Joseph you Gem you.
Trip Start
Jan 29, 2011
1
21
Trip End
Jul 06, 2011
Munnar, Kerala, India
Saturday, April 9, 2011
After arriving we were told to pull on up and then we were greeted by a small little man hunched over at the neck with a small and gentle way of speaking. His name was Joseph and he was the owner, well into his 70’s he began by offering tea then asking me which book I had, referring to travel guide, he then went on to tell me that he was featured in no less than 14 travels books from all over the world as josephs cottages were on the map for the international tourist, and indeed they met our requirements. This elderly man would be the best host we would find in our time together, add to that the fact that he was probably the cutest thing going, you almost wanted to throw out a few pairs of pants and pack him deep in your bag to take home. He would forget you asked him a question, answer imaginary questions, borrow money and never repay you, offer tea three times in 5 minutes and tell you always and regularly to sit and enjoy his view out front, not to mention explain how absolutely dangerous it is to enter the town at night and how there are wild creatures, "much safer to take a tuk tuk, I call you one, wait here" and leave us without a time to say no thank you.
Albeit our cottage room may not have been the Hilton and even far from it, we found solace in the location, right smack dab in the middle of fields and fields or better yet mountain upon mountain of tea plantations and tea hills. A quick haul into town and we grabbed a meal and some beers at the government liquor store, an experience in its own, a couple beers and off we went to bed.
The next day would highlight out great choice, waking up to mountains surrounding our guest house which were more numerous then smurfs and greener then the friendly giant we were in the thick of tea country with a stunning view, That day we rolled through town, finding out the hard way how this Indian town does not eat during western eating hours, and finding food outside of the hours was simply not an option. The tea plantation and museum presented the origins of Tetley tea how it came about and what is does for the people, propaganda no doubt as the picture it painted was rosier then heaven itself but I quickly forgot that after I was given the best cup of tea of my life.
The next day was spent rolling through the hills to one of the top most points in the part of India and a view which is equally as rare. Elephant rides much at the behest of Jen and her animal exploitive ways (amazing, champion of animal rights and still gets her rocks off of riding the poor beasts into the ground, contradictions upon contradictions!!!). We concluded our big day of sightseeing with a lil hike through the tea hills touching on every subject from fashion to politics and even how they mingle, concluded with a biscuit and red wine picnic then off we went to have our evening meal in the town once more.
The last day was spent hanging round as once again I was dropped dead by some Indian food or I just did not recover from the beating I took in Allepey none the less; the results were the same as I lay curled into a ball waiting as wave on wave brought me to new realms of discomfort and displeasure. Lucky for me I had a hot shower and a laptop with flick after flick to pass the time.This day turned out to be a highlight in its own however as Jen and I took it easy and she got cultured in the likes of Fubar and Trailer park boys and I got some TLC being told not to move as she went to town to get the odd food item or something to drink. To say I was thankful would have been an understatement.
Finally we rolled out of Munnar bright and early on the bus as Jen’s diva status was brought down a few levels with no intervention on my behalf at all, self regulating it seems. The bus ride was an early one and yes, it was windowless. The adventures to be had.
