Day 4 - Munnar

-

 It was lovely this morning to step out onto the terrace to a nice cool 18 degrees ! The views from the terrace were amazing.




Showered and dressed, we went up via the lifts for the buffet breakfast. Iddlies for me and pancakes for Dave. We met Dennis at 9.30 and started the first activity that he had planned for us today, 

A trip to a tea museum. Quite an interesting video and a good simulation of the tea making process.


After that it was off to down town Munnar, with a visit to the market. Now that was an eye opener!  Getting right in amongst it here! 

It was really busy and we couldn't find a park, so ended up a steep hill, and walking down past the Mt Carmel church.


Then on down into the busy town below. The pictures speak 1000 words ...

       Looking down over the centre of town



                                   Market
            lindian Ferraris on the start line

Lifesized elephant made from waste plastic bottles

By now the day was heating up so we came back up to the hotel for lunch, then off on the next part of the adventure.

This afternoon was to be a jeep (well Mahindra) safari.  We had a new driver for that - Ahmed. The first place was the Chunayanmakkal falls. The road was shocking with huge potholes, and deep wheel tracks. Worse than a forestry road in NZ. It only a short walk to the falls




                                     The Falls

 Ahmed has a bit of imagination when it came to cell phone photos....



Ahmed & Fathima

We headed back to the nearest wee town and on the way picked up another bloke. He had a big bag of cardamom seeds, which he took to be weighed and no doubt was paid for. Next thing, Ahmed jumped out and this new bloke (we never found out his name) took over the driving. OMG hang on tight ! He raced back to where they had arranged to pick up Dennis. 

Dennis hopped in and we were off ! Next stop was about an hours drive away to visit a spot called Tigers Cave, we had to be there before the park closed at 4.30. It was a short walked through the bush to an area where tigers used to live. They moved out after the 2018 floods in the area. So no tigers today. The temp had risen by now to 33deg and really muggy.

The cave was really only rocks positioned as to create a shelter. It was a bit of an effort to get in there, the humidity was really high.

                 Track through the  bush


                              Tigers Cave
Elephant poo on the track (old stuff)

We next traveled to Anakulam, where Dennis assured us that elephants would come down to drink the water bubbling up from the riverbed. It was quite a popular thing ! We got a park in a prime position and waited, and we had to wait quite a while, until dusk.  Dennis had prepared the fruit we bought from the day before to eat while waited

I had nearly given up, it was almost dark when one small elephant appeared at the riverside.





Comments

  1. EdApril 14, 2023 at 1:57 AM

    Kia ora Whanau, you are getting to see real examples of a very different country, the view from the hotel looks very green, guessing tea plantations, not grass for livestock. Chips and a very well filled toasted sandwich for lunch with fruit could be NZ. All well in our world, delighted to be sharing your adventures, thank you Ed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 14, 2023 at 8:39 AM

    Glad all is well Ed. We were thinking of you today. You would enjoy people watching here

    ReplyDelete
  3. Vicki BrightApril 14, 2023 at 2:42 PM

    You will need a holiday when you get home. You have full days. It all looks fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JanineApril 15, 2023 at 8:32 PM

    Clever photos

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 20. Universal Studios, Singapore.

-
Image
 After our big buffet breakfast, then we were off to the Universal Studios Theme Park which is one stop along on the Monorail.  Kerryn had prepaid the entry so that we could escape the queues.  A warning ... you do not by-pass the queues at all. You still have to line up and exchange your voucher for a ticket, so might as well not bother. Eventually we got in and it is really good with scenes and rides based on various films. There is a Hollywood Street, Shrek, Jurassic Park, Battlestar Galactica, Transformers, Minions & Sesame Street areas Some things weren't open, and many of the eating places were shut, which was disappointing, but overall, it was a good day. River Rapids ride with Dave & Hollie. Got soaked ! Drowned rats. Hollie not impressed More up Hollies alley ! Too much today ! I was wet right through, head to toe from the soaking we got on the Jurassic Park rapid adventure ride.  It was very hot and humid, but I didn't dry out completely ! So after ...
Read more

Day 21. Homeward bound.

-
Image
 Sat 29th April. Today we have to pack up and get ready for the long flight home. But we have the whole day to fill in as the flight doesn't leave till 11.45 pm. The girls had enjoyed the hotel pools, so we let them have a good time there for the morning, they will have to sit still for a long time tonight. Our bags were stored at the hotel until we would come back later to pick them up, before heading to the airport. We went over to the Vivo mall for some lunch then off to the Marina Bay Sands building, hoping to get to the top. That was no problem, just say you want to go to the bar, and you are able to get to the 57th floor  and the Lavo bar. There were fantastic views. As luck would have it - it was Happy Hour 😊 Dancing Queen Off again, this to have a look at the super trees down in the gardens in daylight. It was getting a bit late to visit the Cloud Forest or Flower Dome, so we took the kids to a playground there instead. It was really hot and humid (again) after a whil...
Read more

Days 9 & 10. Houseboat at Alleppey then off to Kannur

-
Image
 Today we left Kollam to drive to Alleppy for our overnight houseboat cruise. There were the usual sights to see on the road along the way Cafe made from containers 5 on the scooter. Mum has another child on her knee Only 4 on this one Situation normal At the moment there is a new motorway being built from Kollam to Bombay. Where there is a building in the way, the building is cut back the the new roadline, leaving some interesting sights. The government has compensated the owners. Some places have been rebuilt. There are others with only the rear wall left standing. Arrived at Alleppy where the Spice Routes Base is. A lovely old wooden building that used to be a rice store, but totally restored. There are rice fields all around the area, and the houseboats cruise along the major inland waterways. The houseboat cruises are the major tourist attraction in the area. Spice Routes jetty  Our boat (Saffron) was a beauty. 2 storied, with 3 crew. A luxurious lounge when you first get...
Read more