Ooty and Mudumalai

For a few days we escaped the noise, pollution and chaos of Coimbatore and headed to the Nilgiris Mountains. We went to Ooty, a place full of rolling hills covered with tea plantations and eucalyptus trees. By car, it takes about 4 hours from the city to get there. 

The colorful houses and rolling hills of Ooty

As we began to climb the mountain, I hopped on the back of his nephew's motorcycle, which was quite the thrill. Once we arrived, we had a nice lunch at Nahar Restaurant with some of Senthil's family.

@ the Nahar Restaurant

After lunch we headed to Ooty lake, and rented paddle boats to explore the lake. That night, the family headed back to the city, and we stayed for two nights at Hotel Lakeview (Lake view meaning just a small portion of the lake is visible in the most expensive rooms). We decided it wasn't necessary to have one of these "lake view rooms", but having a fireplace certainly was =) It seemed kind of silly with it being the middle of September and all, but when you are used to 95 degree weather with 95 percent humidity most of the time, nights below 50 degrees are certainly enjoyed by a fire place :)

one of the view points in Ooty. It was a bit cloudy.

We spent two days walking around the hilly terrain, soaking in the misty mountains, exploring the wooded paths, and driving to the top of view points.

A street side vendor selling carrots. Since we were her first customer she said a little prayer after selling to us.

Our next stop was Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. At this point of the trip we paid for someone to drive Senthil's car, so that we can enjoy watching the wildlife together. From Ooty, we headed down the mountain along the 38 hairpin road to the dry valley below.

Monkeys raiding the dumpsters

When we arrived we took a 45 minute safari on a bus. We saw many spotted dear, a large herd of gaur (Indian bison), monkeys, peacocks, boar, and one elephant in the distance.

Indian bison

The deer along side the road are not bothered by the people

 Later that night, our driver drove us around where we saw at least a dozen elephants along side the road  throughout the drive. It was night time, so we weren't allowed to take any pictures. We also saw a cheetah which took its good ole' time walking by our car before heading into the jungle.

In the town of Mudumalai

That night we stayed in the Hornbill Resort. I knew it was going to be a great place to stay just based on the drive there. The deeper we drove off the beaten path, the less prevalent the signs for the other resorts came. There was never even a sign for this resort until the very end where it was just a sign of a bird (a horn bill) with an arrow. We arrived at this cute little place full of bamboo and colorful birds.

The tree house where we stayed

We were greeted by their dog (we later learned the other dogs were sadly eaten by leopards) and the wonderful owners. We stayed in a tree top house which was a fun experience despite feeling like it was going to blow over with every gust of wind. Also, the whole place shook every time someone walked up the steps, so it was nice to have the place to ourselves. It was a relaxing stay; the hollowness of the bamboo creating flute like music and the rustling of the bamboo leaves creates for a very zen like atmosphere.

An afternoon siesta

 The whole place in itself is peaceful; lying here in the hammock watching the sunlight dance it's way in between the bamboo leaves. Birds of all colors (blues, reds, yellows, etc.) fly from one branch to another. Butterflies dash about on the breeze, not seeming to be going in any one direction.

Hiking through the villages and mountains of Mudumalai

It's moments like these that take you to such a deep state of peace. It's moments like these where you feel so connected, living in unity with everything around you. The monkeys that swing from branch to branch, the cheetah that could essentially tare you to pieces, the elephants standing along side the road eating grass. You feel a part of you is in them; feeling interconnected and compassionate towards everything in life. You are not part of the universe, you are the universe.

A peacock crossing the road. The peacock is the national bird of Indian, so you see many in the wild.

The following day we took a hike up the mountain. We went with a few local tribal people (tribal is the term they use here for indigenous populations). As there is no clear path, we spent a lot of the hike bushwhacking and climbing rocks while keeping a close out eye for any wild animals. Near the end of the hike we did see a dhole (a wild dog), which was running towards us until we put a stick up. That was quite the adrenaline rush.

This is the house of one of the guides from our hike

Next stop: The backwaters of Kerala

India - Coimbatore

 Three days after returning from my one month trip in the U.S., Senthil got news that his father had passed away. So I hop back on an airplane heading for Coimbatore, which is the second largest city in Tamil Nadu. Coming from the U.S. to India is quite a culture shock, no matter the amount of traveling in between. I don’t think you can get two further extremes, with Taiwan falling somewhere in the middle of the two. With that being said, India is such an incredible place. It's vibrant environment, the unpredictability, and the constant exploring is what makes this place so addictive for me. This time around I finally got the chance to meet my future in-laws. However, it’s unfortunate that we met under such sad circumstances, and that I never had the honor to meet his father.

