First Impressions of Munnar, India | 4 Hour Road Trip from Kochi | Huge Indian Food Thali!
good morning from the back Waters of Kerala it is a beautiful morning it's just past 7 A.M Forest getting those teeth brushed hey hey I'll go fishing going fishing with a rope there's a man fishing out there it is just gorgeous so again if you recall from a previous video here's the water and there's our room so today uh sad material it really makes the end of our stay uh here but we are beginning a four plus hour road trip across this beautiful part of the country uh to Manar and we're very excited to see what Adventures come our way as we road trip I know that there are some cool sights to see from the road so we are going to just sort of have a Leisure morning but we're gonna try to be in the car by eight so it gives us about an hour or two uh just kind of finishing up what's up bud there's guys in the water yeah right there oh yeah there are guys in the water you must be taking baths huh yeah nice all right well we'll uh touch base as we get towards the car back at the car breakfast again at the resort delicious and now the four hour road trip begins with a few stops along the way that we're very excited about as as we get there where are you gonna go in the back yeah all right oh there you go all right you got your books okay everybody has their big backs and then the day packs should he be here or do you want me to sit here no uh which one do you want do you want to go up front or I go I guess I could go front Okay and then you got a little more room okay I'll go across okay all right okay all right thank you again sir all right thank you thank you so cash we are teachers teachers yes and so we worked in Alaska okay it's where the two older kids were born okay and we were teachers there for five years okay and when Granite was born is the time we started thinking should we stay in Alaska or should we go for more Adventure overseas and when Cedar was born our daughter that's when we said okay let's look for the overseas job and we applied a bunch of different teaching jobs and India and Chennai was the one that really uh matched our personality and what we wanted out of the experience so we ended up in Chennai 2015 to 2017. yeah and it was great we loved India immediately um since then we've lived and taught in Dubai so we went from Chennai to Dubai Dubai to now we are in Indonesia okay so two years in India two years in Dubai three years now into Italy yeah and so this is our winter Christmas vacation so we come to India so from here you are going back to Indonesia or uh eventually we will get back to Indonesia so from here from Kerala we'll go up to Mumbai okay uh Mumbai up to Amritsar I'm gonna and then if we can get the visa straight we'll go across the Wagga border into um Lahore and then down to Karachi and then at that point from Pakistan we'll fly to uh we'll fly to the Philippines at least that's the loose plan everything can change it was to say we're having trouble with our Pakistani Visa which we've been to Pakistan before okay but this time it's just issues so with the kids actually so but yeah so are you from this area yes my house is just two kilometers oh is that right yeah okay and do you have a wife and children yes I have a wife and she's working okay and I have a daughter 11 years old oh yeah yeah girls the best yeah I love you and so your your 11 year old daughter she's in school yes it is school that's it standard okay six extended very good very good and how is she doing in school yeah it is good yeah good good accident and what is your what you said your wife works what does she do she's working in a hotel oh okay as a front office manager excellent kid yeah and and that's here in Kerala yeah from here around 20 kilometers oh very good it's nice yeah that you uh and then are you a full-time driver yeah full-time full-time driver okay I'm full time in the tourism industry I see I see do you work for the hotel as well or do you what earlier in the hotels yes and before some time in the travel agency also but now the last five six years in the full time driving field okay good okay so so so like a private somebody could hire you yeah okay we'll have to get your uh details yeah um and sharing this video because uh it's so good it's a very beautiful car and uh yeah very nice this is a village this Village's Village name is yes and how many people live here do you think approximately it's a big Village uh not too small and uh approximately nearly one leg two legs oh wow okay yeah yes yeah and this place is very close to Cochin also just half an hour drive from Cochin okay and the most of the people who live here do they also work in tourism or do they work in no they're working in all the different fields like a private field and some shops own business and everything and a lot of people is working in ernakula media so even every day they can go in the morning and evening come back just half an hour