A Day in Kodaikanal
In Kodaikanal we were under the care of Mr. Vaithilingam…for all practical purposes. He is a friend’s friend’s friend and the manager of Hotel Hill Top Towers situated in the heart of Kodaikanal. The recommendation that had reached him through our chain-link of friends was more than enough for him to pour personal attention and make all necessary arrangements for us.
Vaithilingam had assigned one of his friends C Raghu as our cabby. We began our tour around the town with a visit to Kurinji Andavar temple at Palani View. The temple houses the deity Murugan and is situated at a strategic location that provides clear view of Palani hills and its renowned temple of Lord Murugan and also the Vaigai dam. Next stop was a Jain temple that is apparently famous for its intricate marble carvings. I wasn’t too impressed and wished we had avoided that stop. A short stop over at Chettiar Park was better. For a change it was nice to see a well-managed government run park!
To me Kodaikanal seemed like the Nainital of South India. A lake forms the center of attraction in both Nainital and Kodaikanal. Rest of the tourist excursions are organized around the lake and into the surrounding mountains offering several view spots - lake view, valley view etc. One such view that we visited was the Green valley view point, also known as suicide point…well…don’t all popular hill stations have a suicide point of their own? Its almost as if to suggest that in plains, especially cities, people may culminate their lives just about anywhere, but in the hills they prefer to provide a central location perhaps for everybody’s convenience!
The green valley was covered with mist, yet the panoramic view of mountain peaks layered with clouds and fog was quite mesmerizing. However the main attraction of the spot seemed to be monkeys posing freely for shutterbugs and they kept us glued to their greedy antics for quite a while.
One interesting spot was a place where one had to climb downhill on a naturally built staircase of semi exposed tree roots. Another popular tourist attraction was Pillar rocks. Its claim to fame is three 400 feet tall granite boulders that resemble the face of lord Ganesha.
Unlike my usual travels, the visit to Kodaikanal turned out to be a typical site seeing tour…something that I never fully enjoy. Anyway, we did what all tourists do, saw all of the popular places, bought homemade chocolates, and did boating in the Kodai Lake. It was mid day and we were through with all the typical “must-see” and “must do” stuff. That’s when I decided to relieve our cabby after he left us at the entry to Coaker’s Walk. I wanted to just hang around and explore the place on my own. Just as I had expected, Coaker’s Walk turned out to be the best place in Kodaikanal. That’s why I had reserved a visit to Coaker’s Walk for the end. It’s a kilometer long paved road along the edge of steep slopes on the southern side of Kodaikanal.
Leisure…sheer leisure!
So we indulged in leisure across the Coaker’s walk taking in the picturesque view of partially fogged out valley. We chatted, ate cotton candy, sang, and finally settled down for a cup of coffee near the end of the walk. The coffee wasn’t as good as the filter coffee in Vaithilingam’s hotel but the experience of being parked lethargically on a chair at the edge of a hill with feet resting on a tiny fence and sipping coffee was simply awesome!
We spent the remainder of the day in a similarly lethargic manner loitering around Kodaikanal. We walked to Bryant’s park. Went to the market and ate corn.
My sister rented a bicycle and rode along the 5km periphery of the Kodai Lake. I opted for a horse ride, as I can’t ride anything with less than three wheels or legs!
At sundown we witnessed Kodai at its beautiful most as we sat around its shore and watched the last of the boats returning to the dock.
Our one-day visit to Kodaikanal ended with yet another meal of yummy Chilly Uthappams and several rounds of filter coffee.
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