‘Omg’……KOCHI day 1
Translated as, I really don’t know where to start! Talk about a day of ups and downs.
Downer 1: The ‘taxi’ kindly provided by the Dropadi inn was the proverbial family member, in what was clearly not a taxi.
Not least as I saw him changing (several times) into a clean shirt, and the car was full of debris from the family weekend in the car, hastily cleared away when I appeared.
In fairness, we got to the airport, though god knows how, his driving verged from very slow to manic….about half way, he flagged down another family member and asked me to change cars-at which point I worked out I’d be charged twice, and told him very clearly no, in colloquial English.
He then laughed, shook my hand, and carried on, but then when we finally arrived, he demanded a tip. This also provoked a very very rude response, by then I’d taken the precaution of getting my luggage out first so to do a swift leg-it to the terminal.
Downer 2: domestic terminal in Goa resembles a holding cell in the asylum.
Two hours later, in the stifling heat and crowds (too many for the tiny hall), the plane was obviously delayed…at which point I lost the plot, and was only saved by a kind US ex-marine who spent ages telling me about his service in Afghanistan, bless him-told me I reminded him of his mother, which I’m not sure was a complement.
Upper 1: plane arrived-which is more than most of them did! And went off again very quickly, with a kind hostess assuring me, and a few others, they would ‘hold’ the Kochi flight. And Jet Airways performed their usual miracle of serving sandwiches, water, juice and cake, free, within the 45 minute flight.
Upper 2: Kochi flight was delayed anyway!! So my momentary ‘I can’t do this, I’m too old, too scared, it’s too much’ episode passed….the Indian chap next to me told me never to worry about what might not happen….my mind knows this, alas, my emotions run away with me anyway.
Upper 3: Kochi flight also Jet Airways, also more food…full marks!!
Upper 4: Managed to make an Indian ATM work, luggage arrived, transfer awaited…
Downer 3: 2 hours later…….in the dark, with a driver who spoke no English, I was convinced I’d been kidnapped, and had the third panic attack of the day!!
Upper 5: I hadn’t, it turns out the homestay is a long way away from the terminal….and not where I thought it was at all and a genuinely lovely family house...
Sheeba greeted me with hugs and kisses, fresh fruit, bananas in honey (I’ve had a lot of food today but it seemed rude to refuse), and showed me a clean, delightful bedroom with a new bathroom attached.
The rooftop breakfast awaits tomorrow, though there is free tea up there all day, and its gorgeous here, obviously a family home, but with 20 or so guests-mainly young, from those I’ve meet just sitting on the rooftop to recover.
Alas, no air conditioning, in fact, no windows really…The heat here is so intense, and so humid, that many of the houses, this one included, have simply netted the space where glass would normally go, to allow as much air as possible.
Its still 30 degrees as I type at 11pm, so not going to be as comfortable as it looks, in terms of sleeping…there is also no hot water, I guess on the grounds that its too hot, but it makes washing hard. The hot water from the tank is 'fairly’ safe, but cold water is lethal, and keeping mouth shut when showering in a single showerhead next to the loo (all Indian bathrooms are simply designed to drain away, eventually!) is going to be a nightmare.
The noise of birds, dogs etc is deafening, though no traffic or city noise, I guess I’m in a rural ‘bit’ of Fort Kochin, but will explore tomorrow……..
There is a TV, so am watching BBC for a taste of home before going to sleep to recover!
Or at least I was ….the power went out again……………….
DAY 2
Green Woods home stay is just that, green woods…the lovely owners Sheeba and her husband have created a green oasis in the middle of the city. The garden is lush, full of birds, and along the back runs a stream where ducks, swans, etc drift along.
As I suspected last night, light streams through the thin curtains, and with no glass, sounds drift up throughout the night, from birds (the worst!) to dogs, to children getting off to school at 7am….
It was a weird experience drawing the curtains to see what looks like an English garden, but it certainly doesn’t sound or feel like one.
Alas, power is a major problem in Kerala, and despite ‘set’ advertised times of outage, it tends to be more off than hot, so even the ceiling fan isn’t much help…the room is simply an oven, despite its western decoration.
Breakfast began with plentiful coffee, and then a home cooked Keralan meal, of rather solid pancakes, massive slabs of ‘wet’ bread, very chewy and not a bit like Hovis, boiled eggs, honey, bananas, pineapple and a weird rice based dish which I like, albeit mixed with honey….I really do have sugar in absolutely everything nowadays, it’s weird, my taste buds are functioning on Indian flavours.
