This blog has been inactive for a while and I have constantly been thinking about things that I want to post about, some about craft, some not. I thought about starting another personal blog but then realized that The Secret Garden is a part of me and I should write about all the things that I want to on this blog instead of wasting more cyberspace.
The last couple of months have been a filled with weddings, large events and meeting too many people. I wanted some time for myself, to just be. The Kochi Biennale was on and I have been wanting to go, a quick plan was made. Accompanying me were my mother, aunt and friend, Namratha.
I didn't do much research like I usually do about places to eat, things to see and what to do. I thought I would figure it out as we go. We landed in Kochi late afternoon due to a delayed flight. The airport to Fort Kochi is a long drive, around one and half hours. We were starving as we arrived at the hotel. The hotel, I do have to talk about. On my last trip to Kochi I had a meal at Malabar house and I knew the next time I was coming I definitely had to stay here. Its a small boutique hotel with 18 rooms. It has a really nice aesthetic with beautifully decorated rooms. They make some of their own furnishings, some of the cushion covers were fabulous. It was also conveniently located near all the biennale events
The last couple of months have been a filled with weddings, large events and meeting too many people. I wanted some time for myself, to just be. The Kochi Biennale was on and I have been wanting to go, a quick plan was made. Accompanying me were my mother, aunt and friend, Namratha.
I didn't do much research like I usually do about places to eat, things to see and what to do. I thought I would figure it out as we go. We landed in Kochi late afternoon due to a delayed flight. The airport to Fort Kochi is a long drive, around one and half hours. We were starving as we arrived at the hotel. The hotel, I do have to talk about. On my last trip to Kochi I had a meal at Malabar house and I knew the next time I was coming I definitely had to stay here. Its a small boutique hotel with 18 rooms. It has a really nice aesthetic with beautifully decorated rooms. They make some of their own furnishings, some of the cushion covers were fabulous. It was also conveniently located near all the biennale events
We walked around after checking in to find some authentic Kerala food. Unfortunately we were too late and all the restaurants were shut. So we grabbed a quick bite at the hotel and set off for AspenWall House which had most of the exhibits. On the way we spotted a tiny store front advertising guided bicycle rides around Fort Kochi, which Namratha and I signed up for the next morning. There was a talk at five that I was interested in so we thought we will check some of the art out before we went for the talk. The first piece as we entered was something I really enjoyed. It was by Charles and Ray Eames. It was a video that started out in a park in Chicago zooming out every 2secs to the power of ten, taking you way out into space and then zooming in so that it took you to molecular level. Was quite an interesting video. We saw a couple of more exhibits and then headed to the talk which was about connecting art, culture and food. Usually anything to do with food interest me, but as I sat through fifteen minutes I knew the talk was not for me, but what caught my eye was the beautiful auditorium it was housed in. I think it was built specifically for the biennale, a shell shaped structure. Unfortunately my camera battery hadn't charged and I don't have many pictures from day 1. Also the Aspenwall House itself was so beautiful, an old traders house which lies abandoned most of the time. The sprawling open gardens had simple bamboo benches to take in the surroundings. They also had some yummy local neera that we sipped on while taking in the art and the general beauty of the sea and fort kochi.
Some of the other pieces I liked was a video on building a real time digital clock. There were a bunch of wood workers changing planks of wood as the time went by. When I read the description I didn't think it would interest me but as I watched the video you start rooting for the men and hoping that they change the numbers as quickly as the minute was changing. Another interesting one was they had a video camera at the front of the train and one at the end, the video is played simultaneously to us. So in a sense you are seeing the future and it takes you a while for that sensation to take over you. The galleries shut by 6.30pm and we headed back to the hotel to relax. The hotel guided us to Oceanos restaurant for some Kerala seafood. We had to wait a good half an hour before we could get a table. Hungry people always order too much food. We ordered some fried prawns which weren't great, some pepper squid which was good. We then had assorted fish and prawn curries Kerala style. Nothing excellent but everything was okay. The food was kind of westernized Kerala which we soon realized happened with all the restaurants in Fort Kochi area. After all that binging it was time for a good night of sleep for the next day which was sure to busy.
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