Driving through the Ghats

Sunday, January 25

This morning we left for Munnar after I tried a fabulous rice-nut-coconut pudding concoction for breakfast. (Coconut finds its way into a wide array of foods here – and every part of the tree has a use, it seems – coconut oil, the bark from the trees is used to make ropes and mats, the leaves are used for houses , etc.)

The drive was gorgeous, windy and green – early on we saw more rice paddies. Village streets were a bit quieter as it was Sunday. Then the geography started to change markedly – more hills, then mountains, tons of rock. Much rock is exported to Italy and other countries for gravestones.

We also saw lots of brick making today – the kind used for cooking.

The roads got really windy and in parts very bumpy – not the best for stomachs. This time it affected Ava. (Claire’s been great on this trip – I found some medicine in Singapore that actually works to prevent carsickness.)

We stopped for lunch: rice for the kids, Ramu and I had rice with vegetable paroti and fried fish (the latter I’d ordered in hopes Claire would eat some as she likes fried fish). However, small fish – the size in many home aquariums – appeared, with heads, tails and scales. Nicely fried up with a spicy mixture. I must say it was very good, though I left the head on the table.

After lunch I took photos of the kitchen, a downstairs affair with big (I mean BIG) pot of rice boiling and blackened work surfaces throughout the space – one for making breads, a roast waiting to be cooked and a chef in dhoti and red shirt working on 2 or 3 sauces. All this was across from a less than desirable bathroom; I did my best to put that image out of my mind.

Onward up the mountain we continued, winding back and forth; views just kept getting better. Verdant green with perfectly manicured tea bushes cascading down the mountainsides.

For tea, only the soft new growth is harvested, clipped as new leaves pop up at the top of the shrubs. Thus the bushes – about a foot and a half or 2 feet tall -- look like perfect gardens with trees scattered around and a few throughout the acres of tea.

We saw cardamom plants growing close to the ground beneath trees. They’re a shade crop – got to taste some of the green berries. They need to be more mature for harvest. We also saw green and black pepper in pods and alongside the road, laying on cloths to dry.

(I continue to be amazed at what I see along the road in India; in Tamil Nadu people were using the road to dry their rice. Cars just went around it. In other spots a layer of rice and chaff was laid on the road so the cars would run it over and help separate the rice from the chaff. Think about those tires next time you buy rice…)

To get a break from all these windy roads we stopped to check out a lovely flower garden. Paths led through flowers of all sizes, shapes and colors. What can’t they grow here?!? On one hillside were roses, dozens of different varieties.

Our other stop was a huge dam near Munnar – lots of boats on the water and people walking along the bridge for the views. Market there, too. Shopping is such a way of life here – and they say the western culture idolizes material goods…

Poor Ava was ill again before we got to our hotel, which was on top of a mountain. It was appropriately named “Tall Tree” and the setting was spectacular. Since we arrived before sunset we wandered the grounds, then went down to a viewing area for a spectacular evening scene: the sun dropping and changing the light over a circle of mountain tops and tea plantations. Talk about paradise. Earlier in the day I saw a convent on the hillside (lots of Christians in this area) and thought if you were going to become a nun, this would be the place to do it – heavenly beauty to enjoy every day.

The kids checked out the hotel playground and we ate dinner in the restaurant overlooking the valley below. One of the world’s loveliest places, I think.