Category: Travel

A Greek odyssey – Day 4

Continued from Day 1, 2, 3

The day was planned in complete accordance with the bus time table photo. Volcano View has a breakfast spread that you could spend the day exploring – all kinds of meat, fruits, cereal, breads and even a couple of yogurt options. We took the first shuttle to Fira, and from there, the bus to Perissa at the priciest ticket of 2.2 euros/person one way. The view was as always splendid, and blue domes followed us everywhere. Perissa is a black sand beach, half an hour away, and we reached there at about 10.30. Either the early hour, or the fact that the tourist season was only about to begin, the beach was relatively empty, calm and silent. In fact, the web says this is one of the more unspoiled beaches in Santorini. There are a few beach restaurants along the road. But we walked on the beach and the non clingy black sand made it a pretty wonderful experience. It was quite windy and the sky seemed to promise rain. We could see a ferry to Kamari, our next stop, but we had planned on a bus ride anyway. We spent about an hour and a half at Perissa, and then got back to Fira for the bus to Kamari in time for lunch.

Kamari is another black sand beach, just more touristy with a kilometre of beach side restaurants. In fact, the restaurant staff practically drag you in, reminding us our South East Asian trips! We weren’t really hungry so we avoided them and walked along the beach, but then the promised drizzle arrived, though only for a few minutes. After about 2 rounds comparing restaurants, (this was an unscheduled beach as per the plan, so we had no lunch options readily available) we dropped into one place – Hook, because they seemed to have a good 2 person combo meal. (most restaurants here do) But we changed our mind soon after we had tried their chicken soup!

Tavern by the Sea, a brand new place, seemed to have an interesting menu and service staff as well. D ordered a Soutzoukakia (minced beef, cumin and tomato based) served with rice, while I asked for a Zalouzi Tagliatelle, (chicken, ham, Kefalotyri, parsley, white cream) to be washed down with a carafe of house rose wine. Enjoyed the wine and the food and the lovely breeze. This was one of my favourite times during the vacation. I think the friendliness of the restaurant staff had much to do with it. One of them was Bulgarian and he said he wanted to see India because they had dubbed TV serials (from Hindi) where he came from! When I told him we were off to Mykonos next, he nodded appreciatively and said it was Santorini’s party capital. During the wining and before the eating, I saw a man painting ‘Hoetl’ on the signboard. I commented that the wine was good, but they said that’s how it was written on the paper he was given, and he just copied it!

A light drizzle was back when we were ready to leave, but not really much of a bother, thankfully. We left for Fira and then back to the hotel to sleep a bit before heading back to town for dinner. Fira may not be as striking as Oia, but it does have the same ‘features’. We didn’t really expect it, but once we started exploring it – in search of Volcano Blue (our dinner destination) – its cobbled streets and view of the other islands that made up Santorini does have a lot to offer. Just like Oia, there are quite a few restaurants that can give you a sunset view. Volcano Blue, we discovered, was just one of them. We skipped it because the Japanese had invaded! (they weren’t as noisy in Greece as in our previous encounters) We landed at Aris because we liked the vantage point for the view of Fira and beyond.

Aris has been around for a while, and it shows. It’s an old hotel that is clearly in decline. The waiter was very friendly but forgot our wine order. He profusely apologised when we pointed this out while he was bringing the starter, and in his agitation, spilled some wine on the table too. But what we came for – the view – was wonderful. We sat wining as the sky changed color and the lights came on. When we left, the place was empty, we were the only people to dine there that night. But this was something we saw across Fira. Except for a couple of restaurants, there was hardly a crowd anywhere. Too early in the season, perhaps.

We stopped at a desserts outlet on our way back, and then waited at the bus station before continuing to the shuttle pick up point. We had a message waiting for us – the pickup for the Mykonos boat would be at 10.45 the next morning. Time to pack, and hit the bed.

June 9, 2014
A Greek odyssey – Day 3

Continued from Day 1, 2

At some point during the night, I was conscious enough to create an alarm for 4.15. We hadn’t packed, and were supposed to leave the hotel at 5 for a 6.30 AM flight. We waited in the compact airport, and after a cup of Greek Coffee (Arghh, got milk?!) bid adieu to Rhodes which had a sun and a moon still fighting for sky rights when we boarded. Breakfast was at Negronis (It had become D’s favourite) in the Athens airport, who had a convenient breakfast platter. The Aegean craft to Santorini was larger (more visitors) and they gave us a chocolate croissant! Another reason to like the air hostesses, in addition to the chic uniform. I promptly fell asleep, and when I opened my eyes, we were at an airport. I asked D why she hadn’t woken me up as we landed! Apparently we were still at Rhodes, someone had fallen sick and we hadn’t taken off! Delayed by half an hour, it was almost noon by the time we landed at Santorini!

