If there was one place which wasted a lot of our time and money, this Tea Museum would be it. I had visited a tea factory before in Ooty and wasn't too keen on visiting another one. We had purchased tea there but on returning home had found that its end product was as different as chalk from cheese - nowhere close to the rich brew that was served to us in the factory. One of my friends later told me what her Ooty driver had told her - that the factory people sell mixed tea to tourists. This museum, however, belongs to the Tatas so I hoped that they would not resort to such gimmicks. And it was en route anyways. So we decided to visit and then regretted doing so.
The entry price is pretty steep and considering what's on offer, should be called what it is - fleecing. Once inside you can roam about in 3-4 rooms which house equipment and photos from the old times. A guard informed us that a documentary could be viewed in another room but we politely declined. After this we, along with other tourists, were herded into a room which contained a long trough full of tea leaves. A man close to retirement age greeted us and started lecturing on various health benefits of drinking tea. I am not sure when exactly he switched from saying that none of us knew how to make tea to commenting that our forefathers were able to successfully empty their bowels because they spent close to 10 minutes inside the toilet. I don't know about the rest of the tourists but I didn't want to listen to this 'crap' after having a hearty breakfast. The guy then fished out a flask that he had tacked onto his waist and proceeded to enlighten us about the way the Chinese and Japanese make green tea using it. We listened politely, and patiently, for a while and then simply walked out.
The shop selling many varieties of teas was busy and absolutely chaotic. It took us more than 15 minutes to get them to show us 2 types of teas and another 10 to make payment. I had come very close to giving up on the whole process more than once during that half hour. As I paid for my purchase, I was astonished to see that the guy standing next to me had purchased stuff to the tune of Rs. 3600 - including 2 of the flasks that the guy lecturing us had so eloquently praised as harbingers of good health. This guy cannot be from this planet, right? Well, turned out that he was not an Indian - probably from someplace in the Middle East, if the language that he was speaking in was any indication.
If I had any hopes of having a cuppa strong aromatic tea the way we had in Ooty, they were soon dashed when I saw that they were selling dip-tea for Rs.5. Without another word, I turned on my heels and walked out.
So here is what I would say without mincing any words - if you ever land in Munnar, give this museum a miss.
The entry price is pretty steep and considering what's on offer, should be called what it is - fleecing. Once inside you can roam about in 3-4 rooms which house equipment and photos from the old times. A guard informed us that a documentary could be viewed in another room but we politely declined. After this we, along with other tourists, were herded into a room which contained a long trough full of tea leaves. A man close to retirement age greeted us and started lecturing on various health benefits of drinking tea. I am not sure when exactly he switched from saying that none of us knew how to make tea to commenting that our forefathers were able to successfully empty their bowels because they spent close to 10 minutes inside the toilet. I don't know about the rest of the tourists but I didn't want to listen to this 'crap' after having a hearty breakfast. The guy then fished out a flask that he had tacked onto his waist and proceeded to enlighten us about the way the Chinese and Japanese make green tea using it. We listened politely, and patiently, for a while and then simply walked out.
If I had any hopes of having a cuppa strong aromatic tea the way we had in Ooty, they were soon dashed when I saw that they were selling dip-tea for Rs.5. Without another word, I turned on my heels and walked out.
So here is what I would say without mincing any words - if you ever land in Munnar, give this museum a miss.
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