Coorg!

This update is a few days late however I still wanted to do a post on my trip to Coorg over this past weekend. It was a jammed packed two day adventure in a car ride that was somewhere between 5 to 7 hours long away from Bangalore towards the mountains.

We started out at the crack of dawn on saturday morning and made our way quickly through the winding roads towards Coorg.

We came across so many cows that I finally stopped counting and pointing them out, at the request of my fellow travellers.

Upon arriving, the very first stop was Irpu Falls. There was a Hindu temple at the entrance to the falls which we went to first before starting the climb. The falls was less than a mile's hike up a million steps. We passed signs to watch out for Rattlesnakes, but as you can see, it was worth the risk. Once we got up to the top, the beauty of such a place overcame us and we decided to jump into the water fully clothed. The water was so cold but we ended up jumping in twice!

 In the hike back down, we came across some banana fields and a local townpersons' cow and her calf. She didnt like me much but I was able to grab a few pictures with her :) You'd think I'd have learned my lesson about wild animals like this after the boar incident in Mexico, but you'd be wrong.

 That night we stayed at a homestay in Coorg which had a lake and a restaurant. It was so beautiful there and the quiet nature there surrounded us. Everywhere you looked there were Cocount Palm trees, coffee plantations and wild peppers creeping up the sides of trees.

That night I decided to get Mehndi done on the front and back of both hands. Most people call it Henna in the states. I couldnt use my hands for the remainder of the night and slept with it on, creating a huge mess. It will last for about a week or more, depending on how often I wash my hands or use cleaners.

The next morning we attended the third wedding of the week, which was the relative of the person that we travelled to Coorg with. Since I have no ablilty to tie a Sarree on myself, I was assisted by a stranger on the street willing to help a foreigner prepare for a wedding. This Saree looks tied differntly since they are done differently depending on which region of India you are currently in. The style I wore below was local to Coorg women. I was invited up to bless the bride and groom and he asked me give him a drink of milk. This custom is usually reserved for elders close to the family and I was so touched that they were so welcoming of me as a complete american stranger at their wedding.

After a bit more driving, we headed over to the Golden Temple. When you first walk in to the main temple you can't help but feel awe in front of these amazing large gold plated Buddist Gods.

 After the Golden Temple, we headed out for Mysore to spend a few hours there on our route back to Bangalore. The mountains in Coorg were absolutly breathtaking as we wound up and around through them on hairpin turns up and over. Some were covered in trees, some were covered in just sheer grass on the side and others were surrounded by coffee plants and cocount palms.

 Upon arriving at Mysore, the Palace had already closed so we didn't get to go inside. Instead we hopped on a horse drawn buggy for a quick tour around the Palace and a stop at a local silk factory, which Mysore is famous for.

At the end of our two day adventure we headed back home slowly and arrived in the night to the hotel in Bangalore. Coorg was so amazing I could easily picture buying a plot of land there and building my vacation house among the coffee fields and mountains. Upon a few months of paying local taxes, the government would give my household a free cow, and I'd be all set!