city critters

These Rajasthani guys brought their camels to the south Indian city for camel rides.  Did they walk all that way?  Look at the little girl! – so sweet.  Handsome animals, not too smelly surprisingly.

 

critters

Saw these wild elephants in the Bandipur animal sanctuary.  They come out at dusk and walk in the forest along the state highway.

the road to conoor

The road to Conoor from Ooty is very picturesque – small towns, narrow roads with steep drop offs, fresh air.

more ooty

in the bazaar at dusk

somewhere heavenly between ooty and conoor

The British left lots of tea behind.  Our driver said that most of the gardens are owned by wealthy families who live in the cities and sell leaf to a local factory which we later drove by.

udagamandalam

Drove from Bangalore to Ooty, a hillstation in the Nilgiris about 7000 feet above sea level. It reminded me of driving up to Kodai as a kid for school, the cool air, wood smoke, eucalyptus, diesel, stomach upset from the hairpin turns, and I felt the same queasy anxiety as I did back then.  Look again at the pictures of the three kids – they all three held the same basic gesture from the first snap to the next – adorable!

traffic

Traffic in the South Indian city is like opera:  you don’t understand it, nor do you need to; you just plunge into it and let it flow around you and over you and overtake you.  Let its beauty renew you.  Honk quite a lot.

domestic bangalore

Koramangala is a booming neighbourhood south of the city center along hosur road.  Nice room, lush view.  Breakfast includes idli, dosa, chutney, sambar, vegetable, mutton.  India, Sri Lanka, Aussie and England are playing off cricket.  It’s easy to spy through the dense plants.

chennai airport layover

The layover in Chennai airport was a bit long – 4 hours.