India Travel Guide

At The Cochin Harbour Terminus, The Main Station Of Willingdon Island, Or At The Ernakulam Railway Station (Better When You Are Looking For A Hotel). The Ernakulam Railway Station Is Also Called Ernakulam South Or Ernakulam Junction.

At The Ernakulam Bus Station (Not Far From The Railway Station). There Are Numerous Budget And Good Value For Money Hotels Right Next To The Bus Terminal.

The Airport Is On Willingdon Island. If You Don’t Want To Stay At The Expensive Malabar Hotel, You Can Take A Boat Or A Bus Across The Bridge To Fort Cochin/Mattancherry Or To Ernakulam, Where There Is A Better Selection Of Accommodation. There Is No Airport Bus. You Just Take Public Transport (Bus) Or A Taxi.

The Best Way To Get From Cochin To The Other Parts Of The City Is By Boat. There Is A Whole Network Of Motor And Other Boats. The Fares Vary Between 30 And 7ops. Most Boats Don’t Operate After 9pm. After That You Have To Take A Taxi Or Even A Scooter. The Last Bus From Fort Cochin To Ernakulam Leaves Between 9.30 And 10pm. Mattancherry, Willingdon Island And Ernakulam Are All Connected By Bridges. The Correct Fare For A Scooter From The Bus Terminal To The Main Ferry

Travelling Between The Peninsula And Islands Is One Of The Charms Of Cochin. Fishing Boats, Exciting Rowing Boats And Imposing Trading Ships All Pass By, And If You Are Lucky You May Even See A Dolphin In The Dirty Water Of The Harbour.

No Problem For Those Who Are Happy To Eat 1 Or 2 Vegetarian Meals A Day (Around 6rs), But If You Belong To The Group Who Get Sick Of Cold Rice And Strange Looking Accompaniments, You Will Have A Hard Time In Southern India And Will Have To Dig Deeper Into Your Pocket.

Por Years The Indian Coffee House, Opposite The Ernakulam Main Ferry Station, Has Been The Most Popular Meeting Place. They Offer A Good Variety Of Inexpensive Indian And Western Food And A Good Cup Of Coffee. If You Really Like The Coffee You Can Buy A 200gm Packet For Lors.

The Bharat Coffee House In Bombay Road Is Also Not Bad And Is Run On Similar Lines. The Restaurant At The Hotel Sealord Is A Lot More Expensive.

The Pamdhalrestaurant Opposite The Grand Hotel In M.G. Road Is Quite Good. Don’t Be Put Off By The Ultra-Modern Decoration. Middle-Class, With Something For The Discerning Palate. (Cs)

Kerala Tourist Reception Centre, Shanmugham (Shunmuham) Road, Ernakulam, Ph 353 234. Open Daily From 8am-6pm. They Take Bookings For The Bolghatty Palace And Cochin Sightseeing Tours As Well As For The Hotels In Periyar Park, But You Have To Pay A Hefty Booking Fee. Govt Of India Tourist Office Near The Hotel Malabar, Willingdon Island, Ph 6 045 Open Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm, Sat 9am-Lpm. Very Friendly And Helpful. They Have Plenty Of Pamphlets About India Even If They Are A Bit Out Of Date.

Pai And Company, 1st Floor At The Southern End Of Broadway, Ernakulam, Have A Good Selection Of Books And Newspapers.

All Mail Which Isn’t Specifically Addressed Poste Restante, Head Post Office, Ernakulam, Goes To Cochin Head Post Office In Fort Cochin.

It Is A Good Idea To Check At Both Post Offices. Poste Restante Is Closed On Sundays. It Pays To Look Through All The Mail Yourself As The Ladies Behind The Counter Have Trouble With Foreign Names.
The Indian Airlines Office Is In Durbar Hall Road, Ph 353 901. There W No Special Airport Bus.

Hollywood Films Of Various Types Are Shown In The Two Theatres At Shenoy’s Vistarama In M.G. Road. It Is Only A Few Minutes Walk From The Hotels Near The Bus Terminal. When I Was There The Following Notice Appeared On The Screen, “Rats Are Increasing Because Of Bringing Eatables Inside The Auditorium. Please Don’t. Sorry.”

Further Information Is Published In The Time Table, 5Rs. It Lists All The Ferry Services In Cochin, Hotel Tariffs And A Lot More.

Additional Information Can Be Found In The Next Chapters About The Destinations.
Ootacamund (Ooty) (312km-194 Miles): Buses Run From The Er-Nakulam Bus Terminal To Palghat, Where You Have To Change For Ooty. There Are Other Options But They Take Longer. You Could Travel By Train Or By Bus From Palghat To Mettupalaiyam And Then By The Nilgiri Railway To Ooty. The Train Leaves Mettupalaiyam At 7.30am And Arrives In Ooty At Noon. (Part Cog Wheel Track, Nice Trip).

Mysore (470km292 Miles)/Bangalore (565km-351 Miles): Three Departures Daily 5am, 7am And 8pm. Direct Services Leave From The Bus Terminal In Ernakulam For Bangalore (15 Hrs) Via Mysore. There Are Also Some Private Buses On This Route. It Is Awkward By Train. There Are Flights From Cochin To Bangalore Daily

Mangalore And Goa: By Train Or Bus To Mangalore Around 450km (280 Miles). Then By Bus To Panjim, Margao Or Vasco Da Gama.

Bombay: Twice Daily Service, Ask At The Tourist Office. Or You Can Take The Train Or Fly - Daily Flights Cochin-Bombay -

Madras (690km-429 Miles): Twice Daily Bus Service At 8am And 2pffl-
Approximately 17hrs Travelling Time - 9ors.

Private Buses Also Run On This Route.

By Rail: The 42 Cochin Express Leaves The Cochin Harbour Terminus
Daily At 4.30pm From Ernakulam At 5pm. It Arrives In Madras Central
The Next Morning At 6.50am, 709km (441 Miles).

By Air: Indian Airlines Have Daily Flights To Madras - US$69; Vayu Flies To Madras On Mon, Wed, Fri & Sun -