"I Think I Can...I Think I Can...."

It happened again. 4:30am and I was wide awake. When you’re on a train and it’s that early…there’s not a whole lot of activity to go around and so you either find yourself staring at the ceiling until there are signs of other human life or you get really creative. In my case, I fell somewhere in between. One of the nice added features of this train that I did not find in Africa was a very modest “fitness room” located just one car over from our sleeping car. When I say modest….I mean small. Very small. This is not to sound like I’m complaining - because I’m certainly not. But my head just barely cleared the ceiling when I stepped on to the treadmill. And…adding to this fantastic challenge: the direction of the moving train is perpendicular to the direction of the treadmill. Couple that with the sways, twists and turns of the rail and it makes for a pretty interesting experience. Nevertheless, it passed the time and felt pretty good to get the body moving a little bit after a pretty sedentary afternoon the day before.

After my run, PJ and I headed down to the Lounge Car for what seems to be our new early morning routine on the train. We each got our latte’s (PJ’s new found love) and took advantage of the early morning benefit of a good wifi signal, mostly due to many others on the train still fast asleep. PJ is really getting into the blog updating and is loving it. We also managed to see a pretty fantastic sunrise from the train.

Today’s adventure off the train was one that I was really looking forward to: The Nilgiri Mountain Railway to Ooty. I know it seems a little strange to be excited about a tour…on a train….when we’re already on a train. But, this was different. This was a world famous steam train that would take is high up into the mountains (which they call foothills) for what we were told was spectacular scenery. The only caveat to this was that the trip had to be slightly modified due to a recent Monsoon that wiped out most of the bottom half of the track just weeks before we arrived. What would have been a 6 hour adventure exclusively on the train was then changed to a 2 hour car ride up the mountain (an adventure in and of itself) and then 2 hours up the remaining section of the track. Though some were disappointed by this change in plans, I was thrilled because it also meant that we had some additional time to include a stop at the Botanical Gardens of Ooty. A silver lining and then some.

The Nigliri Mountain Railway runs between Mettupalayam and Oooty through the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu state in Southern India. Like so many others, the hill station at Ooty was created in the early 19th Century by the British seeking relief from the summer heat at lower altitudes, and the Railway was essentially created to make access to the small town far easier an quicker to get this coveted relief. The idea of the railway was first conceived in 1854, but took over 50 years to actually build. Three companies attempted to take on the very difficult task of overcoming what was an incredibly complex engineering challenge, due to the gradient of the terrain and unpredictable Monsoon season. It is also thought to be the steepest rail track in all of India, ascending (and descending) between 1,000 and 7,000 feet above seas level over the course of close to 30 miles. A true engineering feat indeed. The railway finally opened in 1908 and what we experienced today has pretty much been untouched since then. Our guide told us that nearly all the rails, viaducts and bridges from over a century ago remain “relatively in tact”. Not sure if that’s a good thing…or a bad thing….but we’re still here to talk about it so I suppose it turned out okay.

What is also very unique about this particular railway is that it is the only meter-gauge rack railway in India. For those of you who are real railway geeks, you may already know what this means. I did not until this trip, but it is a pretty cool process. Also known as a cog railway, a rack railway has a rack or “middle rail” that engages with a pinion on the steam train, allowing it to ascend steep gradients safely without slipping backwards, or off the track completely. Steam Locomotives are built to incorporate this additional traction system, whereas diesel powered engines are not - which is why steam trains continue to be the only way to make the trip possible. Diesel engines were attempted here for a short time, but engineers quickly realized that they didn’t provide the same capability, consistency or safety as the steam train. 

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway’s fleet today is mostly X-Class steam locomotives - an oil fired system that has replaced many of the coal-fired engines due to repeated technical snags: lack of pressure required to overcome some of the stretches of the routes toughest climbs, the more recent challenge of finding quality coal and then….you know…the perpetual risk of starting forest fires. Given how densely wooded these mountains are, the risk versus reward seemed to make the decision less controversial. The tanks on this steam train are actually quite small, which team there are frequent stops along the railway to refill the tanks.

We boarded our steam train with six to a car and happened to be sitting just behind the two gentlemen responsible for signaling the engine driver and turning the train whenever needed. The signaling system is very old school and proves the old theory that “if it ‘aint broke - don’t fix it”. As you watch it unfold, you are reminded that not every part of the world needs to be upgraded to the newest “operating system”. There are old style signals that line the route and through a red and green flag system…and a bamboo hoop….the train makes it way down the track. The engine drivers simply hand a bamboo hoop with a metallic tablet at each station to log the trains arrival and signal its whereabouts on the line. The “flag man” waves the green flag if its safe to proceed…and the red flag if it’s not (or there happens to be a monkey or cow standing on the track). Simple as that. But, perhaps not simple enough to let us take the controls.

