Cochin : sunset through Chinese fishing nets

This has been my second visit to Cochin and Kerala in two years. Kerala is made for tourists. Honesty of people and their approach in dealing with tourist is heart warming. It is totally different from one’s experience in the North India. Take for example Delhi. Everyone you meet after landing in Delhi – from the coolie (the porter) to the autowallah (the cab driver) to the so called Tourist Information Bureau operator, will try to cheat you. This is so sick mentality and highly detestable. Even though I live here, I hate this place. I would always suggest one to avoid Delhi and go to places where people are honest. Kerala is one such place where you can travel in peace and enjoy the beauty nature has bestowed upon it.

My accommodation was booked by the Agatti Island Beach Resort (AIBER) office at Bijou’s Tourist Home on the Canon Shed Road, which was very close to the main jetty. The prepaid auto from the Ernakulum Junction station was only Rs.20/-. The hotel charges were Rs.500 + Rs75 (tax) for 24 hours. The room was good and clean. Toilet was good, a basic necessity to be called a good place to stay. Though it had a cafeteria that serves breakfast, it does not have its own restaurant. So we had to walk down to the City Park Restaurant located on its back. The food there was delicious and tasty. And the rates were quite reasonable.

I found that there are many hotels and tourist homes around this place. The landmark for the place is ‘Colombo Hotel Junction’ where the Cannon Shed Road and the Market Road intersects. This is right in the heart of the city and is very close the main boat jetty from where one can catch a local ferry to Fort Kochi or Willingdon Island. It definitely is better place than the ATS Willingdon hotel where I had stayed last time. ATS was costlier, but it is located on a secluded stretch from where one has to hire an auto or taxi to travel out. Cochin basically consists of three parts – Ernakulum is the main town (and rail head), in between is Willingdon Island and then Fort Kochi. Fort Kochi is the place where almost all ‘must see’ tourist spots of Cochin lies and hence most foreign tourists stay there. In fact I am told that the hotels there prefer only foreign guests rather than Indian guests.

This time I was determined to see the sunset at Fort Kochi in the backdrop of the famous Chinese fishing nets. Introduced by traders from China centuries back, these nets are one of the landmarks of Cochin. I missed the sunset last time as I visited the area during daytime like most regular tourists do and hence I wanted to stay in Fort Kochi this time. Being familiar with Cochin helped me to travel cheaply. We walked down to the boat jetty which was hardly 300 mtrs, may be, from my hotel. From there we boarded a local ferry to Fort Kochi. The fare was only Rs.2.50. An auto would have taken at least Rs.70/-. In half an hours time we landed in the jetty at Fort Kochi. It was about a kilometers walk to the spot where Chinese fishing nets are parked.

The place was not crowded as most tourists come here in the morning. May be the fear of Chickengunya had kept Indian tourists away from Kerala. However, foreign tourist soon started arriving to see the sunset. Restaurant owners started approaching us to avail the ‘You buy fish and we cook for you’ facility. One of them even took me to a fish seller in the nearby market. There I found the odd man out in Kerala. The fisherman tried to cheat. For 4 small unknown fishes he asked Rs.100/-. I told him that fishes are much cheaper in Delhi. May be he is used to selling at that price to foreign tourists. Thus the ‘you buy’ part ended there and so do the ‘we cook’ part. We decided to bide time sipping fruit juice.

I clicked few nice shots before sunset. One of the fishermen even asked us to come over to his fishing net. He showed us some of his catch including a catfish. He even offered me to walk to the tip of the net to get some good shots. But I was not that intrepid to walk 20 feet over water on a single trunk of log with two cameras hanging from my neck. I thanked him and clicked a photo of him. He also clicked a family photo for us.

Soon the sun started to turn orange. I found many shutterbugs, most of whom were foreign tourist, already taking their positions. Cameras were clicking fast and furiously to capture the magnificent sunset. I tried to find a vantage point and joined the group. As the sun started going down the sea in distant horizon, the sky turned majestic. For the first time I had tried exposure bracketing. I probably shoot about 10 frames in that final 5 minutes or so. I have got the results now. Some of the shots are really stunning. And the rich saturated colour of my Kodak Professional 100 made some of the shots look surreal. The outcome of the evening was worth its effort. My Cochin trip is now complete in all respect.

