We can't exactly declare we now have "sea legs".... Even though we've been relaxing on the the water for three days, there was barely a ripple of waves to rock the boat. We can't really say we accomplished anything for that matter.... other than maybe earning our "chillin' out" merit badges.
As per out routine, Beth and I were up early, sipping chai and catching up (this time, on email!). The start of September is always a busy time at home with work gearing up, school starting and hoops getting organized. We will have our hands full when we get home, in a good way :-).
We had breakfast while the boat slipped down the canals. We weren't too far from the jetty, as we were due to arrive by 9:00am. I'm pretty sure the start and finish times work like clockwork on the boat - Raja was saying the crew is on the boat 25 days and nights per month! Most of the clientele are wealthy Indians from the north (meaning Mumbai and New Delhi) doing a one night trip.
We gave the crew a tip for their hard work. Tipping is often one of the hardest things about travelling in different countries - especially when it comes to excursions like these. How much to tip, who to tip, who NOT to tip.... In general, we've kind of been going with the "hairdresser rule" when tipping on excursions. If the owner of the company is the one giving the tour, we have not tipped. If it's employees doing all the work, we tip. These guys earned it!
We got back at 9:00 as promised. The office arranged for a car to take us to Kochi, or Cochin... Or Kochin... Or Cochi... They spell it at least four different ways so it's a bit confusing. Kochi is a small, Portuguese Fort turned Dutch Fort (just like Galle in Sri Lanka) surrounded by a body of water and a larger metropolitan area. The heart of old Kochi is pretty multicultural, with old Christian churches, a Jain temple, a really old Jewish Synagogue, Mosques, Buddhist temples and shrines and of course, Hindu temples and shrines.
The place we booked was a two bedroom, rooftop apartment, which was a very welcome sight for us. It felt a bit more like home, kind of like some of the AirBnB places we've stayed at. Thank Vishnu I have GPS and a SIM card though, or we probably would have spent another hour getting to the place! The apartment has two air conditioned bedrooms, each with ensuite bathrooms, a living room and kitchen. Out the door of our apartment is a huge, roof top patio that overlooks the Naval base across the street.
We settled in quickly then took off up the main road in search of food - the troops were grumpy and hungry... in that order, I think. Once Abby saw a listing for an Italian place in our welcome guide at the apartment, she got a little fixated, so Upstairs Italian it was. The meal seemed to do the trick, so we explored the area on foot. We walked over to the harbour area to look for the Chinese fishing nets that the are is known for. I spotted this Paris-esque automated, self cleaning toilet which was a bit of a pleasant surprise.
The harbour was full of small trinket vendors and leering young men... Neither of interest to us. We saw row upon row of gigantic Chinese fishing nets - they operate like the ones in Vietnam (sink, wait, lift, gather fish, repeat) but these ones looked like they'd been taking steroids.
The level of touts verbally accosting us has defiantly amped up. Tuk Tuk sir? Eventually, yes, we negotiated with one Tuk Tuk guy and we were en route checking off a list of to dos: visit spice market (check, or not, it was a spice store!), grocery store (check - got some peanut butter and vegetables! Check check!!), bank (check, check.... The limit is about $500 max for each transaction each time, sometimes it's only $200 max!), guy's friend's store (wtf? Ok, check....) and phone data recharge (check!). Home James! (Actually, his name was Babu....).
Nobody felt like going out to dinner, so we elected Abby and I to go in search of takeout. We walked up the road towards the town center, stopping for some hot roasted peanuts from a mobile vendor that we'd seen earlier making his way down the road.
We were almost at the town when we spotted a Tuk Tuk coming towards us on the opposite side of the road. There were three locals waiting for a ride trying to flag him down on the other side, but he bypassed them, did a u-turn and was more than happy to pick us up, take us to the restaurant and bring us back to the hotel. I guess we were a more attractive pair!
The restaurant we went to was called Dal Roti, and I immediately loved the place and the owner. He was a big, round, balding man with glasses and silver sideburns - a very friendly guy. He was sitting at a table at the side of the main area of the restaurant, with lots of paperwork, a couple of phones, some books and invoices. We took his recommendation for what to get for takeout (chicken kati rolls.... Like tandoori chicken breast wrapped in a roti cannai.... A-making!) then started to chat.
It turns out his "real job" was running a shipping company, but he started te restaurant nine years ago, and based on the popularity, it was keeping him very busy. I asked him how hard it was running a restaurant in India (from a red tape perspective) and he said I would have been surprised at how easy it was, and how regulated it was. The restaurant business is tightly monitored by the national food inspection agency - he sometimes gets calls at seven in the morning asking him to come open the restaurant for inspection. They're looking for the usual problems, but also making sure no cooked foods were stored in the refrigerator, which I found interesting. We also talked about the water, and use of water in the restaurant. Like many savvy restauranteurs who cater to tourists, they wash their food in tap water then rinse with bottled mineral water. They even boiled and cooked with mineral water - but not for safety, for taste. I was surprised to learn that water is actually relatively safe to drink in India, but that it was heavily treated and therefore created a chemical taste when used in cooking. This friendly guy was a wealth of information, and it was really nice to meet a well travelled local businessman that had a true understanding of our perspective of India. Nice guy.... I'm sure we will see him tomorrow.
When we got back, we had a mini feast on his excellent food. We had our first mini walking dead marathon in India before retiring to the bedrooms of our little apartment in Kochi.... or Cochin... or Kochin.... You get the idea.
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