Silversea's Silver Wind is a lovely ship, but by the third sea day after leaving Visakhapatnam, I was starting to dream of containers (you know, those big boxes that any port worth its salt has in spades) and silos.
So I was thrilled and relieved in equal measure to arrive in Cochin, where we have been for the past two days.
I had booked a tour to the Kerala Backwaters for the second day, so decided to go exploring in Cochin on day one. What an experience. First you have to run the gauntlet of the taxi drivers who are allowed in the port. A second tier of taxi and tuk-tuk drivers is waiting as you get out of the port gates; past another barrier, it's the third rank tuk-tuk guys.
I began to get an idea of what honey pots must feel like as drivers swarmed around, followed me, and drove past me, waiting until I got near so they could pounce again. It sounds awful, but they were not at all threatening, just a bit of a pain.
By walking quite a distance from the port, I not only got a good price for a ride into the city and back, but also travelled in style - in this air-conditioned Ferrari (that's what he said it was anyway) driven by Wahab.
He took me around some of the highlights - these fishing nets, the spice shops - waiting for me at each and then delivered me safely back to the ship.
Day two was a trip to the Backwaters. The first time I did this, the excursion was a transfer to Alleppey and a two-hour cruise on a tourist boat before returning to our cruise ship, and I loved it so much - so beautiful and peaceful - I decided to go again despite the rather scary (at current exchange rates) $199 price tag.
But boy, was this different. The 90-minute drive to Alleppey was in a mini bus with just eight people (there were more people in other buses) and we cruised for two hours on one of these houseboats. Just us eight. How exclusive is that!
These have anything from one to five bedrooms, and tourists come on usually for a night, but longer if they wish. There are around 500 of them plying the Backwaters.
Then it was off to the Marari Hotel for a lunch - a curry at last! - and paddle in the sea before returning to the ship. Two hours later the ropes were cast and we're now off again. Next stop New Mangalore.
Jane Archer