After the sunset, we returned back taking the same route. But this time we boarded a boat that is run by a different operator. I understood this deviation only on reaching Ernakulum as it landed us in a different jetty than one near our hotel. I had no idea about how far we need to travel to our hotel, but knew that we need to walk down the road known as the Marine Drive of Cochin. After walking for some distance we had a premonition that we might have a long way still left and it would be wise to hire an auto. So I stopped an auto and asked him how much to pay. He replied 10 rupees. When we were dropped at the hotel, we found that it was almost 2 km or so and would have been hard to walk down. Just imagine the honesty of the autowallah here. I was a tourist and was with my family looking for an auto at night. But still he did not exploit my situation. He charged me what is probably correct fare. Even if he had asked for Rs.30/- or so, I would have paid in that situation. In north, specially in Delhi, one would have been taken for a ride in such a situation. This is why Kerala is such a nice place for tourist.

So that is Cochin. You can also read about my first visit to Cochin two years back. This time I could also grab a copy of ‘Hello Cochin’ which is a treasure trove of information on Cochin. Please do write to me in case I may be of any help.

Visiting Kerala : The epilogue

This concludes the series on my experiences of visiting Kerala. I started with giving an idea as to whether you really need a package tour in the first article Planning a trip to Kerala. The series continued with my travelogue through the following locations :

1) Cochin
2) Munnar
3) Thekkady (Periyar National Park)
4) Allepey (Houseboat ride) and
5) Kumarakkom

Appropriate photographs of each location is attached with the articles. For more photographs you may visit my album in My Photography .

It was February of 2004 when I was there. Time had rolled on since then, but I am sure nothing much has changed. Go and enjoy the fascinating and panoramic landscapes of Kerala. I feel that you should not miss few things because of lack detailed information beforehand. I have provided phone nos. of hotels and travel agents you may be interested. I will feel good if my experiences help someone to have a memorable holiday in Kerala.

Planning a trip to Kerala -VI: Kumarakkom

Kumarakkom was chosen as the retreat for a 5-day vacation of A.B. Vajpayee in 2003. So did Prianynka Gandhi who spent some blissful time here in 2003 shooting this little known place on the outskirt of Kottayam town into prominence.

Adding Kumarakkom to the itinerary was more a spot decision than planned. All I had read about Kumarakkom on the net was that it has a bird sanctuary and is one of the options for houseboat trip on backwaters (the other being Allepey). On my return I was to catch a train to Bangalore where my brother lives and I found the nearest railhead from Allepey is Kottayam, the town made famous by the Malayala Manorama, published from here. Kottayam is also famous for it was the first town in India to achieve 100% literacy. I had planned to spend the last night at Kottayam, but Anthony, the travel agent suggested me to stay at Kumarakkom. So, after getting out of the houseboat, we proceeded to Kumarakkom, 34 km from Allepey. The taxi charged 600 bucks. Here I realized a mistake. I should have booked the houseboat from Allepey to Kumarakkom rather than the common Allepey to Allepey one. This resulted me in the additional taxi journey and associated expenditure.

Kumarakkom is around 12 km from the Kottayam town and in fact is the tourist destination here rather than the town. It was like Ernakulum and Fort Kochi in Cochin. The place is located around the sprawling Vambanad Lake that spreads from Kumarakkom to Cochin. It is seen at its maximum size of 25 km by 4 km at Kumarakkom. Here you will not find hotels. Only resorts. They are costly, but you have very little option. The first one I went in was not by the lakeside and still quoted rates upward of 2500. After a little asking here and there I was directed to a hotel by roadside. As we were dithering on staying there, the owner suggested me whether I would like to stay in cottages costing around 1000 bucks. He gave me a phone no. A lady picked up on the other side and I explained to her that I am having a family of 3 persons and I am on my last day of travel in Kerala. She told that she has a resort named Illikkalam Resort located by the lakeside with both AC and Non-AC rooms. For non-AC rooms the normal charge is 1700 bucks. I told her about my tentative budget of Rs.1000, but somehow she told me to come and gave directions to the driver. We were driven through a village to a farmyard where a young guy greeted us. He told me that madam had informed him about us. It turned out to be a private resort and the lady operates it from home. There were 4 cottages, all separately located amidst a spacious garden having variety of plants. It was right on the banks of the Vambanad Lake and our cottage was hardly 20 feet from the lake. I felt quite nice about the place and was ready to shell out upto 1500 bucks. But when I went to the office and asked about how much I would have to pay, the guy told me that you have already discussed about it with madam. That meant I paid only 1000 bucks. I was really lucky to stumble upon this. But one should be ready to shell out anything between 1500 to 2000. And remember, stay at a resort that is by the lakeside. Else it will be waste of money.

