11/08/2008
Fort Kochi, Kerala, India.
After a sad farewell at the Pondy bus terminal, Didi is on her way home to Israel. I managed to get a smile out of her at last, by hanging off the side of the bus to kiss her goodbye as it drove out of the terminal. I had to let go before it picked up too much speed however... Which left me to find out a way to get to Kerala. I don't mind the Indian buses for short journeys - they are incredidibly cheap, and always an adventure. But 10 hours or more to Kerala, i decided an air conditioned coach with semi recliner seats was the go. Worth more than 5 nights accommodation, but i decided it was worth it (only $24, but a small fortune to some here). Unable to find a direct service to Kochi, i settled for Challakkudi - a small distance according to Google Maps (I have decided to travel without a guidebook - a map however would be handy...).
With 4hrs to kill till my bus on my last day (and with no motorbike anymore), i figured i'd catch an auto to town, and wait it out at the bus stand. It was about 17:00. Peak hour, again. While I managed to SURVIVE it a number of times, it was great to be driven in by someone who THRIVED in it. They're a special breed, the auto drivers. And this guy was positively nuts. Feeling like i'd just stepped off a rollercoaster, I stumbled into the bus stand. I thought to grab a chai and watch the madness that is an Indian bus terminal. Of course, i was bound to attract attention sitting there, and sure enough, before long i had a friend. He seemed to think that if he kept talking to me in Tamil, i would eventually understand. So with a smile to match his, I did the same in English. In this way, we managed to work out eachothers names, where we were from, and where we were going to. Before too much longer, we even had a translater. Niaga was an 18yo engineering student who had come to watch the commotion, who happened to speak great english. He translated that my friend wanted me to visit his hometown, cause it was so beautiful. Things got really funny when a very small but incredibly drunk man came to say hello too. In a strange amalgamation of English and Tamil, he decided that i just had to come and visit HIS hometown. It's impossible to put in words just how funny the situation became. Niaga was having trouble translating, he was laughing so much! Waiting it out at the bus stand, was definitely a good decision. Priceless.
A very pleasant 10 hour ride (while i could feel the swerving and hear occasional horns, i was unable to see the trucks coming head on towards us) and i was unceremoniously dumped on the side of the road at about 6:45am at Challakkudi. Alone. Everyone else seemed to be headed elsewhere - maybe the bus went all the way after all? But either way, I had a smile on my face, and a lighter backpack (since sending half of my shit back to Aus), and was ready to explore. As the ONLY tourist in Challakkudi, i was drawing looks that reminded me of Sri Lanka... But, being in India, there was soon somebody who wanted to talk! I found a great little restaraunt, and finally got to have a REAL south Indian breakfast - Iddli. Made from ground rice, they form small balls and steam them, then serve them with a mild curry and a coconut chutney. Fantastic. The owner seemed a bit shocked to see me there, but the smile came out when i said that i just wanted a chai and iddli. With a genuine smile, and impeccable english, he was more than happy to tell me where the bus stand was, and was chuffed that i finished (and loved) all the food.
With not a real lot to see in Challikkudi, and hours till anything opened, i figured i'd just jump on a bus for Kochi. The buses here were the first i'd seen without english destinations, so i had to do a bit of asking to work out which one to get. By the time i did, i had to do the Indian embarkation technique - grabbing on as it drove away. Luckily, it was the right one. Sharing a typically full bus with a lot of curious locals was a much better way to arrive in Kochi. In an hour and a half, i was at the end of the line. Kochi bus terminal, Ernakalum. I probably should have disembarked a bit earlier, but after a couple of nights of limited sleep, i ended up dozing...
