28-02-2024
A lot of new impressions in these first few days. This Wednesday we were supposed to meet with Geo in the afternoon. He had a meeting until two oçkock, and afterwards we would get together to make plans for us. In the morning we could take it easy, which we did. Sleep in until nine, have braekfast. Working on our blog, which took forever because of unstabel WiFi at the hotel. And after that we went for a walk, to have lunch.
During that walk we got the message that Geo's meeting was running late. So we would have to meet at a later date. So what would we do? The first thing that sprang to mind, was going to Fort Kochi, from where first the Portugese, then the Dutch and finally the Brittish ruled the city and the kingdom. The Fort itself can be found on an island. To get there, we took an Uber.
We were told not to just take a rikshaw, because the riksjaw-wallah would try to make us pay too much. We are obviously foreigners, and they will try to take advantage of that. Better to travel by bus or metro. Or Uber. You get the price in advance, so no nasty surprises afterwards. And it wil get you from A to B in the most effective way.
The drive to Fort Kochi took half an hour. Despite the noise of the rikshaw and the honking of the surrounding traffic, we had a nice trip. Looking around you while a warm wind blows in your face. Life could be worse. When we came to Fort Kochi and had paid the driver, it became very clear to us this reallynis a tourist hotspot. Right in front of us stood a group of about fifteen western tourists, getting expantations from their guide. We had to get out of here!
To our left, a road led towards the beach, which we decided to follow. By the roadside there were stalls with all kinds of tourist memorabilia. Flipflops like we used to wear in the eighties, juices, scarves, all kins of plastic stuff, garlands with elephants. Most of these things you can buy in The Netherlands. The most interessting, to us, were the stalls where you could by fresh coconut. They don't look like the brown, hairy stuff that's for sale in Dutch supermarkets. The taste is also very different. We wanted to try one! Sipping fram the straw, we continued to the beach, where fishingnets hung on wooden poles: The Chinese fishing nets. A very picturesk spot. And there we met the group of tourists again. As we walked on, they appeared to be heading in the same direction. But then we realised, we were at the entrance of the Bastion Bungalow, which harboured a museum on the history of Kochi, and the spice trade with the west. On our way to the exit, a couple from Delhi asked us where we came from (The Netherlands) and whether we didn't think it was very hot (Yes) and how long we would be staying (six months).
After the Bastion Bungalow, we strolled through the streets of Fort Kochi (at that time not yet fully realising this was Fort Kochi). Streets with names like Princess street and Burgher street, betraying som Dutch ancestry. The buildings looked well taken care of, better than som other parts we have seen so far.
We didn't feel like taking the riksja all the way back, and decided to take the ferry back to the mainland. We had to cross one boat to get onto the next that would take us across the water. This trip took about ten minutes. Back in Ernakulam we took a regular riksha back to the hotel, which took another ten minutes. The way back took us about half the time and less than half the price of teh way there. We know what to do next time.
At eight we were picked up by father Shaiju, for dinner. A spur of the moment thing. He took us to Bolgatty Palace. Another place with a Dutch history. Built in 1744 as the palace for the Dutch governor, it now houses a hotel. Some of the rooms have been redecorated in the old style, and it is a placed loved for having weddingcelebrations. After dinner we went for a walk at the Queens walkway, a promenade by the waterside.
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