A strong breeze from the lake was lashing us all the time. Hammocks were provided on the garden to enjoy the beauty of the lake. All the four cottages were occupied – one by a foreign tourist and the other two by honeymooners. The resort arranges for boat rides in the lake and one of the honeymoon couples went for a country boat ride in the afternoon. We were just back from spending a day in houseboat, and as such we had no such plan to go out but to sit, relax and enjoy. It was so peaceful and cool on the banks that provides you such blissful solitude. This is why people come here. We relaxed watching numerous houseboats that passed by our resort refreshing our memories of the day before. Look at the photograph above. They are fishermen out in the Vambanad lake for that early morning catch. I took it while having breakfast at the resort garden.

Food was made to order. You are given the options to cook if you want. You may not like to cook, but after having too much of curry leaves in last few days you would definitely like to advise the recipe. It was just like home away from home. We felt totally at home there. Had we had such a cottage of our own at such a beautiful location!

Staff at the resort arranges for taxi and autos as per your requirement. Interacting with taxiwala and autowala both on way in to Kumarakkom and out, I understood the utility of Kumar, the driver we had for 3 days. Most of the taxiwalas and the autowalas here could not speak Hindi or English and I had to use every mean, including sign language to interact with them. The driver who brought us here from Allepey seemed know only one hotel – Taj, and despite telling him what kind of accommodation I am looking for he still took me to the Taj, where Vajpayee stayed. I had to yell at him – Are bachhe ka jaan lega kya? Something similar happened on our way out to station as well. We left for Kottayam station on our way to Bangalore. Believe me, there was no coolie in the station. The train arrived on time. The engine chugged along pulling us slowly out of God’s Own Country. Like all good things, a memorable vacation had come to an end.

Before concluding I am giving the phone nos. of Illikkalam Lake Resort : 0481-2525234/ 2525651.

Planning a trip to Kerala -V: 20 Hours in Kerala Backwaters

Backwaters is what everyone comes to experience in Kearala. Formed by innumerable canals, lakes, estuaries and lagoons, this is a intricate network of lush green waterways that presents you a sight you will savor forever. These backwater alleys are like our road networks. These are lifelines for the people living around them. Motor lunch and boats transport people from places to places along the backwaters. Add to this landscape of daily life, the numerous houseboats, traditionally called the Kettuvalloms, ferrying tourists presenting them 22 unforgettable hours of life in Kerala backwaters.

I had booked a houseboat from Allepey through the travel agent at Kochi. Along with Kumarakkom, Allepy is the hub of backwater cruises. On our arrival from Periyar, our boat was waiting for us at the Nehru Boat Trophy Finishing Point on the sprawling Vambanad Lake. This is where the famous Snake Boat race on the Vambanad Lake concludes. On entering the Allepey town you will finds boats in all shapes and size everywhere. They were virtually jamming the canals inside the town. There are boats and houseboats of all verities and shapes to suit your budget. You will get houseboats in one bedroom and two bedroom combinations with attached bath. Each has own unique style of construction and tastefully decorated. The owners certainly took pride in their houseboats. In addition to the bedrooms, there normally are an open dining hall and also an open balcony on top. There are ample no. of comfortable chairs on board. There is a small cabin cum kitchen on the back for the crew. Solar panels are fitted on top ensures uninterrupted electricity at night. Rooms are equipped with lights and fans. Mosquito nets, which are a must, are wrapped nicely on the ceiling. Most houseboats are powered with a single speedboat engine that produces just enough power to push the massive boat slowly. However there are houseboats available, which are run by manpower rather than horsepower. Some foreign tourists prefer them. But let me tell you that those will be painstakingly slow and boring. Besides there are boats with chairs only available for a tour of the Vambanand Lake and its adjoining backwaters. But book a houseboat. It is worth every rupees you spend for it. One day in houseboat means 12 pm on the day of boarding to 10 am next day. The package is inclusive of lunch, evening refreshments, dinner, and breakfast next morning.

