We arranged a rickshaw tour for today that would take us about 35 kilometres out of town, stopping at a number of tourist attractions. We thought our driver would be our main man Raju but it turned out to be his younger brother-in-law Sham.
Yes, our driver was young:
Looking across part of Munnar:
Bouncing out of town (Kerala’s roads are nowhere near up to the standards of Goa), we started a climb along the mountainsides along a valley leading southeast. The first stop was a “Rose Garden” but Naomi and I weren’t even bothered to get out as it looked more like a garden centre for purchasing plants than an attraction. Next we stopped by the side of the road to look at some massive, semi-circular shaped bee hives high up in a large tree. The bees were all over the outside of the hives and it was quite impressive but unfortunately a bit too far away.
Naomi with a few different tea leaves in her hand:
Nice view of the tea plantations:
The bee hives:
Tootling along, Naomi asked Sham whether there was any chance we would see elephants today and within ten seconds we rounded a corner and saw the entrance to the “Elephant Park”, a place where you can ride tamed elephants. Naomi rode on an elephant before in Thailand and that experience has caused her to be against these types of operations and really wanted to see elephants in the wild. After briefly checking out the elephants being washed, we continued on.
The elephant riding station:
Naomi snapped this lovely one:
I swear I didn't ask the kid to pose like that:
We reached a dam with shanty like shops on either side. Naomi and I walked across the road that ran along the top of the dam to meet Sham on the other side. It didn’t look like the dam was operating to generate electricity and I don’t know why...this country needs every bit they can get! The water on the top side had a scary green scum layer and definitely deterred any wish to go swimming.
A nice lakeview:
It looks lovely as long as you don't look at the garbage on the ground:
Crossing the dam:
By the lake:
A grassy knoll that the rickshaw driver said was often used in Bollwood flicks:
Our next stop was a true Indian tourist trap. The place was called “Echo Point”. The road wound close to a lake which was surrounded by small hills. As usual, a bunch of ramshackle shops selling the same swag as the shops at the dam lined the road. Silly items like a big clock that looks like a wristwatch, “homemade” chocolate and “I love you” embroidered heart shaped pillows. Who buys this crap?
The attraction here was the fact that down by the lake you could shout and hear an echo. Wow...is that it? Yes it’s cool but for the amount of tourists and vendors, it was a little ridiculous. We tried our attempt at receiving an echo. I tried my best “Ricola” shout (it’s a breath mint with cheesy commercials where people yell out “Ree-ko-laa!” over the Swiss Alps) but didn’t get much of a reply. Sorry Naomi, but your shouts were even worse...lacking power there girl! Okay, time for the next stop.
Echo Point...made the song "Echo Beach" pop into my head from my 1980 K-Tel "Solid Gold" album:
Ricola!
Naomi's attempt:
Naomi and I above the lake:
What a skookum rickshaw!
I only wish I could drive it for real!
The next one was almost as pathetic. There was a small dam and on the other side some pedal boats, horses that you could ride (while the handler walks in front) and the usual shops. The highlight was the reception Naomi and I received from a bunch of Indian guys who wanted to take a photo with us. Now you may already be familiar with this funny phenomenon about Indians. They love to take pictures with foreigners. It’s almost like a trophy for them. Perhaps when they return home from their vacation they show their friends these photos, boasting about their new foreign friends. I’ve heard of some single Indian males wanting pics of them with a foreign woman and they’ll boast at home of their “exploits” on their trip. However, in this case I was just as much a wanted subject as Naomi was. We were surrounded by about a dozen Indian guys with another five or six snapping pics. Some travellers get upset by this but Naomi and I found that if you just surrender to it, you’ll start to enjoy it rather than dread it. As Naomi joked, we were Prince William and his new bride Kate.
Yet another dam:
Our new friends...unfortunately when the big crowd was around us the guy with my camera didn't get a picture:
And here they are piled into their jeep shortly after:
The shops in the woods:
Naomi petting a horse we decided not to ride on...seeing as a dude will just walk in front with the reins...that's not riding!
Unfortunately the pedal boats were quite booked up so we hopped back in the rickshaw and cruised to our final destination: “Top Station”. This was a lookout point that had a magnificent view at the edge of the Western Ghats towards the state of Tamil Nadu. It was a small hike down to the main viewing area. Again we were accosted, but welcomingly so, by Indians wanted to take pictures with us. We made sure that our camera was used as well to capture the moment. It was a nice finish to our rickshaw tour with Sham.
Inspecting the landscape:
Lovely rolling hills:
Where's Waldo?
"Give me a T!"
Here's looking at you kid:
The hike to the Top Station:
The viewpoint:
Naomi on the way down:
Gorgeous scenery:
Another nice view:
More Prince William & Kate action:
The edge of the world:
I think the parents instigated this one:
Now we have to go back up:
Naomi climbing:
No one minds a little unexpected monkey business:
We ran into our man Raju, who seems to be everywhere:
Unfortunately they weren't as tasty as they looked:
Back in Munnar a couple of cute siblings caught our attention, asking for pens:
We didn't have any pens to give them so we bought them some chocolate instead:
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