Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes, so today I turned into a tuk-tuk demon.
But let me start at the beginning. I went out to look for breakfast, with nothing particularly obvious crossing my path. Then I spotted a fellow just standing by a driveway, and looking past him I saw a table and some people having chow. I stepped in, and got the vibe "not another bloody foreigner!" Trying to show I am a man of the world I ordered dosa, which I assumed to be some sort of dumpling. I ordered a butter toasted one, and a masala toasted one. To go. I got a funny look from the young man taking my order, but not a word, and after waiting for 10 minutes the cook came to me and handed me a plastic bag without further explanation. My ride for a day for a guided visit of Fort Kochin was coming in 20 minutes, so I hurried up and had just entered the alley where my home stay is when a racket caught up with me and a cheery voice greeted me by name. It was a middle-age man, with a big smile, driving a tuk-tuk. He told me he had recognized me from my What'sApp photo, was a bit early, and by all means get to your home and have breakfast. So I hurried up, and found out that dosa is a soup (two in my case, since I had ordered two) so I had to scramble for a soup plate, which you eat accompanied by an enormous tortilla. It was a bit weird for breakfast, but I ate as fast as I could (only the masala dosa), saved the other one for dinner, and was out at the street at 8h59.
Kochi was the first European settlement in India, first by the Portuguese in 1500, taken over by the Dutch in 1650, taken over by the English in 1750, and finally handed back to India in 1948. So, the historic portion of Kochi, divided into Forth Kochi in the west and Mattancherry in the east is basically a walk through old Portuguese history (the Portuguese built many temples) and the changes brought by the Dutch, who were rabid Calvinists and rededicated most Catholic churches. Nowadays Old Kochi has regained its Catholic temples as part of the Church of India, Jain temples (that is where there are thousands of gods), Vishnu temples, and one synagogue (and one remaining Jewish family).
My tuk-tuk driver was very patient, gave me the brief version of all places we visited, and then allowed me enough time to walk around and get acquainted with the feel of the land. The bay front walk was very nice, and as always I enjoyed going through the fish stalls. Fortunately it was early and the crowds were subdued. We visited any number of temples, and two of the Catholic churches and the synagogue amazed me by asking everyone to take off their shoes (pretty standard practice in Jain and Buddhist temples). Hindi temples (Lord Vishnu) do not allow non-Hindus to visit.
The Church of St. Francis of Assisi claims to be the oldest in Asia, established in 1500. Vasco da Gama was the first European explorer to reach India (1499) by sailing around Africa and thus bypassing the trade intrigues of the Mediterranean and Arabian Peninsula, so he is highly respected both in Portugal and in India. Upon his death in 1524 (short three months after he had taken the post of Viceroy of Portuguese India) he was buried at the Church of St. Francis, but a few years later his remains were moved to Lisbon.
Note: Bartolomeu Dias was the first one to round Cape Horn in 1498, and described the coast of East Africa turning to the northeast, but it was left to Vasco da Gama to complete the exploration of East Africa, cross the Arabian Sea, and reach the west coast of India.
But enough of ancient history, me and my noisy guide visited the cricket field, where there were four games going simultaneously, and the old Dutch laundry. This is but a small sample of the big laundries of Mumbai, but the principle is the same: You bring your clothes, they get washed by hand over stone slabs, they get dried in a big yard, and are then pressed and folded, so when you come back two days later your laundry is ready. Never a piece of paper in between, nor any markings on the clothes, but reputedly they have never messed up. The whole operation is run by a family that has been doing this for nearly 400 years!
My driver took me to a bazaar, where I was sorely tempted to buy a big elephant carved in dark wood, and a rhinoceros that was its perfect match. Only US$ 2,150 but I am sure I could have bargained the seller down to US$ 1,500. Oh, my credit card was buzzing with excitement. But at the end I resisted, and I know I will forever regret letting these two magnificent pieces trickle through my fingers.
We also stopped at a spice shop. OMG, the aroma was to die for. I was able to resist the temptation, but as soon as I get home I am going to start moving my Indian spices to the front of the cabinet.
My driver suggested, as an additional activity, a boat ride through the estuary, I agreed, and we traversed a good distance toward the city to get to the embarcadero. This is where his mastery of tuk-tuk tricks really shone, as we cut and slashed against the incoming traffic. Tuk-tuks are not as nimble as scooters, but they have a bit more heft, so he used it his alternatively as a battering ram or as a breakwater for incoming traffic. Fun to be the mean guy on the road. The estuary is beautiful, but I think that adding a few Kalimantan crocodiles would greatly increase the touristic value of the trip.
By now he is my buddy, so I asked him to take me to a scooter rental place, where I have made arrangements to pick up a scooter for the next four days. Tomorrow I will go explore the big city.
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