Places That I Remember Visiting

 Some unusual places first.

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, where 4 Presidential faces are carved into a mountain, in the U.S.. 

Kodikkarai, on the east coast of Tamilnadu, a nice drive from the deep.

Daman, on the West Coast, a tipplers' delight for those from the Dry state of Gujarat. Daman is a Union Territory which does not have Prohibition.

Tirunelveli, in the deep South again, known for its halwa- a gooey, colourful sweet that is made really well. Calicut also made something similar, I remember.

Chilika Lake, in Orissa/Odisha, that I visited in 1991, with a friend. The waters were choppy, and our boat was not confidence-inspiring.

Pulicat Lake (another Salt Water lake) and the Dutch Cemetery. The Cemetery is badly kept, but worth a visit. The lake, even more worthy of a visit and a boat ride. Near Chennai.

Ethipothala waterfall is near Nagarjuna Sagar dam in Telangana, and the waterfall is visible from a tourist cottage set up opposite.

Jog Falls, Karnataka. Majestic in the rainy season. Climbed down to the base a couple of times..it's a steep climb back.

Local Flavours

Every place in India has its local delights- food being a major one.

And so it is that we have a Chitale's bakarwadi in Pune, a biryani or Double (bread, also called double roti) ka meetha in Hyderabad, and a Tunde kabab in Lucknow (hopefully it's still around).

Other delights I can remember are Tirunelveli halwa, some variation of which was also available at Calicut (and a shop called Bombay Halwa in Hyderabad sold something similar too-colourful, gooey, semi-solid stuff).

Of course, Gujarat has dhoklas, and theplas, and khakras. Gujaratis are foodies, though many are vegetarian, and have a variety of snacks. Kachoris are famous eats in many parts of North India, including Indore which is my current abode.

Aamras and puri and Puranpoli are two Maharastrian ideas, whereas the Avakai mango pickle is an Andhra speciality (I am at least partly an Andhravadu, having grown up there, and have a hot tooth, the opposite of a sweet one. Mirchi bajji is therefore a favourite).

Kolkata has many culinary ideas that involve fish, but its street food, particularly rolls, are quite distinct. Goa has its sausages, and also a dish spelt Xacutti which no one knows (at least I don't) know how to pronounce. Vindaloo with some meat (usually Pork) is also quintessentially Goan.

Belagaum has its kunda, a sweet, and Maddur has a vada named after it called Maddur vada. Pune's Kayani Bakery has a well-known Shrewsbury biscuit, and Karachi bakery in Hyderabad has its fruit biscuit that are now "world-famous" at least in India.