Off to the Countryside

On Friday morning we start. Martin feels better again and so we drive cheerfully to Coorg. The trip can be divided into three stages: we spend two hours driving through Bangalore, one and a half hours on the highway to Mysore and then we drive another two and a half hours on country roads to Coorg.

The landscape is really beautiful, especially towards the end of the route: we drive through huge forests, monkeys hop around us and we even see elephants.

In the afternoon we reach the homestay. My colleague Niranj recommended this guesthouse to me. To welcome us, we first get a black tea and a nice piece of chocolate cake.

Afterwards Aiyappa, the host, shows us around. Coffee, betel nut and pepper grow on his plantation. The plantation is well guarded by his three dogs. The three of them must have recently killed a snake. This is now lying in the driveway as ant food and as a deterrent for other snakes.

After the long drive we want to stretch our legs a bit. And so we take a walk through the plantations and the forest in the afternoon before we go to our rooms.

In the evening we have dinner together with Aiyappa, his wife Pria and his mother. Pria ran a restaurant in Bangalore until last year and we taste it: The best food we had so far in India and that means something. There is curry with egg, chicken for Martin and vegetables, plus noodles pressed from rice. The food is very aromatic, but less spicy than other dishes we have had in India.

Aiyappa has a considerable collection of empty liquor bottles, from all over the world, plus he is a huge Formula 1 fan. He built the house himself. For a long time he worked on a tea plantation before he bought the coffee plantation, which he has been developing ever since.

The next morning I wake up with a beautiful sunrise. Quickly the running shoes are laced, then it finally goes a round in nature run. A few dogs are irritated by my presence and they don't know if they want to chase me or play with me. But my loud "NO, STAY!" even their Indian ears understand.

After a relaxed breakfast with rice we drive to a Tibetan settlement and visit a Buddhist monastery. It is different from both the Buddhist temples we know from Thailand and, of course, from the Hindu temples that dominate the image of India. The largest religions here are Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.

Afterwards we have a delicious meal in a Tibetan restaurant, then we go back to the homestay.

Back at the house, I don't let much time pass but just change briefly, then Aiyappa drives me with the jeep to a trek nearby.

Martin, meanwhile, is now enjoying the pleasant coolness and peace on the terrace after the Indian midday sun - accompanied by a good book and a cup of tea. Surely not the worst way to cure a cold.

The climb to "my" summit should take 45 minutes. After 25 minutes I'm already on top - so I have more time to enjoy the wonderful view. And for the first time in India I am all alone.

Much too soon I already leave the summit, Martin and Aiyappa are worried that otherwise I have to descend the mountain in the dark. They have underestimated the Bavarian mountain goat... With the jeep the two pick me up again.

Afterwards Martin and I relax while reading, then we end the day with another tasty dinner with our hosts. That we find here especially nice: That we can talk and exchange with the two hosts so nice.

The next morning we start before breakfast, we want to go for a hike. The trail is an hour away from us.

On the way we have breakfast Idli, which are small steamed breads that almost taste a bit like sourdough. They are dipped in curry. We drink fresh orange juice with it, not squeezed, but pureed. 30 minutes later we stop at the waterfall, which is the starting point of our hike.

Hiking is not so common here and so we meet only very few people. The path leads over cow pastures up to a ridge. Here, a very strong wind blows, but the view is magnificent. Densely forested mountains stretch to the horizon. In between, only a few small houses or traces of people. In the lee of a large boulder we eat a few cookies, then we continue. On the way we find some elephant remains. A few weeks ago a small herd marched along here.

This trip was incredibly good, it was nice to finally get out into the countryside and walk. In addition, we felt insanely comfortable in the homestay!

The way home takes all the longer, everyone wants to go back to Bangalore after the long weekend. On the way we eat masala dosa. This is a kind of pancake filled with potatoes and dipped in curry and chutney. We usually have dosa for breakfast or dinner, but unfortunately it's rare for lunch. Masala dosa is one of our favorite dishes!

On the way we stop at a small fruit stand and stock up for the next days. In the evening we reach Bangalore.

Coorg (like Bangalore) is located in the Indian state of Karnataka. If you want to know what else this region has to offer, you should explore the historic Chitradurga Fort with us.