Today was our last experiences of the north of India, from here on in, everything is going to be the south! We left for our flights at six this morning. We’d had a bit of a run-in with the owner of the Old Ladakh Guesthouse who had given us false information about the price per night, os it was a bit of an unpleasant way to leave things. For the record, we’re now boycotting the Old Ladakh Guesthouse (not that we’ll ever be there again, but for any of my readers who will obviously have better taste than we did). It’s really not that great. Plus there were bed bugs.
The airport was the strangest airport experience I’ve ever had – not unpleasant, just plain weird. It’s such a tiny airport – and its airstrip has one of the most complicated descending sequences for the poor pilots who have to land there in the world. When we got in, there was one queue, for something we weren’t really sure of, so we just joined it. Our bags had to be screened and then we had to hand check them after they were checked in just outside the departures hall, so they didn’t end up in China somewhere. Then there was a lot of confusion over whether we’d actually checked in or not; the process was rather informal. Somehow we ended up on the plane though, and before we knew it, we were back in Delhi.
I can’t tell you how weird it was being back – if only for a couple of hours. We had to walk outside for about thirty seconds to get from arrivals to departures and it was just a reminder of what it’d be like to be back in Delhi for ten weeks again. The heat is juts ridiculous. It’s like that moment when you open the open door and all the hot air billows out and hits you in the face – being in Delhi is like being trapped in that moment for as long as it takes to find air conditioning. Phew.
Then we checked in our bags for Kochi and waited to go. Oh, by the way, Cochin and Kochi are the same place – it seems all places in India have at least two names. Alleppey, where we’re going next, is also known as Allapphuza, and Trivandrum, which is called Thiruvanathapuram. Send me videos of yourselves trying to pronounce that and I’ll give a prize of a coconut from an Alleppey beach to the most amusing effort (extra points go for doing the Indian head-waggle while you’re saying it). Aiswarya, you don’t count; you’re Indian and know this stuff already. Plus I’m sure you’re sick of Keralan coconut anyway.
So yeah, then it was time for our flight down to Kochi. It was a pretty uneventful three-hour flight (it surprised me that it took that long to get down there but I guess sometimes I forget just how big India is). I fell asleep as we were flying out and then when I woke up suddenly we had passed over the dry, arid midlands where nothing seems to grow and we were heading towards land that was completely green. It was SO green – the cities are hidden under the green-ness of the coconut and banana trees. You actually can’t see most of the buildings; it’s (coco)nuts!
We landed and stepped into a fabulous 24 degree heat, with that tropical breeze blowing in our sticky travellers’ hair. The green all around the airport was amazing. We were met by our taxi man and travelled from the main city of Kochi to Fort Kochi where our hostel is. It’s called Hotel MotherTree and it’s pretty neat, if a little small. Actually it’s very small. Us three girls are packed into a room that would be tight for two people, but I guess it’s just somewhere to stay the night.
We explored the town a little before we retired; it’s pretty grim. I guess it’s off-season so we’re not really seeing it at the best time, but the beaches, while expansive are covered in tonnes of rubbish and the sea is unswimmable. It’s only good for looking at, and even that’s a push. We did see some cool fishing technique though – have a look!
The boys had a go at doing it, and later got one of the fishermen to dunk them with iced water for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The poor guys couldn’t have had a clue what they were doing but it was pretty amusing nonetheless!
The rest of Fort Kochi is nothing too interesting, really. We were pursued by a guy selling gourds that had been turned into wailing wind instruments and there were even bamboo flutes – they sounded beautiful; I regret that I didn’t try one. But trying one means buying one, as I’ve come to know in this country, unless you want a babbling little Indian man with a bunch of hollowed-out sticks stuck by your side for the rest of your life. The weather was also a little grim – it is of course monsoon season here, but it’s constantly damp and steamy, so even when it’s not raining, you’re still drenched in your own sweat. Still, the greenery was rather pleasant. I guess you appreciate it if you’ve spent your last few days in Leh. And the ones before that in Delhi.
Welcome to the monsoon.
After that we went out to a restaurant which was pretty deserted, but so were they all – and now we’ll head to bed. Tomorrow we’ll do the tuk tuk tour; these auto drivers can’t seem to leave us alone – the autos here are black and yellow, in a change from the green and yellow ones we were used to in Delhi – and they seem much more willing to take me somewhere than when I was trying to get them to Rani Garden. They see tourists and they all ask for “one small favour”, which is of course to give them money so you can see Kochi’s (rather uninteresting) sights. Obviously it works; I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow!
That’s all for now. Adios, amigos!
The Sisterhood of the Travelling Bantz 