17th Jan - Bike ride to Ooti for Dentist

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Up at 7 but ended up faffing for a while and did not get my stuff together and my bike ready until 10. I needed to go to the Dentist as I have sensitivity in one tooth. Johnie said that he goes to a good dentist in Ooty and I felt more comfortable going to a recommended dentist rather than just turning up at any old dentist. Therefore I decided to combine a visit to the hill station Ooty with a trip to the dentist. Johnie offered to give me a lift but I really wanted to go by bike.

It was a fantastic ride. Ooty is a mile higher than where Johnie lives. It is only 33km to Ooty from his house in the jungle but it takes over 1 hour even in the car. The route is great as the roads are relatively quite in the middle of the week and the views are amazing. There are 36 hair-pinned bends from the bottom of the pass at 1000m up to 2230m. There is a sign on each hairpin bend informing you of the number of the hairpin bend.

Johnie said that he would meet me in Ooty at his club where I could shower before my visit to the dentist. He passed me just at the bottom of the pass. It then took me several hours to bike up the pass to Ooty. It took ages - not because of the gradient but because I kept on stopping to take photos and chat with people.
My first stop was at the bottom of the pass where I chatted with some Indian tourist and took loads of photos of monkeys (and also the Indian man that decided to climb a tree). The views over the valley were amazing.

I stopped half way at Karnatica Falls and watched tens of Indian tourists debark from their coaches to have a break and feed the monkeys and goats. This stop off point is popular with tourists to see the falls but there is currently no water following as it has not rained in 2 months. There was an Indian running a stall selling carrots to rich Indians to buy and feed to the rather aggressive Goats and Monkeys. About 300m before the junction for Karnatti Falls I had seen an old beggar walk into the middle of the road and have a poo. The contrasts in this country are amazing.

The pass climbs through the mountains and several little villages. It was such a beautiful day and I was so happy to be back on my bike seeing new places and getting some exercise. It had been a great climb.

By the time I got to the top of the pass my blood sugar was getting low as I had been biking for 5 hours up hill without eating anything. I stopped at a lovely little cafe and had some coconut cake and chi.

The last 10km to Ooty was rolling and I raced along. It took a little while for me to find the Ooty Club where Johnie was waiting for me but once I did I quickly showered and headed off to the dentist in town.

The dentist said that I needed 2 fillings and said that he would give me a temporary filling in one tooth today to make sure that it was not deeper than it looked on the surface. He started drilling - WITHOUT ANY INJECTIONS. When I squirmed and said ouch at the shouting pain he just told me to hold still and it would be over soon! It was not too bad and was over in 5 mins. Johnie said afterward that he always specifically asks for injections and it is a choice in India rather than something that is done as standard in the UK. For some reason he did not see fit to mention this before the appointment. It was an interesting experience.

After the dentist we went to the market and a wander round Ooty to do some shopping. It was great. There is a huge market in the center of town. The shops are covered with coloured plastic sheets which let the light through small slits. I was in photo heaven. I could not help but take about 1000 photos..... It was really atmospheric. We did a huge shop for fresh fruits and veg and meat and a wander around. I really enjoyed it.

After the market Johnie took me to the Ooty Club. It is a posh arsed private club and really difficult to get membership. It really did remind me of how I imagine India would have been 100 years ago. It was very quaint and antiquated. There is a snooker room with a large snooker table. Apparently the first game of snooker was played and invented in this room in the club. There is an article on the wall which talks to this fact. There are a large number of dead stuffed animals on the walls. The club even smelt of old stuff....

On the way back we popped into see Johnie's mum as she had fallen and hurt her face. Bless her, she had a huge bruise down half of her face. We had a cuppa tea and a natter.
We did not get back till 9ish. Johnie cooked lamb chops and salad. A really lovely meal again. Great day.