After prising myself out of the Hotel Adia and that bed I went uphill to a bus station where I got an empty seat with my name on it, and, as on the trains, I again enjoyed the breeze blowing through open windows. Three hours later I got on a short ferry hop from the mainland over to Fort Kochi on an island.
This is a big time spice trading region which drew the greedy bastard Portuguese colonists in 1503 then the greedy bastard Dutch colonists then the greedy bastard British colonists, who all, apparently oblivious to the indigenous population, fought wars over the lucrative business, mainly in black pepper (today Kochi has an International Pepper Exchange, a bit like the stock market) and due to this the city attracted all sorts of nationalities along with their mad-assed religions which haven't gone away, giving the place a rich mix of viscous cultures.
Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer extraordinaire and the first European to reach India by sea, was buried here until his body was dug up and taken home to Belem in Lisbon. Today Kochi is the commercial hub of Kerala with vast docks sending ships around the world and is also home to the southern Indian naval fleet.
This is a big time spice trading region which drew the greedy bastard Portuguese colonists in 1503 then the greedy bastard Dutch colonists then the greedy bastard British colonists, who all, apparently oblivious to the indigenous population, fought wars over the lucrative business, mainly in black pepper (today Kochi has an International Pepper Exchange, a bit like the stock market) and due to this the city attracted all sorts of nationalities along with their mad-assed religions which haven't gone away, giving the place a rich mix of viscous cultures.
Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer extraordinaire and the first European to reach India by sea, was buried here until his body was dug up and taken home to Belem in Lisbon. Today Kochi is the commercial hub of Kerala with vast docks sending ships around the world and is also home to the southern Indian naval fleet.