Don Curry is going vegetarian

Don Curry is very conscious about his diet. While there are people who eat anything without thinking about what they are actually eating, this is not the case with Don Curry. He has always been a pioneer of conscious eating: he only eats what he enjoys.

In the morning, when he woke up in his treehouse to the loud and diverse chirping of birds, it was actually too early. Breakfast was not served until 8:30 a.m. - during the group trip, the bus was usually already on the way at that time; as a result, Don Curry's sleep phase now ended quite early. Since he was already awake, he could take his time in the bathroom. There, he was greeted by a nice surprise: the faucet of the washbasin was made of rustic wood. When Don Curry turned the knob vigorously, a finger-sized snail slid out of the pipe with the water jet, but disappeared immediately into the wide drain opening. So, it was quite lively in the treehouse. Fortunately, the shower and toilet did not have any secret inhabitants.

Don Curry then took the opportunity for an extensive walk through the tea plantations that belong to the JungleJive Tree House. Pepper and bananas also grow here, as well as numerous gigantic trees that are probably remnants of the original rainforest. The whole landscape radiated in the first sunlight and with the remnants of morning mist, creating an enchanting atmosphere. The screeching of parrots, the unfamiliar sounds of other tropical birds added to the atmosphere.

After this physical activity, Don Curry's appetite also awakened, so he was ready for breakfast before the actual time. The host seemed to sense this and invited Don Curry to the breakfast veranda at the main house, where he gradually set up a very modest buffet: there were rice cakes, spicy vegetable curry, French toast, and coconut-filled pancakes. The host also provided a small glass pitcher that seemed to only contain hot water. But far from it - it was the most expensive tea in the world, white tea, grown right there, as Don Curry was proudly told. The particularly delicate tea leaves give only a little color, but a very delicate flavor. Don Curry enjoyed this tea very much and enjoyed 2 French toasts and a coconut pancake with it.

Prince had actually planned to stay with a friend nearby, but somehow it didn't work out. So, he slept in his car in the traditional driver's manner, but had hoped to get something to eat from the owner of the very remote JungleJive. However, the owner kept postponing it until finally after 10:00 pm there should be something. Prince was clearly annoyed by the owner's behavior. There was no breakfast for him either. Don Curry preferred not to mention the delicious food he had just enjoyed.

After a short photo stop at a dam, Prince initially drove to the city of Munnar and then to the Eravikulam National Park, one of the very few mountain parks in South India. Prince had reported long queues at the ticket counter, but fortunately, this was not the case today. Unfortunately, there was a huge queue at the bus stop, as only National Park buses are allowed to take tourists up the narrow serpentine roads to the park. Don Curry estimated that there were about 200 people waiting for the bus in front of him - in the end, he had spent exactly 80 minutes waiting until he was finally squeezed into a bus.

With the experienced pace of a man who does nothing else all day, the bus driver raced first through tea plantations and then into a magnificent rocky landscape with a high-mountain character. The Eravikulam National Park is one of the last habitats of a very rare species of wild goats, the Nilgiri tahr. According to the travel guide, the animals are usually already seen at the end point of the bus route because they expect food from tourists. But this time, there were probably too many people in the parking lot - no tahr could be seen.

The only permitted hiking trail in the national park leads as an asphalted track up the rock massif in further serpentine bends. Stunning views, interesting vegetation, clear mountain air in bright sunshine - all of this delighted Don Curry, and at the same time, it delighted hundreds of people with him; the tahrs were clearly delighted elsewhere. Again and again, an Indian father looked intensely at the distant mountain peaks and showed his children something that at least he believed to be Nilgiri tahrs. Dozens of pairs of eyes of passers-by followed his outstretched finger expectantly. 2 km behind the bus stop, two rangers made it clear that the trail ended here. Perhaps the tahrs had gathered just behind the next bend and were laughing their hooves off. But what can you do: Don Curry could only turn back, enjoy the walk in the fresh air, and then join the line of those going downhill for 20 minutes. Tahrless, he returned to Prince, who had patiently waited with many other drivers.

Mountain air makes you hungry. So, Prince drove back to Munnar so that Don Curry could find a restaurant for lunch there. That was a very pleasant surprise: Mr. Sanjay had always taken him to overpriced tourist restaurants and surely received a commission for it. Prince occasionally made suggestions, but always left the choice of restaurant to Don Curry.

