Why I Love Kerala

I didn’t fall for Kerala because of my dear insta influencers.
I fell for it because it felt real.
Messy, honest, unpredictable, and weirdly welcoming from the first moment.

This isn’t a list of places to see. It’s what actually happened to me there—the kind of stories you don’t plan for, but end up carrying with you.

Varkala

First stop: Varkala. No fixed plans. I just ended up at a beachside shack, phone forgotten somewhere in my backpack. Here, nobody’s rushing you.
Nobody cares what you do.
That weird sense of freedom hit me harder than any sunset.

I met a stranger, and we just… talked. About nothing and everything.
Sometimes you travel a thousand kilometers to feel seen.

Hitchhiking Through Kerala

I didn’t hitchhike because I was broke.
I did it because I wanted to see what happened if I stopped “traveling” and just let people in.

One random morning, I stuck out my thumb on a palm-lined highway, just to see who’d stop.
After a few curious stares, a small white car pulled up—a family out for the day, kids in the back, all looking at me like I was the plot twist they didn’t expect.

I tried to play it cool, but honestly, I was nervous as hell.
“Hey… I’m actually heading to Trivandrum,” I said, a little hesitant. “Just thought I’d try something new and see who I’d meet on the way.”

Banana chips were passed around.
I got a crash course in Malayalam and in how welcoming strangers can be when you actually let them.
The mother invited me to try homemade snacks. The kids laughed at my accent.
They asked about my city, cricket, why I was traveling like this.
No judgment. No expectation. Just… humanity.

Trivandrum & Padmanabhaswamy Temple

I reached Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum for the uninitiated) with no plan except to see the Padmanabhaswamy Temple.
On the way, a shopkeeper let me duck inside during a heavy rain burst—no questions, just a smile and a hot chai.
So much color, noise, music—overwhelming and beautiful.

At the temple itself, I stood outside for a while, just watching the flow of people, families, and rituals I barely understood.
Nobody cared if I fit in.
I felt out of place, but not unwelcome.

Couchsurfing

Not all my nights were spent in hostels.
I tried couchsurfing, half-expecting it to be awkward.
Instead, my host treated me like family—fed me, showed me their favorite local spots, laughed at my malayam (limited knowledge of just 3 words), and insisted I join them for breakfast the next day.

You can’t fake that kind of hospitality.
It makes you question what “stranger” even means.

Why Kerala Feels Like Coming Home

Maybe it’s the way the state smells after rain, or the late-night conversations with people I’ll probably never meet again.
Maybe it’s knowing that if you’re lost, someone will help you, just because.

Kerala isn’t about “sights.” It’s about the small, honest, human moments that remind you the world is still a good place if you let it be.

I’ll keep going back—not for the Instagram stories, but for the stories that never make it online.

Pulket (Pulkit Aggarwal)