I arrived at the government bus station in Kottayam a couple of hours before the bus to Munnar was scheduled to leave. Fortunate, because I was starved! I got a Chai, and some Indian junk food (I don’t know what it was exactly, but it was fried). That out of the way, I started asking around to find out how to tell which was the bus to Munnar, since half the buses were signed in
Malayalam (I think). Unlike Rajasthan where the official language is Hindi, in Kerala it’s Malayalam. This was the first time since I’d been in Kerala that I couldn’t navigate signs in English. It made me look forward to Munnar!

After a while a guy who worked for the bus company came over, and escorted me to the right bus. I tried for a window seat, but all the empty seats had bags sitting on top of them. Apparently an unattended bag left on the seat is code for “this seat is taken”. Unlike New York where it would be cause for you to notify the authorities of possible terrorist activity….. So I settled into a seat one over from the window for the 4 1/2 hour bus ride inland.

Munnar is close to the border of Tamil Nadu (the neighboring state), and Kerala. It is known for tea plantations, and surreal mountainous scenery. It sounded like a nice balance to the more touristy areas in Varkala and Alleppey, so I decided to add it to the itinerary. Plus it was supposed to be about 10 degrees celsius cooler!

By the time I arrived it was dark, so it was hard to get a feel for the area. I had booked a guest house a little ways out of town, and arranged for the bus to drop me off on the side of the road in front of a neighboring resort. And by “arranged” I mean, I just kept saying the name of the resort over and over again to the bus guy until he dropped me off. After about 5 minutes in the dark, on the side of the road, I wondered if that was the right decision. Just as I was starting to worry, the guy from the guest house came to pick me up in a rickshaw, and drove the pot-holed dirt road back to the guest house. I checked in, and settled into my room. I had chosen this place because it was inexpensive and the setting was supposed to be gorgeous, but judging by the room itself things were not looking good. It’s chilly here, and there is so much moisture in the air that everything felt slightly damp. The room was clean, and smelled of disinfectant, but you couldn’t get away from the mildew. It was coming through the paint on the walls in places, and was in the pillows. The Lonely Planet really didn’t do right by me with this recommendation.

I listened to it rain all night, and it sounded like it wasn’t going to let up. The only thing to do around here is hike, and in the rain that was out. As I fell asleep I made my plan for the next day – new accommodation, and find a driver to take me sight seeing. But then I walked out the next morning to check on breakfast, and looked onto this.

Whoah. I knew the area would be scenic, but didn’t anticipate this. I was excited to go out and explore. Maybe I would stay a second night after all…..

My driver for the day picked me up, and we drove through the hills and mountains. The tea plantations were absolutely everywhere, and were incredible to see. Lush, lush green, with lines like cracks running through the plants.

Ladies were out there in the rain, wearing plastic, and cutting the tea leaves with clippers that had containers attached to catch the leaves. When the containers were full they would dump them into bags, and when the bags were full they would carry them on their heads to where they needed to be dropped off.

We headed toward Top Station which is a view point over looking the Western Ghat mountains. It was so foggy at times you could barely see right in front of you on the road.

Along the way we got lucky and spotted a wild elephant.

This one haunted me – a tree covered in bees nests and mist.

In the early evening I went to Kathakali performance (Keralan dance/drama). It has nothing to do with Indian dance as I know it. All of the actors were men, and they wear elaborate costumes and make-up. The actors don’t speak (aside from a shriek every now and then), and communicate only through facial movements (eyes, nose, chin, nostrils), hand gestures and dance. There was a guy singing, and some very “unusually” pitched instruments. The rhythm and melody is totally unlike western music. The performance I saw was modified for people with short attention spans, and finished in about an hour. Traditional Kathakali performances are supposed to start in the evening, and last until morning!

The next day I took the bus to Fort Cochin, and walked around looking for a room. Every rickshaw driver and his brother offered to “help” (compensated with a commission from the guest house). One even turned around down the street and came back to ask again – just in case I’d changed my mind. After stopping at about 6 guest houses I settled on one. The price for the quality of the room was great! AC and WIFI. I couldn’t believe my luck!! After I checked in I looked online, and couldn’t find any sign of my guest house. The website on their card didn’t exist, there was nothing on trip advisor and absolutely no reviews anywhere. Strange. The two young guys running it were some of the most respectful I had met in India though. I didn’t ask questions….

I spent most of the next couple of days researching for the next part of my trip. I was leaving for Cambodia in 2 days, and would be flying into Phnom Penh, but had no hotel booked, and no idea where or when I would go from there. After hours and hours online, I came up with a rough itinerary.

My last day in India I finally explored Fort Cochin. There really isn’t a lot to see there, so one day was plenty of time. I walked down to the dock, and watched some of the boats throw out and pull in their fishing nets. They sell seafood just in front of the boats where you can take your pick, and then send it off to a nearby restaurant to be cooked. I didn’t see them catch much in the nets, so I was a little suspicious of where the seafood actually came from. I picked some prawn and squid. As I walked with my catch to the restaurant I asked the guy if they came off the boats. “No, these are caught further out so they came off other big boats”. Mmm hmmm….

I visited “Jew Town” (not much effort put into creative naming there), and walked through the synagogue. You aren’t allowed to take pictures inside, but it was old (built in 1568), small and had several chandeliers crammed in.

I finished my one day of Fort Cochin sight seeing early, and called a rickshaw driver I had met earlier in the day to take me to the airport. He chatted me up the whole way to the airport, and I really came to like him! I heard his whole story – growing up, parents, brothers, love life. He was 25, and was well into marriage-able age. He told me about how his mother kept trying to get him to meet with a marriage mediator to meet good wife material, but he was trying to delay. He didn’t expect to have a “love” marriage, but wasn’t yet ready for an arranged one either. This guy was an open book! He also told me how he saw me walking around on my first day in Fort Cochin – “Do you remember”? No. “I asked you if you needed help finding a room? And then I drove down the street, turned around and came back?” Hahah!! Yes, I remembered!!!

Not long into the ride he asked me if I wanted to drive his rickshaw. No thanks, I’d had enough of India traffic! But he was determined and pulled off into a quiet rode, and had me drive. Okay, so I sat next to him and steered/accelerated, while he had his foot ready on the brake. By far my favorite rickshaw driver in all of India.

It’s funny looking back to my month in India. It took me 3 weeks to get comfortable, and gain confidence in my ability to get around on my own. There are things that drove me crazy, followed by amazing experiences that would make me forget. It’s noisy, colorful, boisterous, dirty, beautiful, crowded, argumentative, and then unexpectedly friendly. There’s obscene wealth sitting next to extreme poverty – and nobody seems to notice. It’s not easy, and I don’t think I could live here. But I’ve ended on a high note, and that’s all I could ask for!