This is our third Thursday in India, it’s hard to believe, time has passed so quickly but then you think back to booking in to our second Hotel, the Green Gates at Kalpetta and it seems ages ago.
A planned rest day at Munnar has turned out to be an extra day of riding for nine of the eleven riders and two pillions.
Munnar as I have already said is described as a shanty town in some guide books. It is a tourist area which is evident by the number of young European back packers in the streets and hotels. There are several good hotels in town and several good restaurants. Jeep safaris can be an inexpensive way of exploring the area. Some of us have done that for the last couple of years and I suppose it was the prospect of an uncomfortable ride in the back of a Mahindra that drew me towards the extra day on the bike.
Gordon and Shafi arranged a guide to meet us at a Spice plantation and he would lead us to some off road tracks up in the mountains. Munnar is at 5500ft already quite high but were to go higher during the day.
I had already ridden down the town to have a new battery fitted to my watch which had stopped during the night. Cost me less that £1.00 at a watch repairer I had spotted the previous evening. I then had to go back down the town to refuel and we used the same garage where two years ago Huw Watts bike fell over after re-fuelling spilling some of his fuel.
We set off at 11am and after riding through a closed road upsetting the road works foreman we arrived at the Spice plantation where the attraction was not the spices but the elephants. There were three of them with their Mahouts. Some of those that had not ridden an elephant before took the opportunity for this unique experience. I was quite happy to sit and watch. Two elephants went off for 30 minutes with six passengers. On their return the party trick was to get drenched in water by the elephant squirting water from his or her trunk.
The local tour guide duly arrived and we set off for some quite challenging steep off road riding. What was nice about it was that it was dry so traction was not a problem. Kerry and Kathy rode pillion on Geoff and Gordon for the off road sections.
We eventually got back on to tarmac and then set of for the Wild Elephant hotel which was the product of much comment the last time we used the hotel in 2010. They remembered and welcomed us on arrival and provided us with sandwiches and tea. From the hotel the views are stunning and it was nice to see the place again. The cicada was making a lot of noise whilst we were there in fact on the approach several of us thought that our bikes were making funny noises and stopped to see what the problem was.
People who will remember this hotel would be Fran Bunce who had his birthday on the trip in 2010 and slept outside on the balcony for two days. Jef Collinwood who was so tired on arrival did not fancy riding his bike up the steep drive. Ted Curtis who’s bike fall over at the bottom of the drive when he was distracted. Dave Cox, Huw Watts and I who had to sleep in what was no better than a shed. Gordon for how fast he entered the car park after he ‘cleaned’ the steep drive. Mark and Carol Delling who got more lost than the rest of us when trying to find the hotel in the dark along monsoon washed out roads.
We rode back to Munnar along a different and challenging route. I ended up with my former pillion Kerry after a couple of the bikes fell by the wayside with clutch and gearbox problems.
We arrived back at the Clouds Valley hotel safe and sound much later than planned but we all agreed that it was a very enjoyable day.
We went to another hotel this evening for our meal. The buffets in these hotels are good value for money at 300 rupees (£4.00)
We will continue our descent to sea level tomorrow where our hotel is a house boat at Alleppy.
A very sad day for me and I sure for most us, it being the penultimate day in the saddle.
Nigel
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