Our houseboat was named the Lake Beauty. We bade goodbye to Kumar, the driver of the car we were traveling for the past 3 days. He was a good fellow. As we were to comeback to Allepey next morning, we arranged for a taxi for taking us to Kumarakkom. The boat set sail shortly after we came overboard. We were a bit late on reaching Allepey and so there were only few boats left in the area. The boat was taken to the middle of the Vambanand lake and was anchored there for lunch. Cooked in the traditional way to give you a taste of local flavours, the lunch was delicious. I liked the fish they served. Once the lunch was over, the boat set sail again, slowly taking us deeper and deeper into countryside through the interlinked backwater alleys.

I put my camera on the tripod and sat on the balcony to have a good view of the surroundings. The boat was traveling at leisurely pace providing us the magnificent view of the lush green backwaters surrounded by coconut grooves. It cannot be described in words. It has to be seen and felt. I tried to capture these moments as much as possible in my cameras. Some of these can be seen at www.albumtown.com/rupankar.

After 3 days traveling this was an ideal foil. On the houseboat you had nothing to do but to relax and enjoy the nature’s spectacle. By evening, the boat reached a point where it was anchored close to the bank with many other houseboats. Most of the houseboats had foreign tourists. May be local tourist found it a avoidable luxary to pay 5000 plus for a 24 hrs. houseboat ride. The sunset created another spectacle of colour around us. As the evening set in, the captain of the boat light up the lanterns in the dining area which added to the charm of the boat. But it also invited the insects and mosquitoes. Dinner was served early as we had ordered. You do not get a choice of food. They have their own menu and you have to take the traditional Kerala food they serve. Food though is delicious. We slipped into the bedrooms for spending a memorable night in backwaters. For your safety, they park the boats at nights away from the banks.

Almost everything was picture perfect except the water. Water is greenish in colour. This is pumped onto the boat for toilets. Once you see the algae and other floating objects in the buckets, forget about having a bath, you will not even like to wash your face with that water. You are served bottled water for drinking as much as you need. But they will not give you bottled water for toilets. So, my advice is to carry at least 2 bottles of 2 ltrs. bottled water for washing face etc. Further, after dark, it was a bit boring, as you have nothing to do in the boat other than waiting to have dinner and go to bed.

I got up early next morning to catch a glimpse of the rising sun in backwaters. The boat started its journey back at around 7:30 am. Soon we are caught in a virtual houseboat race as houseboats coming from different directions keep getting converged onto the main canal on their way back We enjoyed this spectacle from the breakfast table. Finally we got back to where we had started the day before at around 10 am bringing an end to this unforgettable trip. The jetty was crowded with houseboats. Our car was waiting at the jetty. We will not forget this 20 hours in houseboat in the backwaters for our life. We will definitely come back here one day.

Planning a trip to Kerala -IV: Thekkady and Periyar

We left Munnar at around 3 pm and set out for the famous Periyar National Park, known for its elephant herds. We covered the distance of about 180 km from Munnar in 4 hrs. The drive through spice plantations was very pleasant. This is the Spice County. The road runs along the borders Tamil Nadu in some places. May be Veeranpan once roamed in these jungles. Thekkady is the town centre about 3 km from the Periyar NP. Munnar has a charm of its own but you may not like to stay there for more than a night. But Thekkady is one place where you can seriously think of staying for 2 nights. Most of the hotels are located near the gate to the national park. I was surprised to find hotel charges very low as compared to other places in Kerala. This may be because most tourists stay here for more than a day. I took cottages (not rooms!) for Rs.500/- each in Leela Pankaj Resorts located just 200 meters from the gate to the park. We decided to have dinner outside in the town so that we can move around the town. The market is full of Spices shop. They sell spices in various packaging and are ideal for souvenir to be gifted on your return. Prices were cheaper as compared to what we get at back home. Everyone was buying spices. We also ended up buying more than 1000 rupees worth of spices. Thereafter we had to buy extra bags for carrying these spices back home. Let me tell you that quality of the spices were really good. There are some souvenir shops near the gate of park that sells handicraft items. We bought Kathakali masks and houseboat replicas there.

One big headache of visiting national park is to get up at those unearthly hours to catch the first trip into jungles. Wild animals like getting out early before sunrise! The visiting area Periyar National Park is limited around the beautiful Periyar Lake. Lake Cruise conducted by forest deptt. is the best way to visit the park. Animals come out early in the morning before the sun shows its might in search of water and freshly sprouted grass on the banks of the lake. The first cruise starts at 5:30 am. Next trips are at 7 and 9:30 am. But those will be too late, as rising temperature will push the animals back into the jungle. Vehicles are allowed upto the jetty from where the ferry leaves. Another good thing I found here was the very nominal gate fee charged by forest deptt. For taking the vehicle into the park I had to pay just 16 rupees – Rs.10 for the vehicle and Rs.2 per head. For the 2-hour boat cruise the charge per head was 60 rupees plus an additional 20 bucks for the camera. Now compare these to the amount charged at Kaziranga NP. You are forced to pay 60 rupees as entry fee per head, pay 100 odd bucks for the vehicle entry, pay another 50 as guard fee, pay 50 for camera everyday, pay 120 per head for elephant ride, and so on. Low fees certainly encourage more tourists.

