Day 3 - The Road to Munnar

 This morning we had to pack our bags and leave the Brunton Boatyard and be driven to Munnar, a distance of 132 km. We start the day at sea level then climb into the mountains to an altitude of about 1240m. 

It was quite sad saying goodbye. We had been treated so well during our stay.

Jyotika & Abhinav

We drove through Kochi city. Kochi is built over a number of rivers and inland waterways. It seemed to go on and on. Dennis explained that there would be buildings the whole way to Munnar. No real breaks for countryside - and he was right !

 Of course it is not like in NZ . Once you get out of the heart of the city most buildings are only one or 2 stories.  Many ramshackle huts line the roadside, selling fruit, veges, drinks and larger establishments selling anything else you might want. There were eventually a few more trees and vegetation to be seen. A surprising number of sawmills along the way too, surprisingly, mainly cutting teak, we were told.  There seems to be a lot of local building going on, and we saw a good number of really big  flash, houses and the other sort as well.

A bit further on and Dennis parked up. He had spotted a rubber plantation, so we hopped out and had a quick look.

Had to carry on as a bloke in his tuk tuk was waiting patiently to be able to set up his roadside stall for the day. Selling clothing, we think.

Passed through Murattupuzha, seemed to be a bit of a hub where there are many connecting roads. Shortly after Dennis again pulled over, this time to stop and a reasonably large shop selling fruit and vegetables and of course other assorted groceries. We looked at all the fruit, made a few purchases for tomorrow and carried on.

Kiwifruit from Italy !! How rude.

A type of lychee

The road by now was beginning to rise up a bit and the vegetation was getting thicker

Dennis pulled over again and asked me to hand over a couple of the small bananas that we had bought.  There a a wee band of monkeys on the side of the road. Denis threw them the fruit, while I got out to get some pics. I wasn't allowed to feed them from outside the car, as they would likely climb up and could scratch. Monkeys can carry rabies, so Dennis was having none of that on his watch ! But they were so CUTE 😍 

One interesting thing was when looking ahead at one stage seeing 2 tuk tuks coming down the road side by side towards us ! Situation Normal.

Next stop was to visit the World Fun Farm. A little overstated. It is a place where we you can see carp (big goldfish) and let them suck on your feet. We fed the fish and they all came round our feet which were dangling in the water. Quite tickly, but not unpleasant. You can hold the food loosly in your closed hand, and they will come and suck the food out. You can pat the fish and lift them up with your feet

           

Then we were off on a bamboo raft, with the fish following along as we fed them

On the road again and we next came to Green Leaf Spices and herbal garden, where we were shown the different trees and what their properties are. Then we were ushered into the shop to make a sale of the natural remedies. Outside the shop was a big jackfruit tree

By now it was about 4pm, and apart from the fruit, we hadn't had any lunch. Dennis stopped at Hotel NovArk. A really nice looking building. We just had a light snack and a drink and carried on.

After that the road got progressively narrower, windier and steeper. Going round one corner we saw our first elephant, taking people for a ride. Soon we were in the mountains and tea plantations.  

A stop for more pics and in the distance we could see our hotel.

                   Fragrant Nature Hotel. 

          The white building in the distance

It's an amazing place ! Built on the side of the mountain, I think it is about 12 or 13 stories high. We are on the -7 floor ! 

On arrival we were greeted with a bindi and  small cups of peppermint tea. We were set down in elegant chairs in front of a huge window, looking down the valley that we had just driven up. A breath taking view, especially if you don't like heights.

We were taken down to our room via a glass sided lift to the -4th floor, across a nice terrace down a corridor, then down in another lift to the -7th floor. All very confusng. However the room is nice, with our own private terrace and little garden.

We sat admiring the view and enjoying the cooler air (27 deg) before retracing our steps up to level +1 to the restaurant. An extensive menu, and the meal was good.  

        Back to the room to work on the blog