We had a late start which meant we could explore Munnar in the morning. It is a lovely town, nestled in the hills, with a river and many flowers and trees. We went to the market, much smaller and more practical than the one in Mysore, but interesting in a different way. for me the highlights were the man sewing together garlands from flowers (see portrait) and the man getting rid of excess onion skins from his onions by tossing them in the air from a basket and blowing, so that the loose skins flew away and the clean onions stayed in the basket. I got a great picture of the onions in the air!
Today we had a short drive of only 110 kms, but it seemed like a longer distance and took nearly 5 hours, with a few stops, because the roads were very winding – a bend every few yards! The tea plantations were very beautiful. We stopped many times for photos, and at the top, before we started to descend towards Thekkady, we stopped at roadside viewing point for a delicious cup of ginger and lime flavoured tea. Katy bought passion fruits, and I bought roasted cashews. But we couldn’t see the view because we were in the clouds.
The hotel in Thekkady is lovely (and has internet! For me part of the definition of “lovely”!). We went to look round the shops, but found them too touristy, not very authentic. There was one shop that had beautiful antique bronze statues of Hindu gods. These were quite beautiful, but very heavy, so impossible to carry, and on the expensive side.
Tonight, after dinner, we are promised some local entertainment, so there may be more pictures of that tomorrow. Tomorrow is our last driving day, from Thekkady to Cochin. we will be leaving quite early in the hope of reaching Cochin in good time. Tomorrow night is the final party, when we are all going to dress up in our Indian clothes we have been buying along the way (Katy has just ordered a sari to be made before we leave in the morning). It should be quite a sight. After that, I have to leave the next day, and Katy will meet her friends for a further two week holiday in India.
More tomorrow. meanwhile, pictures from today follow.
