Kochi, Southern India

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We finished resting and went into Kochi (used to be called Cochin), which is in the southwest of India in the state of Kerala. It’s a large city in an area that’s been populated since prehistoric times, invaded by Portuguese, Dutch and English in turn, all the while with a king in control until independence. The last king died in 1964. We toured a very old synagogue and church. Since it’s near the coast in an area of barrier islands, canals, and backwaters, they use ferries to connect different parts of the city. Traffic is amazing - the best way to avoid certain death is to watch the local people and stick with them as they cross the street.

On 5 Feb, we took a very crowded, non-air-conditioned local bus and a long motor boat into the Kerala backwaters, where we stayed with a local family. The house was nice but not air conditioned, and we were glad that the frequent power outages were never very long. The fans help. The home is surrounded by rice paddies growing the local type of rice: “fluffy” Kerala rice. Food is tasty, but no where near as spicy as we expected.

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Photos

Kerala Backwaters
We saw highways and trucks in the distance, but stayed mostly on small canals like this as we traveled east through Kerala State.

An Indian Kitchen
Our hostess for our home stay was extremely proud of her kitchen. Notice that at the far end there's a wood-burning stove (basically a grid over a place to light a fire), where she does much of her cooking. No ovens.

Hard Work!
These guys were digging mud off the bottom of the canal to repair and heighten the dikes that protect this below-sea-level land from the ocean.