So much for idle relaxation. The alarm goes while it is still dark. It must be for somebody else.
R here - I love my yoga so decided to go to an early morning class in Fort Kochi recommended by our hotel. The session was to last 2 and a half hours, gulp! The chap on the left kept putting his leg behind his head, the girl opposite did a full lotus standing on her head and I got an all over massage from Mr Santhi, the teacher. He asked me why so tense? How to explain having a stranger rubbing one's thigh can do that? I staggered though the postures, including the headstand and came out feeling elated and shattered. Mr Santhi said if I stayed for three months I would be able to put my legs behind my head, and I will leave you with that thought.
Back at base D has a lie in, some gentle web surfing and then starts to worry. But why bother? As sure as night follows day she has managed to get lost returning from the yoga and gets back half an hour late. We make the last call for breakfast - some kind of rice pancake with leafy sauce, more pineapple juice and black tea. The sun is pretty high when we set out to see some of the smaller Biennale venues. The first is David Hall, where a series of loudspeakers are arranged in a false wall. Each has the name of a country and they are arranged in ascending order of each country's military spend expressed as a % of GDP. As you walk along the exhibit each speaker plays the appropriate national anthem, all at once.
The only possible response to this is to go to the attached cafe for a pot of tea. We sit in the shade and marvel at the enormous fruits on a nearby jackfruit tree. You would not want one of those to fall on you - they can weigh up to 80 lbs. The next gallery is in quite an upmarket part of the town, on a street of pricey looking boutiques interspersed with some smart restaurants. The blurb tells us that it is a traditional dwelling that had been divided into two to make separate homes. These have now been reconnected to house a sea themed exhibit. This seemed to be a lot of empty space illuminated with blue light bulbs. One room was separated off by a piece of glass behind which was a diver's helmet. We used the reflective nature of the glass to create our own art and expect to win a prize for it.
It is now scorching so we dive into one of the swanky places for refreshment. R casts caution to the wind and orders Iced Tea with real ice. D plays safe with beer. The gaff is very pleasant and the service is excellent but boy do they know how to charge. The heat drives us into AC hiding for a couple of hours until it is cool enough to venture out to look at one more Biennale venue. This is a derelict storage compound where the artists have used whatever was lying around to create structures and sculptures. Some of these look like piles of rubble but others do seem to have some sort of grace and beauty. Somehow the overall feeling is that of an illicit skatepark.
We stroll around town in the evening sun, checking out possible dining venues. None of the places in the main town catches our eye so we had back over to the street of smart boutiques to check out 'Dal Roti', another Mr Saj tip. We get there a few minutes before opening but already a few people are hanging around the entrance. The door opens promptly and we are seated at a window table. Within minutes the place is full. The menu is mainly thalis, we go for one fish and one prawn. They are also leaf free. The lime and ginger sodas are brilliant and the thalis both plentiful and delicious when they arrive. We have enjoyed all of the meals in Fort Kochi but this was the best (and the cheapest!). D pigs out with gulab jamuns to follow, R is too full.
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