5/2/10 Mysore to Fort Cochin road trip from hell!!!

The alarm went off at 5.30 to wake us up to meet the driver at 6am.We had agreed to meet him so early to avoid any traffic as it was 450km and there are only a few good roads on the way so it was going to be a long enough day without traffic too. The driver had very little English and we soon realised absolutely no road sense either. We drove South west towards Kerala and stopped on the way out of town to see the sunrise which was stunning. We entered Kerala province and through Wayanad wildlife sanctuary at Muthanga where we had to hand over a fee for entering. We had agreed an all inclusive price for the journey but it excluded this fee..allegedly!! We were thinking of travelling to see Wayanad as part of our trip but the journey had seemed almost impossible on public transport so we were pleased to get to see it after all. As we drove through the gorgeous forestry area and winding tree covered lanes we saw a huge deer and several monkeys about. The park has elephants, bison and tigers as well and we realised that we were following jeeps that were on safari from the park so we were glad we hadn't paid extra. After exiting Wayanad we drove towards Calicut North of Cochin on the coast all on National highways which were pretty good roads. Keralas motto is 'Gods Own Country' as it is one of Indias most green and lucious provinces. It was here that we were excited to see the first garbage truck we'd seen in India and also several learner drivers with instructors. It was a really interesting journey through lots of quaint little villages and areas of farming and many tropical trees and plants. The driver pulled into an Indian style transport cafe for us to eat which was really gross. The kitchen was pretty rank but Phil still ordered chicken...crazy !! Liz wasn't hungry and gave it a miss but he said it was good and thankfully didn't get gut rot as a result. After reaching Calicut without much incident except our driver loved to take over at the worst time and was obsessed with his horn. Once at Calicut it was clear that he had no idea which way to go and couldn't read the road signs either. At each road junction after that he was yelling "Cochin" out of the window to get directions. Unfortunately the Indian men have a really bad way of telling directions as they wave their hand around in no particular direction so you have no idea where they mean. Also the men in the South use the Indian head wobble which is very difficult to interpret as they use it for yes, no and I don't know. We spent quite a while doing u-turns and travelling along some obviously wrong roads and his driving just got worse as he was getting later and later. He drove really close behind all the other vehicles, honking his horn and trying to overtake regardless of the rest of the road as if he wasn't even looking ahead...terrifying. We finally made it onto the highway into Cochin the area which Fort Cochin is a peninsular of. We passed through a small village where there was a festival going on and there were three temple elephants all decorated in paint and gold. Phil wanted to stop for a while to watch but matey boy at the wheel had other ideas and sped on past. We arrived in Ernakulam town which is over the water from Fort Cochin but still a ten km drive. We had asked to be driven to Cochin but hadn't realised it was such a big area and we actually wanted Fort Cochin. When the driver realised we needed to go as far as the Fort he got on the phone and started talking about the extra 10 kms etc. We got ourselves ready for battle expecting an increase in the fare but he didn't say anything. After another hour driving through the busy town of Ernakulam we managed to cross the toll bridge to the peninsular. We then crossed another bridge to Fort Cochin itself. As soon as we'd crossed the bridge the driver said "this Fort Cochin" but he was pulling a fast one as we were still about 7kms from any guesthouses so Phil directed him to there. We finally pulled up outside a guesthouse at 5.30pm , 11 hours after starting out. We were so relieved to have made it there safely against the odds that we gave the man a tip and sent him on his way. He was driving back to Mysore again but we doubted he would make it after so much driving and he wouldn't know the way. Phil was going to get a room at the Vasco De Gama guesthouse where the famous explorer had died but it was all locked up and he went down the street to another one. Globetrotters Inn, with lovely receptionist called Wilson, had a lovely balconied room available which was big and airy with TV and ensuite. We settled into the room and then went to find somewhere to eat as we were pretty hungry after our heart stopping journey. Fort Cochin is a sleepy Portuguese colonial fishing port with huge chinese fishing nets sitting over the waters edge and lovely old shuttered buildings. It was really quite Meditteranean and a welcome change to the other bustling places we'd been. There were a few very smart hotels there and it was busy with more white faces than we'd seen anywhere else so it is obviously a popular spot on the tourist trail. We went to find a Lonely Planet recommended cafe called Teapots and were pleasantly suprised to find an old English tea rooms. They had old tea chests for tables and the place was decorated with loads of old antique teapots (Marian would have loved it) We had a very nice