It would seem that we arrived at Mangalore at 04:15 and got a connection to Ernakulam from where we took a ferry to Fort Cochin. To tell the truth the notes are a bit sketchy. The remaining notes suggest we ate fried fish at the Hotel Elite and stayed at the Princess Tourist Bungalow. This could very well have been a room in a former colonial house.
I remember that the room was a decent size and I was able to hang up my mosquito net over the double bed. I do have quite vivid memories of that night because I recall laying down with Claire. There we were alone in an exotic location beneath a mosquito net. We had been getting on very well but until that point nothing had happened between us. You have to be very careful. Just because someone agrees to share a bed with you doesn't necessarily mean they consent to anything more than sharing the bed. So I had to ask whether Claire wanted a cuddle. That was literally what I asked her and it would have been fine if she had said no but she said yes. We cuddled and it was all very nice indeed. I won't go into details, I don't have to do I?
Next morning after breakfast at the Hotel Elite one of the first things on my agenda was fixing my telephoto lens. I found a likely place (a watch mender's) where they had tiny screws to tighten it up.
After that we went to see the fishing nets. My Lonely Planet Guide is still unfound but I think I remember that it said these nets represented a very inefficient method of fishing. They are called Chinese Fishing Nets because they may have been imported when Cochin was a major centre for the spice trade. Wikipedia says that some suppose they were introduced by the Chinese explorer Zheng He.
They are huge contraptions at least 10 meters high and the nets are about 20 meters across. The engineering involved is entirely out of proportion to the size of the catch. I didn't see them in operation but it seems that the fisherman walks out over a beam which causes a shift in the machine's balance resulting in the net being lowered gently into the water for a short period of time. When it is raised the catch is a few fish and some crustaceans.
It's a lot of work for not much fish. Mind you, such fish that are caught must be enough to make the investment worthwhile. They say that the fish that are caught are sold to passers by and there are people on hand who will cook them for you for a small fee. This demonstrates that it a business large enough to have a subsidiary service industry allied to it.
All the same, although I have never seen either Dragons' Den nor The Apprentice, I think I understand the principles behind the shows and I can't see how one could successfully pitch the idea of constructing such an enormous and fairly complicated thing as a business proposition. The paltry returns would render it unviable. I don't think anyone would buy in to the project. Likewise an apprentice who came up with such an idea would be likely to hear the famous words. That's a pity because they are fantastic things. By "fantastic" I mean they must have been dreamed up rather than designed.
The picture above perplexed me for a while. I wasn't sure anymore what it was. In the course of checking some information I found that it is a picture of Mattancherry Palace. Viewed close up you can see how the climate has eroded what once was probably a great deal more splendid than what we eventually found. I say "eventually" because I think it took a little while to find this place because of the Indian trait of not being able to admit that one doesn't know the answer to a question or simply doesn't understand what is being said. My researches have also shed some light on why the question "can you tell me the way to Mattancherry Palace" might have been a hard one to understand. It seems that the palace is known locally as the Dutch Palace. What is the point of having a local name for something, I wonder? I remember we asked this guy if he could tell us the way to Mattancherry Palace and he seemed reluctant to be precise. In the end I asked if it was "this way" pointing down the road and he was very relieved to say "acha!". We found it eventually but I think it was no thanks to the perplexed local.
There are some very good paintings in Mattancherry Palace but the one that stayed with me the longest is that of Krishna cavorting with the Gopis. What a guy Krishna was!
At www.fortcochin.com/mattancherry.htm it says "His languid pose belies the activity of his six hands and two feet, intimately caressing adoring admirers". Those words are quoted within this article on a blog at http://ssubbanna.sulekha.com/blog/post/2009/01/the-legacy-of-chitrasutra-twelve-the-murals-of.htm and there is a small reproduction of the mural. Honestly! He's all hands! (and feet).
Traveling as a couple almost imposes an obligation to do things and see things. I am sure Claire and I were taking it easy but our next stop was Jew Town. I don't know why but the name sounds perjorative. Why should it? There are China Towns in plenty of cities. I dare say that armed with the right guidebooks and much more time there would have been more examples of the 16th Century Jewish community to see but the Synagogue built in 1568 is the prime attraction. I bought the postcard shown above.
I can't honestly say that I remember visiting St Francis Church (built 1503). I bought the postcard below anyway.
Cochin is a place with Portuguese, Chinese and Dutch influences. I have fond memories of the place. At some point Claire and I must have gone into a shop because I bought a another "black star sapphire" to match the one I got in Jaipur.
Claire and I ate well that evening. My notes don't say where but I did make a note of the cost because it was remarkable. Just Rs 3.50. That was 10p at the official exchange rate. You can't say fairer than that.
I dare say we turned in early, earlier than we might have been expected to. I was very much under the influence of Krishna.