The humidity is odd, and horrid, after the very dry heat of Goa…I seem to be in every possible climate, from snow in Delhi, to desert heat, and now a very clammy feeling…..everyone sweats profusely all the time, so I’ve no choice but to join them, ‘the wet look’ would be ok if it really was ‘cool’. I now realise it was well worth paying for the a/c in Goa.
The hammock on the rooftop beckoned, but eventually I managed to find a map, get some advice from the helpful hosts, and set off to explore….
The Chinese fishing nets are spectacular, (I’m a dab hand at refusing to join in-costs a fortune in India), and just watching men haul the massive nets up and down with pulleys is fascinating.
The beach front overlooking the mainland/industry of Errakulem looked bizarre after the endless sands of Goa, but the town itself here, despite the power outages, looks very modern compared to anywhere I’ve been so far. Like most of India, this is an illusion….the wide roads are cracked, full of holes –providing much labour –there is rubbish everywhere, the main difference being that instead of cows roaming wild, its goats here, as this is primarily Catholic-for non veggies, a delight!
Everyone ends up on the rooftop at lunchtime for a collective siesta-its very sociable here, many are regular visitors and full of advice.
Post siesta I wandered the narrow streets admiring tiny chapels and enormous basilicas, and the synagogues in jew town (its name, not my description). Frequently getting lost, people were endlessly helpful, and the children delightful, waving and smiling. There are a number of orphanages and homes here and by sunset the nuns were walking their charges, spotlessly uniformed, along the central beach front, treating them to ice cream and toys.
There are also, of course, beggars at every turn, disabled, or elderly, it disturbs me that I no longer take any notice of them.
There are many art galleries here, and tomorrow I shall explore more, and take the ferry over to the islands, but for tonight, I am simply worn out-the heat takes its toll-and even Sheeba’s kind insistence I join them for dinner was too much for me…..
Kerala is so different yet again from the state before, I’m continually bombarded with new sights, senses and having to reorientate, food, religion, customs, its exhausting.
DAY 3
Found the right route to town today, guided by a English couple from Manchester who treated me to the chain and ‘waddi’-a very bizarre savoury doughnut-en route.
The shacks are safer than the cafes., and cost less than 10p for about anything you want.
I had my by now very hairy eyebrows threaded very efficiently for 20 rupees (100=about 85p) so despite the red bruise left behind, the shape and price were good, so can’t complain.
The streets are fun, but the heat is immense, so I took the ferry to Vypen Island (2 rupees) and wandered in the shade watching the less touristy Chinese fishing nets in action. The ferries are an experience, it turns out its worth paying an extra half rupee to go on the passenger only one, as the motorbikes, rickshaws etc all pile on the other one, and then rush off taking any pedestrian in their path with them.
The evening stroll watching the sunset was fun, as was wondering the lanes which come alive at night. The small section of Bethlehem, where this is, is full of families chatting, trading (the rag and bone men and mobile carts sell everything, and houses become ‘shops’ in the evening…bartering is in order, apparently, but I haven’t got that sort of currency.
Alas, no power, and no power for hours in the evening- eventually I tracked down the (very lazy) manager, who called the electricity man, and we were back in 5 minites-Sheeba was furious when she returned….the trouble with India is its so inefficient.
DAY 4
The power is off again, and this time not local, the entire city is ‘out’…no one knows why, but its turning out to be a nightmare, and certainly tainting my experience of what is, in many ways, a gorgeous town. The flowers are all out in glorious Technicolor, smelling pleasant enough to almost knock out the drains, but the heat………….and with no sea to swim in, there is nowhere to escape.
I wandered out this morning (post breakfast, which is getting sparser by the day, the manager here is really lazy, and spoiling the hospitality of Sheeba and Ashley, and for once had to take rickshaws everywhere, it’s too hot to walk even before 10am.
The ferry ride to Ennakulem, the mainland, was at least breezy, but also very choppy, and at 20 minutes, rather added to the general heat induced queasiness.
The mainland town is the usual contrast of looming skyscrapers and bazaars/markets. The sparkling new Food Mall was obviously a draw for the wealthy; the class divide was even more obvious.
The trip over passes through oil rigs, power stations, and enormous cargo containers: a few weeks ago one ran down a fishing boat, so the locals told me, and it’s easy to see how. The lunchtime run back to Kochi meant the boat was heaving, literally, and very low in the murky waters…
The queasiness turned out to be rather more than the heat-last night I was so tired I finally forgot and ran the tap over my toothbrush…..serves me right for letting my guard down in India.
Enforced rest in rooftop hammock!
Luckily it didn’t last long (so far!) and by mid afternoon I ventured out, convinced by a lurking rickshaw driver that it was too hot too walk-there are too many drivers, so for 20 rupees he looked desperate enough for me to take pity on him (and me).
