Cochin, India

To travel from Chennai on the east coast of India to Cochin on the opposite coast, we would be sailing around the southern tip of India. The captain reported that since the waters separating India and the nearby island of Sri Lanka were too shallow for the Queen Elizabeth to navigate, we would be sailing around Sri Lanka and the Malabar Coast. It made for a little longer journey but resulted in a much-appreciated day at sea.

Early in the morning as we approached Cochin, we slowly sailed past flat land along the shore covered with houses, lush tropical greenery, and fishing nets. We also went past several small islands that had been created to protect the harbor. Unlike the east coast of India, which has no natural harbors, the harbor at Cochin is natural. Sightseeing boats with people snapping pictures of the ship sailed past us.

Early Morning Views of Cochin

Cochin, a city of three million people, is in Kerala, India’s smallest state. It is located on the Arabian Sea, ten degrees north of the equator. Like Chennai, it is very tropical with temperatures frequently reaching well over 100F. The heat and humidity hit us as soon as we walked on deck.

Once we reached the dock, we saw that several ships were already berthed there, including a French Navy helicopter landing ship, and we had to parallel park between them. The Queen Elizabeth has this amazing ability to pull up at the dock and then use thrusters to move sideways to squeeze in between two ships. Something I wish my car could do.

Going down the gangway, we could see a long line of white vendor tents on the dock awaiting customers, along with dozens of tour buses, some covered with the image of Sylvester Stallone and Mickey Mouse. Many had religious sayings such as Gift of God. Some buses and trucks displayed symbols or patterns to ward off evil spirits and attract good luck.

Vendors on Dock

We boarded one of the buses for the Highlights of Cochin tour, which would take us to the old section of the city. Driving out of the dock area we passed a number of buildings that had been built by the British but were now empty and neglected. Our tour guide said that there are hopes that the train station near the harbor will be renovated and used again. With more cruise ships now traveling to Cochin that would be a good idea. In fact, the Queen Mary 2 was scheduled to arrive the next day. If restored, the once magnificent colonial buildings in the port area would draw tourists. We were told that the majority of tourists that visit Cochin come from France.

The Portuguese colonized Cochin. A particularly valuable thing they introduced to India was tall shade trees, which they brought from their colonies in Brazil. The trees, some of which are now 300-400 year old, cover large portions of the old area and provide much needed shade. They also brought cashew nut trees from Brazil.

The first stop on our tour took us to Mattancherry, which is a fascinating area filled with Portuguese and Dutch buildings. We went into the Mattancherry Palace, also referred to as the Dutch Palace. It is said to be the result of Dutch money and local craftsmanship and was presented to the Raja as a gesture of goodwill and to obtain some trading rights.

The thick walls inside the palace were covered with bright gold murals depicting scenes from two Indian epics. The craftsmen created the murals using natural pigments and coated them with egg whites to preserve them. Unfortunately, with window shutters (no glass) being open daily, the humidity is causing flaking. The ceilings consisted of intricate wood designs. Photography was prohibited, so we couldn’t take pictures inside.

The Dutch Palace

We visited a section of Cochin called Jew Town to visit the oldest Jewish Synagogue in India, built in 1568, and also the oldest synagogue in the British Empire. Unfortunately, our tour only allowed enough time for us to walk past the synagogue, but we got a good view of the clock tower, which was built in 1716. The face of the clock displayed the time in Hebrew, Roman numerals, and local symbols. Unfortunately, with so many people jammed into such a small area and the resulting confusion, we didn’t get a picture of it.

A variety of shops specializing in textiles, spices, perfumes, and jewelry filled the streets leading to the synagogue. The scent of spices and perfumes wafting through the air was quite pleasant. Spices are such moneymakers the Indians call cardamom green gold and black pepper black gold. Cochin is the largest producer of nutmeg in the world.

We stopped to buy one of the white cotton tops we saw displayed outside of several shops. We are not very good at negotiating prices and probably paid far more than savvy people buying the same item. 

As I walked down the streets, I stopped frequently to scribble in my notebook. One shop owner invited me into his shop, and when I explained that I had to get back to the tour bus, he gave me his card and encouraged me to visit his tent on the dock. He explained that his shop was new and he was just getting started. He was so polite and looked so in earnest that I put his card in my pocket and if we had time planned to look for his tent.

