I feel like I am in a totally different country! The south of India is just so different from Jaipur, it's very refreshing to be able to see more of the country before I head home.
After spending Sunday exploring Fort Kochi, we decided to head up to Munnar, in the the Western Ghats. Munnar is a popular vacation and honeymoon location and is only 130 km from here, but took about 4 hours to get there. Francis, the innkeeper in Fort Kochi arranged for us to hire a minivan for the two days, and Rajesh (our driver) was really good, and most of all, made us all feel safe, he wasn't crazy like most taxi drivers. The drive is a steady climb up to about 2000 meters above sea level and the roads are so windy. Poor Edina couldn't handle the twists and turns, on top of the stop and go Indian driving, and we had to stop a few times. We finally made it to the Rose Garden, our homestay for the night, and dropped her off to take a nap. What a cute little place! It's basically someone's house that they opened to guests, including their two kids running around. It also was an organic farm/nursery, even though it was set only on 2 acres, every inch of the property was covered with fruits/veggies/spices and they grow over 200 different varieties.
We dropped our stuff off and headed past Munnar towards Top Station, which was supposed to have spectacular views. We drove through fields and fields (or I should say mountains and mountains) of tea, which mostly are owned and operated by Tata Beverages (they own everything in India). It was so clean smelling, no noise, just perfect driving and taking in the scenery. It rained most of the afternoon so we never made it to the viewpoint at Top Station, but it didn't stop us from checking things out, including trying this amazing masala corn from a street food vendor, and fresh passion fruit. They unhusk the corn and cook it quickly in an open fire, you can hear the kernels crackling. Then they take a lime and rub in in masala spice and then on the corn. Awesome!
We had dinner at the homestay, all veg, but much different than up north in the desert. A lot of the food was from their garden and most had coconut in it. Really, really good. Then we sat on the back porch in the dark and watched the fireflies and listened to the birds and peepers. It was so nice to be out of the city and just relax. I think we all fell asleep on the deck at some point, and everyone commented that this was one of the best parts of our stay in India.
After a hearty breakfast, including fresh organic coffee that they grow, roast and grind (too bad I don't drink coffee, but everyone said it was good) we had a quick tour by Tomy, the owner of his gardens. I was mostly interested in how the spices grow, I never knew that cloves were a flower. He had vanilla beans, cardamon, allspice, peppercorns (they just grow like little nodes on the branch), coffee beans, cocoa, and lots of fruit and veggies. We got to taste fresh stevia leaves too, I'll have to try and grow them in the garden this year. He sells most of the stuff he picks at the local market, I did get to take some pepper and coffee home.
We then made our way back up to Munnar and were going to try Top Station again. It was a beautiful day, lots of sun and not too hot. Edina joined us this time and we only had to stop twice on the way up, poor thing. But the ride was worth it, we felt like we were on top of the world. No garbage or noise, just sweet smelling tea plantations and beautiful flowers. Lots of lantanas everywhere (just like yours Mary Ann!) which gave us a nice scent. We hiked our way up and down to the viewing point for Top Station and were all speechless with how pretty it was. Too bad it was hazy and rain was coming, the pictures won't be that good, but in person it was amazing.
We headed back down to town and toured the Tata tea museum, had a very brief tour/explanation on how tea was harvested/dried/crushed/sorted, etc and then saw a demo of the machines. Of course we got a free sample and I purchased some black and cardamon tea for my collection. Then it was back in the car for the 4 hour drive to Fort Kochi. Less than 48 hours, but one of the best 2 days I've spent in India. If you ever make it here, I highly recommend it!
After spending Sunday exploring Fort Kochi, we decided to head up to Munnar, in the the Western Ghats. Munnar is a popular vacation and honeymoon location and is only 130 km from here, but took about 4 hours to get there. Francis, the innkeeper in Fort Kochi arranged for us to hire a minivan for the two days, and Rajesh (our driver) was really good, and most of all, made us all feel safe, he wasn't crazy like most taxi drivers. The drive is a steady climb up to about 2000 meters above sea level and the roads are so windy. Poor Edina couldn't handle the twists and turns, on top of the stop and go Indian driving, and we had to stop a few times. We finally made it to the Rose Garden, our homestay for the night, and dropped her off to take a nap. What a cute little place! It's basically someone's house that they opened to guests, including their two kids running around. It also was an organic farm/nursery, even though it was set only on 2 acres, every inch of the property was covered with fruits/veggies/spices and they grow over 200 different varieties.
We dropped our stuff off and headed past Munnar towards Top Station, which was supposed to have spectacular views. We drove through fields and fields (or I should say mountains and mountains) of tea, which mostly are owned and operated by Tata Beverages (they own everything in India). It was so clean smelling, no noise, just perfect driving and taking in the scenery. It rained most of the afternoon so we never made it to the viewpoint at Top Station, but it didn't stop us from checking things out, including trying this amazing masala corn from a street food vendor, and fresh passion fruit. They unhusk the corn and cook it quickly in an open fire, you can hear the kernels crackling. Then they take a lime and rub in in masala spice and then on the corn. Awesome!
We had dinner at the homestay, all veg, but much different than up north in the desert. A lot of the food was from their garden and most had coconut in it. Really, really good. Then we sat on the back porch in the dark and watched the fireflies and listened to the birds and peepers. It was so nice to be out of the city and just relax. I think we all fell asleep on the deck at some point, and everyone commented that this was one of the best parts of our stay in India.
After a hearty breakfast, including fresh organic coffee that they grow, roast and grind (too bad I don't drink coffee, but everyone said it was good) we had a quick tour by Tomy, the owner of his gardens. I was mostly interested in how the spices grow, I never knew that cloves were a flower. He had vanilla beans, cardamon, allspice, peppercorns (they just grow like little nodes on the branch), coffee beans, cocoa, and lots of fruit and veggies. We got to taste fresh stevia leaves too, I'll have to try and grow them in the garden this year. He sells most of the stuff he picks at the local market, I did get to take some pepper and coffee home.
We then made our way back up to Munnar and were going to try Top Station again. It was a beautiful day, lots of sun and not too hot. Edina joined us this time and we only had to stop twice on the way up, poor thing. But the ride was worth it, we felt like we were on top of the world. No garbage or noise, just sweet smelling tea plantations and beautiful flowers. Lots of lantanas everywhere (just like yours Mary Ann!) which gave us a nice scent. We hiked our way up and down to the viewing point for Top Station and were all speechless with how pretty it was. Too bad it was hazy and rain was coming, the pictures won't be that good, but in person it was amazing.
We headed back down to town and toured the Tata tea museum, had a very brief tour/explanation on how tea was harvested/dried/crushed/sorted, etc and then saw a demo of the machines. Of course we got a free sample and I purchased some black and cardamon tea for my collection. Then it was back in the car for the 4 hour drive to Fort Kochi. Less than 48 hours, but one of the best 2 days I've spent in India. If you ever make it here, I highly recommend it!
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