A very friendly auto driver (aren't they all, you say) approached me as i wandered aimlessy asking me where i was headed. I didn't really know, since i had only glanced at someones guidebook prior to leaving Pondy, and told him so. And with that, he started rattling off suggestions! Fort Kochi, the older part of town where the chinese fishing nets and all sorts of other attractions are, was my vague plan, and he had recommended that as a great place to start. We sorted out an agreeable price, and off we went - straight into the traffic. Bottlenecks in Pondy were never a huge issue for auto's - there's always the footpath or shopfronts to drive through. But with all of the water around here, bridges are the slow spots, that even an auto can't avoid. It took nearly 45 minutes to get to Fort Kochi, a mere 10 kms away. He asked if i wanted to stop for a chai. How did he know!? I shouted him his chai, and off we went to find somewhere. He obviously offered his mates place, at Rs.500 a night. A bit out of my league i told him, and we searched till we found a great little homestay for Rs.250. A short walk to the fishing nets and the ferry, shops all around, clean and with it's own bathroom, it seemed perfect. I gave the driver a generous tip - he seemed a geniunely nice guy, not just chasing my money, full of suggestions and idea's for my stay, and looking pretty ragged after a long quiet night shift. I then headed to my room for something i haven't had in 9 days - a shower in fresh water. And, damn, was that good! I haven't managed to remove that sticky salt layer off my skin for far too long. The closest i got is when the rain hit one night in Pondy, and i stood out in it half naked till it stopped...
Armed with my camera, and itching for some good food, it was time to see what Fort Kochi had to offer. I wandered through, a bit bored by all the shops and touristy places, so walked further around the point. Down to the water and the chinese fishing nets, a couple of hundred metres from my door. The nets are pretty amazing, and i'm sure you've probably seen pictures before - i won't go into detail describing them. I sat with a chai marvelling at them being operated, and soaking up the atmosphere of Kochi. It is so green here - huge majestic trees everywhere, almost irridescent moss over walls and gutters, vines creeping everywhere - it's pretty spectacular. It's like the jungle is desperate to take the city back over, and they half let it - i love it. Even the water is full of clumps of lilly's and other water plants, washed out from the 'backwaters'. I haven't seen many beggars (especially compared to Pondy), and everyone seems to be smiling. And yet religion overlaps here more than i've seen elsewhere. Busses are all named - the first might be the "Gift of Allah". The next, the "Baby Jesus". Soon after will come the "Hare Krishna". A muslim man will walk down the street hand in hand with a christian man. I don't know why, but it just seems to work here - if only the rest of the world could be the same...
After seeing the nets, there wasn't a lot in the immediate vicinity to interest me. There were a few restaraunts, a small market selling everything typically Indian, and not a lot else. I knew that around the corner were the myriad tourist shops, restaurants and even more markets that make up the main part of Fort Kochi. Most will know i have a bit of an aversion to markets... So, it was time to find some food. Since Didi's departure (she can be a bit particular about food) i have been eating as locally as possible. The busiest street stalls will always have the freshest and best. Down in this area, so full of tourists, that meant the auto stand. While waiting for a fare, they can grab a chai and a quick bite. At first i felt like an intruder, but they were just shocked that a tourist would be eating there! I sat down and dug into one of the best parotta's i've had, while Mohommad Aneef, the auto driver, told me all about his family. The curry was superb, and the samosa's fresh out of the fryer. To top it off i had a great chai, and all for 20 rupees.
And that is how i have eaten since arriving here! I have found a fantastic little place that is open for breakfast, just down the road. Again, fantastic food and chai, for tiny amounts. Where a restaraunt charges Rs.30 for a chai, i eat a meal and have 2 chais for Rs.22. And there is always someone to talk to. Yesterday morning I had a half hour spiritual and religious discussion with the foreman of the truck yard next door over chai and cigarettes. He was a mad, born again christian, forced to believe when Jesus saved his kidney. He seemed to listen to my point of view, was smiling and very polite, yet took on what i was saying like you'd expect of the fanatically religious. But he was a funny man, ready to help in any way he could. He reccommended i go to Cherai beach instead of Varkala - a new beach, with less people and much cheaper. The best experiences and info always come from outside the comfort zone - it's not the sort of thing that would happen in a restaraunt with the legions of French tourists here. And i now get hello's yelled at me from passing auto's, and good morning's from the regulars at the breakfast joint!
So i took the mad christians advice, and i am heading to Cherai. I have rambled enough about Fort Kochi, though there is so much more again - my 7 hr backwaters trip with aforementioned French tourists, my adventures in Ernaklum trying to find a computer shop (again, i know, but it is now working better than ever. And with redundancy!). And of course my run-in with my original auto driver whom i tipped. He saw me again, and just had to take me to get stoned in his neighbourood. Now that was a taste of the real India! At least i now know he probably wasn't just ragged after a long night when i got here - more likely he was just stoned...
