After our comfortable train trip from Varkala to Kochi, navigating the tuktuk ride to the ferry, squished on a barely seaworthy ferry where we missed our stop, and the subsequent tuktuk trip across town with our two large backpacks, two day packs and another bag with odds and ends in it, we felt acclimated to the realities of travel in India. Our Varkala cocoon of Ayurvedic treatments, beach and western tourist centric offerings was over.

There is an uncomfortable beauty about India; sights my eyes are unaccustomed to set on a background of scenic vistas. Or fascinating scenes of people set to a background of hungry dogs or filthy beaches.

We arrived worn down yet safely at our guesthouse, the Fort Kochi Beach Inn. Taking a quick nap to bask in the air conditioning, we headed out to explore the town and to find a bank machine with money in it - not nearly as easy as it sounds. I felt dismay and repulsion at the supposedly central tourist attraction (Fort Cochi Beach) that was a filthy spit of sand with dirty water lapping the shore and gag-inducing smells. I took a (small) breath and remembered we were only now getting the full hit of India.

And there is that predictable first-day-in-a-new-location reaction of "let's get outa here!" that we often feel - otherwise coined by a friend as PTSD (post transition stress disorder)!

We noticed a buzz happening with tourists, many carrying special maps where they checked off places as they saw them. We asked at the tourist centre where the man, who we barely understood mumbled, "...biennale...Apsinwall...not us". We shrugged our shoulders, still confused by this obvious happening. The logo displayed around town and at art galleries left clues that, with slow motion comprehension, we began to realize it was an art event. Then, sharing a table over dinner with two Italian women at the popular Kashi Art Cafe, they mentioned the Biennale. I said that I didn't know what a "Biennale" was. Given that I am a docent at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, I was feeling like I'd just climbed out from under a rock! In case you don't know what a Biennale is:

Biennales are large-scale exhibitions of contemporary art, named for their host city and typically managed by a combinations of public art museums, government agencies and philanthropic supporters...The Italian word “biennale” acknowledges the original art biennale; the Biennale di Venezia, staged since 1895. (http://theconversation.com/explainer-w hat-is-a-biennale-26516)

This one, the 12-venue Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016 hosts art from around the world, with programs like the ABC (Art by Children), Student's Biennale and pop-up studios. My favourite pieces were the wire bodies in Kashi Art Cafe, Shiju Basheer's photography exhibit 'Oldness Can Be Loneliness", and a powerful, interactive piece in the Aspinwall House complex about Syrian refugees called 'Sea of Pain' by Chilean poet Raul Zurita.

Kochi offered endless photography options for Jim to feed his creative spirit. The Kathakali arts performances which are a combination of music, theatre, dance supported by sophisticated makeup and based on stories of love, lust and power; the funky, cozy coffee shops and restaurants (eat at Dhal Roti if you get a chance); and the general goings-on of people here.

We stayed for 3 sleepless nights - can you imagine a cat outside keeping you awake all night from meowing like a child crying? I've had barking dogs do that but never a cat. Our guesthouse hosts tried their best to send that cat on its way but it was determined to hang out and cry in the alley outside our room.

Next, we head for the hills...

To see more of Jim's photos and in higher resolution, visit his Flickr site.