Kochi (India) > Reviews > The Queen of Arabian Sea

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money
Shopping
Nightlife
Ease of getting around
Family Friendly

Advantages:	Breathtaking Scenery, Seafood
Disadvantages:	Cant trust the Drinking Water there .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Kochi (Cochin),is situated on the west coast of India in the beautiful state of Kerala. Kochi can be regarded as the commercial and industrial capital of Kerala.

Kochi is known as the Queen of the Arabian Sea and the Queen of the Adriatic. It is also referred to as the Gateway of South India. It is famous for it's Chinese Fishing Nets and the Snake Boat race. Here you can see the oldest European-built church in India, a small 16th century synagogue that serves a proportionate community of Jews, a palace built by the Portuguese, given to the raja of Cochin, renovated by the Dutch and some world-class performances of the Kathakali dance drama. The older parts of the city reflect this melange of traditions and styles: a blend of mediaeval Portuguese, Dutch and British influences, grafted onto the tropical Malabar Coast. All this by the quiet ripple of water on Vembanad lake. Most sights open late, close for a lunch break and shut at 5. Shops open by 10 am and close by 7 or 7.30 pm. Most are closed on Sundays. Banks work from 10 am to 2 pm on weekdays and from 9 am to 1 pm or 10 am to noon on Saturdays. Restaurants start opening by 8 am, and stay open until 11 pm. best time to go there is between December - March. There's a lot of Good hotels around likeThe "Taj Malabar" and "The Trident" in Wellington Island, "The Avenue Regent " in MG Road, "The Metropolitan " Near Ernakulam Junction, "Sea Lord Hotel" and " Taj Residency "in Marine Drive , "The Old Courtyard " in Fort Cochin, "Bolgatty Palace Hotel " in Bolgatty islands. These hotels offers a very positive approach to the tourists, The "Taj Residency" mainly targetting the business visitors.

The Best Restaurant in Town is "Utsav" in Taj Residency...but it's expensive...if you are looking for Quality and Budget "Bimbis" "Indian Coffee House" "Pandhal" "Sealord" "Elite" "Seagull" "Princess" and " Volga" are the best bet..all these are located in the city centre itself except the "seagull" which is in mattanchery, near Fort kochi.

There aren't too many bus routes on the tourist spots and if you plan to take a bus, make sure you have at least a working knowledge of Malayalam. You can hire an auto- rickshaw to get around, but don't use one to island-hop. The minimum fare is Rs 6 up to a distance of 1.5 km, and then Rs 3.50 per km, but bargain if you think you are being ripped off. Between 11 pm to 5 am, you will be asked to pay an additional 50 per cent surcharge. Either pay or take a bus as close to your destination. Taxis charge round-trip fares from island to island even if you want to go a single way. There ate taxi stands at Jewel Junction (Tel: 381444) and Willingdon island (Tel: 666616/ 666617). You can also use the ferries to get around Kochi cheaply. You may have to wait a while, but you should get a ferry with half an hour to Mattancherry and Fort Kochi. There are two main ferry stations in Ernakulam, one which is one kilometre from Ernakulam Junction railways station and another near the High Court, on Marine Drive. From the main boat jetty, you can get to Vypeen, Mattancherry, Fort Kochi and Wllingdon. Ferries start running by 6 am and stop running around 10 pm, which is when auto rates double or triple. You can also hire a car and driver to see Kochi in a hurry.
Kochi is the perfect starting point for Alappuzha and backwater country. You can actually start your houseboat journey from Kochi if you want, and reach Alappuzha in less than a day. Or you could take a more conventional car, reach the town and then plan houseboat trips.
From Kochi, you can also get to Thekkady, that is if you don't mind a five-hour drive. This is ideal for the Periyar sanctuary. You can also get to Kumarakom from Kochi, which would take you around three hours. Another town within easy reach is Thrissur, which is an hour's drive from Kochi

You can use the KSRTC (Kerala State Road Trasport Corporation) buses to connect to other towns in Kerala. They have both superfast and superexpress services. The enquiry number is 372033, from 9 am to 1 pm, and from 2 to 5 pm. There are also inter-state express services to Bangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore, Chennai, Kanyakumari, Madurai, Mangalore, Pondicherry and Velankanni.