31st December 2019
Even though today was New Year’s Eve, DJ and Skanda’s travel plans continued as scheduled, with the excitement to face everything new, ordinary, or extraordinary. After checking out from the M3 Boutique Hotel in Madurai at 7:30 a.m., they headed out towards their next destination, traveling to Kerala’s famous hill station Munnar.
Though the original plan was to go to Kodaikanal (70-80 km away), stay, and then move towards Munnar the following day, they instead decided to spend two days at Munnar while at breakfast. The first meal of the day was taken at the Sri Shivas hotel in the Aranmanai Pudhur locality of Theni at around 9:40 a.m.
Drone Shots
DJ and Skanda flew their drone in Theni and areas ahead for some beautiful shots. It was a matter of time before they resumed their journey to cross over from Tamil Nadu to Kerala, only to find the roads to be much better in the previous State.
Gorgeous Munnar
Though the roads were not so smooth, the surrounding areas made the drive to Munnar very picturesque indeed. They made bookings for a room with bunk beds in a dorm called Hostel Flutterby.
After unpacking and setting luggage inside, Skanda and DJ went to explore the nearby areas, where they used their drone to take beautiful aerial shots. During their explorations, they noticed several foreigners staying all around. After they returned, they realized that a new development had taken place.
The owner of Flutterby, who also had other properties in the nearby area, requested them to move to another property as a lot of visitors had checked in for New Year’s Eve. He was accommodating big groups here and wanted Skanda and DJ to move to another location, towards another of his properties.
Being the gentlemen they were, both decided to move to Flutterby Inn, soon realizing that it was a blessing in disguise! While this pretty place was located in the midst of a tea garden, the previous one had hills in the vicinity. It was equally pretty, did not cost additional money, and the main city of Munnar was just 15 km from there.
No Parking Inside
Skanda and DJ used Google Maps to reach Flutterby Inn using a sloping road (near Palivasal). Upon getting to the inn, they realized there was no parking inside the property, due to which the Royal Enfield and Dominar 400 had to be parked on the street.
Ali Baba and 41 Dishes
It was already evening by now, and the two hungry lads reached Ali Baba and 41 dishes for a meal at 5 pm. At the restaurant, they were given a paper to spread, containing squares for jumbled words and puzzles. Certain jumbled words were given to confuse guests also, which DJ found out! Food arrived by the time they finished, and they both hogged like no tomorrow.
Although there are many hotels at Munnar, all are full at this time of the year. There were plenty of agents all around, but both lads wanted a place away from crowds. They spent time visiting the local market and a nearby church, which was up a slope.
By this time it was dark, and both of them sat inside the church for a while. Although the Father was preaching in Malayali, they could still understand him talking about his school and childhood. Someone came forward with a noble gesture, communicated with them in Hindi/English, and gave them coffee.
DJ was already carrying dehydrated food for both of them at night, so they went back to Flutterby Inn. Being a complete dorm, this had 4 beds in each room. Unfortunately, both of them couldn’t get two beds in the same room. Tiredness helped them get to sleep in their respective rooms in no time, with ‘Happy New Year’ emanating from outside.
