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Published: November 17th 2008
On the way to Periyar
one of the bus stationsPeriyar Wildlife Sanctuary
I stayed in an amazing accommodation in a bamboo hut with view on the national park - in the morning time I saw some huge brown animals from far away - wow! It was so difficult to find a cheap tour to the national park - I just couldn’t get it that there doesn’t seem to exist competition but a cartel. But anyway - the trip to the national park was worth it! We saw a lot of monkeys, elephants from far away, birds and followed the steps (in the dung) of a huge animal.
Leaving Periyar was not that easy… the owners of the hostel didn´t organize a rikshaw even though I asked them to do so. As there wasn´t another rikshaw just next to the house an owner of a shop just stopped a friend in a huge car and asked him to bring me to the bus station - but on that very day there was a strike so there were only very few buses - people said no bus would leave to Munnar that day. But as I had to go there because of my flight to Delhi in very few days
At Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
Getting up at 5 o´clock to arrive in time there I asked about my options. They proposed me to go by cab to another village in a 8 km distance to take the bus from there - I didn´t know if that was just a trick to earn money in that way - but there wasn´t another option so I did so. After 2 hours driving we stopped on a roundabout - lunchtime for the bus driver. After a while watching what was going on there (and believe me - it´s a lot, often until laughing about certain things) I decided to buy some fresh pineapple slices… usually that´s very easy but as it was lunchtime everybody was having lunch - so I bought the pineapple in one shop and find another guy in another shop to bring me to somebody to slice it - finally the bus driver run to that place to pick me up because we´re about to leave (they can never tell you how lunch is going to last; my baggage was in the bus) - yes, just to buy pineapple can be exciting!
Munnar
It was quiet difficult to find a cheap accommodation there because it’s a place where lots of rich Indians go
to spend there holidays - and it was holiday season. I just visited the tea museum and went tracking to the tea plantations with a French couple that spent their honeymoon in India. The visit in the tea museum was very significant for India - lots of stress for nothing: we were sent from one room to the other not to miss the video presentation, the demonstration how to produce tea, to see the museum and not to miss the cup of chai-tea that is included in the price - and back again to end up in the room next door. It seemed that we had to pass all the employees so every single job has a reason… sorry, but it was quite funny. That’s one important thing: never expect anything in particular or expect to get what you’re used to - it’s always different, incredible and surprising! So it’s better just to let things happen, to laugh inside of you - instead of becoming angry. The hills with the tea plantations were extremely beautiful! It reminds me a little bit in the cultivation of wine. Tata, the huge industrial Indian family played a major role in the development of
the tea plantations - perhaps you heard that they wanted to produce the cheapest car of the world; I would assume 80% of Indian vehicles are from Tata, additionally one of the most important mobile companies etc. - and also tea plantations. First the British brought railways, built kindergarten for the children of the families, made sure a certain medicare - after the independence Tata went on supporting and managing the tea business.
Flying back from Cochin (Kerala) to New-Delhi: I was surprised that it was completely booked out - on the stopover in Hyderabad lots of people left the airplane but the same amount came in again.
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