Posted by Seth on December 30, 2011 under Review, Trip Reports | 
With the city besieged by a tropical cyclone and some uncertainty about the drivability of the roads we set off early for the airport. The ride didn’t take too long, all things considered, despite the areas of ankle-deep standing water we encountered from time to time. With three hours in the airport prior to our departure, and only a small amount of that taken up figuring out how to get the appropriate credentials to get past the guards there was plenty of time for lounge hopping.
There are two lounges in the international terminal, both of which are accessible via the Priority Pass I received from my American Express Platinum card. The first, the Royal Lounge by Le Royal Meridien was lovely inside.
Alas, they had no food available at that time and the host suggested we try the Clipper Lounge instead. So we did. Probably a mistake.
The Clipper Lounge is actually fine, though a bit darker and less welcoming than the Royal Lounge. It is also larger, however, so it does not surprise me that they wanted to shift the Priority Pass customers over here.
The beer is cold, however, and served in the big bottles, which covers a large number of other issues.
More details on these and nearly 500 other lounges are available at the Wandering Aramean Travel Tools Lounge Guide.
Posted by Seth on December 29, 2011 under Hotel, Review, Trip Reports |
It generally takes a very special situation for me to consider dropping $300+ per night on a hotel room. I rarely see the value in that high a spend for what is essentially a bed and shower in most cases. And when I do stay at such hotels I certainly have higher expectations of them. After all, for that much more money there must be something more that comes with it, right?
The Vivanta by Taj, Malabar Cochin is generally the most expensive property in Kochi and it was certainly not in my price range for the trip. But when things got screwed up at the hotel I was actually booked at and we ended up there I was certainly willing to give it a look and see how the other half lives.
First impressions were solid. The fact that we arrived on foot certainly confused them a bit but they barely missed a beat, welcoming us in and getting us situated in our room reasonably quickly. The room was, by nearly every measure, quite lovely.
Well appointed and the fainting couch rather than a regular chair was a nice touch. Ditto on it being large enough that the desk could face out the window rather than into the wall.
OK, the view could’ve been a bit better, but someone has to get the lesser sight lines and I cannot really complain too much there.
The window in the bathroom was a little strange, but we lowered the shade and took care of that.
So the room was fine. Probably not 8x better than the room we were in prior, but definitely better. What else should come with the higher rate? Location and service are two bits I definitely expect.
The location and views were top notch, so long as you didn’t want to leave the property. If you wanted to visit Fort Cochin, where the history really is, that’s a ferry ride away and not necessarily an easy one to get to (though we arrived on it just fine). I also heard rumors of a private boat shuttle over to the Fort but I never actually saw it in action so I don’t really know.
Service was mostly good, though there were definitely some holes as well. Being greeted by name from a staff member to whom I hadn’t introduced myself was a nice touch. The pool staff rarely cleaning up the area when guests left, routinely running out of towels and being slow on the beer service was notably less impressive. When it was good it was a solid product. But when it was bad, it was pretty insulting considering the prices being charged.
The other thing that was surprisingly disappointing was the quality of the basic amenities. Things like towels that were more scratchy than soft. Yeah, it is a little thing and I certainly still ended up dry at the end of my shower, but those little things are where a hotel that wants to be a true luxury property should shine.
The food at the couple on-site restaurants we tried was pretty good, though not the best meals we had in town. Not particularly surprising given that there were a couple very good restaurants available. Not sure that I really expected more (or if I should have), but it wasn’t amazing. Some decent flavors at least in most meals.
Oh, and they gave us little gifts at check-out. I got a collection of local spices and my wife a ceramic beaded necklace. Definitely a nice touch and a mark in the plus column.
The Vivanta Malabar was nice. It was even great in some areas. But it definitely didn’t demand the rates they were charging. Neither the location, service nor rooms were that much better than other options in town. Then again, it did have rooms and I needed one, so I suppose there’s something to be said for that level of value.
Posted by Seth on December 29, 2011 under Trip Reports |
Or maybe a rock star. Or some other sort of star. At least in India. Seriously, if you’re ever looking for some attention I highly recommend being a six foot tall and very pale skinned woman in India. The experience is incredibly exciting.
