Drove through parts of Assam in far eastern India recently.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
Started our drive quite early in the morning, light fog, sun streaming through...
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
Encountered some "heavy traffic"...
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
Saw a great pair of Tatas !
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
...and Tea...miles and miles of it, on both sides of the road.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
On a prior trip, I had noticed many trees growing among the tea plants. Seems this is part of the method of growing tea. The "tea trees" have a tiny leaflet, and when the trees are pruned to be taller than they are wide, they give off a partial shade that the tea plants need.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
So the trees are regularly placed, all through the fields.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
But then I noticed some vines on the trees. We stopped at a road-side tea shop, and they explained that Black Pepper vines grow well there.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
So the tea plantation produces tea, and black pepper. You can buy fresh dried pepper corns at the tea shop and they'll grind them for you.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
Since they are constantly pruning the trees, I expect they are producing firewood as well.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
My optometrist recommended that I wash my eyelids with Tea Tree Oil Shampoo, to reduce an irritation. And, lo and behold, there on the shelf at the tea shop was Tea Tree Oil Shampoo, yet another product of the plantation.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
I dusty ride through highway construction,
in the midst of some otherwise very lush, green, monsoon-nurtured forests.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
Beautiful !!
Y'all take care.
- Mark
