On my first and only trip to India in 2017/8, I travelled south to north on the western side.
For my second trip, I’m planning to see more of the eastern side. I’ve started in a familiar place, Kochi. I was last here at the end of 2017.
I reached Kochi from London via Abu Dhabi. It was the first time I’d been there. My stopover was just two hours. It gave me time to look at the futuristic airport.
When I left London, it was cold and damp. I was looking forward to some warmth. I was, however, unprepared for the 32°C heat that hit me on exiting Kochi airport. It felt like a giant hairdryer was pointed at me. And it’s supposed to be winter here!
There are two things to do usually on landing in India: find an ATM and get an Indian phone SIM. Rupees are not available outside of India. However, just before leaving, I found some of the Indian currency remaining from my last visit.
I found an Airtel booth. The person was very efficient filling in all the forms on his phone. Even with his efficiency, it all took about 20 minutes. He inserted the new SIM into my phone. It would be activated within 30 minutes. He gave me his number in case there were any issues.
I tried to pay him with my Rs 2,000 note (about £20). He said it wasn’t legal tender anymore!
Many years ago, I remember reading about Prime Minister Modi demonetising Rs 500 and 1000 notes suddenly. This caused chaos as people scrambled to exchange them. New Rs 500 and 2,000 notes were introduced. Since then, in 2023, the 2,000 note was withdrawn. I asked the phone person if I could change the Rs 2,000 into useable money. He said the deadline had passed. I had five notes, about £100!
The rest of my notes were enough to pay the Rs 1200 for the 84-day SIM (about £12). This gave 2GB/day of data, unlimited phones calls and 100 SMS.
Rather than navigating public transport, my default option, I booked a prepaid airport taxi to Fort Kochi, where my homestay was. The journey took about an hour.
After waiting to check-in to the homestay, I had a shower and slept for about an hour.
I strolled to the beach. There were the familiar giant Chinese fishing nets. As I was looking, I started talking to a Scottish couple. They had been coming to India every year for 25 years, going to different parts of the country, whilst basing themselves in Goa.
I started by endearing myself to them by observing that the man sounded like George Galloway, the controversial British politician. They both laughed and then he replied instantly “and that’s where the resemblance ends!”
Their journey to Kochi was more eventful than mine. When they reached Goa, they were told that the flight to Kochi had been cancelled. Even worse, there were no more flights. Instead they would have to fly in the opposite direction, to Delhi, before heading back south to Kochi. They weren’t too pleased with this. That was until the airline said it would cover all costs, including transit, hotel, taxis, and food! This cheered them up. They said they were a little spoilt with the luxury laid on for them to compensate for the cancelled flight.
We continued talking about some of the places they’d been to, such as Darjeeling. It’s one of the places I might go to. It’s very far north and not the easiest place to get to.
We then started talking about the British Empire in India, with a sort of role reversal. I noted what a great time the Brits must have had with their large, beautiful colonial houses. The Scottish couple, in turn, described the atrocities of the East India Company (EIC). I didn’t mention it, but I had read William Dalrymple’s genuinely riveting history of the EIC, The Anarchy.
Somehow we then started talking about the famous Scottish whirlpool I had been to. The man had a sharp intake of breath. He thought (as a qualified skipper) it was something to be avoided.
As we got friendlier, the man started teasing me about the English. (There is historical rivalry between the two countries.) I reciprocated not in kind but by saying how much I loved Scotland! It’s a beautiful country.
We had been talking for longer than I realised. The sun had set. So, I headed for a vegetarian restaurant mentioned by my homestay. Just as I started walking, a tuk tuk driver came up to me. He headed for the restaurant whilst simultaneously saying that there were better restaurants around. We diverted to a South Indian restaurant, but they didn’t have any masala dosas. So we went to my original choice, Loving Earth Cafe.
Having seen the popular places around Fort Kochi, I was interested in seeing the more obscure parts of the area. I asked the driver, Jithu, if he could show me the non-tourist parts of Kochi for a day. I could do this in a couple of days. We exchanged phone numbers.
The food choices in Loving Earth Cafe were more limited than I expected. It was designed for westerners, was quite pricey (as Jithu said) and ran yoga classes. The class in progress as I entered was filled with non-Indians. I sat in the cafe garden, applying plenty of the provided mosquito repellent, and ordered a burrito.
2 thoughts on “Return to Kochi”