Kotagiri & Ooty

I've been meaning to get out of the city for a long time now. Actually, the long time kind of translates to about two weeks. Was in Pondicherry two weeks ago. That aside, the work, the traffic and the societal necessity to be nice to everyone, even for two weeks is a bit of a pain.

I like Good Friday. No sentimental or religious beliefs. I like it for one reason and one reason only, its always on a Friday. Meaning, its always the start to a long weekend. For the overworked, frustrated soul that i am, a long weekend is a god-send. So to make good use of this weekend we decided to drive down to Kotagiri. Deciding on a place and making the necessary arrangements is usually left to Sumanth. How to get there, what to see, where to eat, etc etc is all taken care of by him. All i have to do is wake up on the given day at the given time and drive. This time was different. The trip was to be with colleagues and we choose Kotagiri because a colleague's uncle had accommodation there. 10 mins and we had decided. Sumanth was invited, and after a little natak (and checking pics of the place on google) decided to tag along.

For the uninitiated, this is Sumanth! And, ladies, as "hawt" as he may look, he is single and available. Please leave a comment with your details and i'll see to it that he gives you a call.

Left Bangalore at about 4:40 am thanks to Sumanth's I-need-to-dress-up-for-any-girls-who-might-be-roaming-around-the-highways-at-4am antics. We usually leave at 4am anywhere we go. We decided to go through Sathy (Satyamangalam) instead of the beaten track of Mysore-Bandipur- Ooty - Kotagiri. We were directed this way by the aforementioned 'uncle' as he felt we would have difficulty in climbing into Ooty. If i knew the roads were in the condition they were in I wouldn't have hesitated one bit. I'm sure the Baleno could have taken it. Before going further i absolutely have to say this: the roads in Tamil Nadu are just amazing. For someone who hasn't put his car in 5th or even 4th gear in a long time due to traffic conditions this was a dream come true. Even the ghat section with a number of hairpin curves had the best roads i've seen in a while. Driving was an absolute pleasure and I dint feel the least bit strained. I drove all the way through and back.

Kotagiri is a nice quiet place. Dont expect anything fancy. If you want fancy i suggest you go to Ooty. But be prepared for half of Bangalore City being there at any point of time. We stayed at a place called Bel air cottages. The place is pretty decent. Rooms rates vary between 750 - 1200 per day. The food served here is not only expensive but not something you would want to write home about. I'm not sure about other eating options in Kotagiri but after two meals where were staying, it was bread and butter and jam for us.

The pics i guess says enough about the place. Its a much better option when compared to Ooty. And the drive is surely worth it. Cheers.