i'm in kodaikanal now.
it was the most intense and excruciating travel day yet.
i asked the tourist information centre how i had to go about getting to kodaikanal. i had to get a bus to theni. bus from theni to vathalagudu. bus from vathalagudu to kodaikanal. three buses. i went to the bus station in munnar. i hopped on the bus that went to theni. we took off. it was 1pm. i had no idea where theni was our how far it was, or had any idea where any of the places i had to go to were and how long the trip would take. the landscape just keeps getting better. this was the best bus ride by far. driving on the rolling hills covered in tea fields. i really can't explain how amazing it was.
i have troubles sitting for long periods of time. i don't have enough meat on my ass. i sit on my bony butt. after the first half hour of sitting, the most uncomfortable pain settles in. it's torturous. i can't seem to fins a spot to make the pain go away. it also doesn't help when the bus is packed and your squished between large indian men.
i kept trying to adjust myself but it didn't work. it was hard to watch the beautiful scenery go by when your distracted by this pain.
we arrived in theni 4 hours later(5pm). from the theni bust stand i instantly left on a bus to vathalagudu. the bus was paced again. so uncomfortable on the plastic seats. sliding side to side with every sharp turn. the bus took an hour to vathalagudu. arrived at the bus station(6pm). i asked around when and what bus went to kodaikanal. it left at 7:30 from platform 1. okay, i could finally take a breather. i went looking for a restaurant to sit down in. there was nothing. i followed the signs that said bar. the bar was dark and dingy. rats scurried across the floor picking up the scraps of food. they didn't offer food. only free snacks if you ordered a beer. i drank two large kingfishers. the snacks were chick peas in some spice sauce and rice krispie things. it was good.
i got on to the bus to kodai. it was a dvd bus. fuck. they played indian music at full blast. the bus was packed. the ailse was full with people standing. i was sweating profusely. i wanted to vomit. we were stationery waiting to leave. we finally left an hour later(8:30pm). the normal route to kodai was closed off because of an accdient that usually takes 3 hours. we took an alternative route that would take 5 hours. christ. 5 hours of hell on this bus. the road was very narrow. we kept stopping and reversing to let cars go by on the tight corners. it was awful. a drunk guy was at my feet and wouldn't leave me alone. drunk indian people are very grabby an touchy. he kept shaking my hand and trying to crush it. he also rubbed my legs and would constantly try to steal my lighter. i was getting really annoyed. i kept pushing his hands away. i pretended to sleep and he left me alone.
i don't know if i slept. i certainly tried. the bust ride went quite quick actually.
no more fucking buses.
we arrived in kodai(2am). the bus stand was empty. no one was around. it was freezing. 5 degrees or something. i had no idea where i was going. some guy from the bus told me to come with him in a jeep. what the hell. the driver and others were drunk. i asked to go to greenland youth hostel. they took me there. i said thank you and got out.
they got out and surrounded me and tried to make me pay 100 rupees. they weren't even a taxi. they said nothing about having to pay. they drove me 1 minute away. i could of easily walked. we argued. i thought one guy was going to try and swing at me. i told them to let me go to the reception so i could talk with someone who spoke better english. i explained my situation. i ended up only paying 50 rupees.
i hate that they think they can take advantage of foreigners like that.
i checked in to the dormitory. we walked down the steps. the man told me to shh and be quiet. there was a bison to the left. he said walk slow. he said they are very dangerous. i was too tired and angry to notice my surroundings. i climbed through a window and into a room with three, three tiered bunk beds. there was one person sleeping. i passed out. with three blankets on top of me in my clothes.

i woke up the next day and went outside. it was incredible. possibly one of the nicest views i've seen. just footsteps from my stonelodge hostel. a beautiful garden that smelt of roses. it's hard to justify through words how amazing it was.
i was above the clouds. the clouds were suspended on top of mountains in the distance. this is what i've needed. no more busing and traveling. just escaping and relaxing in then mountains.
it was warm. the climate here is so nice. 15-20 during the day. 5-10 at night. it's perfect. i set off on foot into town. i bought two sweaters, a toque and some laundry powder.
i went back to the hostel and did my laundry outside in a bucket. my two green and blue shirts i bought in hospet bled. they bleached all my white clothes blue. it looks like i tie-dyed them all blue. great. i hung my clothes to dry on a railing and sat there reading a book until everything was dry. a gust would come every so often and blow my clothes off. i kept hanging them back up.
i sat until 4pm. the clouds would swoosh up. like smoke from a chimney.
i had a cold shower and went into town for dinner.