Fort Kochi, the Kerala backwaters and the yoga class

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Once I was on the train, it was really nice. I was in a berth with one quite old guy, some business men and a young couple. They were all very nice and helped me unfold the bed. Here I rolled out my silken cocoon sleeping bag and we all took turns charging our phones. After writing a little I went to sleep. I woke up a couple of times, but it was a pretty good night nevertheless. At 7:30 we arrived at a station where everyone got out and returned with little cups and boxes. So I followed suit and got myself a box and a cup of chai. The chai was really good and the box contained some doughy rice balls and curry, which were very tasty. During breakfast the elderly guy told me the train would be delayed by about four hours. Too bad, but it wasn't really a problem cause this way I got a chance to look at all the beautiful scenery we passed through. From rainforest like palm tree plants, to huge farms to colorful villages.

At the next stop a guy walked through the train with a big bucket of cold drinks. I wanted to buy a bottle of water, but I didn't have enough small notes and the sales man didn't have change for my big notes. So one of the businessmen gave me ten rupee to but it. Super nice of him 😊

Eventually we got to Ernakulam around 14:00, which was more than five and a half hours later than planned. I asked my berth mates if they new how I could get to my hostel in Fort Kochi. None if them really knew, so the girl from the couple called her mom :p At the station she walked with me and told the rickshaw driver where I wanted to go. The rickshaw dropped me off at a bus stop, from where I could take the bus to Fort Kochi.

The hostel was really nice! Is was called maritime, so there was a sailor theme going on. White building with red windows, inside the walls were blue and the furniture was wooden en decorated with ropes. Super cute. A little while later an American girl arrived, who was in the girls dorm with me. After unpacking we went out for dinner together.

The next morning I got up early, cause I had booked a boat tour. Kerala , the state Fort Kochi is in, is known for its amazing backwaters. So I booked a half day tour, which included a pick up and drop off and three hours on the boat. The boat itself was already quite cool. It wasn't motorized, so two men pushed us through the waters with big bamboo sticks. It was a very relaxing experience. For most of the tour I just sat there looking at all the beautiful plants and trees, with a light breeze in my face. And all I heard was the bamboo men walking back and forth.

We went pretty deep into the backwaters and visited two "factories" along the way, which were just tiny little huts. In the first hut they produced calcium powder by burning sea shells, so it actually smelled quite bad :p But the second place was pretty cool. Here they made ropes out of coconut fiber and they even showed us how they did it. First they make two strings that aren't very strong, but when twisted together it becomes almost unbreakable. "This shows us that individually we all have our weaknesses, but together we are strong." Thanks tour guide 😉

When I got back to Fort Kochi I decided to walk around for a little and look for a place to have lunch. I found this homestay/cafe called Paradise, where they made me a fresh masala dosai. When I arrived, there were three girls sitting there from Italy, Norway and Switzerland. They were real nice company 😊 After lunch I asked if they knew how I could get back to maritime. Then the owner talked to a guy that worked there and he said: "this is Steven, he can take you on his scooter" Steven seemed nice enough, so I got on the back of his scooter like the Indian women do: Two legs on one side.

Back at the hostel I met two English guys in the common area. We all wanted to go out and do something, so walked over to the Dutch Palace and Jew Town. Unfortunately, the Dutch Palace museum was already closed when we got there at 16:30. And because it was a Saturday, the synagogue in Jew Town was also closed. On our way back we went into a bar in search of a beer. But because of the elections that were going on, they didn't serve beer that day. So altogether this trip was pretty disappointing :p

We picked up the American girl at the hostel and went to to a couple of other bars to see if they did serve alcohol. After three more rejections we went ahead and found a place to eat. After dinner we went back to the hostel, and the English guys pulled out a bottle of rum. So we sat on the balcony the rest of the night, watching the rain and drinking Old Munk.

The next morning I hung around the common area mostly, cause Fred, whom I had met in Chennai, was gonna make his way down to Maritime. I had forgotten a couple of this at the hostel in Chennai, and be was nice enough to bring them with him. 😊 after he had checked in, we still had enough time to have lunch before I was off to the train station. This time I took the ferry across , which was quite nice.

When I got to the train station, I went to the current reservation desk, to see I my ticket was confirmed yet. The guy said that I was number one on the wait list, so my ticket would probably be confirmed tomorrow. So I said: "tomorrow? I want to go today." And the guy just said: "No no , ticket for tomorrow." The trains and me are still getting to know each other I guess. :p

So back to the ferry and the hostel. I got my own bed back, so that was nice. When Fred got back from his stroll around the city, we suddenly heard really loud drums outside. So everyone went out onto the porch to see what what was going on. The elections were probably over, cause it looks like one of the parties was celebrating big time. There was a huge group of people dancing through the streets, followed by so guys with huge drums. Very impressive😊

After that, Fred and I set out to find this vegetarian restaurant the guy from the reception had recommended. It was full of locals and we were the only foreigners there. A couple of minutes later , the Swiss girl from Paradise came in with an Indian friend. They joined us and we had a great dinner for €1 each. Local restaurants are the best!

The Indian guy, Wilfi, had his own rickshaw, so he offered to drive us to Paradise. Here we had some "special tea", which turned out to be beer in a teapot :p Wilfi invited us to join his yoga class the next morning. It would start at 7:30 and could pick us up if we wanted. When the owner heard us talking about yoga , he gave me a yoga mat! Still not sure why, but it was really nice of him 😊

The yoga class was great! We did all these stretches and poses and the yogi master helped everyone individually with them. We learned a lot about stretching and balance and throughout the class he talked a lot about meditation and how to get in contact with your inner consciousness. I thought it was all really cool 😊 oow and fun fact: One of the participants was the Italian girl from Paradise. Small world. I would not have wanted to have missed out on the local restaurant or the yoga class, so I guess it's not always bad when things don't go as planned 😊

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