Coonoor Trip - Aug. 29, 2011

Well, I just couldn't wait until the weekend to update you.

Yesterday, Monday, August 29, 2011, was out first day off. A group of IG's met early in the morning and took the local bus to Coonoor. The trip took just over an hour and the distance travelled from the road signs was about 19 km. The cost per person was 8 rupees, or about $0.08! The bus bounced along the road for most of the journey. Every so often the bus would stop along the roadside and people would either get on or get off the bus.

Once in Coonoor we went to the train station and reserved our seats on the afternoon 4:30 P.M. train from Coonoor up to Ooty. The reservation cost was 15 Rs and the ticket was 3 Rs per person!

Once that was done we, 9 of us, took a taxi up to Dolphin's Nose. Our original plan was to walk back to Coonoor. We realized as we drove along this was going to be quite an event and so we decided to keep the taxi. After looking about Dolphin's nose and taking pictures we got back int eh cab for the trip to Lamb's Rock. Again more pictures and then back in the cab for the return to Coonoor. The driver let us off in Upper Coonoor at the Quality Restaurant. We enjoyed a great buffet meal for 120 Rs. A taxi for 2 hours 30 minutes and sight-seeing cost us 900 Rs or 100 Rs per person - $2.20 Cdn! That's hard to beat!

Gigi and I walked back down to the main town and the train station. The younger crowd did some shopping in Upper Coonoor and then took a rickshaw taxi to the train station in time for the train.

We really enjoyed looking at the tea plantations, the monkeys, and the absolutely fantastic scenery. Some of the photos didn't turn out that well due to the mist which was swirling around.

Our train ride was quite the experience as we were told we were waiting for the right train. Just 5 minutes before departure we discovered we were waiting for the wrong train. we had to cross the tracks and take the train that was just pulling into the station. As the train came into the station is was being pulled and pushed by two steam locomotives. The steam locomotives were uncoupled and a diesel locomotive pushed us up to Ooty. The trip took about 65 minutes! Again the views were spectacular but somewhat misty as it was now raining. All in all quite a day!

Week 3

This marks the end of three weeks since we arrived in India. The first week was filled with orientation activities and planning for the Kids Club which took place during Staff Retreat. Week 2 saw the arrival of the students and the commencement of classes.

Week 3 was a full school week with some unexpected happenings.

The first happening was a birthday party for Andy. He is one of the IG's and a party was organized in his honor. Liz, Deanna and company (the other female IG's) baked up a storm. They had 2 kinds of scones - plain and cranberry. They were d e l i c i o u s !!! They had an assortment of other munchies as well. Candles in the sconces completed the event and gave us our "cake"! I provided lots of laughs, especially when Dan and Andy did a fashion show of men's dress!

The second happening was on Wednesday afternoon when the Middle and Senior School classes were cancelled and the students along with staff went down to Coonoor to watch the Under 19's play the final football match. And W I N!!! Great rejoicing all round.

This morning started rather early with rain on the corrugated roof and the light (sun) coming in through our bedroom ceiling. We have 2 white corrugated-plastic panels just above the bed which let in an immense quantity of light! We have a 2 room suite as you can see from the photos. Our washroom has a toilet and sink with COLD water tap. If we want hot water we have to heat some up in the electric kettle. Showers are taken in the shower room, 3 per week 3 minutes each, which is in another building out behind the staff dining room. Don't get me wrong. We don't have far to go even in the rain. It is not even the distance of the hallway at home. Some of the other staff and IG's have quite a walk to get to the staff shower room. One shower for us to share. So far I have not had to wait!

The girls are away at a conference today so Gigi is going to the tailors this morning and then we will probably go out for lunch. A walk to the Green Tea store is planned. Stay tuned!

Busy days!

For those of you who are looking for pictures and a list of places we have visited, there is not much to add.

We are both finding our days quite filled with filling in for staff who have not yet arrived. Once the staff arrive our schedules will change and we will be able to do some sight-seeing.

I have joined both the Junior Band and the Concert Band. In the Junior Band I am playing Trombone and in the Concert Band I am playing E-flat Horn! That takes up most of Tuesday afternoon and into early evening.

Yesterday the afternoon classes were cancelled and the school population went by bus to Coonoor to watch the Under 19's win the football tournament. It was quite the afternoon.

Today we took an auto-rickshaw for the 2 km trek from Lushington to Selborne as it was raining and we were getting quite wet even though we had an umbrella. We had to close our eye on more than one occasion as we were driving on the left side of the road and a car going in the opposite direction was headed straight for us, on our side of the road. Oh, I forgot to mention there was a parked vehicle that we had to drive around. There were probably 10 centimetres between the vehicles. Too close!
Tonight we did the supper duty and have just finished providing some relief for the Prep supervisor.

The weekend should be quiet and we might get to see the Botanical Gardens or take a train ride to Coonoor. It will depend on the weather.

More later

The fun has started!

