The beach and streets of Fort Kochi are buzzing with tourists this holiday season. Thanks to the Kochi- Muziris biennale, this year most of the tourists are from outside India.
The streets are already dotted with temporary shops and street vendors on either side. The Fort Kochi beach walkway has a number of vendors of ice cream and pickled mangoes tempting visitors with their items.
However, the beach is still untidy with plastic and other litter that are an eyesore. Amanda from London says, “The city is beautiful and I loved all the colour and energy in the place. It’s just the cleanliness that’s a little unpleasant.”
Another issue is the inadequate number of route maps and sign boards at Fort Kochi. Though a walk through the streets of Fort Kochi is an exciting experience, for someone trying to reach a specific location there, this lack of proper directions can be exasperating. Even the Kerala Tourism Department’s Information Centre is hard to find in the clutter of the shops in front of the Boat Jetty.
For art lovers visiting Fort Kochi, its streets are a visual treat with the freshly painted street art and installations of the biennale. Art students from various parts of the world are visiting Fort Kochi for this season. Despite the scorching sun, quite a number of people are making a beeline for Fort Kochi.
