In Fort Cochin, our very helpful tour agent, Augustine, suggested that we took a full-day backwater cruise because he said that “everybody does it”. So we went on a 6-hour boat ride in the Allepey River in a non-mechanized boat. Each boat is “powered” by two boatmen who use a very long bamboo to maneuver the boat. There were 9 of us tourists on board the boat but our boatmen maneuevered the boat so effortlessly that I found it so amazing.

Half-way through the cruise, we stopped by a mini village and we were shown how the locals made strings from unused coconut husks. We were also taken on a short tour around the houses in the mini village.

For lunch, we were taken to another place by the river, where we were served a typical Kerala lunch on banana leaves. Shortly after we arrived, a family arrived with pots and pots of rice and dishes and water. Lunch was really delicious and it was the first time I had rice that BIG :D

Augustine also said that we must not miss seeing the Chinese fishing nets before we leave Fort Cochin, so upon returning from the backwater cruise, we took a short walk down the street towards the pier where the Chinese fishing nets were.

Also at the pier, there were a couple of stalls selling stickers, hats, clothes, decoration stuff, bling-blings and what-nots.

The following day, our rickshaw driver, Rinu, took us to a few spice markets because we wanted to buy some tea, cashew nuts, ginger powder, etc. At first he took us to the more expensive markets but we ended up leaving the markets empty-handed so eventually, he took us to the market where the locals buy their spices and condiments.

He also took us to a couple of churches and museums such as the Santacruz Basilica and the St. Francis Church, where the Portuguese traveller Vasco da Gama was originally buried before his remains was transfered back to Lisbon. But unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures of some of those places we visited, for example the Jewish Synagogue, the Indo-Portuguese Museum and a few other museums I can’t remember now.

But the most intereting place was definitely the laundry! The laundry is located on a big area and is divided into separate areas — the washing cubicles, the rinsing area, the drying area, the sorting area and the ironing area.

Isn’t this interesting, to say the least? :D

Conclusion
Fort Cochin is quite a charming place to visit because it is unlike any other typical busy cities. There aren’t too many auto-rickshaws and the traffic is clear on most times of most days, hence there isn’t much air and noise pollution :) People are generally very friendly and they always greet you with a smile and a subtle shake of their head.

Some advice

• If sitting in a boat for 6 hours isn’t your kind of thing, you should NOT sign up for the backwater cruise. There weren’t any narration about what this or that was, and the boatmen did not interact with us tourists in any way, so sitting in the boat for 6 hours was a little too boring for me. Especially so when I had to see an elderly man maneuver the boat with 9 people on it. It wasn’t very fun.
• Your rickshaw driver will probably take you to “higher-end” bazaars to shop though you repeatedly ask him to take you to cheaper markets. That’s because he gets to collect points when he takes tourists to these bazaars, and for every 5 points of so, he could get a liter of fuel or something.
• If you’re buying a Punjabi suit (or what the locals call Salwar Kameez), try both the top AND the pants before buying. I didn’t try on the pants and later found that it was too tight. Opps.

We arrived in Cochin in the evening after a very frightful flight. The plane went into some really big and violent air pockets and there were times when the plane suddenly dropped very much in altitude I was lifted off my seat! Adults were throwing up, babies were crying, some passengers even retrieved the life jacket under the seat. The pilot made two attempts to land and he was only successful in his second attempt, which prompted the passengers to clap in joy and relief.

Anyway, upon arrival, we took a taxi from the airport to the homestay that we had earlier on booked online.

Accommodation
The first homestay we stayed in was Tag Und Nacht, which is located opposite the Naval Museum on Beach Street. We moved out after one night because we found that it was quite a distance from town — there were no restaurants, internet cafes or shops nearby. But Antonio, the owner of the homestay was quite a nice chap. When we arrived in the evening and had nothing to eat, he went out and packed fried rice and fried noodles for us.

The second place we stayed in was Elite Hotel on Princess Street. Don’t be fooled as Elite Hotel isn’t really a “hotel” but more of a travellers’ lodge. Our room in Elite Hotel wasn’t as clean as Antonio’s but there’s a restaurant downstairs that we frequent, and there’s an internet cafe right next door (and another one a few doors away), and we even managed to buy our train tickets from the agent at the internet cafe! There are quite a few shops along Princess Street and there’s also a hairdresser (for women only) and an art gallery. There are a few restaurants nearby too. And most importantly, there is a very friendly tour agent called Augustine who recommends tour packages and who is always ready to suggest some places to visit or shops to go to.

Food
Being in India for the first time, naturally, I was quite eager in trying new foods. My first Indian breakfast was idiyappam and egg curry, which I found was a little too bland. The idiyappam is actually our putu mayam but without the grated coconut and sugar. Instead, you get the egg curry.

We also had tandoori chicken for lunch one day. We asked our rickshaw driver to take us to a place for lunch, and he took us to this place that served tandoori chicken and we were like, why not? Lunch was good, but also possibly because we were too hungry from all the walking-around and sight-seeing and bargaining :)

On our last day in Fort Cochin, we went to this place called Dal Roti. Both of us shared a briyani rice, if I’m not mistaken, because the owner of the restaurant was kind enough to tell us that his servings were large. Service was good and prompt, and a lot of locals go there for lunch too.

Getting around
Getting around in Fort Cochin is easy as most of the places of tourist attraction are located in two areas — Fort Cochin and Mattancherry. At first we were thinking of walking to those places in Fort Cochin and then hire a rickshaw to go to Mattancherry, one of the rickshaw drivers approached us and said that he would charge only Rs 100 (USD 2.2) to take us to Fort Cochin AND Mattancherry.

And true enough, our driver Rinu, took us to places like the St. Francis Church where Vasco da Gama was originally buried, the Indo-Portuguese Museum, the Santacruz Basilica, as well as to some cemeteries, temples, Jewish Synagogue, spice markets and bazaars. He also waited for us while we took our time whenever we visited the museum, or whenever we were busy bargaining in the bazaars.

At the end of the day, we decided to pay him Rs 150 (USD 3.3) instead, for taking us around. Plus, Rs 150 isn’t too much for somebody who drives you around for about 6 hours!

Some advice

• If you’re going to Cochin, I suggest that you stay in Fort Cochin (instead of Ernakulam) because Fort Cochin is less noisy, and more peaceful :)
• “Hotels” aren’t expensive in Fort Cochin (I’m not sure about hotels in Ernakulam), rooms are about Rs 500-600 (USD 10-13) per day.
• Before you hop onto an auto-rickshaw, ask the driver how much he is charging you. Only board the rickshaw if you are agreeable with the price.

I’ll talk about what is there to see in Fort Cochin in the next post :D