Jenney Club Coimbatore

... walk from the station to the hotel we had booked (New Vijaya, named and shamed), and we were 15 minutes ahead of schedule. This did not stop them telling us we had to pay twice the price as all the cheap rooms were full. I pointed out that there was a piece of paper recording my reservation under the glass of the desk, but this made no difference, and we left in high dudgeon to try another hotel over the road ...

... busy, so I assumed that that was all of Coimbatore. In the last three days, I have seen many more parts of the city. I have seen the residential area, the poor area, and many other districts. Today, I spent the day in a very nice shopping districts with branded stores such as Van Hausen, Nike, Adidas, and Puma, and we ate at a Pizza Hut (which I have to say, Indian pizza is very odd, but the ...

... is an absolute God-send. You are awakened in the morning by the chirping of birds. A walk in the area is an absolute rejuvenating experience watching the myriad flowers in bloom. For bird lovers this is paradise. The weather was cool although it gets a littly nippy towards evenings and then one gets indoors for a comfortable reading.

This holiday bought us closer, as always. The food was excellent served ...

Retour en train à tirupur, la gare est bondée du fait du Festival de Pongal. beaucoup de personnes retournent dans leur famille pour les festivités. Certains religieux voyagent ensemble pour se rendre à des cérémonies spéciales liées à Pongal. Les garçons et filles vétues de rouge sont en partance pour un grand temple à Chennai où un maître spirituel fera un récital....

... and it was a kick ass house, marble floors and stairs,europrean kitchen, large bedrooms, verandas, flat widescreen tv with surround sound system and 2 pure-bred cocker spaniels thrown in for good measure. It was a newly built house (built on wide expanses of now defunct and dried up paddy fields) and was a long way away from the corregated shantys of Vellore. The dinner made by the woman(except for Paula!). As expected - Taaasty stuff, as we say back in the ...

... us to sit on. All this keeping in mind that the rest of the ferry is teeming with other tourists. So we sit at the front of the ferry, with the wildlife spotters pointing things out to us. Silly really, but I'll take it while I can. We spot more birds and some Samba deer, some bison, some "wild peegs" (boar) and then a "groofelefan". Not knowing what species this is, we crane our necks trying to see what they are pointing at. Ah. A group of elephants. Right there. Very, very cool. The ...

... the feeling that Suresh (the owner) and his wife, Susheela, hope to provoke from their visitors. On the jeepride up, between bumps that reminded me of "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" or "Indiana Jones Jungle Safari" at Disney Land, Suresh explained to us that Honey Valley is a homestay, not a lodge or a hotel; it is a place for people to get away from the busy city life and relax; for foreigners to meet a family and understand a laid back part of Indian culture ...

... we went to Ooty by "Toy Train". It's a train that is over a hundred years old, and operates on steam (or diesel) depending on what portion of the track it is taking. It was a great ride; the view was amazing and Rabin & I spend a lot of our time hanging our heads out of the train. The kids in the next cart did as well... and spent some time checking us out as well as the scenery. (I guess we were doing the same; otherwise, how would we know?) The train is actually a World Heritage ...

... sweaty day on the bus). As I walked around the farm that evening I could feel the temperature change from step to step while walking between crops, which was incredible. The farming here is entirely organic as pesticides are too expensive for the majority of farmers, and it was really interesting to see plaintain trees growing underneath massive coconut trees, which provide the necessary shade for the plantains while still being productive. Seeing the silk made too was ...

... Still, it was pleasant enough, and gave me the chance to ride on the back of an elephant, which is probably something I'd never do again. We had breakfast in the Forest Retreat before driving back to Ooty to have lunch with Goshni and her father. We were exhausted by the time we got back to Coimbatore, especially my father, who had been struggling with sickness all day, so besides eating as much food as Suchee's parents could give me, I relaxed and did nothing ...