Munnar

 

This morning we drove up from the coast through rolling countryside to the hill station of Munnar (150km). It was raining when we arrived but in the afternoon we walked up through the Ambady Estate where we were staying into the woods looking for birds, we were entertained by a Indian Giant Squirrel feasting on a large fruit and even donated a little blood to the leeches.

 

 

 

The area around Munnar is South India’s largest and highest tea growing region, the rolling hills surrounding Munnar town are covered with clipped tea bushes cascading down the slopes in neat rows. This former British hill station, at an altitude of 1,500m, provides a refreshing retreat from the heat in the lowlands.
 

 Next day we went on an exhilarating drive in a 4WD jeep up steep, rough tracks to Kolukkumalai, which they say is the highest organic tea estate in the world. To say it was a bumpy ride would be an understatement and when they suggested a walk up through the tea plantation we eagerly agreed. Keeping a sharp lookout for leeches we climbed steadily upwards to the tea factory. On arrival we were given a tour of the factory and bought a few types of tea to bring home. Afterwards we made our way back down the slopes enjoying the scenery.

 

 

 

 

In the evening we returned to Munnar town to watch a very exciting martial arts display. The beginning of the show is a ceremony and then came the displays of the use of different weapons, swords, shields, sticks and hand to hand fights. All of the men were extremely agile and experts in yoga. The finale was fire jumping, over fire hoops and through them. We really enjoyed the show except when one of the lads got hit by a sword and made a hasty retreat.

 

Cochin

We arrive in Cochin and drive to our delightful hotel called The Old Harbour.

 

 

Cochin (Kochi) has been an important trading centre since the 14th Century and its mix of old houses built by the Portuguese, Dutch and British, the famous Chinese fishing nets, the small Jewish community and some of the oldest mosques in India reflect this fact.

 

 

 

The next morning we take a tour of Cochin. Firstly we go to Cochin’s bustling harbour where the Chinese fishing nets are a wonderful sight, but don’t seem to be having much luck, I think we were too late in the day as all the fish stalls were burgeoning with fishy things.

 

 

 

 Close by is St Francis Church - burial place of Vasco da Gama and also the oldest church built by the Europeans in India. The large flap fans to keep the congregation cool made me smile, most churches we have visited in other countries have always been cold, and you’re lucky if you find a radiator, the thought of ever being hot in a church has never crossed my mind before.

 

 

From the church we headed to the local laundry.  The men were bashing all the life out of the clothes, and the women were using old fashioned hot irons.  The old lady who was using one offered to let Rob have a try, he could hardly lift it let alone iron all day with it, what was even more embarrassing was the fact that she looked about 6 stone in weight and considerably older than Rob.

 

 Next stop is a visit to the Dutch Palace (Mattancherry Palace), which has beautiful murals depicting scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranic legends. Unfortunately no photographs were allowed inside.

 

We then went to the Jewish synagogue, which unfortunately was closed.

 

 In the evening we strolled along the front to the theatre to experience a Kathakali dance show. Kathakali is a traditional dance form, depicting the classic Indian epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. The dancers sit on the stage and paint their faces in front of you, quite an art in itself. They then went to show us all the different facial expressions they use and what they meant. After a short break whilst they went backstage to don their costumes, the story began. The dance is fascinating with fast body movements and lots of facial expressions.