We first had a brush with the phenomenon on our prior trip, where both her and her mother were here. That was nearly chaos as there were two of them. People wanted to touch them, to say hello, to simply be nearby. Babies were pressed up close and school kids smiled and giggled. It was pretty insane.
Fast forward six years and we got to do it all over again. Only one star that I was lucky enough to be with on this trip, but it was still pretty awesome. The kids we ran in to at most of the sites were cute but too shy to say much more than hello. The older women, however, had no such reservations. They were on her in a heartbeat. And as soon as the floodgates opened – that is, she agreed to take one photo – the crowds flowed.
I wanted to be able to send them copies of the photos somehow, either via email or the postal service. Sadly, however, the ability to communicate that was entirely too difficult and it did not come to pass. Most were still quite excited to see their photos on the LCD screen of my camera and that will have to be good enough. They certainly seemed to think it was.
I’m told the paparazzi effect can get tiring at some point. We did eventually have to turn down a few latecomers to the party as we never would have managed to leave the first of many sites had we not. Still, it was rather remarkable just how excited and happy the folks were for the opportunity. Such a fun and easy way to brighten a few folks’ day.
Oh, and we did get a bit of payback at one point. We snuck into the back of a family photo at the Shore Temples of Mamallapuram. There’s going to be one confused group of folks when they finally see that one.
Posted by Seth on December 28, 2011 under Hotel, Review, Trip Reports |
I’ve probably bored just about everyone into submission with the tales of woe involving our hotel arrangements while in Kochi (read here and here if I haven’t). We wanted to be in the Fort Cochin area (the old part of town) and we wanted to not pay a fortune. I tried a few places and struck out. I was leery of the Sonnetta Residency, mostly because it was pitched at a price point (~$45/night, including air conditioning, booked via hotels.com) that could be a great value or a horrible nightmare. Fortunately our stay was mostly the former.
We had arranged in advance to have a car from the hotel meet us at the Cochin airport upon arrival. I didn’t see anyone when we came out so I called. The owner insisted that the driver was there so we waded back through the ranks of drivers and found one with my pseudonym, Manuel Mueller, and the name of the hotel. Well, maybe they misspelled my name, but so long as they got us to the hotel I wasn’t complaining. Turns out there was also a Manuel Mueller checking in that day and we stole his car; I didn’t run in to him during our stay but I hope my driver was there for him when he landed.
The hotel itself is a small property located in the heart of the old Fort Cochin area. It is on a small street between the park at the waterfront and the Basilica. Really a great location for basing explorations of the area. Then again, the neighborhood is pretty small so it would be hard to be there and in a bad location. With only 8 rooms and the owner living and working on-site it is easy to feel at home while at the Sonnetta. They were incredibly friendly and happy to help with arranging tours and such as requested.
The room was nothing special, but it was exactly what I expected at that price point. It was clean, the air conditioning was cold and only slightly too loud, and the bathroom was functional. And pink.
The beds were firm, but still had some cushion to them. My main complaint is that the wifi didn’t reach back to our room from the lobby, and the repeater access point was obviously missing on the wall where it would have worked. The included breakfast was just OK – a fried egg and some toast – but there are plenty of better food options for <$3/person in the area so that wasn’t a huge drawback at all. Plus he offered us up shots of his homemade hooch to celebrate Christmas morning alongside the breakfast.
Oh, and the proprietor screwed up our reservation.
Getting a room in one place for four nights across Christmas was a challenge. I thought we had scored big when the Sonnetta was available and we got it booked. And I was really happy with the room at that price point. But when the owner asked us to pack up and move out on day three of our stay it was quite a surprise. We ended up moving to the Vivanta by Taj, a much fancier hotel thanks to hotels.com taking care of us, but that wasn’t what the owner had originally planned.
As we were headed out to catch the ferry he finally figured out where things had gone wrong. Knowing that he was overbooked for that night he had arranged with another hotel to take us on for the one night, expecting that we would happily move over there and then come back for night number four. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the value of mattress running, but this wasn’t that situation. And the fact that he hadn’t asked if it was okay nor informed us in advance was rather inappropriate in my view.
