India: Kochi

Thursday May 4, 2023, Kochi (formerly Cochin), India

We got in to port about 8 am. We had a tour scheduled but decided at the last minute to wing it instead. The ship was docked on Willingdon Island and we were thinking of taking a ferry to the Fort Kochi & Mattancherry area. I’d been told the area was very small. We got a map from the tourist info center, and they showed us where we were on the map and told me it would be a 20-minute walk to the ferry. That gave me pause—the scale of the map meant the area was much larger than I’d envisioned. It was about 90 degrees and with the humidity it felt even hotter. 

There were a lot of tuk-tuk drivers trying to help us figure out what we wanted to do. A taxi driver named Rise (pronounced Ree-say) approached us and said he had a taxi with A/C and would take us where we wanted to go. Charlie offered $20 for 4 hours and he was ok with that (we found out why later). Charlie asked if it was possible that we could see a elephant, and Rise said it wasn’t the festival season when elephants were likely. Possible but not likely. I was relieved we didn’t have to do all that walking. Off we went.

We stopped for photo ops at a couple of Hindu temples. It was interesting to see swamis and assistant swamis—there apparently is such a thing—and the devoted going in and out of the Hindu temples. They do not worship together. There is not a congregation that gathers at a certain day of the week, or a religious leader who gives a sermon. Worship is between a person and their god of choice. We were not allowed to enter temples in Kochi since we are not Hindu (that was not the case in Mumbai—we went into a couple of them). 

Assistant swami resting

The salt temple

Another Hindu temple

The streets in this part of Kochi were winding and crammed with buildings, people, cars, motorcycles, tuk-tuks, and goats. Nonetheless, there wasn’t the horn-honking like Mumbai so it seemed calmer because the busyness was mostly visual, not auditory. Rise was very good at zipping through narrow streets without dinging up his vehicle or others. 

He took us through the wholesale spice area. Lots of goats hanging out in this area. Kochi has been a center of the spice trade for a few hundred years, and is still known for spices. I bought some from a woman-owned cooperative while Charlie visited with some locals. Rise said Kochi was the safest place in India and had the highest per capita income. Who knows?

Our next stop was at a rug shop. We spent too much time there, couldn’t make a decision and decided to go to lunch. 

Our driver knew a place, and we got similar food to what we got in Mangalore yesterday. A stainless steel tray with small stainless steel pots of sauces, condiments, and soups, with an English speaker who could explain the proper way to it. For one thing, you remove the small pots from the tray. The waiter then plops spoonfuls of rice onto the tray, along with some flatbread. You then add whatever ingredients from the small pots you desire, and use your fingers (not palms) to eat it. After you’re done eating, you ask permission from your fellow diners to be excused to wash your hands. When Rise saw Charlie put one of the very hot condiments on his rice, I heard him mutter an appreciative “my god!”

Back to the rug shop with intentions to buy something inexpensive, we left with the one we really wanted and a couple of other things he threw in as part of the bargaining.

Rise said the state of Kerala, Kochi’s state, is the only communist state in India.  Indeed at intersections we occasionally saw a red hammer and sickle template sprayed onto large cement blocks at traffic intersections. What I found in google is Kerala has a large number of communist representatives in the state legislature.

Things weren’t looking good for the elephant sighting, although there are a lot of temples in Kochin. 

Instead we visited a royal palace that is now a museum. It had some elaborate accoutrements and history. It was built by the Portuguese for the last of the Royals. Soon after that the Portuguese took over and the Royals were done for. In the museum there were places where photos were allowed and not allowed.  We had to constantly ask which was which.

Charlie in the museum

Line to get into the museum

Meanwhile, Rise got a call about an elephant at a celebration which was fairly close by. We jumped back in the cab and raced to an area where he parked. He showed us a truck with “Elephant Transport” emblazoned on it. We walked a couple of blocks, then down an alley and arrived at a small temple with a large gathering of people spilling out into the alley. There was a elephant resplendent with a headpiece.

Elephant transport

Alley to get to temple

Temple elephant

We got to see an elephant and had a great day in Kochi (aka Cochin).