After the unstinting support from my parents and son, a thank you was always on the cards, but to do it as a trip hit upon me suddenly and when dad and mom showed a rare enthusiasm - well, there were no second thoughts, after all how many trips will we all going to take together now that they are ageing and oh, so rapidly.
Decided on Mysore - Kodagu. There is something about the rains that is invigorating and brings a smile on my face, one feels alive, rejuvenated at the green, freshly washed look of the world and somehow everything looks more hopeful and cheerful. Booked at CM Kodagu Valley resort as I wanted parents to see the Golden temple and lo, the trip took off.
A pleasant morning greeted us with clouds leaking droplets of rain and a fantastic cool breeze guaranteed to blow all the worries away. The omens were good and cheerfully got ready, carted all the bags and took off at 6.30pm. Tanked up and filled nitrogen in the tyres and we rolled on to amma's place where everybody was ready and raring to go. Cheerful leg pulling and banter saw us through to Kadambam at Chennapatna where we filled up on hot pongal, vadas and Toshu on puliyogare and dosa....sated the journey moved on till we reached our lil
After a steaming hot upma and coffee breakfast made at home, we set of by 10am to Green Grass to see the site we had , appa and amma fell in love with the place, were very impressed with all the amenities and just plain loved it.
So far so good. Both appa and amma had borne the journey and its aftermath well. Since the distance to Kodagu (120 kms) was less than Bangalore - Mysore and the roads excellent, we were optimistic. We set off at 9am and made a brief "stretch your legs" stop just before Hunsur and after a 2 by 4 coffee at Cafe Coorg, set off again.
We had spent more than an hour there. Then we stopped at Bheema's at Kushalnagar which promised spicy South Indian meals, Andhra style, the weather warranted hot & spicy and we had what can be called a very simplified version of the meal we are used to in Bangalore. But it was not bad and at Rs.80/head, a steal. We then stopped to buy some snacks at a bakery - Sri Rama Iyengar Bakery - and he turned out to be Ranga's gaon ka bhai - and after a long-ish tete a tete Ranga finally decided to drive on (smile)...reached Madikeri and drove on to Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley which is 6.5 kms from there.
Day 1 - Bangalore - Mysore - 22nd. July 2014
A pleasant morning greeted us with clouds leaking droplets of rain and a fantastic cool breeze guaranteed to blow all the worries away. The omens were good and cheerfully got ready, carted all the bags and took off at 6.30pm. Tanked up and filled nitrogen in the tyres and we rolled on to amma's place where everybody was ready and raring to go. Cheerful leg pulling and banter saw us through to Kadambam at Chennapatna where we filled up on hot pongal, vadas and Toshu on puliyogare and dosa....sated the journey moved on till we reached our lil
holiday home.
Appa and amma loved the place esp since they had not been able to see it, due to various reasons before this. All relaxed while Ranga paid all bills and I got down to getting the place cleaned and lunch ready. Lunch and siesta done, we woke to rains and a lovely rainbow. which we enjoyed watching from the balcony and then decided to go to our ancestral Venkateshwara temple at Vontikoppal. Had a lovely darshanam, got the rakshe tied, Ranga bought shloka books in English ( !! ) which he had been looking for a long time - how delightful, both of us would love to read and recite and with English, it is so much easier, thank you Lord! - by this time we were well and truly hungry. Decided to have dinner at Dasaprakash Paradise and though the taste was good, the quantities are so meager, it is down right irritating, greed has no reasoning anyways. Reached home by 10pm, appa and amma were bushed and hit the sack right away. We three watched some TV and then called it a night.
Day 2 - Mysore - 23rd. July 2014
After a steaming hot upma and coffee breakfast made at home, we set of by 10am to Green Grass to see the site we had , appa and amma fell in love with the place, were very impressed with all the amenities and just plain loved it.
We then went to Gomatagiri, an ancient statue of Gomateswara which barring Mahaveer Jayanti is a quiet little place - we did not go up as the multiple roughly hewn steps were a strict no-no for all - and then returned home by 2pm. A leisurely afternoon siesta after lunch put everyone in a relaxed mood.
Evening was barbeque time - and the whole family was busy, Chef Ranga was in his elements - grilling and the rest eating the delectable stuff he was dishing out. A Chinese dinner made by Ranga and me went down very well and happy bellies make a happy family, no?
Yum!
Checked up on weather in Kodagu as the papers were full of dire news and was told "it is raining but do come". We obliged (smile)
Day 3 - Mysore - Kodagu - 24th. July 2014
So far so good. Both appa and amma had borne the journey and its aftermath well. Since the distance to Kodagu (120 kms) was less than Bangalore - Mysore and the roads excellent, we were optimistic. We set off at 9am and made a brief "stretch your legs" stop just before Hunsur and after a 2 by 4 coffee at Cafe Coorg, set off again.
