With no respite from either the summer heat or work pressure, was feeling upset the kids' vacation would get over soon with no outing what so ever for them.
A work related visit to Bangalore on Friday meant a small chance of clubbing some outing for the weekend may be around the Nilgiris with family. Had blocked myself something in Coonoor for Saturday & Sunday. The plan was to may be comeback to Chennai on Monday.
Thursday early morning the plan went into a toss, Bangalore trip had to be postponed which meant new set of plans, new destinations and more confusions. Finally decided to take off from work on Friday & Saturday instead of Saturday & Monday.
Only issue is finding accommodation in 24 hours notice in peak vacation season. A quick search through the travel portals just confirmed the worst, nothing good available in any of the hill stations. Thursday evening 6 PM was able to fix up with Eco Escape - Home through booking dot com only for Navin from Eco Escape to call and inform the rates listed in booking.com is old and they have been trying to get their property unlisted from the site. The rates are Rs.4,000/- per person instead of Rs.3,000/- per person per night as quoted by booking.com. He also confirmed both my kids would not be charged extra since they were under 12 years old.
After some thinking I confirmed to Navin that am coming down, he took down details like the favorite choice of biscuits, chocolates, soft drinks etc. for the kids.
So there we are we finalize our vacation plans at 7 PM and intend to start our vacation at 4 AM the next day morning. What a way to have your vacations. I tell my wife we are going to Kilavarai village for our vacation, if only looks could kill. We were supposed to stay here -
A work related visit to Bangalore on Friday meant a small chance of clubbing some outing for the weekend may be around the Nilgiris with family. Had blocked myself something in Coonoor for Saturday & Sunday. The plan was to may be comeback to Chennai on Monday.
Thursday early morning the plan went into a toss, Bangalore trip had to be postponed which meant new set of plans, new destinations and more confusions. Finally decided to take off from work on Friday & Saturday instead of Saturday & Monday.
Only issue is finding accommodation in 24 hours notice in peak vacation season. A quick search through the travel portals just confirmed the worst, nothing good available in any of the hill stations. Thursday evening 6 PM was able to fix up with Eco Escape - Home through booking dot com only for Navin from Eco Escape to call and inform the rates listed in booking.com is old and they have been trying to get their property unlisted from the site. The rates are Rs.4,000/- per person instead of Rs.3,000/- per person per night as quoted by booking.com. He also confirmed both my kids would not be charged extra since they were under 12 years old.
After some thinking I confirmed to Navin that am coming down, he took down details like the favorite choice of biscuits, chocolates, soft drinks etc. for the kids.
So there we are we finalize our vacation plans at 7 PM and intend to start our vacation at 4 AM the next day morning. What a way to have your vacations. I tell my wife we are going to Kilavarai village for our vacation, if only looks could kill. We were supposed to stay here -
So where is Kilavarai. For those who are aware of the "Escape Road" to Munnar from Kodaikanal, this place might be familiar. It is a village which features often in those who have done the "Escape Road" trek. It is a small village near the Kerala - Tamil Nadu border and predominantly an agrarian world. Kilavarai along with villages like Kavunji, Poomparai, Mannavanur, Poondi, Kovilur (Kerala), Vattavada (Kerala) possibly supply the majority of carrots / turnips / potatoes to South India. A google maps shot of this area.
On Friday morning we started at about 4:30 in the morning hoping to reach Kodaikanal at around 1:00 PM. With the road full of traffic each toll took about 5 minutes to cross delaying our progress all the way. The fuel & food break at A2B Ulundurpet took us almost 50 minutes. This meant we reached Trichy only at around 10:00 AM. Thanks to the peak hour traffic crossing the town was slow and tiresome.
When we crossed Dindigul it was about 11:45 AM, we were late by about 45 minutes from my original plan.
The constant diversions on the Dindigul - Theni road added more delay to our already delayed schedule. When I reached Perumal Malai I called Navin who gave me directions to his Brooklyn Bungalow on Convent Road.
At around 2:30 PM we reached Brooklyn Bungalow. They offered one cottage in Brooklyn as well. Fairway Inn - Home. The cottage looked fabulous with an old world feel to it. May be for my next trip to Kodai I will use this place. The best thing about this place is even though it is less than a km away from the lake, the place is quite and peaceful. It would be apt for those who prefer to spend time sitting on the lawn reading a book or may be just spend time with oneself in peace.
When we crossed Dindigul it was about 11:45 AM, we were late by about 45 minutes from my original plan.
The constant diversions on the Dindigul - Theni road added more delay to our already delayed schedule. When I reached Perumal Malai I called Navin who gave me directions to his Brooklyn Bungalow on Convent Road.
