We said goodbye to our Hotel
(Greenwoods Resort) which we can highly recommend. Lovely
surroundings, really efficient service and the most extensive and
tasty selection of food so far this tour.
I have a few photos of the place … we
stayed in two storey bungalow accommodation like this (our room was
upstairs so good for spotting birds at treetop level).
Pool
This was the treehouse/tearoom for the more
adventurous souls .. just 50 rupees for tea and cake (50pence).
One of the free range birds roaming the
grounds …. I thought his colouring was very 'Indian'
Actually, there were also guinea fowl
wandering around and they were really noisy. They started off
low-key then built up to a crescendo of 'I'M BACK, I'M BACK, I'M
BACK, I'M BACK which went on for 10 mins at a time (well at least
that's what it sounded like). I'm told Guinea Fowl are very tasty
and these were in danger of being presented to the kitchen to add to
the evening curry buffet!
Whilst waiting for our coach driver to get the necessary permissions to cross into the State of Tamil Nadu, I photographed some Indian men wearing Dhotis. Our Guide dresses in Western clothing most of the time but the other night he donned a Dhoti and showed us how it can be worn like an ankle length skirt, then the corners are quickly hitched up and tucked into the waist at the front to form this shorter version which makes walking easier
The drive to Madurai takes about 4
hours but we made several stops en route. Madurai is one of the
oldest cities in South India and one of India's most famous temple
towns.
We stopped at a roadside area where
bricks were being made. Most of the workforce had stopped for lunch
so we could have a bit of a look around
Drying in the sun
The whole family join in the work
One of the young girls helping –
Tamil Nadu girls apparently are reknown for wearing flowers in their
hair, according to our guide.
Then a stop at a vineyard where it was
possible to buy local produce. I didn't bother as the guide said the
wine was sweet. Transpired the wine was red and non-alcoholic, so
actually it was grape juice!
David sampled some Chai (Indian Tea)
which is very rich and more like a dessert than a cup of tea to my
mind but he enjoyed it. Here the mix of milk and spices is boiled
and then there's an elaborate pouring from great height for some
reason
Whilst David was enjoying his Chai, i was trying to figure out what species of white fluffy bird was in the top branches of the tree I was sheltering under. Transpired it was an egret grooming itself - Peacocks 'up North' and Egrets 'down South' it seems .. but after spending a good 15 mins trying to identify it, I'm posting the photo anyway as its a nice pic and shows the glorious blue sky we have here today (although its still very steamy even though we're high up in the hills now)
Back on the road again we passed some
bullock carts – note the elaborately coloured horns on the first lot - we passed more like this with coloured horns but I didn't managed to photograph them through the window quickly enough. I had the
sun on my side of the coach so these photos are a bit hazy
More fascinating pictures. Love the blue horns. Chai is very popular here, too sweet for me. Hotel pool looks lovely, did you use it?
ReplyDeleteI've made Chai here at home & like it fairly well - it's different as you say. Is there a reason for the colored horns on the cattle? Also, if they're sacred, why are they used for work? You can answer any questions when you return as I'm sure you don't have lots of internet time for that! I'd much rather see your photos.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised Chai is popular in Canada Jo ... Just been looking at this description of Chai making on Wikipedia:
ReplyDeleteA common practice for preparation of one cup of chai is to first combine one half cup of water with one half cup of milk in a pot over heat. Sugar may be added at this point or after. Ginger is then grated into the mixture followed by adding a "tea masala". Although the ingredients may vary from region to region, "tea masala" typically consists of cardamom powder, cinnamon powder, ground cloves, ginger powder, and pepper powder. The mixture is brought to a boil and 1 teaspoon of loose black tea is added. The chai is immediately taken off the heat, covered, and allowed to sit for approximately 10 minutes to allow the black tea to infuse into the chai. The chai is then strained and served.
Traditionally Buffallo milk is used, but our Guide explained that Buffallo milk is much more expensive than standard cows milk so isn't used very much by the poorer Indians.
Hi Jan
I asked our Guide about the question you raised. The cow isn't considered sacred by all religions in India. Sacred cows have humps and/or abnormalities the rest aren't sacred and there were a few other issues he mentioned but doesn't seem to be a simple answer