Magical Munnar

Early apologies for the abundance of photographs. Too much beauty in Munnar to not share with you.

The rolling hills, cool atmosphere and tranquil surroundings made Munnar the sweetest treat. We stayed at a humble, adorable guest house named Zina Cottages. The host Velu was never seen without a smile. We tested that theory when we unexpectedly extended our stay there another night after he had already booked people to take our room.

Tea picking seen en route up the little hill to our guest house

The view from the "road" above our guest house. Went for a walk here our last morning in Munnar.

The view at the bottom of the hill- Eucalytus forest alongside a creek. I love this picture.

 The three days there were spent enjoying the natural beauty that surrounded us from every angle. After Mani, the auto-rickshaw driver, dropped us off at our guesthouse the first day, we decided to ask him to be our guide for the whole trip. So each morning he would meet us at the guest house and drive us to somewhere new. Destinations are pretty far apart so hiring a car or rickshaw seemed most efficient.

This is the best, and possibly the least realistic, ad for a rickshaw.

The first day we visiting Forest Flower Garden and drove around the mountainous town. We kept asking him to stop so we could take pictures and absorb the gorgeous surrounds (I can’t say that enough). We saw the most beautiful flowers at the garden and I fell in love with Dahlias. 

Bri, Mona and I admiring the beautiful flowers

Dahlias for days- new favorite flower!

I don't know what this flower's name is but I love it and know I've seen it in the west. Can anyone tell me its common name?

The most special part of the day, however, was the walk we did in a local valley village. We spent 45 minutes walking through a random village near Kundale Lake. We made friends and got some fresh carrots, as well as admired the tranquility of a creek in the hushed atmosphere.

Brianna, Mona, and I before we hiked down and around the village

Farm fresh

Mmmm- fresh carrots! Raw veggies were hard to come by, so we really enjoyed this treat 

Homes for the people living in the village- India really knows how to use color

I recorded this pristine creek because it sounded exactly like those CD nature sounds, but this was better since it was right in front of me.  

Day two was spent trekking in the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. We hiked 3 km to a beautiful, empty waterfall to swim. It was quite warm out and the treat of a cold water dip at the end of our trek was so worth it. We saw an insect similar to a secoida and heard its loud shriek (sounded like a rickshaw). Later we found a dead one on the floor and admired the beauty of its wings. Mother nature at its finest.

Yay- I can still do it! Tried to do my inverted nameste but the picture didn't turn out as well.  

Group pose in front of Thoovanam Waterfall (a reward after our 3 km trek in the heat)

And now we....JUMP!

We think this is India's version of a cicada. They're as loud as a rickshaw (not kidding) and camouflage insanely well against trees.

Our last day, or extra day, was spent at Cinnamon Garden learning about different plants and trees. We saw how cardamom, pepper, curry leaves, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric, allspice, and cacao grow. The most amazing was cardamom as we learned it grows pods next to the stalk and leaves of its own plant. Another interesting one was turmeric- I knew it was a root, but to taste it directly from the root was delicious and impressive.

The green pods here are cardamom and the stalks behind are part of the same plant

Turmeric!

Our tour guide, Philip, gave us paan leaves to eat. Mmm... 

The second half of our last day was spent at the “Tea Museum”. We were very lucky to have the process explained to us by one of the employees. Without that opportunity we wouldn’t have learned anything. Unfortunately the museum is barely related to tea and much more focused on the company’s manufacturing tea and the history of Munnar. A full entry on the tea making process to come…

Tea blog-entry teaser... 

Adorable Alleppey

The bus from Amritapuri to Alleppey- the one that started moving while I was still trying to get on- was just about 3 hours. We stayed at the Gowri Heritage Home in Alleppey, a beautiful bundle of about 15 rooms and huts in a lush garden. The management was a group of friendly and laid-back men in their 30’s. They seemed to have the best job, hanging out with their friends while making friends with happy travelers. I ended up chatting late with them one night after coming home from dinner and they ordered late night bites (parathas included- win!). It felt somewhat like a wholesome fraternity.

Our room is to the right, with the tree growing through the bathroom.

By the way, we had a tree in our bathroom

The city of Alleppey is known for the backwaters- most people come and stay in houseboats. We decided against that since it was crazy expensive and we hadn’t heard great reviews about the experience. Instead, we hired a boat to cruise through the backwaters one afternoon. We saw villages with homes only accessible by water and ooh’ed and aww’ed at the lush landscape filled with rice patties. There was also a cute side cafe where we enjoyed a coconut snack. 

Mona, me and Bri on our boat tour

Trying to enjoy the coconut snack, but struggling very much to get the meat out- well captured, Bri. 

If I were to do it again, I would either take the local “bus” or a canoe through the backwaters. We had fun on our little boat, but the noise of the motor should’ve been avoided. In either case, the narrow canals were the best.

North canal lined with boats and trees- red jacaranda tree peeking out in the back

Typical scene in the backwaters

The cutest friends going for a cruise

Comical Kanyakumari

Our first stop on our South India tour was Kanyakumari- the southernmost tip of India. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), known as the wandering monk, opened an ashram there on a huge piece of land. He’s known for bringing yoga and the Vedanta philosophy to the west, as well as bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion.

The ashram there was very quiet and not active, like the one I stayed at in Neyyar Dam for YTT. Our rooms were…modest to say the least. It was there, though, that I learned the importance of plugging in my “Good Knight” (an electronic mosquito repellent) as the one night I forgot, I woke up with 16 mosquito bites…on my forehead. On the plus side, it was located on a huge property with tons of beautiful birds inhabiting the area and enlightening quotes scattered about. 

Peacock posing for us 

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not for every man's greed" Mahatma Gandhi

Sunsets and sunrises are a very popular thing to do in town and we tried to view both. The sunset was gorgeous. The town is known for being the meeting point for the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, and Bay of Bengal. While that doesn’t actually mean anything when you’re staring out at the water, it was a beautiful sight nonetheless. The sunrise, however, was more of an experience than usual. First of all, there were probably 200 people trying to view the sunrise from the same location. Secondly, the sky was crazy hazy so the sight wasn’t really that spectacular. Lastly, and most amusing, everyone stared at Brianna and I felt like I was traveling with a celebrity. Multiple people asked to have their photo taken with her. So, I did what I thought was reasonable and took a picture of them taking a picture with her. So much comedy. I felt like her spokesperson sometimes.

Brianna being a celebrity, me being silly

The beautiful sunrise

With less to do in town, we ended up grabbing pomegranates to munch on and walking around the town close to shore. It was beautiful to see all the colorful homes and try to communicate with the kids and families.

Colorful homes along the coast

Dinner was eventful both nights we were there. Night one was another episode in Indian hospitality. There was a group of travelers on a yatra (spiritual pilgrimage) that wanted to take pictures with Brianna. We obliged and as they were communicating with her I realized they were speaking Gujarati. I was so excited to try and communicate! They asked where we were from and what we were doing there and then invited us for dinner. We accepted and dined with them later. It was such a sweet gesture and I was excited to explain Gujarati cuisine to Bri.

Typical gujarati meal: kitchidi, roti, sabji, and athanu

Dinner on night two was amazing (I’m drooling as I write this) because it was our first encounter with Kerala parathas. Oh my god. They are delicious. Our obsession continued throughout the trip and I’m pretty sure I have a pound or two to attribute to that obsession.

The most delicious streetside treat: fresh parathas