Hotel Kerala Bhavan

Out here in Visakhapatnam, right in the middle of Poorna Market, is where you will find Hotel Kerala Bhavan. The address is S.no/26-1-63, but mostly people just look for the Bowadara Market sign and walk from there. It's a very crowded area. You have the smell of spices and the sound of people bargaining for fish and vegetables all around us. The building itself is older, and the hallways are a bit narrow. We don't have any elevators, so you have to walk up the stairs, which keeps us all fit, I suppose. Most of our guests are people coming into Vizag for trade or small business. They aren't looking for anything fancy, just a bed and a fan. We try to keep the floors mopped, but with the market right outside, people bring in a lot of sand and dirt on their shoes. We've got a small area where we keep the water cooler, and that’s where most people end up chatting. The staff speaks a mix of Telugu and a bit of Malayalam, and we get by just fine. It's not a quiet place, especially in the early mornings when the market starts waking up. You can hear the trucks unloading and the shouts of the vendors. We just do our jobs, check people in, and make sure the light bulbs are working. It’s a plain place for plain people who don't mind the market bustle. There is a small window in the lobby that looks out onto the street.