The plan for the day was to do some sightseeing around Munnar – we opted for using Ganesh, a driver known by the resort management the whole day (1000 Rs) rather than getting into Munnar and bartering. We used one of the standard itineraries with some modifications and headed towards Munnar Hilltop Station.

After stopping at a flower garden and heading further on we saw an old foreigner who where heading the same way so we picked up the hiker – Hans, a swiss 75-year old backpacker who was traveling India for the 4th time or so. We refused any payment from Hans but he paid for our dinner later in the day. We had a great day swapping stories and perspectives while snapping photos of the people and scenery along the way.

On the way back we stopped at Munnar town and I paid a barber a visit, and consequently lost at least 7 years in ten minutes. Back at our cottage we enjoyed a massive traditional meal that the staff had cooked for us – for an yet unknown price.

We wake at the lovely sound of christian pop music – at around 0630. After realizing that there is no-one in our room with a boomblaster we understand that we are living next to a church. Mona now remembered that the British guy had mentioned that the only con was that “there was some music – but it was played at fairly decent hours”. We guess that was non-Sundays.

We checked out in search of a more tranquil place outside of Munnar Town in the countryside. We managed to get the name Aranyaka from “Tourist Information” but picked a random Auto-Riksha guy to drive us there for 100Rs. He managed to pass a couple of his friends hotels rather than going where we asked him but finally we got the the right place and it was awesome with capital A. For those thea-enthusiasts, this in the hear of the Nilgiri district.

Since there was no commission to give to anyone we managed to get down the price from 3500 Rs to 2500Rs. Really nice cottages with beautiful views, and we decided to take a little trek in the afternoon. Long story short we walked quite a bit through some jungle-ish vegetation in addition to the tea bushes but managed to find a lovely citrus tree with tasty fruits and a nice waterfall.

This is really the most fun way to travel, and as a bonus really cheap.

Bus 1 from Sealine Resort; A 18-year old boy called Vishar introduced himself and started talking to practice his English. He enjoyed music, and his western favorites where System of a Down, Nirvana and Justin Bieber. You draw the connection there.

Bus 2 From Ernukalum; A short trip to Kaloor Bus Stand, where several helpful passengers describe that we need find a bus to Munnar. At the Bus Stand however, we get mixed messages about buses – maybe it leaves in two hours – maybe there are no buses here?

Bus 3 From the main road next to Kaloor Bus Stand;
A guy gets interested in my iPad as we browse Lonely Planet in order for clues. He explains we should “just take the next bus heading this way” and points. We approach a bus but the guy claims he is not going to Munnar. iPad-interested guy comes back – picks up our luggage and puts it (and us) on the bus after speaking with the purser. Interesting. After driving for two hours we spot the name of a town and realize with the help of Lonely Planet that we at least seem to have gotten halfway to Munnar.

We encounter a huge demonstration – probably religious but could also be political? Definitely fun watching and I snap lots of photos. As the bus stops at some unknown town a guy runs off with our luggage again and puts us on another bus which is more crowded than your regular metal concert at the front rows.

Bus 4 from Unknown destination; After some 90 minutes we end up in Munnar Town – and after six or seven hours of fun conversations, beautiful scenery and a lot of local music we see other westerners again. We ate at Spree, who served some cheap Thali food. As we are pondering where to stay we bump into a British guy who mentions that he is happy with his place and he thinks they may have available rooms.

Getting there, no manager to be found, but someone calls him – he has a shop nearby and sends his 5-6 year old kid to show us the rooms (not speaking English but charming). We choose a rather nice room for the nice price 750 Rs – with additional rebate to 600Rs if we stay more nights. A nightly stroll in Munnar town and then we fall asleep after enjoying a hot shower.