toasted sandwich and drinks in there and of course Phil had to sample their cake too. After a nice lunch which made a change from spicy food. We walked around the village a little but stopped to look in a tour shop. A very charming Indian man called Stanley Wilson ran the tour office and we had a chat to him about a trip to Munnar, a tea growing area in the high ranges a few hours away from Fort Cochin. We booked a tour to Munnar with him that included a private car and driver and accomodation and food and it was a really good price. He then sold us a trip on the Keralan backwaters after the Munnar trip which sounded perfect. It was off the normal tourist route so we wouldn't see any other of the hundreds of boats that tour about each day. Also we would spend two nights in a farmhouse homestay with a family in a Keralan village. It all sounded idyllic and the price was very competitive so we were really pleased we had the next week booked and sorted. Phil went back to the room to get some money to pay Stanley and reserved us another night with the next receptionist called Jackson. We decided to leave our bags in Fort Cochin while visiting Munnar then come back for another night before going to the backwaters. We went to use the internet above a Shop and Save store so Liz could write the blog and Phil could adjust our trains as the plans had been rearranged. When we left the internet it was about 9.45 and we decided to try and find somewhere for a beer. All the places seemed to be closed (everywhere here closes as ten!!!) but we found a beautiful hotel which we just looked around as it was out of our price range. It was all wooden with a lovely outdoor pool and seating area, very luxurious and definately not for backpackers like us. The bar didn't serve past 10pm and the rooms were 120 pounds per night which is crazy money for india where we are paying under ten pounds for a basic room. We found a family bar open but we were only in time to order two drinks and were stood over while drinking the second one. It was a shame as we were up for a few beers but nowhere was open so we had to retire to the room.

6/2/1 Fort Cochin Saturday

Fort Cochin is a laid back place with history dating as far back as the Kubla Khan in the 15th century. It has had visiting traders and wanderers since the 1400s and still has remains of its Portuguese colonial houses and British Raj residences. We walked down to the beach to see the chinese fishing nets which are huge wooden beamed nets taking four men to lift them. They look fantastic as they hang over he water and we had a demonstration by a small group of fisherman trying to earn a few rupee. They told us that before the tsunami they would catch up to 50 kg of fish per day but since then the catch has been really poor. They have been told that after about 5 years the stocks will return so they are now jumping on the toprist bandwagon to make some money. Liz helped hoist the nets while Phil took some photos. It was remarkably easy to lift considering the enormous size of the nets. We weren't sure if the tsunami story was correct as we'd also heard that modern fishing techniques had put alot of the fishermen out of business but it seemed feasable. The nets are lowered into the water at high tide and lowered and lifted up to 200 times !!! The men asked for loads of rupees for the five minute demo which was too much but we did give them a donation. We went to see the fish that had been caught out to sea and there were many kinds including baby shark again as we'd seen in Goa. The fish sellers got us in a few photos but then insisted on a donation for the "poor fishermen". Next we needed an ATM but the signs didn't relate to anywhere and when we asked a few people we got the usual vague directions and non specific pointing in no particular direction. We eventually found an ATM and then went to pay Stanley the balance of what we owed him. While there we booked a couple of tickets to see a traditional Indian dance show later that evening. We crossed the street to go to a rooftop restaurant but after climbimg four flights of stairs were told the food wasn't served till later!! We ended up with a bag of crisps and a bun for breakfast, very healthy. We got a tuk tuk to drive us over the peninsula to visit Jew Town area where there is a Dutch palace and synagogue as well as loads of antique shops. When we got there there were a few tourist tat stalls and a few tourists bustling about. Jew Town was the centre of the Kochi spice trade and in its day was a busy port area full of little shops huddled together. Jew Town is now a collection of huge antique warehouses in the tiny fronted but large stores lining the little lanes.We walked around the streets and had a browse in a few antique shops full of old Indian and Persian antique furniture and goods. We stopped for fish and chips in a cafe above one shop called Crafters, it was delicious. As it was Saturday the synagogue (1568) was closed but we popped to see the Dutch Palace as its known but its true name is Mattancherry palace. The palace was built in 1555 by the Portuguese an given to the Raj of Cohin as a gesture of goodwill. It was later renovated in 1663 by the Dutch hence its new name. It was a small palace but had lovely wood panelling and a collection of historical objects and photos from the time of the raj and earlier. Outside Phil bought some tiger balm from a little old man