A different trip to Ooty...

During my college days, I was fortunate enough to have a car that I could call my own regardless of the fact that my father technically owned it and also funded part of the fuel expenses. This was truly an asset to our "gang" as it provided a safer mode of transport for the wild trips we so often indulged in. Of course we have had our share of biking trips to Ooty at all possible hours for reasons as creative as "drinking chai up there". The arrival of the car ensured that we could actually make more trips per month.

Looking back at those innumerable trips, the number of times we actually reached Ooty town was minimal. There were enough sights and places attracting us than Ooty itself which even then was horribly commercialised. Of course, the standard tourist spots were duly completed, but rarely repeated except maybe commercial road, food and drink leading us to Kurinjis and sometimes the stores selling home-made chocolates. All said and done there were a few "family" trips (referred to by us as domestic trips) as well which ensured that Ooty Lake and the Botanical Gardens were subjected to my patronage, voluntary or otherwise.

Once I moved out of college, spent a couple of years at Pune and came back, there were almost no trips to Ooty as the "gang" had mostly moved to Bangalore and work took a front seat. Eventually, I moved to Bangalore and Ooty became a distant memory. Then one day, the new "gang" which included members of the old "gang", now leading "married" lives decided to do a weekend trip to Ooty and it seemed like a good idea, especially since my wife had never seen Ooty.

So we landed up in Ooty on a saturday morning and drove into Glyngarth Villa. A 5 or 6 bedroom Villa reportedly built in 1851 or 1852. It is a beautiful colonial villa set in a 4.5 acre property on the top of a hill overlooking a large valley. Quite close to Ooty town and yet far from the hustle and bustle. If I ever decide to write a book one day, I would choose this place to stay. The Villa including the furnishing inside has an old world charm with modern bathrooms and fittings which makes it worth the visit for us city slickers. Of course, the service is not 3 star or 5 start hotel levels, but the you tend to be forgiving either because you didn't expect that kind of a service anyway or the rest of the place makes up for it.

I am not and probably will never be a good writer of travelogues, so I have a bunch of pictures of this place. Enjoy.