The white cloud covering the top of green mountains looked the ring of Saturn. Tooing and froing on uphill and downhill roads of Coorg reminded me of the city of San Francisco, sans the orderliness and infrastructure of the later.
Apart from hotels and restaurants the city is filled with numerous Spices and Craft stores, selling home made chocolates and wines too. From Ponnappas to General Kariappa, Coorg is known to be a big supplier of champion sports and military persons of India.
We saw several Coffee estates by the meandering roads surrounding Coorg. The cool climes, slopy hills, moisture ladden soil which can't hold stagnant water due to slant surface facilitate the cultivation of the popular beverage.
We boarded a Toy train which hooted through amidst wild Guava, GUA (Betel nut), Jack fruit, wild flowers of many hues which includes but not limited to violet APARAJITA (Blue Bellvines), yellow Dandelions, Hibiscus, and many other flowers of red, white and blue. There were tall green and brown bamboo trees loitering around the hills of western ghats, which is said to harbor poisonous snakes. One of them is King Cobra which can grow 18 feet long, the venom from its bite is enough to kill 20 humans, even an adult elephant.
A sign at the Toy Train station clearly proclaimed in bold letters - "PLEASE STEP DOWN THE TRAIN AFTER ITS COMPLETE STOP". But no sooner than it slowed down, people started jumping off as if they were deserting a sinking ship. I won't be surprised in the process if someone gets injured or worst, blaming the authorities for lack of safety measured. Government may have plenty of shortcomings, yet it shouldn't be expected to teach civic sense to all.
Next stop was "Abby Falls". At its entrance I could smell the strong scent of a massive Jackfruit ripening on tree. Jackfruit, when ripens transmits its smell far and wide, attracting animals like Bear, Bulls and Jackels who love feasting on the yellow pulp inside the giant tropical fruit.
The rapidly descending thick white stripes of water from the Fall was falling fast over a distance of around 70 feet, creating fumes of sparkling vapor at the bottom, then streaming and bubbling ahead. I was dissapointed by the sight of the trash littered around the staircase leading down to the Waterfall, mostly the non bio degradable plastics. Nature's glory has been spoiled by inglorious spoilts in us.
On our way back we took a detour to "Dubare Elephant Camp" on the bank of the river Cauvery. Didn't see any Jumbos, but saw plenty of jumbo sized home sapiens doing JALA KRIDA (water sports) - ladies floating in Salwars and men waddling exposing their 6 packs of fat in the sallow, swirling waters close to the river banks. We sampled some local made sugary chocolates to shrug off our jaded nerves.
While nearing at Kushalnagar, a tiny township on the way, I was surprised to see a dish named "Odisha chicken" on the menu containing mostly South Indian and Coorg Cuisine. On inquiry, I discovered that it was a special menu incorporated by the Odia cook employed at the hotel. Coorg being the City of spices was vindicated by the mouth burning dishes served on the "Coorg Veg Thali" I ordered for lunch. I can handle hot food, but the real fun begins the next day morning when I wish I had a portable Fire Extinguisher beside me.
Overall, I found the folks of Karnataka courteous, mild mannered, law abiding and more respectful towards women compared to many parts of India. I noticed minimal ogling and salacious staring at women. But one thing is common everywhere I visit - the sight of heads buried on Smartphones like Ostriches in sand. More later...
Apart from hotels and restaurants the city is filled with numerous Spices and Craft stores, selling home made chocolates and wines too. From Ponnappas to General Kariappa, Coorg is known to be a big supplier of champion sports and military persons of India.
We saw several Coffee estates by the meandering roads surrounding Coorg. The cool climes, slopy hills, moisture ladden soil which can't hold stagnant water due to slant surface facilitate the cultivation of the popular beverage.
We boarded a Toy train which hooted through amidst wild Guava, GUA (Betel nut), Jack fruit, wild flowers of many hues which includes but not limited to violet APARAJITA (Blue Bellvines), yellow Dandelions, Hibiscus, and many other flowers of red, white and blue. There were tall green and brown bamboo trees loitering around the hills of western ghats, which is said to harbor poisonous snakes. One of them is King Cobra which can grow 18 feet long, the venom from its bite is enough to kill 20 humans, even an adult elephant.
A sign at the Toy Train station clearly proclaimed in bold letters - "PLEASE STEP DOWN THE TRAIN AFTER ITS COMPLETE STOP". But no sooner than it slowed down, people started jumping off as if they were deserting a sinking ship. I won't be surprised in the process if someone gets injured or worst, blaming the authorities for lack of safety measured. Government may have plenty of shortcomings, yet it shouldn't be expected to teach civic sense to all.
Next stop was "Abby Falls". At its entrance I could smell the strong scent of a massive Jackfruit ripening on tree. Jackfruit, when ripens transmits its smell far and wide, attracting animals like Bear, Bulls and Jackels who love feasting on the yellow pulp inside the giant tropical fruit.
The rapidly descending thick white stripes of water from the Fall was falling fast over a distance of around 70 feet, creating fumes of sparkling vapor at the bottom, then streaming and bubbling ahead. I was dissapointed by the sight of the trash littered around the staircase leading down to the Waterfall, mostly the non bio degradable plastics. Nature's glory has been spoiled by inglorious spoilts in us.
On our way back we took a detour to "Dubare Elephant Camp" on the bank of the river Cauvery. Didn't see any Jumbos, but saw plenty of jumbo sized home sapiens doing JALA KRIDA (water sports) - ladies floating in Salwars and men waddling exposing their 6 packs of fat in the sallow, swirling waters close to the river banks. We sampled some local made sugary chocolates to shrug off our jaded nerves.
While nearing at Kushalnagar, a tiny township on the way, I was surprised to see a dish named "Odisha chicken" on the menu containing mostly South Indian and Coorg Cuisine. On inquiry, I discovered that it was a special menu incorporated by the Odia cook employed at the hotel. Coorg being the City of spices was vindicated by the mouth burning dishes served on the "Coorg Veg Thali" I ordered for lunch. I can handle hot food, but the real fun begins the next day morning when I wish I had a portable Fire Extinguisher beside me.
Overall, I found the folks of Karnataka courteous, mild mannered, law abiding and more respectful towards women compared to many parts of India. I noticed minimal ogling and salacious staring at women. But one thing is common everywhere I visit - the sight of heads buried on Smartphones like Ostriches in sand. More later...
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