June 10-13 – In Coorg

From Goa, we moved on the heavenly Dubare Inn. Sitting up in the mountains, right next to a river, Katie and I had a cottage next door to Sandy and Bob. From our front porch, we would watch the river and receive incredibly attentive service (even by Indian standards) from the Dubar Inn staff. It was during our first afternoon there that we got our first taste of the elephants. Kicking back for our four o’clock tea break, two mahouts rode and elephant up to the river and proceeded to cross over to the elephant camp. It was a spectacular beginning. The next day, we rode a boat over to this elephant camp, run by the Karnataka state government and got to bathe, ride, and watch the elephants being fed.

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Feeding the Elephants

Next door to the Dubar Inn was a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. Two teenage boys walked us over there and described the meanings of the temple, the lifestyle of the priest (who lives right next door to the temple), and the rituals that are performed within the temple. The priest was very friendly and walked us through eating some food of the gods and drinking some sugary water. At the end Bob, Katie and I had red dots on our forehead and a slightly confused look as to what really happened in there.
Shiva's Temple near Dubare

The next day our outing was to the ‘Golden Temple,’ part of a stirng of Buddhist temples that mark the path of Buddha from northern India to Sri Lanka. This temple also had a monastery full of monks ranging in age from 5-75. It was quite a sight to see some of the teenagers whipping about on motorcycles in their orange and red robes.
Bob, Sandy and Katie Outside the 'Golden Temple'

The Buddhist Golden Temple near Madekeri

It was at the temple that we met a very friendly couple from Bangalore and Prshant helped to explain to us more about the meditation and spiritual aspects of both Buddhist and Hindu temples. He even read Bob and Sandy’s palms and had them both pegged! Katie and I are looking forward to meeting up with them when we go to Bangalore.

On the way out we had some fun!
Do Not Urinate Here

Overall, we loved the Coorg region. Cool, no spicy, and yum yum food with lots of time for tea breaks. Take me back there any day.