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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Towards the cooler climes

I looked with trepidation towards a trip to Kerala the last week for a celebration in the family at Trivandrum.
The notorious humid weather of Kerala didn't really encourage me to pack my Kanjeevarams. Packed some  heavy-duty cotton stuff instead. Two days at Trivandrum saw me having a nondescript meal at the South Park on the first day; the second day when we had the actual function at home, we were in for a surprise traditional Kerala food which was truly awesome with its four chutneys, kootus, butter milk preparations and the awesome payasams.
After a packed 2 days' schedule, we left for Munnar. As I stepped into our hotel, I was dismayed to see the absence of an AC in the room. Later, we realized that the temperature of around 23° didn't really warrant one. On top of this, rain the next day brought down the temperature by several more degrees. So, there I was enjoying a pleasant weather while back home Hyderabad was blistering under the scorching sun .

Early morning view from our room at Munnar





View from Munnar Dam

We drank in all the greenery that we could and headed to Tekkady. All the breath-taking scenery in the world seems to be showering its blessing on the Munnar-Tekkady route. Greenery, greenery and more greenery! A day at Tekkady, which again had quite a decent weather, and then back to Cochin.

Tea plantations on Munnar-Tekkady route
 Got addicted to the 'Kutten chai' in the four days there. Don't know whether it is supposed to mean 'cutting chai'. It is a weak black tea preparation and was great to taste. Not to be had at the restaurants but at the little road side outlets (for Rs. 5/-).
Brought home the exotic spices, teas, the famous kerala eats like chips, halwas, and the amla preparations.
Only four days away at the cool hill sides, but was it worth it?!

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