Ooty, India – January 19 & 20, 2014

Ooty is a 5 hour drive from Calicut, from sea level up the mountains to 8500 feet, from sweltering hot – even in winter, to a cool, even chilly, climate.  Ooty was established by the British for a summer escape from the heat at lower levels.

The mountains are covered with tea plantations for mile after mile.  The area is also very fertile and wonderful carrots, onions, beets, and other vegetables are grown there.   






Nature rules there and we visited two beautiful botanical gardens with many varied and stately trees.  

We also toured a tea factory to learn how tea, which is harvested from only the three youngest leaves at the tip of a branch, is processed into white tea (the most expensive), green tea, and black tea, then packaged for sale at auction to the various brands of tea marketers.

There is a narrow gauge train that travels between Ooty and Coonoor – affectionately known as the Toy Train.  The train is no beauty, and although we had a first class ticket, to American standards, it was anything but first class.  The real attraction of the train is the view along the 18 kilometer ride.  The ride was my birthday present.  The hotel knew it was my birthday from my passport, and when we returned to our room, a birthday cake was waiting for us.