Ride to Munnar: Rapture in a Tea cup

Caveat: You are wasting your time reading this story. The ride to Munnar is not something about words, It’s about a completely different dimension, and no words or pictures can ever begin to describe what was experienced. I wrote this story, so that I could go back to it in times of despair and remind myself that what wonderful times I have lived.




"Green are all colours, the ones in a rainbow,
Green is the mist or the tinge in the new snow
The halo of the hills or the ladybug's sheen
Dream any colour you like, because dreams are also green"



How much of a life is it, if its not spent aspiring higher things? Munnar had been the jewel in the crown, or that thorn in the flesh whichever way you look at it, which needed to be conquered at the right time, to wit, monsoon. After deciding that any more waiting would be fatal to our longing I decided that I wanted to go on the first opportunity. The window opened on 23rd-26th June when both Arun and I, the aspiring travelers would be able to take days off from their daily bread earning activities.

22nd June:
I have failed to understand why in most of my rides the beginnings have been disastrous. It is difficult to believe that this is the makers message for me to stop, why else would he shower me with bliss and give me an unparalleled high on those rides? I cannot but conclude that it must be a guardian angel compensating a more deadly blow by a gentler but disastrous looking setback initially.

2030 hrs: 3 Kms into my ride my petrol bike putters and gives up. Reason: fuel. A friendly fiero wallah who is relieving his bladder on the roadside comes to my rescue and chucks his left leg on my rear foot peg and drives me 1 Kms to a petrol bunk. I get a full tank and ready to go.
Slowly it starts showering; the newly purchased rain jacket stands in good stead. I am thinking about what is it going to be like in Munnar if it showering over here. 2230 hrs: dinner at Kanakapura highway. We start again as the road becomes petulant and I slowly start cursing every small speed breaker which stands there waiting for me grinning at my plight. It is thundering in the distance without sound. But the
flash of light enables me to see that the sky is laden with clouds and the road is full of potholes, and adorned by trees of various sizes. Again and again white mice cross the road 10 meters ahead of us, and I am not sure if it’s my bike that triggers their crossing my path.

2350 hrs: An inexpensive but comfortable accommodation is found at Kollegal at Geetha lodge, which apparently remains open throughout the night. Arun and I solemnly promise to be on the road by 0600 hrs next morning.


23rd June:
Though I am just 150 Kms from my home, I am already breaking out of control today, I just want to hop out of bed and hop in to my bike's saddle. I am feeling fidgety like a person who is headed home and his bus has suffered a breakdown. The culprit of this feeling is the plan which is drawn to make me reach Munnar today itself.

One of the most important things that I have cultivated while riding is patience. Be it in the form of overtaking the slow truck, which hogs the road, or the rains, which seems to be growing stronger with the evening, or a flat tyre, which threatens to spoil you, plan for the rest of the ride.
Patience always sees you through. Patience sees me through the morning when we take ages to get ready, have breakfast and ask directions for our immediate destination.

We are on the road at 0830 hrs and headed for Avanashi via a less traveled state road. This road can be reached via a right diversion before Anasur, the road is not exactly smooth but the bumps are also soft and a speed of 75 Kmph and a few bursts of 90 Kmph can be managed easily. The landscape is very pretty; it seems to have rained here in the previous days. The danger of slick rain roads is looming but we have chosen this season for exactly the same reason. If there is no challenge there is no victory.

The villagers on the wayside look at us in amazement for driving so fast and some of the kids wave like anything, I have a big grin under my helmet but to make it more visible I wave both my hands for a second. A wild turmoil stirs the kids. A trickle of Tibetan folks keeps coming awhile from the opposite side on an assortment of mopeds and hero-Hondas. A few are standing by the side of the road wearing their traditional gowns and having their peculiar hairstyle. I wonder what do they have to do with this part of the land.

The fields on both the sides are open and without crop except for the weed, which is uninvited but adds to the charm. The colour of the soil is brownish black and in the background coconut trees are swaying in the wind. Some rocky monoliths are simply there staring at us without expression. The canvas looks straight out of Van Gogh’s Arles series. A bicyclist stops a safe distance from us and watches the proceedings in silence. I click some photos and grin at him, the chap is simply stands there amazed at why would anyone care to take a picture of a haystack, but smiles back and then moves off.

