Our next stop was Kochi (Fort Cochin) in Kerala. A few days earlier we had emailed a homestay we had found online called Beena’s. We later found out how lucky we were to get a room here as this place was a Traveller’s Choice Winner on TripAdvisor for the the last 3 years. It didn’t take us long to find out why!

The room was immaculate, some of the best Wifi, and the best food yet! Heaven!

We quickly made this place our home. Beena and her husband Sudie took us under their wing and looked after us perfectly. We didn’t want to leave so decided to ask to extend our stay a couple of days.

Although all the guest rooms were fully booked, Benna offered us her daughters room. Just like the rest of the house this was immaculate- not surprising as Benna is also a public health inspector and Sudie used to be in the Indian Navy.

United Nations

Kochi has quite a diverse history which lends itself to have quite the mix of buildings around the town. The main town was built by the Portuguese who also built the first European fort on Indian soil – Fort Manuel of Cochin – hence the old name of Fort Cochin. The land and rights to reside were granted to Afonso of Albuquerque by the Rajah of Kochi in 1503 after the Portuguese helped to fight against the forces of nearby Kozhikode. Afonso would go on to become the 1st Duke of Goa and the second Governor of all of Portuguese India.

In 1683 the settlement was captured by the Dutch. This was an annex to the Eighty Years War that being waged between the Iberian Union (Spain and Portugal) and The Netherlands and her allies (English) and was led by elements of the Dutch East India Company. They destroyed many of the Catholic institutions and rebuilt the others( some of the buildings still bear their mark – that of the VOC). It was under the Dutch that Kochi had it’s most prosperous years with it’s port heaving with ships loaded with spices (cardamom, pepper),coconuts and other goods being sent to Europe.

They held it for 112 years until the British East India Company took control around 1800.

So we have Portuguese, Dutch and British colonising influences. But that is not all.

You have the Chinese Fishing Nets (located next to the ferry port) – allegedly brought from the Court of Kublai Khan by explorer Zheng He. There is also a small township of Jews in Mattancherry situated around the Paradesi Synagogue (established in 1568). It is thought that this community was founded after a number were expelled from Iberia (Spain and Portugal) in 1492 and made their way to India combined with others from Malabar and Arab speaking Jews from further afield. The trade connectivity of Kochi being the massive draw.

Kerala is a lot more Christian than other parts of India so you see a lot of churches and basilicas alongside Hindu temples down here. Of particular note was the Church of St Francis, originally built in 1503 but replaced with a stone structure in 1516, and is one of the oldest European churches in India. It was the resting place for explorer Vasco da Gama who died in this part of the world in 1524 – for 14 years before his body was interred back to Lisbon.  Noteworthy as he was the first European to navigate and chart the sea route from Europe to India.

Days were spent here strolling the streets and beachside ducking into coffee shops such as the awesome Loafers Corner Cafe and museums to avoid the harsh sun. To get across to Mattancherry we took a Tuktuk.

Also eating into our time was the queue for the bottle shop. India has a varied approach to prohibition. Further north in Goa – Johnny Walker is on tap but down in Kerala – alcohol is tightly controlled and you have to visit a Government Run Collection Office to get it. You also have to pay 100% Tax on the 2 bottles of Kingfisher you are allowed purchase in 1 go.

We discovered a lot of restaurants offered an Afternoon Tea (with the tea being replaced by beer in the pots) … but keep that to yourself 😉

Evenings were spent attempting to converse in French with our new friends from Canada, Eve and Claire, who gave us great tips and advice. We also met two lovely mutual-grannies, Rhian and Monika, who kept us entertained with their stories including their stay with their adopted Indian family. These girls were adventurous from elephant rides to pilgrims they had done it all.

This was the other draw card for staying at Beena’s – one big table for all meals.

On the advice of Johnny Docherty we took in some shows at the Kathikalli Center just up the road. Kathikali is a very complex form of Indian theatre and is almost exclusive to Malayalam speakers. This is one of 23 official languages in India and is mostly spoken in this region.

It’s a 400 year old tradition that comprises heavily costumed male performers adorned in all manners of face paints. Part of the show is arrive early to see the actors get their make-up on and transform into their characters.

Day at the Beach

In the middle of our trip we ventured out of the safe haven of Fort Kochi to Vypin Island and it’s beach.

First up was the 3 pence ferry ride. After our famous incident in the Dubai Monorail, Karen was more wary and deposited John in the Men Only section before skipping to join the other girls at the front of the boat. Not 5 minutes in her new ‘Friend’ Jessie had got all the background information out of her.

Next up was the local bus to the beach, well 3km from the beach. Rammed is not the word for these buses. Karen foolishly refused the window seat and then spent the next 50 minutes getting battered by a series of handbags.

In mid 30 degree heat we trudged to the beach with John promising that it would be only over the next bridge!

On our way their we got our first glimpse of the backwaters of Kerala. More on them in a later post.

The Beach, while nice, was quieter than Marcel Marsou. It was obviously a weekend only place! Undeterred, the dynamic duo walked along the sand and took some photos. The searing heat meant we only lasted an hour and a half before we headed back to the ferry station.

Jumping on another local bus John made the mistake of sitting in the front rows of seats which are unofficially reserved for Women. The local schoolboys pointed and laughed while the women tutted.

Back in a Kochi our chill out spot was again Loafers Corner (on Bastion and Princess Street) where we people watched and caught up on our travel journals while sipping a lime soda. We also planned our next part of our trip – heading inland to the Munnar Hills. We would be be returning to Kochi next week before our flight to Kathmandu. Our Last Supper will be in Beena’s who agreed to keep some of our bags.