Our assignment for the day was to test how feasible it is to use the current public transport system in Kochi to get from Kakkanad - the major IT area of Kochi to Fort Kochi - popular tourist destination and one of our most favourite places in Kochi. We tried to factor in all the variables like time taken, stress, environmental impact etc before reaching a conclusion.
We began from our home to Kakkanad Water metro station to catch the first metro to Vytilla which was at 08:25 according to the schedule on the website. During our whole journey, this was the only part where we took our private vehicle (a scooter). The station had plenty of parking space. They also had an electric auto stand for feeder services and a cycle station too, where you can rent it (a feasibility study for another day). The station looks beautiful and very well maintained, very similar to our rail metro, most beautiful route in Kochi for sure. Point to note here, it was raining/ drizzling almost all day, non-stop.
Only one of us had an Axis Kochi1 metro card (which I forgot at my hometown :/), so we applied for another one at the Vytilla station. The whole process took only 10min and around ₹225 for the card alone. We added an additional ₹200 as balance in the card, so a total of ₹500 was spent. Since I didn't have the card on me, I used the app for the whole journey, which I wonder why people don’t use and instead stand in queue for 20min (rush hour Edapally lulu stop). Both methods give some discount on the charges and less paper usage too. Although, the water metro uses some sort of reusable card instead of QR printed paper used by the rail metro, which is nice. The phone QR does take some wrist and hand exercise for the scan though.
The Vytilla bus stand and metro station are right next to each other. Our next stop was High court Water Metro station and then to Vypin from there. You could either take rail metro or a straight bus to high court stop from here. We opted for rail metro first and the bus for the return journey.
MG road station only had our usual gunda auto stand, so we decided to skip it and walk till Highcourt Water Metro station which took about 20min with all the mucking about. The roads look great though, after renovation, with proper foot paths and signs. Surprisingly less waste on the sides too, maybe because they had just cleared it in the morning.
Beautiful High Court Station, almost CIAL - esque. Metro charging at station seen on pic 3
Note: If we had taken auto/bus we could have caught 09:40 metro and reached by 10.
Total travel time: 2hr 43 min.
Total travel time minus mucking about and transit card application: 2hr approx.
Cost for two via public transport: ₹191
Map duration shown from home to Fort Kochi: 29kms and 1hr 10min
Cost on bike with an avg. mileage of 26 at petrol price of 108.5 for 58kms: ₹240
Cost on car with an avg. mileage of 15 at petrol price of 108.5 for 58kms:₹420
More details on our return journey at the end. Now we’re off to explore Fort Kochi! (narrator: no, they didn't explore much).
On our way to the beach was the familiar breakfast shop - Achukka’s tea shop. We stopped by for some chaya and breakfast. The mutton chaps was just getting ready, so we had to wait sometime. We ordered some bonda/vada and mutton chaps, but was disappointed today. Bonda was a bit oily and mutton was also not entirely cooked. So, pro tip, try it with noolappam as usual.
It was drizzling almost all morning till noon, so all we did was walk around the Fort Kochi Beach walkway and enjoy the view. And honestly this is the best thing to do in Fort Kochi -just walk/cycle around, looking at cats and spending time by the beach.
We headed to Lila for lunch, and ordered the Chermoula grilled fish and Pork Vindaloo with Idiyappam. Props to the menu because it was like ‘Kerala cuisine for a cafe’ done right. The place itself looks beautiful and has a rustic charm. They have an art gallery and a store section as they do in almost every Fort Kochi café.
The food itself was good with fantastic presentation, however we expected better. This is our first time trying Chermoula, and all the google pictures shows a green paste? We should have cleared that up with the waiter, our bad. The vindaloo was a nice combination for idiyappam, but lacked the toddy/coconut vinegar punch, which may have been slightly dulled down for tourists.
We continued our walking, our plan was to first find the Breudher/Dutch/Fort Kochi bread and then to Francis for beer before heading back home. Our first stop was Trouvaille to see if we would get the bread here, but they need to be pre-ordered a day before. Next we headed to Quality Bakers near Pattalam, and fortunately they had it! Most of the time I’m a bad-luck Brian and always end up in places that are closed for the day or where the items are unavailable (walk to places I want to go almost always closed or items unavailable) but I guess not today. They usually make it Friday/Saturday/Sunday and on Wednesdays for some bakery in Fort Kochi. So, you could get it on any of these days. The fascinating origin of Breudher bread can be read here from where I found it, where they’ve explained it in detail.
One loaf costs ₹120 and weighs around 750g.
On our way to the bakery we had seen an Indo-Portuguese museum and decided to check it out on our way back. The ticket was ₹20 each, but he’ll talk for ₹2000 if you let him. Whether you learn or not, you will sure be entertained. You will be quizzed and questioned like your oral test days in school. Many of the things he shared were indeed interesting, but some of his claims on the other hand were questionable. Do go there if you plenty of time to spare and want to be entertained. This short little detour did botch our plan to go to Francis for a beer. We decided to call it a day and reached back to the ferry at 16:40. We took the similar route for return but instead of metro we took a direct bus from high court to Vytilla hub and it took 53min! Metro over bus any day.
Because of this we did reach late and the next and last water metro from Vytila to Kakkanad was at 19:00. Most of the passengers who got down at Vytilla looked like they took the metro just for the ride and joined us for our return journey back to Kakkanad.
We finished our day with a beer and beef salad from Hive - 1947 near Infopark, Kakkanad.
Conclusion: We might save some time with private vehicles, but personally, I’d choose Rail/Water Metro any day. You just cant beat the view and peace of mind it gives. Also, plenty of routes are yet to be open, including the Fort Kochi one which should make the commute much easier with less hops.
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