THE KERALA STORY (PART 2): INDEED, GOD'S OWN COUNTRY

We were in Kerala as manifested and made a de facto itinerary, inspired by social media. The plan was to start from Munnar, go down till India's last landmark, Kanyakumari, and return home. But seldom do plans go as planned when you're with your boys. We encountered major diversions, ideology clashes, and whatnot. But isn't this unpredictability factor the core in adding spice to our lives? Guys, hope we are on the same page about it. What do you say?

Well, cut to the trip—Day 1 of exploring Kerala. Let's get back to our plan for a bit. We had to explore Munnar—a hill station full of tea plantations. The thing is, we had our share of pseudo experience of Munnar's sunrises and natural beauty from the reels. Everything felt so awesome in them that I felt my upcoming experience couldn't top it. But there was something else in store for me.

First step to reach Munnar: board a bus to Munnar. As we saw the distance between Ernakulam and Munnar on Google Maps, it showed approximately 120 km. Going by the calculations, I figured it would easily be a 3-hour, maximum 4-hour, journey. Now, guess how much time it took us to reach?

Six and a half to nearly seven hours. No, our bus tyres didn't go flat, nor did we face any mechanical issues on the way. Oh! You think maybe the driver took the bus in another direction as it was a shortcut, then we were abducted by aliens and only released after giving them our potato chips. Well, that's too far-fetched a guess, but it suits an ad idea. And we had just one stop, that too for 15 minutes, after 3 hours of non-stop driving. So, what the heck was the problem?

The journey was a steep uphill climb with countless hairpin bends on the road leading to the hill station. That is the point I missed in my time calculation. Damn, at some encounters, I felt we were all goners, as the bus took sharp turns on the cliff road, which lacked basic safety railings, insinuating fear in me. Man, it was one heck of a high I would never forget.

Okay, guys, there is this burning desire inside me to tell you about my journey's experience, up to the smallest detail of everything. But no, I don't want to concise it into some petty words and disrespect it. And I've got one more strong reason supporting my argument: I can't promise you guys that telling you about my experience would give you the same "wow" feeling that I felt. Because some journeys are meant to be experienced, not told. But I can promise you one thing: if you pack your bags and get onto this journey, they are going to stay with you and be cherished forever.

So, let that sink in.

Take care, stay happy, bye.