Bus at Kochi Fort
We had a pit stop in Kochi for a day. We chose to stay in a hotel near Kochi International Airport which turned out to be fantastic decision. Hotel Sapphire Inn was 1 km away from the Departure gate of Kochi airport. We Arrived from Bangalore at 10:30 pm and we took an auto which costed INR 30 (£0.30).
What we did in Kochi?
From Kochi Airport there is an AC bus which you can take to get to Fort Kochi which cost INR 76 (£0.76) and it can take up to two hours to reach.
Fort Kochi town was so relaxing and yes people here were friendlier, more welcoming and their warm smile put you at ease. Fort Kochi is a beautiful colonial Portuguese town with fine architecture, with good transport options, great restaurants serving various options and sea food being on top of the list. In comparison to other parts of major cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore (Bengaluru) and Pune, Kochi was a breath of fresh air. It was less polluted with both people and dirt.
The beach however was not so impressive as it was covered with plastic bottles, plastic bags, natural waste and other dirt thrown away by the general public. There was however an initiative taking place to raise awareness about the environmental impact of littering and its effects to the sea life which will eventually impact us. This is great potential for the future of Kochi. We had less than half a day to spend here in Kochi which was not enough and will like to visit again.
We were really in Kochi to get Molly’s final Rabies jab to enable travel without worry. We took local red window-less buses to take refuge from the Sun. We also experience the local road side street food which consisted of banana pakora, egg pakora and chai. One of local most popular choice, best complimented by the ease and friendliness of the family selling the food.
Eventually, Molly got her jab in Gautam Hospital. We found this process with ease and would recommend it as it was most cost effective.
The dinner was the highlight of the trip. After a careful selection we found a traditional looking restaurant to try out the flavours of Kerala. The fish and the prawns recommended by the owner was by far one of the most finger licking dinner we had. It was an early evening dinner for us at 6pm and this left us having the whole rooftop to ourselves.
The last bus from Fort Kochi left at 7pm and we had to run as the dinner took longer then expected to be served and just got to the bus before it left.
The remainder of our night was spent in the hotel getting ready for an early checkout the next day to catch the flight to Kuala Lumpur.
I was impressed with Kochi airport, the best I have seen in India, cool, calm, clean and friendly. People here actually smile which was unfamiliar sight in other parts of the country.
