Fort Kochi

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We got off the bus in Ernakulam, and found we would need to change twice to get a bus to Fort Kochi. So off to the rickshaw stand, and negotiated 150 Rp for a ride to Red's Residence, our next place to stay. It was about half an hour, so good value. Red's is outside the main town, and a very good place - certainly the cleanest we have found in India. Soap! Towels! Loo paper! Unashamed luxury. And cable TV with HBO for those long hot nights.

We settled in, and trekked into town. Quite glad we were outside the centre, as the main town is just full of Westerners, and touts trying to entice them. We had a cold drink, then wandered around, admiring the Chinese fishing nets, and the fish stalls all along the front.

We had been dreaming of the simplicity of dal and roti, so finding a restaurant called Dal Roti seemed to be a good omen! The owner is a charming man, and he took a lot of trouble explaining all the things on the menu - what part of India they originated from, what spices were used. We settled on a thali to share, and it was delicious.

Back at Red's, Philip the owner told us there would be the final day of a big festival at a nearby temple the following day, and suggested it would be good for us to see. Seemed good to us, so he arranged for a tuktuk to pick us up after lunch next day.

Off we went, and it was magnificent. This temple is dedicated to the guy who was responsible for leading untouchables into the temple in 1949 - up to then they had not been allowed. He also made it possible for the children of untouchables to attend school. Now he is looked on as a saint. The festival was also dedicated to him. On our visit, there were 14 elephants who were led in, and washed down before being dressed in their ceremonial garb - solid gold head-dresses, extending down their trunks, and colourful swathes of silk along their backs. On each elephant sat 3 young trainees from the temple, dressed in bright yellow; the front one held a tall umbrella; the middle one a pompom in each hand; the rear one had a large fan in each hand. Two bands, one using a variation on a clarinet, the other with a type of horn, and both accompanied by frenzied drummers, tried to outdo each other in both volume and pace. To help out, every few minutes a cannon was fired just behind the elephants - who just ignored it all! And their riders performed a sort of cheer-leading standing up on their charges! Completely manic; so very Indian. Back to Dal Roti afterwards, and another lovely vegetarian meal.

Our last night, we booked for Kattacali, the traditional Keralan theatre, which has a big centre in Fort Kochi. We went early, to catch the Keralan martial arts too, and it was very worth while. But the Kattakali was really something. One hour just to put on the make up, which is used to denote the kind of character - basically goodie or baddie. Then the narrator took us through the range of facial expressions and hand movements which are used in place of speech. The performance itself is accompaied by 2 drummers, and the narrator who sings what is happening, while clashing a loud cymbal constantly; the actors simply express themselves using all the body language. Really fascinating, though I must say that once is possibly enough! After we left, we cane across Max and Fanny, the Frenchies we had been on the houseboat with, so we arranged to have dinner with them later. It was great to catch up, and we had a lovely dinner too.

Next day, time to move on. Next entry - the Western Ghats.

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