The fourth weekend of March-2008 (21^st, 22^nd, and 23^rd) was a long one and we had finished our quizzes just then; a perfect time to travel. Manideep and I decided to pack the bags (on 19^th evening) and reserved train tickets to Mangalore for the next day. There was no plan; except for the first stop, we had no clue about our trip.

Day 0: The Train Journey

Train arrives on the platform of Chennai Central.

Every long journey in Indian Railways has always left me with fond memories and this was a special one. A family consisting of an old man, a lady and children boarded the S10 coach at Katpadi Junction without reservation. Everyone in our coach was forcing them to get off. Despite their sincere intentions to re-board into a general compartment, they could not do so as the train started moving. When they were being pressurized, we put our foot down and insisted that they will not get off until the train stopped at the next station. Though unsure if our act was legal, the relief on the old man’s face was priceless.

Mr. Radha Krishnan, a co-passenger on the train, recommended us to visit Udipi for the famous Krishna temple. We had other reasons too; Udipi is arguably the best destination for South Indian food connoisseurs. He also recommended Kannur (a North Malabar town) for its picturesque backwaters and sceneries. However, due to want of time, we left it for later.

Day 1: Udipi

Mangalore welcomed us with a brilliant weather and sweet chirpings of birds. We performed all our early morning rituals and ablutions at Mangalore Railway station. It was the first time for Manideep to have bath in a public place. I am sure that he was cursing me for making him do that; I dropped my tea even before I could taste it (Kai ki ettinadhu vai ki ettalaye!!).

We left for Udipi at once and reached the temple by 8.30AM. After a relaxed darshan and informing mom of my trip (and getting blasted for it), it was time for food. According to my travel notes, it was the best breakfast of my life (till then). We ate so much that we didn’t eat again that day.

A view of the town of Malpe.

After breakfast, we went to a port town called Malpe, located 6kms to the west of Udipi. As in many other towns on the Malabar Coast, fisheries and coconut based businesses are the major industries in Malpe. The pristine beach of this town is a very nice place to relax.

Later, we took a ferry to St. Mary’s island. According to a folk legend, Vasco da Gama landed at St. Mary’s island before he proceeded to Kozhikode (Calicut). The rocks on this island and their formation seem to be popular topics of research for many geologists. We spent the rest of the afternoon admiring the landscape and playing in the water.

A beach on St. Mary's island.

After an eventful day on the beaches, it was time for mountainous terrains. Coorg was 5 hours away and it was 6 in the evening. I stared at Manideep and read all the questions in his brain: money, language, tiredness, discharged camera and mobile batteries, ... After a couple of mins, it was clear that he had the solution: anything that doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. We set off to Coorg.

Day 2: Coorg

We reached Coorg around 11.30PM on 21^st March. There was no power anywhere in the entire town of Madikeri (headquarters of Coorg district). After a few futile attempts at finding a place to sleep, we allowed ourselves to get cheated for a room. We paid Rs. 800 for 8 hours of stay; the room had to be vacated by 8 in the morning as the rightful occupant would be checking in at 9. At least, we got some good rest and a bucket of hot water for a bath. We recharged our camera batteries at a restaurant while having breakfast.

We went to Abbey falls which is about 8km from the Madikeri bus stand, traveling through some of the finest coffee plantations of this region. The houses in this region had a very distinct style of construction, especially the roofing.

Houses in Madikeri.

We reached Abbey at 11AM and spent an hour there. The moist air near the waterfall was sufficient to drench us completely. The intoxicating aroma of coffee in the air makes this place very special.

Abbey Falls.

We arrived at the tomb (Gaddhige) of Kodagu kings (Lingarajendra, Doddaveera Rajendra and his wife). The Kodagu kings are Shiva worshippers. The tomb was built in a Indo-Sarcenic style by Chikaraveera Rajendra in 1820AD (not sure what that means, writing whatever my guide told me). There were few other tombs at that site in memory of the royal priest and officials.

After visiting Raja’s seat, a view point and a few other places in and around Madikeri, we left for Haasan at 2PM. Our idea was to visit one of Belur/Halebidu on the same day, and stay back if we liked it, to visit the other on the following day. Since it was already late when the bus reached Haasan, we retired early for the day, in preparation for a long next day. Unlike in Madikeri, we got an excellent room in Haasan, very close to the bus stand for just Rs. 200; Rs. 1000 for two nights of comfortable sleep wasn’t that bad after all.