Wow - can things ever change quickly when there is a need!
The German teacher has not arrived due to visa problems and therefore my wife has been assigned the Standard 9 and 10 German classes as well as doing some supervision for the Standard 11's and the A-levels.
The French teacher was in an accident and will not be in school until the end of the month. I am teaching Standards 7, 8, and 9 French.
We are both involved as directors of a Standard 7 drama. More about that later.
We are really enjoying Miss Lily's meals at Selborne. We are discovering that she spoils us royally! Thank you, Miss Lily!
We are also involved with the Standard 10 girl's dorm and we all, 26 of us, went for lunch at Nahar's Garden restaurant today with the Tarters and Deanna. I had a cheese Dosa and Gigi had a masala Dosa. We both enjoyed sweet lime soda.
After a trip to the market for wool and lots of window-shopping (without the windows) in the market area we went for our first real coffee since leaving town 2 weeks ago. We went to the Cafe Coffee Day and enjoyed our coffee with a chocolate brownie drenched in chocolate sauce. Mmm, so delicious!
Gigi is on shower duty on Wednesday and Friday. She along with another IG are to time the girls for 3 minutes while they shower. Many of the girls shower for 1 minute, soap up, and then shower for 2 minutes. According to Gigi the girls respect the time limits. Water is a very precious resource.
We are also both on bus duty on Friday afternoon. Gigi is on the 4:15 and I am on the 5:15 bus from Lushington to Selborne. There is always at lest 1 adult on the bus.
I will try and get some pictures up later.

Life at Selborne

The first week is over and the students will be arriving very shortly.

We have spent the week in orientation and have learnt many interesting facts about India and Ooty. One really interesting piece of news is the shortage of water. Here we are in the monsoon season and we are being told we can only have 3 showers per week and the length is not to exceed 3 minutes. Apparently we have municipal water supplied for only 3 hours per day. The rest of the water is either rain water or well water. As we are located at an altitude of 2 200 m. you can imagine some of the difficulties we are facing. Any municipal water must be pumped up to us. there is not much water pressure.

We are very fortunate to have Miss Lily as the house-keeper. She takes great pride in running a tight ship. The meals have been fabulous. There are fresh flowers all through the house. Everybody is friendly. The laundry is returned within 36 hours and everything is ironed! What a pleasure.

Ooty is a hill station. The view from the Common Room window will certainly help you see why. In a sense it is quite a bit like Switzerland as nothing is flat. You are either going down a hill or you are going up a hill. There really doesn't seem to be much middle ground.

From Bangalore to Ooty

To pick up from the earlier post we left the Bangalore airport at about 1:30 A.M. on Friday morning.
The car was rather small and only 1 suitcase could fit in the trunk. The other suitcase was placed on the front passengers seat. Both Gigi and I sat in the back seat. We had to search for the seat belts! The ride was rather hair-raising, to say the least. The driver drove with his head out of the window so that he could stay awake!
We arrived at the gate to the reserve just before 6:00 A.m. and had to wait until the gate was opened at 6. Once the gate was opened our driver drove as fast as he could to pass as many cars as he could before we met any oncoming traffic. We saw deer, elephants, wild boar, bison, and peacocks.
Eventually we came to the mountain and 36 switch-backs later we were up at the top. We arrived at Hebron just before 8:00 A.M. After a cup of tea and a brief meeting with the IG coordinator we were driven 2km over to Selborne and were shown to our rooms. We slept from about 10:00 A.M. until noon. We managed to spend some time walking through Ooty and by 8:30 P.M. Friday night we were in bed. This was the first time in bed since getting up on Wednesday morning!

RETURN TO HEBRON

After an absence of 4 years I have returned to Hebron in Ooty, Tamil Nadu. This time I am not alone. I have come to enjoy the sights and sounds of India with my wife.
Our home base will be the Selborne Campus in Ooty.

We will make this our base for travel around India. It is always nice to have a place to come home to and get the laundry done as well as have contact with a great group of fellow travellers.
While we are at Selborne we will be assisting with the Standard 10 girl's dorm.

Before getting too far ahead of myself I guess I should tell you how we came to arrive in Ooty. We left Montreal on August 3 aboard Air Canada for the flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

After about 6 hours at the Frankfurt airport we boarded a Lufthansa flight to Bangalore and arrived shortly after midnight. Once we had gone through immigration and found our luggage we found our designated taxi driver for the almost 7 hour taxi ride to Ooty.

Just before arriving in Ooty we drove through the game reserve and saw some wildlife. More of that later.

At Hebron, once again (take 2)

Editor's note: This post has been republished due to wonky formatting. Apologies for any confusion.


My wife and I arrived safely at Hebron on August 5. We flew from Montreal to Frankfurt on Air Canada and after almost 6 hours in the Frankfurt airport we flew on to Bangalore arriving at 00h15 Friday!

An overnight taxi, almost 7 hours, took us through a game reserve. As we arrived at the entrance just before 6:00 A.M. we had to wait until the gates were opened before proceeding up the mountain! As we drove through the reserve we saw elephants, deer, wild boar, bison, and peacocks.

We arrived at Hebron shortly before 8:00 A.M. and after a hot cup of tea we were driven to the Selbourne campus and shown to our suite of rooms. Living room, bedroom, and bathroom with cold running water for the toilet and sink. We are permitted 3 showers per week of 3 minutes duration. We have to walk outside to the staff shower room. Only 1 shower! We had a walk through noisy Ooty where alll the drivers sound their horn to let you know they are coming. Walking on the road along with the traffic does take some getting used to as there are many areas where the sidewalks simply do not exist. We went to Mizpha childrens home for an evening of song on Saturday night and we are off to St. Stephen's for church this morning.

Comments from the original post have been copied and pasted here:

From Keith: Can't you stand in the rain and shower???? Nice pic of Air Canada in the blog. Well done.

and from me, Stef: And you can post yourself this time - great!