Oot & Aboot in Ooty

We finally arrived at our hotel just after midday - we have a little bungalow in 'The Savoy' which is an old colonial establishment. Faded glory I think sums it up. There is a fireplace in the bedroom which we were told could be lit for us if we wanted. Well as the temperature was around 30 degrees when we arrived we declined that offer and instead asked for a fan as there is no air conditioning or ceiling fan in the bedroom. They seemed surprised but obliged us.

View of the Reception area 

and the bedroom (couldn't fit the fireplace section in this photo)

and the cosy lounge/sitting room area

a few feathered friends spotted in the garden near our bungalow this afternoon

We had a local Guide, John, join us this afternoon for a guided tour of Ooty town. This didn't take long as its a pretty small place. First stop was the Botanical Gardens which were very well maintained by Indian standards. Over 49 acres with, apparently, more than 2000 varieties of plants (but I'd question those figures). Originally a kitchen garden it was turned into a Botanical Garden by the Marquis of Tweeddale in 1847 and most of the plants had been imported from England so were very familiar to us.

A lovely young woman and her grey haired Mum stopped to say hello then before we knew it we'd been dragged across to meet the whole family who were visiting the park … so more photos were taken.

The whole family group 

Our guide was getting impatient so we said our goodbyes but didn't get 20 yards before another Mum came running after us wanting to have her family photographed with us … so we obliged, then I took pics of them. We're beginning to feel like Celebs!

It was a steep climb to get to the top of the Botanical Gardens and we struggled to breathe at times … I know we're not super fit but the altitude really got to us. But it was worth it. There is a small village at the top with about 15 families from the Toda tribe living there. The Toda language is unique to them and is spoken but not written and not understood by other Tamils.

We were invited into the house of one family (They spoke Tamil as well as Toda so our Guide was able to converse with them) and were given tea and shown the wedding album of the younger lady in the group. She was rightly very proud of the Album.  The photos were fabulous and showed the traditional clothing and hairstyles. Marriages are arranged within the tribe when the girls are 18 and the men at least 21 years old.

We were allowed to photograph a few pictures from the album. 

Although small, just two rooms, the home had a washing machine which took pride of place in the lounge (which also doubled as a bedroom for Grandma)

The bride is now a mother of two young children who were quite happy to be photographed once they got over their initial shyness.

This is Grandma with the youngest child

Here's the oldest boy with another local girl in her school uniform. We gave them both pens for their school work.

You will notice the cow in the background.   Seconds after taking this photo the cow caused mayhem by mugging a neighbour for the cauliflower she was carrying.   The cow got whacked with a walking stick fairly sharpish and sent on its way!

Here it is, looking the picture of innocence ..

From there we visited an old English church which was closed for renovation but we wandered around the graveyard for a while looking at the old tombstones … so many pioneering British families died in their 20s and 30s of cholera and other diseases

Then it was off to visit a small business specialising in making artificial flowers from silk thread – very pretty and clever but we managed to come away without purchasing anything. They were very delicate and we have a lot of travelling still to do …

I took lots of photos but, to be honest, was more interested in the horse tied up outside ... looking very relaxed in the sunshine

Once we got back to our hotel we decided to walk around the local area to see if we could find a restaurant to try tonight. However, this area appears to be primarily Muslim and the restaurants were all Halal and a bit seedy looking so we gave up on that idea. We walked for an hour just looking at the houses and watching the local people.

We got stopped by this guy who greeted David like a long lost buddy. Apparently he was a valet to a prominent Brit for 40 years and he invited us to meet his 'Master' … we passed on the invitation though

So we've just had a very nice vegetarian curry meal in the wood panelled restaurant here at the Savoy and I've got an 'Old Monk' dark rum nightcap here in my room whilst writing this blogpost … Spookily the Bar here is called the Canterbury bar and has a large picture on the wall of the Falstaff Hotel in St. Dunstons (just a few miles from where we live and which we pass a couple of times per week in the car)

Oh, and now we know why the staff were surprised at our request for a fan in our bedroom  -  the temperature really has dropped by about 20 degrees tonight

Tomorrow morning is free … not quite sure what we'll do yet. Then tomorrow afternoon we have a train journey downhill to Mettupalayam. The train is a narrow gauge 'toy' train and travels quite slowly. Halfway down the diesel engine is replaced by a steam engine … David can't wait!