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 ...

It's funny how things can change so quickly, no matter where you are in the world. For the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking of India as only what I have seen: the small airports, the shopping, and the university. I know that it is only a tiny, tiny part of India, but I had nothing else to base it on. I have been proven wrong.<br><br>In the last few days, I have seen more parts of India that ...

Calvin and I made the windy trip from Ooty to Coimbatore to visit friends of mine, Saravanan Uncle and Kavitha Aunty, from Calgary. They are spending a year in India, and have just built a gorgeous house in Coimbatore. We had a very fun day playing with their two girls ...

... little piece of heaven. The waiter comes around and serves us fresh lime soda and tells us that there is a sightseeing boat at 4:30 if we are interested. We sip our drinks and take a walk around the lodge and grounds. There is a moat around the lodge, apparently to keep the elephants out, since they tend to sleep about 100m behind the hotel, as the Dutch tourists found out one morning when they went for an illegal walk behind the hotel. Apparently, early one morning they hopped across ...

... as soon as I work up the courage to talk to one I'll try and confirm my theory. ooty the town doesn't have a lot going for it (beside the gardens) but the surrounding countryside is fantastic. On sunday clint, a girl from the UK and me, met a local guide, Ranjeev, a member of the indigenous tribes, the Todas. We ended up taking a fantastic day hike though the hills, villages and tea plantations near ooty. If anyone is going to ooty please ...

... Dumbo, don't freak out! Dumbo didn't freak out, and was very peaceful and obliging, and when my ride was over, I got to have a picture with him, rubbing his trunk and telling him what a good baby he was. I looked right in that elephant's eye and it looked right back at me. Now THAT is something not many people can say they've done. I got my picture and then Dumbo raised his trunk toward me, I'm not sure if it was in affection or irritation, but I got scared and ran the hell ...

... up to Coonoor and passing on blind curves. I still get hooked into the drama of the driving when I'm in a taxi. A couple of times today I made myself watch the scenery. In Coimbatore I noticed the most beautiful colored saris. Really spectacular. Tried to get photos but the car was zooming through traffic, so.... Yesterday on the ride from Alleppey to Cochin ...

... a huge rock that sticks out of the ground) to see a view of Bangalore. On our way back down, we stopped into a second building that is a part of all Hindu temples whose name I don't remember right now, but it translates into 'nine planets'. There is a huge square table that fills up the room, with eight sculptures of the Gods of the most auspicious planets spread evenly on the perimeter of the table. A central sculpture (the ninth) represents the sun. You walk around the table (to the ...

... dark. If we encountered it, it was likely to charge. 2 tons of muscle landing on top of you is not a pleasant thought, and our uneasiness showed. Suchee started telling jokes to try and take our mind off the situation at hand, by the end of which I was starting to think that perhaps being charged down by a bison wasn't so bad after all. Fortunately, the bison never materialised, so we set off after a few more minutes. It turns out the place we were staying ...