Wayanad Road Trip: Chapter 3
(Read the previous chapter: Chapter 2)
Chapter 3: Tourists in "God's Own Country"
The plan was to wake up early morning to give ourselves more time during the day to see the local sights and sounds. But since we'd been awake well into the wee hours playing cards and stuffing on chicken biryani, we woke up late on our first morning in Kalpetta.
It was a beautiful morning, although not exactly reminiscent of the misty mornings in the Himalayas, but this little town in the Western Ghats was alright, especially with a hint of drizzle. It took us a while to get ready (remember there were ten of us!), and in the meantime Ashok did a fabulous job of asking the Inn's manager regarding the routes and the places to see in-and-
around Kalpetta.
So after packing some cakes and muffins as breakfast and eatables for the road, we set off for our first destination - Pookode Lake.
Towards the lake, we had to go through NH 212, and that highway was a dream to drive on. Besides that, the other roads were not something that I'd call "Good". The drive till Pookode Lake was otherwise pretty normal - winding roads on a hill station. By then it had started getting slightly warmer with the mercury starting to rise just a bit.
After reaching and parking our cars, we made our way to the lake. There were some nominal entry fee - for people, cars and cameras - and finally we got to see the lake. It was nice, and kind of reminded me of Mirik Lake in West Bengal's Darjeeling District. There were boating activities available with different choices of boats, there were nice manicured gardens, there were some small shops selling Kerala specific items (like Ayurvedic soap, scrubber, perfumes, oils just 
to name a few!). We went and stood in line for some boat rides, but it took us almost 20-25 minutes before we could get a boat! And we finally did at around the same time - we got one 2-seater, and two 4-seaters for the ten of us. For boating, we got a maximum of twenty minutes per boat, but I tell you - that is more than enough! It was tiring for me and Ritu to paddle a 4-seater, whereas the ladies sat peacefully on the back seats -- and yes, it was just Ritu and I who had to do the paddling. We were sweating by the time we docked our boats at the end of our 20 minute session, and it had been a good workout session! Same fate for Babu and Maheep. Ashok and Sachin, sharing the 2-seater boat had it easy as they shared their paddling nicely and were just two of them!
Post the hectic and tiring paddling, we spent some time at the stores there. People bought soaps and oils, and then we wer
e off to our next destination - the Chain Tree. We were on the road trying to find it but instead reached our third destination, a viewpoint from where a nice scenic view of the hills could be seen. However, being brought up in the Himalayas, the sight was nothing new to me. So we spent a little time at the viewpoint, took some photographs, and headed back to our next destination - Soochipara Waterfalls. We'd given up on Chain tree, but on the way we noticed a tree with some chains on it - that, my friends, was the Chain tree. We slowed down, took a brief look, didn't find it interesting enough, and continued onwards towards the waterfalls.
We had to take the Ooty road (NH 212) to reach Soochipara falls, and on the way we got to
see some tea gardens which reminded us of our homes in Assam and Sikkim. We stopped at the tea gardens for a good time, taking loads of photographs. Finally, when we were satisfied, we set off again towards the waterfalls.
The onward walk to the falls was fine - though it was kind of warm. It was a stony trail consisting of steps, and sometimes it did get steep. Just at the time when we were in the waterfalls' vicinity and could finally see it, our hopes were dashed beyond repair! It was nothing more than a trickle of water! And it was something for which we wouldn't have walked that much or paid any amount to see in Sikkim/Darjeeling! That was pretty pissing off - so a few of us stopped right there and waited for the adventurous people from our group who'd already reached the falls to return. And they didn't have pretty stories to tell when they did - they complained of the falls' volume (which probably owing to the summer months was the way it was), the overcrowded water pools, and the dirt they had. Why, one even complained of seeing a dirty diaper there!
The backward walk from the falls was even more tiring, and after much huffing and puffing we reached the halfwa
y mark where a very smart hawker had set shop. We guzzled on his lime-sodas and cool cucumbers, and spent a good 15 minutes there while our bodies cooled off! That guy sure had found his spot at the best place in the trail, and even though he was not a millionaire, I suppose he made enough to make people envious of his business spot!
