Saj Jungle Village Thekkady

... drops; anti-tussin sore throat lozenges. Now I'm lost. I've skippd so many note writing nights that I don't know where I've been. So I'll start with today. We awoke in the Olive Brook Inn outside of Munnar, a hill station famous for its tea estates. After stopping to buy an armload of anti-cough drugs, we set off for Evrikalum National Park for a 20 minute hike up the hill to see Nilgiri goats and possibly other ...

... development and thick jungle to tea and spice plantations as far as the eye could see. After stopping at a church and seeing a local shrine or two, we hit the road. It was quite an experience seeing one of them; the shrine to the Virgin Mary is pelted by Rupee coins as passerby chuck them out the window. We finally pulled into Kumily and go to relax a little bit for the night. Rosalie had her 21st Birthday today ...

... the backwater canals and I realized one thing: This part of Kerala is not "The Venice of India" as many of the books claim (while others claim that Udaipur is "The Venice of India"). As is clear in the pictures, this area is "The Redwood Shores of India." Anyway, back to the bus rides. The buses here work great. They go everywhere we need to go, they're cheap, and they're extremely frequent. I love it. The buses work something like this: Each bus is ...

(Jim) The Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, 777 square kilometers of mountain, lake and forest, was once the Maharajah of Travancore's private hunting preserve. (Those maharajahs lived like, well, maharajahs.) It has been a wildlife reserve since 1933. Based on the pictures in our itinerary, we came here expecting to see a riot of wildlife, especially playful herds of wild Indian elephants. Fat chance. Most of what we saw were excursion boats ...

... This is about 115 miles.) After two and a half hours of constant beeping while trying to pass busses, tik-tiks and motorbikes on winding two lane roads, we know it is no joke. 30 mph is flying on India's roads. The roads, even between good-sized cities, are narrow, often potholed, usually unlined. Lanes, in the sense of corridors within which you confine your travels, are in practice nonexistent. Within a quarter ...

... and there was a power cut. Our hotel was in the jungle/rainforest. We have spices and fruits all around us. We went on a fabulous, fabulous elephant ride through a cardamom plantation, it was amazing. The elephants were so calm and lovely. We saw a two month old baby with its Mum. The elephant sat down and we sat on its back and it sprayed us. We then scrubbed its back with a coconut husk, it was so much fun. We went to a Spice Garden, where we tried a Rose Apple, which was a bit ...

... famous for the quality of its education. Since their fathers were all pharmacists with big buisnesses whats more natural than to send your son to India where he can get a good and cheap educatiuon in english. Someone has to take over the buisness someday after all! The party ended at around 3 p.m. and with promises to meet up with them next time we were in Ooty Julie and I left fore our hotelroom. after we had arrived Julie ...

... the various islands. You saw tons of fishing for clams which is the main form of fishing. You also saw 'dirt thieves'. Basically, people come out and steal dirt from the bottom of the channels (they aren't that deep). I am not sure what the dirt is then used for but it was funny to watch. Basically these tiny wooden canoes filled with dirt to the point that they look like they are about to sink. We stopped at one of the islands and saw ...

... a glutinous and hilarious breakfast (usual combination- we never get exactly what we ordered, but we go big just in case.) After breakfast we walked around town and checked email (I love my family so much) then I decided to go for a massage, my second ever and my first in three years. Naked and nervous I got oiled up and rubbed down. It was an interesting feeling- I felt like I was being reminded of my entire body. It was like being born- slippery and vulnerable ...

... area. Yesterday we went to Tirunelveli, a 45 minute bus ride away. It is home to a 14 acre Temple built around 1300. It had very beautiful stone carved pillars everywhere and a temple elephant that would bless you if you put a few ruppees in her trunk. We also visited a sari department store which was an experience! Four floors of fabric and tons of people. Managed to buy a tunic and trousers which at first seemed massive on me but after wearing them for a day i now ...