Santorini also had an airport by the sea, and the building was in their traditional architectural style. This does make airports cuter, not to mention human -I remembered Cambodia. A group bus landed us at the Volcano View Hotel in about 20 minutes. For the first time, I got help in transferring luggage – to the room. This was probably the best view from a room I’ve ever experienced, and the room itself was pristine. I wondered how they managed to keep their white walls so clean all the while. Our local contact (arranged by the tour operator) was waiting, so there was no time to enjoy it. There was WiFi, I noted. 😀

She gave us the hotel’s set of documents – shuttle timings to Fira (6 times a day) – 2 kms away, a vague map of the town, bus timings from and to Fira (from other towns) excursion plans, and other services. In addition, she gave us a map of the larger island, and had a few suggestions on what we should do. We had made our own plans – Oia the same day, and Akrotiri and Perissa the next day. But Akrotiri, was closed on Mondays. Awesome luck continued, and we had to make changes. The guide gave us other options, but the costs involved us took the decision for us. The hotel had tie ups for excursions and there was one which suited us, but though the brochure said May, they’d only start in June. Oh well! We decided to advance the Akrotiri trip by a day when we realised the time involved in getting there.

The shuttle to town was leaving at 2, so we quickly unpacked, freshened up, and began an exercise that would be repeated much in the days to come – running! The shuttle drop and pick up point was very close to the bus station, but we realised that the bus timings (from/to the Fira bus station) the hotel had given were outdated. Tip: Take a photo of the timings at the bus station. That place and that photo will be your anchor so long as you are in Santorini. The bus station is quite small, but busy. The procedure there was simple – near to the departure time of the bus, you mention the place at the information booth and they’d give you the bus number. The buses are air conditioned and relatively clean with comfortable seats. In any case, it takes less than 30 minutes from mostly anywhere to anywhere. The tickets to Akrotiri were at 1.6 euros per person, one way. Tickets to be purchased in the bus, whose horn was a revelation in terms of the sound generated. It was so ‘polite’! Since we didn’t have time for an elaborate lunch, (from the restaurants we had shortlisted) a quick trip to Nick the Grill (2 minutes away) was made for Gyros – the cheapest, most filling meal you can find. And it’s yummy too!

The vista was beautiful all the way to Akrotiri, and blue domed churches that would be be a recurring feature across Santorini. The last stop is right in front of the Archaeological museum, which was one of the things we’d come to see. There is an entrance fee of 10 euros, but it’s waived on Sundays. Some luck, at least! An entire town is being excavated – the houses, the utensils, and a snapshot of the lives lived thanks to the descriptions. I thought I’d made an important discovery about ancient Greeks until I realised that .. (see the last image in the set below!)

The Red Beach, the second thing we wanted to see, was a km away, with some rough terrain – for some time the previous month, it had been closed due to landslide scares. The beach is indeed a reddish-brown shade, accentuated by the red rocks around. We didn’t have much time to spend there if we were to make it for our more important trip. So we practically ran back, just in time for the bus to Fira.

From Fira, we caught the bus to Oia, 1.8 euros and half an hour away. From the town square, we tried to find Ochre Wine Bistro – the best place to watch the famous Oia sunset from. The information booth lady did give us directions, but we missed a turn, and as was becoming a habit, got lost in the tiny streets! Thankfully, there were all sorts of wonderful sights along the twisty, cobbled streets – from the famous blue domes that appear in all the memorabilia to cats for rent – and the shopkeepers were very helpful, thus we finally found the place. I think it is easier to approach it via the main road, which has a couple of more options for the splendid view. The fortress is the free option, though it’s bound to be crowded.

Sunset was supposed to be around 8.15 and it was only 6.30, but we wanted a good table, and so, tried different tables before settling on one. A Japanese couple was already there. I chose a table, but then gave in to the suggestion made by the restaurant staff. Turned out later that my choice was better, but in any case, the best shots are from the other end of the restaurant – totally reserved, so I had to stand in the corridor when it was time for the ‘shoot’. Since we had a while to spend, we kept stalling the waiter, who was pushy in the beginning, but relented soon, and was extremely friendly and helpful as time passed. The Japanese couple were up to the same tricks. Later, other groups came in, and they seemed like regulars – dining here everyday, probably trying for the best shot! The funny thing was, at the time of the sunset, another Japanese guy ran into the restaurant, tripod and all, set up his stuff, took the shot in a few minutes and ran right back! 😀

Meanwhile, we tried the local Donkey beer, (red version) a Sangria different from the versions we’ve had, a Strapatsada, [a traditional dish with scrambled eggs dish, feta cheese, tomato and Cretan apaki (smoked pork meat with herbs)] a Moussaka (minced beef, eggplant, béchamel with graviera cheese) and a Fresh Rooster. (kokkoras krasatos) (cooked in a wine sauce with mushrooms, pearl onions and smoked bacon and served with absolutely homemade pasta) Our timing was a bit awry, because the main course arrived just as the sun was setting. It really didn’t help that there was a better shot every minute! The sunset was indeed splendid. We didn’t have a lot of time after that, because we had to catch a bus!