At around 2:30 PM we reached Brooklyn Bungalow. They offered one cottage in Brooklyn as well. Fairway Inn - Home. The cottage looked fabulous with an old world feel to it. May be for my next trip to Kodai I will use this place. The best thing about this place is even though it is less than a km away from the lake, the place is quite and peaceful. It would be apt for those who prefer to spend time sitting on the lawn reading a book or may be just spend time with oneself in peace.
After a long journey from Chennai, the kids found the nice garden a great place to unwind, they went around checking out all the flowers while Navin and myself were discussing about how to go about to Kilavarai.
All of the below pics were taken by my kids.
All of the below pics were taken by my kids.
After having lunch at a nearby restaurant we left for Kilavarai at about 4 in the evening. I was not sure if we would be able to reach the place before darkness falls.
You would have to pass through Poomparai, Mannavanur, Kavunji, Poondi & Nattampatti villages before reaching Kilavarai. The roads were decent all the way except for a few patches.
As we made our way through the road went on and on, after almost an hour we reached Poomparai, by this time my wife started complaining about how far the place is away from the town. As we went up and down the hills, crossing over one mountain after another, each time a valley appeared the views were spell bounding as terraced farms were visible everywhere with houses here and there.
There were no high rises to block your views, you could see the valleys as far as your eye sight could take you.
You would have to pass through Poomparai, Mannavanur, Kavunji, Poondi & Nattampatti villages before reaching Kilavarai. The roads were decent all the way except for a few patches.
As we made our way through the road went on and on, after almost an hour we reached Poomparai, by this time my wife started complaining about how far the place is away from the town. As we went up and down the hills, crossing over one mountain after another, each time a valley appeared the views were spell bounding as terraced farms were visible everywhere with houses here and there.
There were no high rises to block your views, you could see the valleys as far as your eye sight could take you.
After almost two hours we reached Kilavarai to find the road ending amidst a couple of shops.
Time for us to call our caretaker, I pick up the phone only to find Airtel not working, fortunately my BSNL 3G datacard SIM came handy to call Durai, who was to be our Man Friday for the next couple of days. He guided us to the property.
So a good 14 hours after we left Chennai we reached "Eco Escape". It was just about getting dark when we reached there, giving us no time to check out what the place was all about.
The first statement the kids made was "Appa No TV?". First time I thought it would be difficult to spend two days in a place without TV for the kids, now that we have come here there is no other go, lets hope the kids are not at their worst over the next two days.
The view as we step out of the cottage.
Time for us to call our caretaker, I pick up the phone only to find Airtel not working, fortunately my BSNL 3G datacard SIM came handy to call Durai, who was to be our Man Friday for the next couple of days. He guided us to the property.
So a good 14 hours after we left Chennai we reached "Eco Escape". It was just about getting dark when we reached there, giving us no time to check out what the place was all about.
The first statement the kids made was "Appa No TV?". First time I thought it would be difficult to spend two days in a place without TV for the kids, now that we have come here there is no other go, lets hope the kids are not at their worst over the next two days.
The view as we step out of the cottage.
The cottage looked rustic, but cosy and well laid.
With nothing much to do we had a simple dinner of Veg Pulav and subji and retired for the day with the plan to wake up early in the morning to explore the place. The night was cold but all of us had long snuggled under the blankets and we were sound asleep quickly. By about 6 in the morning my daughter is already awake, while in Chennai we would have to wake her up with lot of efforts for her tennis classes, here she is the one who is waking us all. After a quick cup of tea we decide to explore the property.
Eco Escape has a bit of everything around it, organic farms, wild stream, waterfall, forests. Slowly we make our way around when our Man Friday Biju points us to something on the other side of the river, a Nilgiri Thar as per him while for me it looked more like one from the deer family.
With nothing much to do we had a simple dinner of Veg Pulav and subji and retired for the day with the plan to wake up early in the morning to explore the place. The night was cold but all of us had long snuggled under the blankets and we were sound asleep quickly. By about 6 in the morning my daughter is already awake, while in Chennai we would have to wake her up with lot of efforts for her tennis classes, here she is the one who is waking us all. After a quick cup of tea we decide to explore the property.
Eco Escape has a bit of everything around it, organic farms, wild stream, waterfall, forests. Slowly we make our way around when our Man Friday Biju points us to something on the other side of the river, a Nilgiri Thar as per him while for me it looked more like one from the deer family.
We go around through Pine forests, the kids enjoying the walk, asking Durai all sorts of questions, which he was patiently answering. The early morning nip and the fresh air giving a lot of energy to the kids as they explore the surroundings.
We watch the various vegetables being cultivated around the place and also peep into a hut where Eucalyptus oil is being distilled.
The kids try their hand playing with a pony around. These ponies are used to carry loads of vegetables from the field to the roads.
We slowly go around take a loot a the new wellness resort which is under construction in the property and also take a look at the Bio-gas facility that the property has.
