Mattanchery a piece of quiet away from bustling Ernakulam.

Just one of the many boats that pass by. View from the Anchor house

The magnificent Port Trust building also taken from the Anchor house

If you want a trip which takes you back to those days when the intrepid Vasco da Gama braved the seas, turned around the mighty Cape of good Hope or Cabo das Tormentas as it was then known, head to Cochin. 

Getting to Bazar Road Cochin, is a trip through the land of ‘hoardings'’. Ernakulam is full of them, on both sides of the road, huge giants looming out of the darkness, advertising real estate and Gold. Kerala brides are bedecked from top to toe with the yellow metal, no part of their body left unadorned, just a tiny  square of their faces.  

But once in Cochin it is a different world altogether, a world of peace and quiet.

Anchor House, where we stayed for a couple of days is a little gem tucked amidst warehouses that once must have been the hub of the spice trade much before Vasco da Gama landed in Cochin some 500 years ago. When you walk down the road you see a lot of these disused warehouses, some in ruins and you realize with a pang of regret that the spice trade has moved to Ernakulam. 

All these warehouses have their own wharves and a wave of nostalgia and imagination, carries you back in time when Arabs sailed down the sea in their dhows, the bargaining and haggling, the hustle and bustle, the noise and colour, the exotic smells of ginger, nutmeg, star aniseed and of course pepper. The sound of waves lapping the sides of these wharves transports you back to a time long gone by.
Bazar Road is now a sleepy area, with baby goats running around, some wharves are used for mundane activities such as drying prawns and clothes. Other more enterprising owners have converted these warehouses into hotels, the little wharf usually the dining area, the view always magnificent. One such place is Fort House Hotel which has amazing food.

Anchor house is very comfortable, the service excellent and everyone very friendly. The best part of the hotel however, are the dining areas, both overlooking the harbor. You can spend hours watching all sorts of boats and ships passing right in front of you. It was a favorite spot to sit with a cup of tea. Gulls flying overhead, fishermen discussing their catch, fishing boats docking alongside to refuel, fishermen getting their pictures taken by guests and of course gulls quarreling over who should get the best of the catch. Some fishermen fish late at night in little canoes which can be seen only because of a tiny kerosene lamp. It is really peaceful but for the mosquitoes which are taken care of with the ubiquitous mosquito coil. 

Anchor house is located somewhat between Mattanchery and Fort Kochi and is a renovated Warehouse. When you walk down the road you see a lot of disused warehouses, some in ruins and you realize with a pang of regret that the spice trade has moved to Ernakulam. 

All these warehouses have their own docks and you can imagine Arabs coming out of the sea, the bargaining and haggling, the hustle and bustle, the noise and colour, the exotic smells of ginger, nutmeg, star aniseed and of course pepper. The sound of waves lapping the sides of those wharves which once upon a time carried a brisk trade in spices. Bazar Road is now a sleepy area, with baby goats running around, warehouses with huge doors, you peep in and see the little dock now a place for drying prawns and clothes. 

Some warehouses have been converted into hotels, the little dock usually the dining area, the view always magnificent. One such place is Fort House Hotel which has amazing food.

Go down the road towards Fort Kochi and you get to the very elegant Brunton Boatyard which is truly unique and sophisticated. Unique because nothing has been changed, it truly is a place where time has stood still. The place is enveloped in a silence, added to this is the all pervading Dutch influence. The lobby with its old fashioned fans (punkhas) in pristine condition, little tables laid out for afternoon tea, the lawn so green and inviting, everywhere artifacts and curios of the Industrial age of steam and sail. Brunton Boatyard is truly a classy place to be in. 

Fort Kochi has a lot of very elegant boutique hotels, one of them the Koder House. 

However Menorah the restaurant was quite disappointing it did not serve authentic Jewish cuisine as promised but only seafood which you get all over Cochin.

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