Blogs from Kochi, Kerala, India, Asia - page 16

Nous voilà maintenant rendu à Fort Cochin qui est un quartier de la ville de Kochi… Cette endroit est très populaire auprès des touristes blancs. Dès notre arrivée, nous avons compris pourquoi… Contrairement à d’autre endroit en Inde, tous est facile… l’Internet est disponible partout, le trafic n’est pas dangereux, on a même eu la chance de louer des vélos pour s’y promener. Nous avions trouvé un auberge très paisible avec un gérant très amical qui nous a beaucoup aidé. Durant notre séjour, nous avons visité un peu mais je dois avouer que lorsque l’on trouve ce genre de confort en Inde, on en profite pour relaxer et manger de la nourriture différente… PIZZA HUT !!! Et oui, finalement du Fastfood… Nous avons visité un site superbe que je dois mentionner puisque c’était vraiment beau. Sur ... read more

One of the main things Jenna and i planned for our trip was to spend one month at a school in Kerala training in Kalarippayat. We didn't know much about the art or the people who teach it just what we saw on a television show and read on the internet. We heard positive feedback from many sources on ENS Kalari in Kochi so now we are here. Kalari is believed the predecessor to all eastern martial arts and was spread by buddhist monks from southern india to all areas of asia. After 1000 years of it being in different regions the art evolved with its new home; i.e. kung fu in china, silat in malaysia, etc. We are training under the watchful of a Kalari guru who has accepted us (and our course fees) as ... read more

After having completed the first stage of my trip in Africa, I left the wonderful City of Capetown on the Thursday night, knowing I wouldn't arrive in Kochi until Saturday morning. In truth it was a crappy journey with a 12 hour stop over in Qatar which I would not care to repeat. Upon arrival in Kochi it was very hot and humid but the airport transfer had arrived as instructed (unlike in Nairobi). However, he didn't have a clue where the place I was staying was so we spent an hour driving to Fort Kochi, and an hour and a half driving round Fort Kochi asking every man and his dog for directions. I arrived at destination very tired about 6:15 in the morning and went straight to sleep. I spent the next few days ... read more

WE arrived at Kerala on Friday morning. We were in North Kerala, Kannur. The hotel we stayed at had magnificent ocean views, and an amazing beach. There are not many tourisrts there, but in a few years there will be a lot because a lot of the beaches there are unspoilt. As there was not much to do there, we took a non ac train during the middle of the day to Cochin! All the AC had sold out. WE Stayed in the Ernakulam region of Cochin. This was very busy and western, like Mangalore was. The first night here we found a bar to go to, and we watched the IPL. Second day was very good as we venured across the boat jetty to Fort Cochin. But we first go off on the wrong Island! ... read more

Kochi was to be our last city tour and after spending a couple of days here we retreated to a beach resort which is one and a half hours south of the city. The city is situated on the west coast of Kerala and is full of history. The Portugese arrived here in the 16th century and built a palace for the local royal family in exchange for trading rights. We visited the palace known as Mattancherry Palace and at the time it seemed to be the venue for the visit by hordes of schoolchildren as well as a scene of renovation works. The Portugese during their time here built a couple of churches which have since undergone quite a few modifications. The most interesting was St Francis Church which had the honour of being the ... read more