INDIA!! part 2

DAY 3 : 12 Dec

The next morning, we played cards and took more photos of the backwater and its community, while waiting for our boats to dock back at the place we started. Next on our itinerary was the renowned Athirapali Falls, which was on the way to Tamilnadu. The falls were located deep inside the country and away from the city, and the journey through the rubber and palm oil estates had adrenaline running through all of us and pale-faced xiao ci was seen clinging on to the chair for her dear life (she asked me to include this) hehe. But really the journey to the falls can be compared to Genting's corkscrew just that it had nicer scenery and lasted 100 times longer~

Anyway upon arrival, we had to hike down to the base of the waterfall, and at first sandeep and gang refused to hike down because they were scared they could not take it (hehe) but in the end it was sheer willpower that dragged them down. But there were no regrets as we were greeted by a stunning and flabbergasting view as the water came pouring down the cliff, creating a majestic fall.

After hiking back down, we treated ourselves to the irresistable coconuts sold there for Rs. 15 each. How quenching. Then we embarked on our journey to Tamilnadu. The trip there was a long one (4+ hours) but the indian guys entertained us by singing and showing off their dance moves. Yup. Inside the van. As we entered Tamilnadu from Kerala and headed towards Coimbatore, we could feel the vast change in temperature. Coimbatore was experiencing (snowless) winter at that time and the air was really really cool, unlike Kerala's which was hot and humid (far worse than tronoh's). And we looked at our finger nails and they were all filled with dark grey dust. Anyways, the Indian guys all came from Coimbatore, their home-town.

Finally, we reached Udumalpet (a town in Tamilnadu) where we would spend the night. Being offset by almost 3 hours, we went straight for a pre-planned meeting with the Rotaract Club of Udumalpet Ghandinagar and the Rotary Club of Udumalpet at a school that was sponsored by the mentioned Rotary Club. RC Udumalpet Gandhinagar was a club which achieved lots of great awards and we managed to have a look at their achievements. Later, we had late dinner at Sun Anaappar Hotel, treated by one of the Rotarians. The splendid dinner, more like a banquet comprised of naan, purata (their version of roti canai), mutton, chicken and lots more. Carrying a stuffed stomach, we headed for Anamalai's Hotel and slept there for the night.

DAY 4 : 13 Dec

Next morning, 7a.m, Jonathan and Eric followed Rtn. Arthur for morning mass at a local Catholic church and met up with the rest of us at Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Pollachi. There we would spend the night at Topslip, at the peak of the reserve. The road towards the reserve was breathtaking, and we saw a vast field of windmills. Our acting tourguide of the day, Rtr. Naga claimed that each windmill costs around Rs. 100-200k, and was privately owned, each by a separate company. On the way, we stopped by New Modal Crematorium which was built with an expense of Rs. 1.5 million without funds from government and other NGOs. It involved 6 Rotaract clubs in which 5 were college-based and 1 was based in a community. This crematorium was being built because the people in Udumalpet would have to travel uo to 40 km to Pollachi or Palani to burn their dead, so building this crematorium would serve to be more convenient for them.

We reached the entrance of the reserve and after getting tickets, we set off inside. We had to pass through multiple security checkpoints, as they checked our passports. The drive up was humbling, as we got to witness the virgin forests of India. Unlike our tropical forests, India's had many bamboo trees growing in the forest with scarce undergrowth, which made it easier for trekking. We were told that if we had kept our silence, we would be fortunate enough to see wild panthers roaming about. But our van was nowhere near to being quiet, special thanks to our entertainer Vishnu. hehe. The red-earth roads were bumpy, filled with hair-pin bends, and once again, xiao ci and liang yi could be seen clinging on to dear life. We even passed by 2 wild boars and waved to them and they waved back.

Our first stop would be the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary which belonged to the Kerala government. At the same time, Rtn. Arthur and Miss Hellina and spouse went elephant-riding. After taking approx. 1000 shots in the nice and chilly weather, we set off for a large water dam, owned by Tamilnadu. Another 1000 x 2 shots and we left, being able to catch glimpses of a pack of deer and peacocks nestling in the grass. The buffaloes were even lucky enough to see us.

Then for lunch we went to Lakshmi Hotel and were served the best chicken 65 that we'd ever tasted! Far better than KFC, even Atif who hails from Kerala said that he had never fancied chicken 65 until coming to this sacred place! hahaha. The chicken is a South Indian style of cooking a chicken dish which is fried until crispy, and served with onions and curry leaves and etc... There are many theories on how it got its name. According to Vishnu, the chicken that they use to cook the dish must be 65 days old, while others say that they use 65 ingredients to cook up the dish. So which is the true one?

Later we went to the Parambikulam Tunnel Entry and took even more photos xiao ci and her poses, and then headed to the Kannimara Teak, the largest living teak tree in the world. It has a girth of 6.57m and is 48.5m tall. It is said that it would take 10 people to circle the tree, hand in hand. And so we tried :)

As late evening fell, we moved up to Topslip and stayed over at the Parambikulam house, with 5 rooms. Just before dinner time, and after several ghost stories of spinning leaves and all, the driver called us saying that we could have a chance to see wild elephants roaming in the night, somewhere downhill. Quickly, we scrambled into the van and all of us were forced to be silent and still as the moon. We were discouraged to take any photos, so there won't be any for you to see. We drove on a little and suddenly we stopped, as there were about 30 elephants around our van, some even blocking the road. Thrilled as we were, we were also afraid that the elephants might charge at us. It was quite a scary experience, with so many of them around our helpless van. Then our skilled driver revved his engine in hope to scare them off the road. After about 15 minutes, they slowly walked off and we went for our dinner at Lakshmi Hotel again, not that we minded! So Chicken 65 it was again, until we finished all of the stock, leaving nothing but empty bowls. Some of us were even so hiked up about it that they even made spontaneous videos advertising how awesome the dish was~

After dinner we headed back to the house, and then our dear Jonathan just had to let his disposable underwear be exposed to public view, and the Indians caught sight of it and asked what it was. Then it all began. Jonathan explained to them what it was and our Indian friends here were so excited about it that they even took it and played with it, wearing it on their heads, faces and every part of their body that could fit into those underwears. They even made a song about it and danced to it, but the content may be too explicit for the simple mind to watch so i'm not posting it up :)

Then after more ghost stories by Mr. Naga, we held a meeting with both RAC UTP and RC of the Saibaba Colony. During this time we shared our feelings and experiences so far, and Rtn. Arthur elaborated on his duty and importance as Zone Coordinator. We were supposed to watch Paranormal Activity after that, but everyone was just too tired so we slept and woke up the next morning as fresh as milk.