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Published: January 25th 2012
Goa, Goa, Gone....
The week after Christmas was great, bordering magnificence. We headed north to the lovely Mandrem, where we stayed at a hotel that was designed to look like a face, a weird face. However, Mandrem had a beautiful and quiet beach with fun surf, and beach shacks that conjured up food with a taste dangerously close to decadence. It was a pleasure to be somewhere chilled, where we could relax without risky motorbike journeys, hassle from hawkers, and catch a bad strain of man flu...
We spent a few swill infested nights with a fun American couple, Brian and Lindsey.. took a day trip to brave the freezing pools at Dudhsagar water falls.. enjoyed the eclectic tones of that modern pop music at Sunburn Dance festival (with Bonnie and Lee).. and watched people light fireworks (that exploded over themselves) during the New Years Eve craziness at Arambol...where long haired people called 'Crispin' await inheritance whilst juggling...It was a fun week, especially as the drink of choice, Old Monk Rum, costs 50p for a double :os
We returned south for a few days nearer the Train station, to Benulim. A quiet stretch of beach with beach hut, or tin shed, accommodation that made the average working mosquito feel right at home. Although, during the three days our budget recovered ready for hitting the road...........
Alas, it was time to leave Goa and we couldn't wait. With our batteries recharged and a trendy bandana in toe, we boarded the fourteen hour train from Madgaon, Goa, to Ernakulim in Kerala. We booked a '3 tier air con' carriage, which is three bunk beds in a vertical row, with AC . As we boarded, a family of 10 million were sat in our spaces...after a few words and a funny look, they relocated back to what is known as 'cattle class'.
It was another interesting train affair. Also present on the train that day were: defecatingboy, sickboy, staringatallyman, and a single mouse scurrying amongst the river of crap on the floor. We hid ourselves away behind the curtain and ate crisps, cadburys dairy milk chocolate, and a banana that a 'Borrower' would laugh at.
We arrived late in Ernakulim, and after a sweltering night in a budget hotel (£5ish), Ally and I took a boat from the hectic transport town, to the wonderfully serene Fort Cochin. Half way through the journey, I realised something.. I was livid, even fuming, we'd been ripped off! The boat cost us a whopping 3p each...the monsters! I got over it, eventually...
Fort Cochin is old, almost too old. It has been drawing traders and explorers to its shores for over 600 years, and now is a tangle of medieval Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch and English village buildings in a tropical climate. It was a great place to slowly amble through the quiet lanes and alleyways, stopping for decent coffee (a rarity), working Internet (a rarity), and beautiful delicatessens (they're really common).
We saw St Francis Church, the oldest European church in India, built in 1509, and a real shithole. Having spoken to a number of Indians, they're proud of their historic colonial buildings, be it foreign built, but have no interest, knowledge or funding to maintain them. This coincides with the hotels we have stayed in, the rooms were built thirty years back plus, and all are pretty run down. Does this mean that visiting India in 1975 would have been brilliant? ..every hotel room was new, therefore, untarnished by India's low hygiene standards...probably not 😉
Cochins' best attraction was surely the 600 year old spider-like Chinese fishing nets that are still in use today. They take four men to operate using counter weights, and were extremely picturesque at dusk, hence the 800,000 pictures we took. They were nice.
The pace of life is a lot slower than mainland India, so generally speaking, Cochin was a great place to wander around for a few days, gaze at the quaint colonial influence, meet and swill with other backpackers, and plan the next part of our trip. It was the busy season so booking ahead was essential, imperative, fundamental, good practise.
Next up, the famous backwaters of Kerala, South India. Loads of boats and that...
Pugism of the week: "Rugger Pugger"
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anonymous
non-member comment
Hi Nick and Ally - really enjoying your travelling tales, makes life here in La Belle France seem really humdrum!! Have to say am looking forward to hearing of your adventures with the 2 exiles from Birmingham and Bristol respectively, but would imagine they will have to be pretty heavily censored!! Take care out there and look after my boy (not that he really needs looking after) with love j xx