My trip to Kochi was special for so many reasons! As you know my Father’s Great Grandfather was the first Maharaja of Cochin State and though Kingdoms and royalty cease to exist in India any more; many of the places in and around Kochi bear a great amount of historical significance for my family and a great amount of nostalgia for my Father. We visited palaces and homes where his parents were born, prayed at the same temples where coronations took place and walked the same ground my ancestors walked years ago. This was a very special trip.

It was also special because it was the first trip where my parents were traveling with Aditya and I. We all travel so much but with Cookie (my pet cocker spaniel and the love of our lives) at home ; my parents always baby sit her while we travel- hence though my sis has traveled with them lots– us…never! But now that Niks, my sister has a puppy of her own, I finally gave up my parental rights for 5 days and decided to take the leap and travel with my parents and husband to Kerala.

Now these posts on Kerala are going to be several and documented! The trip was amazing and the things to see are too many to fit in to a single post.

Our trip started in Kochi at the Taj Malabar. A quick check in and lunch later , we were off on our first adventure.Our first trip was to St. Francis church,originally built in 1503, is the oldest European church in India. Vasco da Gama, died in Kochi in 1524 and his body was originally buried in this church. It is only much later that his remains were moved to Lisbon.

Kochi has many churches and each one more beautiful than the next. But when you walk in to St. Francis church you feel an overwhelming sense of calm. Tour operators are quietly talking about the history, pockets of people are praying and there is a warm goodness in this Church which made it so very personal and special!

And then it was off to Mattancherry Palace. Mattancherry Palace also known as the Dutch Palace. Created in typical Kerala style architecture with a courtyard in the middle, this palace has portraits of the Rajas and Maharjas , palanquins, stamps and other restored artifacts.

Because of Achan’s (Father, in Malayalam) family name and our history ,we were allowed photographs in a place which usually doesn’t allow any photography at all. With an entrance tarrif of barely Rs. 5 per person, the palace is still spotlessly clean, being restored beautifully and was an absolute treat. Seeing paintings of my Great- great grand father and Stamp paper with his picture on them was wonderful. I have copies at home which are framed, but the fact that they were up there , for the world to see made me proud to be a Palat ( even more proud than I usually am!)

And then it was a 5 minute walk to Jew town. The roads are peppered with shops which sell incredible lamps, diyas, basins and even life size idols of our Gods and our 5 minute walk almost took an hour as we stopped and marveled at some of the most gloriously restored antique pieces!

A spot of shopping later and a warm cappuccino at Jew Town and we called it an afternoon and headed back to the hotel!

Best Times To Travel-: Winter- November to February….! Beautiful weather

What you’ll love most-: How simple life is, how uncomplicated the people are and how beautiful unspoiled nature can be.