To You From the Queen of Hills

It was a sudden change of plans that lead to a detour from our return drive to Bangalore. Ootty is easily anybody’s favourite destination and so was chucks’ quick pick. We got to our resort late in the evening yesterday and went in to fetch a drink first. Once we had enough to beat the biting cold we decided to spend the rest of the cold evening on the balcony adjoining our room (the view is heavenly!) as the city slowly lit down. The quaint, romantic city faced our balcony and the whisper of pine trees lingered in the air. We stared intently into the sky that seemed to hide its horizon and reveal more stars than we had ever beheld our whole lifetime. We looked on, until our tummies started growling and unintentional burps escaped our mouths. We decided to go in for buffet dinner and ran around spooning in every dish we possibly could devour - steamed rice, coleslaw, soup, fried vegetables - we lost it. Dessert delighted us as much as main course and we retired to our room, sluggish, drowsy and content. Somewhere behind my mind I longed to journal the day’s windings but sleep overtook in no time and I dozed off beside my tired, bull eyed husband. 

This morning I was surprisingly awake before sunrise and I hopped to the balcony to greet the sky that displayed shades of orange, pink and grey like some crazy painter splashed them across. I wrote rigorously, inspired and strengthened by nature’s splendour. The sun dawned in no time and birds chirped ever so sweetly on cypress and cedar trees. It was going to be a great day, certainly! 

Laughing over good times

We began with a hurried breakfast and vroomed off to explore the place and some good cafes, must-visits meticulously catalogued. After a lazy stroll by Ootty lake we took off to Sidewalk cafe, a quiet, European-esque cafe in the heart of the city where we talked and reminisced our not-so-romantic beginnings. After spending an hour or so at the cafe we wandered into a bookstore, bought a hero pen and sped off to the railway station to catch the next train to Coonoor. What is Oooty trip without a train trip to this place higher up? And so after almost forty minutes of wait we hopped into the train and the steam went off, the train hooted; off we went. I held Ruskin Bond on one hand and chucks on the other. As the train snaked through the wild and glided each curve I soaked in every word of Bond’s that spoke to me more today than any other day because of its resemblance to my immediate surroundings. When he spoke of blue skies, winding rivers and valleys below I smiled because I had to. Because the wind and the chills made me one with the writer. I smiled and planted a kiss on my husband’s cheek. The train journey was over like a dream, one to cherish a lifetime. The catalogue said Willy’s cafe next and Willy’s it was. After going around in circles around the city searching for this strategically-tucked-away cafe Google map finally landed us at the right place. You know, some days I’m truly thankful for technology. This cafe, oh my god, is uh-ma-zing! With a great book collection and home made food there is no place else you’ll want to be. We ordered chicken ham and cheese sandwich, a cutlet (chucks’ all time fav!), three cups of coffee (two for my dude) and a mud-pie cake following a friend’s suggestion. I savoured each bite and was thankful for good food, good people and this life that so easily made you happy through little things. As I took the last bite from the cutlet, the sun was preparing to bid goodbye to the evening sky. We stood up to leave and exchanged smiles of joy, of fulfilment and love. We got back to our room after a short drive and decided to continue doing anything after a hot shower. Thanks to the geyser, bathing didn’t seem like a task at all. A day’s dirt came off in cakes and I was cleansed. We settled on the bed and watched Two Weeks Notice, like high school lovers, for a while after which hot soup and water was ordered for the night. We slurped the sweet corn chicken soup while discussing the day and deciding what images to Instagram (how fun!). That done, chucks decided to hit the sack and I, to this. To discussing my day, once again, with you. To tell you that Ootty has been wonderful to us and that I will miss this place and the time spent here as I pack my bags tomorrow. 

Winding through the wild