The room was great, the location was great and the price was certainly right. Sadly, however, the SNAFU with the rooms was a rather noticeable strike against the place. Probably not enough to stop me from booking in again, but it was not as positive an ending to the stay as I’d expected.
Posted by Seth on December 28, 2011 under Trip Reports |
It was about 9:15am on Christmas Eve when the gravity of the situation finally hit me. For thirty-odd years I had been pretty confident that things were working out OK between us. Sure it wasn’t perfect, but it was reasonably useful and fit my face well enough. That relationship – between my nose and me – was rocked on a Friday morning near Kodanad, Kerala, India, not far from Kochi.
It was the elephants’ fault.
We took a day trip out from Kochi to see the elephants and the waterfalls. It is one of the standard offerings from all the tourist agencies and taxi companies so it was not particularly hard to arrange. It leaves around 6:30am, pretty early for a vacation activity, but if you want to see the elephants being bathed that’s when you have to get started. An hour or so later we arrived in Kodanad and walked down to the waterfront to await the arrival of the elephants.
While awaiting their arrival we were treated to the scenes of the river. That mostly meant men taking their morning baths, but there was also some traffic a bit down the river with cargo boats shuttling back and forth between the banks and some construction sites. Quite peaceful and pretty overall.
Not surprisingly, they make quite an entrance. The three we saw were pretty big and they were only 6-10 years old. They came marching down the track to the river with their handlers, moving between the 25 or so tourists gathered to watch the daily ritual. They made it to the water’s edge, took a drink of water and then settled in for their spa treatment.
The baths lasted about 45 minutes; there’s a lot of ground to cover when dealing with animals that size. The handlers scrubbed them down with old coconut husks, offering up an exfoliation treatment along with the wash. There was some rolling of the elephants back and forth and such as well, allowing everyone to get views up close of the animals.
When the bath was done there was also the opportunity to get really close, petting them if desired. I was actually surprised by the bristly hairs more than anything.
Back to the nose thing for a minute though. Watching the elephants and seeing them use their trunks for pretty much anything they wanted induced great jealousy on my part. The prehensile trunks, with a “thumb” on the tip of the trunk was particularly impressive. They could use it to grab sticks to scratch themselves or to pick up food for a snack. It was awesome. Mine can barely breathe or smell most days. It certainly doesn’t have the ability to hold anything or grab on to a snack as I’m walking down the street. Yup, I’ve got trunk envy.
The show is free, though the mahouts expect a tip from you for attending.
There was also a guy who made the trip but who apparently had no interest in the event. Rather he was there to shout at the rest of us, reminding us that we were contributing to the captivity and torture of the animals. I can certainly see where he’s coming from, but I’m not particularly convinced that the situation is as bad as was suggested. The elephants are part of a rescue facility run by the government, not a commercial operation. Yes, they are kept in captivity, but there isn’t really a wild environment for them in the area anymore. This certainly seems better than having them fend for themselves completely in an area where there is insufficient food and land for their needs. I saw elephants in South Africa over the summer and asked similar questions of the guides there. In that case it is a more wild environment, though they are still theoretically fenced in (theoretically because the elephants can usually get through the fence without issue). And it still didn’t seem that bad. Maybe I’m just making up excuses for enjoying the scene, but that’s where I’m at.
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Posted by Seth on December 27, 2011 under frequent flyer, Hotel, points, Review, Trip Reports |
Our Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt landed at Chennai’s international airport a few minutes prior to midnight. Our flight the following morning to Kochi was at 6:15am. We needed sleep, we needed it near the airport and, after having been traveling for more than 20 hours by that point, we wanted a good bed. The only regret I have about our stay at the Radisson Blu GRT at the Chennai airport is that we only had 4.5 hours there.
That we even had that much time was somewhat amazing. We cleared immigration in minutes and with no checked bags we were outside at the curb in a flash. The mass of people standing at the barricade, awaiting incoming passengers is always an enjoyable scene for me. Still, I’m quite glad that we had arranged in advance with the hotel to have their complementary shuttle service collect us at the airport. A uniformed agent was standing inside the arrivals barricade and escorted us to the area where the drivers were waiting.
