A widely acclaimed travel writer; Ms. Colleen Gantzer, the wife and co-travel writer of Mr. Hugh Gantzer says that if not for her husband's home in Mussoorie, they would have settled in Kerala. A beaming character, Ms. Colleen Gantzer was too delighted to share with us her intimate thoughts on Kerala, and also some of her memorable experiences during her stays in Kerala. 

The Gantzers lived in Kerala for 19 years, before they left for Mussoorie around 1995. Ms. Colleen Gantzer recalling her arrival to Kerala for the first time said that it was simply love at first sight. “I could not believe the kind of greenery, and it was simply a thrilling experience,” she says.

And during her stay in Kerala, she used to enjoy the local food varieties, some of which she still makes back home in Mussoorie like idli, dosa, thoran, boiled bananas etc. One of her favourites is appam and stew, but regrets her inability to make appams, because of the non-availability of toddy at her current place of residence. 

Among her fond memories during her stay in Kerala, Ms. Colleen still cherishes the sound of the boatmen at night, passing by her residence, which is close to a channel and also the sight of fishermen moving around and fishing at night. 

Kerala as a destination for travelers picked up in the past eight or ten years, but to the Gantzers, they felt the potential of Kerala much earlier than that. According to Ms. Colleen Gantzer, during her stay in Kerala, she along with her husband, Mr. Hugh Gantzer used to write about Kerala's many unique attractions, especially from a traveler's point of view.

Presently, Ms. Colleen is very much delighted at the manner in which Kerala is progressing in its course to become one of the major destinations in the world. On the infrastructure side, Ms. Colleen reckons the international airport at Nedumbassery as a good gateway for both domestic and international tourists visiting Kerala. 

To sum up her special bondage with Kerala, Ms. Colleen Gantzer feels that any excuse would be fine with her to come back to Kerala, whenever she feels so.