spent the rest of the trip. This gang has been with me throughout my life at TAPMI.

Gang 1 -
Abdul Rehman, Alpesh Kumar, Anirudh Bhaskaran, Guruprasad, Jayesh Dave, Kamal Saxena, Karthik Abhiram, Kuldeep Gaur, Narasimha Raju, Ramakrishna Rao, Rex Tom, Rupak Ranjan Das and Srijeeth Mohanthy.

Gang 2 -
Akanksha, Amitabh, Chintan, Debanjana, Dipti, Ganeshram, Kranthi, Pratima, Priya, Rachitha, Ravi, Sujay and Surya.