Sightseeing with Jithu

Yesterday, a tuk tuk driver, Jithu, took me to the Love in Earth restaurant.

Tuk tuk drivers are always trying to give you a cheap tour. They charge a low price because they take you to tourist shops. These shops sell you things like jewellery, perfume, spices, saris, scarves, and ornaments. The drivers get a commission for taking you there and more if you buy something.

I got talking to Jithu because I was wondering what to do on my last day in Kochi. I’d already seen many of the tourist places during my last trip. I asked Jithu what I could see. His English was quite good. He was Gujarati and I could (badly) speak some Gujarati too. After much talking, we decided he would take me to the less well-known places in Kochi.

I told Jithu that I didn’t want to spend the whole time listening to sales talk. I was definitely not going to buy those things. He said he’d avoid those places. But then he added that perhaps we could stop at a few spots. This way, he could “earn a little bit”!

Trees

When taking a largely improvised tour, guides don’t know what you like. They meet so many tourists, and each has their own preferences. Communication may also be an issue: neither of you speaks the other’s language sufficiently well.

My approach to this is make approving noises for things that I like when I see them. Guides quickly learn what you want and give you more of it.

For example, Jithu showed me this beautiful tree at the start of our tour. I love trees. So I made it clear I was happy seeing the tree. Subsequently, Jithu showed me more trees. Of course, if you tire of seeing the thing you previously showed enthusiasm for, you can tone it down.

Fort Kochi is full of beautiful trees. It has its fair share of rubber trees. I saw quite a few on my trip to Hong Kong.

One of the trees (the two photos upper right below) was half hanging below the ground above us. You could get underneath it and look at its roots.

Laundry

Many hotels and guest houses will do your laundry for you. This is sent away if they don’t have a washing machine.

In Kochi, we went to the central laundry. Independent washers have their own cubicles for washing their clients’ clothes. They hang them up on the washing lines. The washing lines, you’ll see in the photo below, have no pegs. Two ropes are entwined, and the clothes are ingeniously slotted between the ropes! They must have a system for knowing whose clothes are where.

On this trip, so far, the places I’ve stayed at have had washing machines. On my previous trip, I regularly used the laundry service. It was priced per shirt, pair of trousers, pair of socks, etc. I can see why now. If someone is washing each item by hand, then more items need more time. I’m amazed nothing was ever lost. It’s testament to a system that’s been used for many years.

Jithu was a natural communicator. He connected with people easily. At one point, he was smitten by this female student. He even suggested she join us on the tour of the town! She was working on a project. She was documenting the way the laundry functions and the lives of people who worked there. She didn’t join us, but she asked me to say something for her documentary. It’s surprisingly difficult to think of something coherent to say when the camera is pointing at you!

Churches

During my last trip to Kerala, I was surprised to learn that the state has a large Christian community. Churches are a feature of the Kerala culture. There are also Hindus, Muslims and Jews living in Kerala.

Walking the backwaters

I’d already been on the backwaters of Kerala. When Jithu suggested seeing them on foot rather than in a boat, I liked the idea. It wasn’t a long walk but seeing the variety of birds was a bonus.

I was also surprised to see what looked like a football pitch on the water. It was enclosed in a net to stop the ball going in the water.

The place we went to was also a place where straw-like reeds gathered. It looks like a field, but the reeds are on top of the water.

Food

Jithu took me around some of the backstreets then, for lunch and an afternoon snack, we went into town. Lunch was a thali in the Gujarati quarter. Afternoon tea was fried/battered vegetables. They all tasted so good!

The streets of Kochi

The blue house below was being newly renovated. I told the owner how beautiful it was with the plants at the front. She beamed a smile at me.

Ferry to Fort Vypin

It had been a long day, about nine hours of sightseeing! I thought we were finished. However, Jithu asked me if I’d taken the small car/passenger ferry across to Fort Vypin. I hadn’t. He quickly bought two tickets, and we were across in 15 minutes. We walked around and got to the port just in time to catch the return ferry.

I was very glad I met Jithu. He was such a warm, generous guide who connected with people easily. Naturally, I agreed to his final request. We visited a couple of tourist shops so that he could “earn a little bit”!

Jithu drove me back to the homestay and we said goodbye.