{"id":5836,"date":"2017-01-25T16:15:09","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T16:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/?p=5836"},"modified":"2017-01-25T16:15:09","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T16:15:09","slug":"ooty-guide-why-you-should-go-to-ooty-with-family-andor-friends-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asoulwindow.com\/ooty-guide-why-you-should-go-to-ooty-with-family-andor-friends-now\/","title":{"rendered":"OOTY GUIDE: WHY YOU SHOULD GO TO OOTY WITH FAMILY AND\/OR FRIENDS NOW?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Featured image: Valley View Point in Ooty. I wish I had booked those lovely looking cottages for my stay!<\/em><\/p>\n

OOTY <\/strong>also known as Ootacamund<\/strong> or Udhagamandalam<\/strong> (meaning house in mountains), is a popular hill station in Tamil Nadu (South India). It makes for a great weekend break from Chennai, Mysore, Coimbatore and Bangalore. I don\u2019t understand when new age travellers<\/strong> look down upon touristy destinations. Though I may detest some of the touristy destinations, I like some of them only due to the touristy frills attached to them. Ooty is one of them.<\/p>\n

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The dramatic sky of Ooty!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I went to Ooty (7,347 feet above sea level<\/strong>) with my parents in 2002 and was craving to repeat that experience. My parents had planned a quick trip to Ooty post my disastrous interview<\/strong> for selection in a hotel management institute in Manipal<\/strong>. Seeing student couples whiling away their time in cafes, often kissing and groping each other<\/strong> between bites of American Chopsuey changed my parents\u2019 mind. As the then 20 year old, I was weaving kissing and groping dreams. My fantasies were soon dashed when I heard them say that I will not study in Manipal, come what may. With a stern tone of finality! I had never kissed and groped<\/strong> till then! Such people are destined to enjoy Malpe beach<\/strong> (It was the first time I saw a beach) near Udupi<\/strong> and later Ooty with parents.<\/p>\n

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I saw this somewhere in Ooty!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bus ride from Coimbatore to Ooty!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Circa 2010! My train from Bombay halted at Coimbatore<\/strong> station. Me and my friends (2 guys, 1 girl) rushed to Mettupulayam station to catch toy train to Ooty. Failed to board my train (We had a reserved seat, sigh!), we settled for government run bus to Ooty<\/strong> and pretty much enjoyed the ride as it manoeuvred through dense hypnotic forests, sporadic waterfalls, and scary hair-pin turns. The mountains were enveloped with clouds making it look like those floating mountains of Avataar<\/em><\/strong> movie. En route there are many charming little shops selling hot snacks (Tragically for a Chinese tourist, it was spelled fried ‘snakes’<\/strong> by them.) which tourists wrongly shared with the unruly monkeys.<\/p>\n