Walkie Talkie

Honey Valley, India (map)

In this blog: a massacred chicken, a wild snake, some very interesting company, and eventful mountain walks.

 --------------------------------------------------------------------

The Coorg region of India had proved to be right up my street, being an unexpectedly quiet mountainous area of natural beauty, and whilst I felt ready to move on from the previous homestay I wasn't ready to leave the area. Taking a bus back to the nearby town of Madikeri, I had no idea where to head that evening as sometime happens, but eventually decided upon an interesting place I'd come across on the internet by the name of Honey Valley. 

Before I started this trip, ideas would pop into my mind of what my ultimate destination would look like, my idea of paradise, and it was something like a beautiful location in the hills, with really interesting people and lots to do - almost by accident at this resort in the Coorg hills, I think I pretty much found it. Little did I know that the day or two of hiking I planned would turn into the fantastic eight days that followed and one of the highlights of my entire trip. 

Honey Valley - home for nine days

Honey Valley was formerly the biggest honey producer in India until it suffered from colony collapse syndrome in the 90's, and is now converted as a 45 acre coffee plantation and homestay, also growing a bit of pepper and cardomen. Often the places I stay as I travel are little more than somewhere to rest my head but here, as a secluded resort at the head of a forested valley in the Western Ghat mountains, this proved to be very different. With many walks in the mountains behind, a constantly pleasant temperature, and very nice owners, it's a place that attracts some very interesting people, and has been a place of long and interesting discussions, fabulous walks and lots of reading. It's also been the first time in a while where I've had routine thanks to set meal times in the restaurant, which was surprisingly nice for a change.

The journey there started from Madikeri town, heading 40km south on a local bus to the small village of Kabinakad, finding myself uncomfortably squeezed between six other locals on the back seat, as more got on and pushed their way in. A harmless old drunk amusingly spoke to me constantly in the local language, whilst the conductor tried to shush him before eventually the bus cleared and I was able to breathe again. After a sweaty two mile walk up a steep track from the local village, I was at Honey Valley.

Walking into the small on-site restaurant that evening, the hub of activity over the week, I said hello to the only guy there, Nick Goodfellow, and brightened his evening a little since it was his 40th birthday. Nick turned out to be one of the most knowledgable, well travelled and interesting people I've ever met and we ended up hanging around together on-and-off over the next couple of weeks. From this moment, the president was set; the week was all about walking and talking.

Talking

R-L: Nick, Roger, myself and Suresh

Conversation ended up a big part of the Honey Valley experience and was one of the main reasons that kept me there so long. The place seemed to attract a certain type of person, and everyone I met had an interesting story and something to give. Two or more of us ended up talking from 8.30am breakfast until gone midday most days, then again for another couple of hours in the evening, on everything from war in Syria, to economic history, to coffee growing, mountaineering, water security in China, cycle touring, halal meat, pending world disasters, Gandhi, and brain drain in Spain. I've never had so many good conversations, and feel just a little more enlightened about the world as a result, so below are the people I was fortunate to meet: 

>Nick - a very educated and knowledgable man, who works as a freelance academic, writer and teacher, and seemed to have the answer to everything I'd ever wanted to know. He's a living encyclopedia of knowledge, and one of those people who you can truly say has done it all. He has a very interesting background having been raised in Kenya and Egypt as the son of a Diplomatic Serviceman, schooled in England, studied at Cambridge University, and now lives in Spain when he's occasionally home. 

The ultimate traveller; he's also spent much or his life living and working abroad in over a hundred countries and travelled around Europe age 16, and the length of Africa at 18. He's passed through the notorious Darien Gap in Central America, hiked to Everest Base camp, and lived in Silicon Valley, Guatemala and Dublin amongst others. He also knows various diplomats, politicians, CEOs, and has co-written a few books. He's taught English to members of the Saudi Royal Family, went to Uni with David Mitchell and Sacha Baren Cohen, and has met Stephen Fry, Bill Bryson, Huey Morgan, and even The Dalai Lama. So in case it's not obvious, it's fair to say I really enjoyed Nick's company, and learnt a tremendous amount from him.

>Suresh - an Indian guy who works as freelance computer programmer in Bangalore, he's worked in England and knows a lot about a lot. Suresh filled in every gap in my knowledge of India, and we walked together quite a few times at Honey Valley.

>Roger - a well educated and successful English garden designer hailing from near Liverpool, with a tremendous in-depth knowledge of almost everything. Thanks to the seasonal nature of his job, he spends three months travelling abroad every winter.

