Fort Kochi (also Fort Cochin) is the first city I visited in the state of Kerala.  It’s really only known for the Chinese fishing nets that local fishermen use to catch a wide array of fish from the Indian Ocean, which they then sell whole to locals and tourists.  After purchasing the fish, you can walk it a short distance and have it cooked at a nearby restaurant.  Because these large, manually-operated nets are the #1 attraction in Lonely Planet, they have been turned into a bit of a tourist trap.  If you walk near them, several fishermen will  approach you and show you how the net works and allow you to operate it for a few minutes, and then turn around and ask you for a tip.  Unfortunately, although Fort Kochi is a peninsula and therefore surrounded on three sides by water, there are no swimmable beaches in the city because they are all littered with either fishing nets or trash.

So, if you’re bored in Fort Kochi (and you’re bound to get bored if you stay there more than 1-2 nights), you can visit several interesting art galleries, peruse the many antique shops, eat at some excellent restaurants (Kashi, Dal Roti, Tibetan Chef), or go shopping in Jew Town (yes, that’s the actual name of the main shopping neighborhood).  There are also many cool trees and at least two parks.

Since there’s not much left to say about this city, let’s move on to photos.

THE STREETS OF FORT KOCHI:

CHINESE FISHING NETS, THE CATCH, AND THE FISHERMEN

THE FOOD: A stuffed paratha (at Dal Roti), a sabji (Dal Roti), a fresh veggie salad & iced coffee  (Solar Organic Cafe)

COOL TREES

GUINESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS LARGEST COOKING VESSEL

I tried to pet a parrot and this happened.