Tea, Tea and more Tea

There are nearly 100 sq miles of tea gardens around Munnar producing some 22,000 tonnes of tea every year. While the area was first planted by a Scotsman - who else? - in about 1870, his business failed and it was left to an Englishman to plant the first tea plants about 10 years later. Remarkably a huge percentage of the original tea bushes are still producing today.

On our third day here, after the usual early morning yoga class, we  decided to visit one of the tea factories and at the suggestion of the retreat manager, we hired a tuk-tuk for the day to take us there and back with a couple of extra stops. 

Our Driver - Bala - did a great job and even though the tea factory was a bit further than we had expected it was a great way to see the surrounding countryside and to experience the traffic!

While we have seen a few Indian couples and one or two families here at Kaivalyam, I don't think we were prepared for the huge number of Indian tourists we met on the road to Madupetty and at the tea factory and every stop along the way. According to our guide at the tea tour, it is busy like this every day - although a little quieter during the monsoon.

Had to queue for the English language tour so Linda left me there with some new pals while she sat in the sunshine.

Having learned all about the tea making process and stopped for a photo opportunity at the nearby hydro-electric dam, we headed back into town with a short stop at the flower gardens where Linda was fascinated by the size and colours of the Dahlias.

We also took in the local tea museum and then decided to stop for lunch. Linda had notice the Pizza place as we drove through earlier and decided that after 2 weeks of nothing but Indian food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, it would be good to have a change - it may not have been up to Pizza Express standards but it still tasted pretty good. Had intended to take a picture as soon as it arrived but unfortunately this is all that was left by the time I remembered.

By the time Bala go us back to the jeep for our return to the hotel he had been with us for more than 5 hours. and covered about 50Km. When I asked how much he said the fare should be 500 Rupees plus a little more for the waiting time so he seemed quite happy when I gave him 1000 rupees ( all of £11).