Welcome to the third chapter of this journey. To get a better context, please help yourself with the earlier chapters, https://phoodiemonk.com/picking-the-best-from-gods-own-country-inception/ & https://phoodiemonk.com/picking-the-best-from-gods-own-country-interval/.

Thekkady

So finally we were in the last leg of our South India tour and it makes me sad when I look back to that date today. The mind kind of starts making some reverse calculations, but back then we were happy souls, just relishing the nature without any calculations. Moving on with the journey, the next day, 26th of December 2019, we heavy-heartedly skipped the delightful breakfast of The Deepwoods Resort and started for Thekkady

Waking up at 6:00 am in Munnar is divine. It felt as if we were in a different world altogether. On the one hand you see dew from tea leaves slowly evaporating, while on the other hand you see low-lying clouds hovering over everything they could.

Diverse aromas of spices crawled through the Cardamom Hills to reach our nostrils as our eyes wandered through fine nature on our way to the first stop, Periyar National Park. The inexperienced planner in me caught all of us off-guard as the whole efforts to reach the Periyar Park went for a toss. Isn’t it strange, how the rewarding journey suddenly seems like a pain when we don’t end up at the planned destination? I wonder if this is the very root of most pains we suffer in life.

Secret Tip

Make sure to confirm your ticket for the Ferry ride beforehand if you are planning for Periyar National Park

But the journey must go on, so we decided to have some fun time – an elephant ride. While we waited for our turn we all agreed that we should have gone for the elephant shower too.????

Enough of a fun time, get ready for some spiced lessons, said our guide at one of the spice gardens we visited. Having lived a life dependent on spices for the last three decades, I was excited on a different level altogether as our guide enlightened us with the spice facts.

I ended up buying a lot of spices. The sun was ready to take a break and we rushed back to our cozy shed in Munnar. It was a long drive of 4 hours and all along one can expect lights only in Churches. Talking about churches, Kerala boasts a wide range of styles in which Churches have been architected. It’s like every city has defined its own taste and style. We helped ourselves with some amazing dinner back in our resort, the Deep Woods.

Top Station & Mattupetty

The next day, December 27th, was the penultimate day of our rejuvenating trip so we decided to keep it short and simple. After filling our Bengali bellies with surplus food at our heavenly abode, we headed to the Top Station, the highest hill station in Munnar. It was mesmerizing to see the clouds swiftly emerging from a point. Unfortunately, it is the border point, so unless you have a vehicle pass for Tamil Nadu avoid going to the exact point.

Next we headed to Mattupetty dam and believe me, it’s a complete package of entertainment. I must recommend reserving an entire day to explore this package. We began with a speed boat ride hosting the view of Munnar hills and a captivating view of the tea plantations. Pay the rider some tip and in return get a complete ride of the dam. The rides in the nearby CowBoy park got Poggo hooked. Actually, Di & myself had been eyeing it and the childhood memories of rides had to be re-lived. We tried our hands on some adrenaline-boosting activities such as Horizontal Ladder, Multivain & Spanish Bull Ride. We also enjoyed the Swing chair, Pedal car and many more activities with Poggo

Mattupetty dam has a small yet unique shopping area offering a wide range of wooden artifacts. Not to forget the cashew nuts which are sold at a dirt-cheap price. Apart from tea plantation and amazing scenic beauties Munnar also hosts a big market of chocolates. We filed our trunks to the brink on our way back.

Finally it was time to bid goodbye to my love, yes the 28th of December. The sudden realization left me gasping for more of her infectious smile. Nevertheless, with a hope to see her in five months of time again, on her 4th birthday ???? we concluded our journey.

Thanks for being a part of my amazing journey. Stay tuned for the next post. Good Bye!!!