We were still complaining as we returned to our cars, and still being thirsty we drank on bottle after bottle of chilled plain water. You can find a lot of eateries in the vicinity of the falls (in-and-around the parking lot) but we were in no mood to eat. We decided to skip the other waterfalls on our itinerary and decided to head towards Edakkal Caves.
Hunger got the better of us and we stopped on our way to the caves at a small town called "Mappedi" or something (sorry, don't remember the name of the place exactly). We went to a restaurant called "Hotel Paris" and gorged on a lot of food - so much food that we couldn't finish it all in that sitting and had to pack a lot of it and get it to the hotel. Anyway, after the fulfilling (and expensive as it turned out to be) lunch, we were recharged and were on our way to the caves once again.
A word of caution while driving towards Edakkal Caves - the roads are pathetic; they're small, winding, lots of steep inclines and potholes; and to top it all, the driving sense is nill. Normally, while driving in the hills of Sikkim and Darjeeling, the vehicle that is coming uphill is always given priority. The vehicle coming downhill always waits in the clearing offering the uphill coming vehicle enough room to pass. Although such a rule is not official and is not in the rulebooks, it's an unwritten code that drivers follow in the hills. Well, we expected something similar but it was not to be. So please be careful while on this road. And please try to give priority to uphill coming vehicles if you're on a downhill way. It's just a sign of mutual respect that drivers follow on hilly roads.
Due to these kind of driving encounters, we arrived at Edakkal caves a mere 15 minutes after the "gates" closed. We arrived at 4:30PM and the Edakkal "visiting hours" seemingly get over at 4:15PM. And, the best part was that we had to pay for parking our cars for a mere 10 minutes!! What a way to rob tourists!
It had been such a bad day so far that we straight wanted to head towards the hotel. However, people in the group insisted that we visit the much hyped "dam" and we made our way to see it after much asking around. And when we finally reached the place, what we found was a dam that was just half constructed. I almost reached boiling point at this sight!
The good part was that it was nearing twilight, and the weather was much cooler. We stopped our cars near a tea stall, sipped on warm tea, enjoying the slight drizzle that had started and the cool breeze, blasting music from my little Alto - that was the only time during the day when we had actually enjoyed ourselves. Otherwise the day had been full of exercise activities (remember the paddling and the mountain climbing?) and some disappointments!
After all this, we finally headed back to our hotel in Kalpetta in the evening. This evening we made no mistake and got lots of beer and vodka while on the way to the hotel itself - we didn't want another dry night, not while on vacation!
So we retired to our rooms, then assembled again after freshening up, and started sipping on beer and the packed Chicken 65 we'd got from the hotel earlier. We played cards, and again Meera won the majority of the money, and got ready for the final day to arrive when we'd be heading back to "Namma Bengalooru"!
For more pictures, click here.
(Read the next chapter: Chapter 4)
Chapter 3: Tourists in "God's Own Country"
around Kalpetta.So after packing some cakes and muffins as breakfast and eatables for the road, we set off for our first destination - Pookode Lake.
Towards the lake, we had to go through NH 212, and that highway was a dream to drive on. Besides that, the other roads were not something that I'd call "Good". The drive till Pookode Lake was otherwise pretty normal - winding roads on a hill station. By then it had started getting slightly warmer with the mercury starting to rise just a bit.
to name a few!). We went and stood in line for some boat rides, but it took us almost 20-25 minutes before we could get a boat! And we finally did at around the same time - we got one 2-seater, and two 4-seaters for the ten of us. For boating, we got a maximum of twenty minutes per boat, but I tell you - that is more than enough! It was tiring for me and Ritu to paddle a 4-seater, whereas the ladies sat peacefully on the back seats -- and yes, it was just Ritu and I who had to do the paddling. We were sweating by the time we docked our boats at the end of our 20 minute session, and it had been a good workout session! Same fate for Babu and Maheep. Ashok and Sachin, sharing the 2-seater boat had it easy as they shared their paddling nicely and were just two of them!
