Kochi, Kerela

Kochi is the capital of Kerala and according to the guidebooks the Queen of the Arabian Sea. A port since 1341 it has seen Arab, Chinese and European merchants over the years interested in spices.

We have booked a one night stay on a houseboat and hope to enjoy a slow boat journey through the dreamy backwaters famous for narrow canals which drift past coconut farms and fishing hamlets but the day before we will be visiting the sights in Kochi.

Whilst we are in Kochi we plan on visiting Mattacherry Palace, the Paradesi Synagogue, the old Anglican Church and the Cathedral and of course see the Chinese Fishing Nets on the river side.

Mattacherry Palace was built by the Dutch for the then Raj and because of that became known as the Dutch Palace. It’s famous for the murals which cover the walls of at least three rooms. Each mural depicts a different saga / story of the gods.

This mural depicts the gods (along the bottom) who decreed that the wives of the ruler should give birth to sons. The two women (at the top one green and the other orange) are squatting and giving birth, the babies are being caught then put into their cribs (3 babies in squares along the middle of the mural). The detail is just amazing. I only managed to sneak in this one photo 😩

There were lots of other artefacts on display, like maps, photos, portraits of the royal family, guns and swords which had been given by the British to the Raj when they took control of Kochi. But it was the murals which grabbed you, as you looked at them you saw more and more details. Brilliant.

The Synagogue was at the end of a busy little road now crammed with tourist shops. You can just see its tower at the end of the street

Entrance to the Synagogue

It’s reknown for having the whole floor covered in Dutch tiles.

And also for all the chandeliers.

Next a visit to some of the churches in the Fort area.

First, St Francis Church. Vasco da Gama died in Kochi and was originally buried in this church, his remains were later moved back to Lisbon. I’m chuffed to have visited both sites.

Then the Cathedral. It was Sunday morning so we couldn’t go is as there was a service going on.

Yes the lights were flashing!

Although not unique to Kochi the Chinese Fishing Nets are one of the things people look out for. They are just really a tourist thing now but they are lovely

This detailed plan was drawn by an architecture student who I got chatting to.

It’s amazing to think that this system of counter weights has been being used for thousands of years. Very clever.

Whilst we were around the Fort area we dropped on this Laundry. It has been here for over 250 years and they still wash in the traditional way. It’s all men doing the washing and ironing.

I wish I’d taken a video of this guy washing, he’s wet the garment, scrubbed it with a bar of soap then twisted the garment tightly and then bashed hell out of it on the stone sink to his right, before rinsing and doing the whole process again.

And no these aren’t our smalls drying in the breeze 🤣

The ironing shed was really hot.

The following morning we set off for Allepey and our house boat trip.

This was our house boat

(We had stopped for a little retail therapy at this stage).

We arrived at the marina around 11’ish and having filled out the forms we boarded a water taxi which took us to our allocated boat (seductively named No 17!!). We had the whole boat to ourselves, other than the 3 crew who made our stay complete.

We’d only been chugging along for about an hour or so before we stopped for lunch.

Just a little snack!!

We glided along quietly for a few hours before having an afternoon snack of sweet and savoury banana fritters. A short stop for a bit of touristy shopping. Of course we bought a hand carved elephant, well we are in India, can’t go home without one!!! Another hour or so chugging along and it was time to dock for the evening. We watched the sun go down as we sipped on chilled wine and finished the evening with supper, another ‘little snack’! It was a perfect day.