03 June 2010

Yercaud

Among the 4 lovely hill stations I’ve visited: Kodaikanal, Yercaud, Kandy (in Sri Lanka) and Ooty, my favorite remains Yercaud, a quaint little town in Salem, Tamil Nadu. I had bought a Motorola handset & got a holiday voucher of 2 Nights 3 Days free accommodation worth Rs 10,000/- with the purchase. We used that to go to Yercaud for my birthday in Feb’08.

As a family, that was our 1st train journey. Tan was just 1 & half years old. Both Sathya & she were super excited. It was Bangalore – Coimbatore express. We alighted in salem & took a bus to reach Yercaud. But we reached the town in the middle of the cold night & there was no transport to take us onward to our resort. We spent the night in a hotel called “Hotel Select”. When we woke up in the morning, we were on top of this beautiful hillock.
Hotel industry sells off rooms with the amusing tags: sea-view, hill-view, ocean-view, pool-view, sunset-view. Such rooms are priced differently. Ours was a hill-view room with a small kitchen. We used to open our eyes to the rise of the sun right outside our window over the top of the tree-lined hills and the deep valley below. The hills surrounding us from all sides & the village at the foot of the valley were breathtaking. At night, while the town went to bed by 7 p. m (or so it seemed), the stars came out in millions to light up the sky.
In the evenings, we used to walk a mile or two from the resort, Tan perched happily on Sathya’s shoulders calling out to the other monkeys & the stray dogs. We took an instant liking to the peaceful, deserted place, interrupted only by the constant chirping of birds & busy squirrels scurrying past. Yercaud is called the poor man’s Ooty. It has the regular tourist traps: the waterfalls, the Dolphin nose, the botanical garden, the caves, the plantations & so on. But I feel the real beauty of the place lies in its unobtrusiveness. You feel free to explore the place on your own, away from prying eyes & you sure want to make the most of it. I remember, Tan & I, sleeping on the road with brightly colored, wild flowers behind our ears posing for the camera. Yercaud is extra special to me because that was the 1st time ever father – daughter bonded. He finally spent time with his child; talking, playing & completely being with her. I’ve fond memories of that. Places become dear to our hearts not because of their ‘tourist value’ but because the place evokes some great times spent with family or friends. That’s why sometimes the most mundane of places can suddenly seem like the best place on earth. Simply because you had someone you loved to share that with.

(That must also be why GOA remains the most frequented & the most cherished place in India.
Friends + Goa * holiday = Unforgettable moments # A BLAST)

41 comments:

  1. I remembered now Sujatha! You too had written about Yercaud. I felt exactly same about the place when I visited.
    A romantic place indeed.
    And yes, about your question: I do not think blogger allows us to upload multiple photos at a time, you can load many photos one at a time.

    And about the post. Photos missing!! Writing, as usual, SUPER quality

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  2. This seems to be a very beautiful place, indeed.
    The photos are wonderful! The place must be very dear to you :)
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  3. @Sahana: will add the photos :)

    @Yash: sure. will do that

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  4. Yes Yercaud is a pretty laid-back kind of place. My dad used to work in Salem and so we used to go there often. Too often that finally now I'm bored of it!

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  5. Beautiful clicks .. haven't been to any of the hill stations but would love to in near future .. Once again, very well written :-)

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  6. I have never been to Yercad maybe sometime got to try it. Among hillstations i will always cherish Ooty

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  7. Never been here. But heard good things about it

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  8. @Anne: ouch!but ya that's very likely 2 happen :(
    anything in excess is not always a good thing

    @Aakash: not even to one? hmmm :(.
    hope u do make time for it sooooon, like u said.

    @Deguide: Ooty yes the eternal favorite d hot spot ;)

    @Nona: u shud go once. its worth it - a short stay can b really refreshing :)

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  9. Yercaud and Ooty are fresh in my mind from a recent trip on Dec 2010. Both have there own charm and beauty.

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  10. beautiful description of your trip Sujatha.. thx for sharing.. :) :)

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  11. Looks beautiful. Do post larger pics next time..

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  12. Hey its my fav place too :) brought back so many memories...:)

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  13. @India's: :)) isnt the place really cool !

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  14. You've made me go on my knees. Train journey & hill station, a wonderful combination.

    Haven't been there but heard of it many times.

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  15. @Nisha: Yercaud DEMANDS at least one short visit :))

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  16. Hope my next vacation will be at yercaud.

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  17. Not yet explored those hill stations at tamil nadu :( Still yet to explore.. Thanks for reminding mate...

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  18. Great, will make it a point to visit one day.

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  19. Wow, Yercaud it is for the next holiday.. actually we were thinking of where to hit for the next vacation.. Yercaud looks interesting.

    Good read, Sujatha :)

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  20. Hey,

    You mean Yercaud is more beautiful than Ootty? Or your choice based on any other criteria?

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  21. @Suresh: you are welcome. do visit TN n its hill stations :)

    @Vikram: :)) you wont regret the time/money/energy spent.

    @R-A-J: my pleasure Raj.
    just dont go looking for great night life/entertainment in its city form. Yercaud is a place for rejuvenation.

    @Jose: Yercaud is "unobtrusive." Plus i've some great family memories of our time spent there

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  22. I've actually been there and I can vouch for all that you said.. I was too young to remember it all but my memories of it are all fond...Rishi

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  23. @Rishi: that's great to hear - you've fond memories of the place you visited when u were still young

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  24. it is not always the place....it is the memories which makes the places special....you have fond memories and importantly Mr. Satya spent more time with Tanvi....that is very spl for you....so is Yerkadu has taken lion share on your hill station visits...!!!

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  25. @Suraj: EXACTLY (bold, underlined, colored) !!! :)))

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  26. Beautiful Description... very nice :)

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  27. Beautiful description. feet like to visit this place

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  28. @Action: thank you, you should pay it a visit :)

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  29. True. We tend to get attached to places because of the special moments we associate with it. And ya, may be I should visit yercaud soon (with some1 very special).

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  30. @leopaw: haha yes yes visit yercaud with someone very special :))

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  31. Hai Sujatha, good to know that you like Yercaud. The place is just awesome. I am studying at a college in Namakkal, and happened to go to Yercaud last year. Had some superb experiences too!
    We went on the eve of a festival so all the hotels were booked. My friends and I roamed around the empty roads from 12am to 2pm in the night, trying to find a hotel in the unfamiliarity of the place. Thankfully enough the police caught us and directed us to a 'not so clean place' which was one of the best nights ever!

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  32. @Anoop: roaming & then helped by police - :)))
    yes, lovely place

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  33. @Sujatha

    Wow! I enjoyed reading your post :)

    I can so relate to your words. My yercaud trip was a very special trip in the sense I got to spend a lot of time with my friends and family together. First of a kind trip we all made together :) :)

    Thanks for visiting my blog space.. Looking forward to seeing you again :) :)

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  34. @Shalini: thanks Shalini. yes the presence of loved ones makes a place feel even more beautiful

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