Chocolat The Travelling Bear - Best of Kerala (India)

The other day, Chocolat my travelling bear found this article of a travelling fox in Metro, and it made him smile, thinking of all the potential travelling stuffed animals around the world, waiting to be discovered (and bumped into!)

As I mentioned before, Chocolat, The Man and I went to Kerala (India) last October.

Kerala is probably one of the great destinations if you wish to visit India for the first time.
It's one of the richest states (rich, by Indian standard of course, which still means quite poor compared to our western countries).
In Kerala, the level of education is said to be one of the highest in India. It results in overall higher standards of living than in other parts of India (you see less people living in extreme poverty than you would in other places), a great tolerance between the several religions represented in the region, and very open-minded and very kind Keralan people.

Keralan food is diverse, delicious, delicate, not too spicy (which is great for unaccustomed european digestive systems). As a large chunk of the population is vegetarian, Keralan people cook stunning vegetarian cuisine, but you can also enjoy many fresh local fish, prawns, lobsters, etc.

Over two weeks, we were able to explore cities (Cochin), the beautiful backwaters, beaches (Varkala), and mountains (Munnar and its tea plantations), making up for a diverse trip over a short period of time. We travelled around in local buses and trains, which (it's true) take a lot of time to cross, compared to what, at home in Europe, would be fairly short distances, but which are such a great way to meet and live like locals. I can only highly recommend it!

I'll soon share some of the great recipes I discovered and brought back from Kerala, but in the meantime, here are some pictures of our lovely trip.

Like us, Chocolat my travelling bear enjoyed every single minute of it!

Kochi

Varkala Beach

Munnar, tea plantations

Munnar

Where is Choco?