It was the sound of somebody knocking on the door that woke me up. Bright sunshine was streaming in from the window. I got up lazily and opened the door. It was the hotel service guy asking if we wanted our breakfast. After he left I woke up bhanu and we got ready for the day ahead. Our plan for the day was to have breakfast in Allepey in our hotel and immediately depart for Kochi and to check-in in a hotel by afternoon.We took the state RTC bus from the bus stand. An hour later we entered Kochi. As I sat looking at the city passing by I saw a huge Church which was followed by a huge Temple and then a little later a huge Mosque.Unity of religions is very strong in Kerala. A little bit later I saw the Lulu Mall, said to be the largest mall in India.Soon we reached the Main bus stand. Guided by the zomato app, from here we walked around to a nearby restaurant called the Taimur Kachi Biriyani. The outer glass panels had this huge portrait of the king Taimur. I wondered about this strange choice. We marched in and found ourselves in a small swanky looking space. It was deserted with no customers as it was still quite early for lunch. We sat down and nonetheless and asked for the Kachi Biriyani with a couple of side dishes. It was delicious.
After a hearty meal we immediately left for our hotel. Bhanu had booked this hotel online and we were a bit apprehensive about it. Our apprehensions turned out to be true. It was the creepiest hotel I ever stayed in. It was huge with total 5 floors and each floor having around 10 rooms. For the total duration of our stay I did not see any other guest except us. None whatsoever. Everything was neat and in order but simply no people. The coffee shop on the ground floor was deserted. The restaurant empty. It felt as if we were the only people in the hotel except the guy in the reception and a cleaning lady. The only sign of other life was when we were coming back to our floor after having dinner outside. I could hear the sound of laughter coming from somewhere in the hotel.We were not able to pinpoint the location.I could think of multiple horror movies which this hotel resembled. 'The Shining' was the best fit. Then there was 'The Haunting'. A perfect match. Just this thought sent a chill down my spine. I remarked to Bhanu that had I been alone at that time I would have checked out right then and there.
We took a short nap there in the afternoon and by 4 pm we went to the Fort Kochi area for a stroll. As our auto crossed the Willingdon island, I spotted a huge ship anchored nearby. I was thrilled ! I just loved this whole coastal city look!
Near Fort Kochi Area the first thing we did was to go to the Maritime Musuem. It was mighty interesting with all the guns and missiles on display. I will write a separate post about it soon.Next, we started off on a casual stroll along the Fort Kochi beach. The place was packed with crowds. To our right along the beach was spread a number of shacks and shops selling souvenirs and eatables. To our left was the sea. At some distance we saw the famous Chinese fishing nets. We went there and tried to understand the workings of the net.
There was a demonstration being given by a local to a couple of foreigners and we watched from our spot. As we were watching, a commotion just ahead of us attracted our attention. A small crowd had gathered and something was going on inside. We hurried to the group and I fought my way into the Centre. There was an auction going on. A man was pulling out huge fishes from a boat nearby, freshly caught and auctioning it off to the highest bidder. A metre long fish with a sharp pointy nose was the one which attracted the most curiosity and I which I assumed sold for the most.It had intense bidding. Nearby in a stall I spotted different types of sea creatures. There were many types of fishes, prawns, squids and even an octopus in a tub. This was certainly the highlight of our walk in Fort Kochi. The sun was slowly descending into the horizon and we started our way back. The fishing nets looked spectacular in the setting sun. A huge ship passed by creating waves in the sea. I squinted my eyes trying to figure out the name of the ship. Later when I googled it I got to know that it was heading towards Lakshadweep. Now I was standing in the mainland looking over to the ship.Someday I hope I stand on the deck of the same ship and look towards to the Kochi Beach. It was soon dusk and we took an auto back to the hotel. We had dinner in a local restaurant and soon checked out from that creepy hotel. I was spending the last day of the 3 day weekend in Bangalore so soon we left at 9pm in a private travels bus.
My first trip to Kerala was done and I had a wonderful time.
