Advertisement
Published: January 27th 2013
QUIRKSVILLE
Boasting over half a millennium of history trading with colonials, Cochin is one quirky corner of India's west coast. The Portuguese, Dutch and of course British influence reflects itself in the city's skeleton but the sounds, smells and faces remain Indian to the core.
A walk from Fort Cochin to Jew Town via Mattancherry, about 30 - 45 minutes non-stop, reveals the gamut of those quirks.
Begin at the enormous Chinese fishing nets at the tip of Fort Cochin, weave past street-side seafood vendors and listen to the chatter of Karnatakan women imploring tourists to; "just look at my jewellery, looking is free".
Move on through to Mattancherry where the legacy of a centuries old spice trade is still in full swing in a manner that hasn't contemporised itself for generations. Before you know it, you've hit Jew Town where shop owners attempt to hassle customers into their "hassle free policy" stores. In the midst of the commerce sits South Asia's largest synagogue.
On the way back, cut a diagonal line and get lost amongst the residential quarters and be spirited back to the sensory overload of some of Cochin's lower depth living conditions.
Mattancherry.
No sissy forklifts in the spice game here.This workaday area quickly morphs back into the decaying elegance of the town's colonial heyday where chic boutiques, cafes hotels and restaurants operate behind the creaky architectural bones.
Our favourite little pitstop in this enclave goes by the simple title of "The Teapot". It's like a $200 pair of jeans with a designer tear in exactly the right spot. The Teapot sells all manner of tasty western treats to go with that pot of authentic Indian chai and the structure is all squeaky timber floorboards, exposed beams, rustic stone walls with a measured proportion of peeling paint and crumbling stucco to give it a hint of too cool for school edge. Climb up the rickety staircase to the mezzanine level and look down on a couple of inches of dust sitting on every exposed surface pointing up, just to remind you this is still India.
Yep, Cochin is Quirksville.
A NEW CURRICULUM
Down by the fishing nets, another local gent spruiked us on how Kerala's high education standards (previous blog) is at the root of the state's prosperity and civilised attitude to life. Peering out over the waterfront where the famed fishermen work those nets, I couldn't
Wayanad
Hindu devotees at Thirunelly temple help but ponder the idea that one particular subject may have been neglected in that education programme.
Call me a nitpicker, but environmental awareness might be worth shoehorning somewhere into the curriculum. This stretch is a beacon for all the cliches of Indian squalor and filth.
Garbage bins with "Use Me" inscribed on the front are in supply everywhere but they are all empty. Why bother walking 10 paces to place that plastic bottle in those bins when it's far simpler to toss it on the beach. It looks disgusting, it stinks and the fishermen who work amongst it all day are equally as complicit in creating the cesspit, as if it's outside their field of vision. And this is THE tourist attraction of Cochin.
Rather than accept this malignant, mangy ethos as the norm, a snippet of well aimed education could surely disinfect the waterfront for the common good and stick another arrow in Cochin's impressive tourism quiver.
G. Yeates, dragon slayer, solving the world's problems one more time.
Yeatesy
The tamed India!! After spending some time relaxing on the coast and the backwaters it was time to head for the
mountains for a few days of heat respite!!!
The temperature each day has been in the low 30's with around 80% humidity, quite manageable. However a few degrees cooler sounded even nicer and a chance to see elephants in the wild made the short journey theoretically (200 klms) by road and an even longer journey by every means of Indian transport to our next destination. (tuk tuk; ferry; tuk tuk; train; tuk tuk; bus; tuk tuk).
For the past few days we have been nestled in a lovely home surrounded by various plantation farms. The homestead we are staying in produces coffee, rubber, beatlenut, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, rice and a number of other crops every other season.
Whilst the main aim was to see elephants and possibly a tiger, we have been happy to sit overlooking the fields and see what passes by. So far elephants nil, leopards nil, monkeys nil ( loads on the road) peacocks aplenty if we get up early enough, and lots of people going about their daily life.
When we walk into town, some 2 klms stroll along the rice paddy field and banana plantations, people will slow down in the
cars and motor bikes and yell, hello, welcome, where are you going, what is your name. We can't help but notice how easily pleased they are with a royal wave and an occasional " my name is Gary, what is yours".
And all this time I have been wondering why Gary is slowly losing his voice!!!! Life is getting very comfortable here which means its probably time to hit the road again and head north.
Penny
More images at:
www.colvinyeates.zenfolio.com
Advertisement
Tot: 0.396s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 41; qc: 140; dbt: 0.2159s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.5mb
aspiringnomad
Jason
Blessed that this is still free for looking.
Keep preaching it sister-brother, plenty more problems lay ahead that badinage can batter!