Travel Day 919-921 – Fort Cochin, Kochi, Kerala, INDIA
While I reminisced about the shared times yesterday, I was also facing reality and re-assessing my own situation…
Kerala Wheat Puttu with Chai in Kochi
First off I was not able to support the really nice hotel room any more that we had together with the high ceilings and balcony overlooking the main road. We managed to get a really good deal for the room because we made a cash payment for three days in advance, but I was not able to drop the price low enough so I could justify staying there on my own. So we made a little deal: the rickshaw driver from downstairs showed me the best value place in town and I helped him to find two tourists for my nice room…
This seemed to be a decent deal and it saved me the hustle of having to run around again while trying to find the cheapest accommodation. So while I was trying to get used to being alone again, I also found myself catapulted back in the backpacking reality: Three people in one shared room, outside shower with bathroom and definitely a more rustic charm than the last room could show for…
Appam, Puttu, Parotta and Dosa with Curry
Next on my list was trying to find cheap food. So far we had rather savored on the very tasty but definitely more expensive fresh fish cuisine of Kerala, but being on my own again made it hard to justify nice sit down meals and I was rather looking for the cheap vegetarian dhabas. Luckily after asking around for a while, I managed to find two great local places for some home-cooked South-Indian cuisine and these places became my steady go-to places over the next couple of days…
Overall I felt that I had done too much over the past couple of weeks, if not months and so I prescribed myself three days of rest. I decided that all I would do over the next couple of days was: catching up on my diary, practicing some Tabla again and enjoying the nice South Indian food of Kerala…
Parotta with Veg. Curry in Kochi, India
So besides the nice Veg. Curries with coconut, my new favorites became the sides like Appam, Puttu, Parotta, Iddiyappam, a thick Dosa and a thin rice cake. The thin rice cake was interesting in texture and flavor, but it seemed a bit overpriced for what it was and I rather stuck with the other options. Appam and Iddiyappam, a spaghetti-like version of Appam, became my staples for lunch while Parotta became an all time favorite for dinner…
The Parotta was not to be confused with the northern Paratha and it seemed in texture and taste rather similar to the Egg-rolls that I had in Kolkata. But be it as it may, my new favorite for breakfast became the Puttu, especially the wheat version with just some coconut flakes and sugar, accompanied by a chai. Great, my three days of resting, writing, Tabla and Food were all set… : )
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