Traveling Day 1: Ooty

I said good bye to the children yesterday and set off on my two weeks of traveling. I took an overnight train last night to Metapallayum, and then caught a train to Ooty this morning. Ooty is a small town in the Nilgiri mountains, where there are a lot of tea plantations. There isn't really anything to do here, but it is worth it for two reasons.

First, the train ride from Metapallayum to Ooty was absolutely amazing. It is called the Nilgiri Blue Mountain Railway. The train is very small, and there is only one rail set of tracks, rather than one for each direction. It was built in the late 1800's / early 1900's, and is unique in that it uses the swiss rack system -- the locomotive has cogs that pull against these teeth pieces laid on the train tracks, pulling it up the mountain. Because of its unique tracks, only the original steam locomotives can run between Metapallayum and Coonoor (halfway to Ooty). The views on this train ride are absolutely breathtaking. I'm not normally big on scenic nature views, but this was really just unbelievable. It takes you over many bridges which are a bit hair-raising, and through a lot of narrow tunnels. In the tunnels that are really long and narrow, the steam builds up and it gets really hot and foggy, but then you exit the tunnel and the steam billows out and in comes the cool mountain air. Of course, the train ride was really slow -- it takes about twice as long, and most of the time you are going at walking pace. But really, it was just unbelievable, and totally worth it.

The second reason to be here is the relief from the heat! It is so nice and cool up here in the mountains. It's a big change to see people wearing sweaters and knitted caps.

I am just chilling out today. I was going to take a walk up to the botanical gardens, but it's raining right now so I may just find a cafe somewhere and read my book. Tomorrow, I will leave for the state of Kerala, where there are a lot of beautiful beaches and backwaters.