Kodaikanal - Being Tourists

Our hotel in Kodaikanal was built onto the hillside, like a lot of the buildings there, as flat land is somewhat rare.



We ate our meals at another hotel just up the street. In the lower right, it says "Homely Food Available." In India, "homely" means "like at home."



We ate traditional south Indian meals, which included idli (steamed rice cakes) and dosas (thin savory crepes made out of rice and lentils) for breakfast.



For lunch and dinner we had rice, flat Indian breads and different vegetable, meat, fish or lentil dishes to go with them.

Along the road on our way home, we also enjoyed some fresh fruit.



During the day, in addition to taking in the sights, we also did some shopping. Kodaikanal is known for it's eucalyptus oil which it harvests from the trees in the area. It also is known for its chocolates - they don't grow chocolate there, but because the climate is so pleasant, it's one place in south India where chocolates don't require refrigeration. Wooden handicrafts are popular, and so are toys. Some in our group bought souvenirs that inspired them musically.



We also rented paddleboats to tour around Kodaikanal lake.



It's not all fun and games on the water - boating rules can be strict.



Well, it's mostly fun and games.



We also stopped at a roller skating rink. It's probably a good thing we hadn't started drinking BEFORE.



We also took lots of group photos.













A great trip!