Some more Tibetan dudes and beautiful Tibetan girls with their colourful hairstyles on a scooty come from the opposite direction or are moving in our direction. We go through various villages and some bad roads and then some distance ahead I sight a pole with what are unmistakably Tibetan prayer flags. Some folks are washing a car outside the settlement and some are simply sitting there smoking beedi. I feel terrible for these folks to be so far away from their motherland because of no reason but human vanity. I try to imagine what I would feel like if I were ever evicted from my own homeland and then forced to live off somewhere without anyone raising so much as an eyebrow. This is real world where everyone must learn to take care of themselves.

1200 hrs: A check post announces the first of a series of Rajeev Gandhi parks. After the check post the minor ghats start and then move on the road improves and so does our speed. After some twists and turns the landscape starts turning green at an immense pace. Such a place easily beckons for a break and I stop to quickly to click a couple of pics while Arun catches up with me. Then again it’s the game of throwing the bike around the corners and managing the pace. Some buses are overtaken very rapidly and things are absolutely on track.
We are already into TN, and as soon as the ghats end a mast smooth road awaits us. I spot that road from a distance and twist my wrist. 90-100-110-115-118 and then I start slowing down again, suddenly a big animal that resembles a bison is spotted having breakfast on the edge of the road. I slow down and turn around the bike. This huge thing is a Gaur. It is twice the size of a normal bull and its muscles are good enough for a couple of Arnolds. We would definitely not like this guy to become interested in us, and so we slow down a good distance away from him, click pics and then take off again.
The sunrays start striking on my neck again and the air becomes warm and humid as against the morning Kollegal chill. Soon Pulliyampatti arrives and we take a break to fill ourselves. Parapu vadas are hogged upon as I eat 4 Arun eats many more, tea is had, then we get out bikes refueled for the voyage to follow. A diversion towards Avanashi is enquired about and soon we are flying towards Avanashi. Every alternate bike in this area is a diesel bullet Taurus. They make a terrific sound but have a low load carrying capacity but it is no mean feat to mount a diesel engine on a motorcycle. Soon we pass Avanashi and then stop at palladam for a swift cold drink.
It is confirmed that we are in hard-core Tamil country by the numerous pictures of rajanikant adorning tailor shops, hair saloons, and even mechanic shops. But Arun knows Tamil well and gets us around this place really well.

1430 hrs: Here onwards starts the windy section. If you ever want to know what crosswinds are go from palladam to udumalaipette. I reckon these winds blow at not less than 60 Kmph in cross directions and it is hard to keep ones bike on a straight line. Various companies have utilized this appropriately and there are more windmills than trees in the 40 Kms of windy stretch. Wherever you see there are two blade versions, three blade versions, government and privately owned windmills everywhere, and they are spinning. I cruising along at 80 and gauge that the tip of the rotor is at a faster pace then mine. Due to constant winds in once direction the groves are all bent away and coconut trees have the same appearance as Rajesh Khanna's hairstyle in the movie "Avatar".

Udumalaipette arrives and we take lunch on banana leaves. Tamil meal of rice, sambhar and rasam does the job. Munnar is 80 Kms from here. We take the deviation towards Munnar and then a deviation towards Amravathi dam. This place has a crocodile park. The crocodiles are just lazing there, sitting like granite-sculpted statues and no amount of movement can disturb their slumber. Then suddenly one huge one wakes up walks up 3 meters again to drop dead. This is a funny place; I reckon I’ll remember for years.
The dam itself is huge and at its base workers appear like ants trying to move about. A sainik school around the place reminds me of how I wanted to join the army when I grew up and how I ended up becoming an engineer and trying to let my adventurous spirit break out. Then we rejoin the original road and enter Indira Gandhi national park. A herd of stags and deer is sighted in the distance but the rumbling of the bikes makes them scuttle off quickly, I slow down my bike for the rest of the journey in the hope of catching sight of a few more wild animals. A lot of langurs are dancing and playing games on the top of a check post, which announces the Kerala border.

There is dense jungle everywhere and a rivulet is gurgling about in a gorge below. But it cannot be seen because of the thick rain-trees. Briefly some leaves can be seen shaking violently as a result of water falling around near them, but the stream itself is not visible.
The road is good, and occasionally a jeep comes in from the opposite direction.
We stop and admire the Tarzan country, which is all around us. A central stream of river now visible in some parts as waterfalls surrounded every inch of the space by trees, herbs, weeds and vines. The stream runs two or three miles before turning into the side of the valley in which it is traveling. The weather is already turning chill even though it is just 1730 hrs.
Shortly afterwards we enter Maraiyur. The number of resorts beckoning us make me think what Munnar would be just 42 Kms ahead. We debate shortly whether to stay here, because the aura of this place is superb, with hills on one side and an open field on the other side where kids are having a ball. Just beside this field is the valley and a grand view of the hills towering into the air, their peak covered with clouds so that you cant estimate how tall they are. We decide to go out of this place and then check into the first available place. With this resolution we move ahead.
The sights start getting intoxicating, but we want to reach Munnar before dark. Rains...when will they start? We are already in Munnar; the luck is definitely on our side. 'Ride like you don't have a destination’ is a nice phrase but when on a bike you got to give it a break when you see so stunning imagery. Among the green flat tea gardens which flow like a 1 meter thick silken carpet all over this place, there is a bougainvillea blooming with full spiritual force in magenta and a spring flowing in an array, very innocent of the willingness to live that it induces in me. I am cut off from everything for just one moment. From my friends, folks, worries, desires they all simply vanish in this moment. It’s most definitely some spiritual vibration.

