Price of things in Kochi

nisjensen

Hello everyone,

I'm going to Kochi in feb. and would like to here a little about the price´og things in Kochi. I would like to here the price when you stay away from big hotels.

does anyone live in Kochi and know the price of the following:
a chappati
a thali meal (street vendor)
a sit-down dinner in a fairly good restaurant
a 15 minute ride in an auto-rikshaw
1 night in a single room in a guesthouse (shared bathroom)
Public bus fare
A movie in a movie theatre
a 1 litre bottle of drinking water
A bottle of local soft drink
A bottle of local beer vs. a bottle of imported beer
An hour on the internet
A tailor-made shalwar kameez

I list is from another thread, but i would like to know what the prices are in Kochi.

Best Regards
Nis Jensen

appliedinstrument

Prices will be around this :

a chappati-> Rs. 8-10

a thali meal (street vendor)-> thali meal is not that famous in Kochi.. there u get traditional keral food for Rs.20-30
a sit-down dinner in a fairly good restaurant: in a fairly good restaurant, dinner costs around Rs.60-70/person

a 15 minute ride in an auto-rikshaw -> Rs.30-50 (depending on how well u bargain.. make the auto driver put the meter and run )

1 night in a single room in a guesthouse (shared bathroom) -> guestouse is usaull expensive with atleast Rs.500 for one with attached bathroom

Public bus fare -> Min is Rs 3.50 (to move anywhere within kochi, not more Rs.7 will be needed in one direction )

A movie in a movie theatre: maximun Rs. 60 and minimun Rs.30

a 1 litre bottle of drinking water -> Rs. 10-15

A bottle of local soft drink -> Rs 5 for a lime juice with soda

A bottle of local beer vs. a bottle of imported beer -> depends on whether you buy it from beer outlet or from Bar. In outlet it costs around 50-60 while in Bar it costs around 70-80 for local beer. Imported one will be little more costly

An hour on the internet-> Rs.10-20

A tailor-made shalwar kameez -> Rs.200-300

nisjensen

Do you need to bargain for food, or will it be priced?

What would you think was fair to pay to stay at a homestay with food and air con included in the price?

machadinha

At a restaurant no matter how simple, you'd be making an eternal fool of yourself.

At the market, sure.

At shops where stuff is generally priced (a lot of products come with a stamped maximum retail price, though shop keepers may try and quote you something different of course. Just check for any small print on those products), no, not really; but perhaps to some extent. Something of an inbetween case sometimes in some simple stores (and/or conversely in very touristy shops, or in such areas), for the reason already mentioned; at modern shopping affairs, certainly not no. (Note much of Kochi's mainland and for all intents and purposes, apart from tourism, far more significant side of Ernakulam has gotten amazingly modern and, in a word, swanky, or at least I found it so when I visited earlier this year, as compared to my previous visit in 1993. Life still goes on pretty much as usual in many a side street though.)

See also some general thoughts of mine on the whole bargaining concept I left just recently: Where to stay in Paharganj... Mostly pertaining to possibly haggling over a (budget to lower mid-end) room, but it can be extrapolated to any transaction really.

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federica

Don't bargain in Kerala, it's not common and appreciated. There are a few exceptional places, like shops for tourists (mostly run by North Indians): There you should bargain. You can also bargain in cheaper cloth markets where you buy bedsheets and such things, but the reduction won't be much.

linnaen

This!
Consider the level of service you will receive, the quality of the food, and what they might do in the kitchen to the rich man's food who is quibbling over a few cents.

lathish

Rates from appliedinstrument is almost right but for chappati
it like 3 or 4.50 in fairly good restaurant

machadinha

But then who wants to eat dry chapatis anyway (I've never tried, but can't imagine them going for more than a Rupee as such really. 50 Paisa perhaps? 25 If you can get a hold of so small a coin these days?)

... OK, good chapati, good restaurant, couple of Rupees perhaps. Thing is one normally wouldn't order just that anyway. (Well, one might arguably order some extra, and then it would suddenly become relevant. Couple of Rupees I guess yes. You'll then find there are different breads on offer, stuffed or not, tandoori or not, and all with their own prices.)

"Meals" (common designation for thali-type food in the south -- not commonly had at street vendors anywhere in the country btw. Nis should really just go there), can still be had for some Rs. 10-15 with any luck I'd say. Not so common to find them at that price anymore; and could be any multiple of that. Hard to pinpoint as usual. Maybe somewhere in the Rs. 30-100 range would be more realistic.

KABAARY

You mean there are people who have wet chappatis ? What's that ?

machadinha

Yes, I normally dip them in my tea first. You know us westerners & our crazy ways

(Beats you guys serving me cornflakes in piping-hot boiled milk though. As in, er, where are my cornflakes.)

KABAARY

My my ! You are a friendly soul ain't you ?

I dip my chappatis in the boiled milk and skirt the Kelloggs. Very corny and rather flakey on my part I know.

skvortson

Everything is very cheap. That's quite a list you came up with. Budgeting?

chackmatha

there should be something cheaper . Chappathis can be brought from bakeries too

appliedinstrument

sorry mate.. that doesnt happen in kerala... Bakeries in kerala are many other things but not chappathi :-)

federica

True, in some bakeries you can even buy shaving foam, but no chappathis, for sure