Top of the World!

“I’m the king of the world!”

After hearing tales of the beautiful Munnar, greenery in the sky, tea leaves kissing the clouds. I had to see it with my own eyes. Together with my new friend Braden we braved the government bus to Munnar from Kochi, four people cramped into a seat built for two it was an interesting ride to say the least. There is no concept of personal space in India, quite a refreshing experience to have your boundaries broken and completely ignored. Despite the arduous and uncomfortable journey to the top station our spirits were soaring, we were two young adventurers in search of the great unknown, ourselves. After finding some accommodation with the ‘help’ of a local tuk-tuk driver we were settled into a relatively nice guest-house.

Frigid, Fresh, Free

The next day began like any other day in India, an energizing yoga session accompanied by a steaming, sickly sweet chai. After a stroll around town, we hopped on the public bus bound for top station, the ride to the top left us with pupils dilated with pleasure and chattering mouths like little monkeys. Last stop, top station, walking down the road and the clouds literally passing through you, magnificent! We walked to the edge of the world and instead of being greeted with a view like no other the mist was so thick we were trapped in white.

The White closes in.

We didn’t come all the way to the top for nothing, throwing caution to the wind we leaped over the barrier and descended into the mist. Going off track, we slid, ran and climbed our way down from top station into the jungle. An amazing experience going through, open mountains, to lush rainforest, ending up in a coffee plantation, all with the aim of finding a waterfall we could hear somewhere, sadly we didn’t find the waterfall but none the less it was an exhilarating adventure. The most curious discovery was stumbling upon a obselete coffee ‘factory’, drying the beans on tarp using sunlight and processing them using some strange had spun mill.

Coffee!

After a long and demanding climb back to top station, we indulged in a well earned meal, consuming our food like ravenous beasts, tearing into our $1 meals with bare hands, forcing the food into our mouths as if our lives depended on it. After eating our fill, we sat back in enjoyed the glorious views, fulfilled, left with a sense of achievement and a tingling euphoria.

Content Braden

Ommm

A Mountainous Adventure

Splashes of Colour

A bicycle ride in Munnar is no walk in the park, the extreme altitude and the sheer climbs required makes it a laborious journey, attempting this ride on a bike without gears was a foolhardy decision. Thankfully I am blessed with a fools miraculous luck and with unyielding determination I completed the steep climb, the locals were amazed by the bike I was riding, it was in no way a good bike but by far the best they had seen. I stopped off at "photo point" to relax and let the shop owners and the general plebs have a turn of this 'marvellous' bicycle. Once I consumed my fill of freshly sliced pineapple and chugged enough water for a camel I resumed my ride.

Weary Delight

The next quirk I stumbled upon on this ride were the groups of young men selling what I thought at first was home-brewed whisky. To my delight and surprise it turned out to be bottles of honey in whisky bottles, I queried as to where they were harvested from, a smile on their face they pointed to the trees behind them. The trees were overloaded with hives, hanging down and oozing delicious honey. They had been harvesting them for years apparently, I must say it was some of the best tasting honey I’ve had the pleasure of sampling.

Only 300 rupees!

The rest of the ride was full of the usual oddities of India, elephants, monkeys, cows doing whatever they please and gob smacked locals. I felt accomplished and satisfied; Munnar had satisfied and stimulated all my senses.

Combs of Goodness

Munnar, Bustle among the Rustle.

Munnar a hill station in Kerala, India; is a contradiction, just like the rest of India. A hill station by definition is meant to be a place of sanctuary and peace, but Munnar welcomes you with screams, blaring horns and filth. It has pristine beauty and complete silence, only minutes away from all the filth and chaos.

Rolling tea fields, clouds rushing into your face and blue, blue, blue sky. Its beauty, peace, chaos, disorder, purity and filth all packed into one little town. Munnar was my favourite place in all of India, so I plan to write a fair bit about it over the next month or so.

Have a sip of some fresh tea and relax, I will take you on a journey like no other, hahahahahha :).

The Transformation Of Vang Vieng

Last time I left Vang Vieng, I recall making a vow with my cousin that we would never to return this ludicrous little apple. It was a town of complete debauchery and like everyone else I was swept up in the madness. Psychedelic bars lined the Nam Song river, selling every drug your heart could desire. Most bars would supply you with your first bucket free, the standard bucket would consist of 250 ml of tiger whiskey, one bottle of M-150 energy syrup, rumour was they contained amphetamines and lastly some coca cola to top off this potent chemical elixir. Needless to say a town with the majority of the inhabitants being tourists dosed up on varying chemical concoctions resulted in utter insanity.

Now I can’t deny the fact I enjoyed this insanity, but it is in the interest of tourist safety that this place is not what it once was. End of times type stuff I swear, ahhahaha :). The old Vang Vieng in my mind is summed up by a scene I witnessed when I was there back in 2012, I shall describe it for you…. A scraggy one-armed bar tender, uncouthly seizes a bottle of local whisky skulls (drinks rapidly) half the bottle, then proceeds to vomit violently into the Nam Song river, once said vomit is completed he then performs a front flip into his own retching, quite a touching moment, very dramatic and almost beautiful in its absolute grotesqueness.

The Vang Vieng of the present is so strikingly different to its past self, it is in need of a new passport. Tourist groups still meander the town clinging to the remnants of the past; strutting around in their tubing gear and struggling to keep the party going. The party has moved on and now the once abject natural beauty of Vang Vieng can be appreciated and used by a more sober population. Explore the eerie caves, take a dip in the revivify waters of the blue lagoon; or just explore the wide open fields dotted with grazing cattle and bordered by monstrous mountains.

The fruit is no longer forbidden, let yourself be tempted, sample this delectable town.

Vang Vieng of the past:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwxH91Cn0Ns

Hazy Island Bliss

The water buffalo of Laos a docile and friendly creature, quite tasty as well. This particular buffalo was a resident of Don Det, one of the larger islands of Si Phan Don (4000 Islands). When we first arrived at Don Det, we were greeted by the sight of this gargantuan fellow producing an explosive stream of watery diarrhoea into a group of tourists frolicking in the Mekong river. The shrieks of horror permeated the usually peaceful island of Don Det, an unusual and comical start to our little Island adventure.

Time on Don Det progresses at a slower pace, much like the rest of Laos, but this listless progression of time seems to be exaggerated on the sluggish paradise of Don Det.
” Yes yes don’t worry you are on Laos time now ” a sentiment uttered by various people, locals and travellers alike, I am unaware who coined this saying, traveller or local? Regardless of the origin of this saying it has caught on and is the catch phrase uttered to excuse the languid nature of the Laotians.

Embracing their unenergetic lifestyle is a prerequisite for an enjoyable time in Laos. So grab yourself a mango shake and expect to wait.

Gotta Love the Chicken.