Christians and Communists
The views from Kolukkumalai, the highest tea plantation in the world, were nothing short of breathtaking. The ride to the plantation, however, was the worst ride I have ever been on. I know that I said before that the ride to Madurai was horrible. This ride though, definitely tops that one.
Stew and I woke up at 7:30am to get a jump start on the day. After walking from our relatively sketchy hotel down into the center of town, we found a guy who was willing to take us for a day trip around Munnar. However, we were told that if we wanted to get a "Tea Factory Tour", we needed to get special permission from some office. So, our tourguide took us to the office where a somewhat official man told us that we couldn't get a tour because "today is a holiday". What holiday we asked.....the response was "the factory doesn't run on Mondays". I then took the initiative to tell our tourguide that all we wanted was to go to a tea factory. It didn't matter what factory or how long it took to get there. We just wanted to go to a tea estate and factory. After a quick huddle with some friends (it seems that many decisions in the tourism industry here are made by men huddling together and discussing things), we were notified that we would be able to go to a tea factory. So we agreed on a "tariff", which was too high, and we were off........to the tourguides friends' restaurant for breakfast. Stew and I told our guide we were hungry, so he took us to a "very good restaruant", which happened to be his friends'! Everything we ordered was "not available", so we settled for some eggs and a dosa. The food was "kind of very good". Now, we were off with our tourguide and off-roading jeep. For the next 45 minutes we drove by waterfalls, tea plantations, forests, amazing views of the Ghats (mountain range), and a number of small villages. Finally, we reached the place where we would ascend 1,500ft, then back down 250ft to the tea factory. For the next hour and a half we went up a boulder, pebble, gravek, dirt, and large stone road, and travelled through at least 35-40 switchbacks, some of which could have cost us our lives. (Although I cannot put the ride into words, I can tell you that it was intense enough that my body hurt the next day). The switchback road cut through an enormous tea plantation of at least 3,000 acres and many times, Stew and I found ourselves asking our guide, "are you sure the factory is this way?". It just didn't make sense that a factory would be so high up in the moutains........ Along the drive we took pictures of plantation workers, picturesque views, and cows mixed in among tea trees/plants....it really was one of the most amazing drives I have ever been on....in both a good and a bad way.
After an hour and a half (and after crossing the border from Kerala back into Tamil Nadu, which was at the top of the moutain) we reached the Kolukkumalai Tea Factory. Upon arrival, we were given a sample of fresh hot tea. It tasted........spectacular. Follwing this, we watched women weighing in their morning cuts, learned about and watched the process of tea making, and drank more tea; 5 or 6 different types. Yummy. Following this, it was time to go back down the mountain. It was just as rough as going up, if not rougher, because my butt (gluteus maximus for my medical friends) was killing me! Next it was time to visit a "Coffee Plantation", "Cardamom Plantation", and "Pepper Plantation". When we agreed to the terms of our "tour", we were told we would go to these different plantations. To our disappointment, we were only showed the different types of plants on the side of the road. WTF?
Anyways, in short, that was our "tour in Munnar". Now for the short of what happened next.......
