Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out! Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, though we
What do
you do when you visit a place for the first time? Do extensive research, or go
unprepared, ready to be surprised? I chose the latter on my visit to Fort Kochi
this summer, and within a day, I was so enchanted, I wished I could spend more
time there! My experiences were too varied to fit into one post, so this is
going to be a series... and here is the first one….
We
knew we would enjoy our stay at Fort Kochi, the moment we entered the quiet bylanes and
saw the quaint houses, seemingly from another era. The peace and quiet was a
welcome relief after the bustle of Ernakulam, and it was difficult to believe
we were so near the city! The number of boards advertising homestays clearly
proclaimed it to be a tourist hub, though we discovered that it was mostly
foreigners who came here, not the average Indian tourists. Maybe it is this
which has helped Fort Kochi retain so much of its colonial past.
The
Silverweed Homestay, tucked away in a narrow lane, greeted us with a profusion of flowers,
which brightened the cloudy day. With just two newly built rooms over the
original house, it was homely and comfortable. Our hostess was out on a medical
emergency, though our host, grappling with the domestic arrangements, welcomed
us warmly, and made sure we had everything we needed, even making breakfast for
us singlehandedly! Chatting with him about his family, and Kochi itself, over
the years, was certainly one of the highlights of our stay here!
Flowers
seemed to be a dominant part of our Fort Kochi experience. From the many flowers our hostess
carefully tended to….
To the
many rooftop
and balcony gardens we saw as we walked around the town….
Flowered
creepers
growing over abandoned walls, adding an extra dash of colour to the graffiti….
Even
the trees formed a flowered canopy for many of the small lanes we walked by, as we
explored the town.
Kochi
welcomed us with flowers, but also showed us so much over in the one short day we spent here.
Look out for many more posts about Kochi and its attractions in the coming
weeks!
Related Posts:
- Part 2: Chinese Fishing Nets
- Part 3: Indo – Portuguese Museum
- Part 4: St. Francis Church
- Part 5: Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica
- Part 6: Mattanchery Palace
- Part 7: Jew Town and Synagogue
- Part 8 : A Boat Ride
- Part 9: 3 Cafés, Three experiences
- Part 10: Maritime Museum
Beautiful! Being surrounded by so much natural color and greenery is very relaxing and soothing. I liked the bird graffiti too! More like art to me! :) I'm looking forward to more pictures and commentary about Kochi.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Natalie! I will post more pics of the bird grafitti soon. the place was full of grafitti but it rained so much i didnt click many of them.
DeleteLove Fort Kochi's quaint charm!
ReplyDeleteyou have been there during the biennale right? it must have been great then! I completely enjoyed my time there!
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