I practically clicked as I ran too – Oia is so beautiful at night! We did some really quick shopping, thanked the shopkeeper lady who had given directions, and wished we had time to buy something from her too! We lost our way again, and barely made it in time for the 9PM bus from the square. I saw a guy standing near the bus’ door, and with his clipboard, thought he was a lottery seller. He kept pulling me back as I tried to get in, turned out this time tickets were being sold outside! (the only time this happened)

An extremely crowded bus, and we stood for half the way before we got a seat. (tip: the last bus is at 9.30 but we caught the 9PM one because the last shuttle from Fira to the hotel was at 10.05, and the 9.30 option might have been touch and go. It would be a good idea to stay a night in Oia) We had enough time for a hot chocolate before the shuttle arrived. We planned for the next day with the updated bus schedule and slept soundly thanks to a hectic day.

June 6, 2014
A Greek odyssey – Day 2

Continued from Day 1

The agenda for the day was Lindos and the old town part of Rhodes. We had planned a public bus ride for the former, but I was thrilled to see a poster at the reception – that the hotel arranged a bus trip to Lindos for 22 euros per person. The joy was shortlived, since it operated on every day except Saturday! Such terrible luck! I asked for directions to the bus stand, thankfully it was only 10 minutes away by walk. All of this had happened the previous night. From the time table, we had decided to get on the 9 AM bus. Despite directions, a map, and 20 minutes in hand, we got a little confused with the route. Thankfully, I spotted the bus station and we hopped on just in time after getting tickets. (5 euros per person) As we sat waiting for the bus to start, we saw an elegantly dressed lady talking to the guy at the ticket counter. We thought she might be a regular and wondered why she was commuting on a Saturday. She turned out to be the driver!

The 1 hr 20 mins drive took us through wide roads in town followed by narrow but clean streets in the suburbs, then a countryside complete with goats to finally, an awesome view of Lindos. (you have to walk back a bit for the kind of shot below)

A 10 minute walk took us to the city square. Unlike the feel I got at Trip Advisor, the place has plenty of options for hanging around, shopping and dining. The Lindos version of the acropolis is a little climb away, and a popular means of transport is a donkey! The entry (to the acropolis, not the donkey) costs 6 euros per person and the place, as well as the path leading to it, offers fantastic views. At the Acropolis, there are temples to various gods. We walked down to the beach, 5 minutes from the square. It had some good lunching options (with a view of the Acropolis) but we had already made up our mind on Kalypso. On the way back to the square, we did find the way to Kleoboulos’ tomb, but since Trip Advisor had mentioned a 2 hour walk, we passed.

The guy at Kalypso was super friendly and when we said we were from India, immediately wanted to know the name of a particular movie. He narrated a typical brothers-lost-reunited 80s story, ending with a googly – a song he claimed was from the film – which turned out to be Aati Kya Khandala! Classified under #WTF. Though he looked genuine, I wondered how many times he had enacted this scene before! The place, and the food was excellent – a fantastic salad, and vine leaves filled with minced meat, washed down with the recommended local beer, and fresh orange juice.

Some amount of shopping later, we got on the 2.30 bus to Rhodes, which was extremely crowded. We both slept all the way. On reaching Rhodes, we walked around the port and Old Town, and in the process of finding the Palace of the Grandmasters, got utterly lost in the maze of lovely cobbled streets! But we did manage to locate two of our intended dinner options – Island Lipsi and Socratous Garden – (check) utterly by accident. We then bought me a fake Puma ‘jacket’ for 10 euros and wandered into another maze – this time complete with castles and musicians. We desperately looked around for a main road, and just as we found it, also found a signpost which announced that we had exited the Grandmasters Palace! Lesson – get internet from home! (I could find no open outlets of Wind Telecom)

D corrected my sense of direction in time and thankfully found the way back to Old Town and the bus station – only 2 minutes away, it turned out! Some more shopping and we walked back to the hotel. I had a bad headache and slept off, and ended up skipping dinner in the process!

