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Climate: Summers
are hot, winters mild. The summer temperatures (March to May)
vary from a high of 35°C to a low of 22.5°C, with winter
months from December to February having a mean minimum of 20°C.
Cochin
experiences both, the southwest monsoons from June to
September and the northeast from October to December. The
average annual rainfall is 3099.1 mm, with 132 average annual
rainy days.
Season: The
best time to visit is between October and March.
Clothing: The
warm tropical climate recommends light cotton clothes.
Waterproofing is essential during monsoons.
Newspapers: Malayala
Manorama, Mathrubhumi, and Deshabhimani in Malayalam; the
Hindu, the New Indian Express, and the Pioneer in English are
the major dailies from
Cochin
.
Banking
Hours: (Weekdays) 10 am-3 pm, some banks from 9
am-1 pm; (Sat) 10 am-1 pm. Many banks have extended their
working hours upto 3.30 pm, weekdays, and upto 12.30 pm,
Saturdays, with a few open 8 to 8. Some banks have evening
counters. Banks remain closed on Sundays (with a few
exceptions), and specified bank holidays. Internet banking and
24-hour ATM service are also available.
Credit Cards:
Andhra Bank Visa, Bobcard, Cancard, Centralcard,
Citibank Card, HSBC's Gold Credit Card, ICICI Credit Card,
Incard, MasterCard, SBI Card, Silver Card, Standard Chartered
Card, Times Card, Visacard.
Accommodation:
Hotels range from 5- and 4-star properties, fully
air-conditioned with all luxury features, to 3-star hotels
with air-conditioned rooms, and 2- and 1-star hotels which
offer basic amenities. Tourist lodges and hostels provide a
convenient and cheap base. Furnished apartments and homestays
provide all the facilities and services of luxury hotels, with
a homely environment.
Smoking: Smoking
in public places including on roads, bus stands (and buses),
railway stations (and trains), restaurants and specific bars
is prohibited by law.
Shopping: You
have a wide range of good buys to choose from. Among Cochin's
best buys are metalware; camel-bone carvings; wood carvings;
articles made of coconut shells, bamboo cane, and rattan;
embroidered screwpine mats; grass mats; and several other
kinds of handicrafts. Cochin also has several good antique
dealers. The major shopping centres are M G Road (textiles,
jewellery, consumer durables), Convent Road (fashion
boutiques), and the Marine Drive including Broadway (readymades,
electronics, spices). Jew Town in Mattancherry is famous for
its curio shops and spices. Shops open at 10 am and close
around 8 pm. Generally all shops remain closed on Sundays. For
inbound and outbound passengers, premium brands of liquor,
tobacco, and perfumes are available in the duty free shop at
the international airport.
Dining: Cochin
and its suburbs have a wide range to offer, from cheap
street-side eateries to gourmet restaurants. In upmarket
restaurants it's a good idea to book in advance, particularly
on weekends. There's also a booming fastfood and café life.
Bars and restaurants open at 8 am, closing at 11 pm.
Entertainment:
Cinema houses have daily shows in Malayalam, Hindi,
English, and Tamil. Daily Kathakali shows at select cultural
centres like Art Kerala (Tel: 2375238, Timings: 6 PM to 8 PM)
and Cochin Cultural Centre (Tel: 2356366, Timings: 6.30 PM to
7.30 PM), classical dance forms and Carnatic music recitals at
the Kerala Fine Arts Hall at Foreshore Road; and a range of
art galleries such as the Chitram Art Gallery (Tel: 2357012)
are increasingly popular venues. Disney-style amusement
centres, kiddies fun parks, and pool clubs for yuppies are
catching on as the in thing. There're also hundreds of places
where you could surf the Net, a very popular pastime nowadays.
Annual events like the Tourism Week (Dec-Jan) featuring boat
races, food festivals, shopping festivals, etc. are all well
worth seeing.
Major
Exports: Tea, cashew kernels, rubber, spices, coir
products, betelnuts, copra, lemongrass oil, coffee, fish and
prawns.
Tourist
Information Centres: Government of India Tourist
Office, Willingdon Island; KTDC Tourist Reception Centres,
Shanmugham Road & Ernakulam Junction railway station;
Tourist Information Office, Old Collectorate.
Visa
extension for Foreign Nationals: The Commissioner
of Police, Cochin City. (Tel: 2394770).
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