My First Impression Of The Best State InIndia – Kerala

shared by Anita Hendrieka Dijkstra

15 days, 30 bloggers from25 countries travelling 2300km around what is described as ‘the best state inIndia’.

As most of you know by now I was invited by Kerala Tourism ona blogger press trip. I was welcomed with open arms into Kerala – ‘Godsown country’, with flowers and a personalised sign. I think I could getused to airport welcomes like this and now everywhere I go I will be expectingroses! So, what are my first impressions of this Indian paradise?

I have noticed in the last week of beinghere, people are so friendly and always smiling. I know we areexperiencing 5 star luxury right now and you would expect this kind of thing inthese resorts, but even out of the nice hotels and onto the streets or canalsof the backwaters, people are more than happy to be waving and saying hello toyou. Maybe it has something to do with the natural beauty that surroundsthem!

I backpacked 6 weeks from Delhi to Mumbailast year and the constant hassling can get overwhelming if you are not used tothis sort of thing. Here, I have had not one person come up and try sellme something or shout ‘rickshaw, rickshaw!’, NOT ONE. From my experienceso far, this would be the perfect introduction for newbie’s into India! As a backpacker it can be a struggle and some people don’t think of coming toIndia a relaxing holiday but if you would like to take things a little slowerthen come here, it’s perfect!

I feel like all I have done is eat and eat,and eat. The food here is more seafood based than the North and Iactually prefer the cuisine down here! Kerala is known as the land ofpalm trees so coconuts are very much a staple for food, skin and hair, and manyother uses. Just some of my favourite dishes so far have been the Putta (coconut rice) with squashed bananas – a popular breakfast option, and the PaladaPayasam which is a dessert usually made with rice ada, milk, sugar and ghee. A traditional meal for the Kerala region is served on a banana leaflike the picture above.

The nature is beautiful and this place is soclean! I love nature so to travel through Kerala is like walking into atropical paradise for me. Palm trees, beautiful beaches and wild animalsare all things you can expect. I even got to see WILD elephants which issomething I thought I would never tick off my bucket list in India!