Tromping through tea estates

Upon finding some decent wifi finally, I suppose I have some back tracking to do for you all.  Sitting in a Korean restaurant that Kim has found us in Delhi.  Eating amazing kimchi and sipping on some Kingfisher light beers is particularly refreshing.  But before I can tell you about now I must take you back to  the mountains of Munnar which was our next stop of substance after Varkala.

We approached Munnar in a rented car with a driver who had no knowledge of how to drive properly, accelerating and braking at all the wrong times which was very tough to bear seeing as we were on a windy road ascending up to the mountains.  Luckily the scenery was amazing and we were enthralled with everything  and found our way to our guesthouse 22 km out of Munnar.  Nestled amongst a pepper and cardamon plantation on the edge of a village it was a serene little spot for us to relax in a cooler climate.

We adventure by rickshaw the next day on roads full of potholes winding up and around through one tea plantation after another.  The terrain reminds me of the Okanagon covered in vineyards except we keep going up and up until we are in the clouds and still the tea plantations continue.  Tea is the most widely drunk beverage in the world and in India it seems as if one would not survive without their chai several times a day.  The tea plant is Camellia sansis, the variety grown in Munnar being Assam.  Though the plants could grow up to 20 ft through regular pruning they are kept at 4-5 ft and labourers wait with their bags of leaves on the side of the road to be collected by big trucks.

The roads winding through the tea estates are lined with wild lantana and hibiscus with their pretty red and yellow flowers.  The forest is filled with eucalytus trees covered in blue flowered morning glory.  We drink tea and stop for snacks on our rickshaw tour as we drive through this enchanted land, one of the most beautiful spots I've been.  Taking a short break so our driver can enjoy some puri, puffed rice, peanuts, chili, cilantro, red onion, cucumber, lime juice and crispy noodles served in a newspaper cone, we sit on the side of the road.  Enjoying some conversation we pause as what seems like chanting in the distance is coming our way.  Our driver jumps up, almost losing his pants in the movement and runs to the back of the rickshaw.  Quickly he returns and fires up the engine, saying strike! as we flee from the mob that is approaching from behind us.  Traffic will come to a stand still he explains, many many men.  Seems our beautiful tea land doesn't come without its own problems.