Hotel Kokho

Being right across from the Mattuthavani Bus Stand in Madurai means there is never a quiet moment. We are at number 136 on Vellore Road. If you stand outside, you can see the buses coming and going all day and night. It's a lot of dust and noise, but that's just Madurai for you. Most of our guests are people who just got off a long bus ride and need a place to sit down and rest for a bit. We don't have any grand stories about why we started, it was just a good spot for a hotel because of the bus stand. The heat here can be quite something, so we try to keep the inside as cool as we can. It’s a basic place, really. We have our routine of cleaning up and checking people in and out at odd hours because the buses don't stop for anyone. You see people from all over the state passing through here. Sometimes the traffic on Vellore Road gets backed up and it takes forever to cross over to the other side. We’ve seen the area change over the years, more shops opening up and more people moving around. But the bus stand is still the heart of it all. We just stay here in our spot, doing the work every day, making sure the rooms are decent for the next traveler. That’s the daily life here.