The trip was planned to commemorate Appa and Amma's 43rd wedding anniversary and a decade since my TBI{{let this be the final and hopefully sole,mention of the cartload(s?) of associated mental baggage I lug around,looking to dispense with it anytime.
We started out on 1/7/2023 at 7 am. We traveled by car and reached Coorg,staying at Madikeri in a homestay.
A short walk from the homestay is Raja's Seat,which literally translates to 'The seat of the king',is a culturally significant site.
It is a small pavilion made of brick and mortar with surrounding four pillars,bridged by arches in the middle of a garden.
We went to Talakauveri,the source of the river Cauvery.
We bought mango chocolate,dark chocolate and jujubes.
We next went to a temple in the area in the middle of a heavy downpour.
Since there is a dress code at the temple,we had to buy dhotis for Mohan and me(Rs.300).
On the ride back to the hotel,there was a dicey situation when a stream of smoke emanated from the carburetor when Mohan operated the clutch since there was heavy traffic on the incline.
Returning from Thalakaveri,we had lunch at Tasmi restaurant.
For dinner,we ordered kulchas(10) and 2 curries-(Rs.1050).
3/7/2023,Monday::
*Went for a walk in the morning,bought bread,milkshakes and buttermilk.
*We had breakfast at Shanti Sagar
*Appa bought a FastTrack sticker linked to IDFC Bank
*Took the car to an auto garage for a quick checkup following the clutch episode.
*Mercara coffee plantation
Learned that the significant coffee beans are Arabica,Robusta and Peaberry
Saw the bushes of plants harvested for the spices cardamom,pepper,clove,cinnamon,vanilla and others,fruits like avocado,litchi and citron
*Thimayya museum
Below is a stark instance of one of nature's pet quirks-a flower subsisting seemingly on nothing:a flowering plant propped against a column of pipes traversing a long wall!
*Abby falls
July 4,2023::
Parents' wedding anniversary. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the visit to the Dubare elephant training camp[Elephants at Dubare training camp, and observing the pachyderms and their handlers.
Kumkis are working elephants,and the assistants to the mahouts are called காவடி.
We visited Bylakuppe,the largest Tibetan refugee camp,situated 90 kms away from Mysore on the Mysore Madikeri highway,which is the largest Tibetan refugee camp housing more than 18000 Tibetans in exile.Their rich cultural heritage has resulted in the sprouting of many mammoth and fascinating monasteries. There are 3 big golden idols(of Padmasambhava,Buddha and Amitayus) in a massive hall we sat in for meditation. Although they recommended maintaining silence,the recommendation was not followed to the letter.
We had lunch in the monastery,steamed and fried momos,Appa ordering cauliflower manchurian,Mohan settling for noodles,which we all shared.
Post-lunch,we had ice cream.
Mohan purchased a book of Tibetan philosophy,'The Tibetan book of the dead' and gifted it to Amma,which she is finding hard to comprehend.
Mohan had to return to Hyderabad because he was getting numerous phone calls from Zessta.
He had booked a room for us to stay in Mysore in Akshaya Inn,located on Hyder Ali Road.
The room rent was Rs.3000,the biggest advantage being the complimentary(sumptuous)breakfast offered in the morning.
We went to the Mysore palace(entrance of Rs.100;the shoes had to be removed by visitors,surprising to me).
There was a wooden replica of the Wudeyar dynasty palace,a collection of dolls,a golden howdah,weighing 750kg,silver chairs with crystal legs.
The palace is perfectly functional for the ruler to interact with his people,and well maintained today for visitors.
The howdah is taken out every year during Dussehra.
Previously,the king occupied the throne,which is the seat of Chamundi Devi.
We visited 2 temples,the Prasanna Krishnaswamy temple and Lakdhmiramana temple.
It being July 4,the 43rd anniversary of my parents' wedding,Amma was thrilled we made these visits.
Mohan left for the bus stand,while we returned to the room by car.
In the evening,we went to Chamundi hills by auto(thankfully, because it was pitch dark,and Appa sensibly did not drive,which is not recommended beyond a certain age).Amma and I sang 'Panchashat peetaroopini' in Karnataka Devagandhari.
We ordered dinner at the hotel,of parathas and dal makhani.
In the morning,we had complimentary breakfast and left for Chennai.We took an additional 4 hours because we missed 2 roads,one to NH48,and had to retrace our steps to correct for the mistake.
Appa had to contend with darkness when at the wheel.
We bought bread,banans and guava and ate them before going to bed.
