MissTtravels

A very full day.

We came outside to find some monkeys on the play equipment!

We set off in our van to visit a tea plantation. We learned a lot about how tea grows and how it is picked. Also about how the different parts of the tree are used.

Then we went to the factory where they process the tea. I have been drinking tea all my life and have never really known about this.

Tea is picked, then withered, then crushed, then dried, then sieved, then fermented. Smells amazing at every stage.

All so interesting. Then we got to try tastes of different teas: black, green, spiced (chai), peach and honey, and various others.

Next we went to the train station in Coonoor, and caught a little old train up to Ooty, the highest of the hill stations. Really fun.

We passed beautiful little hill towns with brightly painted houses.

Arriving in Ooty we had lunch in a hotel and then visited the local botanic garden.

I managed to get hold of a piece of the local embroidery, quite by accident. I think my eyes must be really tuned into textile stuff.

The local tribe is called the Toda, and they have been doing black, red and white embroidery for centuries.

I really like being able to buy pieces from the people who made them.

Back the guesthouse for dinner and bed. Lovely and cool up here after the heat of Cochin.