who was really happy a the sale. We got another rickshaw to take us back to Fort Cochin so we could see St Francis Church India's oldest European church built in 1503 by fransiscan monks. It holds the original tomb of Vasco De Gama before his body was taken back to Portugal 14 years after internment. When we arrived at the church we were directed around the side where there was a party of school children and their teachers eating lunch. We were invited to join them for food but were both really stuffed after our fish and chips. Phil said thankyou and we were both handed a huge plate of food ,rice, curry and a drink of water. We didn't really have any room for it but didn't want to appear rude so we made an excuse about it having too much chilli for us and left most of it. The children were all lovely as were the teachers all on a day visit from their school. We took a few photos with them and after raising their excitement levels a bit too high they left for the rest of their visits on their coach all waving to us. We went inside the church which was quite simple and wooden eating, we had a quick look at the famous tomb stone then went to ask to see the Dutch cemetary. The Dutch cemetary is a really old one dating back to its consecration in 1724 and it contains the graves of Dutch soldiers and traders as well as a few British merchants and sailors. We had to get a key from the church warden who met us at the graveyard gates which were kept locked. While we waited for him a couple of Australian tourists also arrived so they were able to get in too, good timing. After the cemetary we went back to Mr Wilsons shop via the fishing nets and waterfront which looked lovely in the afternoon sun. We had decided to go straight to the back waters from Munnar as we'd seen most of the sites in Fort Cochin so had to ask Mr Wilson to tell his driver of the change. We thanked him and said goodbye then went off to see the dance show. The show was on in a theatre next to the Santa Cruz Basilica in the town so we called in their briefly for a look. Liz ended up inadvertently joining the confession queue but as the women there were broadcasting their confessions to the whole church she decided maybe not. We went to the Kathakali Centre where we were seeing Kathakali dancing. Kathakali dancing art form started around Shakespears time but some of it dates back to the 2nd century. The performances are of plays representing the Hindu epics of Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas. Drummers and singers accompany the actors who tell the story with precise hand, face and body movements representing words and feelings. The performances are traditionally in temples and can last eight or nine hours but we were seeing a small piece lasting an hour. When we arrived we went inside and sat down and an actor came onto the stage with his makeup for a makeup demo. The makeup is an important preparation for the actor and it was amazing to see the transformation with brightly coloured natural paints made from ground stones. He was joined by three other actors all painting their faces and then the first laid down to have a precisely made and brilliantly crafted beard stuck to him. The beard was made from layered, curved and cut pieces of card gently stuck to the contous of his face. It looked really effective as you will see in the photos. The makeup session went on for about an hour then we were treated to an explaination and demonstration of the many movements the actors have to perfect. It takes seven years to train as an actor learning the 2000 moves and six as a musician so its very skilled stuff. The actor came on the stage and showed us various simple words and emotions using his eyes, face, hands and body, it was fascinating. We saw a performance of a story of good over evil and the costumes and performance were pretty mesmerising but the music and singing were dreadful. We really enjoyed it and then stayed to see some ladies performing classic Indian dances. There were three girls, two Indians and one from Europe we think as she was called Iris and was white. Iris had been learning the dances for only two months and performed three as a solo as did the other girls. The Indian girls bodies were moving beautifully to the music and they had amazing facial epressions and used their eyes to emphasise certain emotions during the dance. Iris did really well but was not as curvy so didn't move so well. She made a couple of mistakes which we probably wouldn't even have seen but her face looked so annoyed with herself..what a shame but good on her for having the guts to do it. Presumably she was a dance student in Indian for a little while. There was so much to remember for each dance with face, hand, feet and body postures needing to be so precise. All three looked stunning with their beautiful costumes and makeup with large lined eyes and hair tied up with flowers etc. After the dancing it was about nine oclock so we needed to eat and decided to go back to the restaurant we hadn't eaten at in the morning. After the four flights of stairs we could order food but while waiting for it to come we were swarmed by mosquitoes. The staff bought coils over but the little buzzy things wouldn't leave us or our dinner alone. The food was pretty dire too so we had a disaster there really. After eating we went back to the room and watched a bit of tv as there wasn't any night life to speak of.