Kodai is b-e-a-u-tiful....

We got a couple of days off and my friends from college and I packed away from the sultry heat of Chennai to Kodaikanal - one of most picturesque hill stations I have seen! Needless to say, it was a welcome change from Chennai and Mahabs (Mahabalipuram) where we spend most of our weekends.

We started from Chennai with loads of enthusiasm only to find the “holiday special” inching its way ahead. It even stopped to let the vehicles at the railway crossing pass (let alone other trains)!! We reached Madurai next morning... err ... noon.
Here began our Day 1 with delicious, home-cooked idlis, wadas and the best pongal ever! Followed by the ever refreshing filter coffee - perfect! Next highlight of the day was the drive from Madurai to Kodai – with John Denver and sometimes Presley crooning to us. We accompanied Farhan Akhtar with his “laundry ka bill” and “aadhi padhi novel” with our unmelodious “nana-na-na-na”. Gradually the landscape changed to a lush green valley on one side and mist-laden mountains on the other. It was a mirage of paradise. Then, I knew how it must feel to walk in the clouds...

The Greenland’s Youth hostel, where we stayed, gave a scenic view of the valley; the same as that from Coaker’s walk. For the rest of the day, we revelled in some cheese dim sums and masala chai.

Day 2 – We started off (sleepily) in the morning for a trek. Our guide happily took charge of clicking pictures of us and the beautiful valley. He showed us a peculiar type of flower and it’s four variants.. None of which we caught (no points for guessing why). But, when one of my friends (DB) exclaimed “potty flowers”; we were all ears. Apparently, those flowers grow in abundance in areas where cows or dogs potty! Rather interesting! Then followed a series of the usual - suicide points and echo points and waterfalls et al. All the while, the cloud cover played hide-n-seek with us... only sometimes giving us the opportunity to see the 2000 feet drop into nowhere! At the end of the day, we gladly soaked our somewhat sore feet in warm water and eucalyptus oil while we watched the Roddick and Federer battle.

Day 3 – Our wish list included buying loads of home-made chocolates, shopping, visiting the “Daily Bread”, shopping, cycling and boating and shopping some more :) ... and all this before 5 PM. And all this we did! We had booked tickets on a sleeper Volvo to Chennai for that evening. On boarding the bus we were disheartened to know that all our seats were on the left. This meant that the chance of sitting together and enjoying a game of cards was zilch! Eventually we resigned to our fate and to our bed to reach Chennai early next morning.

All in all, a perfect holiday!! :)