{"id":11764,"date":"2016-02-06T10:55:07","date_gmt":"2016-02-06T18:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=11764"},"modified":"2020-07-04T13:57:43","modified_gmt":"2020-07-04T20:57:43","slug":"11764","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/11764\/","title":{"rendered":"GOD\u2019S OWN COUNTRY"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A banner showing a glimpse of the Kerala backwaters. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n#foogallery-gallery-46946.fg-justified .fg-item { margin-right: 2px; margin-bottom: 2px; }\n#foogallery-gallery-46946.fg-justified .fg-image { height: 200px; }<\/style>\n\t\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n#foogallery-gallery-46946_1.fg-justified .fg-item { margin-right: 2px; margin-bottom: 2px; }\n#foogallery-gallery-46946_1.fg-justified .fg-image { height: 200px; }<\/style>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"foogallery foogallery-container foogallery-justified foogallery-lightbox-foogallery fg-justified fg-ready fg-light fg-shadow-medium fg-loading-default fg-loaded-slide-down fg-hover-zoomed fg-caption-always fg-hover-fade fg-hover-eye\" id=\"foogallery-gallery-46946_1\" data-foogallery=\"{&quot;item&quot;:{&quot;showCaptionTitle&quot;:true,&quot;showCaptionDescription&quot;:false},&quot;lazy&quot;:true,&quot;state&quot;:{&quot;enabled&quot;:true,&quot;mask&quot;:&quot;foogallery-{id}&quot;},&quot;template&quot;:{&quot;rowHeight&quot;:200,&quot;maxRowHeight&quot;:300,&quot;margins&quot;:2,&quot;align&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;lastRow&quot;:&quot;smart&quot;}}\" data-foogallery-lightbox=\"{&quot;theme&quot;:&quot;fg-dark&quot;,&quot;thumbs&quot;:&quot;bottom&quot;,&quot;thumbsCaptions&quot;:false,&quot;thumbsBestFit&quot;:false,&quot;thumbsSmall&quot;:false,&quot;thumbsCaptionsAlign&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;info&quot;:&quot;bottom&quot;,&quot;infoVisible&quot;:true,&quot;infoOverlay&quot;:true,&quot;infoAlign&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;transition&quot;:&quot;fade&quot;,&quot;hoverButtons&quot;:false,&quot;fitMedia&quot;:false,&quot;noScrollbars&quot;:true,&quot;preserveButtonSpace&quot;:true,&quot;buttons&quot;:{&quot;fullscreen&quot;:true,&quot;info&quot;:true},&quot;video&quot;:{&quot;autoPlay&quot;:true}}\" style=\"--fg-title-line-clamp: 0; --fg-description-line-clamp: 0;\" >\n\t<div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-09.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Visiting Kerala tour operators pose for a group picture at the Hyatt Regency, San Francisco, Jan. 12. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-caption-desc=\"Visiting Kerala tour operators pose for a group picture at the Hyatt Regency, San Francisco, Jan. 12. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-attachment-id=\"46947\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"page-kerala-09\" title=\"Visiting Kerala tour operators pose for a group picture at the Hyatt Regency, San Francisco, Jan. 12. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" height=\"300\" width=\"450\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-09\/4292448829.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%22450%22%20height%3D%22300%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20450%20300%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Visiting Kerala tour operators pose for a group picture at the Hyatt Regency, San Francisco, Jan. 12. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-08.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Principal Secretary, Tourism, G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS gave a detailed presentation on the state of Kerala. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-caption-desc=\"Principal Secretary, Tourism, G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS gave a detailed presentation on the state of Kerala. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-attachment-id=\"46948\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"page-kerala-08\" title=\"Principal Secretary, Tourism, G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS gave a detailed presentation on the state of Kerala. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" height=\"300\" width=\"450\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-08\/1438597847.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%22450%22%20height%3D%22300%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20450%20300%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Principal Secretary, Tourism, G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS gave a detailed presentation on the state of Kerala. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-07.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Consul General of India at San Francisco, Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok talks about the ease of visa application process and e-visas amongst other things. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-caption-desc=\"Consul General of India at San Francisco, Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok talks about the ease of visa application process and e-visas amongst other things. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-attachment-id=\"46949\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"page-kerala-07\" title=\"Consul General of India at San Francisco, Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok talks about the ease of visa application process and e-visas amongst other things. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" height=\"300\" width=\"450\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-07\/2038160638.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%22450%22%20height%3D%22300%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20450%20300%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Consul General of India at San Francisco, Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok talks about the ease of visa application process and e-visas amongst other things. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-05.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"India Tourism\u2019s Los Angeles office assistant director Sandhya Haridas talks about her home state, Kerala. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-caption-desc=\"India Tourism\u2019s Los Angeles office assistant director Sandhya Haridas talks about her home state, Kerala. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-attachment-id=\"46950\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"page-kerala-05\" title=\"India Tourism\u2019s Los Angeles office assistant director Sandhya Haridas talks about her home state, Kerala. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" height=\"300\" width=\"450\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-05\/2440935689.