Ooty

And so I bid a fond farewell to Madurai and set off for the hill country and the cool mountains air of Ooty.

Fresh Mountain Air

The legacy of being gored by the cow during the Pongal crowds still lingers and makes it impossible for me to travel by bus as planned so I am "forced"  to take an expensive taxi. In fairness this is a unexpected luxury as it meant I "had' to spend six hours in an a\c car rather than 12 hours jammed into an overcrowded bus.
And as the final fifty miles of this lengthy trip involves a steep climb to the 2200 metres to the place also known as 'the queen of the hills' around continuous hairpin bends weaving around buses, lorries, motorbikes, everyone determined to be ahead of the next vehicle. I felt carsick in the taxi so was heartily grateful to be excused the bus!
The scenery is stunning. Between shutting my eyes to not see oncoming traffic encounters I was blown away (Literally , windows down as we had to turn the a\c off to stop the engine over heating) by the lush mountain ravines of the Nilgiri range, the blue mountains of India.
As we climbed higher and higher the tea plantations opened up before us, vivid green sheets blanketing the sheer slopes.

Tea Plantations

It was late afternoon when I arrived at this ‘residency',  very plush on the surface, surreal even, I  have a suite with its own colour changing chandelier, Bollywood style, but as usual it being India, underneath the surface the hot water is turned off at 10pm and I suspect much else may come and go, like wifi. .. Um, reserving judgement.

The Chandelier

This town looks so different to hot, dusty Madurai. Here the evening air is chilly and the moon shines brightly in a clear sky and the vista is limitless, I am literally on the top of the mountain. The drive was an exhilarating but exhausting experience and exploring further can wait, I need to sleep!