December 6, 2009 – Day 346 – Fort Kochi, Kerala, India

Around 2pm, we arrived at the Ernakulum Railway Station. A rickshaw, a ferry, and a 1 km walk later, we arrived in the center of town of Fort Kochi. It is a small place and easily walkable.

On the train

There are many lodging options at all different prices. It took us a long while, circling the town twice before we found the best deal. For a meager Rs. 300 (a bit over US$6 for the room), we got a very nice, clean double room with fan, private bathroom and hot water (whoa!). Sounds basic but it’s really all you need, though a TV or some wifi would be nice for the lifeless evenings here! The town starts to shut down just before dark and by 8 or 9pm and there aren’t too many great places to hang out for drinks. Some overpriced tourist restaurants, lots of ice cream vendors, and the town’s several internet cafes take care of the night life.

Travel Tip:

To get to Fort Kochi from the Ernakulum railway station, take a rickshaw to the jetty for around
Rs. 15-20. At the jetty you can buy a ferry ticket (Rs. 2.5) to Fort Kochi. There are signs above the windows with the ferry destination name (Fort Kochi or Mastancherry are the 2 primary drop-offs for tourists) and the lines are long. They stop selling tickets in between ferries (not long, maybe 10-15 minutes usually) so you’ll want to keep in line for when they re-open the windows for sales.

The ferry itself has few seats compared to the number of tickets sold and, like all other transportation in India, it’s a mad rush to fill the seats before the music stops. Fight your way in like everyone else or you will be stuck boarding last and standing for the 10-15 minute ride.

On the ferry

When you land at Fort Kochi, you can either take a rickshaw or just walk the 0.8km into the center of town. To walk it took us only about 10-15 minutes and it’s a flat easy walk even fully loaded with our packs. Just take a right out of the ferry dock area and go straight. There might be one or two intersections but just keep walking straight and/or to the right and you will come right into the center of Fort Kochi.