Because of our extensive travels last year, we’ve not travelled too far this year - it’s mainly been European city breaks and a week in Brittany - so we’re excited to be going on a ‘proper’ two-week jaunt to exotic climes!
I secretly used my air miles to upgrade Kev and I to business class for our flight to Delhi, so we could get some rest on the way and arrive fully refreshed, ready for our holiday; but in reality I think we were too excited and couldn’t sleep, despite having a flat bed on the plane. Still, it was nice to lie down instead of the usual cramped conditions.
On arrival we had a six-hour layover in Delhi before our onward flight to Cochin so we made ourself comfortable in an airport lounge for a shower and a nap, followed by coffee and some dinner before we departed. We were surprised to see Costa, WHSmith and Subway in the airport arrivals hall and didn’t feel so far from home after all!
The Air India plane to Cochin seemed to be falling apart with interiors that looked like they’d never been refitted since its inaugural flight in the 1980’s, but with a little faith in Air India’s Star Alliance membership and only a short distance to cover, we were safely delivered to Cochin International Airport, where a friendly taxi driver was waiting to take us to our first accommodation.
After twenty-four hours travelling we were ready to go straight to bed in our lovely air-conditioned room. Our Homestay was called “Kevin’s Placid Homestay” and our hosts asked if we chose it because of Kev’s name - yes and no I suppose, but it was very comfortable and a great location in the centre of town, in the area known as Fort Kochi.
On leaving London the temperature was a mild (for the UK) ten degrees, so we had to quickly readjust to the sticky 28 degrees at night and high humidity - but I think I’ll take that over the onset of the UK winter! We were very grateful for the very effective air conditioning in the room, however, despite Kev’s propensity to turn it off in the night when he inevitably gets cold!
Apparently the temperature here feels like a good ten degrees more than the actual temperature due to the humidity, so our comfortable 32 degrees in the day in fact felt more like 42, which is less comfortable!
In search of an opportunity to cool down, and making the most of Kerala’s reputation for Ayurveda, we went for an Ayurvedic massage in a nice air conditioned room. As a qualified massage therapist, I try to experience the different types of massage wherever I go in the world but I can’t say that Ayurvedic massage is for me - they basically poured what feels like a gallon of oil over me from a great height, starting with drenching my hair in it. The best part for me was definitely the shower at the end, though it took at least two showers to feel like I’d washed off all the oil! Kev had a slightly better experience, though whether that’s down to having a better therapist, or being less squeamish about being doused in oil, I’m not sure!
Continuing with our cultural immersion, we booked on to a Keralan cooking class in the following morning and soon realised that Indian cooking is something you learn over a lifetime as opposed to in a three-hour class! There are so many spices and rules about how much to use and the order in which you add them to the dish (in addition to the basics of which spices to use - and not use - for different food types).
We made four dishes: sambar, fish curry, anial and coconut chutney and after learning how to prepare them we sat down to a hearty lunch, which was delicious - all the more so for having cooked it ourselves!
In the afternoon we took a tuktuk to the Kerala folklore museum, where there are three floors of artifacts crammed into every nook and cranny of the building, with each floor displaying Muslim, colonial and Hindu influences respectively. It was interesting and very ornate but they could have done with a building five times the size to display all the exhibits and do them justice.
To round off our final day in Cochin we went to see a traditional Kathakali performance. An hour before the show starts the audience can watch the performers sat cross-legged on the stage, putting on their make-up; then follows an introduction and explanation of the art form, to help understand the meaning of the dance and in particular the facial movements, and then the show - an hour’s episode of what would traditionally be a performance of several hours that goes on all night! We were quite grateful for the abridged version, albeit a very touristy one and the show was fantastic.
On holiday and in a hot country it is customary for us to enjoy a cold beer, however Kerala is due to become a dry state, so the sale of alcohol is heavily regulated and restricted. It’s illegal to advertise alcohol and only a very few number of establishments are licensed to sell it - although they are always very busy with locals and tourists alike.
When enquiring about the nearest bar to get a beer one evening, an ex-pat Brit told us to ask for ‘special tea’ - namely beer served in a teapot and teacups to make it look like tea! We found a bar serving beer in the end and didn’t have to resort to speaking in a secret code but there’s definitely a ‘speakeasy’ vibe to alcohol vending establishments and they are few and far between.
Next we’re off down the coast to Alleppey, home to the beginning of the network of backwaters to spend some time on a houseboat. I’ll write again from there.
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