distance only okay and when they go to work do they ride a bus like this blue one they can hire the bus as soon as they are riding this two-wheeler okay oh they might have a motorcycle I see and uh most of people depending the public service bus okay and that's what these big ones how much do those cost that's normally a Brooks uh for the minimum cost around 10 Rupees 10 Rupees yes and is it it it's just it follows a bus route so you could hop on at a stop yeah in every every 200 300 meter there's a stop okay I see so minimum one or two kilometer 10 Rupees is the charge I see a person yes okay all right well that's right there are three this is a private business only oh and even the government service bill is also available and in this private bus there are three color codies there in Kerala okay and one is this blue one okay like this blue here blue one okay and the second one is the green color and the third one is the pink color okay so blue green and pink and the blue is only for the local distance okay so not far nor far and the green is will be the in the long distance Interstate okay in this in the inner city I see so from one to the other yeah and uh the pink will be the long distance Intercity okay so where would the pink bus start where would it go that's in every every uh area I'm in around 20 30 kilometer there is a uh starting point is there for example nearby uh here the best starting place is okay that is hardly from here around 20 kilometers I see I see and the next is there then next there are different different destinations in between around the 30 to 40 kilometer of uh okay and then do many people do many tourists ride the buses or is it pretty much all local uh means tourist yes tourist if the people are coming by group then they are hiring the bus okay and if they're coming individually or in a small group like that then they are hiring depends on the small vehicle and a medium Vehicle Center sure or something like this yeah so if they are traveling in a group like 20 people 30 people like that they are having a best that type of facility available here okay I mean different types of even from four seater to 49 seater Vehicles available in the highest okay for hire yes so big buses right down there in this school my daughter is studying this oh this is your daughter's school yeah I wish you had more time I also study the hair oh is that right even my father also studied very old school yeah yeah so we love yeah okay how did you and your wife meet uh okay yeah it's a she's a friend of my sister okay friend is the family got um went there and made this because then finally end up in the mattress in how many years have you been married uh now it's around 12 years 12 years wow you guys that's awesome and one daughter very cool not only the tall waves and now it's in the 13 years okay I was on 2009. I see ice yes in different different I mean for example in a two kilometer distance in all the places have different different names for example we start from panavali and this place is called the tricha tukulam okay my next is coming what is Allah then it is coming Malayalam names only maybe this difficult no that's okay I like to hear them I cannot pronounce but I like to hear them so is there a Temple in each one of these Villages or one big one no all the villages minimum two three temples are there oh wow wow yes okay minimum two or three temples will be there in each Villages okay yes and then do you um I know right now it's the festival season yes have you been going to Temple for festival or or not so no according to my free time I'll be go to the temperature okay because most of the time I'll be in the other places like with the tourists yeah even whenever I am in the home I'll be if the temple is going on that particular time then I'll be at in the first year if you're in a different city can you just go to any Temple you want if there's a festival like you're welcome yes yes yes yes even there are in Kerala there are too many big and famous temples are there for example guruvayu Temple that's from here 120 kilometer away okay and in trivandrum padmanabhaswamy Temple that is a very famous temple are we gonna pass yeah that's hardly from here uh five of his journey oh five hours yes that is where's the uh South Side well when we have more time we need to definitely come and do a temple to where we went to that Temple last night last night yeah that was me right there but it was really nice that Temple was Autumn Bali David yeah there is some some offering is going yes yeah we've really learned about the story and the blessing and kind of seeing that was around pretty pretty cool break time how's everybody doing just uh wow about two hours in the car and it is time to stretch everyone slept pretty hard yeah did you sleep a little bit yeah yeah I slept I'm gonna get your brother out oh yeah yeah so okay we're at a waterfall uh place we're definitely up in the forest now uh the hill station land uh for