The picture and offering area for his father inside his families home
(which remained there for the duration of our 6 week stay - the amount and kind of food changed)
Every morning someone lit a candle

All of his family are wonderful people and I feel so blessed to be part of such a beautiful family. The families in India are super close and they could pass a whole day just sitting and talking with each other.  Aside from the fact that they are so warm, welcoming and close, the Indian culture is one of the most interesting I’ve come across.  It is so rich that things like funerals last over a course of a few days, or even weeks. We spent our first week in India partaking in different ceremonies and rituals to honor the life of his father. First off during this week, we weren’t allowed to do anything ‘fun.’ The TV in the living room was removed and replaced by a big picture of his father surrounded with incense, candles, flowers and offerings (which could be anything from cookies, coconuts, beans, sweets, etc.). After a person dies, the family takes the body to have it cremated within 4 hours.

This is after the final day of the ceremonies for his father's death. The red spot on my forehead is from the ash that you apply after praying. My time here I have been spoiled so much by his family constantly feeding me dosas, idli, sambar, chutney, and other yummy South Indian dishes. Here I am with his nieces eating rice and sambar off a banana leaf with our right hand. In India, people eat with their right hand because the left hand is used for cleaning something else... :P

  The following day the family takes the ashes from the cremated body and throws them into the river. This ceremony is only for the men. During the week, people came in and out of the house to pay their condolences. On certain nights we participated in a group prayer. Each individual does a prayer which consists of taking the candle and moving it in a circular motion three times towards the picture of his father, sprinkling coconut water on the offerings and taking both hands from the fire towards your face. To finish you take the ash from the fire and put it on your forehead.  After everyone prays we all go outside the room while the soul comes and eats the food.  After 10 minutes, everyone comes back in the room to find any changes in the food. At last, we all eat the mix of things that each person has contributed to the offerings. Mmmm yum, ain’t nothing like banana, beans, crackers, and rice balls mixed together.

The street where Senthil's family lives

Six days after the death, the whole family goes to the river bank to do a ceremony which is led by the priest. I didn’t understand most of it; but it was super interesting to watch; from the family dipping the cow’s tail into the water and then feeding the cow (In India the cow is highly respected as they believe there to be a lot of godliness in this animal. Each part of the cow represents a different Hindu God.). The priest (or temple God) sang mantras and then put ash on each of our foreheads. It's safe to say that our first week here was an interesting one for sure.

A street side vendor selling coconut water on our way out of the city

 India is the most exotic, fascinating, exciting, disorderly, interesting, and chaotic place that I’ve ever been.  All you can do is embrace the chaos and become part of the flow.  It’s a place full of highs and lows. You just have to expect the unexpected and ride the rollercoaster of emotions you will go through. It’s all worth the while though, and I feel so lucky to be able to call India my second home. The people are stunning and I can’t help staring at them as much as they stare at me - The beautiful women in their colorful saris pierced in gold jewelry, which is a nice contrast against their dark skin. The men with their cloth turban wrapped around their heads and dhotis (traditional dress – cloth wrapped around looking like a skirt). You often see the men squatting (in a position impossible for most people) alongside the road chatting and drinking chai communicating with their heads. This is the infamous head bobble. I remember getting so frustrated the first few days of seeing this while traveling to India a few years back. I'd ask, “Is this the bus to Delhi?”and the man responded with a smile and a head bobble. It's amazing how much the head bobble covers. “Does this dish have meat in it?” *head bobble*. “How does my outfit look?” *head bobble*

Women in their colorful saris at a local waterfall

 I never realized the amount and variety of beeping there could be. There is literally beeping going on every second of the day here. Just for fun, I kept track how often one beeps while driving with his nephew.  The results = once every seven seconds. While driving with Senthil in the countryside, he beeped at a plastic bag floating in the air. I said to him, “a plastic bag? Really?” He laughed and said he hadn’t beeped in awhile and felt the urge to beep. If you could drive in India, you can drive anywhere.

A street side vendor selling sugar cane juice

The roads are filled with dogs, cows, donkeys, goats, monkeys, fruit carts, motorcycles, tuk tuks, and cars (often times coming directly at you in the passing lane) – It’s surprising there aren’t more accidents. Shortly after journaling this we had a small accident of our own; a monkey ran out in road in front of us and...well...RIP monkey. There will be a traffic jam – 20 or so cars at a standstill, only to find a cow has been the one holding up all the traffic while munching on a piece of  food in the road. Click here for my pictures from the streets of Coimbatore.

A rickshaw driver

Now that the ceremonies for his father's death are over, we will be doing some traveling for the next month through the backwaters of Kerala, the tea plantations of Ooty, and the deserts of Rajasthan.