So the boat set its sail at 5:30 am. Sun was still under horizon. Reflections of the red soil and lush green vegetations on the placid waters of the lake were exuding a different kind of eerie charm. The lake is dotted by many burnt dry tree trunks, which indicates the once there were plantations in the area now under water. In fact this lake was a man made artificial reservoir built by the Britishers in 1935. Most of the passengers on the ferry were foreign tourists and a fair no. of Gujjus from Mumbai. The ferry was moving slowly, navigating through the tree trunks. On the way it picked up some tourists from a forest deptt. run resort located well inside the jungle. I can tell you this is probably the best place to spend a night though it is very costly. Forest deptt. has another resort named Aranya Nivas near the boat jetty, which is also within jungle. But this one is ideally located. The ferry moved on. Soon we spotted some deers. Then we had the first sight of a small elephant herd. As the ferry was taken closer to the bank for us to have a good view of the herd, they fled into the jungle. We saw few odder, bisons, wild boars, some water birds and another herd of elephant. I must say you see more animals in Kaziranga safaris. But watching animals on this unique boat safari on this scenic lake is by no means less exciting. The safari ended after 2 hours and we were back to hotels. Somking inside the park arae is prohibited and is strictly enforced.

The boat safari is not the end of activities in Periyar. If you have time in hand this is what you can do here --- 1) Go on jungle trekking. Groups of 5 are allowed per trip and are conducted in the morning. 2) In the evening forest deptt. conducts Night Safari from 7 to 8 pm which should also be interesting. I felt it will be more fun and adventure rather than getting to see animals. 3) Then there is a 3-day Tiger Trail conducted here. 4) Indulge yourself in one of those Kerala style ayurvedic massage centers here. 5) Every evening Kathakali dance is organized for tourists. Your hotel will arrange for tickets.

I did not have much prior information of these activities at Periyar. neither these were available on the net. So my itinerary had only one day allocated to Periyar. Further my houseboat was already booked and so I could not alter plans to extend my stay here. But if I come back here, I will certainly stay for two days here. We left Periyar for Allepey where the best 24 hours of our vacation was waiting to unfold.

Planning a trip to Kerala -III: Munnar

Our next destination was Munnar, a hill station approximately 150 km from Cochin. A few kilometers out of Cochin, you start getting the first glimpse of rubber plantations in the area. The climb is not stiff and your comfort is doubled by the feel of the cool weather on your way up the hill. On the way we stopped at a roadside restaurant named Farm Yard. The place is beautifully landscaped and decorated to give you a feel of real farm. The place was not crowded and so you can spend few moments of blissful solitude. After a 3-hour drive we had arrived at Munnar. Kumar, the driver took us to a hotel named Sree Narayana Annexe. The charges were Rs.950 plus taxes for a double room. It was a good hotel but we found no accommodation there as two big groups in busses had checked in just before we reach. We settled for a nearby lodge that was more of a kind of private home. We paid Rs.600/- for a double room. Foreign tourists prefer this kind of accommodation. But we took food in the restaurant of Sree Narayana Annexe. Talking about food I have to make special mention of curry leaves. They will be everywhere – from cutlets to aloo parantha to dal to anything you get to eat.

Next morning we started our local sightseeing at around 9 am. Once we started climbing, tea gardens started appearing. The lush green bushes of tea were laid like carpets on the hill. We had seen many tea gardens in Assam. But this sight of tea gardens was quite unique. You cannot stop getting down to have a photograph amidst the gardens. First we went to Madupetty dam. It had a big reservoir surrounded by hills. What we found quite interesting is that mango was sold here in February. We devoured those tasty February mangoes. Many small kids were also strawberry and nice fresh carrots. Speedboat cruise of the reservoir are operated from the other side of the dam. Two kinds of boats were available – speed boat and one large boat for big groups. The place was crowded and one has to stand in long queues for your turn. I paid Rs.200/- for a 15-minute speedboat ride. Ride was fun. But you can feel the pollution caused in the tank by the spilled oils from the boats. This reminded me of such a boat trip in Chennai, on way to Mahabalipuram. The water there was full of kerosene mixture smell.

