December 17th – Kochi

Our day started at 9.30am with a tour of the old city. We were met by Shagzil Khan, our guide, who later revealed that he had been in Folkestone the previous week on a Saga training course. Apparently India is the new and exciting destination for over 55s! Kochi is a very different city from Bangalore, it’s small, quiet and, in some places particularly picturesque!

A snake charmer - probably highly ethically unsound but Bethan loved it!

Bethan holding a baby python

We saw (and photographed) the signature Chinese fishing nets, saw a snake charmer and took a walk through the historic Jewish Quarter and visited a synagogue. We had a sweet lime soda in a small tea shop and then visited the Dutch Palace. For lunch we ate, in the a/c room, of a local restaurant recommended by our guide. The bill for five delicious thali meals together with a bottle of mineral water came to an impressive 151 rupees. We got the impression that the Taj Malabar, charging 225 rupees (without tax) for a bottle of Kingfisher, was a serious rip off!

Bethan and John lending a helping hand to the fishermenChinese Fishing Nets

We went on a sunset cruise that evening and took more photographs of the Chinese fishing nets as the sub went down. Another disappointing aspect of the Taj Malabar in addition to its hugely inflated prices, is its lack of restaurants serving vegetarian food. There’s a seafood restaurant, an outside barbeque and a rather charmless Thai restaurant and a coffee shop. We ended up eating a veggie burger at the coffee shop! Otherwise, it’s a very nice comfortable hotel although a bit aggressive, like most Indian hotels, with the a/c.

Sunset through the fishing nets