Munnar

On to Munnar. A town in the Western Ghats mountain range. Home to the Lakkam waterfalls, and tea plantations. However, it's been quite dry, so 'waterfall' is a trickle.
About 2,500 metres above sea level. Population of 150,000 in the area, 90% of which work on the tea plantations. Temperature in February is 24 °C during the day, and below 13 °C at night. No need for fan/air conditioning.

The bus takes 4.5 hours. Up narrow, winding roads, shear drop of thousands of feet on one edge, and high walls of the tea plantations on the other. Yet our bus driver still manages to overtake cars and buses with inches to spare. We keep expecting to see the crushed and burnt out remains of vehicles in the valleys below. Didn't see any, they must be expert at quick removal...

Arrived safe and sound. Didn't book any accommodation as many places are a little over our budget at £300 a night. Not too bad, as you get an electric heater thrown in. It does get quite cold, dipping to 9 °C in the early hours.
The only accommodation we could get is a so called hotel, the ' Dhurga Inn'. If you ever find yourself in these parts, avoid it like the plague. Had a run in with one member of staff who attempted to give us one towel as it is "one room". Had to use simple language to evoke the concept of a double room, for two people.

Not every problem has a solution. The only solution for this guy is to go back in time in order to suggest contraception to his parents on the eve of his conception.
Well, things only went downhill from there. The other employee of this establishment would only give us the code for the internet if he put it into our devices, withholding the password from our view. Place is run by control freaks.

The sink and toilet are a movable feast, not properly attached, with leaking plumbing. Two of the pillows are just covers stuffed with straw. It is lucky that we have our own liners and pillows with us. It's the one time that Yvonne wished that the mattress still had its plastic cover on.
Find later that the architect actually built an echo chamber. It's like St Paul's, the slightest sound is magnified and rebounds.

Can't wait to review it; of course for the American version we will give it a glowing report!

Went to the Tea Museum, looked around, had a cup of tea, then left.
Mike likes to go into the local tea and coffee places, for a cup of masala tea. The best one yet was at a bus station 12 km from Thekkady, hot, spicy and sweet.
Leave you with some photos: why the bus driver wants to drive fast; road on one side; road on the other; tea at a bus station; Mike; Yvonne; Hotel WTF.