sure okay guys so we're gonna walk down to the waterfall yeah and um yeah get some pineapple is that okay shut your legs a little I want I want baby strawberry juice I don't know if they're gonna if we're gonna find that but we'll take a peek all right oh so very popular this waterfall uh spy right yeah popular all types of uh makeshift little uh things for sale oh here's pineapple right here pineapples from this region so it's really fresh no let's get it yeah why not hello guava is this guava you think mango mango I bet it's Green Mango okay let's jump into a pineapple uh do you guys want one each and we'll shoot let's get two and we'll share it okay does that sound okay all right now she's gonna wanna offer us chili salt should we do one with chili and one without yes okay all right all right let's do that oh she left ah 60 for two okay Thirty for one yeah perfect foreign okay okay all right we'll get we'll get mango as well so all right should we give it a try and walk down a little bit let's try it yeah all right so here's uh here's the mango oh really sour big deal one by the mango too sour for you oh my God it's too good has the chili on it is it way like super chilly it's like a sweet chili awesome that's good ew a sweet here I'll try it here yeah come uh downtown sign here oh it's salty not sweet salty yeah is it it's like chili though nope oh man it is hit my throat wash it wash it down with a sour mango okay okay I don't think that's good I love that flavor yeah yeah how about Green Mango all right well first fruit stop yeah it's almost success all right well we'll munch on these and work our way down a little further all right for us so you see that monkey over there yeah yeah do you remember any stories about the monkeys do you remember when the monkey saw that girl soda the Pronto yeah what happened yeah big monkey stole this little girl's Fanta that was in Pakistan actually yeah look there's the monkey still in the fruit right there oh my goodness so many so many monkeys so all types of little knickknacks to purchase bubbles yeah is that cool let's go check out the waterfall what do you say first so this is like yeah certainly a popular stop uh for oh there's a soft serve it looks like oh that looks nice I might have to get one of those so here is the waterfall tons of selfies wow for us you see the waterfall look way up there man wonderful what a stop so we'll kind of hang here enjoy nice scene all right road trip so far is pretty good pretty good real smooth the roads are nice all paved nothing nothing hurt about that at all nope the towels are cool yeah and now I like how we're up here in the hillside yeah he said we're starting to make that incline now yeah we're gonna go up and up and up all the way to the Tea Plantation all right well we'll uh enjoy and then kind of head back to the car in a minute we stopped at a vegetarian Banana Leaf Restaurant essentially uh this gentleman brings out all veg dishes and spreads them around 3 so these three separate banana leaves and he serves them through I think it comes with a rice uh so it'll be interesting to see uh what these dishes are all about if I had to guess this is the pickle this is something sweet and then these are all savory yeah I'm not sure how many dishes or different items are served on this finale it was a pretty big leaf this is a mixed [ __ ] mixed veg and lettuce finger okay yes the finger beetroots salt yes and beans and beans okay see what's coconut okay I see I see got it so all Savory and then the pickle oh you want pickle and salt we'll grab the guy in the next round okay these are released okay potato that's sweet the blood curd yes let's let's go there's a metal stew okay lentils okay okay so good oh yes Apache thank you spawn all right so a spirit huh I don't know about another school business here yeah perfect okay all right awesome well looks like quite the spread beats coconut veggie finger I don't quite recall what this one was but it's a variety of mostly Savory and I believe this is the sweets yeah potato yeah this is the current yeah I see vegetables in there yeah all right oh here's a little salt receiver then you tickle salty people okay well what do you think guys can't wait to dig in Bon Appetit okay rice is coming okay yes how's your banana yummy we got the big banana yeah we got a whole bag of bananas oh so many oh here comes the rice small rice and big rice oh this one's the local rice okay rice steamed rice maybe I go Carolina rice okay oh yeah so you can see those big fat tunnels great thank you that's funny good yeah rounds round yeah local the local rights yeah and that's good okay thank you nice we universally agreed caller rice is uh where it's at that's enough all right so great which ones you're liking the ladyfinger yeah have you tried any of the other ones which ones uh which ones do you like my finger this one in the potato what is it that you're liking about it um I like the lady finger because it's