My weekend started on Thursday evening when I boarded the train to Kodai Road. It was a fun filled three day weekend. Highlights as follows:
1. Ran to catch the moving train. I was actually sitting inside another train on the opposite platform until my friends came and told me that I was sitting in the wrong train.
2. Was forced to listen to a torture conversation from a supporting actor by name Y.Vijaya. She always comes in the tamil movies as someone who belongs to the bad guys family.
3. Got to see some of the spots where the movie Subramaniyapuram was shot.
4. Awesome breakfast at Sholavanthan.
5. Got to check out the Vadipatti artifical turf ground. Apparently, Vadipatti churns out the maximum enthusiasts for hockey from Tamil Nadu.
6. Tried Paneer Soda after almost a decade. God, it was so refreshing. And then, Bovonto, another amazing drink.
7. Took a small walk in Kodaikanal on Friday evening. Visibility was like 2 feet.
8. Saturday morning was bright and sunny. So, we ended up doing a 30 plus km cycle ride in the hills. Went around the lake and took the upper lake view road straight to the golf course, then Pillar Rocks and then the Berijam Checkpost. From there headed down another hill for about 15 kms.
9. Amazing uphills and downhills. Downhill speed of atleast 35-40kmph. Got knackered completely on the uphills. Every hill was a challenge. There was always this tendency to give up and get on to the support truck. But, giving an extra mile of effort is such a pleasant feeling and it gives you a great feeling at the end. So I kept riding the cycle until the guys just forced me to stop.
10. Bought half a kilo of home made chocolates from Kodi - Raisins, Dates, Butter Scotch, Almonds. Every possible flavor.
11. Took a scary ride back to Sholavanthan. The driver drove the Omni at 60kmph through the hills. He reached the foothills in about an hour. Every minute, I was fearing whether I was going to throw up.
12. Reached Madurai on Sunday morning and tasted the world famous Jigar-Thanda. There are only 2 shops in Madurai that are famous for this. Every other seller is trying to fake it.
13. Visited the Thirumalai Naicker Mahal, which was under renovation. So nothing much to see, other than concrete, cement and paint all over the place.
14. Silambattam - the best thing to happen in Madurai. Totally Simbhu style and killer movie.
15. A mindblowing concert by Vedanth Bharadwaj at the INTACH Madurai to end the holiday.
Showing posts with label kodaikanal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kodaikanal. Show all posts
Monday, December 22, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Hill Stations and Homemade Chocolates
With a bag hanging on his shoulder, he reached the main market place. A few of his friends were there with him too. They looked around. Tourists everywhere. Shopkeepers busy trying to attract the crowd. It was the peak season of the year.
Every second shop in that one square kilometer area sold homemade chocolates. He was astonished. He wondered why!
What was it with homemade chocolates and hill-stations? What's the damn connection?
- Is it because of fresh and organic milk? The cows do not have to eat treated food. They get to graze on the greener pastures of the mountains. No one is there to control their movement. With freedom, they eat better and live healthy. Hence, the milk is full of energy and natural nutrients. (Hmmm... is this the same milk that Arjun's mom used to give him? Don't know)
- Chocolate doesn't melt in cool weather. Now that's a scientific thought. But all the people who buy these chocolates, are from the hot plains. So what's the point in buying chocolates and then taking it back as one molded piece?
- Or is it cocoa beans? Possible, cocoa beans can grow in places that are 20 degrees to the north and south of the equator. Kodaikanal is probably one of those places.
- Homemade chocolates provide unadulterated nutritional value, which might be required in the hills. I mean, you'll need more and will also burn more.
- Chocolate contains chemical mood filters associated with feelings of love and passion. In India, hill-stations are a common attraction for lovers. You know where I am getting to. Also, Aztec emperor Montezuma drank 50 golden goblets of chocolate a day to boost his virility before visiting his harem of 600 women. Isn't that enough proof?
Now I need a kilo of that banana cream filled chocolate. Right Now !!!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Kodi Biking Trip
Kodi - it was such an unplanned trip for me. KK was planning to cycle the hills with a couple of friends. My Kodi trip was supposed to start on Friday (28th) evening. Then I thought - what the hell, why would I want to go to Kodi for just 1.5 days? So I checked with KK if I could join him for the cycling trip. Luckily, there was a cycle available for me at the Kodi guest house.
That was it! On 25th morning, I jumped onto KK's Indigo and we drove to Kodaikanal. Reached there around 5pm. Our first stop was the Golf Club where we met the gang. The cycling plan was explained to us and then we were all set.
