Spice Route

Aan was finally done with her "CAT!". She wants to go and freak out and forget that CAT ever happened to her and maybe not interested to know if it will eclipse, rise, revolve, rotate... whatever, she needs a day out. Now! Nifty is a sure invitee and she too required the break. The word BREAK during the CAT means everyday and most of the time every 2 hours. I am always ready for anything that revolves around food and anything that will make me look very artistic and intellectual.

Three of us set out to FORT KOCHI with a strong pursuit to be 100% tourists from some other country ( now stop guessing which country that would be.... its INDIA.. K?). Knowing that the old saying " Kochi kandavanu Achi venda" was definitely not going to work with us, we made plans and finally met up at the Ernakulam Boat Jetty and board a ferry and left the shores of the mainland. We made it to the island where Nifty became all enlightened and wanted to buy a "BIBLE", huh? Such odd timings these girls have. Ever!!!

KASHI (artistic and definitely intellectual) where lousy food is served at exorbitant rates (muasambi juice-Rs45/- and Aan came to see the spice paradise with 200 bloody bucks, yeah she had the plastic money) was our first destination. The good thing about the place is the ambiance and the art exhibition which makes us feel that anyone can be an artist. One can get a fillip to get back to art if or if not you have artistic roots. We kept bitching (what generally we girls do) about all the white skinned beggars wearing hardly any clothes (it shows-poverty) and talked about Palestine, Jordan, the spices, the merchants and blah! blah! blah!. Don't forget we are the wannabe tourist...... and talking about all these are just about no pain but watching some TLC for the gyaan. 

We din waste much of our valuable little time (hazards of being a gal) and set out to MATTANCHERRY where the famous JEW STREET was. Now a little history, facts and no figures about the place. 

" the JEW STREET in 700 B.C. was at Crangnore now Kodungallor, but due to a conflict regarding the pepper trade with the Muslims of Calicut now Kozhikode, they had to move out and settle themselves at Kochi. Here under the Hindu Raja, the Jews did their spice business with the rest of the world. Jews have a history of spice trade dating back to the age of King Solomon and today they trade cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, cloves and so on....." - its there in their blood....

Here we first visited the Hindu Raja's Dutch palace and bought our Incredible India entry pass worth Ps.500 and moved in to be highly sarcastic about their old photographs (heights of joblessness and ignorance) and moved out. On our foot we moved to the street where the Jew life, their culture and traditions, artifacts existed without much of a metamorphism. Spices, perfumes, curios, antiques gave us all the feeling of being foreigners. It is truly a different world. I was enthralled and tried looking a foreigner by adorning my scarf and shades, but failed pathetically. Ha! Ha! Ha!. Though the spirit was there we were late in being there on time to see the 'Pardesi Synagogue' (it closes between 1-3 at noon), but the Jewish experience was profound. I can even write a poetry.... 'Romanticizing the Jew Street'.... hmmmm..... "The aromatic breeze brushes your skin through your hair....", the rest you write when u visit the Jew Street.


 It was my time, time for food....

Now that we are in Mattancherry and eating the famous Kayees Biriyani was by default in the plan and as always 'BIRIYANI SOLDOUT' (we were just getting luckier--- probably God punished us for being sarcastic about the palace). Now that there was no food we went back to Fort Kochi and got into some shack and ordered some fried rice, FRIED RICE? how original and authentic could we be? Sea Food is all expensive and the rates are for the real tourist and not the wannabes.. A mariner who was on the next table also offered us some fish.... pity on us.... anyways..

We were done with it and made plans to get back to MAINLAND ERNAKULAM. Nifty still wanted to buy a BIBLE and Aan had some small shopping which she is doing all the time we go out and i wanted a hands free. Reaching Menaka it was coffee time and we gave away all our necessities for our desires to have some refreshing beverage from our very old COFFEE BEANZ. My aunt supplies the Passion Fruit Fizz there so i ordered it, Nifty made the best choice of a Cinnamon Coffee and Aan ate something like Chocolate. We quickly had it and made a hurry in getting back home.... family was out watching Pranchiettan..... got my handsfree and din let others make their shopping and let them return empty hand but definitely promised them that next time we will do their shopping. 

Sorry Guys! I know... I am mean.  

Its just a day out... but definitely you guys too went to Fort Kochi.... How was your experience? What did u like there? Tell us too........

ANNA