e off to our next destination - the Chain Tree. We were on the road trying to find it but instead reached our third destination, a viewpoint from where a nice scenic view of the hills could be seen. However, being brought up in the Himalayas, the sight was nothing new to me. So we spent a little time at the viewpoint, took some photographs, and headed back to our next destination - Soochipara Waterfalls. We'd given up on Chain tree, but on the way we noticed a tree with some chains on it - that, my friends, was the Chain tree. We slowed down, took a brief look, didn't find it interesting enough, and continued onwards towards the waterfalls.
see some tea gardens which reminded us of our homes in Assam and Sikkim. We stopped at the tea gardens for a good time, taking loads of photographs. Finally, when we were satisfied, we set off again towards the waterfalls.On reaching the Soochipara falls, the first problem was finding a decent place to park the cars. Being a weekend (and a long one at that) it was hard to find spots since all the good places were taken up by the tourist buses. After a while, we found two spots, parked our cars, and headed towards the waterfalls. Note that there was entry fee here too - for people, cars and cameras. In Sikkim and Darjeeling, waterfalls are a common sight and nobody is charged to view them so this definitely came as a surprise to us. Anyways, we were told that we'd need to walk for about "800 meters" to reach the falls. The walk began.
y mark where a very smart hawker had set shop. We guzzled on his lime-sodas and cool cucumbers, and spent a good 15 minutes there while our bodies cooled off! That guy sure had found his spot at the best place in the trail, and even though he was not a millionaire, I suppose he made enough to make people envious of his business spot!We were still complaining as we returned to our cars, and still being thirsty we drank on bottle after bottle of chilled plain water. You can find a lot of eateries in the vicinity of the falls (in-and-around the parking lot) but we were in no mood to eat. We decided to skip the other waterfalls on our itinerary and decided to head towards Edakkal Caves.
Hunger got the better of us and we stopped on our way to the caves at a small town called "Mappedi" or something (sorry, don't remember the name of the place exactly). We went to a restaurant called "Hotel Paris" and gorged on a lot of food - so much food that we couldn't finish it all in that sitting and had to pack a lot of it and get it to the hotel. Anyway, after the fulfilling (and expensive as it turned out to be) lunch, we were recharged and were on our way to the caves once again.
A word of caution while driving towards Edakkal Caves - the roads are pathetic; they're small, winding, lots of steep inclines and potholes; and to top it all, the driving sense is nill. Normally, while driving in the hills of Sikkim and Darjeeling, the vehicle that is coming uphill is always given priority. The vehicle coming downhill always waits in the clearing offering the uphill coming vehicle enough room to pass. Although such a rule is not official and is not in the rulebooks, it's an unwritten code that drivers follow in the hills. Well, we expected something similar but it was not to be. So please be careful while on this road. And please try to give priority to uphill coming vehicles if you're on a downhill way. It's just a sign of mutual respect that drivers follow on hilly roads.
Due to these kind of driving encounters, we arrived at Edakkal caves a mere 15 minutes after the "gates" closed. We arrived at 4:30PM and the Edakkal "visiting hours" seemingly get over at 4:15PM. And, the best part was that we had to pay for parking our cars for a mere 10 minutes!! What a way to rob tourists!
It had been such a bad day so far that we straight wanted to head towards the hotel. However, people in the group insisted that we visit the much hyped "dam" and we made our way to see it after much asking around. And when we finally reached the place, what we found was a dam that was just half constructed. I almost reached boiling point at this sight!
The good part was that it was nearing twilight, and the weather was much cooler. We stopped our cars near a tea stall, sipped on warm tea, enjoying the slight drizzle that had started and the cool breeze, blasting music from my little Alto - that was the only time during the day when we had actually enjoyed ourselves. Otherwise the day had been full of exercise activities (remember the paddling and the mountain climbing?) and some disappointments!
After all this, we finally headed back to our hotel in Kalpetta in the evening. This evening we made no mistake and got lots of beer and vodka while on the way to the hotel itself - we didn't want another dry night, not while on vacation!
So we retired to our rooms, then assembled again after freshening up, and started sipping on beer and the packed Chicken 65 we'd got from the hotel earlier. We played cards, and again Meera won the majority of the money, and got ready for the final day to arrive when we'd be heading back to "Namma Bengalooru"!
For more pictures, click here.
(Read the next chapter: Chapter 4)
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