Cochin

Cochin is very near Alappuzha, so we decide to use the cheap state bus to get there. We notice that state buses in Kerala are in a better condition than those in Tamil Nadu. This can be said for most things. 

Cochin is a large city split over five islands. The area that attracts tourists is called Fort Cochin. This is the oldest part of the city and has all the sites. We booked a homestay in this location.

We were expecting standard India city chaos, but Fort Cochin is more like a large village; parks, churches, quite streets etc. It felt like we’d left India. 

 

It’s easy to get around the area on foot. We did all the main attractions in one day. There are a couple of old Dutch churches, museums, and the famous Chinese fishing nets. The fishermen were looking a bit depressed when we went. They were mostly catching dead leaves & Aquafina bottles. One of them told me he was having a bad day. On the upside, Shejal managed to finally buy a hat nearby. She’s been looking for one for 3 weeks!

New hat!

It’s quite plain to see that Christianity rules OK in Kerala unlike Tamil Nadu which is Hindu central. Christianity was brought over by the Portuguese & Dutch, later encouraged by the Brits. Lots of Jesus pics in shops/restaurants and signs like this.

and... no parking

In the evening we went to a Kathakali show. It’s a form of theatre when eye, hand, body movements are used to communicate the story rather than words. This leads to some interesting face pulling. Included in our ticket we got to see the actors putting on their costumes/makeup beforehand.

 

One last thing; there’s loads of goats everywhere in Fort Cochin! We’re used to seeing random livestock in an India city situation (saw a small pony in a newsagent in Madurai), but the goats have taken over in Cochin!

Having a kick about

Just chillin