Jenny our
hostess and travel agent in Cochin had arranged a car and driver to take us to Munnar to see the tea
plantations, then on to Kerala where she had booked us an overnight trip
on one of the converted rice barges which now ply the waterways with a
new lucrative cargo - tourists. On the way we
visited the Hill Palace and stopped by the roadside to watch women collecting latex
from rubber trees. It reminded me of maple syrup
time in Canada
The Hill
Palace
Built on the
top of a hill by the Kochi Rajas as a home and administrative center in
1856. It is a vast complex of 49 buildings over 54 acres of
gardens and parkland. There is a heritage museum, a deer
park a pre-historic i.e. concrete dinosaur park and a childrens park.
It was fairly rundown when we saw it but has had some refurbishment
since. It would take hours to see everything and we had only a
short time on our way to Munnar. There is no photography allowed
inside and cameras and bags must be left at the entrance
Rubber
Plantation and Production Line
Sheets
of rubber hung on lines beside the road and when we stopped to look we
were invited to tour a family rubber production operation
The latex is mixed with acid and water and left in shallow trays for
three hours.
It emerges as a solid sheet which is then transferred to a wringer with
a flat roller and on to another with a textured roller. It is then
hung out to dry before being smoked in an oven