After the boat ride, we proceeded further up the hill. There is spot called Echo Point few kilometers up. People were found letting out all kind of yell to here the echo getting reflected from surrounding hills. Further up the hill, there was another dam but we found the reservoir there dry. Both the dams are on the same river. This completed our Munnar local sightseeing. We came back to hotel for lunch.

After lunch and a siesta, we set out for our next destination Thekkady. This road out from Munnar, unfolded before us another spectacle of magnificent tea gardens clad hills. In the horizon there were never ending hills all covered by carpets of tea bushes. It was an unforgettable sight. Munnar is the HQ of Tata Tea Ltd. All the gardens there belong to Tata Tea. Initially I thought of skipping Munnar. But I took the wise advice of must go to Munnar and traveling on this road I felt what I would have missed. It was an unforgettable sight.

A little further down, we start getting the spice plantations. This is Spice County. Kerala is famous for spices and colonizers came here in search of spice. First we saw the Black Pepper plants grown at home by the villagers residing along the road. Then we found stretches of cardamom plantations for several kilometers along the road. We got down to pick up some fresh cardamom and black pepper from trees.

This completed our Munnar trip. What was unique to Munnar were the tea gardens clad hills. This is what people come here to see. The climate here is also quite different from Cochin. We had to buy summer attires in Cochin to cope with the rising mercury even in February. We had started with warm clothes from Assam which were useful in Kolkata as well. But Cochin was hot beyond our expectations. Munnar was in contrast was much cooler and pleasant. As always, at the end I am giving you the phone numbers you may need.

Hotel Sree Narayana Annexe, Munnar : Phone – 04865 –232022/ 232033

Planning a trip to Kerala -II: Cochin

Tourism in Kerala can be broadly classified into two circuits viz., beaches in South and backwater in North. You have to decide what you want to experience. If your plan is to be in the beaches, then go to south and head for Thiruvananthapuram (or Trivandrum). That itinerary should include Kanyakumari as well. However if your plan is to experience the backwaters and the real Kerala, then head for Cochin. My word is head for Cochin and experiences the backwaters. It is breathtaking, splendid, and magnificent. Words cannot describe your feelings amidst this resplendent beauty specially bestowed by God. Someone truly wrote – Like an epic poem, Linking a glorious past to an unfolding present, it is the God’s Own Country. This circuit includes Munnar, Thekkady (Periyar), Allepey and Kumarakkom.

The tales of backwaters had always allured me and so I headed for Cochin.

Cochin :

After being hauled through six states by the great Indian railway, I landed in Ernakulam Junction on a fine evening in Feb, 2004. Cochin is basically divided into 3 parts. Ernakulam is the main city (and rail head), Fort Cochi is where tourist goes and then you get the manmade Willingdon Island connecting these two places. Fort Cochi is where you should stay in Cochin because most of the places of tourist interest are there. I too headed for Fort Cochi but found no accommodation there though there were a good number of hotels there. The place is mostly occupied by foreigners. After scouting for accommodation, I had to come back to Willingdon Island and put up at ATS Willingdon Hotel. It was a good hotel charging Rs.850/- for a double room plus taxes. But the location is very isolated. You can also think of staying in Ernakulam as KTDC boat tours of Cochin are conducted from there. But ideal place is Fort Cochi. Book there before you go.

I hired a taxi for around Rs.400/- for local sightseeing of Cochin next morning. Cochin sightseeing hardly takes you half a day. There are the Chinese Fishing Nets in Fort Cochi, then the St. Thomas Church which is the first church built in India and then visit to the Muttoncherry Dutch Palace. That’s all you have to watch in Cochin. You will end up spending most of the time in Fort Cochi and so I told that prefer to stay at Fort Cochi. The big Chinese Fishing Nets which needs 6/7 man to operate are the main attractions there. Chinese traders introduced these nets. You will also see the ships getting in and out of Cochin harbor. Dolphins are also spotted here. Dolphins ? Yes, I mean dolphins! Just spend some time on the banks and you will get to see many dolphins. There are small boat operators in that area who charges around Rs.200/- per trip for dolphin watching. But you are really not required to take this trip. Just spend some time on some stalls on the banks sipping some natural cold drinks and you will get to see many dolphins. Cochin is called the Venice of the East. It was once a busy trading port for spices.

