Kochi: Food, Ellies, Trucks

Having done quite a bit of walking in the humid heat, we were all ready for a break when we left the Paradesi Synagogue. It was past noon, so lunch was on our minds as well. Gopah gave us a choice — outside restaurant by the river or indoor restaurant with A/C overlooking the river … but with no direct views of the water. There was no hesitation on anyone’s part … cool air conditioning made the decision for us.

Piling into the van, we soon found ourselves at the Armoury at the Brunton Boatyard Hotel. Walking down a hall lined with elephants — an exhibit celebrating Kerala’s state animal and India’ s national heritage animal … and bringing attention to the plight of these majestic animals, which are running out of space due to extensive habitat fragmentation — we made our way to the restaurant.

The Armoury gets its name from the antique weapons decorating the walls. Delicious food, cold drinks, and A/C … what more could we ask for. Oh, and at that hour, we were the only ones in the restaurant … peace and quiet after the hubbub of Old Town Kochi. Perfect.

It was after 2:00p when we finally gave up the A/C in the restaurant for the A/C in the van. Our tour was now complete. Time to head back to Insignia. On the way, Gopah had the driver pull into a dirt lot so that he could show us some of the colorful trucks that are an iconic sight on Indian roads

By 3:00p, we were back at the port. Time to get “stamped out” of India as instructed in the letter delivered to the cabin last night. Not sure what this means for the formalities when we arrive in Port Blair on India’s Andaman Islands next week. Hopefully, no red tape entry formalities 🤞🏻. I guess we’ll find out when we get there.

After running the gauntlet of red tape to enter the port, and bidding Gopah and our driver goodbye, we entered the cruise terminal. Luckily, there were no long lines … some of the ship’s tours had returned long ago … others had yet to return. Good timing.

Passports, electronic landing cards, and our ship’s cards in hand, we went up to one of the officials. He stamped our passports, kept our ELCs, and bid us to go to the gangway. We would no longer be able to go back into the city. Not that we planned to do so. Cool showers and R&R in the cabin were foremost on our minds … until it was time to sit out on the veranda to watch our sailaway from mainland India.Läs mer