A Week in God’s Own Country–Stop 1: Kerala Farm Organic Spices

When we told our friends in Chennai we wanted to do some sightseeing, they all said, “Go West–to Kerala!”

“Never heard of it,” we said.

“It’s beautiful,” they replied.

While we were mulling over this possibility, we met a fellow hotel guest who happened to be from Kerala. I told Sandhya we were thinking of visiting Kerala, and she turned travel agent on the spot.

“You must go. It’s like nothing else you’ll see in India. First you should go to Munnar, spend two nights, then to Thekkady, take a boat ride and stay a night in the tiger preserve, then Marari Kollam, and then a night on a houseboat.”

Scholastic of India & Name that Spice

Yesterday, feeling particularly adventuresome, I told a rickshaw driver the general area we wanted to visit and asked him to recommend a restaurant. (Actually, the exchange was much more complicated than that and involved a passing motorcyclist, whom the rickshaw driver engaged as a translator while we were navigating an intersection. But I’ll skip the details.)

We ended up at Aasife Biryani, which the driver assured us had great food at a reasonable price. Some very reputable places are rarely frequented by women, but I was reassured by the sight of the first play structure I’ve seen at a restaurant in Chennai.