kodai trip

Visited kodai a few weeks ago in the end of March. The weather was just right (17 -25 c) - and we managed to get there before the seasonal rush. We got there in the morning (tuticorin leaves B'lore at night and gets there early morning). Kodai road is a sleepy little station where we got off and took a cab to kodaikanal. The 80 km drive took 2.5 hrs (most of it was uphill) early in the morning was a refreshing break from the monotony of my regular office commute in the smoke filled city. Kodai is situated 2100m above sealevel in the Palani hills. We took a break before the climb to get some breakfast and sat back to enjoy the ride. As we got closer to the top, the air got chill and we caught brief glimpses of the morning sun through the canopy of leaves above and a panoramic view of the hills. The driver pointed out various places of interest (museum, waterfalls with no water in them!, coffee plantations).
The hotel gave us a pretty good 360 degree view of the sorrounding hills too (see pics). We did some sightseeing the first two days - coakers walk is definitely worth the 'walk' with 1km of breathtaking scenery of the hills and the greenery below. We also went boating on Kodai lake - the lake is spread over 24 hectares and the promenade that skirts the lake is around 4kms. The kids (I've 2 daughters) had a good time when we rented bikes and cycled around the lake. It was the first time in many years me and my wife had cycled ! Some of the villas on the lake front really looked like the houses we've always dreamt of owning.
On the 4th and last day, we took a long walk on the mountains, taking the steep road up from the hotel and were pleasantly surprised by the peace and the quiet of the village atmosphere, disturbed only occasionally by the rumble of a passing truck or motorcycle. The hill was dotted with quaint little cottages on one side leaning over the edge and by the terraced vegetable fields and wilderness on the other side. We spotted some interesting varieties of wild roses on the edge of the road. As we climbed down, the sun was setting in the hills far below and we sat down to watch it disappear in a hue of fiery orange. We retired with aching legs but a renewed spirit that night, and got ready early next morning to leave.
On the whole, it was a good trip, the dull menu in the hotel's restaurant and the lack of any good restaurants in the area were a pain to cope with, but could'nt spoil the goodness of the fresh air and the great sights we got to see. We returned with a bag of home made choclates, some hand made clothes for the kids and plenty of pics.