June 4, 2014
A Greek odyssey – Day 1

In what was a departure from our standard departure, we turned left on the world map this time. The Meru we hired for the early morning (or late night) flight – at 4.15 – had a neat hat tip – an ad for Santorini, Sobha’s version, that is! The driver was in an #F1 mood and we reached well in time, prompting us to take a little nap. That almost led to us missing the flight, and we just about made it!

Since we were in the middle column with no window seats nearby, the napping was continued on the first Emirates flight till it landed us four hours and a functional breakfast later in our other homeland – Dubai, which we were visiting for the first time. [no transit visa required, unlike Malaysia!]If not the sheer scale, a metro between two terminals was enough to wow us completely, and convince us even more of what we Malayalis are capable of, when we have Arab money and manpower backing us! 😉

For all the awesomeness, getting free WiFi, even for half an hour, was a tedious task which I gave up on. The Emirates flight to Athens was at 10.05 and took us about 4.5 hours. Still stuck in the middle column of seating, nap time was replaced with in-flight movie time. I saw Up & Down, a Malayalam movie first, out of courtesy for where we were at, and then watched American Hustle! We landed at Athens at 2 PM in the afternoon (local time) and immediately faced Athenian Hustle in the form of a luggage trolley that cost 1 Euro! There seemed to be quite a few lottery sellers inside, making the place quite like a bus stand, but I could already imagine why they might be popular!

We had a long wait for our flight to Rhodes – about 5.5 hours, but between immigration, meeting our tour operator for all the vouchers and free wifi for an hour, time passed by quickly. After much research, I had decided to buy Wind Telecom data cards, but couldn’t find them at the airport. The Cosmote pack cost over 25 euros. I immediately felt a disconnect, and decided not to buy! At some point in time, we got hungry and chose Negroni from the range of options available for a first taste of Alfa beer and some souvlaki, watching flights go by.

The Olympic Air (recently acquired by Aegean) was tiny and reminded me of Air Deccan. The air hostesses wore a very chic uniform though. I also discovered the species who have been reading mutual fund disclaimers on Indian television ads – Greek pilots. And I’m told Malayalam is fast. Some peanuts and Coke and an hour later, we were at the Rhodes airport, located right next to the sea. This was around the time I discovered that I’d be carrying our luggage and could expect no help from drivers. When I asked for help, they looked at me like I was speaking Greek. Oh wait…

The drive to our accommodation – Atlantis City Hotel – showed us what seemed a calm, peaceful, idyllic town, with small well populated and commercial stretches. We wondered if we’d have to travel all this way the next day. It took us only 20 minutes to reach the hotel, and we made our way to the room in the tiniest lift I’ve seen. Wifi was available in the reception and dining area. The room itself was small, but functional and neat, with a little balcony overlooking the street. The location was awesome, and we immediately went out in search of the three restaurants we had shortlisted for dinner.

Agalma, though more difficult to locate, appealed to us more than the higher rated Kerasma and Tamam. (both were within 300m of our hotel, check this list for options) After beckoning us in, they proceeded to ignore us for a while, but were very apologetic when they brought the menu. I asked for a Cider and D chose the house wine. The cider was great and the wine was a little meh. A Giouvetsi got me victory in the second round too as D wasted most of her salad. But in everyone’s defense, she was quite sleepy and the food took a long while getting to the table, accompanied by apologies.

The walk back to the hotel made me realise how utterly unprepared I was in terms of clothing choices. I thought 19-20 C was pleasant, and had an all-summer shorts+ tee sets packed with not a single jacket/sweater or even a pair of denims, and here I was, shivering! My nightmares, understandably, were about freezing to death and becoming history in Greece!

June 2, 2014
O’Land Estate, Coonoor

The planning obsession has ensured that our vacations/home trips are meticulously planned, and much in advance. So the long Ugadi weekend would’ve ended up as just another long weekend, but for the wonderful disruption by B & N, who suggested that we take a mini break. After many Facebook chats and near misses, we finally zeroed in on O’land Estates. (all details are on the site – click on the individual rooms for prices)

Day 1: Though we’d heard much, we’d never actually met a 5 AM (departure) on a Saturday, so it took us an extra fifteen minutes to get fully acquainted, and get started. (route map) Though B tried his best to convince us on the merits of the thatte idli at Bidadi, we made very Amit-like (for a definition, check the text here) jokes based on the first word minus an h and finally landed up at the standard Kamat Lokaruchi. Masala dosa, idli, chow chow bath, vada and coffee later, we were on our way. Barring a tiny water purchase stop, we (I use the word loosely, B and N did all the driving!) then drove until Gundlupet before stopping at the unofficial restroom sponsor of all weekend getaways out of Bangalore – CCD. ( a pot can happen over coffee!) We entered the Bandipur National Park in a while, and after some standard deer and monkey spotting, also managed to get the elephants to pose!

