Once a summer retreat for the British, Kerala's principal tea-growing region is inhabited by thousands of pickers who tend to the delicate green leaves that carpet every hillock. In the heat of summer, cobras slither out of their wet holes and drape themselves like wayward ribbons upon the bushes. But now I could be in the Scottish Highlands, unable to see my hand a few inches before me because of the thick swathe of mist that deposited droplets upon my woollen sleeve, as I searched for a room. Munnar's popularity as a weekend getaway has caused a spurt in hotels. I needed hot water and a television, but a Swedish couple averse to all things electric made for a private cottage deep in the hills where they confided, they intended to read and drink Kanan Devan's finest all day.