Stew and I decided that we wanted to leave Munnar after our "tour" was over. But, once we arrived in town, we learned that the next bus would not be for 3 hours. So, we decided to have our tourguide take us 3 hours in his Jeep to Coimbatore, where we would catch a bus to the wildlife reserve we wanted to visit. We got into the jeep and were off. The tourguide brought his friend with him. This friend told us that we should go to Pollachi instead of Coimbatore because we could catch a "direct bus to Mudumalai" from there, it would cost us 200 Rupees more though. Fine. Sounded like a better option, until I saw a sign saying that Coimbatore was further than Pollachi. I started to question "the friend" as to why it would cost us 200 Rupees more to go to Pollachi if it was closer that Coimbatore. He told us some nonsense about a "long-cut". I fumbled around in my guidebooks for the next hour trying to find a map of the area we were in so I could show him that we shoudn't have to pay more $$ based on the shorter distance, but, I couldn't find the map I needed because I had thrown it out a few cities back.....I thought. I found the map that evening in the back of one of my books and it indeed showed the shorter distance. I didn't pay the $$ anyways though, and this is why: once we arrived in Pollachi, we were told that there was no "direct bus" and that we had to take a bus to Coimbatore and then to Ooty (a hill station that the British set up during their reign. It was a retreat center, aka vacation spot, which is now a dump of a city) and then a bus from Ooty to Mudumalai, the wildlife sanctuary. I made our tourguide find out all the bus information before we paid him. After telling me this information and that there was no "direct bus" and that we would have to go to Coimbatore anyways, the place we were initially going to, I told him that I was refusing to pay the extra 200 Rupees. So, he said "pay what you wish". I wished 1500 Rupees instead of 1700 Rupees, so that's what I paid. After I paid that, he told me that "I wish you to wish to pay me 100 more Rupees". I gave him 50.
Crazy 2 hour bus ride with really loud music and movie to Coimbatore.
Encounter with really drunk man at Coimbatore bus station. "Where arrrrrrrre yooooou going?" he says over and over for 30 minutes. "Ooty" I say. "Yooo-Yooo-T-Whyyyyyyyy-Youuuty" he says as he follows us everywhere we go. Then we are told we can't go on the bus to Ooty, then we can, then we can't, then we can, then we can't, then we can, then we can't, then we did, with the help of a nice security guard who told us foreigners always get preference.
Side note: people here who speak only a little english here prounounce "eh", "yeigh". For example, eight is yeight, L is yell, h is yaich, and so on. Kind of hard to understand.
The busride to Ooty was 4 hours up a windy switchback road. At one point the driver stalled 3 times trying to reverse and go forward again on a switchback. We drove the whole way in either first or second gear, and we had no personal space. Where I was sitting, there was one guy who had a giant cyst on his face who was sleeping on my right shoulder, a guy who had his hand on my head as he slept in the seat behind me, and a woman who had her head in my face because she was sleeping in front of me with her head hanging back over the seat. Uncomfortable? Yes. Interesting? Yes. Do it again? Yes.
We got to Ooty at 3am. It was dark, and nobody was on the streets. We slept at the first hotel we got to. It took five minutes for the hotel clerk to open the door because he was refusing to get off the couch he was sleeping on, which we could see through the front door. We took whatever room they had. It was gross. Paint was chipping off the walls, carpet was pulled up in places, it smelled, there was a horrible view of mounds of trash from the window which had no curtains, and there were weird sonds through the whole night. We woke up early the next day because of the light coming in through the windows. We were tired, dirty, and hungry. We got on the next bus back to Coimbatore (now our nemesis city) and never went to the Wildlife reserve. 17 hours later, after two bus rides, two train rides, and a taxi ride, we arrived home in Auroville. We are now clean, well nourished, somewhat rested, and ready to enjoy Stew's last few days in India.
Toodles.
PS- In India people cut you in line. Everywhere. All the time. At the train station ticket counter yesterday I was second in line. A guy walked into the station and straight to the counter, cutting me and everyone behind me. So, I put my arm up on the wall next to the ticket window to ensure that I would be helped next. I got cut by the guy behind me from the other side. As I caught him cutting me, someone slid under my arm and cut me again. Now, I was fourth in line.
Getting on the bus, people cut you. They will go over you, around you, under you, and even through you. It is unbelievable, truly.
Toodles again.
Crap. PPS- This entry is titled "Christians and Communists" for the following reason: In the state of Kerala there are far more churches than I have seen anywhere else in India. There are also crosses on hills, on neon signs, and on vehicles. There are also jesus signs and notes on many vehicles. In Kerala there are also many communists. You know because of the communist flags that are hung places and also painted on buildings and signs.
Toodles. Toodles. Toodles.