Now we take a look at the various vegetables being grown in the farm. The entire produce is organic and completely pesticide free. We were told Eco Ecape is one among the few farms producing strawberries locally at Kodaikanal.
The place is a "Veg Only" place and the food is made from the locally grown vegetables. On Friday night Navin had arranged for pastries from Kodaikanal with strawberry topping from his farm. A lovely way to pamper your guests.
The place is a "Veg Only" place and the food is made from the locally grown vegetables. On Friday night Navin had arranged for pastries from Kodaikanal with strawberry topping from his farm. A lovely way to pamper your guests.
The farm produces a whole range of vegetables, stuff which I remember are Potatoes, Onion, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Radish, Turnip, Beetroot, Knol Khol, Tomato and various varieties of Beans. They also have fruit trees as well.
The entire area is divided in patches, each one of them numbered individually. The date each patch is sowed is maintained on a computer to keep a track of harvesting dates. This also ensures that almost at all times all the vegetables are available by proper planning of sowing time table.
Slowly winding up we reached back the cottage for our morning break fast.
After break fast it was time to get to the water. The property has a stream running through it and in a couple of places it does allow for some canoeing in a small way.
The entire area is divided in patches, each one of them numbered individually. The date each patch is sowed is maintained on a computer to keep a track of harvesting dates. This also ensures that almost at all times all the vegetables are available by proper planning of sowing time table.
Slowly winding up we reached back the cottage for our morning break fast.
After break fast it was time to get to the water. The property has a stream running through it and in a couple of places it does allow for some canoeing in a small way.
After some time my son wanted to enjoy water even more, time for some waterfall action. So the action moved upstream where the kids had a frolicking time playing in the water, though I was scared if they would catch a cold or a fever considering the water was pretty cold and the temperature was very pleasant even though the sun was out in full force.
Here we were in the peak vacation time having a whale of a time all alone with no other tourists around. The entire stream was all ours, the kids were playing as though they were playing in our back yard.
After a simple lunch which had chappatis and one of the best subjis I have had made out of Brocoli & Cauli Flower, we decided to trek into the nearby forest, it would be a first time for the kids to trek into the forest. Though I was sure there would not be any animals of note that could be sighted we were all quite enthusiastic to do the trek.
It was during this trek my wife and kids had their first exposure to beautiful flora and fauna. In hindsight it was a good decision as we reached the cottage right in time for heavy rains to strike the place for a good hour or so. If we had decided to continue our trek am sure we would have got caught in the rains with no where to hide. But the trek did provide us an opportunity to see such a beauty, what a sight it would be when the rains are in full flow.
After a simple lunch which had chappatis and one of the best subjis I have had made out of Brocoli & Cauli Flower, we decided to trek into the nearby forest, it would be a first time for the kids to trek into the forest. Though I was sure there would not be any animals of note that could be sighted we were all quite enthusiastic to do the trek.
It was during this trek my wife and kids had their first exposure to beautiful flora and fauna. In hindsight it was a good decision as we reached the cottage right in time for heavy rains to strike the place for a good hour or so. If we had decided to continue our trek am sure we would have got caught in the rains with no where to hide. But the trek did provide us an opportunity to see such a beauty, what a sight it would be when the rains are in full flow.
Our evening plan was to go upto Mannavanur spend some time at the lake and then drive back around dusk, so that if we are lucky we could spot some wildlife on the road. But the rain played spoilsport and we had to make a short trip towards Polur a few kms away from Kilavarai. This short visit gave us some splendid views of the terraced farms and the valley all the way upto Udumalaipet & Palani.
The kids did not utter the word TV for the whole day. The evening dinner was Chappati, Kerala Red Rice with Avial and Vegetable subji. The surprise dessert for the day was lovely home made chocolates. They tasted out of the world.
After a good night's sleep we were in no mood to leave the place. Since we had a long day's drive ahead we decided to start early. The breakfast was Puttu with Kadala curry, Uppma and fresh mountain bananas.
We thanked Biju who had taken care of all our needs over the last couple of days, showing great temperament with our kids, a perfect Man Friday.
We thanked Biju who had taken care of all our needs over the last couple of days, showing great temperament with our kids, a perfect Man Friday.
On the way back got caught in a traffic jam at Kodaikanal which meant we took almost 3 hours to reach Kodai from Kilavarai, thanking Navin John once again for the lovely experience he and his team provided for us we reached Chennai at 11:00 in the night.
A panaroma shot of the Mannavanur Grass lands taken on the way back to Kodaikanal.
A panaroma shot of the Mannavanur Grass lands taken on the way back to Kodaikanal.
My son enjoying one moment of the average tourist checklist, horse riding at Green Valley View.
RSS Feed