Went to a place known for its beauty and guess what, the first thing I do once I reach is break my glasses… wonderful start.
But honestly, the trip to Munnar was perfect. It had everything and ticked all my boxes:
- The Mountains - breathtaking views everywhere
- The food - South Indian breakfast is absolutely goated
- Wonderful people - at least one
- Nearly died - not really, but it felt dramatic
- Went on a run in the hills - terrible idea, 10/10 would do again
- Sat on an elephant - no yo mama jokes please
- Saw a wild bison - majestic creature
- Was in close proximity with a peacock - they’re FAST
- Saw enough monkeys for a lifetime - seriously, so many monkeys
- Sandalwood forests - the smell alone was worth it
Also, I want to give a special shoutout to my stomach for not having any sort of motion sickness while traveling through the mountains. The roads were truly wild with hairpin bends that seemed endless, and the car clearly wasn’t designed for tall people. My knees still haven’t recovered.
The Run
Speaking of knees, I even went for a run there (not a very smart choice). Easily one of the most humbling runs of my life as the elevation really does get you.
At some point, I could see a full line of people (mostly tourists) smoking cigarettes, and there was a voice in my head saying, “Weak… Couldn’t be me.” The craziest part? I didn’t even sweat a little despite wearing my jacket. I took a few videos, but all you can hear is my breathing, the mountains that took my breath away quite literally.
Starav’d it obviously
Altitude (image flip zala)
Fourteen Years Later
So, I’ve actually been to Munnar before, 14 years ago to be exact. It’s actually mind-boggling how much I remember because I went into the trip thinking I would remember nothing. But I actually remember walking on the slopes of Eravikulam National Park, and recreating my old photos with my mother was just the icing on the cake.
Meeee
Amma-Appa
I think my mother (Amma) must have seen this photo a million times and is convinced I’ve lost too much weight and that I need to eat more, which may be half true.
My friends, of course, had their own opinions ranging from “You look like a screwdriver” to “Your eyes look very dead”.
Fun stuff.
The Treehouse
AND YES, THE TREEHOUSE! It has to be the greatest thing I have ever seen. It’s sooooo cool.
We actually got down from the jeep (had no doors and windows, btw) in a sandalwood forest, and the treehouse caught my eye, it was glorious. I have more than 60 photos from different angles of the same treehouse. The sandalwood smell, it was really a crazy moment in general.
Visiting Munnar after 14 years felt like seeing it through new eyes. I just know I’ll be back here again with new memories to make, more photos to take and hopefully better stamina. Maybe it could be a checkpoint place, a place to track how much I’ve grown over time.
My first travel blog. I think I need to learn to transition between paragraphs better, tried add a paragraph titles.