Kochi 1; Fort Kochi

After the short walk in Alappuzha, we set off in the minibus for Kochi, stopping off to see some of a festival at a small Hindu Temple en route. Later, we stop again to visit Chellanham, a fishing village and suburb of Kerala; it is interesting to see their colourful fishing nets being repaired and the quirky church in the form of a fishing boat.

We reach Kochi (formerly Cochin); the city is built around a saltwater lagoon of the Arabian Sea and is actually a collection of narrow islands and peninsulars. It has a beautiful natural harbour and was originally founded on trade from the Jewish and Arabian Spice Traders in the 1st century. It grew in importance in the 16th century with the arrival of the Portuguese, then Dutch,and then English; it has an eclectic heritage.

Kochi City is divided into 3 main regions; Fort Kochi, Mattancherry (both have old-world charm, with a blend of Dutch, Portuguese, and English buildings and form the Old Town), and the modern Ernakulam (shopping malls and glitzy apartment buildings). We focus on the first two, apparently!

This afternoon, we visit Fort Kochi; we enjoy lunch at the Fort Paragon restaurant before exploring the area with our guide - see captions on photos for details. Of particular interest is the Chinese style of fishing; they are fixed installations operated from on or near the shore, with nets set up on bamboo and teak poles and held horizontally by huge mechanisms, which lower them into the sea.

Our hotel is on Willington Island, a man-made island using soil dredged from the long Vembanad Lake (the other end is Alappuzha, see previous post - Vembanad Lake is the longest in India); it is home for the port of Kochi and the Naval Base, as well as many other port related trusts. After some downtime, Helen and I pop into the Maruthi Vilas Vegetarian restaurant near the hotel.Read more