There were many travel agents at Fort Cochi market area. I approached one Matha Taxis to decide on my future course of travel. A guy named Anthony manned it and the guy was good. Kerala economy thrives on tourism and so these travel agents are not like those found in Delhi. If you approach those so-called travel agents around New Delhi station, you will be doomed and have to cut short your visit, as they will loot you as much as they could. But Kerala is totally different. I hired a car from him for next 3 days and also booked a houseboat at Allepey. The rate agreed for houseboat was Rs.5000/- for a double bedroom boat. As I had mentioned in my last article the rate I paid for houseboat was much cheaper than what is normally quoted in the net.

As my sightseeing in Cochin was over by noon, I had checked out in the afternoon and proceeded for Munnar. On the way out of Cochin, I found the city to be very scenic. Abundant water bodies and coconut grooves were adding to the beauty of the surroundings. I got the first glimpse of backwater alleys. This completes my Cochin trip. If you plan to spend one complete day in Cochin, then take a village backwater tour in Cochi in the afternoon. Matha Taxi conducts such tours. I am giving you few numbers below that may be helpful to you.

Matha Taxis : Office at Fort Cochi. Phone – 0484-2215534, 2215334 Mob - 0944716636
Email -- mathataxi@hotmail.com

KTDC : Office at Ernakulum. Phone – 0484-2353234, 2382199
Email – ktdccok@sancharnet.in website – http://www.ktdc.com/

ATS Willingdon Hotel : 0484-2667643, 2667282 Email : atswillingdonhotel@vsnl.net

(Next I will be writing about Munnar)

Planning a trip to Kerala?

Most people in ONGC forego the chance to explore exotic places they get once every four year by encashing their LFA – OTHT. LFA is the LTC equivalent for us. Many are compelled to do this because they have more dependents on record (cash cows) than they actually have whom they cannot tow along for a holiday, and some because they do not have time or want to explore places. I had always utilized my LFA-OTHT and I had used the one for this block for a wonderful vacation in Kerala in Feb, 2004. Kerala is indeed a place chosen by God to be beautiful. Nature’s beauty is in resplendent form all around. Visit Kerala for a vacation you will savor for your life. I spent six unforgettable days amidst the breathtaking backwaters made greener by coconut forests in Allepy, the hills with tea gardens blanketing them in Munnar, the placid waters of lake Periyar and the tranquilled resort on the bank of Vambanad lake in Kumarakkom.

Package tours: Think again before you decide

Package tours promise you a complete tour without any headache. So, no headache oflooking for hotel, transport, etc. (and so no planning and adventure). But mind you they will leave a hole in your pocket. Most of the packages are ex-Cochin and costs 40K plus. The route followed is Cochin -- Munnar -- Allepey (for backwater houseboat ride) -- Cochin. Kerala being a far off land with apprehensions of language and tourist influx, I almost fall for a package trip. But the cardinal principle is that Package tours are meant for foreign tourist or foreign land, not for Indians in India. The cheapest package I found on the net was offered by traveljini.com for Rs.27,000/- for 3 persons with only one meal plus breakfast. So, after gathering all information I need from the net, I set out on my own, landed on my own, traveled on my own, and booked hotels on spot. I went to all these places plus Kumarakkom and still my cost for this 6 day trip of 3 persons was just 18,000/- including meal. The bulk of expense was for houseboat @ Rs.5000/- for one night and the hired car @ Rs.1000/- per day for 4 days. Not taking a package tour also provides flexibility to your itinerary. I could slip in 24 memorable hours break at a Kumarakkom resort on the bank of Vambanad lake. Remember, most packages do not include Kumarakkom in their itinerary.

What you cannot avoid while traveling In Kerala is having your own hired vehicle. Language is the biggest barrier for communication. Your driver will double up as your guide. So, try getting a driver who at least understands Hindi. After landing in Cochin, I did my own sightseeing for a day. Thereafter I hired a car through a local tour operator named Matha Taxis form th Fort Cochi area. I had also booked a houseboat at Allepy through this tour operator. I paid 5000 rupees for a double bedroom houseboat. On the net, I found that charges for single bedroom house boat was upwards of 5000. So, I got a good bargain for houseboat as well. Do you still want to have a package tour?

(Next I will be writing individually on these locations in Kerala)