A recuperative fruit juice in the renowned Kashi art café helped-it had a generator, so 6 of us shared both a table and their delicious chocolate cake/pies!! I’ve no idea of their names, but we spent a pleasant hour comparing notes, 3 Americans, 2 Germans, and me, assorted age range from 18-70.
By 5ish the heat finally abated slightly, so I walked the local streets of Mattacherry, past stalls/canals (full of rubbish) darkened shacks, three walls with a curtain for a door, and into Jew town-this time the tourist section, with spice markets/heritage shops, galleries etc.
By then, I was lost!
And having taken three rickshaws today, braved the local buses. Very efficient, very friendly and a very cheap way of having a guided tour of the city!
Locals pointed me onto one, where the driver told me to stand by him, and not pay, as he would show me the right bus when it went past –as I was going the wrong way, doh.
And, bless him, he did-I hopped off one, ran across the road, got on another, and ended up exactly where I intended, the bus terminal in Fort Kochi. It may have taken half an hour or so, but for 6 rupees, and a refreshing breeze (no windows!) it was fun.
And as I type, the power is on, fingers crossed!!
DAY 5, my last day in Kochi.
There is a breeze today, and the power shortages seem brief, rather than all day, and amazingly my stomach felt well enough to enjoy the grand breakfast-when Sheeba cooks, and the house is now full of guests again, we get a feast, banana fritters, pancakes, chapattis and chickpeas (bit too spicy for me first thing), eggs, Indian bread (ok if toasted properly) fruit….unfortunately when the manager and his wife do it, its been the bare minimum…
It may simply be a cultural difference-Sheeba and her husband is very westernised, and welcoming, whilst the staff is obviously locals.
Wandered –it’s hard to walk fast in the heat-to the Dutch Palace, only to find that and the synagogue shut as its Friday, but walking the tiny streets of Mattacherry is probably more fun. I finally brought a straw folding hat for 75ruppers, though suspect it may only last the day.
Gave in the a desperate rickshaw driver for a 30rupee ride back for siesta, but this time got the hard sell, taken all round the city to ‘do a favour, see this shop, see this building’, finally losing my temper I simply got out when I saw a street I recognised near the home stay, handed him 30 rupees and walked off. He followed me hooting for a few minutes, and then gave up, fortunately.
Translated as, I really don’t know where to start! Talk about a day of ups and downs.
Downer 1: The ‘taxi’ kindly provided by the Dropadi inn was the proverbial family member, in what was clearly not a taxi.
Not least as I saw him changing (several times) into a clean shirt, and the car was full of debris from the family weekend in the car, hastily cleared away when I appeared.
In fairness, we got to the airport, though god knows how, his driving verged from very slow to manic….about half way, he flagged down another family member and asked me to change cars-at which point I worked out I’d be charged twice, and told him very clearly no, in colloquial English.
He then laughed, shook my hand, and carried on, but then when we finally arrived, he demanded a tip. This also provoked a very very rude response, by then I’d taken the precaution of getting my luggage out first so to do a swift leg-it to the terminal.
Downer 2: domestic terminal in Goa resembles a holding cell in the asylum.
Two hours later, in the stifling heat and crowds (too many for the tiny hall), the plane was obviously delayed…at which point I lost the plot, and was only saved by a kind US ex-marine who spent ages telling me about his service in Afghanistan, bless him-told me I reminded him of his mother, which I’m not sure was a complement.
Upper 1: plane arrived-which is more than most of them did! And went off again very quickly, with a kind hostess assuring me, and a few others, they would ‘hold’ the Kochi flight. And Jet Airways performed their usual miracle of serving sandwiches, water, juice and cake, free, within the 45 minute flight.
Upper 2: Kochi flight was delayed anyway!! So my momentary ‘I can’t do this, I’m too old, too scared, it’s too much’ episode passed….the Indian chap next to me told me never to worry about what might not happen….my mind knows this, alas, my emotions run away with me anyway.
Upper 3: Kochi flight also Jet Airways, also more food…full marks!!
Upper 4: Managed to make an Indian ATM work, luggage arrived, transfer awaited…
Downer 3: 2 hours later…….in the dark, with a driver who spoke no English, I was convinced I’d been kidnapped, and had the third panic attack of the day!!
Upper 5: I hadn’t, it turns out the homestay is a long way away from the terminal….and not where I thought it was at all and a genuinely lovely family house...
Sheeba greeted me with hugs and kisses, fresh fruit, bananas in honey (I’ve had a lot of food today but it seemed rude to refuse), and showed me a clean, delightful bedroom with a new bathroom attached.
