Mithun On The Net

We began our day in hilly Thekkady and by nightfall we were in Ernakulam city. We took a rickshaw to Fort Kochi, and once there we took a room at Sonnetta Residency.

Sonnetta Residency double room Fort Cochin Kerala — It cost over Rs. 1000 a night, but it was the nicest room we stayed in on this trip. We didn't mind 'indulging' as we were on the last leg of our journey.

Fort Kochi restaurant Kerala — When we felt like having a drink, we sat at this rather nice-looking restaurant

Fort Cochin classic window design lights — I liked the place's interiors (but I don't remember the name of the club, sorry)

Mithun Divakaran Fort Cochin dinner Kerala — The food was alright and it wasn't too expensive

Fort Cochin restaurant dinner Kerala — We then sat at another restaurant for our main course dinner 🙂

Date: September 1st, 2009

The next morning, we had breakfast at the famous Kashi Art Cafe.

Kashi art cafe Fort Kochi Cochin Kerala — It was walking distance from where we were staying

Kashi Art Cafe exhibition Fort Kochi Kerala — It's got 'Art' in its name because Kashi is also a trendy art gallery

Kashi art cafe Fort Cochin Kerala India — But I was more interested in the 'Cafe' part

Kashi Art Cafe restaurant Fort Cochin Kerala — It was 8:45am

Mithun Divakaran Kashi Art Cafe Kerala — While we waited for our breakfast, I went through our day's plan

Kashi Art Cafe breakfast Cochin Kerala — The food was alright

After breakfast, we hired an auto to take us to Jew Town, the first sight on our to-do list.

Cochin reef Kerala — We were dropped by the port side

Cochin port Kerala panorama — That's Cochin Port, on the other side (Panorama comprised of 5 shots)

Sky reflection in puddle water Cochin Kerala — We didn't have a perfectly sunny day, but we just hoped it wouldn't rain

We first entered an old building, which I believe was Mattancherry Palace. It housed artifacts and had several murals, but there was a lot of restoration work going on while we were there. We were in and out very quickly.

Jew town road Fort Kochi Kerala — We walked to Jew Town

Handicrafts art Fort Cochin Kerala India — Plenty of handicrafts and other art for sale here

Fort Cochin Jew town old market Kerala — This area is home to the only Pepper Exchange in India

Jew Town road Cochin Kerala India — We walked towards the Paradesi Synagogue

Paradesi synagogue clock tower Jew town Cochin Kerala India — The Jewish synagogue is to the left

Unfortunately, they don’t allow photography inside the Paradesi Synagogue, but from what I saw, it isn’t very big. The tale of Cochin Jews is an interesting one, dating back centuries. It was at this point, reading about how Jews ended up Kerala (and even the Syrian Christians) that I began to realize how Kerala has always had a historical connection with the Middle East.

Jewish clock tower Mattancherry palace cochin Kerala — We left the synagogue and walked back

Incy Bella book shop Jew town Cochin Kerala — The shops here look very old

Yellow green colour buildings Jew town cochin Kerala — The wall exteriors reminded me of ice cream 🙂

Old houses Fort Cochin Jew town Kerala — I saw an old lady, who seemed to be just gazing outside her door at passersby

Mrs. Selam Jew town Cochin Kerala India — Mrs. Selam her name was, and she was Cochin Jew herself

Mrs. Selam Jewish Cochin Kerala India — She told us how many of the Jews went back to Israel and some even chose to move to America (unsurprisingly). The Jewish population in Fort Kochi now number less than a hundred, and the Cochin Jews could very well be an extinct ethnicity in a few years time.

I guess it was a privilege to meet someone like Mrs. Selam, one among the few remaining Jews of Kerala. (Read the story of Yaheh Hallegua, she’s apparently the last remaining Pardesi Jew of ‘child-bearing’ age)

Fishing boats Cochin Kerala — We left Jew Town and returned to the promenade

Cat eating fish under boat cochin Kerala — It was lunch time

Fish stall vendor Fort Kochi Kerala — The cool thing here is that you can buy fresh fish from the fishermen, then take it to select restaurants and ask them to prepare it as you wish

I bought a few tiger prawns and a small lobster for myself (if I remember correctly, both together cost less than Rs. 300). As they were getting grilled nearby, we went for a quick stroll along the promenade.

Boiler cylinders Fort Kochi Ernakulam Kerala — I don't know what these were

Arabian sea backwaters Fort Cochin fishing nets — Despite being an island, Fort Kochi does not have a whole lot of sandy shores

Chinese fishing net fishermen Cochin Kerala India — The famous Chinese fishing nets, still being used by fishermen in Fort Cochin

We sat by the fish stalls and had our lunch.

Grilled prawn lobster Fort Cochin Kerala India — Well, I got my seafood lunch. The others waited until I finished so that they could have their vegetarian meals elsewhere.

Post lunch, we went for a stroll.

Dutch cemetery Fort Kochi Kerala India — We walked all the way to the Dutch Cemetery, which was closed

Fort Kochi beach Cochin Kerala India — Then some time on the beach nearby -- which wasn't even a good beach

Princess street Fort Cochin Kerala India — We went back to our hotel, checked out and made our way to the ferry terminal which was a few minutes walk from here

Ferry from Fort Kochi to Vypin island Kerala — We took the ferry to nearby Vypin island

Chinese fishing nets evening sky Cochin Kerala — It was 4pm and we still had some time to kill before leaving Cochin at night

Vypin island fishermen hut fishing nets Cochin — A short walk from the Vypin ferry terminal and we arrived at this stretch

Chinese fishing nets Vypin island cochin Kerala — Thought it would be a good time to record a video demonstrating how these fishing nets work

So here it is:

Vypin island promenade walk Cochin Kerala — We walked a bit further up

Vypin island beach boys running Cochin Kerala — Cherai beach was an auto ride away, but somehow we didn't feel like bothering to check it out

Inside ferry boat Cochin islands Kerala — So instead we headed back, but this time to Ernakulam

Cochin seaside Kerala India — Cochin has quite an amazing and varied history, it's no wonder why it remains a popular tourist stop

Cochin Marine drive ferry terminal Kerala — We reached the ferry terminal after a pleasant 20 minute ride

Marine drive sea facing apartments Cochin Kerala — We decided to check out the Marine Drive promenade

Marine drive walk Cochin Kerala — This walkway is one of the most popular hangouts for Kochi's residents and visitors alike

After sunset, we all had something to eat before parting ways. Ramesh and Anand were heading back to Bangalore, while I took a bus to head up north to my hometown in Kerala.

Onam putting flowers Kannur Kerala — It was Onam* in Kannur for me!

*Onam is the biggest festival in Kerala and one of the celebratory highlights include making pookkalam (a floral creation)

Previous posts in this series:

Kerala 2009: Thekkady, Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary

Kerala 2009: Vembanad Lake, Kumarakom

First Goa trip (Colva beach, Se Cathedral, Bom Jesus Basilica) and Murudeshwara

BIGBANG – ‘Alive’ album review: Once again they prove why they are the best

Kerala 2009: A day in Cochin – Fort Kochi, Jew Town, Vypin island

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