I went straight from the airport to the accommodation I was staying at in Fort Kochi. The place was very simple and had a nice and relaxed atmosphere which was perfect for me to recover from the jet lag. I didn’t do much that day except eat by going straight in the deep end with some street food. I had my first pani puri of the trip which was as good as the picture below is bad. 6 for 30 rupees (~30p). Delhi Belly Count: 0.
I couldn’t sleep that night so managed to finish my first book of the trip. Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin. Some good advice but don’t bother reading it. Main message can be summarised as 'if you consciously engage with your 5 senses then life will be more enjoyable'.
The next day I went for my first run of the trip in an attempt to keep my rehab going strong. It was torturously hot but a good one to get out of the way. So many puzzled faces from all of the locals which felt like they were saying “Wait, you do this for pleasure?”. Sadly I do not.
I then walked around a place called Jew Town which I was a little confused by. I found out that the first significant Jewish presence in India dates back to ancient times, likely as early as 587 BCE. Some believe that the first jewish people arrived as traders on the spice routes, while others suggest they came seeking refuge after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. Jew Town was a cute little area where I ended up buying a cotton shirt and wore it immediately with pride (classic tourist). Just 20 minutes later I was humiliated as I walked past the same shop and the lady and her mates were laughing because I had worn it out of the shop back to front (classic tourist).
Alleppey was a quiet small town with a beautiful never-ending empty beach at it's doorstep. Great place for another run but sadly this time I came away with a bit of a sore ankle so these may have to stop for a while. This may be the tipping point where I just lean in to proper non-exercise holiday vibe.
One evening in search of some vegan food online I found this place called Gujarathi Hub. I rocked up and it was a Gujarati couple's literal kitchen. She made home cooked shaak (curry) and rotli (chapatis) along with green chutney and chilli pickle. Felt like being back in Ilford with the grandparents as I ate the same food and struggled to string together sentences in Gujarati. The man who's name was Bipin Shah sat on the table chatting to me while his wife (whose name I never got) kept bringing me more rotlis. They are the fourth generation of Gujaratis in Alleppey. Apparently there's currently 20 Gujarati families there of which they are 1 of 7 Digambar or Dussavania Jains - we realised this is the same as what I am and acknowledged that it was highly likely if not almost guaranteed that we're related! The meal was so good and cooked fresh right in front of me and came to £2! In the end I gave £4 out of some weird guilt I felt given this wealth disparity, which was probably strengthen by the relation thing.
That night through some of the people in the hostel, I met an Indian artist called Lal and had some drinks in the garden of his house-tent which was right on the beach. Amazing what he’d done inside the place but felt it would be too uncool to take a photo so I creepily took one from outside. He was a decent guy who was very welcoming and even fashioned a chair out of some of his belongings so I didn’t suffer sitting cross legged given my bad leg. After having mentioned meeting him to locals they were very dismissive. They all claimed he had mental problems because of his creative pursuits but display his work at Frieze festival and a couple of sales, I'm sure he'd be retiring in Alleppey for life.
I had my first massage of the trip at a renowned Aryuvedic place opting for a half reflexology half neck/back. It would have been a great massage and definitely worth the premium for the facility had it not been for the surprise oily double wet willy I was subjected to in both ears just before the end. Massage count 1. Oily wet willy count 2.
I woke up early for the backwaters tour which was just amazing, 2 meals, transportation and the entire experience consisting of rowing a large canoe in the Kerala backwaters through lakes and canals as we witnessed local river life. I also had one of the best post booze naps of my life after being the only brave enough to try the local home made toddy. To be honest it was quite bad and every sip I remember thinking I wish this was just a beer and didn’t taste like lukewarm sulphur infused coconut Kombucha.
Glad the Delhi Belly has not gotten to you, great photos x