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%22450%22%20height%3D%22300%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20450%20300%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">India Tourism\u2019s Los Angeles office assistant director Sandhya Haridas talks about her home state, Kerala. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-04.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"A traveler talks about his experience in \u201cGod\u2019s own country.\u201d (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-caption-desc=\"A traveler talks about his experience in \u201cGod\u2019s own country.\u201d (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-attachment-id=\"46951\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"page-kerala-04\" title=\"A traveler talks about his experience in \u201cGod\u2019s own country.\u201d (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" height=\"300\" width=\"450\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-04\/2821928210.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%22450%22%20height%3D%22300%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20450%20300%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">A traveler talks about his experience in \u201cGod\u2019s own country.\u201d (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-03.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Consul General of India at San Francisco, Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok shares a light moment with visiting Principal Secretary, Tourism, G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS (l). (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-caption-desc=\"Consul General of India at San Francisco, Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok shares a light moment with visiting Principal Secretary, Tourism, G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS (l). (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-attachment-id=\"46952\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"page-kerala-03\" title=\"Consul General of India at San Francisco, Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok shares a light moment with visiting Principal Secretary, Tourism, G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS (l). (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" height=\"300\" width=\"450\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-03\/1739239365.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%22450%22%20height%3D%22300%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20450%20300%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Consul General of India at San Francisco, Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok shares a light moment with visiting Principal Secretary, Tourism, G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS (l). (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-02.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Kerala tour operators discussing various travel itineraries with San Francisco travel trade professionals. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-caption-desc=\"Kerala tour operators discussing various travel itineraries with San Francisco travel trade professionals. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" data-attachment-id=\"46953\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"page-kerala-02\" title=\"Kerala tour operators discussing various travel itineraries with San Francisco travel trade professionals. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)\" height=\"300\" width=\"450\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2018\/01\/page-kerala-02\/1592009694.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%22450%22%20height%3D%22300%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20450%20300%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Kerala tour operators discussing various travel itineraries with San Francisco travel trade professionals. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer)<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A team from the Southern Indian state of Kerala was recently in San Francisco promoting tourism and travel trade in Kerala. The contingent consisted of tour operators from the state offering various tour packages and options for even the most discerning traveler. A <b>Siliconeer<\/b> report. (#Kerala, #KeralaTourism, #Siliconeer, @Siliconeer, #IndiaTourism, #IncredibleIndia, #IndiaTourismLA, #Ayurveda)<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The event held at Hyatt Regency hotel in San Francisco, Jan. 12, showcased the land that has cast its spell on the world &#8211; Kerala; the land of tranquil backwaters, enchanting wildlife, rejuvenating Ayurveda and mesmerizing culture.<\/p>\n<p>The evening featured a presentation on Kerala and an interactive session with travel and tourism suppliers from the state. There was also a raffle draw for two free tickets to &#8220;God&#8217;s Own Country.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>India Tourism\u2019s Los Angeles office assistant director Sandhya Haridas started the proceedings with a welcome speech, touching upon various travel options for visiting Kerala in particular. She screened a film on Kerala, showing the magnificence and abundance of natural beauty of the state. Sandhya said she had a soft corner for the state as she herself was from Kerala.<\/p>\n<p>The Consul General of India at San Francisco, Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok talked about the ease of procuring visas and how the process of visa application was more streamlined with the introduction of electronic visa application.<\/p>\n<p>Principal Secretary, Tourism, G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS gave a detailed presentation into the offerings of Kerala, the numbers. He screened a special video on the state.<\/p>\n<p>There were two other speakers, a <i>National Geographic <\/i>traveler and <i>Cond\u00e9 Nast <\/i>traveler who spoke about their experiences in Kerala.<\/p>\n<p>Interested readers can get more information about Kerala tourism at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.incredibleindia.org\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">www.incredibleindia.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A banner showing a glimpse of the Kerala backwaters. (Amar D. Gupta | Siliconeer) &nbsp; A team from the Southern Indian state of Kerala was recently in San Francisco promoting tourism and travel trade in Kerala. The contingent consisted of tour operators from the state offering various tour packages and options for even the most&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/11764\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1075,807,1038,1074,1072,1073,147],"class_list":["post-11764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-ayurveda","tag-incredibleindia","tag-indiatourism","tag-indiatourismla","tag-kerala","tag-keralatourism","tag-siliconeer"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}