Vid and Annie

>Vid and Annie - a retired American cardiologist and lecturer in their seventies who have a ten year visa for India, and are spending their early retirement years hiking in India and Nepal. Very fit for their age They had many stories to tell from their trip, including the six people at various points who have died hiking in their vicinity. .

>Jans - a German in his late thirties who studied philosophy then economics, travelled South America extensively, then worked in Finance for many years before quitting to spend the past year riding his BMW motorbike around Eurasia and to India. Interesting guy with some good stories to tell. India's roads are the worst he's ridden on! Has a brilliant blog - www.headingeast.de

>Hamish and Lauren - a lovely young English/American couple, who are travelling whilst producing a photography book - 100 Photos in 100 Days, and very creative types. 

Walking

Views from the valley

There's a big lack of hiking maps and information in India, but wherever you go there's usually some willing guides to take you along and make a rupee or two. One of the great things about Honey Valley is that you can do aay with the guides, thanks to the book of walks they've compiled around the local area, allowing you to go off alone at your own pace. The directions and maps were a little vague and out of date occasionally which only added to the fun, and I went out hiking every day, sometimes on my own and sometimes with Suresh - another Indian guy who was staying in the room next door who was a good hiking companion.

Most of the walks were trouble free and pretty pleasant, apart from the odd bit of getting lost or beating my way through some overgrown tracks. One day I did a particularly exciting trek on my own, doing down a track deep into the forest and jungle. Excitingly, no-one seemed to know where it ended, so I just walked a couple of hours down and back the narrow and often steep path. With dragonflies, ghekos, moths and butterfly's passing, ant nests in trees, plenty of birds calling, and elephant dung on the path, it felt suitably wild and exciting.

Another day, Suresh and I walked a path in the book, which over time slowly got more overgrown until it was impassable, so we took a short cut by going sideways up a steep and slight less overgrown hill. Hearing a rustle in the bushes, we turned, assumed a cow would step out only to see a large sambar deer running and jumping away from us, which was quite exciting. We also did a couple of longer hikes which were a little eventful at times:

Mt Tadiandamol, the big hill

Top of Mt Tadiandamol

The highest mountain in the region at 1740m high, and a 16 mile round trip, this was the longest trek I did. I set off with fellow hiker Suresh on a fairly straightforward hike up the tree covered valley then along a long open ridge, walking with Vid and Annie - the American couple for some of the way. Despite being in their early seventies they kept up just fine until they went their own way near the end, whilst we climbed the steep section to the summit. It was a great feeling to reach the top, though the views weren't great thanks to cloud, and there was little peace and quiet thanks to some large and excitable groups of young Indian hikers who were whooping and cheering their way up the hill. On the way back, I experienced something I'd not seen for four months - it rained! And rained a fair bit, but didn't ruin a fine walk and we returned shattered, but smiling nonetheless. 

Choma Kund, the chicken, and the snake

Narrow ridge on the way
to Choma Kund

The second highest peak around at 1600m, Choma Kund was a pretty challenging hike up hill and down dale. It was a ten mile round trip, through forest, coffee plantations, then along an open ridge which was only a couple of metres wide at a few points, adding a bit of fun. As Suresh and I left at the start, all five of the Honey Valley dogs came along with us and somehow made it the whole way which seemed amusing enough, until an event on the way back...

Wolf pack

Walking down a road, the dogs started barking and we looked up to see the whole pack of them chasing some chickens on the road. They had their eyes on a cockerel who hopped along, flying a metres or two at a time before going over a wall. The dogs followed, and Suresh and I stood helplessly listening as the chase went through the trees below. Feeling helpless, we kept walking down the hill until an angry local shouted our way, walking towards us whilst holding a chicken upside down by its legs. Soon a group of five or six locals emerged and started shouting amongst each other, and as they guy neared us we could see the chicken was alive, but missing a wing, feathers and some flesh. Not good. Thankfully Suresh understood what he was saying in the local Kanataka language, phoned the keeper of the the dogs, and after ten minutes, and £3 (300 rupees) handed over for the cockerel we were on our way.

Almost back, walking along the track something appeared in the corner of my eye. I instinctively jumped to one side in an almost Irish jig-like manner, looking back to see I'd almost stood on a snake! Thankfully it was pretty young - about half an inch diameter and under a metre long, and it quickly slivered into the undergrowth - an exciting end to an exciting day.

  

Drying coffee beans picked on the Honey Valley
estate, which takes five days

Gotta love a good butress root

Group of female engineering students we met on the
way to Mt Tadiandamol - it's a rare sight to see a
group of girls out like this in India

Suresh and I

Choma Kund, from halfway