Munnar is a small hill town about the size of Tanah Rata and Ringlet (in our own Cameron Highlands) combined. The most prominent buildings of the town are the Hindu temple, the mosque which is still under construction and the Catholic Church. About 40% of the population of Kerala is Hindu, Moslems make up about 25% and Christians another 25%. The rest are minorities, followers of other faiths like the Jains, Zoroastrians etc etc...
An interesting feature of the town is the fact that the three main places of worship, the Hindu temple, the mosque and the church are located next to each other in the centre of town, signifying the peaceful co-existence and tolerance of peoples of different faiths....
The weekend that our group was there co-incided woth a long 4-day weekend holidays. The 'Ponggal' festival fell on the previous Thursday and Friday and the town and the highlands were crowded with domestic tourists from both Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The streets of the town were bustling with street vendors and the shops were full of people bargaining for clothes and jewellery.
the 3-wheeler scooter taxicab ( bajaj).....
an affordable mode of transport....
bigger vans and taxis which brought in
domestic tourists from Tamil Nadu and Kerala..
the mosque, still under construction...
the Hindu temple perched on a hillock next to the mosque..
kacang putih?.....
flour??....
sugar cane for religious ceremony....??
garlands to match the colourful saris...
some cookie?...
or gold bangles at current high prices?.....
some spices to cook dinner for the night...
basmathi or Kerala rice?....
new pots to cook the fish masala?...
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