Travel to Kumily

The 7 AM bus to Kumily would have cost three dollars. But that’s not the full story.

My hotel was thirty minutes outside Munnar, which meant a four-dollar tuktuk to the bus station before the three-dollar fare even began. Then four hours on a local service, no AC, the next bus not until 10 AM if I missed the first one. Another tuktuk at the far end. And a 6:15 start with no breakfast.

I checked Uber instead. Twenty-five dollars, door to door, two and a half hours. I could get up at a reasonable hour, eat properly, arrive in time for lunch.

There is a way of saving money that ends up costing you more than the saving is worth. The local bus to Kumily, on that particular morning, was it. I booked the Uber.

The car was a brand new Suzuki SUV, quiet, air-conditioned, the driver efficient and entirely silent for the full journey. The road descended out of the Western Ghats in a long series of switchbacks before levelling into lower, flatter country. Two and a half hours later I was at the hotel.

The town operates under several names depending on your source. Kumily is what locals call it. Thekkady is what most tourist maps use. Periyar refers to the national park that sits at the edge of town and accounts for most of the reason people come here at all. All three names lead to the same place.

The restaurant next to the hotel was all red and white, fried chicken and pizza on the menu, the decor arranged with the full confidence of a franchise that had simply forgotten to acquire the franchise. The KFC logo was the only thing missing. I had the fried chicken. It was fine.

In the late afternoon I walked a kilometre to find the bus stop for the national park, to get the situation clear before morning. No advance tickets were available. The man at the ticket window advised me to arrive at 5:45 AM to avoid the crowds. Another early morning.

On the walk back, the sky made the decision for me. Thunder, then lightning, then rain in volume. I took a tuktuk to the hotel, stepped out onto the balcony, and watched a pair of water buffalo standing in the field below, making no concession whatsoever to the weather. The rain hammered everything. It was one of the better hours of the trip.

The rain stopped. I went out for a Chinese dinner.

The bus would have been cheaper. The Uber was correct.

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