crazy in Cochin

The trip was going so well, traveling seemed like an effortless dream, where I was the queen of touring India. Then I got off in the Kochi airport. I grabbed my bag, and realized I lost the key to my suitcase lock. I asked for the flight attendant to check the plane for me, and another guy came up to me and said “madam, we recommend you keep valuables likes this with you at all times” as if that wasn’t advice I hadn’t already thought of, but was currently useless. I figured there would be somewhere near my hotel that could break the lock off, so I went out of the airport to catch a taxi.

There were none.

I was fine until now about the lock situation, but now no taxi, panic mode set in. I asked a family near by, but they told me they weren’t from here. Airports in India don’t let you just go back inside without paying a visitors fee, and apparently the only way to get a cab would have been to go to the prepaid desk inside. I was already outside. Another thing about airports in India is that they don’t have open wifi. You need a voucher number which you also get inside. I asked the lady at the visitor’s desk how I could get a cab, and she said prepaid. I asked her about alternatives, and she pointed to a bus about half a block away. I have a working India phone, and had called one of my friends to see if they could text me a car’s number. As I headed for the bus they called me back, but the area was so noisy I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I saw a rickshaw in the distance and without another thought started running, my wheeled suitcase clicking along over pavement and concrete curbs.

I raised my hand, and he stopped. He smelled of heavy cologne and had multiple pictures of Jesus in his auto rickshaw. 1 kilometer, he said after looking at the map and address to my hotel. By 1 kilometer he meant ask someone where it was. This was common, so I wasn’t worried. He ran into some stores, but no one knew where it was. We stopped by other rickshaw drivers and one of them knew, who also spoke more English. 700 rupees, the other driver said. I should have jumped into his rickshaw, but was starving, exhausted, and still had a locked suitcase. My driver started then turned and said 800 rupees. I knew this was probably a rip off, but didn’t care at this point. Meanwhile my friend kept calling me to tell me a cab was headed to the airport to pick me up, but the streets were so loud and bumpy I couldn’t hear anything. The driver stopped again and again, scratching his head to where this place was.

At one time he did 3 u-turns back to back. The 30 minute ride turned into a 2 hour one, and when I looked out to see the correct hotel I wanted to dance, but then realized I still had a locked suitcase. The driver said 900, with a hand to his mouth and pout on his face and said food. One of the stops, he had gotten mango juice and snacks, so I said no, we said 800, handed him the cash wrly, and pulled my suitcase out.

At the hotel I asked if they could break the suitcase lock, and one of the lobby boys came with a rock hammer and board. I settled in my room as he hit away on the lock. Of course his hammer slipped and he started bleeding with a great OW. But, he finally got the lock broken. I felt bad, so I tipped him a little extra, but I kept seeing him around the hotel, and every time it was awkward.

That night I headed for Fort Kochi, and was shocked by how touristy it was. I hardly saw any Indians, except the vendors who kept yelling madam after me, pointing to smelly fish covered in flies. As the sun set, I walked along a trail to get to the beach, a guy came up behind me. Beautiful sunset, aye? Sure guy, sure. He was at least twice my age, and I didn’t want to assume he was a creep, but to keep on the safe side I told him I wanted to take a picture by some boat and made a run for it. About 10 minutes later he was there again asking me about my trip. He was from the UK, and had been touring India for a month. Traveling you meet a lot of cool people, male and female, but as soon as he asked “fancy getting a drink?” Then it was confirmed, he wasn’t one of those cool people you meet traveling.

Needless to say, I tried to give Kochi a shot, but it became my least favorite part of my trip thus far. Fort Kochi was beautiful, but was filled with rich tourits and creepers.