Our first two station stops were Ketti and Lovedale, both small and quiet and filled with big beautiful eucalyptus trees. What is interesting is that they have the Station Managers name very intricately painted on the wall of the station. I like odds here for that guy. Total job security.

Our third station stop was in a larger town called Coonoor, far busier than the previous two. Coonoor is known for its world famous teas and as we progressed along the rail, you could see large stretches of lush green and beautifully manicured tea plantations. Our last and final stop on the railway was the town of Udagmandalam, which is now referred to as Ooty. Still waiting to confirm that the name change was due to their original name being too damn hard to spell.

Ooty - at its start - was a predominantly British town (as so many others were) before India attained independence. Lord Lytton, the Viceroy of India under British rule, described Ooty as “a beautiful place with country lanes, downs, lakes and streams reminiscent of his homeland”. It is exactly that today. The colors of each and every structure - homes, hotels, shops and even factories - are painted with vibrant bright greens, reds, pinks and yellows. It almost looks like a fairytale village. The fact that it is so remote up in the highest part of the mountain is perhaps what makes it so charming. It is also what makes it a highly coveted vacation spot for those who live in India, and beyond.

Our lunch stop in Ooty took us to the historic and legendary Savoy Hotel. A landmark since 1829, the Savoy is literally the definition of “old world charm”. Almost 200 years ago, a gentleman by the name of John Sullivan was asked by the Madras Presidency to explore the fabled “Blue Mountains” as an escape for British officers working in sweltering heat. In 1819, he discovered a quaint little summer retreat, where a school for European children was built a decade later. It was later converted into a Hotel, which has had many names and iterations…but eventually became what is now considered “the Crown Jewel of Ooty”…the Savoy Hotel.

While that history is important, what is perhaps even more notable about the Savoy Hotel is that they were the creators of the Gin and Tonic. True story.

In India, and many other tropical climate countries, malaria was a persistent problem. In the 1700’s, a Scottish doctor named George Cleghorn studied how quinine, a traditional cure for malaria, could be used to prevent the disease. The quinine was intended to be consumed in tonic water, but the bitter taste was too unpleasant for most. In the early 19th Century, British officers stationed in Ooty decided to add a mixture of water, sugar, lime and gin to the quinine in order to make the drink more palatable - and this was how the Gin and Tonic was born. Word of mouth slowly grew and made it’s way to the Savoy Hotel, where it was decided that this drink would not only be good for officers, but also for guests as more of a social affair.

The General Manager told us that - even though it has since been found that the Gin and Tonic does not actually ward off malaria - it’s good for all of us to continue testing the theory while we’re on this trip. No problem here. I shall do what I’m told. Apparently, others in the group enjoyed a few more Gin and Tonics than I did at lunch because - just before we left - there was a Hula Hoop contest among a few guests. Not sure where the Hula Hoop came from - or why - but it happened. I’m sure that you can all assume I did not participate, but it was pretty amazing to watch.

The Savoy Hotel sits on just over 6 acres of beautifully lush grounds, with over 150 varieties of flowers and really fragrant pine and eucalyptus trees. They also have literally hundreds of “Birds of Paradise” spreading throughout the property - which happens to be a favorite of mine, and now PJ’s.

After lunch, we hopped back into our shuttle for the next stop: the Ooty Botanical Gardens. Those who know my Dad and I well know that we love anything and everything having to do with gardens, flowers, trees and really anything else that involves being outside in nature…so this was definitely something we were looking forward to. The visit did not disappoint.

The grounds were perfectly kept -as you would imagine - and the Botanic Garden was filled with people of all ages just out enjoying a perfect day of weather. The Gardens have close to one thousand different types of species - both exotic and indigenous. It was literally overflowing with plants, shrubs, ferns, trees, herbs and beautiful Bonsai plants.

In the center of the Gardens sits a fossilized tree trunk estimated to be 20 million years old…that I, of course, completely forgot to take a picture of before I left. The Botanical Gardens are massive and have been divided into 6 distinct areas: Lower Garden, New Garden, Italian Garden, Conservatory, Fountain Terrace and Nurseries. Unfortunately, for us…we were on a time crunch and only able to scratch the surface here…and we ended up committing a good amount of our time (and rightly so) to hanging with what seemed like hundreds of monkeys all running loose through the Zoo. I’ll let PJ cover his “best part of the day” in more detail, but I will leave you with the photographic evidence.

