A Trip Down South

I just got back from a trip to Kerala (my native), and I haven’t felt this way before.

In one word, it’s heavenly. Totally!

Look right, left, up or down, it’s all green. When you look up, coconut tree is what blocks your sight from looking at the sky.

And of-course, mountains, lots of mountains caressed by the clouds.

These sights were quite normal to me. It often made me wonder, why are people so crazy about this place? Visiting Kerala was just another boring trip. For me it was a state full of HUGE mosquitoes. A LOT of them. They will suck your blood till the last drop. But then, there is much more to this place. And now watching Discovery seems too mainstream. Once in Kerala, just look around. You’ll find many unidentified objects; insects to be more precise. Apart from the ugly bloodsucking mosquitoes, you’ll find ultra huge spiders, caterpillars, bugs, grasshoppers, butterflies, exotic birds sitting on your rooftop, rats and more flying objects. Once you realize how calm and non-harmful they are, you’ll start loving the stay. Snakes and elephants are a common sight.

Every house will have a basket full of coconuts plucked from their backyard and jack-fruits too and how can we forget the fresh banana chips fried in coconut oil !

If you are here and you haven’t had coffee, you are missing something BIG in life !

If you have assumed that Kerala means non-veg food, you are ridiculously wrong. Most of the households cook pure veg food, for instance rice, sambar, appam, idli, dosa, rasam and so on. Typically! Non-veg food is cooked on rare occasions. Festivals and important dates are celebrated with veg food to keep it pure and holy.

Being born and brought up in Ahmedabad, I find the tea in Kerala absolutely ridiculous and that is one thing I don’t like about this place. The milk here is too thin and tea is too mild.

Visiting Kerala during summer can be the worst mistake you make. Best time to visit would be monsoon (Mid June).

There are ample farms which will make even the longest of walks, worth it. The soothing sights will keep you from getting tired.

A good amount of people here know Hindi and you can always rely on English for a communication. Humans here are genuine and polite. They love to talk and are enthu to help you out.

They like fat people more. Keralites believe that humans should have enough flesh and fat in them to survive. They will make you eat everything edible to make you fat. This time when I thought of dieting in Kerala, people said I was too thin and need to eat more. 

Men comfortably riding bike in lungi is a common sight. Quite a few of them wear it to office as well. You might find this funny, but it is a tradition best accepted.

Flats and towers are latest entries with sky rocketing maintenance charges. There are more of bungalows. You will find the finest architectural structures here. It will leave you awestruck. The colors, the design of houses are spellboundingly amazing.

Street cats and dogs are a part of the family. They roam around in houses and nobody minds. If you find them sleeping besides you on your bed in the morning, it’s normal!

God's own country? Definitely! A destination to rejuvenate.