We then ride on towards Munnar, and every bend and turn has most beautiful Rock Springs, even a single one of which would have brought folks flocking in Bangalore.
We reach Munnar and Arun patiently asks everyone who knows about a nice place to stay. We move towards devikulam about 8 Kms from the Munnar town and find a grand place at Spring Dale resort for which one has to break straight from the road instead of going right.
The trees are swishing and our dry shoes are off for the day.


24th June:
If we had stuck to the plans we should have been heading towards Thekkadi at 0800 hrs. But plan’s changed. We both want to see Munnar first. We will be back exclusively for Thekkadi later. Arun takes his time to pack things for the day and smoke, meanwhile I head out towards the Thekkadi road for a short ride, take a diversion about half kilometers and find myself perched overlooking the sub-jail, I dare not fish my camera out for the moment, but the view is absolutely stunning. The morning haze is just lifting like a curtain and a couple of birds are whistling in en effort to find a mate. There is absolute stillness and a pastoral silence. It is green all around and the morning chill makes the teeth chatter. But there is freshness all around.
In another 10 minutes I meet Arun and we head off towards Top Station, which is 25 Kms from Munnar. As soon as we come out of Devikulam a divine sight greets us. Mounds and mounds of hills covered in tea, one after the other and they look like a community of turtles sleeping away to eternity. The ones on the other edge of sight are still covered in mist and cannot be seen; only an outline can be made out. A British era house stands in the corner of this panorama. The guard informs us that this estate, like many others, is owned by the Tata group. We then move along the road and reach Munnar, and take a diversion after a bridge towards Top Station. The now usual sight of eucalyptus trees and their mystic smell is all around. The road is heavenly, without potholes. The place still has a totally undisturbed aura of the British. The estate managers walk around in shorts, toting their batons and wearing hunting caps, complete with leather badges.
We stop for a view of the Kadala dam, which is enroute. The water is not full and it has still not rained enough to fill up the lake here but the sidelines, which display the waterline, are of a different shade. From the opposite side come the yellow tractors loaded with tealeaves. I fall in love with these toy machines, painted yellow to mix aesthetically with the greenery and be visible from a distance; they look like old diesel locomotives.
1130 hrs: We have breakfast at the nearby Noori Coffee house and push towards the top station, where towards the end, the road becomes treacherous. Deforestation is in swing to make way for tea estates. As I ride towards top station a spectacular view hits me hard in the face and wakes me up as if from a sleep. Ahead are mountains covered at the top in clouds which and as far as the eyes can see there is pristine beauty. The clouds are waking up and taking over the hills at a fast pace and move in a harmony. I could spend hours just sitting still over here. At the top station I spot the kurunji plant, which gives this southern region its name. This plant blooms every twelve years and will bloom in Dec 2006 next.
On the opposite side are some tribal huts visible like specks of dust, a trekking trail and a demarcation for an upcoming tea estate. Rocks and an infinite number of springs and the cold winds blow into my face. The woods are all around and the next time I am here I will be trekking these parts even if I am alone. A minor river is visible as a small groove in the landscape.
What is a river, is it the land? Nobody calls a groove a river if it does not have water, then is it the water that we call a river? The water is moving constantly and what I call a river now, will be an ocean a week later. People and nations are like rivers too, and you can’t define them but they exist and make their presence felt in a unique way.
1230 hrs: I move about at the top while Arun peeks into the binocular and tries to spot an ibex, and is later informed that the Tahr (Neelgiri Ibex, known as Varayad in the local language) doesn’t live in these hills. We then have a masala chai at a nearby dhaba and head back towards Munnar.
The way back is full of various sights and events like the sighting of a family of wild elephants. The parents walk around leisurely eating the grass while the tiny one is excited abut the world about him and his mother puts him back on track at regular intervals. We stop and watch this play for 15 minutes and then head back to Munnar amidst this intoxicating scenery. Enroute is an Elephant waiting to earn his master some morning tea. “Sawari?” I nod in the negative and point to my bike ‘I got this to ride!’ he grins, “enna petrol illi”.
Next stop is Rajamala, the home to Eravikulam national park. As soon as we are out of Munnar a beautiful view appears in the extreme distance. Out of the greenery that surrounds us, a white monolith juts out of the ground, and in the center of this huge distant rock is a stream hurtling down. The trunk down portion of this rock is covered in woods and clouds. This is the place we have to go to, Eravikulam national park, the home to the Neelgiri Tahr.
We reach the waterfall at the center of the monolith after a forty-minute ride. The water gushes down the rock and under a steel platform erected to let the vehicles pass. From here we take a view into the “swarga” as depicted in the epics. Greenland all around in the sloping valley, and clouds gushing into it with a speed, A cloud hits our feet and we are soon blanketed by it. It starts drizzling and visibility is reduced to a few feet, then the way it had come this haze disappears, and we are all left wet and cheerful. We prowl around in quest for the Tahr, but it is nowhere to be seen. After an hours toil for the Tahr when we trek the park road, the Tahr is still too shy to reveal itself. But the views from this place will be remembered for a long time. We promise ourselves to come back again in the quest for the Tahr and exit with a heavy heart from the national park.
Since we have no urgent business in Munnar town we decide to go riding towards Maraiyur again, and stop at the first teashop we would find. 1820: the first teashop in this direction is found after 30 Kms of riding. Arun quickly enquires if there is a waterfall nearby, even though with the kind of scenery you don’t really need to be thirsty about waterfalls. It is determined that the closest one is 1 ½ Kms ahead. There we go again and spot a couple of villagers lighting up a bonfire at a twisty corner. Arun enquires, “Where is the waterfall around?” “Which one? There is one at ½ Kms another at 2 Kms and another…”
1840 hrs: We stop at the waterfall and I go down to the rock and lie down.

