VACATION DIARIES-4

SURAT. My special place. A place where I go and forget all my worries. It is the place where my most memorable memories have been created. It’s not my hometown, but it’s more than that to me. Most of my maternal family lives there.The best part, for me, of going there is meeting my sisters (cousins, but we act like siblings) beacuse we rarely meet, but even then, we are quite a tight and closely-knitted group of sisters.

Anyways, getting back to the real topic, for those who don’t know, Surat is a port city previously known as Suryapur. It is the economical capital and former princely state in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the eighth largest city and ninth largest urban agglomeration in India.

Now, there are a lot of things to experience in Surat, most of which includes, FOOD. You must be familiar with the fact that Gujaratis absolutely love food, both cooking it and eating it. So, without any doubt, you will find a lot of different and new food items to try in any part of Gujarat. Surat, also, has a lot of different vegetarian food items to try, most of which are only, exclusively, found in Surat.

COCO!!! The most delicious drink in the entire universe(though you will not like it if you don’t like chocolate,but now, who doesn’t like chocolate?) It is a cold cocoa drink consisting of mainly milk and chocolate. It is absolutely delicious. You might find copies of it in other cities, but the original coco of Surat is just something unique and you wouldn’t enjoy it anywhere but in Surat. You will have no difficulty in finding this drink as it is sold in every other corner of the city. But, my favourite place for having this drink is Vrindavan and A-1.

Other than coco, there are a lot of snack items sold on the streets of Surat which are incredibly tasty like Surti locho, khaman, collegian and the famous ‘Kaki na bhajiya'(found in Dumas). Locho is a steamed Gujarati farsan(snack/side dish) originated in Surat and it is made from gram flour. It is often seasoned with oil, butter, sev, spices, coriander, onion, etc. It is one of the most famous dishes of Surat, but some people may not like it due to it’s peculiar taste. Khaman is made from soaked and freshly ground channa dal or flour(besan). It is mostly served with sev, fried chillies and chutney. Collegian is basically the perfect dish for nut and crunch lovers as it mainly consists of roasted, salted peanuts, served with sev, chutney and different yummy masalas.

Moving on, I’ll stop talking about food now since that’s a never-ending topic for me and start talking about places to visit in Surat. The most famous place to visit in Surat is the Dumas Beach. It is an urban beach along the Arabian Sea. But, you cannot go into the water, like in other beaches, as the force of the water is considered to be very strong and can pull you into the ocean quite easily. But, it has a wonderful view from it’s shore which is perfect for photographs and long walks. Also, people  usually visit Dummas for eating the famous “Kaki na Bhajiya” located at the Dumas Circle. Other than this, Dummas is also considered to be ‘haunted’ as a lot of people have supposedly experienced paranormal activities there. It is also included in the “Top 10 Most Haunted Places in India”. The Dummas area is also considered to have a few haunted houses. Another place you should visit while you are in Surat is the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Museum which is interesting  and unique due to the themes that it keeps on changing according to the different festivals and seasons. It puts up different items of history according to the theme at that time.

So, summing it all up, Surat is a warm, cozy and foody city. Other than the food items I mentioned, there are a lot of other food items too like Ghaari(a famous Surti sweet dish), etc. which are just too many to share with you guys in this small blog. Also, Surat is famous for it’s bakery items like khaari, biscuits, etc. So, if you are planning on a vacation which should include a lot of eating and tasting new and unique food items(mainly vegetarian) and also some exploring of haunted places, Surat is the perfect holiday destination for you. But again, wherever you are, have fun, stay safe and enjoy to your fullest.

Have you ever savoured the Surti locho or khaman or explored the haunted beach of Dummas?If you have, please feel free to share your experience in the comment box below. If you have not, it’s okay, I hope I have given you a good insight of the cute and foody city through my blog.❤

“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.”