Munnar

I took about 6 hours of public buses from Allephy to Munnar. I was
told that Munnar is the biggest tea planation in india, it is about
30,000 hectares, up around the 6000ft elevation in the western Ghats.
The bus's to and from Munnar were the most tiring bus rides I have
been on. You are on flat bench seats, packed with people, as the bus
takes the winding roads like a rally driver. You spend the whole time
holding yourself from sliding back and forth on the high speed turns.
The plants are as much as 120 years old, they have been maintained and
picked since the plantation started sometime in the late 1800's. Much
of the local community are pickers, who are housed by the plantations
and are paid by what they pick. Only the new leaves are plucked, and
of these there are 4 different quality levels, which are used for
making different types of tea.