The Train to "Snooty Ooty"

4:30 am start…it was still dark and wonderfully cool as we headed on the bus for the train station to take us to Ooty. Even at 5:00 a.m., people and cows and dogs were milling in the streets. Since there were no advance reservations, you had to get there early to be assured of getting a seat on the “Toy Train”.

We arrived, got tickets and tried to find a seat on the very crowded two-carriage train. We barged our way into a second class compartment- hard wood seats-but we managed to get on the left side for the best views.

While we sat, two Indians (one-a woman!) were loading coal into the engine by filling baskets and carrying them on their head to the steam engine.

With nothing better to do, we attempted to eat our “box-breakfast” from the hotel. Not the most appealing breakfast- a white bread sandwich with some kind of egg mixture, two bananas and a piece of “cake”. One bite of the sandwich and it was out the window to the delight of the crows and pregnant goat outside our coach window. (Well, the goat actually turned her nose up at the sandwich, but did love the banana).

We finally got started on our 50km journey- that would take us from 7:30am until 12:30 p.m.… 5 hours to go 50k- and the entire journey cost 10 rupees (about 25 cents!). The train chugged through villages with people bathing, washing clothes, and children waving to the train.

Since there were no bathrooms on the train, it made regular stops at small stations where everyone poured off the train and stood for a while talking and buying tea or coffee from the local stands.

At the second stop- John managed to talk himself into a ride in the steam engine. They enlisted him as coal shoveller and official helper. He came back looking like a coal miner — black soot all over his face- and clothes- but a very happy boy!

Our car was populated by the Indian glee club — a group of Indians on holiday who spent the entire time singing popular Indian songs. It’s obvious why the Indian pop music hasn’t spread much beyond India! It sounded like drowning cats. At one of the stops, we violated our rule of not eating from street vendors- and followed Carrie (our tour guide) in buying some samosas and bargies from the local peddler. They were delicious- 4 for 10 rupees.

We finally arrived in Ooty and transferred to our hotel- the Holiday Inn. It was a beautiful new hotel- on the hills above the town- great views, an even better shower and express laundry service. After getting the soot scalded off of John, we headed into town to attempt email and find a bookstore. Email was a bust in Ooty- evidently the Indian government has divided India into regions and assigned a fixed number of lines per region- so the individual/small business shares the lines with corporations and thousands of users. So, although they offer the service, they can never get access to a line.

So, we grabbed a rickshaw and went to get a glimpse of “Snooty” Ooty. This town was built up by the British- to escape the heat of the cities below- and to create a bit of “Britain” for themselves. The “Ooty Club” quickly ushered us out- “members only”. We did get a chance to walk in and see the very macho club rooms- complete with photos of big game hunts and wild animal heads on the wall. Off to the Savoy- another old British establishment. We had a very proper beer on the terrace and relaxed. As the sun started to set, the temperature started to drop dramatically…so we grabbed our rickshaw and headed back to the Holiday Inn (at 7000 ft, it’s a long haul for the tiny rickshaw pulling us up the hills)

Dinner started out to be a nightmare- with a half dozen Indian children screaming through the hotel halls and playing on the elevators. Even after lodging complaints with the hotel and discussions with the little hellions parents, they still allowed them to scream and run. We decided that this must be a case of indulging children when they’re young- since once they get older, they’ll have no choices or fun anymore.