We have always had a huge interest in travelling around India, exploring the culture, tasting the food and understanding the general way of life. There are so many misconceptions about India that we had to go and see it for ourselves so we could form our own opinion.

We decided to start in the South of India and head North. Starting in Kerala we were able to bare witness to how beautiful Southern India is. Being by the water gave us a chance to visit the famous Chinese fishing nets and also Fort Kochi. We saw fish in buckets, goats roaming the streets and children playing in the parks. On our second day there we hopped in an Uber (I know, an Uber in India right!) and immediately befriended our driver, Arun. He ended up being our personal guide for the day, walking us through the local markets and taking us up to a viewing tower where we could see the entire city. He could understand a few minutes into meeting us both that we love food, so for dinner he took us to his favourite dosa restaurant, Pai Brothers. There was a huge sign with over one hundred different varieties to chose from, onion, butter, potato, egg, the list went on and on. The best part about it, the price for the three of us was just under $3.00 Canadian.

We spent a couple days getting used to the incredible culture shock of the country. Neither of us had ever been exposed to poverty on such a large scale before and it definitely took some getting used to. There were a few moments where we had to go into a restaurant or store just to catch our breath, yes in some places the air quality is just that bad. One of the most interesting things about Kerala, maybe India in general, was that on the left something could look so pristine, smell so fresh and inviting and on the right side, there would be a massive slum housing so many families our eyes wouldn’t know which way to look.