(2000 m) above sea level allowing for pleasant New England-like summer temperatures. When suggested by the Madurai YMCA General Secretary Suyambu that I take the weekend and head into the hills I eagerly accepted. What made the offer even more enticing is that as it turned out the President of the Madurai YMCA owns a small hotel in Kodaikanal called the Snooze Inn (or as I prefer to remember it, the Snooze'n) so my stay would be free! Excited to make it to cooler temperatures and desperately wanting another escape from city life I hopped at bus at 6am on Friday morning and set off for a winding and at times fightening four hour drive into the mountains.
I arrived in Kodaikanal at around 10am. Located only a short walk from the bus station, I headed to the "Snooze'n" to drop some things before going out to explore what this beautiful hillstation had to offer. Luckily, since I was a guest from the YMCA the Snooze'n staff had arraged for one of the receptionists to take me around on his motorcycle to show me the different tourist hot spots in and around Kodaikanal. I have to say, before coming to India I had only been a passenger a few times on the back of a bike but since being her it has become my new favorite way to travel. I love being able to quickly jump from place to place while still feeling like a part of what is going on around me.
Croweded with local tourists and with cloud cover heavy late in the day, the popular spots left
something to be desired. I decided that the following day I would find a guide and head into the hills for a nice long trek away from all the tourist traffic. The staff at the Snooze'n suggested a guide by the name of Cannon. At first glace he didn't look like much but as we spent more time together I came to learn that he is not only a terrific guide but also has a degree in biology and botany so was able to tell me all about the flora and fauna of the region, collects various types of plants and flowers to make his own oils for local distribution and sale AND he is an amazing chocolate maker!
Judging by the look on my face and my positive attitude Cannon could tell that I was really ready for a nice long and challenging trek and that was exactly what he gave me. Over grown with trees and plants from the rains that had been coming, hiking the trail was a lot more bushwhacking than just trekking. Pushing and crawling through the dense forest and down trees covering the trail made for an interested and challenging journey but just to make matters even more interesting for the majority of the trek one misstep to my left would have meant a plummet of about 4000ft to my death (don't worry mom, I survived fine). Bushwhacking our way along an altitude of about 8000ft stopping to take in some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen, we trekked for most of the day with our final distance settling at about 20km.
Arriving back at the Snooze'n at about 3:00 I decided that I still hadn't had enough of the beautiful mountains and arranged to meet back up with my guide Cannon in the evening to check out some of the more beautiful views of the city at night.
Kodaikanal is a really interesting little city. Not only is the scenery just absolutely beautiful but the community that that city is made up of is quite a nice little variety. I even came to discover a really interesting community of Tibetian refugees who have made their home in Kodiakanal. Selling traditional Tibetian garments and artisan products as well as running a few really nice Tibetian resturaunts where I picked up some delicious chowmein and dumplings these people have really made a nice community for themselves in India's deep south.
Before I knew it Sunday had arrived and it was back to Madurai for me for the start of school!
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