Coorg Trip was memorable! There hardly was any inconvenient or anxious moments, and we got to cover a lot even though we took it easy.

Friday, we started early -- around 6 AM. Mom and Bou di had their Santoshi Ma fast, so there were many food related issues to crop up during the day. Otherwise, the journey to Coorg was excellent. The weather was cloudy and cool. So, everyone was fresh till the very end of the journey. We got an excellent driver called Viresh. He is a gentleman with silent ways. Drove very safely and abode by all our requests. I would surely suggest you consider him if you are thinking of hiring an Indica for a nearby travel. His phone number is: 09945767026. Also let your friends know.

We stopped by at Kamat Yatri Nivas somewhere on Mysore road near ChennaPatna for breakfast. It was a lovely place with a rural touch to it, with two ducks, a children park, and traditionally attired waiters.

Driving on the 4-lane Bangalore Mysore road was a lifetime experience.

Around lunch time we made it to Bylakuppe Tibetan Monastery. Most of us agree that it was the best part of the journey. The place is exquisitely beautiful. A sudden emergence of so many Tibetan faces in the premises brings up fantastic thoughts of having all of a sudden migrated to a foriegn land. It's a beautiful village-like place, with both modern-age amenities like Internet cafes and shopping complexes and ancient-age relics of farming and residential monasteries.


The monastery was so well decorated, tidy and peaceful that it infused infinite peace and energy. Believe me! Looking at the peaceful face of the Buddha, every sane soul would be moved to take a look at the life from a high point. With hearts filled with renewed charge to live life more fully, we left the place. Lunch, we took in Bylakkupe itself. Unfortunately, we couldn't eat well as the food we had brought from home had gone bad slightly. We also did some shopping. For a change, I got something because I felt an urge to have it -- a bell that makes an acoustic sound if you stroke it with a wooden stick in a particular way.

We then visited Dubare Elephant Resort -- a government owned establishment a few kilometres ahead toward Madikeri. We didn't get to see any elephants there as it was a wrong time of the day to visit. To see elephants, one must either visit before 9 AM or after 4 PM. Anyway, with some disappointment, we proceeded.

We hit Madikeri at about 3 PM, and by 4 PM, we were at Euro Valley home stay. It was quite easy to miss the right turn which came 6 km after crossing the main town square on the Mangalore road. And the drive after that was quite bumpy to put it mildly. It was something of a suspense till the very point we reached there.

When we finally got there, initially it was something of a disappointment at least to me. When we entered the premises, it was Mr. Prakash, a simple homely looking gentleman in his 40s, holding his infant daughter in his arms, waiting to receive us. His good-natured smile and homely attitude wasn't enough to weigh over his unkempt-ness and the general unprofessional outlook of the place. As we entered the house, the whole of which was reserved for us, we again didn't get a very inviting feeling. The air inside smelt damp. The furniture wasn't maintained too neatly. When, an hour later, we all left for Raja Seat, the sunset point, we all were kind of relieved to get out, and weren't really looking forward to come back there.

At Raja Seat, we got to see no sunset. And we couldn't care less. We relaxed there a bit; Chhotu rode on the toy train; and we all had a relaxing time there. On our way back to Euro Valley, we also visited the Omkareshwar temple at Madikeri. It was a neat, uncrowded and pretty place. When we came back, Euro Valley no more felt all that uninviting to me. We settled into the sofa, watched a movie and went to sleep after having lunch. Away from from home, the experience of doing the most mundane in togetherness with the family was a very wonderful experience.

Next day, we visited two places : Taal-Cauvery, the origin of the river Cauvery, and Abbi Falls. Both were so-so places. Nothing great. Not, at least, at this time of the year. We also went to Bagmandala, a confluence point of three rivers: Cauvery, Kannika and Sujyoti (mythical).

On our way back to Euro Valley, we did some spices shopping in Medikeri. Spices indeed turned out to be a lot cheaper than elsewhere. So, if you happen to visit Coorg, and are into spices, don't miss you chance to hoard.

Next day, Shilpi, Boudi and me took a walk down the coffee estate. It was quite nice.

Shortly after breakfast we left Euro Valley. Unlike our journey on Friday, this time we were received by a warm day on our way back to Bangalore. We thought we had some time in our hands and took a detour to Mysore to see one place. We decided upon Mysore palace. We found it an exceptionally crowded place. It took a long time to get the tickets. Inside, it was hot, sultry and stuffy. No one enjoyed the grandeur of the palace due to the crowd. When we got done with our visit, all of us were relieved to get out of it. The car took the Bangalore road soon.

We reached Bangalore without much event at about 9.

The trip was laid back and pleasant. The highlight points weren't the tourist sites of Coorg, nor the mountain climate. It was the car drive which to a large extent was due to the deftness of the driver and the smoothness of the roads. It was the cosy location of the modest home stay inside the coffee plantation. And by far, it was the home away from home experience with family during that lethargic and relaxed weekend.

Visit Coorg with your family and friends. Highly recommended!

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