36 hairpin curves later, we were in Ooty. After much googling and even 4sqing, we landed up at the Nahar Sidewalk cafe for lunch. I sensed something wrong in the menu and we soon discovered that – horror of horrors- it was all veg! But we were too hungry and the pasta we ordered turned out to be quite decent. I also happened to earn a Herbivore badge on 4sq thanks to the checkin! We had Google to thank for the chocolates from King Star Bakery, which were consumed through the trip.

The trip thus far had been very pleasant and we were wondering if we’d beaten our road trip hex. And then began our road wrestling! The route from Ooty to O’Land is curvy in real life but pretty straightforward on the map. But a couple of wrong turns after Lovedale meant that it was near 4.30 by the time we reached O’Land! The only consolations were the beautiful vista including picturesque bungalows, and the ever dropping temperature. The road on Google Maps actually ended quite a long way before the estate gate (that was a first for me) but the locals were very helpful. O’Land was quite a land’s end and looked totally awesome. We enjoyed the view from the Estate House and the tea, thoughtfully provided by Aslam. Our rooms – Hornbill House – was a tiny walk away, and we were already floored by the unique design before we even inside!

Hornbill house is spread over two floors and shares a common living room. The ground floor has a sit out while the first floor has a bathtub with a view! (though the area was facing a drought, said a notice, and guests were requested not to use it) The view also includes a waterfall, but that was on a leave of absence, courtesy the same drought!

We relaxed for a bit before heading over to the Estate House for dinner. The biryani would take a while, said Aslam, so we decided to have a simpler rice + vegetables + chicken meal, all the while admiring the quirky decor elements of the Estate House. The Bollywood lover in me had a feast! We also chatted with Sajan, the estate manager, who had himself just returned from Coorg. The night view from the Estate House was equally fantastic – lights from the isolated dwellings on the hills, and a starlit sky above.

Day 2: We just about made it in time for breakfast – Poori sabji, bread and eggs washed down with some excellent tea! There’s a little space below the courtyard level that offers a wonderful view, and that came to be our favourite eating spot. We asked Sajan for some outing options and he had two – a 40 km drive to Upper Bhavani or a 30 km drive to Coonoor. After much debate, we decided that we’d pursue the latter after lunch. We roamed around the plantation until lunch.

Lunch was the biryani we missed the previous night, and we set out to Coonoor at about 2.30. Thanks to Sajan’s precise directions, it took us just about 45 mins to get there. Splendid views all along the route. B, for some reason, got it into his head to see Wellington, a cantonment a little after Coonoor. What he specifically wanted to see was a golf course which apparently Tendulkar had visited. We never found it and B was the subject of much ridicule, though I later found that it does exist! We roamed around Coonoor hunting for a place to hang around and finally landed at the Gateway Hotel, a lovely property that has the Raj written all over it, including a hunting trophy from 1912. After a couple of beers, fish ‘n’chips and a fruit platter later, we decided to begin our journey back. Some fruit and plant shopping happened on the way. Dinner was standard fare and we watched Flight before a sound sleep!

Day 3: We decided to start our return trip immediately after breakfast – that turned out to be Rava Idli @ 9.30. 🙂 Sajan was kind enough to have one of the workers get us the jackfruits we’d been eyeing since the time we’d arrived! 🙂 He also gave us directions and even accompanied us for a bit. This time we didn’t get lost and made it to Ooty in just under an hour. There was much shopping to do – pickles, chocolates, spices – from Modern, which was also Sajan’s suggestion. Lunch was planned at Gundlupet, a slight detour from the Kanakpura route we’d decided to take. The Misty Rock hotel is exactly opposite the CCD we’d stopped at on Day 1, and its restaurant De Shell was our lunch stop. The unintentionally funny menu (check the image below) was the only solace while we waited and waited for our lunch to arrive. (Tip: order only meals or biryani if you’re in a hurry)

The Kanakpura route has small stretches of bad roads, and is relatively quite boring compared to the regular Mysore route. If you’re planning to take this route, prepare yourself for repeat stretches of farmland, hamlets, little towns and lakes that exist only on Google Maps. (blame the summer)

We reached in about 8.5 hours including the hour long lunch break – significantly better than Day 1. O’Land is a wonderful retreat from the concrete jungle, and the perspectives that nature provides when you allow it to, continue to amaze me. And we owe B and N one for a fantastic mini break! 🙂

April 16, 2014