So what does a holiday mean to you? If you think its all about rampaging in the wild, trekking like hell , draining out all your cash in Bohemian suites, digging your teeth into some real sumptuous exotic meals, rafting along streamlined waters on your own private speedboat, fancying you are some unrecognized , flamboyant William Wordsworth going on a ’’Stolen Boat Ride’’ of sorts, climbing the steepest rocks and cliffs with undefiable machoism , a la Sylvester Stallone, ’’Cliffhanger’’ style, clubbing and
partying as if it were your last day on this planet and then coming back, a sack of broken bones, only to find yourself lying on a stretcher , in some cramped hospital, with a bunch of queer looking people , with masked faces and gloved hands, clustered around you, trying to put you together......God! then you are probably reading the wrong review!!!!!!
On the other hand, if you are on the look out for a quiet and peaceful holiday, devoid of tension and nerve-wracking adventure then .Welcome to Munnar!
About Munnar:
Munnar is one of those few serene and instantly captivating hill stations where you can hang around .....doing nothing!This picturesque hillstation is located in kerala at the confluence of three mountain streams, mudrapuzha, nallathani and kundala at a height of about 1600 mts.
The Journey
We were on our second visit to Munnar last month..our first visit was way back some 6 years..when I was in class 6 or something!And I was pretty much excited about it.’’Not more than 2 days ’’, dad had planned regarding the period of our stay, keeping in mind I had some entrance exams to be written that month(Pleaze dont ask me how I fared in those entrance exams!!!)
Search For A Resort
So we drove into Munnar city, if I can call it that way, and sped past a plethora of good lodges and resorts and finally halted at a rather unattractive little lodge Riverview’’ adjacent to a very stylish looking ’’Munnar inn’’.One of dad’s clients had booked a room for us in ’’Riverview’’ ..i thought dad’s client was a blockhead or he must be trying to take revenge on my dad for something he did earlier.There’s nothing very cool
about this resort..worse still, I dont even think it is a resort, in the first place.Probably it was a snoozy little place which was converted into a pseudo-resort, to cater to the increasing tourist boom during the april-may season.
We checked in ..there’s no receptionist greeting us with a grin or giving us directions.We did’nt need any directions whatsoever.
There are hardly 8 rooms and we simply picked up one of the keys and checked into the ’’Yamuna’’ room and spent half an hour complaining about everything from the TV stand to the bedcover.The manager then entered in a huff..my little sister Neeraj and I thought he looked like a spooky ghost
that had jumped straight from the Scooby-Doo Mystery Series!
There’s no room service in the hotel, even if u want some tea , u had to go to the neighbouring tea store.And we were the only people staying in this Royal mansion!!
But dont get scared..coz Munnar has plenty of wonderful resorts , like, CopperCastle, MunnarInn, Isaac Residency, Eastend etc..and finding a good resort may not be an irksome task at all.
The Tourist Boom
The place has undergone some drastic changes since our first visit. The first thing we noticed was the tourist boom..thats not very typical of munnar.Commercialization
has done the trick.Plenty of hotels, a few cyber cafes, lotz of people, mostly Andhrites , Malayalis, Gujjus and foreigners..but all that does not disturb the tranquility
of the place.
Hungry..Kya??
There’s no dearth of good food either.Veggies can check out Hotel Saravana Bhavanwhich is open all day.The queue lined up outside this hotel was so big, we had to
actually wriggle our way to our seats and most of the time we were kept at the waiting list.And its worth the wait though...the food here is really good!
Though Munnar is not as happening as OOty or Kodaikkanal, it does offer lots of tourist packages.You can check out Devikulam which is 7km from munnar..this is another
mindblowing hillstation.
Top Station , the highest point in munnar, offers a panaromic view of the hills and our guide even pointed out somewhere saying thats the tamilnadu-kerala border.
Mattupetty houses an Indo-swiss livestock project..there’s a dam here and dont forget
to go boating here..the view on the way is breathtaking.Sometimes u may even get to
see elephants and some rare birds.
Rajamala is the home of the Nilgiri tahr, mountain goats whose numbers are languishing.
Echo Point is another alluring spot here...u can guess how the place got its name.
Dont miss out on the garden fresh carrots and raw mangoes with salt and pepper sold here.
U can also buy some fresh strawberry jam en route.
More than anything else, there is something charismatic about Munnar itself, its lush green velvetty carpet of tea plantations is sure to mesmerise any visitor.It throbs
with tea estates , all belonging to Tata Tea Industries.
Vast expanses of golf courses can also be sighted here..so u can try ur hand with the putter sometime!(that is, if
u dont mind getting kicked out by the guard posted at the entry!!!!)
Inside Munnar, there is the Mount Carmel church standing tall in all its glory, a Murugan temple perched upon a little hill, a lovely mosque...talk about religious
integrity..and then the all important bustling vegetable market!
Shopping and munnar dont go together.So if u are looking for valuable souvenirs visit the Spice market and feast yourself on some great munnar tea and coffee and
pepper to spice up ur food.
The climate here is not as chilled as in ooty ..so u may not exactly need sweaters or jerkings and stuff.Take a rain gear..well, but then if u love to get wet in the rains
like I do, then u probably dont need one!Camera is a must and a walkman with some good music will keep u in good stead while travelling or just chilling out..
I’m not a very itinerant person but I can tell you that Munnar is by far, the best place i’ve been to.We did not plan out any hectic schedule at munnar.The evenings i
either walked or curled up in my room gazing out of the window listening to bryan adams..and it was simply perfect...just the sort of break I needed after days
of exams and nerves!
So, take a break and drive to munnar sometime...am sure it will do a great deal of good to your health and spirit!