Touring the Southern states of India

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We spent time exploring the Southernmost regions of India in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Kerala was selected by the National Geographic Traveller as one of the 50 destinations of a lifetime and one of the thirteen paradises in the world. Kerala is also the most educated state in India. Literacy is almost 100%.

It was interesting for us to see the influence of the Chinese, Portuguese, Jewish, Arab, Dutch and British among others. These areas were at the center of the spice trade. Remember Columbus?

From PBS-
So great was the demand in Europe for spice, so much money was to be made in the trade, that in the 15th Century states such as Portugal and Spain began to search for all-water routes to the Indies. It was to the Indies that Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492 and he actually thought that he'd found them when he landed on an island in the Bahamas in October of that year. He had not, but his commercial rival, the Portuguese Vasco da Gamma did by sailing around the horn of Africa and landing at Calicut in 1498. Thus began the modern age of exploration and conquest: the opening of the New World to the Old World peoples of Europe and Asia. And it was all due to the spices of Kerala

Often called the Venice of South Asia, Kerala has fabulous cultural and food traditions. And it might be the world’s first tolerant multi-religious society, a place where Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Jews have lived together in peace and harmony for centuries.

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