Shamrock Munnar

... jumper was still wet(if not wetter) from the day before. The air was so misty and humid up here that the clothes were not drying at all, so we handed them in that morning to get dried and some laundered, and were driving around in wet rain gear that soon dried in the wind... <br>We didn;t even make it to the sandalwood forest about 20-30km from the national park, because we did not have enough fuel. So all in all it did not seem like we did much today, but it felt like a full day ...

... and Liz felt as though she had had one of the best birthdays ever. The view was stunning with what looked like a carpet of tea plants interspersed with forests leading all the way to the coast 70 km away. Coming down was even more hair raising as we slipped and slid down the route on our backsides at times. Towards the lower slopes we passed the tea pickers, pinching out the top leaves from the tea plants on the steep sides of the hills and placing them in bags tied behind ...

... Buses and Taxis are available from Madurai. Madurai is also the closest airport. The other nearest airport is Coimbatore, which is 175 KM away. From Mumbai there is no direct flight to Madurai, but there are direct flights to Coimbatore. Thus it is cheaper to fly to Coimbatore. I flew to Coimbatore and took a taxi from there.<br> <br>If you are travelling my train then the nearest station is Kodai Road which is 80 KM away.<br> <br>The Kodaikanal hill station ...

... 1800m was the highest point we reached i believe), walked to a waterfall, saw some wild bison in a forest of sandal trees (the only place they are found) and finished off with a two hour trek in the Chinnar Wildlife Park. We didn't see much wildlife, but the views were amazing.<br>Its pretty cool up here, with a lot of the surrounding mountains lost in white cloud. (I debated ...

... ve got 3 blankets on our bed to keep warm!) but as soon as the sun comes up it reaches 27-30. On our first morning we're up at 5am to climb one of the local peaks. A jeep took us to the starting point (2000 m) and then at sunrise, we start our climb up to 2400 m. Some of the climb is very steep and I resort to mountain goat mode, on all fours. It was amazing and gave us the most spectacular views. Most of ...

... took one sniff and backed away while Rob muttered something about it being a bit early. We then spotted some fishermen punting along the riverbank, coming to sell their catch. Jos bought a healthy supply of spotted perch and, having eaten wonderfully for three days, we could only imagine the tasty curry that was to come for tonight's new guests. We met our new driver, SK (short for Sathesh Kumaran) who was to take us on the four hour drive from Kochi up to ...

... 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 ...

The best option to get a little bit cooler in Kerela is to head for the hills, about 4 hours east from the coast and backwaters you can meet the mountain range of the western ghats. Unlike many of the other mountainous regions in India, the land here is very fertile, when the British Raj ruled here vast spice, fruit, tea and coffee plantations were created, the land was eventually ...

... play with a kite in Toronto or in rural China or Baghdad. There's something so simple, so genuine and so human about it that it really makes you wonder why there's so much conflict in the world. All anyone really cares about is putting food on their plate, sleeping with a roof over their head and doing what's best for their children. Excuse my hippie rant, I am traveling through India after all. In the western world, we have these ...

... that I was on the verge of breaking down!! Although the revolting little maggot had already sucked my blood and dropped off I was still quite irrational (the definition of phobia I suppose) and there is no doubt I would have bawled my eyes out if they had to pull it off me. It was really quite a strange feeling as I had absolutely no control whatsoever of my reaction, which is disconcerting! We went to a few more waterfalls - each more ...