2 Exciting days of Adventure in Kerala India | What an experience!

Hey, it's Phoebe, and today I'm in Kerala. All right, so this is my first time visiting India, and I have absolutely no idea what to expect. I'm gonna be exploring Kerala, which is located in southern India on the tropical Malabar coast. And it's a place known as God's Own Country, and I am so excited to visit some beautiful places and try a whole lot of authentic local food. But first, to get there, I flew from Singapore to Trivandrum, which is the capital city of Kerala, with Scoot. Now, I knew I needed an e-visa, so I had applied and been approved for one, but what I didn't know is that it needs to be printed. So when I tried to check in for my flight, I couldn't, and I had to pay $4 to print it at this place at Changi Airport. So make sure if you're flying to India, you have a visa and you have it printed. There's a link below for you to where I applied for my visa, because you do need to look out for scams. Now, it should only cost you around 10 US dollars. You apply online and there are no express options. So you need to apply well in advance. The flight took four hours, so it was nice and fast. And when I landed, they checked my printed visa again. I collected my bag and headed straight to the hotel. Now, I spent the night at the Grand Hyatt Trivandrum. It is brand new and the rooms are super modern. They're luxurious and very, very comfortable. If you need a place to stay in Trivandrum, this one is perfect. I absolutely loved it here and I would stay here again. This morning, we've made our way here to Imanam. It's a tiny village tucked away on the outskirts of Katayam city, about four hours drive north of Trivandrum. Now, we boarded these boats and set off along the gorgeous backwaters. And on this adventure, I'm actually traveling with around 30 content creators from all over the world as part of the Kerala Blog Express, which is hosted by Kerala Tourism. So you can expect to see a whole lot of new faces in this episode. Let's go. ♪ You feel my sweet talk ♪ ♪ I'm next to you, babe ♪ ♪ You blushing, give your sweet concussion ♪ ♪ Oh, you miss my touching, good to you ♪ ♪ Show me something, give me more than one thing ♪ ♪ I need more than less than I do ♪ ♪ Hey, make me believe it, make me believe it ♪ ♪ Don't want it, I wanna see it, see how ♪ ♪ Sweet talk, don't be late, ain't sweet talk ♪ ♪ No need for no flowers, babe, I'm already on my way ♪ ♪ Dancing all night long with you, way too long ♪ ♪ Don't waste my time, sweet talk, don't be late ♪ ♪ Ain't sweet talk, don't be late, ain't sweet talk ♪ ♪ No need for no flowers, babe, I'm already on my way ♪ All right, so we are doing something really, really cool. We are about to spend the night on these amazing luxury houseboats. And the thing about this trip is that we have roommates and I was lucky enough to get a really amazing roommate. This is Jo. Hi, everyone. There's a good chance you actually recognize Jo. Jo is like a legit entertainment professional and Jo and I have been put together and we showed up to the boat and we didn't know it was gonna happen, but it's... Yeah, we're here in a bed. We've got a jacuzzi. It's a private tour on our way here. And look at our little romantic dinner set up. It's you and me, babes. ♪ Wrap me up in a sweater, treat my pain with a kiss ♪ ♪ Then suddenly you are here inside my head everywhere ♪ ♪ I'm just dreaming, I wish I had a girl like you and I ♪ ♪ Wish you could be real but you're only here and I like you ♪ ♪ I fade away, you show me what love can I say, what can I say ♪ ♪ I know it sounds like I'm playing with fire ♪ This has been awesome. This has been a really, a really great start to this. I don't know what I expected coming to India. I think I thought it would be busier, a lot more people. I was a little nervous and overwhelmed. It was a brand new city for me. And from the second I arrived, everyone's been so lovely. Everyone's been so welcoming. They're so happy to have you here. So happy to see you trying the local food and experiencing the culture and just being part of the community, really. Everyone has been amazing. If you are unsure, if you have any doubts, come to Kerala. Start here. It is the perfect gateway, honestly. I am having the best time. And this houseboat experience is something else. This is really, really special. The crew are all amazing. The houseboat is so lovely. I love that it's a little rustic, that you're going around through these just gorgeous backwaters with palm trees lining each side and little kids are running around saying hello. Other boats are coming past and everyone's just so happy to be here. It's such a good energy. This is awesome. This is a really great first taste of India. Good morning, you guys. And good morning to you. Good morning. All right, so we are waking up on the boat this morning and interestingly, we didn't cruise all night. So we did our cruise yesterday evening. After the sunset, we went back to the dock. We spent the night there and now we are up and we are out and we are about again. So we're gonna cruise for about an hour this morning, have some breakfast and then just enjoy the morning magic. Now, what I love about this is that you get to see all the locals going about their business and everyone is just so happy and so nice and so welcoming. It is such a lovely way to start the day. And we have some pretty fun things planned for today. So I hope you're ready for a really fun one. ♪ I didn't live to love the past life ♪ ♪ But the best of me, you got me losing sleep ♪ ♪ But I was hoping that I stuck on you ♪ ♪ Going on to different