Fort Kochi - journey's end

Fort Kochi

Our final destination 

Our lovely stay at Alleppey Beach Garden and overnight houseboat trip seemed to put Max back together again 🥰.
We disembarked around 9 am and headed into Alappuzha centre, hoping to meet Vinil (our new best friend) before we left. After a few minutes of lovely country lanes around the backwaters, passing lots of smiling children on their way to school, we reached the centre. Once there, we got caught up in the busiest rush hour yet! Cars, tuk tuks, and mopeds everywhere, and although the traffic police were doing their best to control the flow, it was still absolute chaos at the main junction 🫣.
Max is brilliant in these situations - he never falters, but occasionally he seems to forget I'm at the back and doesn't always tell me which way we're heading when we approach a junction, so I have to try and read his next move as best I can 😉.
Once through the worst of it, we stopped at Namaste Tiffin, a place we'd hoped to check out before leaving. However, it soon transpired that Vinil was on VIP duty at a luxury hotel resort a few miles up the coast so instead we took the coastal road and went to meet him there. When we arrived the barrier to the resort was down and, after speaking to the police who were on duty, it was clear they weren't going to let us in. Vinil appeared a few minutes later and explained why - the VIP guest was none other than Viktor Orban (the Hungarian Prime Minister). He was holiday in Kerala with his wife who was on a spa break 😀. 
We stood outside chatting to Vinil, who looked very smart in his uniform and, after a few photos, he took us for a drink at a little roadside cafe. He's a really nice guy, very interesting to talk to and has been so kind and helpful with everything. He contacted a bike shop in Kochi and arranged for them to pack up the bike for us once we reached there 👍👍.
Eventually we said our goodbyes to Vinil (and his colleagues and superintendent) and continued along the coastal road which everyone had assured us would be a very pleasant route. We were treated to the sea view at times, and there was plenty of shade, that was such a relief as by now it was midday and very hot 🔥.
We had a few lovely interactions along the way, a Swiss couple, travelling in a tuk tuk saw the tandem and stopped to chat to us. We learnt they were heading to Kochi to fly to Varanasi (I think) for a huge religious festival that only occurs every 12 years. A little while later, an Indian couple on a moped stopped and wanted to take a photo with us. They were on their way to Kochi hoping to sell the pressure cooker they were carrying with them. They were very friendly and told us she was five months pregnant, expecting their second child 🥰.
The coastal road was pretty good overall, apart from the middle stretch, where we encountered a lot of potholes, which made it much tougher going. We arrived in Kochi around 2 pm, to another very warm welcome from our host, Joseph. We were staying at La Lune (a very nice b&b right in the centre of Fort Kochi) for five nights before flying home.
So, after two months of travelling, 23 days cycling, 787 miles cycled, and 27,338 feet of climbing, our South Indian cycling adventure was nearly over. As I gathered those stats I couldn't help wondering if we could have done more 🤣🤣. Nonetheless I was looking forward to a few days rest and the chance to feel like a proper tourist on holiday 😀. 
Max was itching to get the bike packed up and spent most of the first day sorting this out. He'd decided to do it himself rather than entrust it to the bike shop and once that was done we could both relax 😉. Joseph was a great host - he had lots of suggestions for things we could do (not all touristy either) and he was able to arrange alot of things for us starting with a massage which he claimed was the best in Kochi. It was two brothers and they came to pick us up on their scooters which Max wasn't overly keen on but went along with all the same. The massage was excellent - possibly the best of the trip and he seemed to find no end of knots in my shoulders which I always take as a positive sign!
We tried a few different restaurants in Kochi but quickly settled on our favourite - The Coriander Veg. It was so good we ate there three times 😋. One dish in particular, Aloo, tomato and capsicum was truly divine and I'm definitely going to have to try and recreate that one at home. After two months we still haven't tired of the Indian cuisine and have definitely found our food heaven here. I'm sure this will be the first of many trips around India 😉.
We wanted to learn a little about the history of Kochi during our short stay and on Joseph's recommendation we signed up for an early morning walking tour around the Fort area. An early 7am start meant that, as an added bonus, we managed to catch sunrise on the way to the meeting point. It was lovely and quiet everywhere and a very pleasant temperature too. Our guide was brilliant, managing to illuminate the multi heritage history of Kochi with some amazing and personal stories told in the most captivating way. She talked about the successive occupations of Kochi, first by the Portugese then the Dutch and lastly the British. Everyone was after the spices - we'd first learnt about that back in Thekkady on the tour we were given of the spice plantation. We walked around the quieter streets of Kochi where the colonials once lived - so many beautiful old buildings which have survived only because they've now been converted to hotels. The way she talked made it so easy to form a picture in my mind's eye of life as it was back then. She described more recent times based on her own experience of growing up in Kochi; about the first youth festival she and her brothers set up in Kochi back in the 1980's and what a blast they had. So many stories that held my attention and the time just flew by. I could have happily continued listening long after the 1.5 hour tour was over. 

Under our own steam we wandered around the Jew Town area of Fort Kochi. A very vibrant area with many up market craft and gift shops aswell as a wide array of antiques and handicrafts. We took a quick look inside the Synagogue (the only remaining functioning synagogue in Kochi today) and ended up getting caught up in another Indian photoshoot that just kept getting bigger and bigger 😂. 

On Joseph's suggestion we caught the local water taxi over to the new town - Ernakulam - costing us an extortionate 6p each! We popped into a traditional coffee house he also recommended for their dosas - they definitely ranked as some of the best we've tasted - for the grand sum of about 50p for both of us! From there we caught the metro to a popular shopping mall, had a wander and bagged a few bargains. We were on our way back to the metro when we bumped into the guy we'd met way back in the mountains before Christmas. Even though he'd told us he lived in Kochi, we still couldn't quite believe it - what a coincidence and such a small world. 

Breakfast at La Lune probably ranked as the best we've had in India - that wasn't just about the food, though it was pretty good (fresh juices, free range eggs and different homemade cakes and curries every day). It was served on the roof terrace - a beautifully decorated oasis of calm. In particular there was a lovely mood board above the buffet table which had been created by one of Joseph's daughters which was very inspiring 🤩. I loved the decor generally at La Lune, lots of the art work and design was done his daughter and she's clearly very talented. Joseph would greet us and all the guests every morning and was always keen to engage and chat to everyone. Again we chatted to the other guests too - in particular a nice group of Austrian ladies who had visited Kerala a few times so knew the area well. 

All too soon our stay in Kochi drew to a close and it was time to say goodbye. We were both ready to go home but sad to leave India all the same. I have a feeling this will be the first of many future trips to India. It's been the most brilliant adventure - amazing scenery, fantastic food, and such wonderful people everywhere we've been. It's so true what they say - Incredible India 🇮🇳 🤩. 

With Vinil outside the Xandari Pearl Resort 

The lovely couple on the way to Kochi

Just heading off for my massage 😂

These guys crossed the road like they owned it 

Such a beautiful restaurant garden 

Exploring Jew Town 

The Kalikari show we went to in Kochi 

Some of Kochi's street art 

Early morning walking tour 

Catch of the day 

Chinese fishing nets 

Early morning street tour in Kochi 

More street art in Kochi (Vasco de Gama lived here apparently)

The hostel in Kochi 

The beautiful Santa Cruz Cathedral 

What a great use for recycled tyres 😍

More colourful street art 

Sunrise from our early morning yoga class 

A very colourful mural 😍

The mood board at La Lune 

Saying farewell to Joseph 

I'm very much inclined to agree 😍