20-23 October 2012
After enjoying the Keralan backwaters I visited the colonial city of Kochi. Full of history, it has been subject to Portuguese, Dutch and British rule. It is a coastal city so the seafood and spices in the local cuisine tastes amazing. You can buy the catch of the day direct from the fishermen at the Chinese fishing nets then take it straight to one of the many small shacks to have your seafood cooked for you.

The evening of my arrival I watched a Kathakali performance next to the home stay I was based at. Kathakali is an Indian theatre performance with stories of gods, warriors and demons. The actors don't speak so there is a heavy emphasis on facial expressions, body movement and posture. Also the costumes and make up was quite something. The make up takes over an hour to complete!

One of the days I hired a rickshaw and had a tour of Fort Kochi. It is one of the islands that forms the city. I saw the sights including the Dutch Palace and the Chinese fishing nets, that have been used ever since they were brought to the city around the fourteenth century.

In order to catch a train from Kochi to Mysore I had to go to the station and buy a ticket the day before. So off I went one morning to sort my passage out of Kerala. I know back home it is often said the British are great at queuing in an orderly fashion but this was something else. After spending the best part of an hour queuing for a reservation form, figuring out how to complete it and what documents I needed to attach, I then queued for around two hours along with half the population of Kochi. I turned to one of my queue comrades in line and jokingly made the comment that Indians really do love bureaucracy. In response, the elderly gent told me, 'Yes but we learn from best. The British.' Finally I got my ticket and left feeling proud of both my bureaucratic achievement and stamina.

On the last day I visited an elephant training camp in Kodanad, about fifty kilometres east of Kochi. It was incredible. I got to watch an elephant have a bath and I also rode an elephant. My stay in Kochi couldn't have ended any better.

Next stop, Mysore!