Kochi Backwaters

• 26 February 2026

We just finished up 5 days in Kochi, a large port city on the west coast of Kerala.

The area is known for its historic role in the spice trade and it was fun to visit local spice markets.

I would have taken a picture but I must have been too distracted by the 90 degree heat with 75% humidity. I didn’t know it was possible to sweat that much.

We often tucked into AC to recuperate when we could, but had two separate power outages while we were there. I cannot fathom how the folks observing Ramadan made it through the days with no water from dawn to sunset.

In fact, we did a food tour late one afternoon and our tour guide was observing Ramadan. Talk about dedication to the job.

He took us to a place with avocado shakes which were heavenly and refreshingly icy.

We tried a spicy beef curry with flaky parotta, crispy chicken 65, and chicken chettinad. It surprised us to find beef on a menu in India but this region seems to have more Islamic and Christian influence which was reflected in the food options.

That was followed up by a freshly squeezed lime and ginger soda and then our first mango lassi of the trip.

We ran into more foreign tourists in kochi than anywhere else so far, but still have only run into two American couples on the trip. Each time was when we did a food tour. It seems Americans have similar priorities when traveling.

Apparently there must be a goal to attract more American tourists to the businesses in the area because Dirk and I became unsuspecting models for two separate businesses within a single day. First the coffee shop interviewed us for social media at breakfast (I’ll save you from the painfully bad acting by not linking to that here).

Then we went on a sunset kayak tour through the backwaters. We were told there was going to be another couple on the tour as well and that they might be using a video camera. We kept trying to do the courtesy of not being in the way of their filming. What gradually became apparent was the other couple on the tour was actually their media team (not just another random couple as it was initially staged) and they were in fact specifically trying to film us for advertising. It finally clicked when they got to the full on interview portion. Adventures!

The next day we retired from our short lived advertising careers and embarked on a punting boat tour along the canals, joined by some other tourists from Spain, the UK, and other regions in India.

First we toured around in a larger wooden boat along the main canal.

Then we switched to a smaller boat to navigate the smaller channels. The punter uses a long bamboo pole to help glide the boat along the canals. It seems almost like the boats in Venice. Though maybe not so much for the one guy who got stuck with the plastic chair in the middle of the boat staring at dirks back.

Lunch again on bamboo leaves.

Then we got to see the technique demonstrated for weaving coconut leaves to make into thatched roofs. This lady was talented. She subsequently demonstrated how to make coconut fibers into rope, with a little help from a bicycle rim.

Finally, we spent our last day in Kochi touring all the historic sites in a Ferrari (tuktuk version of course).

• ← Previous
  Of Birds and Tea
• Next →
  The Lunch Man