#968 Kerala, India

Kerala is a vibrant state in southern India.With the highest HDI in India, and a prosperous economy and culture, it's a pretty cool place. They are majority Malayali people speaking the Malayalam language, and have a mix of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. How can a place with an unpronounceable capital city such as Thiruvananthapuram not be exciting, and other cities like Kochi and Kozhikode? Spices, elephants, street parades (see the fantastic costumes in the film below), beaches, unique fishing nets, and a lovely climate too!

One of the most unique things about Kerala is its canal house boats. Beautiful ratan constructions with pretty arched windows, they offer all the services of a house or hotel, but moving gently down the rivers and backwaters. Beautiful waterways and birdlife, while the people on the shores wash their clothes or swim in the rivers and wave hello!

One other thing that it is common to see are the traditional martial arts and theatre performances. The energy of the martial arts is impressive and was used for training warriors. The Kathakali theatre tells ancient Hindu tales -- have a look at these videos and see the expressiveness! And yes, in the film below the man is cutting off the woman's breasts.