Saturday January 28 - Cochin

At last we are feeling the kind of heat that Cliff and Cathy wrote about in 2008. Today Ferris and I walked around the old section of Cochin - Fort Cochin - and the sun was sweltering. Cochin, an important fishing and spice center, is located on the western side of Southern India on the Arabian Sea. It was first a Portuguese city and than became Dutch. We had a half day guided tour which turned out to be much more interesting than I thought it might be. I say this only because of our lack of enthusiasm about Portuguese Goa a few years ago.

We began the morning by watching what are known as Chinese Fishing Nets. Boats have huge cantilevered nets suspended from what look like four or five long bamboo poles. They drop the enormous net into the water and leave it for about ten minutes. It takes many men to pull the net loaded with fish from the water. The whole operation takes place on the flimsiest of boats with nets suspended from what look like long thin twigs.

Nearby is a small fish market where we got to experience auctions or fish, shrimp and crab. The auction takes place in a hot little shack. I couldn't help but wonder if the fish I ate for dinner last night made its way through here.

Vasco de Gamma was among Cochin's most famous residents. We went to the church where he was originally buried (he has since been returned to Portugal). A group of young Indian schoolgirls were also touring the church and they were eager to extend their hands for a hello handshake. I continue to be struck by the stunning beauty of Indian girls.

Next we visited the Hindu part of town. If I remember correctly only 30% of the population of Cochin is Hindu which makes for quite an atmosphere change from the predominantly Hindu culture of Tamil Nadu. Our guide told us that most Brahmins live together in one part of town and one way to identify a Brahmin's house is by the basil plant out front. It's apparently regarded as a very important plant by Hindus in Kerala.

We stopped in a tiny processing and packaging plant (far too grand a word) for spices. Men used rudimentary mills to process various grains (like rice) and spices. Women worked in the back rooms wearing colorful saris, some just sitting on the floor. They were operating small machines that output individual spice packets. They smiled warmly and invited us in to watch. Around the corner was a spice shop run by a women's cooperative. Of course I added to my Indian spice collection and my suitcase if now extremely aromatic. I'm certain to be nabbed by the agriculture beagle when I return to Newark.

I was delighted to find that Cochin has many rare cannonball trees which have large pink waxy blossoms that I haven't seen since a trip long ago to Thailand. They're one of my favorite flowers along with orchids and lotus blossoms.

 We walked along the streets of the old Jewish quarter and stopped outside a synagogue. Cochin has only nine remaining Jews living here. This section is now home to what seems like hundreds of antique shops.

 And last we stopped in the Mattancherry Palace, also known as the "Dutch Palace”, built in 1557 AD. The central hall on the 1st floor was the coronation hall of the rajas of Cochin. Other rooms contain beautiful paintings depicting scenes from the Ramayana and Puranic Legends connected with Hindu gods. By this time we were ready for a bite. Afterward we headed to the Parade Ground (a dusty empty field) to visit a few shops around the perimeter including Anokhi.

We leave very early tomorrow morning for a flight to Bangalore and then a four hour drive for Mysore. I opted out of tonight's performance of traditional Kerala dance in favor of a quiet evening to read and organize. Ahhhhhh.

Friday January 27 - Madurai to Cochin

And I thought that since we had a long, seven-hour drive ahead of us today I'd have nothing to write about.  How wrong I was!  Originally Ferris and I planned to fly from Madurai through Chennai to Cochin in order to avoid the drive.  I had thought the drive would be terrifying because of the swerving, honking, endlessly passing vehicles and the thought of facing vehicles coming at me head-on for seven straight hours was unimaginable.  Basically I thought I'd prefer being water-boarded than doing this drive.

That was until we met Bala and I can't believe how comfortable I've felt this trip driving in India.  After one day of working with him we changed our plans and cancelled the flight. 

We left this morning at 8am and planned to arrive in Cohin at around 3pm.  After that Bala was to drive back to Madurai the same day (we hope he arrived safely) in order to back as quickly as possible with his new bride.  She returns to her school near Trichy (she's finishing her masters degree in engineering) next Wednesday where she lives during her studies. 

The other night after the Shiva/Parvati event at the temple in Madurai, Bala helped us buy CDs of music from Tamil Nadu.  Ferris and I both love Tamil instruments and knew that if we didn't buy them now we probably wouldn't find them.  We bought a contemporary Tamil CD, and classical sitar, violin and nadhaswasram (long shrill horn) CDs.  We had a marvelous time listening to our music as we drove; it provided a perfect soundtrack to the lovely scenery we passed.  We had a day of being in the tropics:  rice fields, sugar cane fields, coconut trees, banana plantations, rubber plantations and even tea plantations when we reached a mountainous area that we didn't expected. 

When you look at the map of South India it looks as if there's a major absolutely straight road all the way from Madurai to Cochin.  That couldn't be farther from the case.  The road is the usual winding two lane affair which gets really interesting when you begin climbing mountains called the Periyar Hills and twisting and turning on switchbacks.  We climbed rapidly and it felt as if we could look down on all of India from our vantage point.  The vegetation changed completely and we were in a dense tropical forest with monkeys climbing trees and running across the road.  We saw a little baby monkey clutching his mother for dear life as she ran.  Once we got to the top of the mountain we stopped in a small town for a break and to stop in a spice shop.  I bought a few Tamil hot peppers.  We also stopped for lunch somewhere where everything was local style.  We wanted Bala to eat with us but instead he ate outside behind the restaurant.  We noticed that towns on the mountain in the sprawling beautiful tea plantation area had many Tibetan shops.  Has there been a migration of Indians from the north to this area?

Arrived in Cochin at 5pm and met with our local guide.  As we unpacked our bags we received a SURPRISE VISITOR!  We were absolutely thrilled to find that Lakuma, Cliff and Cathy's South India guide several years ago, had come to see us and to let us know that she will be our guide for the rest of the trip, beginning on Sunday when we head to Bangalore.  I've run out of time...but I'll finish writing about this tomorrow.