After 10 minutes we decide to head back. It is dark now and after a bend the bonfire that was being lightened previously appears. We stop our bikes and sit around the fire in this absolute wilderness. We talk about various things including how a log about this trip would be quite a wasteful effort because nothing would ever be able to describe the place. After 1 ½ more hours of chitchat, we head back to the guesthouse. On the way back I see a huge stone shaped creature that is moving roughly 20 meters ahead of me, I quickly kill my engine. It is a huge porcupine with zebra like black and white quills all erect, and it quickly rushes into the tea garden. We stop and look around but it cannot be spotted, we then head home and announce the end of a special day of our lives.


25th June:
The day when we have to leave Munnar. My brain feels heavy, could it be the effect of cold air, I muse, but the air wasn’t that cold also, I know inside. We leave at 0615 hrs in our quest for the elusive Tahr towards Eravikulam national park.

I catch the first morning streak shooting out of the clouds. The hills are all dark and only silhouettes yet, the trees sway in the cool breeze and the horizon has a green tinge. The clouds are heavy today and probably after a two-day peace it will rain.
We rip towards Rajamala because we have no intention of missing the Tahr today. The Rajamala peak is totally covered in clouds and the milky stream is not visible from the same spot as yesterday.
0710 hrs: We reach there without delay and on the targeted time. Soon we are off on the lookout for the Tahr. Arun determines from the guard, the exact spot where we are likely to find the Tahr and we start our trek in that direction. Just after the last point of the park I go still. I sense a minor movement in the distance. It looks like a plant on the hillside but it’s the only plant around. Arun stops behind me and asks me “what happened”, then I rush to borrow his camera and zoom it to the max. Unmistakably it is the Tahr on the outline of the hill, Arun clicks away at this elusive beast for which we are ready to come back again and again. It is shortly joined by one more and we stare away at them.
The clouds are already over and around us and we are no way as sure footed as the Tahr. After a 40-minute trek we reach the Eravikulam lake and a nearby forest office post. Unable to find a Tahr at a closer distance we are disappointed but promise to return to Munnar for a closer look at this beast alone. After asking directions from the post we rejoin the road and then our bikes and head back to Munnar.
1000 hrs: breakfast at Munnar chiefly comprised of various vadas and fried bananas and then by 1230 we are ready to leave Munnar.
The first target is Kottamangalam and we zip away towards this place. There are innumerable springs on the way some large and some small… but the eyes never get enough of them and I hope to spot that ‘one more’ after each bend. 1415hrs: Chai break. Chai wallah asks, “Where are you headed sir?” “Kalpetta”, “you won’t be able to make it sir”, “we’ll make it”, grins, “Sir it is 2:15 now, even if you stop for one minute at the big waterfall, you’ll reach Kottamangalam by 3:00pm and to Thrissur by 6:30 pm, you must stay there then for the night”.
We zip away on the super smooth highway, stopping exactly for a minute at the ‘big waterfall’ and reach Kottamangalam at 1450 hrs. Onwards we go towards Thrissur, without a single stop.
From here our ordeal begins there are public buses all over this highway, which resembles the JC road. There are people and shops all over the highway for the complete 200 Kms of the stretch until Kozhikode. The buses rock like ships caught in storm and I imagine what must be happening to the passengers inside. Sometimes the road breaks up but the surrounding infinite town does not. Even the road makers are not sure about the town limits. 50 Kms to Thrissur announces one milestone. 61 Kms announces the next green board and I am never quite sure whether I am going backwards while traveling forwards.
