Munnar (tea plantations) and getting there

                                                                  MUNNAR

Welcome to Munnar

Where: Munnar (tea plantations) and getting there
Where (less detailed): Southern India, central Kerala


our carriage awaits

 Weather: absolutely stotting it down on the first day, blinding sunshine the next, thick fog rolling in and out at least 5 times a day.
Temperature: around 35*c
Food: Excellent! Finally found spicy Indian curry, discovered Keralan parathas and will now trade 1st born for them, also discovered cardamon tea.

just breathe in that view

Locals: really nice, friendly and multi-taskers - our evening cookery instructor turned out to be our trekking guide the next morning.


Adventures/Highlights/Lowlights: a 5hr trip of a luxury 1950s bus (with shock absorbers removed) with a boyracer at the wheel...during bus pee break an old indian dude at the urinal over made absolutely no effort to hide the fact that he was staring at my shaft! to the extent that if my penis mugged an old lady this guy could pick it out of a penae line-up in a heartbeat...a the tea plantation video which informs viewers that its corporate responsibility programme consists of "rehabilitating" mentally disabled kids by making them to produce locally harvested strawberry jam, I never realised being disabled was a crime but good to learn of the healing powers of jam, nurse we've got a emergency here, get me some Hartley's origninal!....

Rhaani before she realises a small creature has been sucking her blood

oligatory arty shot



mark my words, you'll regret that rolled up sleeve



.....an easy 4hr hike that showed us just how under-prepared we are for the 14-day Himalaya adventure we have already booked...fresh from her mosquito ordeal Rhaani having 5 bloodsucking leaches attach themselves to her legs during the trek - turns out the old salt/slug trick is how you get them off ....realising toughness of trek might have something to do with the 10am-2pm timeframe we selected (Mad Dogs and Englishmen still apparently holds true).. timeframe definitely played a role in the severe sunburn Paul suffers despite liberal applications of factor30 sunblock - and yes mum I rubbed it in properly....our first tuk-tuk accident as our driver rear-ends the car in front... after a sunburn-interrupted nights sleep the 5hr return rollercoaster ride along windy, pot-holed mountain roads in a packed bus.

Up Next: Fort Kochi