First Impressions and Settling in in Kodaikanal
I am now settled in after breakfast (food will be a problem here-will have to go check out the town) Room is OK. Can't compare to Kailwood-something missing but can't put my finger on it...but I've got my line strung for clothes-my incense burning-flowers in a bottle on the shelf, my music playing-my bathroom set up and am dying to go to sleep but waiting for bed to be made up...The toilet leaks but Deva said he would fix it...(note from Saturday:.thought I was imagining it, but several days later I realized that there is a terrible smell as well in the bathroom apparently coming from the adjoining toilets in the dormitory...basically like the worst public toilet you can imagine and even spending 5 minutes in there is dreadful...I've tried incense but it doesn't help...so have suffered through it until today when I am leaving)...
Ravin called earlier just to make sure all was OK. I hadn't called as there is no public phone here...and asked about the view but I had not yet looked at it.
Now I am sitting outside on my "terrace"-with music in background, birds chirping(missed that in chennai-all I heard there were crows)...a cute little black bird of some kind is staring at me and I am overlooking an immense expanse of valley below with sharp peaks rising through the scattered clouds...the peaks are covered in velvety green and off to my right the forest rises. The only thing which spoils the view is what looks like a TV tower or something rising above the trees...shame...and electric cables strung across-will take pics on a clearer day (note: turns out that was the clearest day!!!) Here there is not a deciduous (?) evergreen forest like in McLeod but other types of trees...Many looking like the same eucalyptus groves I saw along the way up...strange for me to see this as eucalyptus to me means Kinneret and drying up swamps...Here much of the forest seems to be naturally eucapytus and my driver (who explained much along the way up and if I can decipher my chicken scrawl notes written while driving on REAL Indian roads on a snake path, I will write more) they are used for making eucalyptus oil for all purpose. (Note: later on I found out the forest is comprised of both evergreens and eucalyptus and the funniest thing was to see monkeys coming out of eucalyptus trees!!!) Unlike most Israelis I cannot identify flora and fauna at will but will try and find out what type of trees make up the woods here.
The guesthouse seems quite pleasant so far and once I sleep and then check out distance to town, I will know for sure if I will stay here...I hope so as I am already looking forward to stepping off the road here and heading up to the hills ...it is crispy air. not really cold-not even nippy, but after chennai it will take me a couple of days to get used to it. I will need at least one sweater for sure, perhaps one long sleeve tricot shirt, but otherwise I think I am fine. I basically hear no traffic noise here which is really lovely...(note: sorry to say but this place was VERY noisy as it is off season and they were doing all their renovations inside and out while the place had very few guests).
Later....Tibetan Brothers Restaurant-Thanthouk soup just as amazing as I remember-was afraid of being disappointed...no way! momos as well!!! yummy.
....later....nothing here for me...will check lake area tomorrow-problem with food-don't think I will be here long
figured out the energy problem here...it is a Christian town almost 100%...churches everywhere....missionaries sitting in restaurants saying how wonderful it is here that they can work in the schools with children from all over India and convert them...new testaments sitting on the tables of restaurants...churches all over....I don't mind any of this per se, and if I had been in Italy, or Greece or whatever wouldn't even find it strange, but this is not what I travel in India for and it is most disconcerting for me...and would explain the negatives vibes I am getting every where I walk or sit...
As always-I am being forced to take care of myself even when I am not clever enough to realize what's happening.
What I perceived as a "problem with food" is a remedy for my stomach from the powers that be.
On the way today, I bought dates, raisins, real dried apricots like those I ate 2 years ago in Leh, cashews, pistachios, apples and pears. Since there is no place to eat a granola curd fruit breakfast, and no place to go out for dinner, it is far to here, dark, cold, hilly and no way I am going out at nite alone-I ordered a large pot of ginger water, and am eating for dinner dates and fruit-when I wake up hungry in the morning, I will eat fruit again and one of my granola bars..-perhaps I can get some curd from the limited kitchen here (forget it!...nada!)... and then, when I go out I will eat a brunch kind of meal around 11-something lite like the lovely tantouk I had today, and then hang around town and before coming back up eat another lite meal and again fruit in the evening (didn't work out like that...found the good health food store and bought bread cheese etc., and only ate one meal a day out...not quite enough for me but I managed)
No heavy pastas and cheeses and coffees and cakes for awhile- weeks of fantastic indian food which I couldn't resist eating but which is VERY not what I generally eat-hardly any fruit-no fresh salad (missing that terribly-only up north I've seen that)...lots of fried, highly seasoned (even when not spicy) lots of milk, eggs everyday etc., etc. I think in a week I will be back to normal and by then will think of leaving here anyway.
I will check out the lake area tomorrow and then do a few daily hikes assuming my knees manage the hills here. and then decide whether to move on to Kerala or not. The truth is, I am being called very loudly to McLeod and think I will head there from here (after going first back to chennai) I bought some warm stuff to keep me comfy here. tricot pajamas for around the room and zip up velour type sweatshirt nice for outdoors (and indoors ( and I guess I am set. Did yoga finally today and feeling good with myself. Now listening to my classical music for the first time here and it always puts me in a lovely mood-will settle in for the time being and enjoy the place. There is no way to compare it to McLeod so I won't...and just enjoy it for what it is ...
