To this point in our life in India, we have stayed in four and five star hotels. Mind you, we’re not complaining; it has felt like we’re spoiling each other for less than half the price we’d pay in the States. For our first couple of nights of our Diwali vacation, we decided to try out something a little less Western. We found Chiramel Residency, a well rated homestay right in the middle of the old, charming neighborhood of Fort Kochi.
Everything about the place was perfect. All three people we interacted with were warm and eager to please. They gave us a choice of two rooms; we chose the one on the top floor that looked out over roof tops and let us listen to the rain as we fell asleep. The bed was a standard super firm Indian bed, but we expected that so it was fine. We weren’t intending to spend much time at the hotel, but if we were, we would have enjoyed the pleasant reading and game room.
We learned a very important lesson here that we believe is going to serve us well. When
- The beautiful courtyard. Our breakfast was served in the windows you see above the courtyard.
we checked in, we were given a breakfast menu and asked us what we wanted and at what time. We were a little disappointed by the options: eggs, corn flakes, fruit bowl, and white bread toast. Patel, our taxi driver from the airport, had suggested that if we wanted a dosa we should ask for one, but we didn’t want to look like pushy Americans, so we didn’t ask. After eating our basic breakfast the next morning, our host chased us down with a question as we left for our walk around the Fort Kochi area. We figured this was our chance to ask about the dosas and were so glad the next morning! The dosa breakfast was incredible, every element — the coconut chutney, the potato masala, the sambar — was delicious. We were able to apply our little bit of learning a couple of days later at the Amaana Plantation Resort, and it paid off just as brilliantly.
Chiramel Resort was a wonderful first stop on our vacation, and we came away with a nice lesson that is going to make our life in India even more delicious.
Wellserton Wanderings 