India is a magical and mystical country that has to be experienced in person to appreciate its beauty and diversity.
Even though I was born in India, each time I visit the country it is a new adventure. Each of the regions in India has very different and contrasting characteristics. In the north are the Himalayan mountains and Kashmir, the palaces and temples in north central India, the jungles of central India and the beautiful coastline of the western region. South India is a microcosm of the geographic and cultural diversity with a beautiful coastline, mountains with tea plantations, the backwaters resembling Kashmir and many beautiful palaces and temples. With my cousin’s daughter getting married at a destination wedding in Goa, Sharon and I recently visited South India for 2 weeks.
National Geographic's Traveler magazine named Kerala, India, as one of the “10 paradises of the world” and “50 must-see destinations of a lifetime.” We visited five different areas of the state. Vasco De Gama landed in 1498 in Kochin as an original Portuguese settlement. There are original buildings from that era, including St. Francis Church where he was originally buried. Fishermen still use Chinese nets, which are an iconic picture at sunset on the lake. The town still has the look and feel of the original fishing village.
Next, we traveled to a hill station in Munnar with tea plantations producing the best tea with chai stands everywhere. You can actually walk in the plantations and see the workers pick the tea leaves. The area is surrounded by mountains of the Western Ghats.
Next we traveled to Thekaddy, which is known for its traditional Kathakali classical dance with face painting and costumes that we got to experience close up with the cast. That region is also known for the Periyar Tiger Preserve with not only Bengal tigers but also leopards and elephants and other wildlife.
Lake Kumarakom and Apellley are known for the huge lake and backwaters with houseboats. It reminded us of Kashmir when we stayed on a houseboat. We stayed here a day on the houseboat with a personal chef serving meals and high tea on the sea.
As we traveled through the cities, there was lots of traffic with many cars and scooters. It was not unusual to see Indian women beautifully dressed in saris and kurtas riding a scooter with a helmet.
Then there was the capital city, Trivandrum, with the richest temple in the world housing gold and diamonds valued at $1.2 trillion. The local royal family still controls the Padmanabhaswamy temple and its riches. It was amazing to see so much diversity in terrain and culture in Kerala. This was definitely worth doing with many sights that are representative of the various regions of India and is now an item checked off our bucket list!
Drs. Shyam and Sharon Paryani reside in Ponte Vedra Beach and love to travel. Shyam was born in India but grew up in Jacksonville since the age of 11. Sharon was born and raised in Jacksonville.
