Finally .. Im in ooty.. or should I say we have arrived safely to the Queen of Hills... It all started by a rollercoaster ride on Thai Airways.. (between singapore to Bangkok) As scary as it is, trust me i was glad to see the whole entire team together , 100% attendance.
the journey on the aeroplane was kind of comfortable besides the turbulence (where i felt my heart dropped for a while there), nice air stewardess, good food.. & surprisingly they have Kal Ho Na Ho on the radio.. coool... Sitting in between 2 irritating toads.. somehow made my ride even more entertaining..
India (Bangalore)
Seriously, Im worried that our 30 boxes of stuffs wouldnt reach on the same plane with us.. However, I was much relieved and impressed by the logistics committee's efforts in labeling all the 30 odd boxes.. Phew.. didnt see that barrier coming.. (only to know the next barrier was just a few feets away - Customs)
Customs (BangaloreAirport)
There's this indian officer who actually asked me for the letter of declaration for our team..for bringing in loads of stuffs.. Well, naturally, I was ready for that.. took out my file and showed them the letter that we got from SIF. I was confident we would get through this.. NAH>>>
Instead of reading the letter that I passed to him.. he was happily flipping through my clear folder file (which was on the table.. as my hands were tight down by many other stuffs) without my permission. (ok.. am i missing something here??)
His attention shifted to one of the documents, describing India (to her best really..) However, our dear friend here took it as a negative comment. He was sneering at what was written and he actually called his superficial stern-looking on-duty partner .. (Excuse me.. its not as if I was the one who typed it out.. iT was given by SIF for goodness sake.. In the first place.. the document was praising India.. what the heck????) I'm not even out of the airport and Im already stucked?? Relax.. Take a deep breath.. (so i signalled to my indian group members with the hope that they will be able to negotiate this nitty gritty misunderstanding out..)
"What's this ?? Elephants, Trishaws??", said the man. Come on, don't tell me that India doesnt have elephants? Whats wrong with mentioning elephants? We respect animals you know..
Trust me, as a gurl, it was damn hard to get them to focus on the main issue at hand here. Eventually, after much coaxing, and fake smiles.. we managed to get out of the mud.. ok.. we better get onto the bus fast .. phew..
The weather was rather dry & cool.. with lots of buzzing here and there..We were the centre of attraction for the locals.. not only because of the fact that we had 30 odd boxes with us.. but also for the fact that we dress & simply look different.. duh.. Whatever it is.., it was definitely a great feeling to be finally in India..
To make situation more interesting.. the bus coaches that were supposed to fetch us.. were not around. Damn!!.. Dun Panic.. (ok.. what's next ??
25 of us were stranded at Bangalore Airport in the wee hours of the morning..
So, we had to call Raj (our local coordinator from the Home).. who manages the bus for us.. there, I came across the system of direct calling in India - STD & ISD. With the assistance of helpful locals, eventually we managed to call him.. & soon after, much to my relieve.. the buses arrived..
Bus Journey (8 hours journey)
Start: 12 am midnight
Reach Ooty: 8 am next morning
1st ordeal : No public toilets to be found.
Well.. we had to pee in the open behind this huge truck .. Initially I thought i had to do it.. it was high tide.. but I was too self conscious.. It was along the road (trucks passing by here n there .. and across the road there's a coffeeshop .. how the heck am i supposed to do it with a peace of mind???!!) Forget about it.. gotta control that bladder..
Eventually the next morning, we reached Tamil Nadu.. It was the monsoon season.. thus, the weather was getting colder.. Here, we stopped at a forested area (where you can see rhinos & elephants roaming freely like cats & dogs back in my country) to pee.. This time.. the place was much more convenient for us (the gurls) to relieve ourselves.. while the guys did the look out while taking their cigarette break. It was kinda of fun actually.. you will never get to do that in Singapore.... As soon as we were done.. it started pouring like mad.. and the temperature just dropped.. we werent definitely prepared for the cold weather.. not even the cold weather that's awaiting for us in Ooty..
Welcome to Ooty.. The Queen of Hills...
This place is simply breathtaking.. the natural mountaineous landscape definitely stunned me.. It was so beautiful beyond words.. The mountain.. the cottage houses, the stepped agriculture plantations, the greenery.. amazing.. It was way more than i expected. I was enjoying every minute of the fact that Im one of the lucky souls to actually see this.. (Suddenly, it gave meaning to all my hard work.. before reaching here.. it was worth it)
One thing for sure, Im very much impressed by the local drivers here.. They are superb.. and have u heard of 'HAIRPIN BEND' ? no? well.. welcome to the land where you get to see lots of this.. definitely a test of driving skills .. Drivers here, have this system where they would tap the car horn a few times before turning into each bend (it really looks like a tip of a hairpin) to signal to any incoming vehicles.. This is the first time where we witnessed a situation whereby 2 big buses can actually squeeze into 1 tiny 1 way-lane. (Risky as it is.. these guys sure know what they're doing & trust me.. it was rather impressive)
Weather..bRrrrrr....
Temperature were running low.. as low as 12 deg celesius.. since we are all from a tropical sunny island.. it was a bit hard for us to adapt to it initially.. we had 3-4 layers of warm clothings, sweaters, gloves & shawl.. Man.. so, this is what its like to be in a cold country.. who says India is a hot country??!!! Its damn cold up here ok.. cool.. But no worries..with loads of sweet hot tea.. & the warmth of the locals.. its hot enough to get you going..
