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Published: January 11th 2007
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We enjoyed our early morning sail into Cochin from our stateroom verandah about 7:00 am. We passed an old fishing village with the Chinese Fishing nets on the shoreline and lots of dugout canoe type fishing boats rowing out to greet us.
We had a quick breakfast and then rendezvoused in the Nautica Lounge to join the ship’s shore excursion to Kerala: Tranquil Backwaters. We were assigned to bus number 5 and I was impressed with the relaxed, organized process. As we descended the gangway to shoreside, we were greeted by an elephant adorned in a gold jeweled headdress with three riders and an umbrella on top of him. We were able to pet the elephant and pose for photos.
We boarded the bus which was quite comfortable with lots of leg room. They also did not fill up the bus, which allowed us to stretch out. Our guide spoke excellent English and we began our 90 minute drive south to Allepey where we would begin our boat trip.
The ride south was interesting as we passed through small towns along the way with men dressed in business shirts with the traditional looking loin cloth saris, in all
manner of plaid and flowered patterns. The women were dressed in full saris of bright, beautiful colors and school girls in pastel colored uniform saris with a scarf topping at the neck. I enjoyed watching all of the tuk-tuk 3-wheeled vehicles packed to the max with passengers and motor bikes carrying all kinds of passengers, including toddlers and infants wedged between 2 adults, nary a helmet in sight. We also realized that “honking” is the national sport of India. Even when traffic is flying by on the roadway, without any traffic congestion, they honk at every passing motorist.
We made a quick restroom stop enroute and finally arrived at the boat park to begin our trip. The village there was interesting with cows, baskets of dried fish and small children posing for photos.
We boarded our double-decker wooden boat, decorated with strings of orange marigolds and red carnations hanging from the sides of the sun shield roof. The seating was in flimsy plastic lawn chairs, which challenged you to keep your balance when the boat was moving—definitely not U.S. Coast guard approved (LOL). It was interesting to view life along the canals with cattle and people bathing, fishing,
doing laundry and washing pots and pans. We stopped at a small village to see one of the oldest Catholic churches in the area, settled by the Portuguese, making this part of India 60% Christian, 20% Hindu and 20% Muslim. From there, we motored across the canal to see one of the large wooden snake boats that are paddled in competitions every August. It takes over 150 people per boat rowing.
We continued through some of the smaller canals and laughed at how even the boats were constantly honking at each other - that national sport thing again !! We got to see the beautiful reed houseboats accommodating up to 10 people per boat. These can be rented for a couple of days to sail through the many different canals and lakes in Kerala. I would definitely be interested in this if I ever get back to this area.
We stopped for lunch at a beautiful hotel called the Lake Palace Lodge. It was a beautiful oasis on one of the Kerala Lakes, with individual temple styled cottages. They served a lovely Indian style buffet lunch with curries, fresh grilled fish and the local Kingfisher beer included. After
lunch, it was a short sail to the area where our buses were waiting for us.
Another 90 minute bus ride brought us to old Cochin village where we visited the Chinese Fishing Nets used since the 12th - 13th centuries. It was a great photo stop including the local fish market with live spiny lobsters and baby hammerhead sharks. There was some great stall shopping there as well, but we didn’t have time to shop.
We returned to the ship about 5:30 pm and had a few minutes to peruse the 2 souvenir stalls at the cruise terminal, but they only had old, dusty items for sale.
A quick drink at Horizons for sail away and small dinner at Tapas on the Terrace because we were still full from our delicious lunch. We turned in early after our busy day.
Special Note: I usually do not like to participate in cruise line organized shore excursions, because they make me feel like a herd of cattle. But I must say, that I was pleasantly surprised with Oceania’s handling of our tour in Cochin. It was well organized, conducted at a reasonable pace with a knowledgeable guide,
Kerala Style Cement Truck
Don't you just love the guy at the back of the boat with the umbrella sun shield !! in a comfortable bus. The boat was about the best you could expect to get for a group of 25 people, in this part of the world. Other than the balance issue with sitting in the chairs, it was a comfortable experience. Overall A+ for this excursion.
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