like quickly flavor okay like a tarnish flavor like this one because it's like a little bit on the spicy side and all right this one because it's machine the potatoes nice you have the textures of the way of the lady because I really like have you tried the beef yet no not yet you should try that one uh beet is definitely a unique um a unique flavor all its own grab some of that earthy Kelly how you doing over there but I'm digging into the vegetable stew right now yeah which one was that one that was this uh oh this one here doll fry okay okay and this got sweet so it's not a curd and pineapple okay all right all right so we've got these two are the sweet ones wow thank you yeah cups yep big deal yes which ones are you liking um I like um this one the ladyfingers that's all the veggie mix yeah yeah oh we're coming back oh here comes the sambar right on the rice perfect we have big vegetables in there yeah these are um these are the drumsticks are they not no they look like ladyfinger to me yeah drumsticks on those really long green uh hard like uh outside fibrous but on the inside it's really soft you kind of pull it off like a um artichoke heart leaf kind of like that cool all right well again our table is just getting more and more full oh yeah the cups are here so they brought cups they're a bit they're a bit wet on the inside so we're gonna just sort of dry them with the uh with the napkin we don't want to risk any sort of uh upset tummies this early in our trip um these are sweet by the way oh really no don't cry oh that's a doll fry the doll fries I don't know I'll try this one it looks like that first one did that's the sweet one it's really good it's everything else is Savory and of course it's all vegetarian so you're uh yeah a big win for Cali yes granted how you coping with that in all veg meal veg I like Vegs but I miss them yeah yeah like doll bot for example it's got that chicken or the or the other meats available or the butter chicken butter chicken yeah we'll get plenty of that as we head more North you need another banana no you're gonna do you're doing okay you want some bread all right I'm pretty excited to try that sambar with the rice yeah kind of a medium spice level you want some bread just a little that's where I go yeah yeah that one I like yeah all right so I haven't really tried a lot of these yet let's see and this one Kelly it's like uh I think the coconut coconut Maybe that's nice yeah we're okay that's it all right this is like a yogurt kind of curd they call that curd it's a nice way to cleanse your palate when it's um when it's pretty hot yeah of course you wanna try the yogurt no okay okay so the chapati the rice this one this one this is that they've served this before I don't recall the name of it something maybe like harassment or something yeah but it's really liquidy you just sort of pour it on like that yeah we've had that before hmm that's a good flavor I like that one not sweet this one it looks like it'd be sweet pineapple I think this one has pineapple in it like yeah big chunk of pineapple not it's not sweet per se hmm definitely pineapple though this is a good stock do you think yeah I think I needed lunch I didn't realize kind of how hungry I was until I started eating potato heard Boris has so far not quite latched onto the Indian Cuisine I think you will on time so we always kind of travel with a big bag of bananas just to kind of give him something to eat this is the uh with coconuts welcome to the dream catcher Plantation Resort it is a beautiful property we're just pulling in and already it's nothing but tea plants growing right on that ledge I believe there's cardamom that grows here as well and it's gorgeous how is the ride guys oh it's good everyone yeah bumpy I'd be in there we are way out all right so we'll get out we'll get settled get kind of a good view of the property and I check out all the amenities that this place has to offer but so far I already see quite beautiful quite a beautiful property before we totally explode out of our bags in these rooms so we ended up with adjoining rooms which is always our preferred method we've got a nice little TV we'll probably sit right in this bed zone out for quite a little while we'll see what happens uh workspace looks nice let's check out the bathrooms that's the most important tip all right okay so we've got a um just kind of a standard shower this is a wet bathroom as they call it so when the shower's on this whole area will get wet so we'll kind of strategically show our bathroom toilet paper management but yeah right there I'm sure they have got good hot water but just a small little wet bath oh you guys played hide and seek yeah all right good luck and of course you saw kind of already the kids room is just basically a sister room to this one um a little smaller footprint actually I assume it's the same uh wet bath in here let's take a peek all light yeah okay so same same little kind of mini wet bath in here