Ok Now that we are on the ground and ready to explore this beautifull land, let me continue further.

 Earlier I mentioned the drinking habit of the taxi drivers. Well Taxi drivers are not the only drinkers in the town.  On the topic if drinking…….

Kerala has the highest per capita alcohol consumption in the country. Yes THE HIGHEST. They even beat the hearty Punjabi, when it comes to worshiping Bacchus.  

Alcohol is distributed by a Kerala government undertaking called the Beverages Corporation, whose logo is two arrows going up and one coming down encased in a circle. The symbolism in the logo is hard to miss. The shops will have this logo displayed prominently and there will be a big queue in front of the shop by around 6PM.  If you want to procure your own booze then ask for ‘Bevco’ and anybody will tell you the shortest route to it. The shops remain open up to 9 PM everyday except national holidays and major religious holidays. Most brands of Indian Made Foreign Liquor are available. 

Since the booze market is so big there is a lot spurious material available in the market. Though Bevco shops mostly sell good stuff , you should be careful if you are drinking in any shady bar. 

Toddy is another favourite drink of Kerala. It is made by fermenting juice from the coconut palm. It is nice and warming and not so alcoholic if taken fresh. Leave it over for a day and it becomes a hammer of Thor, to blast the drinker out into oblivion. It is cheap and easily available.  

Toddy shops are some of the shadiest places you can go to, and the best way to procure some  is to ask your hotel fellow to arrange for a fresh bottle in the mornings. Some toddy shops have tried to reinvent themselves as traditional Kerala food specialty restaurants, and some of them have succeeded in the endeavor. Many such joints can be found in central and south Kerala, where you can get into an enclosed well ventilated area, drink toddy, have good fish and crab with your family in full privacy. 

To keep up the lead on rest of the country, an average Malayali has to start drinking early, which means that most roads in central and south Kerala are deserted by around 8 PM. Decent restaurants start downing shutters by 9 to 10 PM. Only Bars are open up to 12 to 1 in the morning. Most bars serve good food but are not good if you want to take your wife and kids. Some up market bars are an exception. One can make out whether a bar is up market by looking at the makes of cars parked outside. 

Malabar or North Kerala is slightly different. With a large muslim population Malabar drinks less. This does not mean that those who do drink drink any less than their Cochin (Central Kerala) and Travancore (South Kerala) cousins. The shops and restaurants remain open late in the night, people are generally sober even after 8 PM. 

Most restaurants in Cochin and Travancore  will close by around 10 PM. A person can get food either through room service or if you are stuck on the street then you can always go to small road side food stalls that spring up after 7 PM everywhere. These stalls serve hot chicken, egg, beef, black gram curry with traditional Kerala rice pancakes called appam, Idiappam, or even dosa. The food is generally very fresh and hygienically prepared. At least I have never fallen sick after eating roadside chicken here in Kerala. 

Vegetarians will have a hard time in Kerala. Traditional Kerala vegetarian fare is not to everybody’s taste and the Tamil or Punjabi style vegetarian food that most of north Indians crave is available in few restaurants. Unless you are staying in a good hotel, north Indian style vegetarian food is difficult to find. From a backpacker’s point of view, it is bad to be a vegetarian in Kerala. 

For People who prefer non-vegetarian food, Kerala is heaven. Numerous varieties of fish and other sea food, cooked in delectable Kerala style await you. Try everything, its lovely.  A malayali eats everything that runs, flies or swims, so everything is on menu. Fish, Chicken, egg, mutton, beef, duck, rabbit, frog, all crustaceans…….the list is very big. Nice hotels and restaurants are good, but charge a lot of money. If you are like me, a value seeker then try eating  at toddy joints and road side places. The food is much fresher, tastier and is equally (un)hygienic. If you eat out then avoid drinking water or carry bottled water.

To be contd………

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