At the turn of the 20th century, enough people had made Kodai their home to start schools for children. One of these schools was named Loch End where several of our elder siblings and cousins were taught in early elementary years. I can only imagine the emotional difficulties mothers (and fathers) faced when they sent their young children (sometimes under 6 years old) to a boarding school for several months at a time.

At the present, Loch End is rented by Kodaikanal International School (KIS) which uses it to house teachers and their families along with several other ongoing uses. KIS--a long-standing secondary school with a well-deserved repuation for excellence has a Christian heritage as it was founded by several Christian missionary organizations. Today, it has a faculty and student body that represents countries around the world on a campus that is the envy of many schools around the world.

The day we left Kodai we drove over one set of mountains and traveled through the City of Pollachi which sits in the valley between to ranges in the Western Ghats. As our goal was to visit one of the many wildlife sanctuaries in the Western Ghats, we stayed in a stll-being-developed "Thirichitrambalam Palace." Our stay was restful and enjoyable but felt a bit uncertain as the main office was a fair distance away from our individual house-rooms and the kitchen-cum-restaurant was staffed cooks and waiters who were friendly but we all suffered slightly from confusion of each other's expectations...we couldn't quite figure out if we were to order food from our rooms or go to the kitchen to request service. Ultimately, it all worked out for the best.. That said, if we were to do another trip to the region, we would have elected to stay within the boarders of the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary to support their eco-programs and spend more time in exploration.

After one night's stay at the "anaimalai farm house/palace", we headed back up the mountains to see what India has done with its amazing flora and fauna at the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary (also called a Tiger Reserve). Upon arrival, we decided to go on a 3-hour bus tour of the 250 square mile sanctuary. While we did not see any Tigers, we did see the world's largest Teak tree named Kannimara. At several hundred feet tall, the tree reminds me of the Redwood trees in northern California with its massive trunk that would take 10 or more men to reach around at its base. Also in the tour were huge bamboo stands, visually-stunning reservoirs, unusual birds, and a single wild bull elephant and several species of monkeys...one of which jumped into our empty bus, rummaged through a few bags, and left with a bag of candy. We have proof as the guilty simian was photographed intentlyremoving the wrapper from the candy not a few feet away from our bus.

While we weren't riding in our mini-bus, visiting historic landmarks, and ogling at natural beauty, our troupe couldn't quite get away from the western pasttime of shopping. India, like most democratic countries, has a plethora of shops all catering to a wide variety of needs and interests. Big western-style stores are a rarity in India as so many shops are family-owned and run and tend to be small and jamb-packed with goods. Our focus was more on India-specific handicraft items so every place we visited included a search for items we would enjoy sharing with family back in the USA. This often took the shape of wood-working items such as elephant carvings, metal-worked hangings and idols, or silk fabrics.

India shop-owner usually take pride in their stores and wares and want to provide excellent service and sometimes go overboard trying to please the customer. It wasn't uncommon to see 4 or 5 helpers attending to just one of our group. We couldn't tell if they were wanting to help or just trying to "be involved" in an unusual (i.e. American) shopper. Regardless, one of the key things to keep in mind in shopping in India is that the "relationship" between the customer and the seller is almost (and sometimes more) important than the item being purchased. The back-and-forth of haggling is part of the "joy" of India and shouldn't be looked as a hassle...it's just a time to have tea and cookies while playing a friendly pricing game. It's OK to win or lose or walk away as long as you don't go away upset or disappointed...just another fine memory in exchange for a few dollars (rupees) and something unusual in your house or for a family-member's gift to remember you by. That said, if you are looking at a commodity or mass-produced item (soda, foodstuffs, candy, medicine, etc.), the price tends to be fixed.