Grand plaza hotel,
Coimbatore
Three days gone. Shopping, boat-rides, lazing around, fun.
I think I now realize why it matters so much to hear a known language in a strange land.
Our room in Kodai had been getting a lot of calls from other guests at the hotel, whose calls to food and beverages were somehow being routed to mine and Ninad’s room. On Sunday, a Mr Patil, I forget his room number, called saying he wished to order dinner.
On previous occasions I’d politely made the callers aware of the blunder and told them to call room service. However, when Mr Patil apologized for the error, I told him that had I started taking orders from guests, I’d have made a nice little packet for myself, going by the number of calls that had come since we checked in. we both laughed and hung up.
I realized that, pride in one’s language and all that apart, it is the ability of being able to joke with someone who understands the nuances of the language that lends comfort in a place where conversation is restricted to making the other person understand that you want a Baingan Bharta and not a Baingan Parotha (what the heck???). In case anyone’s wondering, we ultimately ordered a Bhindi Masala.
I have never been much of a travel person, lesser still a sight seeing person. However, sightseeing in Kodai turned out to be more fun than I had imagined. I especially remember Pillar Rocks, three giant rock faces standing side by side like pillars, several thousand feet high. Climbing up the hill amidst the thick blanket of mist brought back the adrenaline I used to feel while working out, and I picked my up the steep slope with great enthusiasm. At the peak, a guide pointed out ‘Suicide Point’, where 33 couples have supposedly jumped to their deaths, hand in hand, fed up of the world and its staunch refusal to understand them.
We later viewed Pillar Rocks from a nearby vantage point, much lower. We stood there and saw the mist move in and completely cover the three rocks in a matter of minutes, and then clear away equally fast.
Another place I liked was the Kodai lake, a huge water body shaped like a star, where you can rent boats by the hour and peddle or row to your heart’s content. It was so much fun that we went back the next day. While Mom satisfied herself with riding a horse along the lake’s border, me and Ninad went boating on our own, peddling away till our legs ached. All the time, I was manipulating the steering rod and yelling nautical stuff like “another vessel approaches” and “full speed ahead!”.
The streets of Kodai are lined with shops selling home made chocolates and eucalyptus oil. There must be hundred of eucalyptus trees there, giving rise to a small industry in itself. Chocolates flavours range from plain and dark chocolates to more tempting versions like dry-fruit delight and strawberry cream.
At the end of the trip, I came to the conclusion that a outstation holiday once in a while isn’t such a bad idea after all.
{More to follow in the next post}
