Hillside walk/Roller-Coaster Bus in Munnar

July 3, 2009
Location: Munnar, Kerala State, India, Zina Cottage

All night, we hear the rain hammering on the roof. Then early morning, the sun calms it down and the rain hovers in a mist cloud over the valley.

"What will you do?" Joseph Iype asks as we sip on morning tea.
"Maybe we will go walking," I suggest.
"Yes, madam, I can draw you a map. 17 kilometers, you can walk and see all the tea, cardomom spices, pepper spices, and coffee. Then you can take the bus to return. Have another cup of tea first, Madam."

We walk down the hill and enjoy Idly set (rice dumplings) in curry, okra sauce for breakfast. The waiter is polite and calls us "Sir" and "Madam." Since British English is spoken here, everyone addresses us as Sir and Madam. The Idlys power us up for the hills on our walk and indeed we can see miles and miles of tea plantations from the quiet narrow country road. Banana plants, spice bushes, jack fruit trees, and coconut trees line the road. We are lost in the scenery for hours. When it rains, our rain pants and jackets keep us dry from the Monsoon.

After walking for 17 kilometers through the valley, we reach the main road in Anachal. In just ten minutes, a bus comes roaring up the hill and we hop on to return to Munnar. For only one second, I relax in one of the front seats. Then the driver wildly roars up and around each hairpin turn up the mountain. I nearly fall out of my seat on several occasions. I clench onto Steve's arm. The driver honks as we near a curve. The road is only wide enough for one vehicle. Even though we can not see around the mountain, he roars the engine. Suddenly, he hammers the brake, as an oncoming bus is directly in front of us. The drivers stare at each other momentarily until they creep around each other with only an inch to spare in between them and an inch on the side of the cliff!

When we reach Munnar, I jump off the bus before completely reaching town. Enough wild roller-coaster bus ride for me!

When we arrive back at Zina Cottage, after our long walk/short roller-coaster adventure, Joseph makes us tea with cardamom spice. The same spice that we observed growing on the hillside is now warming our bodies. Then there is a knock at the door. A rick-shaw driver appears at the door with two shivering tourists!
"We are Mike and Di from New York!"

Finally!!! We meet other tourists! We are so excited to unite with people from our own culture! Tomorrow we look forward to having breakfast together. We hope also that our friends Sonu and Shahul will arrive safely from Mannarkadd.

We are blessed with the company who once strangers now feel like brothers and sisters. To all, PEACE!