Toilet no more!!

• Beverleywhite's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Munnar

Trip Start Mar 09, 2009 Previous
Entry Trip End Ongoing Next
Entry

  Munnar, Kerala, India
Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Hello the world out there!! Our time with the tribal people is no more. There will be no more tribal singing and dancing and certainly no more tribal comedy acted out in kerosene lamp light on the veranda of our wonderful ridge top house whilst we watch fireflies flashing away, though they kind of look like LED light and are a little disappointing when you see them and their shiny bottom up close. There will be no more crab hunting along the lake with the energetic Manoji-kudi (baby) or have your name shouted out whilst washing out clothes with Super-GS washing soup (which smells slightly like mud but makes up for it by having a cool name) at the lake seconds before the water explodes ten meters into the air from the fish bomb the locals sometimes illegally use to stun the fish, which was exciting. Lastly there will be no more need to hide back up in our house because we don't want to present the local communist candidate flowers when he came round for his election rally.

We had the most amazing night for Kunjama (Victoria)'s birthday when Merely(lord of the dance) and Manoj dressed up in coconut leafs as per the tribal way and danced our night away to tribal songs and drumming. Was also fun for myself (gary) to climb a tree after Manoj only to get stage fright coming back down and needed much help, and have the incident filmed by Vicky... We have also given up on Volleyball because the locals are just too good and having caused my team to lose a few times has finally put me off. As my mentor told me, when I practice I am Kolam (good) but in a match I am Kolam-ila (not good) ... Nachimoni (Bev)'s obsession with dogs has sadly not gone away after having a puppy (Jimmy) and an old dog follow us around for our 4 week stay as she predicted it would. There is a path dubbed the puppy way with more puppys for her to play with en-route even though the puppy way is also the ant way... And milk tea (pan-chia) has become our new favourate drink with a small tea shop being the place to be as they do real milk!! and amazing savory donutty things.

But anyways I am losing myself. We worked hard!! (kind of...) We built 2 toilets, 1 for the clinic and 1 for Merely, Lord of the dance. Finished off another 3, 1 of which is for a lady who does amazing black coffee with cardamom. Gave the insides of the clinic and complete paint job and finished Anil Marmoon (uncle)'s foundation for his new house so he can get married when its done!! The fact that we hired many stone masons and helpers and carpenters as well doesn't mean we stood around and watched at all... :) The fact that I will remember village life for sitting on top of the ridge on the rocky outcrop watching the sunset over the Western Gats and lake/stars/lightening doesn't mean we had it too good at all... :)

Sorry for the random order of the post but we only left this morning and civilization (we had chicken in a restaurant with cutlery!!) needs time to settle in my head. We are in Munnar now, a town surrounded by tea plantations and rolling mountains and mist. Which is nice if you like scenery and that kind of things. :)

Will post photos soon.

Gary/Rengachami.

Print this entry Share Munnar hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry