March 14 -
Meeting friends in Basvangudi — rushed to catch the bus to Munnar at Shantinagar
It was just 3 days (11 March) we shifted to our new home in Tatanagar, Bangalore. While we almost finished our portions of Sunday morning breakfast, Davanagere Benne Dosa, at a local favorite spot and started eyeing on the neighboring tables, Manasa uttered of traveling and she hinted Munnar. With no second thought, we came back home, looked up at internet, and booked the bus tickets. Riding our vehicle was out of the question since we had to squeeze in this trip before I join my new workplace on 18 March.
On the same evening, we had planned to meet our college friends at Bugle Park, Basavanagudi. It was a short meeting and we just exchanged casual words promising we will meet again for an elaborate talk. We had some snacks and sat at a restaurant for dinner. We left early before the dinner could start as both of us had a bus to catch at 8.30 pm. We reached Shanthinagar just in time and the bus left immediately.
We were afraid of the pandemic situation and we enquired around if we had to undergo any test or register ourselves as negative, which we later didn’t bother about much
March 15 -
Cumbum to Moselberg — relaxed and pleasant stay
We only woke when we were close to Cumbum, the place we had to change to a minibus to reach Munnar, which was another 80kms away. Got fresh at a petrol bunk and switched to the small one. We broke in between for tea.
The driver was friendly and suggested to get down 20kms before Munnar city, which would be easier to get to our stay — Moselberg Riverside Cottages. We reached there by 9.30 am which was much early than our check-in time (noon). The receptionist suggested waiting near the riverside, which turned out to be an experience in itself. We just sat around the riverbank, dipped our legs in the flowing water, and enjoyed our time. We decided that we will just hang around the stay without going out. We ordered lunch, had a warm shower, and slept with the balcony door and windows wide open. We had tea in the evening, which we wished was better, sitting on the balcony and admiring what was in front of us. We also made plans for the next day.
March 16 -
Moselberg to Anachal to Munnar — rented bike — ride towards top station — Visit Kalari Kshetra — Lost in the night — afraid of being attacked by a tusker — covered about 100 km.
We woke up to the babbling brooks and calls of the whistling schoolboy. We were the first to hit the dining area for breakfast, so we could go out today. We had Poori and Baaji but we expected some authentic Kerala food. We were not lucky on this trip to taste any authentic food or a perfect cup of tea. We took a rickshaw to Pottankadu junction and got a bus to Anachal and then switched to a bus to Munnar. We stopped near the KSRTC bus depot where we had mapped a bike rental service (Gokulam Bike Hire). We hired the Yamaha FZ for 2 days and paid full. We filled the tanks and left towards the top station. We didn’t mark any spot for a halt and we only stopped at our will, which turned out to be worth it in our words. We stopped at Ripple Cafe, by then the endless tea gardens had already caught up, had a cup of tea, and left.
We stopped at Kundala Lake and we sat in the small park next to it. We spent some time there and again got back on the road. The sight of the tea gardens was captivating. We both hadn’t seen such long-running gardens throughout the length of the roads. We stopped at several spots which seemed a good spot for photographs. Top Station was a gorgeous viewpoint but the journey was more pleasing to the eyes than the destination. We retraced our route back to the city after a small break at a tea stall near the viewpoint.
We were starving when we reached Annapurna Restaurant in Munnar, the only restaurant which I could round in for a good place to eat. We were deprived of good Keralan food. However, we had a sumptuous meal at Annapurna.
We had shortlisted the Kalari Kshethra to visit in the evening. The entrance fees deterred us at first but we later enjoyed the show. She had a special time going on the stage along with the Kattakalli performers. The Kalaripayattu, told to be the mother of all martial arts, was no less of an action-packed performance. I watched it like a kid enjoying an action scene from the cinema. I regretfully missed my camera.
The light was fading when we came out from the theater. We rushed to our bike and started towards our stay. We knew it was a 20km ride. The map cheated on us and took us on a long road which cost additional 20km. We didn’t give ears to the fear of encountering elephants which could appear anytime. I was piggybacking on the other vehicles so that we have the confidence of people being around in that pitch dark ghat road. The bright headlamp of the motorbike and the ample fuel in the tank added to my confidence.
We reached our stay around 8 pm. Went to bed after a quick dinner.
March — 17
Check-out from Moselberg — headed towards Lakkam waterfalls.
We had our breakfast and being our last day, we checked out from our stay. We headed towards Lakkam waterfalls after to dumped our baggage at the bus booking counter. We passed through some brilliant views of Tata Tea Estates and Kanan Devan Tea Estates. Today’s view was much greener and vast. We enjoyed riding through the long stretches of tea gardens. We took our time through these routes. The Lakkam waterfalls were a little disappointing for it was just a mere stream but we could guess how beautiful it would look when it rains. We sat on the small boulders and hogged on some snacks we carried with us. We were thirsty for a good cup of tea but we were disappointed and promised ourselves to make one good cup once we are back home! We stopped at several spots, took photos at some, and others, we just stared with jaws dropped at the rolling hills.
We had a heavy lunch at Annapurna foreseeing that we may have to skip our dinner. We had tea at the Ripple tea cafe. We returned our bike and walked about 2km back to the bus booking counter. We waited for our minibus to take us to Cumbum and Bangalore eventually.
March — 18
Banglore — treating our bad sunburns.
We paid little heed to the sun when we rode the motorbike. We could feel the burn on the second day and the skin peeled off after 3 days. Our hands looked like black and white checkered clothing. We woke up while the auto-rickshaw walas bid the lowest for the ride — “Sir, yellige. Sir, auto” — asking us for the destination.
Until Next Time…
We both are a kind of ourselves. The trivial things we both enjoy cannot be worded and we both do not know what exactly we would be stuck with. We never got bored of the running tea gardens all along, I guess our below-average speed on bike explained that. We enjoyed the water plants in puddles at the lake more than wandering around the must-visit spots. We enjoyed the short ride on the public transport as much as our private time on the motorbike. We enjoyed our own time while listening to the music as much as we enjoyed it together all day. We mark situations as experiences irrespective of how they caught us — good or bad. We wish to see the same spot once early in the morning, during the evening colors, or several times and remain enthusiastic as our first time. We are less thrilled by the numbers but eyes and ears for experiences. We eagerly question people to extract their experiences and see if something excites us.
Until the situation eases out and allows us to go out anywhere, I have promised myself to contain my enthusiasm by reading these books — 7 Years In Tibet, Chai, Chai, Around India In 80 Trains and Travel Gods Must Be Crazy.
Until then…
