Chronicles of Munnar- I

An unspoilt fresh...green and breath taking feeling surges in whenever I think of Munnar....At first,I wasnt really excited about my trip..apart from the thought that I would be away for a while...and on a holiday...nothing caught my attention in particular(considering that we were supposed to be holidaying at darjeeling and gangtok!!).Well,we started off on a monday afternoon..(trust me..Chennai is most unpleasent in the afternoon..what with all the heat and humidity...and in a railyway station..it only got worse!!).Once safely tucked into the AC comfort of the train...my cousin and I chose to sit away from the older gang...The journey was fine..except that we had to wake up at 4 in the morning..to get off at Ernakulam station(there are two stations...Ernakulam and Kochi..we were not particularly sure of which station to get off at..decided Ernakulam was safer..!!).I assure you..Ernakulam station is not a welcoming sight..I thought we had got off at the wrong place..(it did not look like the station of a town..leave alone a city!!).Apparently our driver(Vinu, a common name among the ppl of kerala!!!)..did not know that we would be there by four..so we had to wait in the station till he arrived..(Well,here I got to give him credit, unlike other drivers..he was smart enuf to reach us early..!!!).With all the luggage loaded and all of us packed into the car...we began our journey..from Ernakulam to Kochi...(Kerala is truely in every sense God's own country!! They have a heritage that they have managed to preserve, every house, however small, has a garden around it.)..to Munnar

...The journey wasnt that long..(quite a disappointment!!)...going through every bend and curve..as we climbed altitude after altitude it jus got betta..and I finally got into the holiday mood...Every house ..every garden...every brook...every mountain...(well I am beginning to sound poetic..!!).seemed perfectly in place..in harmony with its surroundings green roof ...long unending stretches of tea estates..ladies(not soo pretty,like in the ads)..picking tea leaves...quite oblivious of the hustle and bustle of the tourists...the place was heaven..with music...(fittingly,Country Roads by John Denver..)... the perfect holiday was about to begin.

.....contd