How a road trip covering 2120 km gave me the courage to quit a job I hated- Part 4
Part 4- Around Wayand and the Muthanga Wildlife sanctuary
The next morning, we woke up quite early in order to do some bird-watching. Even though early morning and late evening are considered the best times to do a bit of bird-watching, we were quite disappointed to note that there weren't many of them up and about. But the weather was all misty and lovely, and we decided to go for a walk. We took the same route as on the previous day and walked up to the tea plantations. Taking in as much of the surroundings as we could, we walked and talked for quite a bit before deciding to turn back. For breakfast, we had requested the Kerala-special breakfast dish called puttu. I had eaten this at my friend's house and had absolutely loved it. This is made in a special kind of mould, which is tubular and open at both ends. Rice paste and grated coconut form alternate layers of this steamed dish. It is served along with kadala curry, which is a mildly spicy curry made out of bengal gram. When Mr. Joseph, who was the manager/helper brought up the breakfast, our eyes popped out again! It was enough to feed an army. Again, I quite enjoyed this meal, but the overtly spicy curry was not agreeing with me. The husband as usual was trying to put on a brave face and eat some of the breakfast. I could tell that he had had enough of this food. But sadly for us, the resort was miles away from anything. The husband decided that we would take a trip around the town and explore the Muthanga wildlife sanctuary. This would also give us the opportunity to actually eat the food we liked.
So after some more bird watching, we got dressed and were ready to leave. Mr. Joseph had suggested a restaurant on the way that was 'very famous' for North Indian food. Though we were not sold on it, we decided to go ahead and give it a try. It did look crowded during the lunch hour which raised our hopes, which were quickly dashed when the food arrived! There was no tandoor, so we were eating chapatis with Navratna korma.Both the dishes were below average, with bananas being the predominant flavour in Navratna korma. The chapatis were doughy with a uncooked bits and covered with a lot more flour than was necessary. In saying we liked this better than the Kerala cuisine at the resort is a testimony to what we thought of the food being served there! Again, this is just my personal opinion..
By this time we were truly regretting not going to Goa. The superb food and drink wasn't very far from our thoughts at any given time. And quite frankly, we were starting to get bored! There is only so much time one can spend looking at the same view. As we were driving towards Muthanga wildlife sanctuary, my phone rang. Looking at the number displayed on the screen confirmed my worst fears. It was from work! I started panicking, yet again unable to decide whether or not I should answer it. I chose the coward's way out by letting it ring and then quickly putting my phone on airplane mode. Should they call back, they would realize that I was in a region of poor connectivity. This little episode drained whatever little enthusiasm I had managed to work up. I had gone back to the 'zombie mode', where I would uncomprehendingly stare into the distance.The husband did his best to cheer me up. And I decided to let my phone remain in the airplane mode for the rest of our trip. This was one of the best decisions I made on the trip.
Muthanga wildlife sanctuary was another disappointment. We just saw a herd of deer and one peacock after driving for over an hour. The ride in the Jeep through the wildlife sanctuary though, was interesting! We were hanging on for dear life as the driver navigated his on the non-existent road.
We drove back with the thought of dinner looming over our heads. Our stomachs were begging us not to feed them Kerala cuisine. Even though I didn't mind the taste, the spices used were irritating my gut and the husband just plain didn't like it. There were two more days before we finally went to Mangalore. How would we survive? This really drove home the fact that how unappealing everything else can be when the very basic necessities are not provided.
(For the previous part of the journey, click on the link below)
http://experiencelifeontheroad.blogspot.in/2016/08/part-3-journey-from-mysuru-to-wayanad.html
The next morning, we woke up quite early in order to do some bird-watching. Even though early morning and late evening are considered the best times to do a bit of bird-watching, we were quite disappointed to note that there weren't many of them up and about. But the weather was all misty and lovely, and we decided to go for a walk. We took the same route as on the previous day and walked up to the tea plantations. Taking in as much of the surroundings as we could, we walked and talked for quite a bit before deciding to turn back. For breakfast, we had requested the Kerala-special breakfast dish called puttu. I had eaten this at my friend's house and had absolutely loved it. This is made in a special kind of mould, which is tubular and open at both ends. Rice paste and grated coconut form alternate layers of this steamed dish. It is served along with kadala curry, which is a mildly spicy curry made out of bengal gram. When Mr. Joseph, who was the manager/helper brought up the breakfast, our eyes popped out again! It was enough to feed an army. Again, I quite enjoyed this meal, but the overtly spicy curry was not agreeing with me. The husband as usual was trying to put on a brave face and eat some of the breakfast. I could tell that he had had enough of this food. But sadly for us, the resort was miles away from anything. The husband decided that we would take a trip around the town and explore the Muthanga wildlife sanctuary. This would also give us the opportunity to actually eat the food we liked.
 |
| Our faithful partner on the road |
So after some more bird watching, we got dressed and were ready to leave. Mr. Joseph had suggested a restaurant on the way that was 'very famous' for North Indian food. Though we were not sold on it, we decided to go ahead and give it a try. It did look crowded during the lunch hour which raised our hopes, which were quickly dashed when the food arrived! There was no tandoor, so we were eating chapatis with Navratna korma.Both the dishes were below average, with bananas being the predominant flavour in Navratna korma. The chapatis were doughy with a uncooked bits and covered with a lot more flour than was necessary. In saying we liked this better than the Kerala cuisine at the resort is a testimony to what we thought of the food being served there! Again, this is just my personal opinion..
 |
| Morning walk |
By this time we were truly regretting not going to Goa. The superb food and drink wasn't very far from our thoughts at any given time. And quite frankly, we were starting to get bored! There is only so much time one can spend looking at the same view. As we were driving towards Muthanga wildlife sanctuary, my phone rang. Looking at the number displayed on the screen confirmed my worst fears. It was from work! I started panicking, yet again unable to decide whether or not I should answer it. I chose the coward's way out by letting it ring and then quickly putting my phone on airplane mode. Should they call back, they would realize that I was in a region of poor connectivity. This little episode drained whatever little enthusiasm I had managed to work up. I had gone back to the 'zombie mode', where I would uncomprehendingly stare into the distance.The husband did his best to cheer me up. And I decided to let my phone remain in the airplane mode for the rest of our trip. This was one of the best decisions I made on the trip.
 |
| The herd of deer after driving for over an hour |
We drove back with the thought of dinner looming over our heads. Our stomachs were begging us not to feed them Kerala cuisine. Even though I didn't mind the taste, the spices used were irritating my gut and the husband just plain didn't like it. There were two more days before we finally went to Mangalore. How would we survive? This really drove home the fact that how unappealing everything else can be when the very basic necessities are not provided.
(For the previous part of the journey, click on the link below)
http://experiencelifeontheroad.blogspot.in/2016/08/part-3-journey-from-mysuru-to-wayanad.html
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