Day 6 (23rd April 2025):
We woke up, freshened up, had breakfast and sat in the hotel room. I was under the weather and Mr.Bee was sweet enough to take the boys out to play, by himself.
They played in the playground at the White House Hotel, while I had a rejuvenating nap. I woke feeling a little refreshed and active.
We had our lunch in the room, watched some random movie.
Incidentally, this was also the day after the Pahalgam terror attack, about which we came to know a little late. Since we had been on the road all day (Day 5), we couldn’t be in touch with anyone (no signals at most viewpoints) and that must have been terrible for both Mr.Bee’s and my parents. We didn’t know there was a terror attack and we didn’t know people were trying to get in touch with us!
Anyway, after our evening snacks, we got out of the room at last, to go for shopping. Mr.Bee bought me a Kasavu saree at the Kasavu Aalayam. (Yet to wear it)
Our next stop was the Munnar Chocolate Factory. GBee and KBee were excited about visiting MCF and even without eating a single chocolate, they seemed to be in a sweet-induced-high!
We reached room in time for our dinner and slept peacefully.
Day 7 :
As if Munnar was silently crying for the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, the day had started out bleak, with a downpour!
Although we were on a holiday, we still felt sad for the effect the terrorists had on tourists. (Incidentally, Munnar is a safe place. Most of the population here follow Christianity.)
I kept thinking about …what goes inside the brain of a terrorist ? Are they even human ? Are they crazy ? And more such thoughts continued…
We had originally planned for a safari tour, to watch the animals in the majestic Munnar. Sadly, the rain was a deterrent.
After our lunch, we decided to go out anyway. Coming to Munnar and sitting inside the hotel room for most part of the day, seemed useless.
Once the heavy rain turned into a drizzle, we booked our safari, through a phone call. (Safari tours are just a phone call away)
Our rental Ertiga driver, who was still with us in Munnar had no major work for two straight days. He was happy chatting up with other drivers and sleeping lazily throughout the day.
Our safari tour guide brought a jeep, loaded us inside and we started out.
I packed a bag with some 45th Avenue cookies, water bottles, ear muffs and fully charged phones and we were ready for the elephants!
As soon as we reached Anachal, we took beautiful photos at various viewpoints.
@ Anachal
We entered the forest area and thanks to the heavy rain since the morning, the forest was replete with waterfalls and rain water run-offs.
You really need to be there to see the beauty of Munnar. I can’t explain it any better.
At one viewpoint (pic above), we saw a car driver, park his car on the rocky trail, fill up a bucket with the water from the foot of the waterfalls, to wash his car! Even that simple task seemed new to us. (Who even washes a car near waterfalls in the city? No one.) It was a novel experience, although using a soap is not exactly environment friendly in places like Anachal and Mankulam.
Munnar is a beauty and thanks to the rain, we got to see it, in its true glory.
By the time we reached Perumbankuthu Waterfalls, the rain was not a drizzle anymore. It was more of a downpour. Our safari driver stopped the jeep, gave us two umbrellas and pointed towards the bridge and the steel deck we needed to go to, to take in the view.
Angle 1
Angle 2
Angle 3
Steps leading to deck – on normal days, with no rains…
The bridge and the viewpoint were completely deserted. (Who even goes around for tours when there is a downpour? No one, except some rare specimens like QB and family!) Here too, inspite of the umbrella in my hands, drenched feet and cool breeze causing shivers, I still enjoyed the view. It will stay in my memories, for a long time to come.
@Tiger Cave – QueenBee and a bridge!
We later made a brief stop at the Tiger Cave, near Mankulam village. It was closed because of the rains and we returned to our jeep. Every village had small shops with noodles, tea, coffee and the forever unhealthy option of packets of half filled potato chips of Lays and others.
GBee loves potato and it’s byproducts, so he demanded me for a Lays packet. I complied his request, by giving him the millet cookie! He looked at me in silence, he has the whole life ahead of him, to complain, he will get there soon!
We continued our tour, the final destination being Anakulam. It was already half past five.
The jeep came to a halt at the junction which was prominently marked by Holy Mary with Baby Jesus in Her arms. Many vehicles were parked there, filled with tourists in all sizes and shapes. We even saw a white family, who waited for a glimpse of the elephants, patiently.
We met a desi family, who are NRIs from the U.K and we discussed the tour plans and feedbacks. They were past the age of 60 and the kiddos too didn’t shy away from telling them what they really thought about the safari tour!
We waited and waited till 6:30 and decided to return to Munnar from Anakulam, since it was already getting dark and the kids were hungry.
The safari tour guide had already warned us about a ‘no-show’ from the elephants, because, heavy rains meant cold climate and foggy pathways in the forests and the elephants preferred to stay together with their herds, than roam about towards the village or play in the water, like they usually did!
@ Anakulam – on a normal day
GBee was mighty disappointed and even after a month or so after the trip came to an end, the only thing he remembered was that we couldn’t spot a single elephant in our safari tour!
@ Anakulam – a “no – show” , when it rains.
After more than one hour, we finally reached the hotel. Mr.Bee, GBee and KBee had dozed off in the jeep but I stayed awake, looking at the deserted roads and sleepy forest, on our way back.
After a quick wash up and change of clothes, we were ready to call it a day. I wish I had seen some of the pukka local elephants, spray eachother with water, but one can’t have everything!
We slept like logs, thanks to the safari trip in the jeep.
P.S :
1. I admire the army personnel who were responsible for the Operation Sindoor. Thank you guys. I don’t know know how you do it, but thanks anyways!
2. I am also thankful that we have a pro active PM and not a meritorious silent puppet, who served the Desh Drohis in silence.
3. Since it is already December and I am yet to complete my April vacation posts, I decided to finish it off first, before writing about anything else. Timing sucks!
4. The photos which were taken by me or Mr.Bee have my blog name in them, but the others I have freely taken from online. Thanks to the kind sources, who let others use their photos, without plastering them with watermarks!
5. I seem to be attracting lots of spam messages. Thanks, but no thanks!
Till the next post, bubye!
