Mun-aaah-r

I had been to Munnar 10 years back ... After having spent 2 nights at Thekkady, we had then decided to go for a day excursion to Munnar . Today, after having visited and spent more time there, I realise why i didn't fall in love with this place the first time. Also, we were stuck en route in a jam due to a rally the last time... so it was quite an ordeal .

This time we made no mistakes and it was undoubtedly one of my best experiences.
We left Cochin at 6:30 am by a KSRTC bus to Munnar .The drive was pleasant as we passed through some amazing landscapes. Soon there were cardamom plantations and streams springing from everywhere. The weather was perfect .. it must have rained a few hours back .

A little more than 4 hours and we were there in the main town area.. We stepped into the first cafe that we saw called " Cafe Au lait " and we were very amused by the creative menu on display .. One thing that i realised in kerala is words are spelled as pronounced. For starters we had Lazzy ( lassi) . Some water Melan Juice, chocklate, egg fruit ( wonder what that is ) and for the adventerous soul in you - But butter !!!





We met Mohan, my contact in Munnar who took us by surprise with his amazing hospitality. After having a good meal at rapsy's we went to Eravikulam National park . The park ticket cost us about 80 rupees and we were taken in a bus around the park . we stopped after a while and we were allowed to walk around. We went past a huge waterfall and also saw the Anaimudi peak from a distance , which happens to be the highest peak in South India. Eravikulam Park happens to be the the home of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr. Our group managed to spot a few Tahrs...



After spending an hour there we were back on our to Munnar. We were lucky to spot a a herd of elephants. We could just stand there and admire the pachyderms for ever until a group of Punju uncles landed there and completely ruined the tranquility there.



Back to the base we were all set for a trek . The driver dropped off us at a point from where we were to begin our trek. The trek was through a tata owned tea plantation. Leaches on the way were not very kind to some of us , while some of us were lucky to have made it without donating a drop of blood.
our camp site was thick with vegetation which meant more leaches...It was freezing up there and we had fire to warm us ... Dinner was served at the glass house which was used in case of emergency or if campers weren't comfortable spending the night in the tents. The glasshouse also had a little kitchen and a room.After Dinner, we decided to zip ourselves in our sleeping bags and call it a day as we were exhausted after all the trekking.The skyline was absolutely breathtaking with the stars shining above us ... and we could see a lit up town called Theni far far away.
We woke up before the break of the dawn and viewed one of the most spectacular sunrises .. The sun hiding in between the hills and slowly changing from crimson to red.




The sun was out .. we were all set for short trek to a hill nearby which would give us a 360 degree view of the mountains. And it did .... we managed to trek through despite being attacked by different sizes of leaches.. we had entered their territory and they were hell bent on destroying the invaders.But then it was battle of size and they succumbed to our might.



The view from the top was great . After spending some time, we were back in the battlefield. We had few more strategies this time or perhaps the leaches were quite disappointed with the adulterated blood that they let us go quite easily.
Aloo Poori followed by chaya .. and we were ready to trek down with bag and baggage. we came across a number of tea plantation labourers and had some funny moments on the way back down ..



We were dropped to the Kundala lake where we went on a boat ride. The place was unusually touristy with loads of shops around and that was a bit disappointing but we nevertheless had a great time paddling and clicking ourselves.... We caught a local bus back to the town from there..





We were lucky to find a nice quaint place on top of a hillock for the second night and it turned to be quite cheap too. We were all totally knocked out so we decided to chill and take it easy . Next day we left at 11 for Cochin.. It was a close call as out train departed from Ernakulam at 5 . We just about made it on time and as we entered the railway station, we realised we were at the wrong station and it was 10 minutes to 5. More drama .. we caught an auto and rushed to the other station which was 4 kms away.

Watch this space to know if we did manage to get on the train the same evening ......................................

While the days slipped by from my window watching.........

Yes, finally after all the planning, we made it to Alleppey for the much talked about Boat race - the nehru trophy which takes place in the Punnamada Lake that is held on the second saturday of August every year coinciding with the independence day.

We couldnt manage direct tickets to Alleppey- so we caught a train from Bangalore Central to Ernakulam, from where we were taken in a Sumo to Alleppey. We just about managed to reach on time.
Without delaying any further, we hopped on and got ourselves comfortable. The Houseboat was rather small and we were 10 of us plus 7 staff members .. Pheww !! Wonder how it didnt capsize!

Quick freshening up followed by a sumptuous grub, we were sailing already towards the race venue and yeah the excitement building up slowly . As we got closer, we realised that we were late and all the good spots were already taken . There were many houseboats and we could see the overcrowded stands from the lake. After making a lot of noise, we coaxed the manager to get us closer to a decent spot..There were many types of boats very beautifully ornameneted and the participants in colorful mundus and lungis added to the whole festivity.




There was a spirit of festivitiy in the air ..We could see a lot of spirits had gone in as well as we saw the locals dancing , singing and drumming and getting into a total frenzy! Some of us got on top of our Houseboat to get a good glimpse of the race. We managed to get some pretty decent shots from there . Good Chaya followed by horrendous banana fritters and hoots from neighbouring boats were the highlights.
Felt like an F1 GP stand where you could feel all the excitement of being at the race but not knowing what was happening. Anyways , since none of us had any idea about the participants and the teams, it was all taken well.

The cordination and the colors and the whole setting was simply outstanding - definately a great experience.




Then it was the women... There were three snake boats and women dressed in white mundus and colorful blouses took the oars to create some Upr-oars!





Finally, the race was over ... the trophies were handed ... there were tears and there were smiles...

We were back in action and were already moving towards a supposedly "lonely island" to anchor the boat . Well, the island didnt seem lonely at all ... correction , it didnt seem like an island at the first place but i guess that's how tourist suppliers sell dreams ! hehe !
We were 10 of us and collectively we were loud ! so we made more noise and got them to take us for another quick sail bofore the sun set ...

Layers of mosquitto repellents and coils were applied which kept us away from falling prey to flying creatures such as the mosquitoes.

Dinner was followed by entertainment .. we had inhouse artists who mesmerised us with their fantastic performannces...

After a good night sleep , we woke up to the morning sun - nice and bright...