Don Curry knew that there is a branch of the famous South Indian restaurant chain Saravana Bhavan in the center of Munnar. Since the center is quite manageable, he quickly found the restaurant. It turned out to be busy at lunchtime, but Don Curry found a free table and quickly received an extensive menu. However, his wandering gaze at the neighboring tables made him quite uncomfortable: because here people not only ate purely vegetarian but also obviously traditional South Indian food - instead of plates, each guest receives a large banana leaf, and the guests have to bring their own cutlery: the fingers of their right hand. Don Curry watched rather unamused as locals, as well as Europeans, reached into the mound of rice on their banana leaf, pushed a small portion of it into one of the numerous sauces and pastes, mixed everything together, and transported it towards their mouth. A cup of hot water was available for interim finger cleaning if needed. Soon, the banana leaf and cleaning cup were brought to his table as well, but Don Curry played it safe with the order: a vegetable soup, a mushroom masala, and two naan breads. The waiter was visibly surprised that this was all - on neighboring banana leaves, there were sometimes ten different dishes - but he probably saw through Don Curry's inexperience.

In India, soups are never appetizers, they are part of the diverse one-course meal. So, Don Curry was served the soup, the masala, and the naans at the same time, and the waiter had mischievously provided not only a spoon for the soup but also for the masala. Don Curry was quite relieved, enjoyed the vegetable soup and then tasted the mushroom dish. Masala is a well-seasoned, viscous type of curry, and this mushroom masala turned out to be very well seasoned. Soon, Don Curry's nose began to water and one by one, the taste buds on his tongue stopped working; his entire mouth and throat seemed to be on fire, with only the bread offering some relief in between. After finishing half of the masala, Don Curry surrendered, ordered the bill, and paid just under €3 for what he had ordered, including 1 liter of water. Eating out can be quite cheap in India.

Don Curry took some time to visit the old St. George Church in Munnar, then Prince took off. Don Curry had actually planned to visit a tea factory along the way, but when he found out that no one was working today, Monday, and only the museum was open, he decided not to. The car gradually worked its way down from the mountains of the Western Ghats through breathtaking, picturesque tea landscapes.

Don Curry had actually planned to visit a temple on the outskirts of the city of Madurai in the evening, but Prince advised against it. He knew the traffic in the million-city of Madurai, which was similar to the conditions in Jaipur or Delhi at least. So, both were glad to have reached the Supreme Hotel in the city center around 6:00 pm. Prince said goodbye, Don Curry checked in and realized that the luxury hotel era was over. The room was functionally furnished, without any charm and not quite clean. Don Curry even had to request toilet paper at the reception. But he didn't want to spend his time in a hotel, but to experience India.

So, as darkness fell, he set out on foot to the famous Meenakshi Temple, the actual heart of the city, if not all of South India. Although Prince had recommended hiring a tuk-tuk, Don Curry easily found his way through the narrow streets of the old town and reached the enormous temple after about 500 meters at its west gate.

The shoe storage was well-organized here, so Don Curry could walk in his socks to the usual security check. Here he learned that cameras and batteries are not allowed in the temple, but smartphones are. So, back to the shoe storage, where valuables could also be stored for 2 rupees. The security guard was now satisfied with Don Curry, but asked him to sign the book of foreign tourists. After that was done, he was finally allowed to enter the huge temple grounds for the first time. Some things seemed somehow familiar, like the numerous devotional item sellers at the eastern entrance area, many other things appeared very different and yet impressive.

In addition to the main shrine, there are small and tiny subsidiary shrines, statues of gods, lingams everywhere - and everywhere there are signs of worship: flowers, fruits, burning candles, short bows, throwing oneself to the ground... Individually or in small groups, the believers went about their respective rituals. Don Curry tried to stay out of the way as much as possible while marveling at the colors and ancient atmosphere. He was usually able to take photos undisturbed with his smartphone, except in the area directly in front of the sanctum sanctorum, where photography was clearly prohibited. Slightly confused but also curious, Don Curry returned to the hotel and made plans to experience the temple again early in the morning.

But now it was time for a meal in the evening. Don Curry knew that the best thing about the Supreme Hotel is its rooftop restaurant, Surya. On the one hand, because of its magnificent view over the roofs of Madurai to the temple towers, and on the other hand, because of its delicious food. However, Don Curry quickly realized that it was a purely vegetarian restaurant. Nevertheless, he could thoroughly enjoy both the strengths of Surya; the temple view, as he was assigned a table directly at the viewpoint, and the fine flavors of vegetable curry and pineapple raita, topped with a papaya lassi and accompanied by a large (650 ml bottle) Foster's Extra Strong with a respectable 8% alcohol content.

Satisfied, Don Curry sank into his bed. Suddenly, he realized that he hadn't had any contact with animals since the surprise snail in the morning. The tahrs couldn't be here today because today was Don Curry's vegetarian day - completely consistent. And Don Curry must admit: it wasn't so bad...