Rathna Residency Coimbatore

<br>When we decided to zero in on ooty and kodai for our very recent tour,we did some mapping and found that coimbatore was the ideal location to start our tour since it was in middle of ooty and kodai. We were about 8 of us and we needed a minivan for tour so we again started hunting on google for a suitable car rental company, who had a good airconditioned tempo traveller. We found Kannan Tours &amp; Travels Pvt Ltd as one of the leading ...

... 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 ...

... where we get to cook some of the foods we have already eaten...yummm.... more yoga, then another beating and meditation which I will attend today! It was lovely doing yoga in a big round glass room overlooking the valleys of green tea fields the fire crackling away and the mist rolling over the mountains this morning....it is raining as it is the monsoon season but with all that is going on the weather will make no difference to this part of my journey! The journey is on the inside ...

... it should be made and go in the kitchen and make some myself. Maybe i'll give in tomorrow and have one of those indian breakfasts where everything is really oily, coconutty, fried and spicy, basically the opposite of what I feel like eating in the morning! Anyway best be off, out into the lions den of staring, oh god give me strength, thank goodness I'm back to Goa tomorrow I CANNOT WAIT! And as bobster is there this also means this spell of lone travel will end for a few days...

... island. We get on, sit on our two plastic chairs and the drivers speeds off. Not really, he chugs away at glacial speeds. But we're off, away from the madness, and that's all that matters. We get back to our room and order coffee, and eat our banana loaf. A little while later we see June come running by saying "Elephants! Elephants!", then she runs past in the other direction with binoculars and video camera in hand. So we follow. She is of course, the residing wildlife expert. Off ...

So it's taken me a few days to get my blog updated for my trip to Mysore. Today I seem to have a slight headcold, nothing major, but it is irritating. The weather has been super hot, then breezy and cool, and then rainy, so it's not surprising. I'm told the locals get sick all the time because of this, and my class is all coughing and sneezing as well. There seems to be at least one sick person every time I teach.... Anyway - MYSORE!! The trip to Mysore takes about 3 hours and ...

... courses and desserts. I tried a carrot halwa (soft sweetmeat) but found it too sweet for my taste. The bride and groom met on the internet and then in Chicago. They promised to listen to our CD when they are going on their honeymoon. Getting married is serious business in India. Many people still have arranged marriages , where the parents will choose the bride. Some men and women have the option to refuse twice, the third time they HAVE to marry the ...

... control! His mates all wanted a go and a scuffle ensued. The remote control was certainly popular with most of the buttons being chewed off in half an hour! We took the easy option and walked down the 1000 steps. Well, I say easy, it was actually quite a ...

... black, and boils up black chunks from the bottom. To say nothing of the smell-- taking a brief group survey, we determined that our group members would unanimously prefer to be hit by a bus than fall into that lake. Anyways, the Cauvery was a wonderful contrast, and boy is it huge! It looks like the ocean at some places; I took lots of photos that I will hopefully be able to post in New Zealand-- very very beautiful. After three grueling days of travel, virtually no sleep ...

... a curtain across the room, separating the dining and living areas, and completely blocking off the table from our view. It seems that in every aspect of life in India, at least traditional life, women are segregated from men. Whether it be during the day, socialising at night, or as we were now seeing, even at mealtimes it was this way. This is not the way I would choose to live, but this was not my house, so I accepted it as their way of life. We left his ...