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8/4/2011
Up and out and straight on the bus to Ooty. Joined by several trannys that decided to sit next to me which Chris found funny and I felt a tad uncomfortable with how they were looking at me and my legs. Apparently they were looking at my builders bum when I went to pick something up - eeewwwww. They kept trying to talk to us but I was reluctant to engage in a conversation with some of the most blatent adam's apples, big hands and hairy arms I've ever seen.
The drive however was a wonderful experience as we were taken very high up into the mountains on a few too many windy roads but seeing the picturesque tea plantations, family of elephants, gibbons, deer and wild boar going through Mudumalai National Park was brilliant. Witnessed a crazy festival in the high-altitude town of Gudalar (where the trannys departed) where a truck was driving down the street with hundreds of people playing drums and having various roles. But one weird thing on this truck was a helicopter-like machine spinning men around who were attached to the propellors by their skin! No joke, they were hanging from several parts of their body, in the air, by their skin.
In Ooty, to me it was just another smelly, polluted town (but in the hills) with a not-so-great tourist pull despite having been told to go there.
Ate some fresh fruit that Chris was eating to try and combat his stomach problem (though he claimed that after smoking some weed the pain had gone!) and then had a tasty butter, chicken curry. Hustled a hotel owner to 250rupees-a-night for a room and then checked out the lake which again was unimpressive. On the other hand, the small touristy amusement park next to the lake was funny. It reminded me of an American 70s lakeside fun park that you see in films. I purchased some home-made chocolate from here which was quite tasty but ended up giving half of them to a tuctuc driver the following day.
Chris' flip-flops broke as we were walking so he had to buy some on the move after being barefoot amongst the dirty roads and I had to use a family's toilet for a leak, seeing about seven of them crammed into one tiny room watching a small TV.
Saw fireworks and yet another festival parading down the road at night blocking and diverting the traffic. It didn't look very special with a big lit-up-like ornament on a car but it obviously meant a lot to the people with the celebrations taking place.
Sat down in some random almost-underground restaurant to eat chicken salad sarnies and chips whilst watching some Indian Premier League cricket.
Watched Pulp Fiction on Chris' laptop and wrapped up in three sheets because of the coldness at altitude in Ooty. First time needed sheets in a while!
Mom rang me to let me know Uncle John had passed away and then I became violently sick overnight hardly sleeping and literally draining my body. It was an awful night. You'll always be a legend UJ....
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