Gudalur

After arriving to bangalore for a few days, it was time to head off for a 6hour drive to meet our other 2 colleagues. Augustine, our supervisor, had organised it so the 5 of us would spend a few days with our colleagues at their NGO, and then we were to do a study tour - of learning and leisure as Augustine put it - where we were to just relax and enjoy india.

But of course, our run of unluckiness with vehicles had to continue. We were in Bangalore in our hired minivan when it had to breakdown in the middle of the CBD. People are starting to realise im a bad omen wen it comes to vehicles since ive been in 2 or 3 car issues now. But hey, everything just works out, it always does. I promise you - if something happens the best outcome will always occur. one just needs to trust Him. 

So in typical fashion we were given a new car, a van to be exact, with all of us jammed pack in the back with our luggage on the way to meet our friends. I was so super excited as i hadnt seen them in over 2 1/2months. We drove and stopped every so often (As we all have weak bladders) and we entered a big city called Mysore. Here, we had the opportunity to drive past the Mysore Palace where the royal family lives. Much like the English royal family, they hold no power but are of a prestigious reputation, thus people respect them etc. From what we could see the palace was big, and the architecture was amazing. We were told that a festival would be held here soon where elephants and others would parade through the palace to celebrate. 

We continued our drive and entered the National Park. Many signs were about saying that there were tigers about so we had to stay inside the car at all times, as we made our way to Gudalur, a city on a hill essentially. As we made our way through the winding roads we caught sight of wildlife such as wild boars, spotted deers, peacocks and domesticated elephants. It was such a different environment to what I had been used to for the past 2 1/2 months. I was used to arid, rural, deserty plains, or else the chaotic concrete jungle of bangalore. Yet as we progress to my friends we were driving through lush forests, cool breezes, crisp cold air and overcast weather. Thats the amazing thing about india: the sceneries vary, theres diversity and uniqueness. 

So we drove towards Gudalur and it was here where we saw tea being grown. Gudalur is at the perfect elevation to grow tea. Tea estates would surround this hilly town, or hill station as they call it. What a beautiful sight, just perfectly aligned tea plants growing all across the hills. And at the top of the hill, a city. such an impressive sight. We continued a little further from our 6 hr drive and we finally made it to Accord, the NGO where our friends were staying at. It was so so so good to see them again! to hear how they were going and to catch up. We had dinner together and then we had to call it a night as our study tour was just about to begin.