The rooftop breakfast awaits tomorrow, though there is free tea up there all day, and its gorgeous here, obviously a family home, but with 20 or so guests-mainly young, from those I’ve meet just sitting on the rooftop to recover.
Alas, no air conditioning, in fact, no windows really…The heat here is so intense, and so humid, that many of the houses, this one included, have simply netted the space where glass would normally go, to allow as much air as possible.
Its still 30 degrees as I type at 11pm, so not going to be as comfortable as it looks, in terms of sleeping…there is also no hot water, I guess on the grounds that its too hot, but it makes washing hard. The hot water from the tank is 'fairly’ safe, but cold water is lethal, and keeping mouth shut when showering in a single showerhead next to the loo (all Indian bathrooms are simply designed to drain away, eventually!) is going to be a nightmare.
The noise of birds, dogs etc is deafening, though no traffic or city noise, I guess I’m in a rural ‘bit’ of Fort Kochin, but will explore tomorrow……..
There is a TV, so am watching BBC for a taste of home before going to sleep to recover!
Or at least I was ….the power went out again……………….
DAY 2
Green Woods home stay is just that, green woods…the lovely owners Sheeba and her husband have created a green oasis in the middle of the city. The garden is lush, full of birds, and along the back runs a stream where ducks, swans, etc drift along.
As I suspected last night, light streams through the thin curtains, and with no glass, sounds drift up throughout the night, from birds (the worst!) to dogs, to children getting off to school at 7am….
It was a weird experience drawing the curtains to see what looks like an English garden, but it certainly doesn’t sound or feel like one.
Alas, power is a major problem in Kerala, and despite ‘set’ advertised times of outage, it tends to be more off than hot, so even the ceiling fan isn’t much help…the room is simply an oven, despite its western decoration.
Breakfast began with plentiful coffee, and then a home cooked Keralan meal, of rather solid pancakes, massive slabs of ‘wet’ bread, very chewy and not a bit like Hovis, boiled eggs, honey, bananas, pineapple and a weird rice based dish which I like, albeit mixed with honey….I really do have sugar in absolutely everything nowadays, it’s weird, my taste buds are functioning on Indian flavours.
The humidity is odd, and horrid, after the very dry heat of Goa…I seem to be in every possible climate, from snow in Delhi, to desert heat, and now a very clammy feeling…..everyone sweats profusely all the time, so I’ve no choice but to join them, ‘the wet look’ would be ok if it really was ‘cool’. I now realise it was well worth paying for the a/c in Goa.
The hammock on the rooftop beckoned, but eventually I managed to find a map, get some advice from the helpful hosts, and set off to explore….
The Chinese fishing nets are spectacular, (I’m a dab hand at refusing to join in-costs a fortune in India), and just watching men haul the massive nets up and down with pulleys is fascinating.
The beach front overlooking the mainland/industry of Errakulem looked bizarre after the endless sands of Goa, but the town itself here, despite the power outages, looks very modern compared to anywhere I’ve been so far. Like most of India, this is an illusion….the wide roads are cracked, full of holes –providing much labour –there is rubbish everywhere, the main difference being that instead of cows roaming wild, its goats here, as this is primarily Catholic-for non veggies, a delight!
Everyone ends up on the rooftop at lunchtime for a collective siesta-its very sociable here, many are regular visitors and full of advice.
Post siesta I wandered the narrow streets admiring tiny chapels and enormous basilicas, and the synagogues in jew town (its name, not my description). Frequently getting lost, people were endlessly helpful, and the children delightful, waving and smiling. There are a number of orphanages and homes here and by sunset the nuns were walking their charges, spotlessly uniformed, along the central beach front, treating them to ice cream and toys.
There are also, of course, beggars at every turn, disabled, or elderly, it disturbs me that I no longer take any notice of them.
There are many art galleries here, and tomorrow I shall explore more, and take the ferry over to the islands, but for tonight, I am simply worn out-the heat takes its toll-and even Sheeba’s kind insistence I join them for dinner was too much for me…..
Kerala is so different yet again from the state before, I’m continually bombarded with new sights, senses and having to reorientate, food, religion, customs, its exhausting.
DAY 3
Found the right route to town today, guided by a English couple from Manchester who treated me to the chain and ‘waddi’-a very bizarre savoury doughnut-en route.
The shacks are safer than the cafes., and cost less than 10p for about anything you want.
I had my by now very hairy eyebrows threaded very efficiently for 20 rupees (100=about 85p) so despite the red bruise left behind, the shape and price were good, so can’t complain.
