Kochi

It’s a new chapter for us now, and a new section of the world. South Asia, or more specifically India.

We arrived near midnight after a long day at the DMK Bangkok airport. The arrival was quite lovely. Even before we got on the plane, a native Malayali on the flight with us were making conversation, sharing their highlights of their home province, Kerala. The airport was great, but the drive back was chaotic. Indian traffic has a reputation, and we certainly got to experience that first hand. Weaving in, out and around everything, simultaneous always in control and centimeters from carnage. We had to wake up the hotel clerk to check in, but it went smooth.

The morning started off great. We got served some aloo dosa’s with coconut chutney for breakfast. It was fantastic. A nice cup of tea too. The food was such a welcome change.

The main event for the day was a rickshaw tour of the Fort Kochi area. Anish was our driver for the day, and he took us to all the places!

There were a couple ocean stops, like the Chinese fishing nets, and Mahatma Gandhi beach to start the day. We got to watch the fishermen in action. There are some with nets in hand a little into the water, tossing the nets in and back routinely. The Chinese fishing nets were a bigger contraption. Trebuchet style, they lower a large cast net into the ocean. It sits for about 10 minutes, then gets raised back up. Its then a race against the seabirds to collect the fish before they do.

There were some sightseeing stops too, like St. Francis church, and the laundromat by hand. But the fun was in the museums. The first was the Indo-Portuguese museum. It housed relics from St. Francis church, and other Catholic items. The Portuguese were the first to India, and Kochi was one of the first trading ports in the region. Most artifacts were destroyed when the Dutch showed up, but a few survived.

The curator was the highlight though. He was an archeologist, and found some old tunnels under the museum. So we chatted to him about all the tunnels and excavations in the area. His big problem is all the private land owners don’t allow him on their land for excavation, lest something is found and it gets turned into public archeology land. So he sticks to under his museum for more digging.

The second museum was the Dutch Palace, which detailed the history of the region. Apparently, the land Fort Kochi sits on didn’t exist until the 14th century, when a flood from the Western Ghats created a massive 40km long sandbar. Boards ran though the general history, from the Portuguese, Dutch and British to the modern day politics.

The highlight was the Jain temple though. We had arrived coincidentally at the same time as the daily pigeon feeding. We were invited to take part. A man held his arms out with rice and lentils in his hands, and recited a prayer, one pigeon feeing out of each hand. He then tossed the feed mixture over the courtyard, and gave us each a handful to feed the pigeons. The birds slowly walked toward us, ever suspicious of the new faces. But eventually, they were eating out of my hand! At one point, I stood up, and had two in my hand going after the last lentils. They seem to prefer those.

We stopped at a couple shops as well, to be fed tea and shown many pieces of jewelry.

That concluded the tour, but not the day. We had a delicious lunch at some sort of restaurants. Jeera rice, a chef’s special chicken curry, and tandoor paneer. Easily a top 10 meal for the trip, maybe top 5. It’s really nice to be in a place with fantastic food everywhere. We don’t have to seek it out.

The evening was spent at the Kathakali centre. Kathakali is a type of dance-performance art used to tell a story. Actors are dressed up in make-up and costume, and perform a choreographed act. There is emphasis in the movements of the face and eyes. The individual facial muscle control displayed by the performers was incredible. They could wiggle just their cheeks on command. I wouldn’t even know how to start that.

The show started with a quick demonstration of Kathakali. A performer came out and performed different emotions with their face, like attraction, anger, and shyness, among others. We then learned a baisc sign language that is used in the dance. Some words and concepts are communicated to the audience via hand movements.

The performance then started after. The story was basic, a demon conceals themselves to try and seduce a heavenly prince. They are then caught out and killed.

The drama in the dance was surprisingly effective. The climactic wounding of the demon was a really good piece of theatre. It was a really entertaining show to witness.

Dinner was at a nearby vegetarian restaurant. And we had another great meal. Just some dal, lemon rice, and the best masala chai that we have ever had. Casually made by a teenager talking on the phone the whole time behind us. The food is really good everywhere.

We only had one day in Kochi. Breakfast was another banger, a chickpea curry and little crepes to eat it with. At this point, we are exhausted from the persistent heat that has been plaguing us since Vietnam. So we are off to the mountains again. See you there!