Moving to Kodaikanal on a Journey Towards Self Reliance

This post is about the process of moving to Kodaikanal so I could visit and work on our land on a regular basis.

In the first few months of 2017 my father and I visited our land on a recurring basis to plan and implement its development. It soon became clear that I would have to move to Kodaikanal to directly oversee the progression of work. We were outsiders to the town and had to figure out the logistics of how I could live and commute there.

On our visits to Kodaikanal my father and I used to stay in a boutique hotel called Mount Pleasant that my dad chose as it was a few kilometers away from the heart of the town and on the road towards our land. Over time we developed a friendship with the owner, Mr. Najmal who has always been a great host to us. I had mentioned to him that I was looking for a place to stay in Kodaikanal. It would've been too expensive to live in the hotel itself, but Mr. Najmal suggested I could stay in an unused room in the staff/manager quarters within the same plot as the hotel. I would be able to access the hotel facilities while retaining my own privacy. We agreed on a monthly fee of 8000 rupees which is roughly about 150 USD that included food and electricity. The room itself is rather minimal, but I decorated it the best I could and I don't miss having a kitchen because the food the hotel provides is delicious. Most of my day is spent visiting the land or the town, and the room is a comfortable cozy place to retire to. I had some money left from my previous design project that would cover the costs of living in a room in Kodaikanal for a couple of months at least. After finalizing the deal with Mr.Najmal, I moved into my room in Kodaikanal in March of 2017. Though the room is quite close to
town, the area has an atmosphere of serenity and is beautiful both by day and by night.

We'd figured out my living situation, but still needed to find a way to get around town and commute to the land that is around 22 kilometers away from my room in town. To do that I decided to purchase the cheapest small 100cc bike I could find without too much of a waiting period for delivery. We settled on the Honda Navi which isn't the most suitable bike for the hills but is solid enough to get me from point A to B. Kodaikanal is around 530 kilometers away from my hometown of Chennai. A larger, faster bike may have been able to do that trip easily, but my little Navi couldn't, so we put it on a train to Madurai, the closest town to Kodaikanal with a train station. Soon enough I had my bike in Kodaikanal enabling me get around town. 22 kilometers is a fairly long ride for a commute, and I would have dreaded it if it were in a metropolitan city. The roads of Kodaikanal are beautiful and the ride involves going through a forest and a lot of fun windy bits. After motoring as far as my little bike will take me, I have to hike the remaining distance to the land. The entire journey takes around an hour and a half, with every meter offering a beautiful and unique view. I'm perhaps one of the few people who enjoys the commute to work with no traffic or stress but a feeling of wonder and joy.

Through some planning and good fortune we had figured out a way for me to live and operate out of Kodaikanal. Everything was setup to begin our journey towards self reliance on our piece of land.

The picture of Mount Pleasant from the outside was taken from their tripadvisor site.
Visit it here to learn more about the hotel and see more pictures.

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manouche (53) · 7 years ago

Is that starry night for real!? The room looks amazing. I'm definitely dropping by when I come back from Korea.

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soulturtle (55) · 7 years ago

I did boost the saturation in those pictures, but yeah that's what the stars are like. Even better in real life. You should definitely come by. By that time I may even have a hut built on the land!

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cecirod1218 (57) · 7 years ago

What a beautiful place you live in! You got a great deal and your room looks so pretty, I'm happy you got your bike and that you don't mind how long it takes to get from point a to point be, your awesome loved your post❤️ peace and love

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Yeah, I am quite lucky how everything worked out and fell into place. Thank you for dropping by and looking through this post :) You're awesome too!

zakludick (58) · 7 years ago

Like I said in a previous post... you are living the life man!

Indeed, life is awesome :)