We cannot believe this is India!
Trip Start
Oct 09, 2007
1
29
42
Trip End
Nov 16, 2007
Munnar,
India
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Been thinking since yesterday how to describe it to all of you. Take the Blue Mountains in NSW, add slopes upon slopes upon slopes of tea plants (10,000 hectares is just tea) which look like topiary bushes. Add women in saris plucking the tea leaves. Add little streams and waterfalls, over flowing dams and the sounds of water, add a few elephants, add goats and other farm animals, add little chai stalls, add the smell of spices and tea - multiply those thoughts several times because this place is massive ..
A view of the water
. you get Munnar.Olive Brook is a little place with just 5 cottages under one roof. They over-feed us breakfast and dinner. Lunch is elsewhere as we go sightseeing. At 7pm before dinner, we have cooking lessons in their kitchen. It's so much fun. We have become friendly with 2 lots of French co-visitors. A family of 4 and a young couple. We've eaten all our meals together and we went sightseeing all day today. They leave tomorrow but others have already checked in so we'll be meeting more people at the cooking class.
Observations of the people, okay this is interesting. Firstly, remember how I had mentioned that Alan and I think the women in Rajasthan move as if they are floating, with such a sensuality about them? The women here are different. They are more rotund in shape and definately do not glide. We have a theory for this. It's all that coconut oil and coconut milk here!
The cooking is very different as well. The food has a different smell and even the textures are different. They use much more spices in their cooking. Personally, I find for example the briyani to be too flavoured - just in half a serving I had 10 cardamoms, 3 star anise, cinnamon barks galore and the fragrance of rose water
Amazing waterfalls
! Of course, it's very clean and green here as it rains all the time. The cows feed on healty grass and so they are fat and healthy looking! ahahahahahahahahah. And there are many Catholics. Churches galore, statues in glass enclosures all over the place, businesses and vehicles have religious slogans or names. We went to a tea factory today. The guide started talking and we all assumed he was speaking in either Tamil or Malayalam. Then we began to recognise one or 2 English words. Hmmmmmm, yes - the bugger was speaking in English with the strongest Tamil accent imaginable. Even a couple from Mumbai were looking at us as if to say "What is he saying???" ahahahahahahah it was very funny. Plus he was the height of action-packed. He moved dramatically, kept raising his voice, pausing for effect and even took a mobile phone call in between, making 20 of us wait for his return. That however did give all of us an opportunity to say "Is he speaking English?" "Can you understand him?" ahahahahahahahah
Last night we learnt how to cook Malabar Fish Curry. Tonight its Cashew Paneer (like Ricotta Cheese with a cashew sauce) Yuuuuuuum! And oh yes ... of course we have put on weight ... harlow!!! Alan has put on 3 kgs - he weighed himself on a tea weighing machine. As for me ... dare not weigh myself for fear that I will stop eating altogether. Please I still have 17 days of eating and I'm not stupid! ahahahahahah
Love you all ... this place only had dial-up connection - helluva slow!!!! So you may not hear from me until we get to Cochin.
