We requested that we could make an early start today to have another go at the plantation views the deep clouds robbed us of yesterday, and we were successful! A very pleasant early morning was had walking on the small roads with sweeping views down the valley – cliffs and waterfalls aplenty. Well worth the early rise!
We then headed back for a late breakfast and promptly began our Indian cooking class with the master-chef Renu in her quaint kitchen. We were taught how to prepare potato and pea curry, yellow daal, carrot stuffed chapattis and the delicious chai masala tea. It was a great laugh! Renu had us peeling strong little onions that made us cry, kneading balls of dough, stirring pans of spice concoctions and flipping chapatis on the skillet. We were amazed how many ingredients went into these seemingly simple dishes, and all so fresh. Everyone seemed happy to eat our mornings work at lunchtime, so we didn’t do too badly! Looking forward to trying these recipes when back home, and Renu was very sweet in saying we could call her if we got stuck!!
In the afternoon we had arranged to take the steam train from Coonoor down the valley for a few scenic hours. It completely surpassed our expectations! We clambered into a little carriage with a family from Delhi, who we made friends with on the trip. The windows were open so we could hang out and look down the length of the train, waving at all the other passengers, waving at all the people near the tracks on the way, and joining the others in shouting our heads off whenever we went through a tunnel and everything plunged into darkness. The train passed over many rickety bridges on the way with superb views down the valley. Our ‘celebrity’ status was evident again when we stopped at a station with people literally queueing to have their photo taken with us!
Back on the train we had fun speaking pigeon English with the kids in the carriage whilst they threw huge smiles our way, and seemed quite fascinated with stroking Rach’s blonde hair. Funniest of all was waving to little kids along the tracks who waved at everyone on the train, but when they glimpsed us went bonkers!!! Back in the jeep Rajat and Ravi explained that they are most probably fascinated with the colour of our skin. It was then a quick drive back home after the train trip, as ever with Rajat and Ravi telling us tales and growing our understanding of India so quickly.
We spent a wonderful evening at the homestay, feeling like part of the family. We all played a game called ‘Carom’ over beers and tasty nibbles laced with coriander and onions. Everyone sat on the floor around the huge board, with the object to try and flick the pieces into the four pockets, much like a version of snooker. A very addictive game, with Gaz being rather good at it, and Rach improving quickly to specialise in a ‘lucky finger’ move which worked every time! Terrific fun. A very late dinner followed, and bed after midnight. The family gave us a lovely gift this evening – a spice bowl set. So we vowed to go and buy some spices tomorrow morning to fill it ready for our cooking debut at home!
We requested that we could make an early start today to have another go at the plantation views the deep clouds robbed us of yesterday, and we were successful! A very pleasant early morning was had walking on the small roads with sweeping views down the valley – cliffs and waterfalls aplenty. Well worth the early rise!
We then headed back for a late breakfast and promptly began our Indian cooking class with the master-chef Renu in her quaint kitchen. We were taught how to prepare potato and pea curry, yellow daal, carrot stuffed chapattis and the delicious chai masala tea. It was a great laugh! Renu had us peeling strong little onions that made us cry, kneading balls of dough, stirring pans of spice concoctions and flipping chapatis on the skillet. We were amazed how many ingredients went into these seemingly simple dishes, and all so fresh. Everyone seemed happy to eat our mornings work at lunchtime, so we didn’t do too badly! Looking forward to trying these recipes when back home, and Renu was very sweet in saying we could call her if we got stuck!! 
In the afternoon we had arranged to take the steam train from Coonoor down the valley for a few scenic hours. It completely surpassed our expectations! We clambered into a little carriage with a family from Delhi, who we made friends with on the trip. The windows were open so we could hang out and look down the length of the train, waving at all the other passengers, waving at all the people near the tracks on the way, and joining the others in shouting our heads off whenever we went through a tunnel and everything plunged into darkness. The train passed over many rickety bridges on the way with superb views down the valley. Our ‘celebrity’ status was evident again when we stopped at a station with people literally queueing to have their photo taken with us!
Back on the train we had fun speaking pigeon English with the kids in the carriage whilst they threw huge smiles our way, and seemed quite fascinated with stroking Rach’s blonde hair. Funniest of all was waving to little kids along the tracks who waved at everyone on the train, but when they glimpsed us went bonkers!!! Back in the jeep Rajat and Ravi explained that they are most probably fascinated with the colour of our skin. It was then a quick drive back home after the train trip, as ever with Rajat and Ravi telling us tales and growing our understanding of India so quickly. 
We spent a wonderful evening at the homestay, feeling like part of the family. We all played a game called ‘Carom’ over beers and tasty nibbles laced with coriander and onions. Everyone sat on the floor around the huge board, with the object to try and flick the pieces into the four pockets, much like a version of snooker. A very addictive game, with Gaz being rather good at it, and Rach improving quickly to specialise in a ‘lucky finger’ move which worked every time! Terrific fun. A very late dinner followed, and bed after midnight. The family gave us a lovely gift this evening – a spice bowl set. So we vowed to go and buy some spices tomorrow morning to fill it ready for our cooking debut at home! 
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