Summer Diaries - A Day In Coorg!



Today was a date with Nature.

After a wonderful and fulfilling breakfast we left for Coorg. 

Enroute Coorg, we visited a beautiful Tibetan settlement. Narrow and lovely roads with near and beautiful houses in either side, lots of greenery amidst fields with hills in the background and inside the settlement, a beautiful monastery called as the Namdroling Monastery which is also referred to as the Golden Temple - this place is a must-visit. 




The monastery itself is a majestic wonder. Surrounded by nearly trimmed lawns and a manicured garden, this monastery houses beautiful idols of Lord Buddha and two other Boddhisatvas in golden hues. The place is beautifully decorated with Tibetan drawings. 

Here's a humble request - When and if you visit this place, kindly maintain silence to feel the aura of the place. Inspite of several boards requesting for silence, people visiting the monastery today were at their loudest, thereby ruining the serene atmosphere of the monastery. This place deserves not just to be seen but to be felt as well, and one can feel only in silence. 

There are three other Viharas here, each one having beautiful idols of Boddhisatvas. There is also a complex having many shops from where we all enjoyed icecream and juices. I, the reader, couldn't resist visiting a book shop and brought two books of Thich Nhat Hanh. 

The route from the Monastery to Coorg is beautiful and slightly uphill with lots of plantations on the way. It was exhilarating to travel through several s-bends. 

We checked into Hotel Coorg Palace which has some awesome views of mountains. Every room has a cozy balcony with a small coffee table, two chairs and beautiful view of mountains. 

There is no trip without its share of mishap. Our driver for the day ran off in the afternoon. I assure you we all had nothing to do with this. By sheer chance, my cousin has brought his car and we could continue the rest of our sightseeing because of him!

In the evening we went to Raja's Seat, a park in Coorg which has some spectacular views of mountains and sunset. This is a wonderful picnic spot to simply hang-out, watch the mountains yonder, take a walk or play in slides, swings, bungee jumping and zipline. There's also a musical fountain here which starts around 6.45 in the evening. One can sit on the grass and enjoy the sight of the fountain dancing to the music with lights. 



By the time we left Raja's Seat, it was around 7.30 in the evening. We went to a restaurant for dining. Dinner was as chaotic as always, with each one trying to place their order with the server and getting interrupted by the other until the confused server started looking around frantically for help. It didn't matter what each one had ordered, for when the course was served, every one jumped into the nearest meal available and finished it. That is what happens when ten people dine together and order a zillion items. Looking back, none of us remembers what we had ordered in the first place and what we ate!

When we came out, we got a pleasant surprise. The temperature had cooled down considerably. It's so cool now that we do not need any AC in the room, a far cry from Hyderabad which, from the news, we can make out is still roasting at 45 degrees. 

Hopefully the driver will come tomorrow. There is a lot we have planned for. But if there is one thing we have learnt from our trips, it is this that plans have no surety. Also, we still manage, whether everything is working as per plan or not!

Comments

  1. Latha PrakashMay 5, 2024 at 6:22 PM

    Enjoy ur days in the company of nature friend. Ur writeups would encourage the reader to plan a trip soon.

    ReplyDelete

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