WCR 1120

20^th Nov 2014: Munnar to Kochi:

Nilu and Gyan needed to reach Ernakulam railway station before noon as they had to parcel their bikes on that day only. As a result, our first stop would be very late. We touched the Ghats again and then faced the wrath of Dread.  Traffic was at its worst. Bus drivers were honking behind us on the curvy road. Cars didn’t leave enough space to overtake. It was all too familiar.

We came across beautiful waterfalls on the way but Dread wouldn’t let us stop and admire them. We had to carry on. We made a brief stop for breakfast where the dosa was very bad and then made straight for Kochi. It was easier said than done. We had to negotiate a lot of turns. Every signboard said differently. The locals guided differently. Although the distance from Munnar was only 125 kms, it took us close to 4 hours to reach outskirts of Kochi.

Our troubles were still not over. We reached Kochi in rush hour. Surprisingly, the main road here was much wider than the highway, and it had dividers too. WTF. But that was only for a short stretch. The road became narrower and narrower due to construction of the Metro and it became hot. Every turn we came across pointed towards Railway Station. On asking, we got confused with South/North Railway station.

In all this chaos, I got separated from the rest of the group as it always happens when riding through traffic. I reached the North Railway Station and saw that this was the Ernakulam City Station. Why the hell couldn’t they write the same on the signboards too? This is supposed to be the most literal state. Thankfully, Ashok was passing me GPS locations of the points they were crossing. In between, I also crossed the Kochi cricket stadium. That was a long roundabout. I then caught up with the others at the Ernakulam Junction, or South as the signboards called it.

While Gyan and Nilu went straight to the Parcel office, we looked around for a place to stay. Some of us stuck on getting an AC room. We looked at a couple and then decided on one. I should mention here that one of the auto drivers took us to a hotel. Nothing to mention about the room, but the skill of the auto driver in selling was noteworthy. He would treat us as special. The staff at the hotel didn’t and that turned us off.

Gyan and Nilu hurriedly dumped their luggage, cleaned up and made straight for the parcel office as it was closed earlier for lunch. The rest of us took it easy. Rohit was most interested in going out and exploring the city. He reasoned that we would have ample time in the morning for loading. On the other hand, I was still concerned about the loading as I had faced issues related to name mismatch between the registration and passenger. Zaheer had the same case as me. So we had to go to the parcel office and see the process and get our concerns resolved.

We observed the slowness of the process and decided that we would have to be here first thing in the morning before 10 am. We waited for Nilu and Gyan to complete their process. This took a very long time during which Rohit had a nap on his Bullet. By the time everything was done, it was almost dark. Rohit was a little cross that we had wasted so much time here. But being a gentleman, he never shows the anger and was still cheerful. Nilu and Gyan were now too tired to go out. So, the rest of us left without them.

The Fort Kochi area is known for its Portuguese architecture. We headed there on road. When we reached the point, Rohit was stopped as he was riding without helmet. He promptly paid Rs 100 fine. The amount spent was well utilized as the cop told us on the places we could visit in that area. He pointed to the church right next to us saying that this was the first church in India. Vasco deGama’s body was buried here. A couple of years later his son came and took the remains back. We were surprised to be standing behind such a heritage place and not even know it.

The next half hour was just roaming around experiencing the architecture until we reached the Ferry point. Rohit’s dream was about to be fulfilled as we bought tickets to cross over to Vypin at a measly price of Rs 3 per head and Rs 7 with Bullets. Waterways play an essential role in the daily life of this town. For us, it was just a joyride.

We hadn’t followed the correct procedure and just rode our Bullets on the ferry. The man in-charge came at us angrily saying that we hadn’t sought his permission before boarding. They have a system of loading vehicles by weight. So, our boarding before the designated time must have unbalanced the system. But then some of the locals remarked that he was a madman always scolding at everyone. Our guilt washed away and we enjoyed the short ride to Vypin. The breeze over the gentle sea softened our moods. It also made us thirsty.

Ashok and I went to pick up supplies for the night. Here again, we got involved in the extra-long queue and true to discipline, the gates shut at 9 pm. When we reached back to our rooms, Gyan and Nilu were nowhere to be seen. We joined them at a nearby 4-star hotel, Avenue Regent where they were sitting with a friend, Shyne. BoP was experiencing luxury for a change. The ambience and furnishings of the place were excellent. Shyne recommended the place next door, Ceylon Bakehouse. A variety of dishes were ordered and everything turned out to be excellent. We had been conserving our budget till now and these two places wrecked everything to pieces. We still didn’t know how much the Bullets’ parcel would cost.

Satisfied stomachs went to bed that night. The next day we would be starting on the return journey.