A detailed Tour Diary.Vaalpaarai and surroundings

                                          My friends wished to utilize the christmas vacation(????) and wanted to go for a kill.  Hari the darling with all his efforts tried to plan a trip and we all were confusing him with all our craps while my friend Vp with all his efforts tried to avoid/postpone the trip .Atlast we finalised that we would go to vaalpaarai and few other places(which we thought could be decided as and when we reach those places) and finally ended up travelling more than 1600 kms approx.

                                                                Hari had arranged for a 12 seater cab and we all planned to start on the 24th of dec @ 10 pm .We had to convince Vp's father which was the first test and  he was very sceptical in sending his pet baby which is 24 yrs of age and it was quiet a challenge in succeeding the test. Finally we all gathered and the tempo traveller proceeded towards the destination( what was that?????????) admidst all fun and drama.The driver's name was Pandiyan and he was a cool guy .He cant be termed as a great driver but he was a safe driver and thankfully  took us through this journey comfortably (initially we were frustrated by the pace in which he drove that vehicle  ).

                                         

                                                                              Hari (the guide),Vijay,Boobesh and his brother Lokesh,Vp(read vinoth Kumar),Harish,Prasanna,Rk(read radha Krishnan),Panneer,vignesh and myself were the eleven people who were destined to enjoy a great tour which will be everlasting in my memory(all our memories!!!) . We refreshed ourselves once the vehicle reached Chengalpet and then started our proceedings at around  2.00A.m Evry one started to sleep  ( of course there would always be some one to disturb the driver's sleep).We just got down near salem at around  7.00 am and refreshed ourselves and few of us attended the nature's call.Then we headed straight to pollachi   via Kangeyam.It was really a long journey . We reached pollachi @ around 1.00 pm  and had our lunch .From there we headed straight to aaliyar  dam which was fine and nothing more to say about that visit to aaliyar as we just had some photos taken.Aaliyar dam is primarily a shooting spot and the film Kaadhalikka Neramillai was mostly shot in and around of this dam.  We just clicked some pix and headed straight (rightly)to monkey falls.We then started @ around 4.00 pm and reached monkey falls, Monkey falls which was on the way to vaalpaarai was really good.As the name suggests it is haven for monkeys.We  spent some time   enjoying the falls  and headed straight to Vaalpaarai @ around 5.30 pm.

                                                   

  Vaalpaarai,is one of the beautiful places that we could see and the ride uphill was divine.There are forty hair pin bends in total and it was a life time experience to drive through those bends.The scenic views from the ninth bend should never be missed .We had some snaps taken in the ninth bend and then started our drive again and reached vaalpaarai @ around 8 in the night.The weather was quite good .We had to face some confusions in the rooms that were earlier booked in chennai.Even though Hari had paid the advance online we underwent some problems in getting the rooms that were booked in advance.                                   

                                                                                             

                                        Everyone execept myself and Vijay had their food because in  Vaalpaarai we couldn't locate a single vegetarian Hotel in the entire surroundings.Since we eat only veg-foodstuffs we had some bananas and returned to the hotel rooms while the others had finished their dinner in a decent(as said by them) non-veg mess.That night was one such night to be remembered for ever.Seven of us myself, R.k,Harish,Boobesh,Panneer,Vijay and Vignesh  (V.p was partly present) were the elite people who had (used) the oppurtunity and enjoyed that Night to the core as others went for sleep. We all were  having a blast We all were sharing our thoughts in various issues and R.k in particular was fantabulously explaining his experience in life in facing  certain issues (top secret known to the elite people present there).When we think  of that night we cannot stop laughing @ ourselves and i leave it to the readers to imagine the happenings.

                                                              The next morning (26th dec)we woke and were not sure where to go.The initial plan was to visit athirapalli via the interiors of Vaalpaarai.However we heard from the locals that the route is quite marshy and they advised not to take that route and advised to take the palghat route .However taking that route will be verrrrrry  time consuming ,Hence we felt that we could drop the plan of visiting Athirapalli and just thought of exploring Vaalpaarai which turned out to be very fruitful.We visited a place called Koozhangal Aaru which was again  a good place to visit.We then proceeded deep in to the forest and reached a place called kallar .The staff @ the kallar  check post was really helpful and gave some insights of the place and adviced us about the chinnakallar falls.After a small drive we reached the china kallar and took a long walk in to the terrain and reached the falls .It was really an exquisite place and though these phrases sound cliched i couldn't stop praising these beautiful places created by the almighty.

                                                                          

 The water @ chinna kalar was dangerously chill.We had a dip @ around 12 in the noon and couldn't just place our foot in the water as it was very cold. It was literally a spine chilling experience.By this time we had lost the gas and  were fuming for food as we started without our breakfast because of the plan change, and could not find a place to eat anything.We started by 2.00 pm and reached Vaalpaarai. Once again myself and Vijay had to search for food while the others went back to the same mess.Vijay had earlier noticed  a place which serves veg food  and thankfully that notice became handy for us and we located that mess to find that they have already finished serving lunch.However the person @ that place was courteous and said that he would prepare something for us.We waited for more than half an hour and then were served tomato rice. We thanked the person for his service and he said that they are the only one in the entire town to serve  vegetarian food and requested to visit his place the next time we come. We paid him for his service and again joined the party.(Sabari Mess :contact#9442006057)

                                    

     We  then had some confusions about our next stop .Without coming to a conclusion we started and  drove downhill(with few pitstops) .In the mean time we decided that we can visit Munnar (though it was there in tour planner and we have not decided till that moment) and  we came down to Aanaimalai and diverted our route to Udumalapet from where we can reach Munnar easily.In the mean time our friend R.k bid farewell to the party as he was to attend his office the nextday.(konjam over than).We resisted to the core but still he opted to go to meet his official(????) task..We dropped him at the Udumalapet Busstand at around 5.30 pm and enquired about the route to Munnar and received a shocker from the locals. 

