Kerala is where India slip down into second gear, stop to smell tho roses and always talks to strangers. A strip of land between the Arabian sea and the Western Ghats, its perfect climate flirts unabashedly with the fertile soil, and everything glows, An easy-going and successful socialist state. Kerala as a liberal hospitality that stands out as its most laudable achievement.

The backwaters that meander through Kerala are the emerald jewel in South India’s crown Here, spindly network of rivers, canals and lagoons nourish a seemingly infinite number of rice paddies and coconut groves, while sleek houseboats cruise the water highways from one bucolic village to another. Along the coast, slices of perfect, sandy beach beckon the sun-worshipping crowd, and far inland the mountainous Ghats are covered in vest plantations to spices and tea. Exotic wildlife also thrives in the hills, for those who need more than just the smell of cardamom growing to get their juices flowing.