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We were up early to meet Antony (AKA Tony, AKA Tony Blair!!), our driver who was going to take us on a tour around Kerala. Our first destination was Munnar. On the way, we stopped at the Elephant Training Centre, where we helped to wash the elephants. It was free, we just had to give the trainers a tip (for Chai!) and the elephants some bananas! The elephants were aged between 7 months and 35 years old! We washed them using the husks of coconuts and a bit of elbow grease. They felt really strange, really leathery and their hairs were like sweeping brush bristles! The babies were really cute though, but not very well-trained, as they wanted to play rather than be washed!
We continued the journey to Munnar through very steep and winding roads past waterfalls, viewpoints and.....pineapples, Jack Fruit, Nutmeg, pulp trees, teak trees, rubber trees, mangos, coffee beans, pepper trees etc, etc (Tony pointed EVERYTHING out to us - which was really interesting, but he pointed the same things out every time we went past it! We'd be drifting off to sleep, then....... "Jack fruit, Jack fruit!!!" and "Church, Church, Church" Bless him!
We checked into our home stay (JJ Cottage - v.nice) then headed straight to the tea museum and factory. We were showed the process of how the tea leaves are turned into the tea we drink. We then headed to Madupetty Dam, which was a real change of scenery, to what we have previously experienced in India so far - it looked like Canada, or Switzerland, as Tony said. Then it was on to Echo Point, where we all had to have a go at shouting across the lake to hear our echos!
We then headed up to the Top station, which is the highest hillstation. It was above the clouds, looking over the Western Ghats in bordering Tamil Nadu. It was really cold and grey, just like home! On the way back to the homestay, we past a church, so, as Tony was so excited, we thought we should go and take some photos...the caretaker had just locked up, but opened the church up for us to go inside. He took great pride in showing us all of the old bibles, one dating back from 1804, and then he let us have a go on the organ! We definitely aren't a musical family!
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