Guide to shopping in Kerala: Spices to Souvenirs and many other things to buy in Kerala Kerala is known as God’s Own Country, but it is also Shopping destination no 1 for thousands of years for people looking to buy spices, today the list has only expanded to spoil you for choice of things and souvenirs to buy in Kerala We humans evolved from hunters and gatherers to our present form, though I sincerely wonder if the current state of humans can be termed evolution. But let us leave that to anthropologist, zoologists and behavior psychologists to debate. (OK, this post’s quota for big words is over, back to the desi self). The hunting part is down to bargain hunting online and offline, and the gathering has evolved to a more refined skill called shopping. So where ever we go we want to bring a piece of the visited place to our little kingdom of dreams aka living room. So how could I resist not to shop in Kerala, where the world has come to shop for thousands of years. The fragrant spices of Kerala were responsible for launch of a thousand ships from the Mediterranean cost, with the sailors like Vasco de Gama following the scent to the Malabar Coast of India. Indeed it would not be exaggeration to say that the new world aka Americas and Australia was discovered by western colonial powers because they wanted to find where the spices grew as the route from middle east was controlled by Arabs, who were not willing to give away their monopoly on the lucrative business. So Kerala has been the shopping mall of the world for thousands of years and it continues to entice the visitors with the various charms in its bazaars from fort Cochin to tea plantations in Munnar and spice gardens in Thekkady and Wayanad . Anyways long story short here is a list of things you must buy in Kerala, and continue the tradition of Shopping in Kerala For your convenience I have divided the list in Food, decorative Handicrafts, Utility Items etc.
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Guide to shopping in Kerala: Spices to Souvenirs and many other things to buy in Kerala
Kerala is known as God’s Own Country, but it is also Shopping destination no 1 for thousands of years for people
looking to buy spices, today the list has only expanded to spoil you for choice of things and souvenirs to buy in
Kerala
We humans evolved from hunters and gatherers to our present form, though I sincerely wonder if the current state
of humans can be termed evolution. But let us leave that to anthropologist, zoologists and behavior
psychologists to debate. (OK, this post’s quota for big words is over, back to the desi self). The hunting part is
down to bargain hunting online and offline, and the gathering has evolved to a more refined skill called shopping.
So where ever we go we want to bring a piece of the visited place to our little kingdom of dreams aka living room.
So how could I resist not to shop in Kerala, where the world has come to shop for thousands of years. The
fragrant spices of Kerala were responsible for launch of a thousand ships from the Mediterranean cost, with the
sailors like Vasco de Gama following the scent to the Malabar Coast of India. Indeed it would not be exaggeration
to say that the new world aka Americas and Australia was discovered by western colonial powers because they
wanted to find where the spices grew as the route from middle east was controlled by Arabs, who were not willing
to give away their monopoly on the lucrative business.
So Kerala has been the shopping mall of the world for thousands of years and it continues to entice the visitors
with the various charms in its bazaars from fort Cochin to tea plantations in Munnar and spice gardens in
Thekkady and Wayanad.
Anyways long story short here is a list of things you must buy in Kerala, and continue the tradition of Shopping in
Kerala
For your convenience I have divided the list in Food, decorative Handicrafts, Utility Items etc.
1. Spices: Not very ground breaking but can you really leave Kerala without buying the best spices in the
world? Take your fill of black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric etc,and buy as much as you want,
fill your bags, even if you have to throw some of your clothes away. For you will not get better spices anywhere
else in world at such economical prices. As spices don’t go bad if kept in a dry airtight jar, you can buy without
fear of getting them spoilt. Traveler Tip to buy spices in Kerala: Best place Kumily near Thekkady, second
Broken Cashew Nuts taste exactly same as full nuts
3. Tea: Ah so you are also one of those who will not touch a cup of tea unless it is grown in Darjeeling? Well
darlings (do I sound like a Page 3 socialite? Good, I wanted to ) Darjeeling and Assam sure are the more well-known and wonderful tea, but all that tea that you find on our tea stalls selling hot tea in India
originate in the Western Ghats. This Nilgiri tea is gulped by the masses, as it is strong, full-bodied, and gives a
chocolate color to the milk that we desis love to dunk our glucose biscuits into. So leave your tea snobbery for
some time and buy some authentic Nilgiri Tea grown in the hills of Munnar, Thekkady and Wayanad.
4. Coffee: OK so you are not a tea drinker? Fikar not, God’s Own Country also grows some of the finest
coffee in the world and your Kerala trip is not complete unless you have tried the special Kerala Kapi, in the little
steel tumbler. Traveler Tip for buying Coffee: My suggestion is to go for some unbranded local coffee, because
that is what the locals drink, and try to buy it as close to the source that is the plantation as possible.
5. Banana Chips: Banana must be the second most popular plant in Kerala and you will see more types on
bananas in Kerala than anywhere else in world. Banana chips are the mother of all chips in the world, and all