Tom It was now day 10 of our India Travels and we were in the idyllic and beautiful region of Munnar. More specifically, The Leaf Munnar hotel, nestled in the hills and countryside of Munnar…
After our feast at Bouquet Garni (in-house restaurant of The Leaf Munnar) last night, it was with great sadness that we woke up at 6am this morning for our breakfast at The Leaf Munnar…
Breakfast only had vegetarian options but tasted quite good. With coffee, egg omelette and some carbohydrates, we were good to go. After chilling out by the pool for the last time, we reluctantly checked out and met our driver Sajit to head to our next destination in Munnar – The Spice Garden of Munnar. We also learnt that Sajit actually stayed in the car overnight which meant that there aren’t any sleeping quarters for drivers here. Perhaps The Leaf Munnar might want to look into this and provide a little more comfort for these hardworking drivers? Afterall, well rested drivers are also much safer drivers right?
Things to do and Attractions of Munnar
Arriving at the Spice Garden of Munnar, we were first led into a five elements structure…
The five elements were earth, fire, water, wind and space. However, due to the Kerala floods of 2018, the constructions were delayed. Nonetheless, we were able to take a walk through it. Next up, the spice gardens itself…
We apologise for not being able to name all the herbs and spices above as there were just too many of them. During the tour, we were able to smell and taste certain leaves of plants in the spice garden. The taste of the leaf of Stevia plant was mildly sweet when we chewed it. Does the name Stevia sound familiar? This is because it is also used as a sweetener in versions of Coke.
As for the tour, according to Indian Ayurveda, there are cures for all types of illnesses, ailments and even cancer (erm, take this with a pinch of salt as it is still the year 2019) – all from herbs and spices that can be found within this Spice Garden in Munnar. Essentially, our guide covered all the ailments from common cough, to backaches, to eyesight to cancer. He also emphasised that the biggest advantage of ayurveda treatment is that there isn’t a need for surgery (non-evasive). Yup, our guide was “selling” his products during the tour. In essence, since his “coverage” was so comprehensive, you’ll definitely consider buying something from the shop. This time, we bought the “effective massage oil” and “export quality hair oil”. Not sure what they mean but they were quite expensive. Supporting the local economy 😂
Enroute back from Munnar to Alleppey, we stopped by the 2 waterfalls we saw yesterday. Valara Waterfalls and Cheeyeappara Waterfalls. The journey from Munnar to Alleppey was 5 hours (including the stops at Spice Garden and Waterfalls). Since the ride was so long, we slept and chat with Sajith, learning these few views from him…
1. Sardar Patel Statue. The world’s tallest statue is also a talk of the town for the people of Kerala. This is because, the statue took 3000 crores to build ($430million USD) while the Kerala government needed about 1000 crores from the central government to aid in the flood situation in 2018.
2. Taj Mahal. The locals don’t really see the Taj Mahal as a symbol of love. This is because again, too much money was used in its construction while people were taxed during its construction. Moroever, Mumtaz Mahal was the third wife of Shah Jahan – not an ideal representation of true love. Apparently, there are more twists and turns in this love story as illustrated in this BBC article.
3. About cows and beef. Many people in Kerala consume beef. However, the term “beef” is used to represent meat from buffaloes, not cows. Hence, you can actually get “beef” quite easily in Kerala. However, Modi tried to ban beef in Kerala – an action that did not go down well with the locals here. Cows are recognised as “holy” because of its utility. People in the past saw that the cow produced milk that could be consumed or sold. Produced dung/urine which were good for crops. However, today, Kerala has one of the highest educated population in India. These has now become more like stories to the educated generation.
4. Economy. Kerala’s main source of income comes from spices, rubber and seafood. Sajith also mentioned that his house (7km away from Bolgatty) was bought for 5 Lakhs ($7000 USD), 12 years ago and is worth 35 laks (~$50,000 USD) today.
We eventually arrived at Alleppey for our Kerala Backwater Cruise at 1345hrs.
Kerala Backwater Cruise Alleppey
The backwaters of Kerala is a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets that forms more than 900km of waterways. The largest of these is the Vembanad Lake. Because of this, Alleppey or Alappuzha is also affectionately known as the “Venice of the East”…
Ashok was the captain of our overnight boathouse cruise in Kerala. He told us that Kerala is a very peaceful and idyllic place where people bathe and wash clothes in the relatively clean waters. We then took the time to have our lunch (we chose vegetarian cause we thought that meat might not be fresh – but after visiting, non-vegetarian is definitely a good option to go with) and checked out the rest of the boathouse…
After lunch, Ahshok introduced us to 3 things that we could do during the boathouse cruise…
1. Small Boat Ride. This costs 800 rupees ($16 SGD). We decided against this option since we already had a whole boat cruise to ourselves. The boathouse that we were on was able to house 2 couples. However, the other room was unfilled. Hence, we had the whole boathouse to ourselves!
2. Massage. We took up this option along the way…
The massage was relatively expensive (1200 rupees – $24 SGD per pax for 30 minutes). Tom was unhappy with the massage because there was no air-conditioning. Moreover, the masseuse was quite inexperienced. However, Kate on the other hand had a really good massage experience. Hit and miss here.
3. Seafood. This is probably one of the most popular option for travellers on the Kerala Backwaters Boathouse Cruise. This time, we bought 6 big prawns and a couple of crabs for 1300 rupees. We also ordered 2 bottles of beers for 500 rupees. Hence, dinner worked out to be an additional 1800 rupees (or $36 SGD) for a seafood spread!
The rest of the time were spent cruising down the alleyways, enjoying the idyllic and scenic views that the beautiful Kerala backwaters has to offer…
It was indeed very relaxing to just cruise along the backwaters of Kerala. Somewhat therapeutic. Thank the Lord for His creation! Soon, it was time for our seafood dinner…
The day ended with reflections of the sun upon the backwaters of Kerala during sunset…
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Check out this video coverage of our review of the Alleppey Kerala Backwater Boathouse Cruise…
At night, we arrived at a rest stop where the other boathouses were. After the sumptuous dinner, we headed to our room and watched a movie called “Sunday Holiday”. Integrating into the local culture 😉
Stay tuned as we check out the other attractions of Kerala before we arrive at one of the best hotels in all of India…Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty!
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You have just completed a post from our 13 days travel in India. Find out more about this trip from our posts below!
India Travel Itinerary Day 1: Singapore to Chennai to Jaipur (Hotel Pearl Palace) via Indigo
India Travel Itinerary Day 4: Train from Jaipur to Agra – Our first views of the Taj Mahal
India Travel Itinerary Day 11: Arriving in Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty after Kerala Boat Cruise
Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty Review: Simply the Best Luxury Hotel in Kochi
Thai Soul Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty Review: The Most Authentic Thai Flavours in Kochi India!
Colony Clubhouse & Grill Grand Hyatt Kochi Review: Fine Cuisine in a Modern & Casual Setting
Malabar Cafe @ Grand Hyatt Kochi: Kerala Cuisine at its best!
Top 4 Attractions and Things to do in Munnar
Top 6 Things to do and Attractions in Leh Ladakh India
Top 4 Things to do and attractions in Agra India
Top 8 Jaipur Attractions and Things to do in Pink City
Top 6 Attractions and Things to do of Kochi Kerala
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