Kochi & Backwaters

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Hello again!

Well we left Palolem kicking and screaming, and took a flight to Kochin in the state of Kerala- right near the southern tip of India.

We were again greeted with smiles aplenty and people being very friendly, naturally I was very suspicious of 'help' but it was totally unneccessary.
Fort Kochi is a colonial town full of character, we had a ricksaw driver take us around the city to see all the sights- some known and some not so known! People from Kochi are mostly Christain or Hindu- however there is one Jewish family and so had the only synagogue in India-very impressive. He also took us to see a huge elephant - but the poor thing couldnt even turn around- he had it in his back yard.

We also visited a traditional Kerala kathakali dancing, you may have seen it - where the guys paint their faces yellow and do strange things to their eyes. mmmmm was very interesting, if you like that sort of thing.. We had front row seats and wished we were at the back, Claire - you deserve an oscar for your performance as a girl about to vomit! Well done! It got us out there and on to more impt matters such as food and drink!
Its worth mentioning that Claire and I have become fond of a curry and a kingfisher, to our surprise we ordered our curry and - what...no beer?! We were a bit dissapointed until the waiter whispered...'I do have beer... but you need to drink it in a tea pot, and mugs'! Everyone had teapots! - It was hilarious, I recommend it- makes drinking beer more fun!

The backwaters of Kerala are amazing, just spectacular. We just spent the day drifting through the waters. The scenary amazing.. loads of palm trees and rice paddies, also hundreds of Kingfisher birds. It was during this trip that I have had my freshest ever coconut- one of the guys climbed the tree to get it- the cracked it open there and then, mmm delicious.


Will right about my safari trip soon..
Take care
Hayley

xxxxx

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