Munnar Musings. Review on Munnar

Musings from Munnar

I remembered Munnar as a laid back holiday destination with a few hotels and even fewer^things to do^, just the right place for a lazy vacation.

So I planned to fulfill a long pending wish to revisit the place. We got a good deal from Abad Copper Castle and were all set to go.

The route did not seem any different and there was the usual thick vegetation all around, the water falls on the way, where one can have a refreshing shower, the drop in temperature as one climbs and the excellent roads all around.

But I missed the Paddy fields of old, those vivid green expanses fringed with coconut palms of my childhood. Sadly during my week in Kerala a Paddy field was a rare sight and I wondered why?

Munnar seemed full of hotels and tourists jostling each other in the little bazaar, in fact it seemed like a mini Ooty(the most crowded and miserable hill station I have visited).

Abad hotel seems to hang from the mountain and looks great from afar. But it is no castle. When you go near you find it is just one of those adequate hotels that abound all over. The staff is friendly and helpful, the food is Ok. The housekeeping could do with some improvement.

The biggest change which caused me problems was the insistence that I do something and not waste my time just resting and enjoy the scenery.

I was offered Jeep safaris, horse riding, Elephant rides, table tennis, boating etc… etc… The biggest misery was the Bonfire that the hotel insisted we attend. So a miserable bunch of strangers sat around a puny fire and hung around pretending to have fun while the music system blasted out some horrible sounds and kept going on and off. After the first day most of us avoided the Bonfires!

The trees are still there, the waterfalls still. well fall but now there are few of those lovely small tea shops which used to sell those delicious local stuff. Instead you have continental, Chinese etc. yes the same stuff you get in all the cities.

Munnar is no longer the peaceful place you went to relax and unwind. It is crowded and you have to stand in a Q for everything from your favorite tipple to boat rides. But I guess the situation is the same every where.

So in case you want to have a peaceful, restful holiday, switch on the A/c send the kids to Summer camp and wife to the nearby Shopping Mall and stay at home.

Kris ©