Munnar: Tea plantations and beautiful mountains

Before leaving Costa Malabari, I had long internal debates about whether I should skip Munnar hill station or not. On the one hand, I had heard so many great things about the place, on the other hand, I was still feeling a bit tired and my good old left knee was increasingly bothering me. Even on the train, I was still weighing pros and cons (I have never been the decisive kind). In the end I decided to go (you never regret what you do, only what you do not do, right?).

Perhaps because I had been so unsure, everything about the Munnar trip seemed to be going uphill, both literally and figuratively. Most things that could go wrong seemed to be doing so; the bus ride as described in my previous post was less than pleasant; the accommodation with a view that I had booked and confirmed was no longer available when I arrived and I was put up in an unappealing guesthouse in town; and the auto rickshaw that I had rented for the day to take me sightseeing broke down halfway up the mountains. All of a sudden the golden patience I have been able to keep up during my entire India stay started cracking down. I felt tired and I felt cranky.

In spite of all of this, Munnar was amazingly beautiful. Well, the town itself was nothing to write home about, but the natural surroundings were breathtaking. The area contains the largest tea plantation in the world and the hilltops are the highest in India south of the Himalayas. The air was crisp and cool at night, a lovely contrast to the sticky humidity by the coast. I was glad that I came, but decided to rearrange my plans to ensure that I get a solid number of days by the beach in Varkala to recharge both physically and mentally. After all, I have a trip to Japan coming up soon.