Ooty

After Mahashivratri, I had 5 days before the start of my stay at the Isha Yoga Center. Near Coimbatore, the nearest major city is the hill station Ooty, which several people had recommended to me.

AJ, with whom I stayed as a guest through the 'Couchsurfing' platform, helped me plan my 3-day trip to Ooty. Fortunately, I had a fellow traveler: a young woman from France whom I had met in Kodaikanal also had free time during those days and was in Coimbatore, so we escaped the city together and headed towards the greenery.

Our journey started with a colorful, bumpy government bus from Coimbatore to Mettupalayam. After spending a night there, we took the 'Toytrain' at 6.00 am to Ooty, which is a true attraction there. It is a train still completely fueled by coal that chugs up the mountains for 4.5 hours, and with every jolt, you can feel the force that the train has to exert to climb the heights. There were regular stops to refill - and for us to enjoy the view.

We were fortunate to have received a recommendation for a beautiful room with a balcony in a small secluded village. So, we were able to enjoy our relaxing days in peaceful and remote nature.

The woman with the watermelon on her head and her daughter cooked the best Indian food for us in the evenings, which I have had the pleasure of tasting on my journey so far... I was absolutely overwhelmed and happy!

Once, we wanted to walk to a nearby waterfall. We went through the tea fields when Constance, my fellow traveler, pointed excitedly behind me. A bison was grazing among the tea plants. It was impressively large and, in my opinion, a bit too close... We tried several times to make big detours around the bison to find our way, but in vain, we couldn't find it. And I, who tends to run away in such situations rather than being adventurous, was very relieved to turn back. Later, the women told us that the bisons could be life-threatening, depending on their mood and state of mind, so to speak.... Then, she showed us a video in which she and her daughter filmed a bear with babies.... until the mother bear turned around and ran towards them... luckily, nothing happened to them. The situation happened just 10 minutes away from here, and leopards also sometimes pass by this area, the woman showed us another photo..! Oh wow, fascinating and terrifying. For me, it only remained with funny encounters with monkeys and, of course, the bison.