Kumily

After purchasing a train ticket to Varkala, a beach in Southern India, I changed my mind and decided to head east to Kumily. The beauty of traveling alone!
Kumily is a hill station in the midst of spice gardens, tea plantations and coffee plantations. It's located in the hills and has a temperate climate, a welcome relief from the scorching weather of the rest of India. Kumily is located right outside the Periyar Wildlife Preserve, one of many preserves in India. Surrounded by a lake, the landscape particularly beautiful. The jungle walk was pretty standard; we saw some elephant dung, tiger claw marks, various animal tracks and stopped periodically at noises while the guide dramatically looked around for a wild beast and pondered aloud which one it might be, an elephant, a bison? There is usually one saving moment on each trip, this one was the sight of an eagle. What an amazing bird. I know I previously stated I hated all birds, but I'd like to clear that up, it's only common birds I have a problem with.
Since I have learned not to expect a wild animal sighting, I was not disappointed and generally enjoyed the scenic morning walk. The only downfall were the leeches. I have never encountered them before, so when I put on the provided leech socks, I expected large slug like creatures that were easily to spot and defend myself against. These leeches are the size of a small piece of yarn, pre-blood sucking, and when I watched the first one crawl into a minuscule hole in my shoe I nearly fainted. I spent the next 3 hours certain that when I took of my leech socks I would find a bloody mess of a leg. Again, overdramatizing in my head, I was fine. However, I am not quite sure what to do with my shoes, how long can leeches hide in there?
I spent the rest of my time here enjoying the temperature, poolside, and getting a Aruyvedic massage. This form of South Indian treatment includes a massage that is so oily I had to use all my effort not to slip off the table by the end. The massage was followed by a steam bath where I sat on a stool in a box with my head sticking out of a horizontal guillotine contraption. It was odd, but much more relaxing than it sounds.