T&U Leisure Hotel Munnar

... the mountainside, the serpentines disappearing behind the screeching brakes, the burning of rubber and carbon mingling to make an acrid smell in the air, reminding the boys of pistol smoke. The thought soon disappeared, as even Fabor felt like looking out the window and taking deep breaths of the occasional fresh breeze that cut through the smell of burning brakes, to suppress the need for spewing back the morning white Russian and caviar. <br>The bus never slowed for the speed bumps ...

... 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 ...

... Maharaj, from the library. The Bodhi Zendo library has a good collection of books. Meditation is going on well. I am thinking that I must come again for a slightly longer duration.<br> <br>Complete silence is maintained during Sesshins. There is one hour of samu (selfless service) daily. I was assigned to the Japanese stone garden. I have always liked the stone gardens and just the other day I was thinking that I should build one, if I ever built my own ...

... Munnar is generally known for its sprawling tea plantations which can be attributed<br> to J.D. Munro, who, in the 1870s, realized the crop growing potential of the land<br> while hunting, and leased about 600 sq km of land from Poonjar Raja who had control<br> over the land. After trying several crops, the first settlers of the area recognized<br> that tea is the ideal product to be ...

... maybe a hundred workers cottages and there are areas of land for peole to grow their own veggies. We took rickshaws out into the hills and one day we went to Lakkom Waterfalls which were pretty nice. Our driver new of a "secret" place nearby through a tea filed where we could swim which was brilliant, and we had the pool to ourselves. The clear mountain water was freezing (!) it took our breath away ...

... we was going to be a bit naff but we were wrong !!We met a lovely couple from Mumbai who were on their honeymoon. They had run away and got married against their families wishes (different castes).We all danced around a bonfire to some great Hindi/Punjabi/Bollywood tracks.We all had an unexpectedley great time and will always be hoping that things will work out fine for the newlyweds

We took a car to Munnar - a 4 hour journey up swerving mountain roads to the hill stations of Munnar - approx 1600 - 1800 meters above sea level. On the way - about an hour in - we had a puncture! The driver changed the tyre in the middle of the road, making us really nervous but we were on our way in no time! Upon arrival in Munnar we discovered that it was the busiest Saturday of the year due to the school ...

since our arrival in south india just over a week ago, our trip has taken on a different flow. goodbye to days of wandering through cities and falling through sewer grates, hello to the gentle breeze up your sarong and the blackness on the underside of your now flip-flopped feet. our time in north india was comprised of sight after sight after sight: from temple to mosque to taj mahal to fort and then back again. we covered an incredible amount of ground in a few short ...

Up and over the mountains, the 48 km to munnar took half a day. In some places the air got actually chilly, and i had to put on a jacket to ward off the cold. The sky threatened rain, though I only saw a couple of drops. arriving in Munnar, I saw another typical Indian town, lined with shops, signs everywhere, and went straight up the side road to the section of town where they fix all things mechanical. There is a sort of loose districting of these towns, there will be a bazaar ...

... whilst the local photographer tried to take our picture (we didn't buy the pictures of course!). After some Kashmiri emporium browsing.....we had our second encounter of the day. Well Debbie went first which did prepare me a little bit. Chrissy had recommended an Ayurvedic doctor she had used in Periyar(Ayurveda is an ancient Indian practice of natural medicine, using plant and flower extracts, analysing body and energy ...