The tea plantations of Munnar.

This was an inland side trip we took from Cochin. We heard a lot of recommendations about this place and it would also be our first time so far away from the sea. We went on a KSRTC (Kerala State Road Transport Corporation) bus. We've had shorter journeys on these buses so knew what to expect, but you can't really prepare yourself for the five hours of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual torment you are put through! We were almost first at the queue at the bus station so managed to get our rucksacks in the only real available storage space right at the front of the bus. Unlike European buses there aren't any dedicated luggage areas.

There aren't any windows either apart from the front and rear windscreens. There are concertina style blinds at the side that can be dropped if the sun, wind or noise become too unbearable. So.....we ended up sitting behind the driver. His face is an oasis of calm but I can only begin to imagine the carnage that is going on in his mind. Grand Theft Auto is perhaps the closet. His mission was to steal a bus full of people and drive it as fast and as chaotically as possible up a winding mountain road, leaning on the horn for a minimum of twenty seconds at least every twenty seconds.

His driving position is stripped of anything superfluous, the cloth on his lap used for mopping his face and drying the steering wheel of sweat. There is no malice with his driving. He has right of way over everybody else. The problem is is that everybody has right of way over everybody else. It's all down to intent, size of vehicle, width of road and loudness of horn. After a couple of hours the towns started giving way to the greenery......

When we finally got to Munnar it seemed the place was just a traffic jam. This is mainly because there are four roads that converge over a small gorge with a river beneath. They are in the process of building a new or second bridge so this should ease the problem.

And so we booked into a six bed dormitory a few kilometres above and outside of the main town. This is something we will not do again. Accommodation was scarce at the time we booked and we thought this would be ok. At about nine o'clock an Indian family from Mangalore took the other four beds and we all had a chat together for some time. Initially all was well and I fell asleep quite quickly probably due to the tiring journey. At about midnight I awoke to the sound of snoring. Very loud snoring. Snoring so loud that it bounced off the concrete walls and I could feel the sound pressure move through me. The father awoke and clambered down from his top bunk and went to the toilet. When finished and back in bed he was asleep again within four seconds. And remained asleep for the rest of the night. Why can the noisiest sleepers do this? I could now hear Ulli below me unzipping and searching for ear plugs. I did the same, but it was futile. I could still hear and feel it. And so I resorted to my ipod (other mp3 players are available). This was only mildly successful on louder tracks. And so went my night, five or so hours of slowly drifting off and waking again. 

The next day we hired a rickshaw and the driver showed us around the area.

Below is a tree which the local honey bees have called home. We were told that this tree was the only one in  the local area that they occupy. 

We also saw this poor chap who judging by the potholes around his rear feet spent far too long chained here.

On the up side if you can see the three shapes on the far side of the lake that is a family of wild elephants who according to our rickshaw driver were on our side the day before.

The colours and terrain seemed very European to me.....

These colourful dwellings were on the outskirts of Munnar.

There were eucalyptus trees and dams everywhere.

We went over the border into Tamil Nadu for the first time but at 1875m the view was marred by mist.

Back down in Munnar we were greeted by the evenings call to prayers from both the Hindus and Muslims who seem to live together happily enough.

Ulli and I have our own temples. These are the places where the locals eat. More often than not the food is better than produced in more expensive hotels and restaurants and the locals love to watch us eat. And yes, that is a plate of fried green chillis in the foreground, the Keralan dishes not always hot enough for us!!