It's starting to get light and the conductor hasn't passed. The train has made several stops during the night, in this last one a man goes up selling rice and chai (tea with milk), we buy one of each to try it, the truth is that it is not very good. Sometimes it's not a good idea to buy food from the street vendors, you don't really know how long the food takes to prepare.
People waiting for the train
People waiting for the train
Fellow traveller
The passage is spectacular, jungle, palm trees, rice fields, small villages, people washing in the river... The pity is that the tracks as well as the stations are full of rubbish. The Indians throw everything on the ground, on the train they do it through the window.
Landscape from the train
People in the river
The bathroom is indescribable, it is a hole in the floor, but the sheet metal that serves as a floor is bulging and full of liquid, the smell is very unpleasant and on top of that with the rattle of the train you don't know how to avoid falling.
The train stations are very curious, especially because of the people who wait, they can spend days lying on the platforms waiting for their train. Some people brush their teeth at the first tap they find.
From the train
We arrived in Ernakulam around 10 a.m. The accommodation is supposed to be nearby and we walk. It's the John's Residency, it's quite nice. A little shower and we take a walk.
Ernakulam
The city is full of Ambasador cars, English colonial heritage, many of them are taxis.
We have a beer at the only open place. Hindus don't drink alcohol and many locals don't pay the alcohol license which is quite expensive. It's a slum.
We go to the island of Vypin, on a ferry that costs 1 rupee per person. We take a rickshaw to get to the beach.
Vypin beach
Vypin beach
Chinese fishing nets
It's not particularly nice, the sea is very rough. The locals bathe in their clothes but they don't go past the knee. Javi and Joaquin bathe but the hangover is brutal. People look at them with curiosity. We decide not to swim, it's a bit unpleasant to get naked while everyone is looking at you so intensely. There is no lifeguard and we are not sure if he would know how to swim either.
People in Fort Kochi
We go back on the ferry to visit Fort Kochi, see the synagogue Paradesi. In the harbor we hallucinate with the Chinese fishing nets. They are huge fishing nets held by wooden rods that they dip into the water and then collect.
Chinese fishing nets
There are many fish stands and they offer us pieces that look fantastic, a half Indian half Ethiopian Rastafai guy who speaks some Spanish and sings songs of Manu Chao, he doesn't say that they can cook it for us in the restaurant next door. We accepted, we bought shrimp and sea bream or so it seemed. The dinner was delicious.
Street stand fish
Our friend
We go back by ferry to Ernakulam, have a beer in the hovel this morning but on the rooftop and the perspective changes, there are groups of men having dinner and drinking drinks.
Train ticket from Madgaon to Ernakulam 840 rupees 4 pax
Accommodation: John's Residency 620 rupees double room with bathroom
Ferry to the island: Rs.1 per pax
Ferry Fort Kochi to Ernakulam: Rs.2 per pax
Dinner: seafood and grilled fish with beer 30€
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