Rather than a shared van service the shuttle is a private car. Cold water available once inside and, much to my surprise, check-in service as well. The driver presented us with our room keys, chits for drinks and breakfast during the stay and a welcome letter from the GM – including his mobile number – as we headed up the highway to the hotel. We still had to stop by the front desk to have our passports copied per federal law, but taking care of the details while in the car definitely saved time. Approximately 35 minutes after we had landed we were in our room.
The room was quite nicely appointed. A comfy bed, nice work area and a chair to lounge in. Typical, but all quite comfortable, too. Plus a plate of fruit awaiting us.
There was an LCD TV that I’m guessing had many channels of satellite service available but we were only interested in a shower and sleeping.
Speaking of a shower, the bathroom was similarly nice. Nothing over the top, to be sure, but it had both a rain shower overhead and a hand-held shower in the tub.
Oh, and slippers bed-side.
Also during the check-in process the gentleman working the counter pulled out an embossed card for Carlson Club, the loyalty program associated with the hotel chain. I was able to provide him with my number as I already had one but this was the first time ever that I had seen the real card handed to a guest upon enrollment while at the property. He had even started to explain the program details to me before I realized what was going on and provided him with my number instead. I was impressed.
Alas, 4:30am came all too soon and we were up, packed and back in the lobby shortly thereafter. It was a quick ride back to the airport and we were off again. We didn’t get to use the breakfast or drink chits. We also missed out on the free 15 minute foot massages at the spa in the basement. And we didn’t get to try the kebab restaurant (really a shish restaurant, but that’s a whole different rant…) that is supposedly quite good. We did, however, get a pretty good night’s sleep and thoroughly enjoyed the service at the property. As it is located near the airport it is not particularly convenient for actually being in town. But should it be an airport property you need, this is near the top of my list. I paid about $130/night including taxes via hotels.com for the room. Between the prompt and excellent shuttle service and the comfy bed it was definitely worth that rate that night. With the other bits that we didn’t get to try it would likely be a tremendous value.
Posted by Seth on December 27, 2011 under Trip Reports |
The first few days of this trip seemed too easy. Yes, there were the typical problems that happen, mostly associated with my being an awful negotiator, but overall the trip was going pretty well. It was a far cry from our first trip to India six years ago when things just seemed a lot harder. Maybe it was because we weren’t taking public transportation. But that trip was only one train ride and the rest basically the same as this one. Maybe it was because India had chilled out in the past 6 years. Or maybe because I’m a better traveler. Neither of those really seemed likely either.
And then we made the hop from Kochi to Chennai and reality came rushing back in a hurry. The two hours of traffic to travel the 43 kilometers from our hotel to the airport in Kochi was just the beginning. The flight was actually fine and the transfer from the airport to the hotel was lovely. Then we tried to get out of the hotel and do some other things. Maybe a trip to the beach, or just to wander around the neighborhood and over to the mall a kilometer away. Not so fast.
Getting a car was either ridiculously expensive or going to take hours, so that was no good. We did end up making the walk over to the mall which had only 3 stores open. Sure, one of them is selling out all the leftover inventory of tulip-liveried United Airlines models in the toys section, but that’s not really going to get me very far. We did head to the bar at the brand new Hyatt in the same building (quite lovely), but even that portion of the trip had its own collection of fun, like all the beggars that apparently are kept out of Fort Cochin were trucked in here. Or the tuk tuk driver who stalked us for a few blocks, waiting for us to give up and hop in. The roads were chaotic and the crowds much crazier. It was the India I remember, the India I love.
I love that it is a harder experience. I love that the ride back on the tuk tuk took us by some less than elegant neighborhoods and that we saw not just the sanitized version but also the real bits of life on the streets here. Those experiences are what make travel so amazing to me. I can get mediocre quality hotel food anywhere in the world; getting out and seeing what’s actually happening on the streets means a few more risks, a few more challenges and tremendously greater reward.