Stew and I woke up at 7:30am to get a jump start on the day. After walking from our relatively sketchy hotel down into the center of town, we found a guy who was willing to take us for a day trip around Munnar. However, we were told that if we wanted to get a "Tea Factory Tour", we needed to get special permission from some office. So, our tourguide took us to the office where a somewhat official man told us that we couldn't get a tour because "today is a holiday". What holiday we asked.....the response was "the factory doesn't run on Mondays". I then took the initiative to tell our tourguide that all we wanted was to go to a tea factory. It didn't matter what factory or how long it took to get there. We just wanted to go to a tea estate and factory. After a quick huddle with some friends (it seems that many decisions in the tourism industry here are made by men huddling together and discussing things), we were notified that we would be able to go to a tea factory. So we agreed on a "tariff", which was too high, and we were off........to the tourguides friends' restaurant for breakfast. Stew and I told our guide we were hungry, so he took us to a "very good restaruant", which happened to be his friends'! Everything we ordered was "not available", so we settled for some eggs and a dosa. The food was "kind of very good". Now, we were off with our tourguide and off-roading jeep. For the next 45 minutes we drove by waterfalls, tea plantations, forests, amazing views of the Ghats (mountain range), and a number of small villages. Finally, we reached the place where we would ascend 1,500ft, then back down 250ft to the tea factory. For the next hour and a half we went up a boulder, pebble, gravek, dirt, and large stone road, and travelled through at least 35-40 switchbacks, some of which could have cost us our lives. (Although I cannot put the ride into words, I can tell you that it was intense enough that my body hurt the next day). The switchback road cut through an enormous tea plantation of at least 3,000 acres and many times, Stew and I found ourselves asking our guide, "are you sure the factory is this way?". It just didn't make sense that a factory would be so high up in the moutains........ Along the drive we took pictures of plantation workers, picturesque views, and cows mixed in among tea trees/plants....it really was one of the most amazing drives I have ever been on....in both a good and a bad way.
After an hour and a half (and after crossing the border from Kerala back into Tamil Nadu, which was at the top of the moutain) we reached the Kolukkumalai Tea Factory. Upon arrival, we were given a sample of fresh hot tea. It tasted........spectacular. Follwing this, we watched women weighing in their morning cuts, learned about and watched the process of tea making, and drank more tea; 5 or 6 different types. Yummy. Following this, it was time to go back down the mountain. It was just as rough as going up, if not rougher, because my butt (gluteus maximus for my medical friends) was killing me! Next it was time to visit a "Coffee Plantation", "Cardamom Plantation", and "Pepper Plantation". When we agreed to the terms of our "tour", we were told we would go to these different plantations. To our disappointment, we were only showed the different types of plants on the side of the road. WTF?
Anyways, in short, that was our "tour in Munnar". Now for the short of what happened next.......
Stew and I decided that we wanted to leave Munnar after our "tour" was over. But, once we arrived in town, we learned that the next bus would not be for 3 hours. So, we decided to have our tourguide take us 3 hours in his Jeep to Coimbatore, where we would catch a bus to the wildlife reserve we wanted to visit. We got into the jeep and were off. The tourguide brought his friend with him. This friend told us that we should go to Pollachi instead of Coimbatore because we could catch a "direct bus to Mudumalai" from there, it would cost us 200 Rupees more though. Fine. Sounded like a better option, until I saw a sign saying that Coimbatore was further than Pollachi. I started to question "the friend" as to why it would cost us 200 Rupees more to go to Pollachi if it was closer that Coimbatore. He told us some nonsense about a "long-cut". I fumbled around in my guidebooks for the next hour trying to find a map of the area we were in so I could show him that we shoudn't have to pay more $$ based on the shorter distance, but, I couldn't find the map I needed because I had thrown it out a few cities back.....I thought. I found the map that evening in the back of one of my books and it indeed showed the shorter distance. I didn't pay the $$ anyways though, and this is why: once we arrived in Pollachi, we were told that there was no "direct bus" and that we had to take a bus to Coimbatore and then to Ooty (a hill station that the British set up during their reign. It was a retreat center, aka vacation spot, which is now a dump of a city) and then a bus from Ooty to Mudumalai, the wildlife sanctuary. I made our tourguide find out all the bus information before we paid him. After telling me this information and that there was no "direct bus" and that we would have to go to Coimbatore anyways, the place we were initially going to, I told him that I was refusing to pay the extra 200 Rupees. So, he said "pay what you wish". I wished 1500 Rupees instead of 1700 Rupees, so that's what I paid. After I paid that, he told me that "I wish you to wish to pay me 100 more Rupees". I gave him 50.
