Royal Retreat Munnar

... in disbelief, knowing what awaits me. It's not cold but freezing. Up here it's also chilly. That combination does not register well with me, so early in the morning as I stand there shivering with teeth clacking together. I go for it and wash my hair, feeling a brain freeze coming on. Completely unhappy and downright in a foul mood I finish clearing my hair and get the horribly pink towel (which smells like ass), and jump into bed, trying to warm up. I spend over an hour and ...

... br>
We started @12am and both of them agreed to my thought finishing the lunch and trying Topslip as we heard and read in newspaper of wild elephants moving around there. I was pushing fast towards the guesthouse. Mohan asked me to stop the car as he found some blood drops in his legs. Damn we got down and see that it was bleeding from his feet, but can’t understand why. We started looking at his pant for leeches but nothing found… Sreeni rushed to his seat and ...

... from the leaky roof. Its unsleepable and we have had enough. We dump the mattress outside and have to create a sleeping platform of sorts from other mattresses from the dorms and extra blankets that we ’requisition’. Its all a bit rubbish, we change rooms the next day.
The next morning we go on a 5 hour hike with a guide around kodai and its all worth it, (although I’m still knackered from the train ride and maduari but ...

... a jumper). When your in Munnar it gives the town a rather gloomy feel, but when your out amongst the countryside, it gives the whole landscape a more mystical feel.
Its a big change from the coast of Kerala and a welcome one at that.
We fly to Bangalore the day after tomorrow, so are taking the long bus back to Fort Cochin tomorrow morning... Fun.

Kieran

... tea plantations are owned by Tata who in turn own Tetley so we are walking through and looking at our future breakfast tea leaves. We visited a tea mueseum which shows the whole process of drying and oxidizing.We're trying to get hold of some white tea but it's not readily available at this time of year. It's not a place to sample different teas unless you have a kitchen. All the cafes make chai from low ...

... hill station of Munnar. SK's been driving tourists around Kerala for 18 years and is a keen amateur naturalist and a great source of local gossip and stories. On reaching Munnar (elevation 1600m), it was fantastic, thrilling even, to feel cool again. The Windermere Estate is stylish and welcoming and thanks to the altitude doesn't even need air-con. If it sounds like we're obsessing about the heat, yes we are and this does at least accurately reflect the time ...

... Nadu, on the rainshadow side of the ghats is short on water, a common theme throughout India. Thus, TN needs to get water from Kerala. The forests form a sponge and filter for the water that falls to earth, trickles through the leaves, and enters into the groundwater. Eventually, it reaches a stream, which leads to a reservoir. Reservoirs cover large parts of the Western Ghats, providing water for millions and for farms. In the heart of Periyar ...

... to say that on February 7th, at 11:43am, in Kochi, India, I saw the world's biggest varpu. It was pretty big I guess. Varkala was amazing. We had planned to go for a three days and ended up staying for a week. It was the most ideal beach I've ever seen. Jordan and I spent most of our time mingle monsting our way along the beach and playing frisbee. We had one big crew chilling on the beach everyday. We met a couple of Swedes, a bunch of ...

... hills, through lush eucalyptus and pine forests and tea and coffee plantations. Back in the colonial days, due to the unbearable heat, the British sent expeditions up the Ghats to find hill stations they could retreat to. They found Ooty, established it as their summer retreat and built cottages, members club, tennis courts and a lake. By the sounds of it they also had a jolly good time and billiards, apprently was founded here. The town centre isn't quite as picturesque ...

... len und einfacheren Unterkünften für das Gesindel. Badeanlagen, Teehäuser, ja sogar eine eigene Bank beherbergt der gesamte Gebäudekomplex, dessen Archtitektur eindeutig chinesische Einflüsse aufweist und damit Zeugnis ist der ehemals weitreichenden Handelsverbindungen Südindiens. Kovalam selber dann ein mehr und mehr kommerzialisierter Touristenort, der trotzdem zumindest in der Nebensaison noch seinen Reiz hat. Anders als in europäischen Badeorten dominieren hier zumindest keine ...