Hey there, fellow travelers! Today, I would like to share another part of my travel experience. In this Kerala story, we continue our journey, exploring the hidden gems of Idukki. This is a positive side, if you are spontaneous and open on your travels to make new friends. They will always love to show you their favourite spots, like Aji. In Part 2 of my adventure, Aji takes me on an unforgettable walk around his house, where we talked about unique plants in this area. From exotic red bananas to the remarkable medicinal plants as well about the animals like elephants and many snakes living in his area. He told me all the different local names, and even that some time ago a king cobra was found close to his home. As we venture deeper into the forest, he shared the location of his small hut on his Cardamom plantation with me. I told him about my past travels in the Himalayas and my experience staying alone in the forest in a cave under a gigantic rock. I found out many things I was very surprised about. Our discussion started when we discovered the fountain on his plantation that was made by his grandfather. I learned that the local farms need to follow lots of laws and rules to make profits with having plantations. Since the land is divided upon many smaller farmers, they are forced to use the same fertilizers and poison to remove bugs and insects, and of course to make the plants grow fast. Since the farms are located in one big connected area, even if one would like to grow organically, without fertilisers — it's impossible. The rain and the water will wash the poison in the earth and affect all the surrounding lands. As the bugs and insects are becoming resistant, they have to use more and more of this artificial chemicals. The soil is contaminated and consequentially, due to that, more and more trees are cut down to gain more areas to grow new plantations. In the next episodes, I will talk more about visiting revolutionary farmers who try to battle this. It was an exhilarating and educational experience, that I wanted to share this sad situations with you all. Once we hiked down the hill, we made a tea (or coffee, how the locals call it) in the clay pot on the fire. We enjoyed the stunning views on the jungle and the valley of Idukki. On the way back it went dark, and I could hear many animals waking up. There were many sounds coming from the depth of the jungle. As well, we saw 3 small snakes which were dangerous and poisonous. It was a perfect trip, full of adventure. @WildMonk - with the help of my lens and share to this beautiful world. Since making movies and capturing moments is a big passion of mine, sharing them with a wider population which appreciate them, means even more to me. If you would like to support me, join me on my journeys and subscribe to my YT channel. Follow Us ❤️ YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/WildMonk?sub_confirmation=1 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQbmRW3Aw6M