Feb 2 to 4: Fort Kochi (Cochin)

We were picked up by Raju, our local taxi driver while at Club Mahindra, and droped off the state bus stand in Munnar where we paid our 80 Rs each (less than $2) and boarded a bus for the 4 hour trip to Ernakulam.  The trip back to the coast was much quicker because we were going downhill and the driver was crazy.  We almost made it to the bus stand in Ernakulum, but one or two kilometers from the stand the bus grazed a small car.  No major damage, but everyone left the bus as soon as possible instead of waiting for it to continue to it’s destination.  We had been told that if you are in a traffic accident you should leave and the driver will handle it, so we left and hailed a rickshaw to go to the boat jetty.  We found the correct ferry, paid our 5 Rs (11 cents) each, and had a nice harbor tour on our trip to Fort Kochi.







Our three nights in Ft Kochi were spent at the Delight Home Stay. It is a beautifully converted Portuguese style house with 6 rentable rooms. Our room was on the ground floor and opened into the small but perfectly manicured walled garden. The room itself was large and painted a wonderful marigold yellow, and the bathroom was large and hot water reliable. Most of the rooms in which we have stayed have both air conditioning and a ceiling fan, and we used both here as the daytime temperature reached over 30C, or into the low 90s. It was humid, but not devastatingly so. Still, it felt good to shower both morning and evening.

Breakfast was served in the main house’s dinning room where we also talked with our hosts, David and Flowery, and other guests. The Masala omlettes were very good, and were served with coffee, toast, jam and sliced fruit.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fort Kochi is relatively small, so a rickshaw ride to wherever you are going is only 30 to 50 rupees. On the streets you see many non-Indian tourists and many tourist directed shops, but the Portuguese architecture is evident, sometimes restored and well cared for, sometimes in ruin. The restaurant options are many and the fish is good. We ate at Dal Roti (recommended in Lonely Planet, and very good… meal for two was <$10), and at one recommended by our host, David, called Oceanos. Both were within 2 blocks of our homestay. Most restaurants don’t serve alcohol in Fort Kochi, so we usually repaired to a bar down the street called the XL Bar, for a beer before dinner. Very refreshing toward the end of a hot day.

Fishing is a major local business.  You see everything from a man with his own hand net walking into the waves at the shore, to canoes of one to three people, to very large 10 to 15 person Chinese-style cantilever nets along the beach.  The freshest way to eat the fish is buying it at a small beachside stand and having it cooked on the spot.  You can choose between many types of fish (including small sharks and baracuda), prawns, and crabs.

Alison and I both did some clothes shopping at local stalls and FabIndia. Since it is wintertime, I could only find long sleeve shirts, but for 50 Rs I had two altered to short sleeves and for 30 Rs Alison had her cloth handbag strap shortened to fit.

Ft Kochi Synagogue

We visited Mattancherry area (aka “Jew Town”, a harsh term to our ears) to see the synagogue that was first built in 1568 then reconstructed in 1662. It is a charming building, with the main room painted sky blue and floored with white and blue willow pattern tiles.

We overheard a guide explaining to a tour group that there are now only 10 Jewish residents of Fort Kochi, of whom only 4 are male. Apparently it is tradition that a service should only be conducted when there are at least 10 Jewish males to participate, so although any of the 4 resident males can conduct the service, it only happens when enough male Jewish tourists request a service on a Friday evening. There isn’t a rabbi, per se. It was a bright airy room and we were glad to visit.

 This area also is the spice-trading center of town and has many antique and curio shops. Aromas along the street were tantalizing. We wandered around and saw how ginger is dipped, dried, and bundled for sale or export.  Walking by the chili pepper shops our eyes watered.  If you happen upon the Ginger Restaurant at water’s edge, stop and have something and enjoy the harbor view and breeze.

 

Overall, the most dramatic and unusual thing we did in Fort Kochi was to spend an evening at the Kerala Kathakali Center.  The center supports traditional dance and music.  We went to the evening traditional dance show.  First we saw how the makeup is done for the four male dancers. Brightly colored face paste is made by each actor, by grinding rock flour and and mixing it with coconut oil, and applying it with his hands or a brush. For two of the men, additional paper facial embellishments were cut and pasted to their face using rice paste.   Next the various drums, cymbal, singing, and chanting performers demonstrated their parts.  Then the many intricate facial expressions used by the dancers were explained and demonstrated.  Fourteen years of study and apprenticeship is required for a dancer to learn these dances.  Last we saw it all put together in a 45 minute traditional dance about love, lust, hatred, and death.  If you go, sit up front and take ear plugs.  It was fabulous to see, but the drums were painfully LOUD!

 
 












Our three day visit in Fort Kochi was very pleasant because the town is small enough to walk around with ease. There is terrific retail therapy available, in which we partook, yet the feeling is one of over-development for tourists compared with some other towns we have visited. It is definitely worth a visit, but we feel that two or three nights there is plenty.