Thursday, December 28, 2006

Kerala: first impressions

Flying from Delhi to Trivandrum took about 3 hours, with a short stop in Chennai (Madras).
India is pretty damn big (it is the 7th biggest country, after all), and after a few hours of pretty sad-looking scenery over the Deccan plateau, the plane got to south of India and the scenery changes drastically.
PALM TREES!!!! All you need to describe Kerala: lush and green. Palm trees everywhere. Palm trees as far as the eye can see.
While landing, it seemed that the landing strip was just a clearing among the palm trees - everything else was just a sea of green, melting into the sea of blue where Kerala runs into the Arabian Sea.
Getting out of the plane was magical - I was transported from dusty cold Delhi to magical warm Kerala, with palm trees all around and air that was actually clean and breathable. I like Kerala.

I was later told that because of all the coconut palm trees, there is actually a higher percentage of people in the South who become paraplegic from coconuts falling on them than from traffic accidents. Not sure if it's true or how good of a thing it is, but I'm glad Newton didn't live in Kerala.

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11 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

"air that was actually clean and breathable"

Yeesh, if Kerala was breathable by comparison, I'm glad we didn't go to Delhi! (I got a horrible sinus infection from the dust in Trivandum & Trissur.)

We were there roughly the same time you were - we've got photos of the same baby elephant, only maybe a week earlier - but we only travelled through Kerala and Karnataka. Found your site when I was looking for photos of Jew Town in Cochin.

11:07 PM, March 25, 2007  
Blogger toli said...

Sorry you had a bad sinus infection - Indian air finally caught up with me at the end of my 3-week tour, I came back to San Francisco with what my friends called "Bombay Black Lung", coughing for a good week after returning.
I have a bunch more photos of Jewtown in Cochin other than the ones at my gallery, let me know if you want copies and I'll send them to you.

11:23 AM, March 26, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I was later told that because of all the coconut palm trees, there is actually a higher percentage of people in the South who become paraplegic from coconuts falling on them than from traffic accidents."

I think you got it wrong, it's not because of the coconuts falling from the trees on humans. Its because of the people falling from the coconut trees while trying to get to the coconuts.
Keralites manually climb the coconut trees and fall in the process from an average height of 30-40 feet & therefore breaking their backs & becoming paraplegic!

9:29 AM, March 20, 2008  
Blogger munkki said...

hi I havent yeat been in india in my travels. Shud I go get a visit I know many travelers go there, but I just have my doubts about india. Realy dont know why

11:01 AM, May 04, 2009  
Blogger toli said...

You should absolutely go, if you have a chance. India is an incredible place to visit.

11:20 AM, May 04, 2009  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice posts about delhi city. There is no doubt that delhi has many places to visit. Delhi is also well connected to Meerut and Aligarh. Delhi Meerut is about 72 kms. While going to haridwar by Bus or train, meerut comes on the way. Meerut city is very famous for manufacturing of sports goods. If one is willing to visit cantt area then Ambala is worth visiting. New Delhi Ambala is 192 kms and it takes 4 hrs to reach the place

9:12 PM, December 25, 2009  
Anonymous Travel Kerala said...

Kerala one of the famous tourists attractions in South India has been alluring many of international tourists and with its beautiful exotic nature, no doubt it has significant influence on the GDP growth.It is a worth seeing tourist spot. I like the pine and the coconut trees from which coconuts are exported to all the states in India.
Travel India

11:24 PM, December 28, 2009  
Anonymous Rooney said...

You should not be miss the opportunity to go to India, if you have a chance. India is an incredible place to visit.

1:11 AM, January 31, 2010  
Anonymous Gecko Travel Guide said...

Kerala is a wonderful travel destination. It has been described as “God’s own country”. Its ever green environment would make us feel relaxed!... Though it’s little dusty, we can inhale unpolluted air because of the trees and plants! I had really a wonderful time being in Kerala. I would suggest you to taste the famous Kerala food when you go there. It is called “Puttu and Kadala Kari”. I just love that!

9:02 AM, March 15, 2010  
Anonymous Kerala Holidays said...

Hi,

Its not Palm Trees, Kerala is famous for Coconut, and what you can see there is Coconut trees everywhere :)

12:19 AM, April 08, 2010  
Anonymous Reggie said...

"Higher percentage of people in the South who become paraplegic from coconuts falling on them than from traffic accidents" this is probably true if most of the area is covered with coconut palm.

8:53 PM, February 27, 2012  

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