The Tourist Attractions

By seven thirty, we were settled in our hotel rooms. Sleep eluded us all, so we moved on to the next order of business: Breakfast. I think we ate the complete kitchen, pots and pans included. The cook ran away, afraid that he was next.

Post breakfast, we grabbed forty winks and spent the rest of the day looking around Yercaud. While it doesn’t boast the attractions of an Ooty or a Kodaikanal, this poor man’s hill-station isn’t entirely devoid of those garden walks and view-points.

This is taken from one of the viewpoints. Don’t recollect which, though. Nice view of the neighbouring hills and lush slopes

We followed a road that led to the next hill, and got this view of Yercaud, and it’s famous centre-piece: The Montfort school.

By evening, we headed to the centre of town, and found a permit room in Hotel Tamil-Nadu. A large sign proclaimed that only those who carried a license to drink would be served. None of us had even heard of such a license. but the barkeep poured our drinks with a smile anyway. The antiquated sign on the wall was over a century old.

For future reference, Whiskey and Chundal is a brilliant combination. Ask for this the next time you order a drink in TN.

When we stepped out the Permit room, the setting sun had lit up the sky, and the fountain in the lake had followed suit.

I dunno how they got it to do that. The fountain changed colours with the sky. Maybe it was just an illusion, but it looked very impressive, just the same.

That night, we had an extended discussion on the relative charms of Shakira and Shakeela, and even did a Mallu-accented Shakeela’s version of Shakira’s big hit, "Wherever, Whenever". Verdict: The boys prefer the generous contours of Shakeela to the legendary hips that don’t lie.