India 2012»Fort Kochi India

After a Hectic 70 km taxi ride from the airport to Fort Kochi we arrived at Beenas homestay,and what a nice friendly welcome we received making us feel at home instantly

The place is an old Portuguese colony and Vasco De Gama made is first landfall here ,and was actually buried here until he was returned to Portugal some years laterThe main Tourist attraction is the Chinese Fishing nets,which are lowered into the water on a huge wooden cantilever,the structure being counterbalanced with big rocks fastened to the ropes the fishermen haul on to retrieve the nets.These nets are a legacy from the traders of Kubla Khan back in 1400 AD.

We spent our time just strolling down the streets to watch daily life going by.The walk down to Matencherry was interesting passing through the warehouse district ,watching labourers unloading overloaded trucks and storing spices and all sorts of commodities into delapidated old colonial warehouses,and then on to Jew town to see the Synagogue dating back to 1568.

We also caught a local ferry across to Vypeen island9Cost 6 rupee) ,then spent about an hour on a local bus(an experience on its own!!) to Cherai beach which was a nice beach with crashing waves and a nice surprise and a change from the town.
We found Fort Kochi to be a friendly and relaxed place,away from the hubhub on the mainland.