Vasco Da Gama was buried here at one point

Well, I think I figured out what the best time of the year is. It’s Vacation! And this time around my big brother Raj was going to fly all the way from LA to spend New Year’s and the winter holidays with me. Well, I am one little spoilt lucky baby sister and did I ever miss hanging out with my big brother. We are making it a tradition. For two years in a row, we’ve managed to do something unique and different. Last year, it was Monster Madness as I like to call with DJ Tiesto and Roger Sanchez and this year, we opted to visit Kerala and enjoy the backwater lagoons and catch up after 6 long months!

Well most of you might know that my big brother is not only just a Big Brother who watches out for me but he’s my best friend and I can actually share almost everything with him. We have a mutual understanding that we lead our own lives but are always there to support each other when we need it the most. Well, me being in India, all alone with no one to spoil me. Yup, Raj needed to come and fast.
Well, all I had to do was get to the airport and fly to Kochi. Not too bad considering it was Raj who would be doing the major travelling...16 hours and counting. Well, as soon as I landing in Cochin, I ended up thinking...I’ve been here. Only here, was on the big island of Hawaii. The temperature was an awesome 32 degrees...warm and toasty. Good times


“The moustaches here are epic”- that was my big brothers first words after our big hug. “Seriously huni (my nickname), LEGENDARY”. Yes, the first thing you will notice when you land in south India is that every man regardless of how young or old they are...wears a moustache. It’s hideous! I wish I had a razor that I could have run around Kerala taking those down!




Day one: Raj was in complete cultural shock...wow it’s so dirty (I on the other hand after living in Delhi, well was happy to be in paradise!) Then, he proceeded to take touristy shots of everyone (including me) as we made our way to the hotel.
After a quick bit to eat, (actually it was an enormous thali- variety of different foods) we ended up heading out the door to visit fort Cochin. Well, I had completely forgotten that the Portuguese first discovered India and Cochin was the first area of contact by vasco da Gama. He was even buried there for a period time. As I walked through the wonderful little lanes, the place reminded me of paratay, Brazil in so many ways. The same Portuguese influence could be seen everywhere from the numerous churches to buildings.


Old Cochin


My big highlight was when we hit the seawall to and saw all the fresh fish and crabs. Yummy! Too bad we had a huge lunch. I would have loved to indulge in some fresh sea food and coconut water too. You could pretty much see all of Cochin within a day. The city is tiny and has its own quaintness to it.