July 13, 2012 - Munnar

Last night’s sleep was amazing. All of us, Jessica and Jackie and Vinay, we all enjoyed a brief reprieve from the bustle of Indian streets. The Holiday Inn was quiet and relaxing. Just what we needed.

The girls and I worked out at the gym for an hour, ate a quick buffet breakfast downstairs, checked out of the hotel, and then began our 5 hour drive to Munnar.

Pictures of breakfast buffet:

The drive was relatively uneventful.

Jess and Jackie as we started our jaunt to Munnar:

Kerala is peppered with beautiful homes with a distinct architecture. We saw a few along the way.

 

The traditional dress of native Kerala men is very different than the rest of India. Although I already mentioned this in my 2009 postings, I'll mention it again for my new readers. :) Men wear Lungis -  a single piece of cotton fabric wrapped around the lower part of a man's body to form a short/skirt combo - like a skort. They can be worn short (above the knees as in these pictures below) or long. Jess, Jackie, and I made Vinay buy one to take pictures in (his family originated in Kerala after all!). He said he wouldn't wear it around town though - but he would pose for a few pictures. He claims he has one already at home - but I have never seen it! Unfortunately, the photo session wasn't today - I'll have to post the pictures another day. Wikipedia has pretty accurate about Lungis  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lungi- they are worn in other countries as well, and sometimes by women as well (although that is not customary in India)

I guess someone was able to catch some shots of us sleeping on the way there!

 

Kerala is the most beautiful state I have visited in India so far. And Munnar is the prettiest city in Kerala! It’s the only place I’ve been to with such clean air. I actually want to inhale the vibrant forest trees instead of placing my shawl over my mouth to filter out toxins in the air. These are some pictures of the scenery along the way, as we approached Munnar - a city nestled within the mountains:

 

 

On the way to Munnar, there is a beautiful waterfall where many vendors have setup shop. Refreshments and trinkets abound! The point is called Comfort Station.

Monkeys tend to appear along the road here as well – eager for a bit of food from a tourist. We took lots of pictures of the adorable monkeys and the amazing waterfall:

(note - I have a video of the rainfall and monkeys to post - but the Internet connection for the past 24 hours has been funky. I will try to post it another day)

 

This little guy tried to get into the car:

 

Munnar sits high in the mountains - its known for beautiful tea gardens. Since we were only going to be in town for 24 hours, we decided to check into a hotel first, and then head straight for the shops before they closed (it was already late in the day).

After checking out a couple of hotels and local inns, we decided on T & U. It was a beautiful, quaint place. It was surrounded by a fantastic view and lovely gardens: 

 

 

 

 

 

This was Jess & Jackie's room!

 

View from the hotel - and some shots of the gardens: 

After unloading our luggage and eating some dinner in the hotel restaurant, Joy drove us to several shops selling tea and spices. Vinay and I had traveled here 3 years ago, and the tea I had brought back was being re requested by some family members.

Here are pictures of Munnar and us shopping in the local stores:

Jackie bought a trinket from this dude selling on the sidewalk!

This is a tea shop! 

This is a tea shop!

 

These are facial creams and body lotions made of papaya, cucumbers, and other natural plants - made there in Munnar

After we purchased all of our teas and trinkets, we turned in for the night.