Queen of the Arabian Sea

chinese fishing nets
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We arrived in Kochi around 4pm after a busy 3 hour train ride. We couldn't all sit together as most seats were reserved, so we had to grab whatever we could. We didn't have a hotel booked so we took 2 taxis to the fort area and decided we would have a look to see what we could find. The train arrives into Ernakulam, but there are a few islands around that belong to Kochi. The fort area is the place with themost to see. Luckily the first place we came across had rooms and we liked it so we took it. It was a homestay place called Spencer Home and had nice spacious rooms all with an individual theme of style. Our room had soft toys. And there was hot water for a shower, hooray. We all decided to regroup around 6pm, so we went to shower, unpack and relax. I had a cuppa and sat out in the garden reading, whilst the group came together. Some of us went on the net and the others said they would come to meet us later. After the net we went for a walk around the area. We saw a restaurant we liked so we made a booking for later and continued walking. It was nice to stretch the legs after the train journey.

catch of the day
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We went to the restaurant for dinner and were told we could not have any alcohol with our meal as they served none. We ordered some starters to share and our main meals and we even had desert to share. It was a nice meal and we had fun chatting. It was our last night together as Ines & Elsa were leaving the following morning to go to Dehli ready for the journey back to Gran Canaria. After dinner we popped into a few more shops and walked back to the hotel, ready for bed.

The next morning we all went for breakfast at Elite, where we saw loads of other travellers as well. Ines & Elsa had a taxi booked for 10am so we went to see them off after breakfast. The 4 of us then decided to walk around and take in the sights. There isn't a fort in Kochi but is just the name of the island and area. We decided to walk up to the area where the chinese fishing nets are along the water and just take it from there. So we strolled leisurely along, passing a fish market, seeing the nets and trying to figure out how they work. The nets were introduced by traders from the court of Kublai Khan. Apparently it takes 4 men to operate them and they are usually used at high tide. We then carried on towards the bazaar, where we saw lots of spices. A big truck containing sacks of rice had pulled up alongside the road and we saw lots of birds attacking the sacks trying to eat it. I took a photo of them doing this. We went in and out of various shops that took our fancy. We popped into an art museum and saw some interesting contemporary pieces. We made a shop at one of the spice shops as the girls wanted to buy some. They were all on dispaly in little packets. We had fun smelling various different items and it was good for me as I finally learnt some of the proper names of the spices I use in cooking. I only know their indian names, so I was glad to come to know of the names in english. I didn't buy anything except some nuts to eat. We then found a bookshop and spent ages looking in there.

chillies
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We continued walking. We knew there was a synagogue further on, although it was closed today with it being Saturday. We headed in that direction anyway to take a picture from the outside. There were many handicraft shops along the way. Diana bought a decorative wooden cow face. It was quite nice. We found the synagogue, took some pics and then went to find a ricksahw to take us to a restaurnat. We were really hungry, it was 3.30pm. We'd been walking for hours! We eventually got a ricksahw to take us back towards our hotel and we found a nice place that Ines recommended. She had walked past it, it was KashiArt Cafe. Funnily enough it was mentioned in the LP and we saw loads of other travellers in there. The food was lovely. We all went for the soup with bread and potato salad and we shared a piece of chocolate cake. The piece sizes of the cakes are always so big in India that it is too much for one person.

birds pecking at rice
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After lunch we went to the post office to buy some stamps and then abck to the hotel to chill. I called my folks and some of the girls went to slepp. I took a shower and laid down for a bit, but didn't sleep. After a while Aurora and I went to go on the net again and we arranged to meet Maria & Diana later. We popped into a bookshop first. I wanted to buy a small diary for 2008, but they didn't have any. Diana & maria found us and we set off to grab some dinner somewhere. We found a place with tables outside and settled there. We met a strange guy whilst we were eating. He came to sit on a table across from us and he made me laugh because he had a strange haircut and when he spoke in hindi he spoke it with a strange accent. He chatted to us for a little bit. Anyway we said our goodbyes after a while and went back to the hotel. I still had to pack as I was leaving the next day to go to Ooty. I said goodbye to Maria & Diana as I was leaving early the next morning and as I packed Aurora fell asleep.

spices on display
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The next morning my alarm was set at 7am and the rickshaw driver was picking me up at 8am to take me to the train station. When I awoke I didn't feel so good, but I thought I was just tired. I felt really cold and achy. After showering and dressing I had to lay back down again and I stayed like that until it was time for me to leave. Aurora said goodbye just before Ileft. The rickshaw man was on time, thank god and off I set. At the train station I went to get a cuppa and drinking it was hard work. I felt sick. I went to book some more train tickets ahead for other journeys and then went to my platform to get the train. It was just pulling in as I got there. On the train I took some paracetamol and laid down. I had a fever and was getting hot and cold flushes. I couldn't eat anything, but had some more tea and had water with me which I kept sipping. The train was going to Coimbatore and would arrive there at 3pm. After that I had to go across to the bus station by rickshaw and get the bus to Ooty which would probably take 4 hours or so and all I wanted to do was sleep and rest.