They will take you through the rickety, broken roads that lead to one heaven on the earth , the ride howsoever bad is worth the potholes and random breaks every 2 minutes.
After approximate travel of 15 hours , damaged legs ,aching backbone we finally reached the destination, it was 5pm in the evening, we were suppose to reach by 2 pm!!The Hotel though had the word Resort in its name was nowhere close to a resort and located in the main city area, the picture on cleartrip and otherwise showed no structure anywhere next to the" RESORT" but there was anything but hotels lined up, i was dejected but my 2 optimist friends liked it and we settled in with hot bhajjis, french fries and innumerable cups of various kinds of Tea.
Morning started with not so good breakfast and search of a Cab with a good driver obviously which lead us to Munanr town which was 10 minutes walk from the Hotel. the Town center is not so big with all the major shops for spices, tea ,chocolates located here, the bus, taxi and auto stand. They were celebrating Ayuda also known as Dushera in most of the parts of the country and to mark the occasion all the vehicles, the taxis and autos were decorated profoundly with leaves ,garlands and lots of loud music which was capable enough to blast off your ears and patience in minutes time.
Our search lead us to Mr. Simon , a very soft spoken ,helpful, generous person which we only discovered during the trip. He would wait for us for hours at few points and wont complain, would click pics , he even suggested us to watch kalari which we would have missed otherwise. A true gentleman in every sense who made us like Mallus( not that we didn't like them beforehand)!!
One can visit lots of places around Munnar and everywhere they would handle you a 2 page pamphlet which will give you the 3 alternate routes and options to spend your day . The major attractions and suggested places are Anamudi Peak, Top station ,Echo Point ,Kundala Lake .There is a point know as "Elephant arrival Point", Its like any other point but going litlle further we discovered the most picturesque view . Lakeside amidst the mighty mountains and while we dipped our feet in the water relishing the sun playing hide and seek with the clouds in a no noisy tourist scenario we felt how blessed we are! Mr. Simon obliged and was patient to wait for us without any complains.
The next stop was at a street side market that was stretched for more then a km and catered to all the needs starting from food stalls, local wooden and other decorative stuff, coffee stall, local homemade chocolates . We filled our stomachs with plates of maggie, Mirchi bhajjia and hot tea!! What a filling meal it was .
As we moved further on the mountains and the height increased ,little droplets of water welcomed us with a spectacular view of the tea gardens , we have never seen so many shade of green altogether, wherever we looked it was either mountain slopes covered with tea plants or sky rocketing coconut tress, Mr. Simon en-lighted us with the fact that 75% of the estates are owned by Tata Group though not even one billboard of Tata anywhere. Top Station is located at at 6,170 ft offers offers a panoramic view of the majestic Western Ghats and the valley of Theni district. , you cannot stop but gaze at the beauty , the beauty with which all the mountains are placed , the creator is surely one hell of an artist!! We found out that you can also camp near top station , I am surely returning to this place to camp for few nights. After spending good 45 minutes we still didn't feel like leaving but Elephant ride and Kalari awaited us!!
We bid goodbye to the mountains and hopped on the 15 year old Julie aka elephant who offered us 15 minutes adventurous ride , we treated her with pineapples!!
Next stop was Kalaripayattu show which was awesome with dagger , aerial fights, jumping through flames , it did leave us in aww of the art and the artists. Kalaripayattu is an Indian martial art from Kerala and also one of the oldest in existence. We said goodbye to our Cab driver Mr simon with heartfelt thanks. Shopping at Krishna stores for homemade chocolates, lots of spices and dry fruits and the that completed with dinner at Guru's supposingly a famous restaurant which didn't get famous with us!!
Don't waste time going to Hydel park ,just a name and sheer wastage of time !!
Good ,fun-filled 2 days were over and it was time to hop onto one of those Red buses and head to Cochin. With a heavy heart ,packed lunch and a refreshed mind we boarded the bus . The trip concluded once we boarded the bus back to luru .Key points to Note if you are planning a trip to Munnar:
1. I will suggest taking a local bus from Cochin - Munnar - Costs just Rs 70 , gives you an amazing view and you wont feel mountain sickness!!
2. If you want to relax, relish the mountains dont stay in the town area!!
3. Atleast plan a 3-4 day trip to Munnar
4. Dont miss Kathakali and kalari
5. Don't book Kallada tours and travels ..:(
Its one Place you shouldn't miss if you are in South India, its definitely Heaven!!
