Travel Day 927 – Fort Cochin, Kochi, Kerala, INDIA
After being in tranquil Fort Cochin for about two weeks already, today was finally the day to take action and to figure out the onwards travels…
Captivating Princess Street in Fort Cochin
Well, to be honest I probably would have stayed in Fort Cochin for a lot longer since I really liked it here, but I had finally found a good reason to move on. My Tabla teacher was touring India and playing concerts in different cities with the closest one to me being held in Bangalore. So this morning I was off to Ernakulam to try to purchase an emergency to get me out-of-town…
I had obviously tried to buy train tickets in local travel agencies in Fort Cochin because it would have saved me the journey to the mainland for an extra payment of 50 rupees only. But unfortunately everything was booked out months in advance and my only chance of getting a ticket was punctually at 10am one day before the train ride, when the emergency tickets were released…
Green Street in Tranquil Fort Cochin, India
For me it became a morning filling event, because I had to get to the Customs Jetty, catch a ferry to Embarkation, get to the Ernakulam Junction Train station, purchase my tickets and then head back again. Also buying these tickets took waiting in three different lines in two different booking offices and in the end this whole adventure took me almost 5 hours, but at least it was successful and I got my desired emergency taktal ticket…
But what became quite apparent during this trip was the fact that Fort Cochin had not only lured me into staying here, it had also made it quite difficult for me to leave again. I personally didn’t mind at all to be captivated by a place, but I also wasn’t quite sure if had just become complacent and lazy by the heat and humidity, or if rally still liked this place as much as I thought I would when I first arrived…
Quiet Street in Fort Cochin, Kerala, India
Well, I knew the answer once I was back in “real India” in form of Ernakulam with traffic jammed roads, constantly honking cars, rickshaws or motorcycles, dusty and filthy streets plus architecture that could only be described as a real eyesore. Yes, I clearly learned again why I had embraced staying in a tranquil and captivating place like Fort Cochin with its quiet streets, nice restaurants, inviting cafes, modern galleries and historic architecture…
Fort Cochin really was this small little backpacker paradise, tucked way on the tip of a peninsula with all amenities one could ever wish for and if there would have been a real beach plus less humidity, it probably would have captivated me for a whole lot longer… : )
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