The streets are fun, but the heat is immense, so I took the ferry to Vypen Island (2 rupees) and wandered in the shade watching the less touristy Chinese fishing nets in action. The ferries are an experience, it turns out its worth paying an extra half rupee to go on the passenger only one, as the motorbikes, rickshaws etc all pile on the other one, and then rush off taking any pedestrian in their path with them.
The evening stroll watching the sunset was fun, as was wondering the lanes which come alive at night. The small section of Bethlehem, where this is, is full of families chatting, trading (the rag and bone men and mobile carts sell everything, and houses become ‘shops’ in the evening…bartering is in order, apparently, but I haven’t got that sort of currency.
Alas, no power, and no power for hours in the evening- eventually I tracked down the (very lazy) manager, who called the electricity man, and we were back in 5 minites-Sheeba was furious when she returned….the trouble with India is its so inefficient.
DAY 4
The power is off again, and this time not local, the entire city is ‘out’…no one knows why, but its turning out to be a nightmare, and certainly tainting my experience of what is, in many ways, a gorgeous town. The flowers are all out in glorious Technicolor, smelling pleasant enough to almost knock out the drains, but the heat………….and with no sea to swim in, there is nowhere to escape.
I wandered out this morning (post breakfast, which is getting sparser by the day, the manager here is really lazy, and spoiling the hospitality of Sheeba and Ashley, and for once had to take rickshaws everywhere, it’s too hot to walk even before 10am.
The ferry ride to Ennakulem, the mainland, was at least breezy, but also very choppy, and at 20 minutes, rather added to the general heat induced queasiness.
The mainland town is the usual contrast of looming skyscrapers and bazaars/markets. The sparkling new Food Mall was obviously a draw for the wealthy; the class divide was even more obvious.
The trip over passes through oil rigs, power stations, and enormous cargo containers: a few weeks ago one ran down a fishing boat, so the locals told me, and it’s easy to see how. The lunchtime run back to Kochi meant the boat was heaving, literally, and very low in the murky waters…
The queasiness turned out to be rather more than the heat-last night I was so tired I finally forgot and ran the tap over my toothbrush…..serves me right for letting my guard down in India.
Enforced rest in rooftop hammock!
Luckily it didn’t last long (so far!) and by mid afternoon I ventured out, convinced by a lurking rickshaw driver that it was too hot too walk-there are too many drivers, so for 20 rupees he looked desperate enough for me to take pity on him (and me).
A recuperative fruit juice in the renowned Kashi art café helped-it had a generator, so 6 of us shared both a table and their delicious chocolate cake/pies!! I’ve no idea of their names, but we spent a pleasant hour comparing notes, 3 Americans, 2 Germans, and me, assorted age range from 18-70.
By 5ish the heat finally abated slightly, so I walked the local streets of Mattacherry, past stalls/canals (full of rubbish) darkened shacks, three walls with a curtain for a door, and into Jew town-this time the tourist section, with spice markets/heritage shops, galleries etc.
By then, I was lost!
And having taken three rickshaws today, braved the local buses. Very efficient, very friendly and a very cheap way of having a guided tour of the city!
Locals pointed me onto one, where the driver told me to stand by him, and not pay, as he would show me the right bus when it went past –as I was going the wrong way, doh.
And, bless him, he did-I hopped off one, ran across the road, got on another, and ended up exactly where I intended, the bus terminal in Fort Kochi. It may have taken half an hour or so, but for 6 rupees, and a refreshing breeze (no windows!) it was fun.
And as I type, the power is on, fingers crossed!!
DAY 5, my last day in Kochi.
There is a breeze today, and the power shortages seem brief, rather than all day, and amazingly my stomach felt well enough to enjoy the grand breakfast-when Sheeba cooks, and the house is now full of guests again, we get a feast, banana fritters, pancakes, chapattis and chickpeas (bit too spicy for me first thing), eggs, Indian bread (ok if toasted properly) fruit….unfortunately when the manager and his wife do it, its been the bare minimum…
It may simply be a cultural difference-Sheeba and her husband is very westernised, and welcoming, whilst the staff is obviously locals.
Wandered –it’s hard to walk fast in the heat-to the Dutch Palace, only to find that and the synagogue shut as its Friday, but walking the tiny streets of Mattacherry is probably more fun. I finally brought a straw folding hat for 75ruppers, though suspect it may only last the day.
Gave in the a desperate rickshaw driver for a 30rupee ride back for siesta, but this time got the hard sell, taken all round the city to ‘do a favour, see this shop, see this building’, finally losing my temper I simply got out when I saw a street I recognised near the home stay, handed him 30 rupees and walked off. He followed me hooting for a few minutes, and then gave up, fortunately.
No comments:
Post a Comment