When it comes to vacations, like everything else I must add, planning has never worked for me. The plethora of information on flights, hotels, packages and deals have always overwhelmed me whenever I tried to book a vacation. The date always got closer so I had to let my instinct take over, and that was how my wife and I started on the ride to Hyderabad Airport on 1st of October 2015 for our 4 day long vacation to Ooty, Coorg and Mysore.
Jet Airways Web check-in
The flight to Bengaluru from Hyderabad is always a pleasant and easy ride clocking just under an hour. We reached at around 7 AM, to a nice clear weather and an eager looking man in a clean white shirt wearing a broad smile armed with a placard bearing our names. He told that it would take around 6 to 8 hours of ride to Ooty, which was just fine for both of us and we settled into our seats and caught up on some much needed sleep.

Spicejet Airlines
We had breakfast at a hotel of the driver’s choice in Mysore. He showed us the Mysore Palace from the vehicle, though I wanted to go in, he suggested that it will be better left to another day. We didn’t mind it a bit and resumed our sleep. When we woke up the wind was a bit chilly comparatively and we saw greenery all around. The car was traversing its way up on a hilly terrain and I don’t think I have ever seen such bends. The ride up the hill was quite thrilling and dangerous but the driver was obviously a skilled one and he maneuvered the terrain with skill and flair, while talking about the latest Kannada release Uppi 2. Incidentally he didn’t like the movie. I quipped that may be he didn’t get it. I certainly didn’t.

We reached Ooty around lunch time and checked into the hotel. The place was everything that I ever expected from a hill station, complete with chilly climate, unpredictable rains and a Coffee Day right below our hotel room. The places we visited were all standard issue check list stuff like the Botanical Garden, some waterfall whose name I can’t remember, an amusement park kind of place named Jurassic Park where they had imitation dinosaurs made of rubber and leather, but it was the small town ambience and the weather that we enjoyed the most. Unfortunately there was no Wi-Fi at our hotel so we had to retire early, not that I complained. In vacations the days start and end soon unlike my normal days in the cities.

The next day we woke up to more rain, but the driver was right at the entrance of the hotel so we checked out and rushed into the cab for more sightseeing around the Tea Gardens nearby Ooty. The best thing easily about the day was the raw mango slices we ate with a pinch of salt and chili powder, which were the best complements to the weather around. After lunch we told the driver to take the day off and walked along the roads of Ooty taking in the surroundings greedily, though the walk up the hills can sometimes catch you off breath.

Coorg beckoned the next day and the ride downhill from Ooty was another exciting way to spend the early morning from the cozy backseat of our cab driven expertly once again by our driver. His smile never wavered throughout the drive and he was always earnest and eager to suggest us places to eat and visit. We stopped at the Golden Temple at around 8 AM and what I saw was an astonishing sight that was etched in my mind till date. The 60 feet statues at the temple, the resounding conch shells, the exotic chanting were only to be savored and wondered at. I guess I was inside the temple for about an hour, sitting just by myself, marveling at the sight in front. It was a curious experience and unlike other famed Temples I visited, there wasn’t much crowd which made the visit even more peaceful.

Once we moved away from the hotel to the resort, we checked in and went in search of river rappelling which was on my mind for very long time. It didn’t take very long to reach the place but unfortunately rain decided to play spoilsport and the guy in charge of the task told us to wait till he gets another 5 members to start the rappelling. We waited again, first for the rain to abate and then for the other 5 members to join us. An hour passed and we were still at the river while none of the above 2 happened. Just when we were about to leave of exasperation, came another car driven by a group of guys from Mumbai for their bachelor party. Soon we were all dressed up and ready to go and none of us really cared about the rain.

The lifejacket that we were given made me feel somewhat invincible and when the driver stopped rowing and asked us to jump in the water, I was the first to take the plunge. It was a heavenly experience being suspended on water, allowing the tide to take me through. I didn’t know how to swim but the lifejacket took care of everything and ensured I had the time of my life. When we came back after 3 hours, the driver told us all the sightseeing spots would be closed by around 5 PM and we were left nothing to do for the rest of the evening, so we retreated to the resort to some French Fries, Onion Pakoras and Old Monk Rum, reminiscing on three days well spent.

The drive back from Coorg to Bengaluru Airport was a pleasant one, almost picturesque, and certainly quick. Our driver left us at the airport and after an hour of waiting, with content hearts we boarded the flight. Within minutes of landing in Hyderabad and sitting in a cab, we were surrounded by unruly traffic, loud horns, sweltering sweat, reality and life.