A lost cell phone and the Munnar journey

We were awake by 5 AM so that we can get ready and catch the morning bus service to Munnar. We had a place to crash in Cochin - a rented 3B home of Sam, PR's friend whom we met at the bar previous night - thanks to the arrangement made by PR. There were 3 morning bus schedules from Cochin North Bus Depot to Munnar - at 5.30 AM, 6 AM, and 6.30 AM. After these morning schedules the next bus service is only at 3 PM. We packed our bags and left Sam's place in an auto rickshaw to catch the 6.30 bus. As we approached the Bus Depot I saw the 6 AM bus coming in the opposite lane. We thought of taking a chance and asked the auto rickshaw driver to stop immediately before the bus would cross.

We got out in a hurry after paying the fare (and tipping the driver). Standing by the road side we waived our hands. The bus driver saw us and stopped the bus. We got into the bus and there were a few empty seats in the front row.

I wanted to call Sam to say that we boarded the bus. Sam also had given us a contact number in Munnar that we can use for finding a place to stay once we reach there. He had a friend who knew some lodge owners in Munnar. It is all human network.. Better than Verizon :) But my phone was missing. I remember keeping it safely in my cargo pants pocket while packing my bag and since then I had not used it. I checked my bag but I couldn't find my phone in there.  It struck me that in my hurry to pay the auto rickshaw driver and catch the bus I might have lost it somewhere.

It turned out that the rickshaw driver found my phone and he promised to return it next day after we come back from Munnar. I also told Sam about it and he also called up my number to get the driver's information. I had a few numbers stored in my phone that I wanted for the rest of our trip including Annooz's.

The bus journey to Munnar is enjoyable. After crossing the city suburbs there are plenty of greenery on both sides of the road and the road passes through many small towns. We had a 20 minute break for breakfast and refreshments at one of those stop over towns. Prashant and I got served to the local flavor of Idlee and Dosa with a warm cup of coffee. You can also buy news papers in English and Malayalam from all these places. We resumed the journey and I felt a little sleepy after having a yummy breakfast. As we were getting closer to Munnar the road becomes steeper and curvier. There are a lot scenic spots on this route - river steams, mini water falls, fabulous views of the cliffs, valleys with tea plantations etc. You can also watch the local people, their houses and living.