The morning is beautiful with the birds chirping and the mountains covered in mist.
Enjoyed admiring the scenery from the verandah doing nothing. Finally got ready and went to the restaurant. The walk to the restaurant is very beautiful as I expected and more in day light.
All around us the birds were chirping and flowers abound. Sudip got some beautiful photographs.
Breakfast was served at the table as well. I had pineapple juice, toast, eggs made to order, coffee and fresh cut mango. Everything was well prepared and served with a smile by the ever attentive staff.
There are so many flowers in bloom, none of whose names I know of course. The only two I remember are Jacarandas and
Honeysuckle.
We left the hotel around 10:00 AM and Manilal drove us into town where we picked up our local guide Jonas. He seemed very young but well versed, soft spoken and with a keen eye for birds.
Jonas informed us that there is a old Munnar and a new Munnar with a combined population of 70,000.
Our first stop was Madupatty Dam which produces 2mw of hydroelectric power mostly for the surrounding plantations. The dam was commissioned in 1953.
The State of Kerala has 60% hydro and the rest a combination of wind, thermal, and coal.
Our next stop was the Kundala Dam, this is a dam to control flood and does not produce electricity. It was built in 1940.
Remnants of old stone buildings submerged in the floods prior to building the dam can be seen when the water is low like now.
Our next and final stop waa Top station - 7180 ft. This is the top most station for the cable car started in 1900 but no longer in use after the roads were completely.
It was all misty but the it was easy to imagine how gorgeous the view would be.
Back to the Resort, to freshen up and have lunch. It is all misty here as well, looks mysterious but inviting.
We have a choice of sandwiches or Kerala lunch. We chose the Kerala lunch of course which consists of sambar (lentil soup with vegetables), papad, rice, 2 types of Vegetables okra and long beans with shredded coconut, and fried chicken all cooked Kerala style.
The rice was very different with fat kernels and nowhere as tasty as the cashew rice from yesterday.
The sambar was the best tasting of all the dishes.
Dessert was mixed cut fruit accompanied by coffee.
We have plans to go on the bird watching and a tour of the property but it is drizzling so not sure if it will happen. Apparently there are only two other guests today and we are the only ones going on the walk. I think I counted 8 guests including us at dinner last night.
Al right the rain stopped just in time for our walk. Our guide for the walk was Ranjit Hadlee, yet another knowledgeable youngster with a keen eye. We saw many flowers and heard many beautiful bird songs, one in particular the Malabar Whistling Thrush. It is locally called the "whistling schoolboy", which is very much what it sounds like really.
This area is full off cardamom plantations and saw plenty of them and some with seeds still on them, the season is almost over. Interestingly the cardamom flower is at the bottom of the plant and the cardamom is picked individually by hand, probably why it is typically more expensive than other spices.
A car from the resort picked us up for our return, we stopped for tea before going in to our cottage. I had the cardamom tea of course, which is their specialty. I am not a tea drinker but I really enjoyed this tea.
Thought of skipping dinner but didn't want to miss the great food here.
We are the only guests here tonight. Two other sets of guests will be coming in around 1:00 am.
After another 5 course dinner and dessert, I am ready to fall asleep at the table. The walk back to our cottage was nice, specially in this cool weather.
Now it's goodnight time for today
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