Addickt

The only remotely descriptive travel post I have ever written

Thing is, deciding on the spur of the moment to just take off, I didn’t really know what to expect out of this. Although I’ve spend 4/5ths of my life in the north-east, these hills completely bewitched me, blissfully carrying me off into clouds made out of some serious insight. The grace of the place is difficult to explain, so is the enormous freshness that it exudes. I filled up my ashtray lungs with the sweet air as much as I could but it really wasn’t enough. I even lost to urge to smoke, the altitude just taking me higher and higher, at each wind of eerie mountain road, greenery even more prettier than the last, little fascinating things even more pristine than the last, the air even colder than the last breath, and the tip of my nose almost freezing in delight! My legs ached so much throughout (I am not used to walking so much in a day!), uphill and the tougher downhill, but I just wanted to go on and on, at my sweet pace, reach the point where I am higher than everything else in the world, above everything else, above the life that I know, head among the clouds, mind at flight.

So here I am, documenting a journey sitting back at my desk at work, picking out the pictures that best tell my story. I was charmed, so enchanted and happy. I don’t usually put up any pictures or write about any occurrences that really impact me, but see, now I want to!

Excuse shaky picture quality. Excuse badly composed photographs. Or just excuse me.

So here we are waiting for the bus outside ‘Parveen Travels’, Pondy. Nothing too ground-breaking- just documentation 101.

Here, we stop at around five in the morning, none of us wanted any chai so we just sat about smoking, and already the place started to remind me of Meghalaya/Upper Assam. 

 

Here, we begin the ascent towards Kodai. Pictures taken out of the bus window. I am too excited to go back to sleep. 

We reach at 8.30 a.m. Kodai town is tiny and clean! Much like old-Shillong. We eat awesome hot puris for breakfast before heading off to Vattekanal- which is higher up than Kodai.

We start walking up hill. It’s a wrong road that we have taken and will take us 2 hours to reach there but at this point I don’t care. See why. These are some pictures I randomly took here and there. 
 

This is when shit got serious for me. I was hell bent on being one-of-the-hills, acting a bit eerie, not talking much, just out of wind and thrashing my head all ways to cram in as much beauty as I could. And we kept on climbing.   

Reached Vattekanal and Jacob’s (name changed for privacy!) Cottage. And we had successfully captured the only remaining little wooden cottage, dim, cosy, complete with awesome blankets, dining table, lots of windows, crazy art pieces, paintings, and a fireplace. Me started clicking pictures before we messed it up with our luggage.
 

The mist had a mind of it's own, circling down on us from time to time.

We opened up the Old Cask and smokes and later went to down to town with our heads swimming (took us another hour and half to walk).   
 

On way, arguments and revelations broke out. Joe and I came across this gorgeous hill doggy and were convinced that the mystery dog had appeared only for us. Friendliest thing, he gave us the saddest look when we walked on. I swear he was too big to carry back with me.

Doggy performs 'sad'

The town was peaceful as ever and we kept lounging by the lake, around the lake, up and down the markets, and then took a cab back to quite a cheerful night at the cottage a la Vatte. 

Ah, next blissful, ice-cold morning. There is always an Altaf at these awesome places. Ate some Israeli food for breakfast and played with the doggies there. 

Jackie snoozes

 

 Then, for Magica showtime, we headed back to the cottages, this time at the one even further up. Time to put on our 3D glasses, and when the view was like this, what can I say. It was an explosion of happy.

The mist kept swirling in like a band of galloping horses. The plants and trees became our friends, bright, dancing, talking. Shapes, patterns, people, thoughts, colours, sounds, laughter. Irresistable.

Later we went to get some thing to eat down to the tea shop and got caught in a thunderstorm. The mist encircles us and the rain thrashed. Hailstones! We ate a plate of hot maggi (sheesh-instant noodles stalk me), bought some supplies and headed back to the cottage once the rain slowed. It rained the entire night! The electricity went zap, it was now pitch dark everywhere and wrapped up in warm blankets, we zzzzzzzz………

Last day came too quick. 

The Goodmorning Boys :)

The truth has a way of pouncing out on its own.

Potluck cafe fed us well.

Colours at Potluck!

I allow one lousy picture per journey.

Good lord. I die of cuteness.

Camelephant in the house!

To walk is to seek

Freshness of this kind is a slap on the face of a city slacker. Look at what we miss.

Back at the cottage- Old monk, hot cup noodles, Win cigarettes, rain outside and good company. Bliss!

Bootlegging atop the town football field. Glowing lights of the market opposite.

And then we almost missed the bus. Finally caught it and were out like lights in no time. Kodai is definitely worth another trip, another supply of lungful happiness, another round of purification of mind and soul.