Stalking Vanilla: Down South: Part 3: Hotel Avondale at Pallivasal & Munnar

This was the final destination traveling to South of India.

We started for Munnar at about 8:30 AM from Elephant Valley Eco Farm in Perumalmalai-, Palani Hills, Kodaikanal.

We went via the Periyakulum-Theni route.I don't know if there are other routes.

I had still not booked any place for our stay and all through the way, I searched for a roof on our heads.

I finally locked on Avondale at Pallivasal in Idukki District, which was 13 kms away from Munnar.

We came down from one Palani Hills, to the plains and went back up another hill.

We crossed the border into Kerala from Tamil Nadu, which lies more than half way up in the hills.

At first the terrain is quite like Kodai but soon this gives way to cardamom plantations on both sides of the road.

As we got closer to Munnar, we realized that this is tea country and how.

The tea estates at Ooty, Coonoor pale in comparison.

I was in AWE!

There are only tea estates and nothing else, as far as the eye can see.

We really do like our tea.don't we!

It started drizzling as we got to Munnar, but it was the sort of rain that is wispy and dances to the wind, i.e. romantic.

It truly was stunning.

We stopped for tea at this small shop on route.

Pallivasal lies ahead of Munnar (depending on where you are coming from, though), we went further.

A sharp turn downhill takes you there, across small villages and hamlets.

Avondale is a small secluded guesthouse. We were in the rooms in the cottage next to the river, which has only 3 rooms. There is another building which has more rooms.

Avondale lies in the valley floor and next to it flows the river Mudirapuzha.

It is a gorgeous setting and since it was monsoons, the tropical forest vibe was in bloom - lush thick greenery, everything clean and bright, and little bugs and frogs jumping away as you walked on the grass.

There is an unobstructed view of the river, the beautiful forest around and the quaint little field right across where we would see a man at work.

The rooms at Avondale are large and comfy. The bathroom has the latest fixtures and is very clean. I was happy.

I loved it.

We settled in and since by the time we got there and settled in, it was already late, we got only maggi and tea to eat. No sweat. It is a guesthouse after all and not a hotel/resort.

I went around looking for them birds and the family headed out to see some viewpoints.

What did we do? We watched birds and got some great shots, which will come up in the next post.

I realized I must tap into the calm as much as I could, since Bombay, which was a day away was looming large. We were, after all, heading back after 1 day.

The family got back and we enjoyed a nice evening in each other's company.

Dinner is not served in the rooms and one has to go to the dining area for it.

It really was pretty good, nothing spectacular but enjoyable. We had had Kerala style Biryani, which flavour wise was very good, but just was a tad too wet for our liking. Having said that, the soup was really good and since my throat was currently on a revolt, the soup did manage to calm it a tad.

Day 6: Munnar
The next day, while the family headed out at about 11 AM for sightseeing, we spent some quality time really enjoying the place

I realize as I write these posts on our trip to the South of India, that my blog is probably not for those people who go and see "points". I like 'being' in a place and truly consciously experiencing it and that for me, is the 'point'.

Following are my criteria of having 'been' somewhere:
1. We were actually there

2. We got to see and consciously experience the flora and fauna

3. We smelled the air - Yes, it is different everywhere. For example, Himachal Tirthan smells of Pine, Shimla is apple-y, Kinnaur is apple-y and herby, Kodaikanal was mostly spicy and Munnar makes you want to add tea to your whisky. You get the drift.

4. We sat in nature's lap and really paid attention to whatever chapter she had opened.

The husband has also transformed into this being, much to the surprise of our friends.

Ooooooh, i feel like going somewhere right away right now, which is not a an emotion you want to deal with on a lazy Friday when you are sneakily writing a couple of paras of your blog while at work. More than the boss, it's the judgement of people that report to you that you worry of. Don't judge, it's Friday, and it had a holiday a day before and has 2 after it and most colleagues are out on a holiday. I am only human!

Anyways, we planned to meet the family for a late lunch at Munnar and so we headed out at around 3 PM.

BTW jeeps are available for hire in Munnar and are cheaper than hiring a SUV. Also, since the jeep is open from both sides, you feel the wind and see the views un-obstructively.

We met with the family in the market and bought some things from here. Since we had already bought spices, chocolates et al, there wasn't much that we had to get. We basically bought banana chips, jack-fruit chips and some rice chips.

We headed out of the market area, since I prefer to eat at scenic open places and there were none where we were. So we ate at this clean and open state run restaurant.