Moment of Silence

Our destination for last weekend was Kochi (Cochin), a port city on the south-west of India. My professional deformation couldn’t stand aside for a long time, so I ended up as the organizer of the trip, at least the technical part of it – booking the rooms in hotel and buying the tickets for the bus. It was a sleeper bus, and we succeeded to get 9 sleeping beds and only one non-sleeper seat. If your curiosity ever makes you want to know how the hell smells, the easiest way to find out is to enter one of the Indian sleeper buses. I tell you, and you better believe me, it smells like hell. Actually, it smells like one of those homeless persons that enter in the non AC bus, right next to you, on a warm summer day. And that’s not the worst thing - the worst thing is when you discover that the smell comes out of the seats and beds, which leads you to the conclusion that you will pick up that smell and become one with it. I wish I could tell you that I got used to it after few hours, but I didn’t. It was just too bad to be true! 

Anyway, after a 14 hours ride, with few short breaks, one meeting with a giant rat (it was big as a Coca-Cola bottle of 2l, I swear – I would lie if I say that I didn’t scream) and countless number of attempts to fall asleep while jumping up and down because of the Indian number one product – bumps*, we finally made it to Cochin around 8am. Hotel was a bit expensive for India – around 6.5 euro for a night per person, but it was quite comfortable, with mixed water shower, huge beds, towels and normal toilette seat. One of the best things was the terrace on the roof, on which we had our breakfast, and which offered us beautiful view on the city.

*with around 3.75 bumps per head, India is one of the bump-richest countries in the world, which is quite a lot when you realize that the nation has 1 billion people

As soon as we finished our breakfast, we went on a tour around the city. First thing on our way was Santa Cruz Basilica, one of the oldest churches in India. It was really interesting because it looked like a regular church that we all know, but with few add-ons which were vital for this type of climate – fans! I can’t explain how cute that was – whole church crowded with fans, and colorful like none of the churches I saw before. The sound of fans gave a special atmosphere to the place - it felt warmer than usual.

Visit to church was followed by the visit to Fish market and Chinese Fishing nets, which are the main attractions in Kochi. There you could see all kinds of fish, prawns, crabs, squids and bunch of other sea creatures - some of them still alive. Two kinds of Indian businessmen were present there – fish sellers, that were trying to convince us to buy fish from them, and restaurant guys, that were trying to convince us to come to their restaurant so they could prepare us the fish we bought. They were really obstinate, so we decided to run away, and come back later to enjoy this interesting meal.

Next stop was spice market, which was half an hour walk away from the fish market. I expected a big market with piles of spices all around, all colorful and full of life, but we didn’t find one. All we found was a street full of small shops selling different types of hardware, spices in bags and small packages etc. Although it wasn’t too colorful, large number of details in the street made the journey really interesting. 

We spent around hour and a half walking, so we became a bit hungry. As we wanted to try something local we searched for a typical Indian canteen. They usually don’t look really nice or clean, and the smell isn’t the best, but if there’s lot of people, it means that the food is fresh, and that’s the most important thing here in India. We found one that had one meal on the menu – lunch. You could choose between chicken, fish and meat. As Cochin is fishing town, I decided to try fish. Although the food was really tasteful, nothing in the canteen looked like it was really hygienic. While eating with my hands, like all other Indian people, I was constantly repeating one sentence in my mind: “If this meal doesn’t give me stomach problems, nothing will”.

 After the lunch, we took a ferry boat to the nearby island. We didn’t find anything too interesting there, so we satisfied ourselves with a group photo in front of an Indian truck.

Actually, one thing was interesting – being on a ferry boat full of people and motorcycles, with few cars somewhere in between. It was so crowded that we could barely stand. Funniest moment was the arriving on the other side and watching the motorcyclists struggling to get out of the ferry, as they were all turned backwards, and of course they were all being in a hurry. It was a complete mess!

Ferry boat dropped us next to the fish market, so we decided to buy some prawns, squids and fish, take a photo with it, and then eat it in the closest restaurant. Because of the atmosphere, unforgettable taste and the whole ritual of choosing and buying the fish, it was one of the highlights of the trip!

Next day, early in the morning, we went on a boat cruise to the Backwaters, some kind of a lake with bunch of small islands and canals in between (for better understanding check the map: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Backwaters.png). Some people had problems with getting up, because of the last night hangover, caused by the amount of “old monk” drunk on the roof terrace after the dinner. I had no problem like that (smile + fingers crossed) :D

After an hour long bus ride, we jumped into a handmade Indian boat parked under a bridge. When we took our seats, two Indian guys started moving the boat with huge bamboo sticks, and we quietly begun our three hours long floating trough canals and jungle. We were all sitting in silence, just watching around and listening to the sound of nature. It was so quiet and relaxing. I would just close my eyes and listen to the birds and insects speaking to leafs which were moving on the wind. What music!

We had few stops during which we saw how locals make sea shell powder and coconut ropes. Also, we saw their little houses, hidden in the middle of nowhere. Such a peaceful and quiet way of life! It gave me inspiration to draw few sketches, just for remembering the moment.

The tour ended up on the peak of one island, with a magnificent view on the surrounding. There, we had our lunch, served on a banana leaf by Indian family that lives nearby.

I was really relaxed after this, so I took a short nap during the bus ride to another boat. Second boat was a bit smaller than first one, operated with only one guy with bamboo stick. This time we went deeply into the jungle. During the boat ride we saw some local people doing their everyday jobs or just chilling around. Again, the whole group stayed completely silent and that gave a special flavor to this seven hours long adventure that I will never forget!