A to B - Mysore to Coonor:
From Mysore, we choose a "luxury" minibus to Ooty, full of Indian Honey Mooners (IHM) and get a safari thrown in!. The bus wound its way through a wild life park and out over the mountains . Ohhh's and Ahhh's at the elephants and monkeys, only aarrrhh's ! As we clang to the mountain pass .
From Ooty, we took the famous Nilgiri train - unfortunatly, no steam this time - into the valleys of Coonoor - narrow gauges, 10 mph, stiff wooden benches, precipice underneath. FABULOUS

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The Englishmen's love affair with te a and cool breezes is exemplified in this Nilgiri hill station. At 2000 m, yet still clustered on slopes of yet higher peaks, squint a bit and the town at night resembles a Swiss Alpine resort. During the daytime, this fades to a more obviously Indian urbanity of jostling market, throw it anywhere (usually the river) untidiness and predictably chaotic bus station.

The English exploited the potential of the area for tea growing and the lushly carpeted slopes still produce some of India's finest teas. A walk into the surrounding hills reveals the extent of the plantations with views for miles dominated by the neatly ordered leafy green brewing bushes. Picking is carefully selective, labour intensive and, apparently, an exclusively female occupation. Recently however the price of tea on the world market has dropped to such an extend that the wages paid to these 12 hours plus a day toilers is pitifully low. Smiles disguise their hardship - a scene familiar to many parts of India.

Tea plantation owners and their families, along with the demand from the colonialists for a refreshing summer climate, have created a strong Western cultural undercurrent in the town with churches as much in evidence as temples. Typically stubborn Victorian engineering also created a rail link with the outside world despite the formidable obstacles presented by the steep valleys. Uniquely, this is operated on the steepest sections (to neighbouring Ooty) by Swiss steam engines using a rack and pinion principle for traction. Lovingly maintained despite their complexities, they make a wonderful sight in blue and yellow vibrantly contrasting the leaf tea green surroundings.

Our advice: use the train to escape the honeymoon hotspot that is Ooty and experience the authentic working tea town of Coonoor.