Kerala is relatively easy travel. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it also just isn’t quite the same. I’m happy to get to experience the challenge again. I’ve got two more days of it and I cannot wait. Game on!
Posted by Seth on December 25, 2011 under Hotel, Trip Reports |
Mr. Seth, you are checking out this morning, yes?
Considering that we were booked for two more nights this was not exactly the Christmas morning greeting I was expecting after breakfast this morning at our hotel in Kochi. And considering the troubles we had actually getting a room booked at a reasonable rate for the four nights we are here, it was not a development I was particularly happy with. Oh, and it is peak season here in town so most of the hotels are fully booked.
Some folks would see this sort of situation as a terrible problem. They are the the weak. This was an opportunity for greatness. It was my moment to rise up and make the best of a challenging circumstance. And I would settle for nothing less than greatness.
Our host was working his phones, calling the other guest houses in the area to see if any had a room. I whipped out my laptop, fired up the Skype client and called the OTA we booked through, hotels.com. The agent quickly confirmed that we had booked for the four nights and then he called the hotel to confirm that things were as messed up as I claimed. As I was sitting in the lobby I heard half the conversation, with my version of the story quickly confirmed. At that point the CSR agreed that they needed to find us alternate accommodations.
I had the web page open while chatting with the agent and I was looking at the same options he was. The first suggestion was an airport hotel. With the airport about 90 minutes from town that was simply not going to work. There was only one other hotel in the area that still had rooms available, the Vivanta by Taj – Malabar Cochin.
I had previously experienced issues with bookings made via hotels.com for this trip and at that time my suggestion of switching us to the Vivanta, a rather expensive option, was rejected. No surprise, really, as it is quite pricey. This morning, however, there weren’t really too many alternatives available and the CSR acknowledged the bind we were in. He went off to make a few calls and promised to give me a ring back once things were sorted out. About 15 minutes later, after he made confirmation calls to the hotel directly (I didn’t really trust the online inventory and neither did he) he called us back with the good news. We were booked in for two nights at one of the nicest hotels in town, with hotels.com picking up the tab. Big win.
We headed out from the original hotel, hopped in a tuk tuk and then on to the ferry to Wellingdon Island and then walked the 5 minutes from the ferry dock to the front doors of the hotel. I’m guessing that most guests don’t arrive on foot – they seemed mildly surprised – but we were soon escorted to our room with a semi-obstructed view of the harbor and briefed by the receptionist on the properties amenities and facilities. Only one really mattered at that moment, the pool.
So today’s schedule changed rather dramatically from the original plan. Rather than running around Fort Cochin and checking out parts of the Cochin Carnival we’re lounging pool-side at the Taj. Definitely not part of the original plan, but we’re making the best of it.
Part of me feels a bit guilty having paid so little and received so much. But it isn’t my fault that three separate times the inventory we booked through hotels.com was a mess. This time it was also party the hotel’s fault, but it was still a mess. In the end I think that them fixing it this way was the only reasonably option available. An unexpected, but also rather nice, Christmas present indeed.
Posted by Seth on December 24, 2011 under Trip Reports |
It was a rough start to Hanukkah this year. Thanks to some moderately poor planning on my part as well as travel the first three nights were more or less a blur. The first was celebrated at home but we were in the midst of packing for our trip to India and Sri Lanka so there was less actual celebrating than there probably should have been. Nights two and three would have likely resulted in arrest had we tried to light the menorah, thanks to the fact that we were on airplanes at the time. Cue night four.
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| The caretaker, lighting some of the oil-burning lamps in the chandelier |
By the time the fourth night rolled around we had finished our thirty-odd hour trek from New York City to Kochi. Sure, we were horribly jet lagged, but we still headed out to see some of the local sights, including theParadesi Synagogue, the oldest in India and one of the older continually operating congregations in the world. It was a Friday, however, and that meant no tours available (despite the advice of the guide book, though I shouldâve known better). But there was a phone number on a paper taped to the wall mentioning services.
