Snooty Ooty

I decided that I wanted to go to Ooty, mainly because I like the name.  My travelling plans really are as scientific as that.  The only way to get from Mysore to Ooty was by bus (deep joy).  I was told that it would take 4 hours and it would be a comfortable private bus.  Instead it took almost 7 hours and was the most uncomfortable mode of transport imaginable.  It was a tiny bus but that didn’t stop them filling it with as many people as humanly possible.  There was not even enough room to have my knees straight.  At one stage I was so claustrophobic I thought I was going to have a panic attack and for once I’m not even being overly dramatic. 

The bus made various stops but the driver announced everything in Hindi so I didn’t have a clue what was going on.  An old Indian bloke on board took pity on me and tried his best to translate.  On one of the many stops he did the universal sign of pretending to hold his willy to indicate to me that it was a toilet break (well at least I think that’s what he was doing). 

It felt like the journey would never end.  The only thing that cheered me up was when we drove though Mudumalai National Park.  It wasn’t that I saw any animals (not even a sniff of a tiger) it was the signs that they had displayed that made me giggle.  All over the park there were signs telling you how you should behave.  These are a few of my favourites;

Do not feed the animals, you will just invite menace. 

Do not drive fast, you may kill a wildlife.

Be quiet.  Noise enrages the animals

I finally arrived in Ooty 3 hours behind schedule (not that I really have a schedule).  Ooty is a hill station (apparently the most famous one.  It was nicknamed Snooty Ooty by the British in the early 19^th century (oh, the British are just too comical).  It is quite spectacularly beautiful, full of thick pine forests and mountains as far as the eye can see.  What is also nice is that it’s quite chilly.  It makes a nice change from the blistering heat of the rest of India.  I think I could really like it here.