Reached Koppa and just before the bridge took a left to Bylakuppe for appa and amma to see the Golden temple - Nisargadhama. As expected, it cast its spell on them, and despite a light drizzle on the way back, amma was a sport!!
We had spent more than an hour there. Then we stopped at Bheema's at Kushalnagar which promised spicy South Indian meals, Andhra style, the weather warranted hot & spicy and we had what can be called a very simplified version of the meal we are used to in Bangalore. But it was not bad and at Rs.80/head, a steal. We then stopped to buy some snacks at a bakery - Sri Rama Iyengar Bakery - and he turned out to be Ranga's gaon ka bhai - and after a long-ish tete a tete Ranga finally decided to drive on (smile)...reached Madikeri and drove on to Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley which is 6.5 kms from there.
Enroute now we were welcomed with a rolling mist, lovely cool rain and lush green surroundings..plain beautiful.
We were greeted with pouring rain. But Club Mahindra hospitality was at its best as usual - a hot black coffee with jaggery hit the right note and after a very quick check in, the car took us to our rooms. Umbrellas given at the check in time turned out to be serendipitous of rain and we had rains by the tons of gallons.!
We got rooms 1194 and 1195 but I made a mental note to request for 1128 and 1129 next time as access is even better and smoother.
A quick nap and all were up by 5pm..coffee, snacks and rummy followed till 7pm, when we stopped to get ready for dinner. Rain drummed overhead and everything outside was shrouded in a mist and but obviously the topic of discussion was haunted houses, ghosts and such - well, scary and unintentionally hilarious anecdotes made dinner fun!
Dinner and a good night's sleep was what was wonderful. Lying in bed reading, listening to the rain beating down, with a warm blanket on...bliss!
Day 4 - Kodagu - 25th. July 2014
"Raindrops keep falling on my head..." was the song on my lips and I had a silly smile plastered on my face as I woke up to yet another beautiful rain soaked day and it welcomed us with a whistling thrush doing its damnedest to be heard over the pelting rain and his valiant efforts were paying off!! Rains would come down hard for about 10 to 15 mins and subside and gorgeous sun would burst forth, then again without any warning the rains would come pelting down. It was awesome and barring a short dash to the in-house shop where amma bought some spices and honey, we spent the time lazily in the balcony, chatting, bonding and enjoying a leisurely time with no time pressures as in Bangalore. Chill breeze warrants copious amounts of warm fluids so coffee, tea and soups were the order of the day. Kept us cozy and happy.I am a sucker for verdant nature and boy did Mother Nature smile on me this trip!... A room service lunch came in a set of boxes, which are apparently being tried out, but we did not find it appealing, reminded me sadly of my school lunches or take aways, certainly not fine dining - CM - please note and revert to original! A nap followed by some games, a simple dinner and before we knew it, the day was over. A languid day connecting with family amidst some lovely scenery, what more can one want?
Day 5 - Kodagu - Bangalore - 26th July 2014
Another wet morning and Ranga had to literally make a dash to the reception to settle our bill. We all left by 9.30am after an indifferent breakfast of simple idlis and vadas which the chef decided to screw up big time (hard idlis, dense vadas, sickly sweet sambar and a bland chutney - need I say more? - the chef really went to town and managed to mangle the staples of S.Indian breakfast...defies any reasoning, CM really needs to overhaul its S.Indian cuisine there, it is dismal, the rest is ok, but hello, we are in S.India, how can you make such bad S.Indian food..esp the common idli - vada?).
Stopped at Madikeri town and bought filter coffee powder and some honey, then we continued on.
Again a break at Hunsur for some coffee and another for lunch at the newly opened A2B before Maddur at Bestinn's restored our faith in good old S.Indian fare, it was yum..the pongal, rava masala dosa, sambar and chutney.! Bellies full, we resumed and reached home at 3.30pm, after negotiating the usual chaos of Bangalore traffic and came in to a sultry afternoon which foretold heavy showers in the evening. But the temperature difference was something to experience..groan..another trip to Kodagu and the majesty of rains was phenomenal.
A must see - Kodagu in the rains!.
But do check before going, after we returned rains had wreaked havoc in Madikeri and surrounding areas.
Log Book
Clocked - 714 kms at an economy of 12.5kms/litre ( the car was fully loaded, so not bad). Excellent roads, good signage.
Weather - Lovely, cool and cloudy. Temp - Mys - 26 deg C and Kodagu - 16 deg C (nights cooler)
Stay - Club Mahindra Kodagu Valley. - Super as usual barring irritants of S.Indian cuisine being below par.
Will I do it again? - You bet !!
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