The room is comfy-if not homey like the rooms at kailwood...and since there is no place to sit with other people-everyone eats in their own room...difficult to meet people. Everyone smiles and says hello but so far that's it. Also in the restaurant there is not the same carefree easy feeling-also, this is mostly and Indian vacation spot ...don't know -don't see many "white" people walking around. but I really don't care..want to get out into the mountains but will stick close by to town for at least one more day...
Ravin called earlier just to make sure all was OK. I hadn't called as there is no public phone here...and asked about the view but I had not yet looked at it.
Now I am sitting outside on my "terrace"-with music in background, birds chirping(missed that in chennai-all I heard there were crows)...a cute little black bird of some kind is staring at me and I am overlooking an immense expanse of valley below with sharp peaks rising through the scattered clouds...the peaks are covered in velvety green and off to my right the forest rises. The only thing which spoils the view is what looks like a TV tower or something rising above the trees...shame...and electric cables strung across-will take pics on a clearer day (note: turns out that was the clearest day!!!) Here there is not a deciduous (?) evergreen forest like in McLeod but other types of trees...Many looking like the same eucalyptus groves I saw along the way up...strange for me to see this as eucalyptus to me means Kinneret and drying up swamps...Here much of the forest seems to be naturally eucapytus and my driver (who explained much along the way up and if I can decipher my chicken scrawl notes written while driving on REAL Indian roads on a snake path, I will write more) they are used for making eucalyptus oil for all purpose. (Note: later on I found out the forest is comprised of both evergreens and eucalyptus and the funniest thing was to see monkeys coming out of eucalyptus trees!!!) Unlike most Israelis I cannot identify flora and fauna at will but will try and find out what type of trees make up the woods here.
The guesthouse seems quite pleasant so far and once I sleep and then check out distance to town, I will know for sure if I will stay here...I hope so as I am already looking forward to stepping off the road here and heading up to the hills ...it is crispy air. not really cold-not even nippy, but after chennai it will take me a couple of days to get used to it. I will need at least one sweater for sure, perhaps one long sleeve tricot shirt, but otherwise I think I am fine. I basically hear no traffic noise here which is really lovely...(note: sorry to say but this place was VERY noisy as it is off season and they were doing all their renovations inside and out while the place had very few guests).
Later....Tibetan Brothers Restaurant-Thanthouk soup just as amazing as I remember-was afraid of being disappointed...no way! momos as well!!! yummy.
....later....nothing here for me...will check lake area tomorrow-problem with food-don't think I will be here long
figured out the energy problem here...it is a Christian town almost 100%...churches everywhere....missionaries sitting in restaurants saying how wonderful it is here that they can work in the schools with children from all over India and convert them...new testaments sitting on the tables of restaurants...churches all over....I don't mind any of this per se, and if I had been in Italy, or Greece or whatever wouldn't even find it strange, but this is not what I travel in India for and it is most disconcerting for me...and would explain the negatives vibes I am getting every where I walk or sit...
As always-I am being forced to take care of myself even when I am not clever enough to realize what's happening.
What I perceived as a "problem with food" is a remedy for my stomach from the powers that be.
On the way today, I bought dates, raisins, real dried apricots like those I ate 2 years ago in Leh, cashews, pistachios, apples and pears. Since there is no place to eat a granola curd fruit breakfast, and no place to go out for dinner, it is far to here, dark, cold, hilly and no way I am going out at nite alone-I ordered a large pot of ginger water, and am eating for dinner dates and fruit-when I wake up hungry in the morning, I will eat fruit again and one of my granola bars..-perhaps I can get some curd from the limited kitchen here (forget it!...nada!)... and then, when I go out I will eat a brunch kind of meal around 11-something lite like the lovely tantouk I had today, and then hang around town and before coming back up eat another lite meal and again fruit in the evening (didn't work out like that...found the good health food store and bought bread cheese etc., and only ate one meal a day out...not quite enough for me but I managed)
No heavy pastas and cheeses and coffees and cakes for awhile- weeks of fantastic indian food which I couldn't resist eating but which is VERY not what I generally eat-hardly any fruit-no fresh salad (missing that terribly-only up north I've seen that)...lots of fried, highly seasoned (even when not spicy) lots of milk, eggs everyday etc., etc. I think in a week I will be back to normal and by then will think of leaving here anyway.
I will check out the lake area tomorrow and then do a few daily hikes assuming my knees manage the hills here. and then decide whether to move on to Kerala or not. The truth is, I am being called very loudly to McLeod and think I will head there from here (after going first back to chennai) I bought some warm stuff to keep me comfy here. tricot pajamas for around the room and zip up velour type sweatshirt nice for outdoors (and indoors ( and I guess I am set. Did yoga finally today and feeling good with myself. Now listening to my classical music for the first time here and it always puts me in a lovely mood-will settle in for the time being and enjoy the place. There is no way to compare it to McLeod so I won't...and just enjoy it for what it is ...
The room is comfy-if not homey like the rooms at kailwood...and since there is no place to sit with other people-everyone eats in their own room...difficult to meet people. Everyone smiles and says hello but so far that's it. Also in the restaurant there is not the same carefree easy feeling-also, this is mostly and Indian vacation spot ...don't know -don't see many "white" people walking around. but I really don't care..want to get out into the mountains but will stick close by to town for at least one more day...
posted by Jane @ 11:10 PM
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