VAGAMON I am sure everyone reading this post would have heard about the beautiful hill station, Munnar. Well, it is quite rightly popular considering the famous tourist spots and most important of all, it’s cool weather. But if you want to experience the same things in a smaller but less crowded location, I would really recommend Vagamon in Kerala. It is around 1000 meters above sea level. Since I am from Chennai, the best option for me was a long drive with my family to Vagamon. The climb is pretty scenic. It is a joyful ride up. There are multiple tea stalls along the way where I stopped for a hot cup of Chai in this wonderful weather. Most pieces of land here are tea plantations. This green landscape is like cucumber for the eyes. In fact, I stayed in a plantation cum hotel. There is a lake in this city where one can spend time leisurely walking or boating. Given the cool weather, this is really a wonderful place to visit....
If you think that you have to pass immigration to feel a country, I can’t tell you how wrong you are. I was en route to Japan. I travelled by Sri Lankan airways and had a long haul at the Sri Lankan airport- the Bandaranaike international airport. To pass time I decided to look through the bazillion shops set up in the airport. It was no Heathrow but I was mesmerized. The spices native to the country, the different skin products, the bags, the clothes and most important of all, the tea. It is no secret that Ceylon tea is one of the best you will ever taste. There were so many varieties of tea available in the airport itself. And the best part is that all these Sri Lankan goodies are sold in the airport at affordable prices. I could feel Sri Lanka right in the airport. When I knew that we had a long haul, I brought books to read and downloaded a lot of songs to keep myself occupied as I thought that I would get bored. Expectation versus reality J. I have visited Sri Lanka as a child and have vague memories of this beautiful island nation which is an integration of historic locations with religious value and wonderful beaches where one can let go of all their worries. This was a subtle reminder of that trip to me and it was wonderful. I am waiting for an opportunity to revisit this beautiful island nation some time.
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