Though we really never wanted to leave this beautiful place, we headed back to our car for the 2 hour ride all the way back down the mountain. The ride down was as breathtaking as it was on the way up, despite the white knuckle inducing narrow two lane highway that was filled with trucks, mopeds, tuk tuks, people and the occasional donkey all trying to share the road. There is an interesting science to driving here, which mostly involves a lot of horn honking and paying close attention to what others are doing around you. I know that doesn’t sound much different than driving in Chicago or anywhere else in the states - but this is different. In the States, the honk of a horn is usually followed by a middle finger or a few choice words.

Here, it is much more civil. A honk is their unspoken language which is to say, “Excuse me….I’d like to get by now. Please and Thank You” or “Here I come…please let me in.” There are very few - if any - stop lights or street signals and nobody uses their own turn signal. Ever. I still haven’t figured out how everyone knows who honked first or who gets first right of refusal in each scenario, but they seem to know….and it works. At night, instead of using their horns, they flash their headlights…and the same process follows. I don’t know how there are not more accidents on the road - but I haven’t seen a single one yet. Hope I didn’t just jinx myself. 

After a long and busy day. it was nice to get back on to the train. My Dad decided to skip dinner in leui of a good nights sleep so PJ and I had ourselves a little “date night”. I can tell PJ is starting to shake off the jet lag and become a little more like himself. I think the first few days of the trip were hard for him. Unfamiliar. Total sensory overload. Planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s honestly a lot for anyone no matter the age, so I completely understood the adjustment period for him. He definitely seems to be leaning into it more. Getting more comfortable. I’m really proud of him for his willingness to adjust, to work at understanding the culture here and for also being experimental with his palate. He has been trying all sorts of Indian food and seems to really be enjoying it. That’s not to say PJ doesn’t love the pancakes and waffles for breakfast, but he has been a total rockstar with adjusting and opening himself to the total culinary. I’m hopeful that will continue far beyond the final day of this trip. 

And with that - I will throw it over to PJ. 

Hi, PJ here. Nilgiri/Ooty was probably one of, if not my most favorite things that we have done so far. I’ll tell you about it all in the list:

1) The Shuttle Ride to the Steam Train. It was definitely a long one, but not the longest I’ve been on. We were on a very narrow street, which gave me slight anxiety until I found out about the unspoken language of the car honk which would decide who would go first. Me and my mom both found this fascinating. The car ride was the start of me going crazy taking pictures with my phone camera, and after a while, we arrived at the station.

2) The Steam Train. When we hopped onto a train car, we were not greeted by a “hello”, instead a, “GET YOUR FEET OFF THE TRAIN SEAT!” Like, I get that it’s a bad habit and all, but god, that guy could have been nicer about it, or at least said hello first. Taking the train up the mountain was a cool experience. I took lots of pictures, saw the best views, and laughed at cows roaming randomly around. We made plenty of stops, one of which was near a mysterious factory. People immediately started jumping to conclusions, like: “Oh, yeah, that’s a wood factory.” Or, “You know what that is, right? No? It’s a tea factory.” Well, we looked at the sign and saw that it was actually a bullet factory. Yeah, I don’t think that guy, or anyone, for that matter, would want any of that in his tea. 

3) Ooty. Man, that name cracks me up every time. I expected Ooty to have more of a quaint feel, and more mountain visible, for that matter, but no. It was actually quite hustle-bustle, with bright colors, and markets on every corner. After leaving the station, we boarded a car and went to a hotel. We did not sleep there, but we definitely ate there. After lunch, we were all doing our own thing. Some people were drawing (like me), some people were hula hooping, some people were playing soccer, some people enjoying a nice drink. We were all talking, and laughing, and it was great!

4) Ooty Botanical Garden. As a makeup for not being able to take the train the whole way up due to a recent monsoon that destroyed the tracks, we were able to go to the botanical garden for an hour to kill time. THIS vs having to take the train for another 2 hours? Yeah, I’ll take this. When we arrived, we were eager to check it out. After a while of looking at flowers, we saw that a pack of monkeys had accumulated a crowd. When we arrived at the monkey crew, a monkey scurried down from the fence the pack was sitting on, grabbed a can of Fanta off of the ground, looked inside to see if there was any left, DRANK FROM IT, then threw it back on the ground. This was my favorite memory from this trip so far, hence my new Instagram name @monkey_with_fanta. Truly one for the memory books!

That’s all I have to say! Goodbye for now, but you all will hear from me in later posts.