      

      

                                                                    The route to Munnar from udumalapet  is via Maraiyoor which is the tamilnadu border and we heard that we need a permit to enter the kerala jurisdiction.(We were unaware of this and our driver too with his innocent face said that he doesn't knew about this) The locals said that we need to travel some 45kms to the other extreme from which we came to get the permit from the RTO.We felt a bit frustrated with the driver  because he should have alerted us of this so that we could have avoided a travel of approximately 100kms.Four of us went  with the driver to get the permit while the others were freaking out in the same place for a while.We went to the rto and took our permit and then returned to Udumalapet  after having our dinner at a decent hotel @ Pollachi.It took almost 2 hours for us to finish our work.In the mean time those who stayed had finished their dinner and have taken tickets for the night show of the  movie "Abhiyum Naanum" which was a collective plan taken earlier.The primary reason was to avoid night travel so that the driver can have some rest.It was a decent theatre. After the movie we just cannot wake the driver as he was well asleep.Hence we were roaming around the streets of Udumalapet to while away the time .We were questioned by a police patrol and we explained them about the scenario and the plans to move once the driver wakes.While the police was asking about our identities our friend "assault" Boobesh asked the police about the location of a teashop("Inga tea kada enga na irukkum"?.....naan kekkura kelvikku mothalla bathil sollu" was the reply ).The police man gave a sarcastic look and asked us to answer his question and not to ask him any questions.He asked us to leave the place soon and asked us to be near the van itself.We then spent some time near the van and finally  @ around 2.00am asked the driver to move from the place .After driving a very few kilometres we felt that it was not suitable to travel so early and hence halted near Thirumoorty falls.We didn't go inside however stayed out for around an hour resting inside the cab itself. Finally @ around 5.30 am we started to Munnar .I have never experienced a journey of that sought.We were travelling amidst thick forest of Chinnar and the path was treacherous.We all(some were enjoying their sleep) enjoyed the beauty that was filled across .Finally we reached Munnar @ around 10.00 A.m.Hari had booked rooms over the phone and have spoken with a person named Varghise. 

                                                                    

    We had the oppurtunity of visiting another Hotel where the rooms were decent (ofcourse many of us including me were sleeping while some had a peek into the rooms which were offered .However since it is human to search for the best we felt of taking a look at the rooms that were booked by Hari , hence we ignored the offers which  were offered and headed straight to the place Hari had booked rooms for us), Varghise with whom Hari had spoken with was waiting readiliy @ his place and some of us went and viewed the rooms reserved for us .It was far from satisfying and that too it was offered for a higher rate when compared to the other rooms that we had seen earlier.Also we were offered rooms which had less number of  cots  and some of us had to sleep in the floor .We didn't expected the rooms to be in such state .We all decided to skip the rooms that were booked and take the other rooms that were shown to us @ a different area.That was when we all had to face the unexpected.Varghise who had reserved rooms for us asked us either to stay in the rooms booked for us or else to pay a hefty sum(I think he demanded Rs 2000).We had words exchanged and finally we  landed in the police station.

                                                         The arguments went on and on and on,......Harish was the only one who could atleast speak a bit of malayalam and he did his best in resolving the issue while we all joined him in arguing our case.Hari ,who was the one who had earlier spoken with Vargise over the phone felt that there is no point in arguing with them and  we took a decision collectively though some of us had a disagreement ,finally settled for a payment of Rs1000. Hari  was feeling the heat since it was he who had spoken to Varghise earlier over the phone. We all were frustrated because we couldn't get any help from the police(Note that Varghise and the policemen were all from the same place and we were alienated and became a victim  and Hari became the inncocent victim ) .We all felt disappointed  with the  highhandedness of the natives and the fear of any kind of an attack to us or to the vehicle  surfaced among us.(Even though we have settled the issue) .The word fear might sound  a bit too much However we need to admit the fact that it was not our territory(adhu enga pettai illlla... irundhirundha!!!!!!???????) and we cannot simply take a chance and any damage to the vehicle or our  property cannot be unreconciled.Hence we finished our lunch and started to Lakham falls which is very near to Munnar.We reached there at around 4.00 pm and   enjoyed the  falls and  some of us had a light shower .We then started at around 6.00 pm and landed at Udumalapet by 8.30 pm. We booked few rooms stayed there and rested ourselves.                                                                                                                              

      The next morning (28th dec)  we started back to chennai via Palani where we had our breakfast.We reached chennai safely  at around 7.00 pm .It was an amazing trip with lots and lots of fun  . I couldn't share the complete information of this trip as certain things cannot be explained in words.(ofcourse i do understand that this blog in itself is quite big and i don't know if everyone have the patience to read the entire blog). At this moment we all thank the driver and ofcourse not to forget  Hari's contribution in organising such a wonderful trip.