Day One - We started around half past nine on the observatory road. there were three Ford Endeavors with food and water, two people on the motorbike to help with us any problems with the cycles, and a masseur. the first stretch was an uphill and it was quite bad. most of the them were gasping for breath, but still made it. flat roads to begin with would have been better i thought. from there it was downhill for a while. this road was taking us to Mannavanur. the total distance was around 35 kms. at the downhill stretch, our bikes were speeding at more than 40kmph. little did we know what was going to happen. my bike went out of control at a bend. i tried braking hard - didnt work out that well. the bike was skidding and i was going to go straight into the mountain. thats when i realized that i had to do something. so i jumped off the bike and landed on my back. luckily, nothing serious except for a minor internal damage to the thigh muscle. about 50 mtrs behind another person fell - and that was KK. he had a bad fall - bruised his elbow and knee. we started off again. what was waiting for us was one helluva hill climb - a never ending one rather. with every turn we took, we hoped that it would lead to a flat road, but it never worked to our favor. finally, we came to our lunch spot. it was like a cliff, from where we could see the sheep farm and the area surrounding it. from there it was downhill. we kept cycling till we reached a point where the road forked to Berijam and Kavunji. We took the road to Berijam and cycled a few kms. Berijam is a protected area and tourists are not allowed into that forest belt. a few kms towards the Berijam lake and then it was time to head back.
Kodi Biking Trip
Day Two - started with two rounds of the lake. then we took a right turn at the bus stand near the lake into the road that led to Villupatti. Initial downhill, after that, it was 1.5kms of pure uphill. when we got to the top, most of us were knacker ed. we took the straight road which was another downhill-uphill combination. at one point, the road forked and went further up. if we had done that hill as well, then it would have been the best climb. but didn't do it - junta was tired. that hill was leading us to Nayudupuram. we drove back and took the road to Kurinji Temple. towards the right of the temple there was a small road that was leading us back to the lake - a distance of about 5 kms i guess. this trip was close to 25kms. the best part about day two cycling - the uphill and downhill circuits were more frequent. so, more work. in the day one track, we had flat roads and small gradients as well. in such places we could cycle fast and get some pace. with the uphill downhill combo, the problem was - one needs to keep braking when downhill and then change gears to prepare for uphill. all the speed that you gather when you come downhill comes down by a fifth. if you didnt brake, then you'd definitely be under one of those speeding cars coming on the opposite side.
That was it! On 25th morning, I jumped onto KK's Indigo and we drove to Kodaikanal. Reached there around 5pm. Our first stop was the Golf Club where we met the gang. The cycling plan was explained to us and then we were all set.
Day One - We started around half past nine on the observatory road. there were three Ford Endeavors with food and water, two people on the motorbike to help with us any problems with the cycles, and a masseur. the first stretch was an uphill and it was quite bad. most of the them were gasping for breath, but still made it. flat roads to begin with would have been better i thought. from there it was downhill for a while. this road was taking us to Mannavanur. the total distance was around 35 kms. at the downhill stretch, our bikes were speeding at more than 40kmph. little did we know what was going to happen. my bike went out of control at a bend. i tried braking hard - didnt work out that well. the bike was skidding and i was going to go straight into the mountain. thats when i realized that i had to do something. so i jumped off the bike and landed on my back. luckily, nothing serious except for a minor internal damage to the thigh muscle. about 50 mtrs behind another person fell - and that was KK. he had a bad fall - bruised his elbow and knee. we started off again. what was waiting for us was one helluva hill climb - a never ending one rather. with every turn we took, we hoped that it would lead to a flat road, but it never worked to our favor. finally, we came to our lunch spot. it was like a cliff, from where we could see the sheep farm and the area surrounding it. from there it was downhill. we kept cycling till we reached a point where the road forked to Berijam and Kavunji. We took the road to Berijam and cycled a few kms. Berijam is a protected area and tourists are not allowed into that forest belt. a few kms towards the Berijam lake and then it was time to head back.
Kodi Biking Trip
Day Two - started with two rounds of the lake. then we took a right turn at the bus stand near the lake into the road that led to Villupatti. Initial downhill, after that, it was 1.5kms of pure uphill. when we got to the top, most of us were knacker ed. we took the straight road which was another downhill-uphill combination. at one point, the road forked and went further up. if we had done that hill as well, then it would have been the best climb. but didn't do it - junta was tired. that hill was leading us to Nayudupuram. we drove back and took the road to Kurinji Temple. towards the right of the temple there was a small road that was leading us back to the lake - a distance of about 5 kms i guess. this trip was close to 25kms. the best part about day two cycling - the uphill and downhill circuits were more frequent. so, more work. in the day one track, we had flat roads and small gradients as well. in such places we could cycle fast and get some pace. with the uphill downhill combo, the problem was - one needs to keep braking when downhill and then change gears to prepare for uphill. all the speed that you gather when you come downhill comes down by a fifth. if you didnt brake, then you'd definitely be under one of those speeding cars coming on the opposite side.
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