It was the week before Christmas… and our clothes were still wet.

On the plus side, we found some kinder weather, cooler climes and insanely beautiful hills.

With aching hips, soggy bottoms and stiff necks we downed tools and set up camp in Munnar.

At altitudes of 1500-2000m, Munnar has tea plantations as far as the eye can see. It’s no wonder these gnarly rooted shrubs set the pace and focus of daily life from picking, transporting, drying and sorting, to ferrying tourists around for a look…

We found an excellent place to stay that we could almost afford (it’s been a tough year so why not?!) ditched the luggage as an early Christmas present to ourselves, and spent a few days bouncing about in a relaxed fashion on unencumbered bicycles.

We squeezed in the obligatory Jeep tour and top station Tuk Tuk ride but cycling up the nearest massive hill is still the most reliable way of putting a smile on our faces.