Blogger’s flavourful India trip
Since I started my blog, loads of amazing experiences have weaved their way into my life.
A Toti blogger experienced the trip of a lifetime when she was selected to join 29 other bloggers from around the world to tour Kerala in India.
Verushka Ramasami, a Kingsway High School old girl who lives in Isipingo, started her food blog ‘SpiceGoddess’ in 2011. “I started blogging as way to share my thoughts and ideas online,” said the 36-year-old. “It started as almost a ‘dear diary’, but evolved into a lifestyle blog where I share recipes, reviews and my travel adventures.
Finding a name was difficult and it took me ages. SpiceGoddess is inspired by the book and movie ‘Mistress of the Spices’.
Since I started my blog, loads of amazing experiences have weaved their way into my life. It has definitely opened up many new and exciting avenues for me.”
One of those exciting avenues was the news she was part of a group of 30 bloggers selected from 25 countries to experience the culinary delights of Kerala for two weeks.
The Kerala Blog Express was the brainchild of the Kerala tourism department. Travel bloggers from around the world were selected to spend two weeks experiencing the coastal province.
“A fellow blogger tagged me in the original tweet and thought it would interest me. I was rather curious, having never travelled east before, so I entered.”
The selection process included public voting, as well as the judges taking into account the entrant’s blog and social media platforms. There were six South African bloggers including Verushka who entered.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be chosen. We started our journey on 13 February as 30 individual bloggers from around the world, but left as new friends.
To say that this was a trip of a lifetime would be an understatement.
Every welcome in Kerala is so different and vibrant. The smiling faces that welcome you make you feel at home, regardless of the language barriers. From live dancers to drummers, we were treated like royalty at every place we visited.
We had a French TV crew following us for our first three days. Besides that crew, we also had the official photo and video team from Kerala Tourism capturing precious memories of us during our trip.
On the final night in Cochin, it seemed even Kerala did not want to let us go and cried torrents of rain.
Being my first trip to the continent, I was not sure what to expect, but it blew my mind.”
Verushka said there were so many things she loved about Kerala, but rated her top 10 as the spice plantations, smiling, happy people everywhere, houseboats on the backwaters, food, arts and culture, tea plantations as far as the eye can see, Western Ghats of Kerala and beautifully crafted products of the area.
“The SpiceGoddess fell in love with Kerala, it was food for my body, mind and soul and I will definitely go back,” said Verushka.
