Finest hill station I have ever been to. The flora of this place makes anyone fall for it. The landscapes are so beautiful, that it takes your breath away. No age bar to enjoy this place. Ya I know, these are things that anyone would read on any blog or website about this beautiful place Ooty. But any trip will have its fullest beauty only when it is enjoyed with the right group. I have been to this place 5 times and I still love to be there. And each time it has been with different groups. But my last trip to this place was with a group that I would consider very close to me. Yes my very close friends. It was an ultimate trip. It all started with a marriage invitation that we received from one of our friend who was getting married in Coimbatore. So this friend being a common friend of us was the greatest advantage we had to get away from home for a few days. That is when me and one another friend of mine started to discuss of attending this marriage and then why not have a trip to Ooty, which is pretty close to Coimbatore. We knew for a fact the other friends would not agree for this plan (Due to security threats, certain information that you read would not be clear). So we both had to find a way to get all of them into this plan, but we had no clue how we were to go about this. Then finally we decided to be truthful to our friends and went ahead and told one by one about this plan. First we decided to target the friend who we thought would agree for this plan. But we both got the biggest NOSE CUT ever. That was a very big no straight on us. This friend had very good reason to say a no, which we could not deny at moment. But we both never let our hopes down and we went for the other three friends of the gang. One of the three said a blunt no, and gave all reasons for not coming. The only other hope left was the last two - and of that two, one agreed and the other denied. So this discussion went on for weeks and finally we had all kinds of arguments and plotted all ways to get away from our houses. Cool... and one fine day everyone agreed to that we would leave to Ooty via Coimbatore. Our first choice was the marriage, but Ooty was added to the trip. Finally tickets were booked, travels were booked and we were all set to go. A week passed and suddenly another friend of ours wanted to join the trip and finally we were all excited that we the group was growing. Tickets were booked for that extra person as well and all set to go. The day came when we had to leave and we boarded the train and left to Coimbatore. We reached Coimbatore and we had our driver waiting there with a name board at the railway station. He was the best and I would definitely refer him to anyone who wants to visit Coimbatore or Ooty by cab. His name was Maajith. A very good driver, who knew how to take care of his clients really well. He was so tolerable and decent. Maajith you definitely need a applause man... After that we went to the hotel that we had booked, got ourselves refreshed and started for sightseeing. The reception was scheduled for the evening, so we had the whole day for sightseeing. Since one of our friend’s relative was in Coimbatore, we decided to visit them. And after paying a visit, we started off to Kovai Kuttralam. A beautiful waterfall, which has to be reached by small trekking. We spend a lot of time in the waters and took lots of snaps. Then after that we left to Dhyanalingam. One place that I always wanted to visit in Coimbatore. This is a beautiful meditation center, which is designed with great architecture. There were few things that amazed us. There was a Lingam that was submerged in water which was around 16 or 20ft deep. Anyone who would get into this water and wanted to touch the Lingam, can do so, but you would remain afloat. People here say it is because of the power of Lord Siva, that you float. The highlight of this place is the meditation center, which has an enormous Siva Lingam in the center and if we had to meditate we had to sit inside small holes that were on the walls of the center and meditate. Silence had to be observed and you would find watch keepers, who make sure you don’t utter even a word. They even make sure; your clothes don’t make any noise. A beautiful place that you must see. After that we returned to the hotel and got ready for the reception. We went and blessed the couples. After that we started off to Ooty. This is a hill station, so we have a lot of hairpin bends that take us to the hill top. That was my first instance were we drove up the hill, in the night. It was a good experience though. Being night it took more time for us to reach the top. We reached the hotel around 11PM. It was a beautiful cottage that we had booked. I really loved the place. We never expected that the cottage would be so good. Even though we were so tired after the long drive, the cottage made us feel good. We choose our rooms and beds and made ourselves comfortable. The beds were cozy and very comfortable. (Night fun part is restricted to the group members. Only members of the group will have access). The next day we got up early and ordered breakfast, which was pretty good. After that we started to our sightseeing. We visited all places in and around Ooty. The climate was very modest, so things seemed to be cool and everything went on really well. This group became still more closely knitted and bonded. There were lots of things we learnt about each other. We stayed there two days and left to Chennai with a heavy heart, since the trip has ended.
This was different experience for me all together and the other members of the group as well. There were lots of memorable memories that we captured during the trip; few told and few untold. MEMORIES MAKE YOUR LIFE BEAUTIFUL.