🌶️ Travel Begins on the Tongue
Some journeys are remembered by landmarks.
This one lives in my taste buds.
When I think of my December 2008 trip - Indore → Coimbatore → Vaikom → Coimbatore → Indore - I don’t first remember distances, tickets, or hotels. I remember flavours. I remember aromas drifting through bus windows, steam rising from banana leaves, coffee strong enough to rewire my brain, and spices that didn’t shout - they spoke.
This wasn’t just travel.
This was edible geography. 🍽️🌍
🏙️ Indore - Where the Journey Was Already Seasoned
Let’s be honest - starting a food journey in Indore is unfair to every other city.
Indore doesn’t do subtle when it comes to food. It does bold, layered, unapologetic. Poha with sev and jeeravan. Kachoris that drip confidence. Chai that smells like home and ambition at the same time.
That December morning before departure, Indore tasted like:
☕ Hot tea with winter air
🥔 Spicy street snacks
🌶️ Familiar heat that comforted more than challenged
I didn’t know it then, but Indore was setting a baseline - a strong one. Everything south of this would be different, not better or worse. Just… different.
✈️ Transition Flavour - Airports, Altitude & Anticipation
Airports have their own taste.
Packaged sandwiches. Overpriced coffee. That neutral, recycled air smell mixed with perfume and jet fuel.
But even here, the shift had begun.
As I flew south, my palate was unknowingly preparing for less oil, more coconut, less aggression, more balance, less crunch, more comfort.
Food, like language, changes with latitude.
☕ First Sip in Coimbatore - Filter Coffee Awakens the Soul
The moment I reached Coimbatore, the sensory pivot was immediate.
The air felt warmer. Softer. Slightly humid. And then came the coffee.
Not instant.
Not diluted.
Not rushed.
South Indian filter coffee is not a beverage - it’s a statement. ☕🔥
Thick, frothy, poured from steel tumblers with ritual precision. Sweet but not childish. Bitter but not harsh. The smell alone could reset your internal clock.
That first sip told me everything I needed to know:
> “You’re not in central India anymore.”
🍽️ Coimbatore on a Plate - Clean, Calm, Confident
Food in Coimbatore didn’t try to impress. It didn’t need to.
Here’s what stood out:
🥞 Dosas - crisp edges, soft centres, perfectly fermented
🍛 Sambar - complex, tangy, comforting
🥥 Chutneys - coconut, mint, tomato - each doing its own job
Everything was served hot, fresh, and without drama.
And the best part?
You didn’t feel heavy after eating.
South Indian food respects the body. It fuels without overwhelming. It nourishes instead of seducing - and that’s a quiet flex.
🛣️ On the Road - When the Air Starts Smelling Green
As the journey moved from Coimbatore toward Kerala, something subtle happened.
The air changed.
It smelled wetter. Greener. Like leaves after rain. Diesel mixed with banana plants. Earth mixed with water.
Roadside stalls began appearing with:
🍌 Fresh banana chips
🥥 Tender coconut water
🌶️ Fried snacks spiced gently, not aggressively
Eating on the road here wasn’t about indulgence. It was about timing - eating when hungry, stopping when needed, trusting the body.
🌴 Vaikom - Where Food Slows Down
Vaikom didn’t announce itself with neon signs or menus.
It welcomed you with:
🌊 Quiet backwaters
🌿 Coconut palms everywhere
🍛 Kitchens that smelled alive
The first proper meal in Vaikom was served on a banana leaf - and that alone changes how you eat.
You sit differently.
You eat slower.
You pay attention.
Food here wasn’t plated - it was presented with respect.
🍲 Kerala Cuisine - Depth Without Noise
Kerala food doesn’t hit you immediately. It unfolds.
#🥥 Coconut: The Backbone
Not garnish. Not flavouring. Backbone.
Coconut in Kerala is everywhere - grated, sliced, ground, fermented, cooked, raw. It adds richness without heaviness.
#🐟 Fish Curries That Stay With You
Spiced but balanced. Tamarind tang. Curry leaves crackling in coconut oil. Fish that tasted like it was caught with intention.
#🍚 Rice That Actually Matters
Rice here wasn’t filler. It was foundation. Steamed, fluffy, grounding.
Eating felt like participating in a rhythm, not consuming calories.
🌅 Mornings in Vaikom - Taste Meets Silence
Mornings in Vaikom tasted different.
Not because of what was on the plate - but because of how it was eaten.
☀️ Early light
☕ Mild coffee
🥞 Appam with stew
🌊 Water gently moving nearby
There was no rush to finish breakfast. No urgency to “start the day.”
The day had already started. You were just joining it.
🍌 Snacks, Sweets & Small Joys
Some flavours don’t headline - they linger.
In Vaikom, it was:
🍌 Pazham pori (banana fritters) - crisp outside, soft inside
🍬 Jaggery sweetness - deep, earthy, satisfying
🥥 Coconut-based sweets - not cloying, just enough
Nothing tasted artificial. Nothing felt rushed.
Every snack felt like it had a story behind it - someone’s grandmother, some festival, some quiet evening.
🛶 Eating Near Water - A Different Sensory Layer
Food near water tastes different.
Maybe it’s the humidity. Maybe it’s the calm. Maybe it’s psychological.
But eating by the backwaters, with boats drifting and birds calling, made flavours feel rounder.
Spices softened.
Sweetness deepened.
Salt made sense.
It wasn’t restaurant dining.
It was contextual eating.
🌃 Evenings - Smoke, Spice & Stories
As evening settled in Vaikom, kitchens came alive.
🔥 Firewood crackling
🌶️ Spices hitting hot oil
🍛 Curry aromas drifting into the street
You didn’t need menus. Your nose guided you.
Dinner felt communal - even if you ate alone. Because food connected everyone around you.
🔄 Back to Coimbatore - Recalibrating the Palate
Returning to Coimbatore after Vaikom felt like recalibrating.
Food was still great - but sharper. More structured. More urban.
You notice things differently after slow food.
Coffee tasted stronger.
Dosas felt crisper.
Sambar felt punchier.
Not better or worse - just contrasting chapters.
✈️ Return to Indore - Full Circle, New Lens
Landing back in Indore, the food hit differently.
Poha tasted louder.
Spice felt bolder.
Oil felt heavier.
And that’s when it clicked:
Travel doesn’t change food.
It changes how you receive it.
I didn’t stop loving Indore food.
I just understood it better.
🧠 What This Culinary Journey Taught Me
Here’s the real takeaway from this trip:
🍛 Food is culture without language
🌶️ Spice reflects geography and temperament
🥥 Simplicity often requires mastery
☕ Ritual matters as much as recipe
🌍 Eating local is eating truth
Every place fed me more than meals. It fed perspective.
🧭 Why This Trip Still Lives in Memory
Years later, I don’t remember hotel names or schedules.
I remember:
☕ Coffee steam in steel tumblers
🍛 Curry leaves popping in oil
🍌 Sweet bananas fried to perfection
🌊 Eating slowly near water
That’s how you know a journey mattered.
🏁 Final Bite - Travel Through Taste
If you ever retrace this route - Indore → Coimbatore → Vaikom → Coimbatore → Indore - don’t rush.
Eat where locals eat.
Pause between bites.
Let food teach you the place.
Because sometimes, the fastest way to understand a culture…
…is through your mouth. 😌🍽️
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