Fort Cochin

Sleepy Fort Cochin is only a short ferry ride from mainland India but it might as well be on another planet. In Ernakulam, the mainland part of the city of Cochin, the streets are crowded with the usual crush of rickshaws, scooters, stray dogs, stray cows and people. Fort Cochin is a dramatic contrast. A Portuguese colonial outpost from the beginning of the 16th century, the town has escaped modern development; leaving crumbling mansions looming over streets shaded by lush, mature trees. Several of the mansions have been sensitively restored to their former glory and now serve as gorgeous boutique hotels: think airy verandas, billowing muslin, wicker chairs and teak. It's a place to escape to for a few days to unwind and refresh. We might have even forgotten that we were in India, were it not for the suffocating January heat and humidity.

An impressive sight on the northern tip of the island are a row of enormous Chinese fishing nets. These massive, cantilevered wooden structures are still in daily use and you can watch groups of up to six fishermen lowering each one into the water and raising them up again, ideally containing fish. Beside the nets every evening, several stalls appear selling fish so fresh some of them were still gasping. We bought a dozen big tiger prawns and persuaded the proprietor of a nearby restaurant to coat them in tandoori marinade, impale them on long skewers and plunge them into the smoky, searing depths of the tandoor oven.