it is nice they provide of course all the shower necessities all right so the rooms will be great I think uh the most uh epic part about the room of course are The View of the mountains so all right we're gonna get comfortable hopefully we can um I think they're gonna prepare a little bit of a cooking demonstration so we can see a little bit more of the uh Kerala Cuisine uh that's going to start about half an hour but it's a full day a full-on schedule oh my goodness I see black squirrels climbing up those trees maybe they're flying squirrels but either way should be a nice place just to rest and catch up on some relaxation time now they just brought drinks uh so some more kind of refreshment drinks so we ended up with some black coffee um milk coffee as they call it and guys how's the juice pineapple juice huh yeah refreshing yeah I hope so looks good yeah yeah nice and bright I mean they so all the pineapples are like from this region so they're really fresh I'm gonna make sure it doesn't close oh yep you want to get locked out of the room all right so as you walk around the property it's a whole gaming section foosball pool table full-size pool table ping pong paddle ball chess Checkers it's all here but the coolest feature hello the coolest feature is right here and that is the suspension bridge whoa does this remind me of Pakistan holy cow okay the last time we were on one of these things uh that was quite interesting uh scenario but this one seems much safer hey look at that that never happened oh cool t on the right t on the left and cardamom down there wow we should be drinking uh as much tea as possible in this region I think oh gorgeous temperatures are warm but definitely feel cooler hello and where we're going now we're going to the cooking demonstration also the pool it's up by the pool yes oh my gosh so we're gonna kinda get two birds with one stone here we're gonna swim see a cooking demonstration should be pretty great oh cow look at that view the mountains yeah so this really is why uh you come to dreamcatcher absolutely get up above the heat up here in the mountains well and the fact that it's a hotel and it's a plantation yeah so it's so green there's something yeah now we're staying of course in the main uh Hub here but there's these side rooms here I think they're even like it's like a tree house somewhere yeah I could kind of see some of these houses up on stilts tons of ayurvedic massage available on property here see if we can't take advantage of that yep and all the spices yeah all right let's check out this pool oh yeah looks so clear look at how clear the water is really wow beautiful this looks deeper this side looks like the shallow side no no no no no no come on come on so I could tell already there is a shallow side for Force it's actually even walled off that's perfect look at that it's like an infinity pool so this is where you guys are allowed to play y'all I go well mom will be here too how's it feel s so cold God of course they have a whole pool just for Forest cake if I put your feet in there oh jeez Forest what a prankster at least you got the stairs too yeah and it's not nice to push people in what happened oh I tried to grab you it turned into a push all right so they're gonna hang by the pool I'm gonna go upstairs and see what the cooking class is all about hello how are you hello hello Chef awesome real pleasure sir what is your name finish finish nice to meet you thank you for taking the time we're very excited oh wow beautiful yeah in British how long have you been the chef here 40 years four years wow fantastic what's your Specialties especially no rabbit wow okay I'm interested I see and do the rabbits are they just in the region on the farm okay wow that's great wow oh okay over here just uh incredible property oh yes oh my goodness okay I recognize some of these spices let's see how good uh my memory is from a former another cooking class we took in a different video okay Chef can I guess yeah okay so certainly coconut coconut coconut oil coconut oil yeah chili powder slice onion onion yeah oh what is this one coriander okay I did not get it okay black pepper yes crushed black pepper Curry Leaf okay ginger garlic paste your taste nice good yes now we're talking now this coriander is this from is this from the area right here oh yeah okay are most of these spices from the region okay wow I know obviously with the the coriander that's growing there wow quite beautiful coconut oil okay ginger garlic paste now these seasonings are these uh very similar to all carola dishes are they all using a similar blend basically we have some special on I mean Kerala traditional spices oh okay black pepper yes of course red chili cumin red coriander powder leaves yeah so almost all these spices are using in all almost all the dishes I see but only the um quantity okay quantity is yes I see I see so different dishes some dishes coriander will not be used but some dishes coriander is I