places, different planets ♪ ♪ Watch your aura pass me by, losing balance ♪ ♪ But what if we run out of time and second chances ♪ ♪ Empty handed, I wonder, would you love me better ♪ ♪ If the stars are put to let us all have a passion trip ♪ ♪ And try to keep an open mind, no guarantees you'll find me ♪ ♪ Said if it's perfect, you'll find a new path behind me ♪ ♪ Watch your aura pass me by, losing balance ♪ ♪ But what if we run out of time and second chances ♪ ♪ Empty handed, I wonder, would you love me better if I go ♪ ♪ I wanna know, when we trust the stars are put to let us know ♪ ♪ I'd go, I'd go, I'd go, I'd go, I'd go, I'd go, I'd go, I'd go ♪ Joe's choking in the background. Don't choke on the vlog. All right, it is time for lunch. And we have come to Thakerty. Now it took about four hours on the bus to drive from where we were in Albufeira to right here. And we're in a place called Greenwoods, which is a really beautiful hotel resort kind of thing. Now the buffet, the lunch buffet, let me tell you, I was walking up that thing filming it and my stomach was doing somersaults. It smells amazing. I know this is a little obvious, but if you love Indian food, you're gonna be in heaven. And Southern Indian food to me is my favorite type of Indian cuisine. I went hard out on the buffet, you guys. I did not hold back. I've got a plate just stuffed full of everything. Let's just dig in and give everything a try. Now I have to tell you, so far, the naan breads everywhere have been nothing short of exceptional, so I'm expecting this to be a good one too. Okay, you go to Japan, you get the best sushi in the world, right? You come here to Kerala, you get the best naan in the world. It is so, so good. What else have we got to try? Okay, so I've got some malai kofta, like a potato ball kind of thing. I don't know if it looks good. Oh, that's really good. This one is like a masala of some kinds with chickpeas and tomato-based sauce. The truth is, it's all good. There isn't a weak link in the chain. And the last thing I wanna try for you is something I didn't order, but they brought out for me. I can't remember the name of this. If you know what this is called, just comment it for me. Apparently, it's like a specialty. They cooked it on the spot. It's like some kind of a bread. It's very white, very kind of squishy, rubbery. And they brought it out with its own special curry and they said, this is what you have to have it with. I don't know what that is, but we're gonna eat it. And just hope it's not meat. It's really good. The bread tastes different to a naan. It's kind of like a, has more of like a fermented taste to it. Absolutely delicious. ♪ She's liking your supplies, supplies, all our tires ♪ ♪ Looking so surprised at us ♪ ♪ Telling me she want to be my lover, yeah ♪ ♪ Loving when she want to be my lover, yeah ♪ All right, this afternoon we are doing something really exciting. We are gonna be getting in these Jeeps and heading out for a little bit of an adventure. The guys, hello, hello. They're gonna be taking us to some of the most beautiful spots in the area. Obviously I have never been here before. I have no idea what to expect and I am so excited. I love a Jeep safari. Let's go. ♪ Yeah, I don't want to slow down, I don't want to slow down ♪ ♪ I don't want to slow down till I burn out ♪ ♪ I just want to live fast, I don't want to look back and say ♪ ♪ I could have done more than I did not ♪ ♪ Sometimes it can be hard, yeah, it can be hard, yeah ♪ ♪ It can be hard when you grow up ♪ ♪ People fill you with doubt, you start thinking about ♪ ♪ What you're gonna do now, but we only got one chance ♪ ♪ And got one life to live, and it's do or die ♪ ♪ Gotta make it count, so lose your worries ♪ ♪ Let your problems go on until my whole body burns out ♪ ♪ I ain't never gonna slow down, gonna slow down, gonna slow down ♪ ♪ I don't want to waste time, I don't want to waste time ♪ ♪ I just want to get high, just want to get high, just want to get higher ♪ ♪ Sometimes people will try to hold you back from being who you want to ♪ ♪ Don't be questioning why, do whatever feels right ♪ ♪ Find your passion and fight, cause we only got one chance ♪ ♪ And got one life to live, and it's do or die ♪ ♪ Gotta make it count, so lose your worries ♪ ♪ Let your problems go on until my whole body burns out ♪ ♪ I ain't never gonna slow down, gonna slow down, gonna slow down ♪ I am exhausted. I just feel like I got so hopped up on the energy being here and I'm just being so happy to be here that I've given it 110%. I've had the time of my life. India was somewhere I wanted to visit for a really long time and I'm so, so glad I came to Kerala. It has been amazing and being on this trip with so many other creators is really fantastic too. It's a really great time. I wasn't sure what to expect with India. It's a place that's been on my bucket list for a while but when you go somewhere new, you're always a little nervous. Like, what's it gonna be like? Am I gonna like it? And I really like it. I think the thing that's found me away the most is the people. Everyone's so nice. Everyone's so happy and waving and friendly and just really want you to be part of the culture and it's awesome to be that welcome when you go to a new country. I highly recommend. And with that, that brings this week's episode to a close. I really hope you've enjoyed it. Now, if you don't already, be sure to subscribe right now so you never miss a single episode and say hello in the comments below. I hope you have a great weekend and I will see you with a brand new episode next week. Love ya. ♪ I ain't ever gonna slow down ♪