1500 kms! That’s exactly the distance that we covered in
three days of non-stop trip covering Bangalore—Vagamon—Munnar—Bangalore.
I love travelling. But if you ask me how many places have I
visited in my 27 years of existence, I would probably say eight! Earlier I used
to blame the finances and now I blame lack of company. By the time I pumped my
bank account, all my friends got married and ta-da, no company.
Sometimes I get this urge to just pack my backpack, step out
of the house, and go where ever my legs take me. But the problem is I need to
buy that backpack first! Also whenever I bring up this idea of travelling
alone, all my friends say it’s a bad idea, and the media is not helping either!
News about women being molested and harassed in spite of having company just
threatens the traveler in me!
Now, back to my story. Just a week before the May Day long
weekend, a distant friend of mine (i.e. a friend of my friend) came up with the
idea of going to Munnar. Two days later she wanted to cover Vagamon and Munnar,
which was a suggestion that Lonely Planet gave her! So having a backpack or
not, I jumped at the opportunity and was all excited!
My mom was worried that there was no guy in the group (shock
no.1) and my dad reminded me to buy alcohol, if required, before entering
Kerala as they have a restriction (shock no.2). After listening to all their
lectures on how to take care of myself, I started the Trip on May 1st.
Google Maps guaranteed that we will reach Vagamon in 10 hours.
So we started around four in the morning, thinking we will reach by early
evening max. But the Bangalore toll gates had other plans. We were in Bangalore
till 9.00 a.m.! Everyone wanted to get out of this city on the same day!
We were still confident that we’ll be able to reach on time,
if our driver picked up speed! But the ‘If’ remained ‘If’. He did not touch
even 100. And on top of that the Google maps re-routed itself at some point and
informed us that we have been travelling in the wrong direction for the last 2
hrs.
But we still did not lose hope. We were assured that we will
reach by nine. Well, we reached Kerala border by nine! When we enquired for
route, people said we had to travel another 20 kms to reach the place. People
need measuring scale! They kept saying it for the next 60 kms. Anyway, after
what looked like 90 kms, we finally reached the resort around 11 o’ clock. The
best part of this journey was the pitch black Ghats section and the lightless
hairpin bends. It was super scary and exciting at same time. We were able to
see mist on the road and when the car’s light beams cut across the mist, the
view was amazing. As our eyes tuned to darkness, we could make out the outline
of the surrounding tea estates through which we were dwindling away.
Our resort Manager was very kind. He called us around nine
and checked if we wanted dinner. So the minute we entered the resort, the
dinner was served hot. After dinner we had a half hour chat with him to know
about the places we can visit in the morning. We were lucky as all the places
were close to the resort.
The next day we woke up early and started sight-seeing. Some
of the places that we covered were green meadows (which was nothing but an
extended version of the Windows default wallpaper), pine forest (which will
remind you of all the rape scenes in Kollywood movies), and Kurishumala (a
religious place on top of a hill).
From there it was time for us to proceed to our next
destination – Munnar. The road was pretty scenic. Wherever we turned, we saw
tea estates. We got down and took few clicks as one of the girl was a
photographer and I was in dire need of pics for matrimonial site!! We also
managed to buy some fresh baby carrots for the way as we were not sure when and
what time we would reach Munnar.
Around 3 o’clock we realized that we should have bought more
than the carrots as we couldn’t find any restaurant to have lunch. They were
either very crowded, or the girls didn’t want to step in, or there was no food!
Finally around 4 o’clock we found a small restaurant which looked okay. When we
stepped in, we realized that it was a restaurant attached to a house and the
owner was having food along with his kids as the lunch time was over. I was
pretty sure that we were not going to get anything to eat. But we were lucky
again! The owner looked at us and asked us to wait for 15 mins. He gave hot
parrottas with curry and some rice with some very yummy curries. We were super
full and continued the journey.
Fortunately we didn’t have to wait till midnight to reach
our second destination. In spite of our getting stuck in a ditch on the way, we
managed to reach Munnar city center around five. When we enquired about the hotel
we had booked, we realized that it was 20 kms from the city center. That’s when
we remembered that we all wanted to get out of the hustle and bustle of the
city life and wanted to blend with the nature and hence, it was our idea to
take up an accommodation away from the city! Our driver was already tired from the
entire ruckus and hence suggested that we check out the places before heading
to the room. As that made more sense, we went for sightseeing. We saw a dam,
few flower shows and a rose garden. We
also religiously purchased Kerala chips and halwa, and made our way to the hotel.
The hotel was serene, peaceful and quiet. After a sumptuous dinner, we hit our
bed and slept like logs.
Morning, we were woken up by the chirping of birds. As we
headed to the balcony, that’s when we realized that the other side of the hotel
was an open jungle! It was breathtaking. Though it looked scary in the night
(which forced us to move the table closer to the balcony door so that nothing
climbs in!) it was beautiful in the morning. None of us were in the mood to
leave the place, but still it was time for us to pack our bags and head back to
the city. After our tummies were filled with English breakfast, we clicked few
pics (Of course we did!) and started our journey. On the way, we were blessed
with stretches of tea plantation and a waterfall (of which the name I have
forgotten by now).
With few more hiccups on the way, we finally reached our
home by early morning the next day! With a phone full of pictures and a bag
full of memories and a couple of weeks of back pain due to long drive, we did
have a memorable trip!
'O_o'
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