Crazy 2 hour bus ride with really loud music and movie to Coimbatore.
Encounter with really drunk man at Coimbatore bus station. "Where arrrrrrrre yooooou going?" he says over and over for 30 minutes. "Ooty" I say. "Yooo-Yooo-T-Whyyyyyyyy-Youuuty" he says as he follows us everywhere we go. Then we are told we can't go on the bus to Ooty, then we can, then we can't, then we can, then we can't, then we can, then we can't, then we did, with the help of a nice security guard who told us foreigners always get preference.
Side note: people here who speak only a little english here prounounce "eh", "yeigh". For example, eight is yeight, L is yell, h is yaich, and so on. Kind of hard to understand.
The busride to Ooty was 4 hours up a windy switchback road. At one point the driver stalled 3 times trying to reverse and go forward again on a switchback. We drove the whole way in either first or second gear, and we had no personal space. Where I was sitting, there was one guy who had a giant cyst on his face who was sleeping on my right shoulder, a guy who had his hand on my head as he slept in the seat behind me, and a woman who had her head in my face because she was sleeping in front of me with her head hanging back over the seat. Uncomfortable? Yes. Interesting? Yes. Do it again? Yes.
We got to Ooty at 3am. It was dark, and nobody was on the streets. We slept at the first hotel we got to. It took five minutes for the hotel clerk to open the door because he was refusing to get off the couch he was sleeping on, which we could see through the front door. We took whatever room they had. It was gross. Paint was chipping off the walls, carpet was pulled up in places, it smelled, there was a horrible view of mounds of trash from the window which had no curtains, and there were weird sonds through the whole night. We woke up early the next day because of the light coming in through the windows. We were tired, dirty, and hungry. We got on the next bus back to Coimbatore (now our nemesis city) and never went to the Wildlife reserve. 17 hours later, after two bus rides, two train rides, and a taxi ride, we arrived home in Auroville. We are now clean, well nourished, somewhat rested, and ready to enjoy Stew's last few days in India.
Toodles.
PS- In India people cut you in line. Everywhere. All the time. At the train station ticket counter yesterday I was second in line. A guy walked into the station and straight to the counter, cutting me and everyone behind me. So, I put my arm up on the wall next to the ticket window to ensure that I would be helped next. I got cut by the guy behind me from the other side. As I caught him cutting me, someone slid under my arm and cut me again. Now, I was fourth in line.
Getting on the bus, people cut you. They will go over you, around you, under you, and even through you. It is unbelievable, truly.
Toodles again.
Crap. PPS- This entry is titled "Christians and Communists" for the following reason: In the state of Kerala there are far more churches than I have seen anywhere else in India. There are also crosses on hills, on neon signs, and on vehicles. There are also jesus signs and notes on many vehicles. In Kerala there are also many communists. You know because of the communist flags that are hung places and also painted on buildings and signs.
Toodles. Toodles. Toodles.
posted by Jon at 07:44
3 Comments:
Sup JB, Loffer. So i am going to see your wifepiece manana. I'll be up there until monday or tuesday. Supposedly Annie, Bunyon, and some others are making an appearance this weekend as well. Sip-deez is scheduled to roll in next week, which is neat/cool/interesting. I'm really excited to hang out in the lake, shack, ville, lodge, etc... And eggcettera will be visited several if not more than several times. Thee may even be a trip to salmon falls. And as for the Glabe, he has sunday off, i htink. Well, he either has it off or he is on OD, not sure which, i just know he said something about sunday. Peace out homeslices.
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