Alright, I'm breaking stride here, and am combining two places separated by about three days. The backwaters and Alleppey were far too amazing to consider here. Both Varkala and Cochin (where I currently am) are similar in that they are very touristy, full of fresh seafood, and really have nothing interesting to offer to keep busy. But I'll first start with Varkala.
This is a beach town just north of Trivandrum. Most Keralans prefer to go to Kovalam, but most tourists shun Kovalam because it's so commerialized. Well, unfortunately, Varkala is getting that way too. It's less touristy that Hampi, and much more than Mamallapuram. The beach isn't all that long, and consists of North and South Cliff. It takes me about ten minutes to walk the length of the whole beach! As I walked along the beach to find accomodations, I passed by so many shops and restaurants, all catering to the tourists. Almost not a single Indian (unless as a tourist or an owner) can be found at Varkala Beach. Varkala Town, on the other hand, which is found about four kilometers south of the beach, is highly conservative Muslim. Anyway, I found a place where I stayed in a hut, which was more like a concrete block with a thatched roof. Still, I paid a cheaper price than anyone else I met. Yes, 250 Rs. a night was cheap. Normal was about 400 Rs. There is only one thing to do in Varkala, and two ways of doing it: Doing nothing on the beach, or doing nothing in a restaurant. Or, of course, you can go window shopping. Through this activity, I actually met some Gujarati shopkeepers that, while trying to sell me stuff, also wanted to have a conversation with a fellow Guju. I was invited for Guju chai on numerous occasions.
The one great thing about both Varkala and Cochin is the seafood. At Varkala, we see fishermen out on boats all day. At night, each restaurant (which is really just a copy of the others) would display the seafood its particular fisherman caught that day. Yeah, that really wasn't for me. Many people loved the fact that you just pointed to the fish, then it arrived cooked minutes later. I couldn't really deal with that. Seeing it alive, then dead, just isn't something that I find appetizing. Here in Cochin, there's a whole fish market, where you point to a fish, then take it to a stall, which will fry the fish up for you. Once again, not my bag, baby.
In Varkala, I met an Italian named Stefano. We got along quite well, and were amused by the fact that we were opposites: he was a beach-person, I wasn't. He enjoyed lazing around, catching some sun. I was dark enough. I would rather wander, he would rather get a tan. Still, Stefano was a truly intriguing guy. He had been in computers for about ten years before he gave it all up to go to school to become a naturopathic healer. In fact, he received an Ayurvedic massage while in Varkala, and was truly interested in the medicinal properties of things like turmeric and neem.
We had one great goal while in Varkala: find a Kathakali performance (traditional Keralan form of drama). Signs pointed to a place called the Sunrise Restaurant, and on our first evening of searching, the restaurant owners told us to go to a place called Temple Junction. Apparently, the Temple has performances every night (which my Lonely Planet confirmed). So, we trekked about two kilometers to the Junction, just to find out that the Temple didn't actually have performances, but instead that we'd need to go to a place called Clafouti, near the Sunrise Restaurant. So, we trudged back, only to be too late. Thankfully, the next day, we made it on time. We saw the amazing process of putting on the makeup and the impressive costumes. This process itself would usually take 1.5 hours. Then, we saw some traditional drumming. A man then came to show us some basic Kathakali movements. Finally, we watched the drama of Bhima and Baka, from the Mahabharata. In the book, this story is probably only a couple of pages long. This thing lasted for far too long. It was really stretched out. And though I know that I should have actually liked Bhima, the hero, Baka, the demon, was far more interesting. He actually seemed a little fun.
Varkala was sometimes boring and sometimes interesting. Beaches just really aren't for me. Plus, the expensive hotel and food didn't help.
Cochin is the same way. Cochin (or Kochi, as it's now called) consists of Ernakulum, Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, and many islands. Ernakulum is the entrance point on the mainland, and it's like a small Bangalore. It's really really bustling, and the large stores, particularly selling jewelry, really caught my attention. Fort Kochi, which can be reached by ferry, is the small part at the tip of the Cochin peninsula. It's really commercialized and it wholly caters to its many tourists. There's also the oldest church in India, at which Vasco de Gama was buried. Mattancherry is just south of Fort Kochi, and has the famous Jew Town. The Sassoon family, of Vidal Sassoon fame, lived here. But really, the most interesting thing to see in Cochin are the fishermen. The giant Chinese cantilever nets require at least five men to operate. These are interesting to watch, at least for about ten minutes. Really, I think that there's nothing else to do here, but spend money, that is. It took me about 1.5 hours to find a place. The cheapest, 250 Rs. Typically, a person would spend at least 450 Rs a night. Meals are just as expensive. Often, one plate starts at at least 150 Rs. Then, you add on a drink, maybe a soup or salad, and perhaps even a dessert, and you're paying one night's accomodation for dinner. Hell, there's even a cake that goes for 90 Rs!!! And, as before with Varkala, all you can do is wander around the shops and try not to look too interested. Or, you do what I'm doing, and you spend all your time in one of the many internet cafes. I spent four hours yesterday. I'll probably spend about six today. And, of course, they aren't cheap. But, they're fast. And that's important. But it also shows that there really isn't much to do here. I really can't understand what some people do with their time when they spend one or two weeks here. But perhaps it's just me...
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