1720 hrs: Thrissur, we go into a restaurant opposite a bus stand and are totally wet thanks to a few good showers on the way. In a bid to protect my belongings from getting wet I put them on the table which spells doom, my cell phone gets stolen when I go to the loo. Already irritated by the road, this incident makes me curse the whole town and I swear at that point, never to come back or recommend it to anyone. Anyways we have no option but to move on and so starts out the busy road journey again.
2230 hrs: after a hearty meal, we head towards Kalpetta and the road and conditions improve drastically, and my spirits along with the altitude begin to rise. We go through Lakkidi and then enter Kalpetta after a couple of hours ride in which Arun and I are separated by a couple of kilometers. 0040 hrs: Chandragiri hotel, the bearer announces that there is no TV room available. Arun asks me to wait while he checks out other options. I veto him saying we hardly have any time for TV and take the only available room to call it a halt.

26th June:
0730 hrs: Kalpetta to Chundale is a scenic drive of about 10 Kms. It is a NH and fresh road paint and signs make life pleasant. Breakfast is had at the bistro ‘New Paris’, which has less of Paris and more of Kalpetta about its air. We head towards Lakkidi and I leave Arun behind at a viewpoint and head back out on the highway and look around. I fish out my camera and start clicking. Every bus comes along with wide-eyed passenger staring at this tourist standing in the rain and clicking pics. Some SUVs see me stopped and anticipating an ‘echo point’ or some popular destination park nearby. But they are disappointed that this is only a usual bend and then after a minute or two take off. I observe fire lines in the valley which have been made to prevent forest fires, but it’s raining and I imagine that they are mostly redundant for now.

Hills upon hills, various layers piled till the sight goes stay there and some small stretches of the highway are visible as aberrations. It looks like a person is crawling over the highway over the other hill. Buses look like ants in the distance and can be determined as buses only after looking thorough my camera after max zoom.
Then I head back towards Kalpetta and find Arun’s bike parked at a teashop. We decide to check out Phookut Lake.
1000hrs: It is raining hard now and we go around the lake insensitive of the rain. Bright lotuses make my day and I click away.
The raindrops hitting the water create ripples and collision of ripples creates a wonderful play of light on the surface. The distance becomes hazy and
Rain trees with twisted trunks and weird shapes drip water and ferns are the greenest green. The fish must be happy too, and so must be the toads, they croak and croak and croak. I can’t unfortunately hear the fish. A tanga takes people around the lake for the ride but we are just interested in sitting on our bikes.
This is some quality time and the surroundings are mesmerizing. But all good things must come to an end and at 1200 we start back with the memories of the Phookut Lake.
The road takes us through Sultan Battery and my memories from the previous Wayanad trip come rushing back when I recognize all the roads and petrol stations.

1330 hrs: comes the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary and I again slow down in the hope of catching a family of elephants lazing somewhere. But there is luck only in the form of a couple of young ladies staring out at me from the back of a Santro. Since this experience is as rare as the sighting of a wild elephant, I trail the Santro for more than a few Kilometers but then I get bored of these games and disappear towards Gundulpet from where a diversion is taken towards Kollegal to avoid the busy the Mysore-Bangalore road.
2000 hrs: The trip officially comes to and end and Arun do our so long and part ways.


Did I really go to Munnar? Was it the real Munnar or another place with the same name? Oh well it indeed was Munnar, but was it any justice, giving it just four days of my long wasted life.
The trip to Munnar is likely to remain as a memory like the elusive Varayad, the Tahr, which revealed itself but barely just, and leaving a thirst for more.