If you ever want proof that different states in India are like different countries, each with their own unique landscapes, culture and language, all you need to do is board a flight from Delhi to Kochi in Kerala.
After disembarking from the plane, I was met in Kochi by clear skies, lush greenery and an astounding lack of hassle. Imagine a pre-paid taxi service that involves no shouting or shoving! You simply go to the counter in the airport, pay the fee and take your receipt to the taxi with the corresponding numberplate to your ticket. Amazing!
After frantic sight seeing in Delhi and Agra, I decided I wanted to just stay put and chill out somewhere nice for a couple of weeks. I certainly picked the right location in Fort Cochin. I really enjoyed the few days I spent in Fort Cochin nine years ago, but the area is even more traveler friendly now. Fort Cochin sits at the top of a peninsula, about a 30 minute drive from the heart of the city in Kochi. Its somewhat isolated location, colonial buildings, beautiful churches and lovely tree-lined streets combine to make Fort Cochin a gorgeous oasis of calm.
My cheap room at the Princess Inn (Rs 400, or $8 per night) meant that over the last two weeks in Fort Cochin I have had no problem staying within my daily budget whilst still managing to extensively sample the outstanding local cuisine. Usually when travelling, most places you eat are OK and you may find one really great place in a particular location. It is, however, rare to find restaurants or stalls offering the holy trifecta of great food, great value and great atmosphere. The latter is particularly valuable to me as I prefer to linger after my meal reading for a few hours. Well Fort Cochin has not one, but four different establishments that fulfill the trifecta! : Kashi Art Cafe, Teapot, Shala and Dal Roti.
Kashi is a gallery/cafe with excellent westernised breakfasts, lunches, outstanding coffee and the best Chai Masala I have had in my life. A typical Kashi meal for me: French toast (two slices of home baked brown bread french toast topped with wild honey and coupled with a huge plate of sliced tropical fruits) and a cold coffee (tall glass of expresso over ice with a side jug of milk and pot of sugar syrup that you add to the glass).
Teapot is a lovely themed cafe catering to western tastes. Tables are made from modified tea chests, clusters of teacups dangle over doorways and the walls are filled with shelves overflowing with teapots. Apart from an amazing array of teas, teapot also does a scrumptious cheese and chicken omelet as well as a pretty decent chocolate cake.
I know people always go on and on about how good South Indian food is, but to be honest I never understood why. I now realise that the problem was that up until this trip, I had never had good South Indian food.
Shala is run by the same people as Kashi and it shows. This restaurant however, is only open for dinner and serves delicious Keralan cuisine prepared by local women. The vegetarian special changes each night and may feature: A beautifully spiced black bean curry accompanied, thali style, by small side dishes of hot pickle, dhal, shredded vegetables and red rice. The heat of the vegetable special is perfectly offset by the cucumber mint lemon cooler drink on offer - which is even more refreshing than it sounds.
If you want an indication of how good Dal Roti is, you just need to look at the queue out the front. Its dinner service starts at 6:30pm and there are always at least 4 groups of people waiting to get a table by 6:40. With a large menu of delicious Northern Indian influenced cuisine, generous servings, a menu containing a helpful glossary and an extremely friendly owner, Dal Roti lives up to its excellent reputation. The night rush makes me feel guilty about lingering over my kindle so I prefer to visit Dal Roti for lunch. My lunch of choice? A paneer & mixed vegetable kati roll (a fried flat bread wrapped around fried, spiced cheese and sweetly spiced vegetables) accompanied by a ginger lime soda. Mmmm.....I have eaten and discussed books with the owner of Dal Roti so many times on this trip that he gave me my last meal for free. Now that's customer service!
To offset this non stop eating, I have been going for daily walks and occasionally engaging in some yoga-like stretching. My daily 6 am walk is when I most feel like a local in Fort Cochin. Why the ungodly hour of 6 am? Well Fort Cochin is many things, but bearable when you are more than 2 metres away from a fan during daylight hours is not one of them. On my first afternoon in this leafy neck of the woods, I nearly gave myself heat stroke by exploring the local streets on foot for two hours. Returning to the hotel drenched in sweat, and with alarmingly swollen hands, I knew I would have to plan any future exercise at a cooler time of day.
My daily morning stroll takes me along the waterfront, past the fishmongers and the outstretched wooden arms of the enormous Chinese fishing nets, hovering above the low tide like giant praying mantises. The tree-lined footpath is full of other early bird walkers and locals who like to do their yoga stretches with a view. South Indian people are far more reserved that their northern countrymen, and it took a week before the familiar morning faces started to say hello to me as I walked past.
Twenty minutes into my walk I run out of waterfront and head inland. This part of the stroll takes me past the naval yards and down back streets where women smile at me as they collect water from the local pump. The last stretch of my morning amble takes me past the local sports field, which usually contains at least three of the following: men playing cricket, boys having soccer training, friends playing badminton and goats grazing on the few remaining tufts of grass surrounding the field.
In two weeks I have yet to see another foreigner on my morning walk and I think this may have contributed to my own local celebrity. Over the last week several of my interactions with shopkeepers have begun with, "You are the walking girl, yes?". Well...I've been called worse.
