It's been sometime since I decided to give my blog a new look.I think now is the time.Lately I have been travelling quite a lot which gives me the idea of a travelogue. Henceforth my blog will also feature my travel experiences along with other things.So here I am, taking my blog through this immense metamorphosis.
Travelling is something I like and look forward to.If at all something could kick-start my brand new travelogue,MUNNAR it will be-Hands down!For those of you who have never heard of or seen Munnar, here is an insight.
Munnar is a jaw-dropping,magnificent hill station in God's Own Country,Kerala.A four-hour drive from Kochi to Idukki district,Munnar owes its history to the Britishers who took refuge in the plush,green hills during 
summer.You could call it the most peaceful hill station in the country,others being populated and frequented by tourists to an extent, that they have lost their charm and purity.Purity,according to me, is synonymous with the cool air you breathe in Munnar.A drive up the hill, early in the morning(as we did)presents the onlooker a spectacular view of the green tea estates on either sides,something which could be the sole speciality of only Munnar.I have been to Darjeeling before,but I bet it was not as blanketed with tea gardens as Munnar was.(Darjeeling is an enchanting destination,but that's another story). You could ask me why a comparison with Darjeeling here? It is because Darjeeling is also famous for its tea industry.
During my stay at Munnar,my camera got no rest; it was clicked continuously at every inch of Munnar I walked through.The picture in front of your of your eyes in so wondrously painted, that you are left in awe.Munnar is a green carpet,you just wont believe me unless you are there yourself. 
We made our decision to stay at The Siena Village after going through the write ups about the resort on TripAdvisor.If the drive up the hill is amazing,the drive upto Siena Village is even more breath-taking.Green carpets on either side,this place was heaven for me.Siena Village is something i can never forget in my life.The resort is a beauty in itself.It is set across the mountains,with each cottage giving you a hill-side view.Here are a few pictures of Siena Village.
Beautiful? The Mattupetty Dam set across a lake, is a picnic spot that entertains youngsters with its speed-boat rides to get a glimpse of elephants across its banks.Then there is top station,the highest point where you can 
go trekking if you wish. There are botanical gardens with a variety of flowers where you can have photo sessions:)And of course lots of view-points in the mountains from where you can pretend to fall and ask your friend to click(make sure you don't really fall,that could be your last photograph:))
Of course loads of streams and waterfalls everywhere that make you go click!click!click!
Erivakulam National Park is another place I can never forget.A bus takes tourists to the National Park along narrow roads on the hill-top to the park where you are pushed to the edge of your seats and some timid souls are even seen chanting silent prayers when another bus appears out of nowhere opposite to your bus and all your driver can do is steer the bus towards the edge(i mean the very edge) of the road to let the other bus pass.Phew,that's thrilling!(The pic is on the right).The National Park is another beauty that boasts of Shola grasslands with a wide variety of rare flora and fauna. On the whole I would rate Munnar as one of the best hill stations that the South can ever offer. The best place for vacation to chill out with your gang or all alone too! P.S:All pictures in the post are straight from my camera and will remain to be in future.
It never struck us that we were out on the wrong day.Things seemed quite normal and the roads looked busy and crowded as usual.We scurried along the long,buzzing roads and made our way to Little Italy.As soon as we arrived at the reception,we were greeted by the same old receptionist, with her japanese eyes(or chinese?both look the same to me!) and her stereo-type smile.We requested for a table-for-two and she,with a warm apologetic smile,informed us that all the tables were booked and that we had to wait for twenty minutes.We nodded and took our seats at the reception.Well,it was time to take a look around,and do a bit of people-watching.Just as I was planning about what could be done for twenty minutes,my eyes caught the 'already booked' tables.The entire place seemed to have a dim light,seemingly unusual,and there were couples having candle-light dinner.Gosh!It was February 14th.Valentine's Day!I turned around to look at my brother and he was looking at me! We stared and had the same thoughts running in our minds.We fled the place, assuring the receptionist we would be back soon ;-)
And then on,we were patrolling the roads on our bike,looking at every eat-out passing by,making decisions every minute,seeking 'that' place which was least decorated,throwing less tantrums for 'V' day.And,finally after a few minutes of driving,what seemed like hours,we halted at 'kumarakom',a kerala based restaurant.That seemed to be the saviour of the hour.
