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Prepare to Log the Planet....
Travel Log Travel LogKodaikannal, India 15 Feb. 2002We had a slight change of plans and decided to detour to the Hill Station, Kodaikannal, altitude 2100 meters. But first we stopped for two days in the city of Thanjavur. It was our first real urban experience (although we did visit Pondicherry a few times from Auroville).  Temple - Thanjavur The truth is we don't know why we stopped there - it just was on the way to everything, but the temple was nice. The problem was getting from there to Kodaikannal. We didn't know that the direct buses (from just about everywhere) to Kodaikannal stopped at 13:00. On the train from Thanjavur we were told by some locals that we should get off at an earlier stop where the buses are more frequent. They weren't, and we had to take a local bus - an interesting experience in itself - to another stop. It turned out there was no bus from there at all. We were close, so we just took a taxi (which cost more than the train and the bus combined).  Lake at Kodaikannal Finally we made it to Kodaikannal and despite the cold, it was amazing. Kodaikannal was the only Hill Station built by the Americans (most of the others were British vacation spots). It's a small town on the top of the hill, with an incredible view and tens of small hotels. It looks much more like Europe than India. Since it is the off season here, we were able to upgrade our hotel room (just being in a hotel is an upgrade), and we now have a room with a view overlooking the bus station (It's fascinating to see everyone jump on the tourists as they get off the bus). For the first time since Vietnam we have a TV in our room, so we've been watching movies and even saw some of the Olympics (Never knew Curling was so intense).  Kodaikannal view There are only two types of tourists here - Indians and Israelis. I'm beginning to think that Kodaikannal was built BY the Israelis. It must only appear in the Hebrew version of the Lonely Planet. One highlight for any Israeli visiting here is a visit to Israel Booshi, and Indian who runs the Manna Bakery just above the lake. He loves Israel, which is why he changed his name. In his bakery, you can get his famous brown bread, listen to Israeli music and read articles in Indian newspapers regarding Israel for the past forty years.  Israel Booshi and the kids Most of our time here we have spent hiking around, finding interesting places to eat (we have learned to love Indian food), and hanging out around the lake.  Pedal Boats on Kodaikannal Lake Our only major problems here were with hotels. We seemed to not be able to stand still. We stayed in three different hotels during the week - moving each time for a different reason - and it kind of kept us from feeling settled. But we did celebrate Shachar's birthday here, and that was great for all of us. We even found a baker who made a cake and wrote Shachar in Hebrew.  Shachar's Birthday in Kodaikannal To Thanjavur Photos To Kodaikannal Photos To Madurai - Next Log |
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