Six years ago, when planning our first trip to India a visit to this synagogue was one of the things I was very excited by. Sadly, I couldnât make it work that time around. This time, however, we were here and it was both a Friday night and a holiday. There was no way I was going to miss the opportunity. Yeah, I made the call.
The local Chabad house runs services with a small group of ex-pats who live in the area and whatever visitors they happen to have in town that week. In our case the group numbered about 40, though only 20 counted according to their traditions. Still, we were invited inside to celebrate Hanukkah and the Sabbath, and we did in a very Indian way.
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| Inside the synagogue |
The synagogue building dates to 1568 so there is more than a little bit of history inside the walls. The story of the Cochin Jews is actually pretty well documented elsewhere and I donât have anything new to offer to that context so Iâll save that part of the story for others to tell. But we did get to experience the synagogue in a rather different way than most tourists, and not only because we got to keep our shoes on.
Normally visitors are required to remove their shoes to help protect the floor tiles. There are several hundred of the tiles, each hand painted and unique, imported from China. Theyâre just one of many beautiful and distinctive bits that contributes to the overall character of the building.
There are the chandeliers, many of which are still oil-burning rather than electric. At one point during services the power went out and we had a couple minutes by candle-light that was truly inspiring. There is the double pulpit, one upstairs and one in the middle of the ground floor. And there is the impressive collection of torahs, one of which is crowned by an actual gold crown gifted to the community by one of the local maharajah.
And, of course, we were there for Hanukkah, so there was the lighting of the menorah that night prior to shabbat starting. Theyâre old school, with an oil-burning model that was pretty cool. And unsurprisingly, it was a bit of a pain to get lit. Still, the sound of the community singing the prayers and songs together was a very uplifting moment.
We met a few of the others in the group that night, in no small part due to the fact that everything was conducted only in Hebrew and there were some issues following along with the service. No matter the reason, it was still a great way to meet a few locals, some tourists and a couple of guys who are making a documentary about the community. Iâm pretty sure Iâll be in some of the B-roll footage.
There was a 5th night coda to the celebration; the restaurant we dined in tonight happened to be the where the public menorah is lit every night so we got to share that experience again. And this time I had a beer with me. Still, it had nothing on the experience of celebrating the holiday in a 450+ year old building and with a community that runs back well longer.
Posted by Seth on December 23, 2011 under Flying, Review, Trip Reports |
Actually, the suggestion that the chaos is under control is probably unfair. There was a tiny semblance of order, but it was only because I think everyone was tired for being awake at 5am, not because there was really any organization to the crazy.
This morning we flew from Chennai to Kochi, a quick hour across the southern tip of India on Jet Airways. The flight was ridiculously early when we booked it, a 6:55am departure. Then the schedule changes started to come in and we ended up, after 3 changes in a 6 week period, with a 6:15am flight, even though the boarding pass printed as a 6:25 departure. One last change in the 5 hours between OLCI and departure is no big deal, right?? Thanks to jet lag we were up at 4:30am anyways so at least we didn’t miss it.
The check-in process was typical for any Indian airport, I suppose. Only ticketed passengers (and, yes, you need a paper copy even if you have an e-Ticket) are permitted past the first security guards. Then there is a scrum/line to get checked bags screened and tagged. Then another scrum for check-in. We actually managed to do OK through those, partly because I don’t think the locals wanted to offend us and partly because we’re mostly bigger than them and I don’t mind pushing back a little.
Then it was into the line for security. Apparently there are actually two lines at this point, though one of them is not labeled. The regular line was moving well enough thanks to many frisking points open. But for those passengers who were running late there was a phantom line adjacent to the regular one. A steady flow of folks seemed to be moving past us as we waiting, mumbling something and waving boarding passes as they scurried past to the front of the checkpoint.
My other favorite part of the security line was the frisking process. Everyone gets frisked passing through the checkpoint. It is fast, efficient and done in a very respectful and professional manner. I was impressed.
The flight was rather uneventful. Exit row booked online 5 hours prior to the flight and the middle seat was empty between us. Blue skies flying over the clouds with the occasional mountain peeking through.
And then a full day of touristing in Kochi. More on that soon enough. Now it is time to reset my body clock and get on the local time zone.
