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Published: February 24th 2006
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Note to the many, many readers: I'm back-dating the entries to coincide with the actual dates we arrived at our locations. So although I'm posting two weeks later, the dates will show when we were actually there. Otherwise, there is no delay, the entries are published as soon as they are completed.
For the first Kerala entry, Jill is making a guest appearance:
If Roy said it was hot in Goa, it was even hotter once we arrived in Kerala. But the hot sweaty days are not what stick out most in our minds looking back at the days spent in Fort Kochi, our first stop in Kerala. It is the people that we met. Everyone was so friendly and hospitable here that the agressiveness that we encountered up north was long forgotten.
We arrived in Ernakulam, the city of Kochi, which was a lot bigger than I had envisioned. There were lots of cars and traffic, many big buildings and many people. I even saw our first supermarket in India (which of course I had to walk through to look at all the items). But I was happy to jump on the ferry to leave the city
and escape to the quiet, peaceful island of Fort Kochi. In looking for a place to stay, a man recommended we stop by his friend's house who rents out rooms. I took his advice, and we stopped in at Mr. Prem's homestay, where we were greeted by his daughter, and a group of her friends who were over to help celebrate her 22nd birthday. They immediately welcomed us into their home, invited us to join in the party and treated us to a bunch of terrific snacks and cakes that are often eaten at celebrations. It was all delicious. From the second we walked into their home, they made us feel as if it was our home as well. Our nice, clean room was right above their living room. The family was so friendly to us, the added comfort of being their home made Fort Kochi a very special place right from the beginning.
But Fort Kochi itself is an island with that special charm. You can easily find yourself walking around for hours, which we did. There are beautiful homes, unique churches, kids playing in the streets, restuarants and coffee shops. The best part is the waterfront, which
is lined with huge Chinese Fishing nets. Arriving around sundown, you can see the fisherman dropping these nets into the water, and struggling to pull them out in hopes of grabbing fish (although we didn't see any fish caught). Around the same time, the fishing boats come in from their day at sea, with boats full of fish. Some boats overflowing with fish like giant calamari and others I could not identify. The boats are emptied and the fish are lined up to be auctioned off. It seemed like a process that has taken place for hundreds of years without change. It was great to watch, and was almost as exciting as the tuna auction we watched in Tokyo.....almost. At that point, the fish are all available to be purchased at the nearby shops and then taken to a nearby restaurant to be cooked. We chose a HUGE red snapper and a few calamari to taste (for less than $5) and brought them to a restaurant were they grilled it up for us for close to $2.
We visited some nice sites in Fort Kochi, like the very colorful Roman Catholic Santa Cruz Church and the simple Angelican St.
Auction
The fish right off the boat are auctioned off Franics Church, which is the oldest European built church in India. (This is also the place where the explorer Vasco de Gama was buried). We took a long walk to Jew Town where we visited the outside of the synagogue since it was Saturday and was closed. Jew Town was full of many nice antique shops where I had to resist shopping. I could have easily taken home a nice Armoir. On our walk back through Mattancherry, we had a terrific lunch of mutton biriyani at Kayee's restaurant. He supposedly serves 750 plates of biriyani a day and always runs out- so you have to get there while there is still some left. It was well worth it!
And finally our first South Indian cooking class at Leelu's house- where we learned the recipes for a bunch of veg and fish dishes as well as chappati. It was great to be in Leelu's beautiful home, to hear about her family, and to play with her cute golden retriever (the first we've seen in India). The food was amazing and the Fish Molee was the best we've had yet. I really hope I can replicate these dishes when I get
home (hopefully I can find all the spices).
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Lyle
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Keep the blogs coming. It is wonderful to see pictures and read about your trip. Looks like you guys are going to come back very tan!