After disembarking from the plane, I was met in Kochi by clear skies, lush greenery and an astounding lack of hassle. Imagine a pre-paid taxi service that involves no shouting or shoving! You simply go to the counter in the airport, pay the fee and take your receipt to the taxi with the corresponding numberplate to your ticket. Amazing!
After frantic sight seeing in Delhi and Agra, I decided I wanted to just stay put and chill out somewhere nice for a couple of weeks. I certainly picked the right location in Fort Cochin. I really enjoyed the few days I spent in Fort Cochin nine years ago, but the area is even more traveler friendly now. Fort Cochin sits at the top of a peninsula, about a 30 minute drive from the heart of the city in Kochi. Its somewhat isolated location, colonial buildings, beautiful churches and lovely tree-lined streets combine to make Fort Cochin a gorgeous oasis of calm.
My cheap room at the Princess Inn (Rs 400, or $8 per night) meant that over the last two weeks in Fort Cochin I have had no problem staying within my daily budget whilst still managing to extensively sample the outstanding local cuisine. Usually when travelling, most places you eat are OK and you may find one really great place in a particular location. It is, however, rare to find restaurants or stalls offering the holy trifecta of great food, great value and great atmosphere. The latter is particularly valuable to me as I prefer to linger after my meal reading for a few hours. Well Fort Cochin has not one, but four different establishments that fulfill the trifecta! : Kashi Art Cafe, Teapot, Shala and Dal Roti.
Kashi is a gallery/cafe with excellent westernised breakfasts, lunches, outstanding coffee and the best Chai Masala I have had in my life. A typical Kashi meal for me: French toast (two slices of home baked brown bread french toast topped with wild honey and coupled with a huge plate of sliced tropical fruits) and a cold coffee (tall glass of expresso over ice with a side jug of milk and pot of sugar syrup that you add to the glass).
Teapot is a lovely themed cafe catering to western tastes. Tables are made from modified tea chests, clusters of teacups dangle over doorways and the walls are filled with shelves overflowing with teapots. Apart from an amazing array of teas, teapot also does a scrumptious cheese and chicken omelet as well as a pretty decent chocolate cake.
I know people always go on and on about how good South Indian food is, but to be honest I never understood why. I now realise that the problem was that up until this trip, I had never had good South Indian food.
Shala is run by the same people as Kashi and it shows. This restaurant however, is only open for dinner and serves delicious Keralan cuisine prepared by local women. The vegetarian special changes each night and may feature: A beautifully spiced black bean curry accompanied, thali style, by small side dishes of hot pickle, dhal, shredded vegetables and red rice. The heat of the vegetable special is perfectly offset by the cucumber mint lemon cooler drink on offer - which is even more refreshing than it sounds.
If you want an indication of how good Dal Roti is, you just need to look at the queue out the front. Its dinner service starts at 6:30pm and there are always at least 4 groups of people waiting to get a table by 6:40. With a large menu of delicious Northern Indian influenced cuisine, generous servings, a menu containing a helpful glossary and an extremely friendly owner, Dal Roti lives up to its excellent reputation. The night rush makes me feel guilty about lingering over my kindle so I prefer to visit Dal Roti for lunch. My lunch of choice? A paneer & mixed vegetable kati roll (a fried flat bread wrapped around fried, spiced cheese and sweetly spiced vegetables) accompanied by a ginger lime soda. Mmmm.....I have eaten and discussed books with the owner of Dal Roti so many times on this trip that he gave me my last meal for free. Now that's customer service!
To offset this non stop eating, I have been going for daily walks and occasionally engaging in some yoga-like stretching. My daily 6 am walk is when I most feel like a local in Fort Cochin. Why the ungodly hour of 6 am? Well Fort Cochin is many things, but bearable when you are more than 2 metres away from a fan during daylight hours is not one of them. On my first afternoon in this leafy neck of the woods, I nearly gave myself heat stroke by exploring the local streets on foot for two hours. Returning to the hotel drenched in sweat, and with alarmingly swollen hands, I knew I would have to plan any future exercise at a cooler time of day.
My daily morning stroll takes me along the waterfront, past the fishmongers and the outstretched wooden arms of the enormous Chinese fishing nets, hovering above the low tide like giant praying mantises. The tree-lined footpath is full of other early bird walkers and locals who like to do their yoga stretches with a view. South Indian people are far more reserved that their northern countrymen, and it took a week before the familiar morning faces started to say hello to me as I walked past.
Twenty minutes into my walk I run out of waterfront and head inland. This part of the stroll takes me past the naval yards and down back streets where women smile at me as they collect water from the local pump. The last stretch of my morning amble takes me past the local sports field, which usually contains at least three of the following: men playing cricket, boys having soccer training, friends playing badminton and goats grazing on the few remaining tufts of grass surrounding the field.
In two weeks I have yet to see another foreigner on my morning walk and I think this may have contributed to my own local celebrity. Over the last week several of my interactions with shopkeepers have begun with, "You are the walking girl, yes?". Well...I've been called worse.
No comments:
Post a Comment