see so it's it's a play on very similar yes hey buddy you want to see the cooking class oh you're all wet you must have been in the pool so much fun wow so you see that rabbit do you want to eat some rabbit no thank you oh yes thank you you mean okay okay okay oh I mean when he puts a rabbit okay go ahead guys so the kids are gonna pop it out yeah so rabbit uh very very uh traditional spice Blends nice wow coriander yeah coriander coriander and the curry leaves Curry leaves go ahead and guess them all oh man black pepper yeah I mean cumin okay uh it's a paste Ginger paste ginger garlic paste oh chilies salt coconut and maybe yeah chili powder chili powder our favorites yeah man it's great yes I love curry leaves those are Curry leaves yes okay I like how when they cook they turn bright that Vivid green color okay so Chef added just a little salt and now uh my favorite ingredients again healthy generous portions black pepper spicy dish very spicy okay and this is the the black pepper also from the region he said wow oh from the farm yeah you can recognize the chili powder for sure vibrant orange cumin yes and there's a shredded coconut shredded coconuts okay I noticed there's a lot of coconut uh added to dishes um the coconut oil also from the region yes wow I mean everything they say God's country right oh yeah yeah it's all here yes all the dishes we are using coconut right it's just a great healthy base yes so coconut oil shredded coconut in most of it yes and we are using coconut in different form in our curries okay so we are adding coconut milk and of course coconut based and yes so all the forms all the forms we are using yeah I mean and you can just see that's now becoming like a a just a solid mix rubbish ah the main dish yeah so the name of this dish yeah can you break it down for me yeah basically this is rabbit coconut okay rabbit coconut mix you mix okay that's the ordinal foam in Malayalam okay that is rabbit means coconut means and mix means I feel like I can't say it I'm not allowed to eat it so okay help me one more time all right I get to eat yes thank you Chef it looks amazing just the smells alone on this dish are fantastic and wow just to see the colors outstanding the spices they blend but they all kind of come through I'm definitely getting the chili powder and the pepper the cumin it's lovely a very very good dish Chef um oh my gosh the rabbit tastes outstanding I've got this great burn going uh from all that chili powder it's really really nice okay kids hello who wants some rabbit all right come on over here yeah it is uh fantastic outstanding the the spice up now there are bones okay so just try to grab one oh yeah go dry your hands real quick dry your hands your towels are expected by your stuff my mouth is on fire now it's like it's a slow burn and I'm like it's just so good I can't believe it so the kids will dry their hands they'll come in a sample but wow what a boy so we took all those spices you made the sauce first yeah so the marinated uh rabbit went into the blend you basically saw and it combined and they serve it dry like this so it's not a soupy uh type of dish he said it's your specialty right yeah our sauce right so it's just uh wow it's a good burn now there is bone so just kind of eat around it and then you can put the bone back on the plate it's sort of like a dry spice rub and this is rabbit there you go there's a little piece there shooter that's just spicy yeah yeah you like it yeah what do you think Santa you getting that spice there's a big black peppercorn right there on that piece careful that one all right well it's uh yeah so Chef marinated the rabbit meat he cooked it he combined it with all the ingredients you guys saw earlier and this is kind of the final product the specialty and he was saying all all the ingredients are local wow there's like rabbit farm in Kerala there's goat farm in Kerala there's a chicken farm all local not like factory farm anything it's all local and all the food all the spices all supports the local economy the employment base here is quite High just because everybody takes parts and that that alone I mean there's no chemicals there's nothing's brought in from hundreds of miles away it's all on in the city refueling the economy I think so hopefully economy yeah so even when you come and stay at uh dream catcher to eat this kind of food for them to take the time by the way the pool is just slammed good place to be it's me it's awesome that happened in place especially while you're eating rabbit rabbit then you jump in for a cool swim you got this amazing view oh yeah the hillside yeah I'm ready to move in yeah all right well we're going to uh wrap up this portion of the video now we're gonna dig in let the kids swim for a little bit but wow what a great I mean from the boat ride this morning the road trip waterfall lunch now we're here snack wow yep can't wait to see what happens tonight this place is all right foreign
2023-01-26 05:46
