MAY 4, 13 (2/2) .. THOUGHTS ON MUNNAR AND ON INDIA ..
This morning .. before getting up and out of bed .. I sat quietly in my bed .. here in my room .. just looking out into the morning mist from my window at the foot of my bed.
Thinking about some ot the STUNNING BEAUTY here in Munnar.
And the peace .. and the serenity that I felt .. put me into a ‘reflective mood’.
Let me begin here with the following statement: I am constantly asked .. “Cap what is your favorite place in all of India?”
I am not able to single out one-single-specific place BECAUSE it depends on several factors.
1. Are you talking about a place to visit for a few days.
2. Are you talking about a place that you are going to go to .. get a room .. and settle down for a minimum of two or more weeks.
IF you are talking a one or two day TOURIST VISIT it is an entirely different matter. How can you leave out Agra Cantt and the TAJ MAHAL?
I think .. I hope .. you get-my-point.
On my last trip to India .. from 30 August 2011 until 29 February 2012 .. I visited and I stayed in three locations in India that I had NEVER visited before. I spent seven (7) weeks in The State of Goa in the city of Arambol Beach. I spent a month ‘or so’ in The City of Pondicherry. And finally I experienced a short three day visit to The City of Kodaikanal.
That short three day visit to Kodaikanal WAS ENOUGH to make me decide that .. “I want to return to Kodaikanal’ and spend much more time there.” Which I have done this trip.
This trip I have visited two locations that I have never visited before. The city of Ooty and now the City of Munnar. As I stated above .. in February of 2012 .. I paid Kodaikanal literally a-last-second-in-time visit of three nights. Now I am doing precisely the same thing as I prepare to ‘close out’ this trip visiting Munnar for three nights during the very-last-seconds of this trip.
Why Munnar? I can’t say. If you have been following along here for the last month or so .. I BECAME OBSESSED WITH VISITING MUNNAR. Ooty was more of an ‘I-want-to-visit’ location because I had heard so much about Ooty as compared with Kodaikanal. Munnar became an obsession pure and simple! And what a phenomenal visit it has been here to Munnar.
IN THREE SHORT DAYS MUNNAR has elevated itself into at least one of my TOP FIVE places within India to visit and to remain in for an extended period of time. It could be placed even higher .. perhaps a top three!
Goa is hard to beat as a place to settle down and remain in. Kodaikanal is the same. Munnar seems much more expensive than Kodaikanal and Goa but I do not know-the-ropes here on finding less expensive places like I do Goa and Kodaikanal.
In a few hours (4PM supposedly!) I will get transportation back to Kodaikanal. I think I will be returning in an automobile as opposed to a mini-bus. I hope I get a driver that drives a bit slower and more cautious than our driver coming here.
RIGHT NOW .. THIS INSTANT .. I feel as strong as I have the entire trip. I swear to goodness it seems to have taken me these three full months to fully come-up-to-speed this trip. My successful obsession to get to Munnar proves that I am now-up-to-full-speed. I was pretty sick from food poisoning and still I recovered and was able to pull-this-Munnar-visit-off!
Will I return here to Munnar? I do not know.
BUT THIS I DO KNOW ! .. at some psychic and at some very deep spiritual level .. I can .. and I will .. rest very peacefully having come to Munnar. My life is just-a-tad better for this visit here to Munnar!
I ALSO FEEL EXTREMELY HUMBLE that I have been the vehicle by which many of you .. maybe most of you .. have come to know places like Pondicherry and Ooty and Kodaikanal and now Munnar. You have heard of and seen photographs of food dishes you may not have heard of or seen before .. Thali and Dosa and Tandoori cooking.
The trip is not over. This is but a chapter in the trip book that is about to close. But is sure has been a great .. albeit extremely short .. chapter.
So with that .. I will sign off .. with great joy and with great love for having had the opportunity to share with you all that I have been able to share!
As I like to say .. SMILES! .. Cap
Have your camera with you always .. and always .. photo opportunities will present themselves!
Please continue to ‘scroll down’ to my next post below .. MUNNAR .. KERALA .. 4 MAY 2013 ..