We had to wait for nearly fifteen minutes before we were allocated a table,and as we walked across to the table,I noticed that most tables were occupied by families(meaning more than 2 people),and very few by couples.This,being the first time at Kumarakom,we looked at the menu card for a long time,and after a few minutes of discussion,finally decided to call the waiter,only to give him a simple order,comprising of aapams,stew,kadala curry(based on the waiter's suggestion)and cream of veg soup for a starter.
The music was jarring(malayalam and tamil songs were being played),with the speaker right next to our table!I turned around to look at how everybody was reacting to this inconvenience,but to my astonishment none seemed to react.It was then that I noticed a guy,holding a mike in his hands,delivering the songs with grace and passion.All along I had thought the songs were being played straight from the cd player.Oh my!He sung like a true professional.His voice matched that of Yesudas.Soon after,he went down on the volume,much to our relief.The service was super-quick,with the dishes making their way on our tables in no time.We,being vegetarians,always have a reluctance in ordering new stuff,in a non-vegetarian restaurant.Since we hadn't tasted kadala curry before,I thought I would wait for my brother to taste it first.(the trickster that I am! ;-))After getting his nod of approval,(oh, it was much more than that.He was closing his eyes and sinking into the taste!my..)I had my first taste of kadala curry.What do I say..It blew me over.It tasted like nectar,or should I say,something my taste buds had never come across.
Aapams followed one after the other,finding their way into our tummies.I ended up having four aapams ; that's a lot for me.It was time for winding up and we were pretty surprised at the bill.It was much lesser than what we had imagined it to be.We tipped the waiter heavily, and as we walked out,we managed to utter the word 'nice' to the guy who rendered his voice to make it a musical evening.We swore to ourselves,that we would recommend Kumarakom,to anyone,who wished a pleasant evening with lip-smacking food!
The post wasn't meant to be so long.Apologies if it made you seek for the last line of the post. ;-)
summer.You could call it the most peaceful hill station in the country,others being populated and frequented by tourists to an extent, that they have lost their charm and purity.Purity,according to me, is synonymous with the cool air you breathe in Munnar.A drive up the hill, early in the morning(as we did)presents the onlooker a spectacular view of the green tea estates on either sides,something which could be the sole speciality of only Munnar.I have been to Darjeeling before,but I bet it was not as blanketed with tea gardens as Munnar was.(Darjeeling is an enchanting destination,but that's another story). You could ask me why a comparison with Darjeeling here? It is because Darjeeling is also famous for its tea industry.
We made our decision to stay at The Siena Village after going through the write ups about the resort on TripAdvisor.If the drive up the hill is amazing,the drive upto Siena Village is even more breath-taking.Green carpets on either side,this place was heaven for me.Siena Village is something i can never forget in my life.The resort is a beauty in itself.It is set across the mountains,with each cottage giving you a hill-side view.Here are a few pictures of Siena Village.
go trekking if you wish. There are botanical gardens with a variety of flowers where you can have photo sessions:)And of course lots of view-points in the mountains from where you can pretend to fall and ask your friend to click(make sure you don't really fall,that could be your last photograph:))
Erivakulam National Park is another place I can never forget.A bus takes tourists to the National Park along narrow roads on the hill-top to the park where you are pushed to the edge of your seats and some timid souls are even seen chanting silent prayers when another bus appears out of nowhere opposite to your bus and all your driver can do is steer the bus towards the edge(i mean the very edge) of the road to let the other bus pass.Phew,that's thrilling!(The pic is on the right).The National Park is another beauty that boasts of Shola grasslands with a wide variety of rare flora and fauna. 
