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Other entries in Cochin

Ryan Giggs, Ryan Giggs, running down the wing!

After the tranquillity of Munnar, i thought going to Kochi (formerly Cochin) would be a bit of a shock to the system, but i was wrong. It was very laid back, relaxed, easy-going, and generally pretty nice. It's a fairly large city, much more urban/modernised than the backwater areas of Kerala. We stayed in Ernakulam, which is the mainland part of the city.

Our hotel was nice - although rather stuffy inside - with a quality coffee shop downstairs. Fully air conditioned, and serving some fantastic chocolate brownies with ice cream, not to mention home-made chocolate/coffee cakes...i think we made a quick stop in there every day that we were in Kochi!

We found it really difficult to find anywhere decent to eat, which was pretty surprising bearing in mind how big the place is. On our first night we wandered almost aimlessly, trying to find somewhere. Even the trusty Books weren't much help - the main place recommended was rather dingy to say the least. We managed to stumble across a back-street restaurant that was actually pretty nice, good food and friendly staff. We also wandered down to the waterfront/harbour where people were just handing out, lying around in small groups as the sun went down.

The next day we got a ferry to take us across to Old Kochi in the morning. On the boat, we got chatting to a girl who had arrived in India just two days before - it made me think about our first few days in Bangalore, and remember how fast you adapt to life here. Example: two days in, she already knew what a dosa is!   She'd been living with a family but was heading to Old Kochi in search of a hotel, so she had all her bags with her...none of us had a clue where we were going but she managed to find a hotel, and we carried on walking down the waterfront...

It gradually seems to be getting hotter here with each day, so we were keeping our eyes out for market stalls selling light/linen shirts. We spotted some we liked so started bartering with the guy on the stall, who of course began asking us where we were from etc. The conversation moved on to cricket, and seeing as neither me or Chris really knows anything about cricket, we steered it on to football. The shop-blokey told us that he supported Manchester United and Liverpool. We told him we supported United, and he asked why we didn't also support Liverpool. Now, it's pretty difficult to explain football rivalry to someone who can't really speak much English..."Manchester and Liverpool are big rivals, they don't really like each other..." we offered. "Hmmm, no, i don't think that's true", he replied. We looked at each other in despair. Another guy told us that he used to support Liverpool a few years ago (i.e. when they won the Champions League), but now he supports Chelsea "because they are winning now" - love it!

Walking further up the waterfront, we young-ish lad approached us and asked if we wanted to come and sit in his cafe and have a cool beer. It was right on the waterfront in a nice spot, and we were a bit parched after so much walking around, so we accepted, and took a seat. I ordered a Kingfisher and Agent Dolac ordered a Sandpiper. The guy introduced himself to us properly - Jackson - and went off to get our drinks. He came back a few minutes later with two massive teapots - one each - and explained that they don't actually have a license to sell alcohol, so they serve it with teapots, cups and saucers to...disguise it. Frankly, it's the most rubbish disguise ever - why on earth would we need a huge teapot each, and surely the police know about these tricks? - but it was so funny. Jackson told us it's known as 'Special Tea' - we'd read about it in The Books, but as with the "one pen!" thing on the backwaters, i didn't actually think we'd come across it!

After our Special Tea, we continued walking around, no particular destination in mind, just wandering. We came across a big public park with several games of cricket being held, and even a group of little kids having some football coaching. Sitting down on the wall, we were watching the football when one young lad came and sat next to us as i was messing about with my camera. He was desperate to have a go so i showed him how to use it, and he took some snaps of his mates playing football. We stopped for a lassi (kinda like a yoghurt milkshake-type-thing) and watched some Chinese fishing nets in action on the waterfront - seriously impressive!

Later, we were approached by a Boss who asked if we wanted a ride around Kochi in his Ferrari (read: rickshaw with a 'Ferrari' sticker on the back window). We wanted to go to Jew Town (no joke), so he said he'd give us a tour round. This tour included taking us to a couple of shops...i think he felt quite bad about doing it. He asked if we would please just go into the shop, saying that even if we don't buy anything, he gets a petrol voucher for every ten people he gets to walk in the door. Feeling a bit sorry for the Boss, we went in, didn't buy anything, and came out again. We asked him how much a petrol voucher was, and told him we'd give him the money for one ourselves if he stopped taking us to more shops! He took us around lots of churches, mosques etc in Jew Town, which also has a surprisingly large number of shops with names like 'Swastika Spices', to name just one. Intriguing...

We wanted to go to see a performance of Kathakali, which is a form of traditional Keralan dance mixed with other art such as drama, painting, etc. The Boss dropped us off at a place that was supposed to have a show on, but sadly there was a power cut so we would have to wait. We waited, and waited, and waited...still no power, and still no performance. Conscious that the last boat back to Ernakulam was only an hour or so away, we gave up and headed off to find food. Shame really, because from what i've read, Kathakali performances are really something to check out when you're in Kerala...oh well, can't see everything.

Anyway, so we went out for dinner, had some more special tea, and then retired to the coffee shop below the hotel for an ice cream. It was the night of Champions League game against Lille in France. We'd chosen our hotel specifically on the basis that it had cable with sports channels, meaning we'd be able to watch the game if we were prepared to wait up until 1am, which of course we were. But the bloody program showed the Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich game instead, and then replayed the Man Utd game...at 3.30am! We were absolutely shattered the next day, having had virtually no sleep. Grr. Worth it though, just for that sweet free kick from Ryan Giggs, the guy who received a nasty elbow to the face that smashed his cheekbone last time we played Lille. I bet he was loving it - we certainly were! :O)

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