Much later on the dock, I remembered his card and looked for his tent, which fortunately had the shop name displayed. When I walked in, he exclaimed, “You came!” I was so surprised to see him there and that he remembered me and asked him if he recognized me from my big straw hat. He won my heart when he said, “No, you are the writer lady.” How could I resist. John and I had a good time negotiating with him good-naturedly over the cost of a few items, and when we finished, he introduced us to his brother and sister-in-law and took a group picture of us. He was just a delight. 

So if you ever find yourself in Cochin, stop and see Azeem Ahemad at his shop Piccole Gioie, 6/174 Synagogue Street in Jew Town, Cochin, or look for his tent/stall on the dock. Tell him the writer lady sent you and for him to give you a good deal.

A Road in the Synagogue Area 

Our tour next took us to the St. Francis Protestant church. It had been built by the Portuguese but later taken over by the Dutch, who painted over or removed all the artwork in the church. Later, the British took control of it, and it now serves as an Anglican church.

The church was the burial place for the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. A few years after his death, his body was exhumed and reburied in Lisbon, Portugal. A stone in the church marked his original burial spot.

Punkalevers, long flat fans, stretched the length of the church. They are attached to ropes that were pulled by someone outside to move the fans back and forth over the congregation. These days the process is mechanized. The tour guide was quite proud to announce that Queen Elizabeth II visited the church in 1997 and Prince Charles and Camilla in 2013.

St. Francis Church

We had a quick stop at a museum next to the Roman Catholic bishop’s house. The museum contained ancient church vestments and chalices contributed by ten churches in the area. The gardens surrounding the house were beautiful, filled with hibiscus, banana plants, palm trees, and some of the towering shade trees imported by the Portuguese. The Franciscans established the nearby Santa Cruz Basilica, which we didn’t have time to visit.

Gardens

Mount Carmel School

Our last stop was at the waterfront to see the Chinese fishing nets. It is believed that the process of using cantilevered nets was brought to Cochin from Macau in Hong Kong a thousand years ago. Some say by Chinese traders, but it was probably the ever-present Portuguese.

The nets are dropped in the water and used to scoop up fish. The same basic method is still used to this day, except at one time steam boilers were introduced to power the net lifting. Local fishing is big business and much of the fish is exported. In fact, small crabs are exported to Malaysia to be fattened up. The local people export all kinds of things, as well as importing things you wouldn’t think they would need such as sand from Cambodia.

We walked along the seafront and visited Fort Cochin. Portuguese canons still rest on the walls. The area was filled with vendors, people buying fish, and coconut trees, which we walked under carefully, looking up. Apparently, people are killed every year by falling coconuts.

Chinese Fishing Nets Seen From the Ship

Chinese Fishing Nets Seen From the Shore

We didn’t visit a Hindu temple in Cochin. However, we heard that a passenger who visited one with a taxi driver came out to find the driver’s shoes missing and someone holding his shoes, requesting $10 for having guarded them.

In each country we’ve visited during our voyage, we’ve seen KFC restaurants. Since KFC serves chicken, it is especially popular in countries where people don’t eat beef, like most of India. However, our tour guide said that many people in the south of India eat beef. Coincidentally, on the news that night, it was reported that KFC profits have soared since they started offering buckets of chicken in one of the Asian countries. Based on the numbers of KFCs we’ve seen around the world, it might be a good company to invest in. Also, with construction booming in this part of the world, investing in cement companies might also be a good idea.

We’ve seen a number of American and British businesses in the various places we visited. But I have to admit that it seemed strange to visit India and see a Sleep America mattress store.

Throughout Cochin, we saw campaign posters and pictures of the candidates for an upcoming election. One of the candidates was a communist, and his posters featured not only his picture but also a sickle and hammer.

We enjoyed our day in Cochin very much. It was a fascinating place and the people were so friendly. Later that evening, we watched TV coverage of the visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and Kate) to Mumbai, just miles away from Cochin. I hope they enjoyed themselves as much as we did.