Cochin

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Around Cochin (Kochi) Collected from our hotel at 9.00am by our new driver Raj and we drove off towards the old fort area where we met with our guide for the morning. Surprise surprise our First Lady guide Aguita, and charming she was. Well educated and very knowledgeable about the area. After a very short drive we visited a co-operative washroom which is unlike anything experienced before. One up from dunking smelly old clothes in the river but below the Blighty launderettes. Because labour is so cheap in India there is no reliance on technical frill, so interesting use of rocks to beat the old clobber clean, environmentally drying on a line and finished off with a charcoal powered iron. Pretty big operation run as a cooperative that the locals use. Next stop was to a church built by the Dutch on the site of a wooden church that had been built in 1502 by the Portuguese. This was also where the famous explorer Vasco de Gama was originally buried. As a result of colonisation by the Europeans over 40 percent of the population were Christian, mostly Catholic and regular church goers. The Brits turned up in the 1850's and persuaded the Dutch to get out and as a result fabulous Dutch and British architecture with lovely old colonial buildings. We then drove to the beach area and watched the fisherman at work with their Chinese style nets, not catching a great deal however. Next stop was to Mattancherry Palace built by the Portuguese for the Raja. None of the wealth in here that we witnessed in the palaces in north India, the Rajas in Kerala believed in sharing more of their wealth with their people and as a result this generated a reasonably affluent society, none of the deep poverty we saw up north. The final stop of the day was to the old Jewish quarter, at one time 3000 Jews lived here, most had returned to Israel so only 8 left. Not a busy synagogue. The inevitable shopping in the old quarter, Kerala is renowned for its spices so Pauline bought a ten year supply but no carpets!We had a delicious meal by the sea in Fort Cochin, huge tiger prawns and a coconut and mango prawn curry for Steve. We returned back to the hotel read and rested then went to a Kathakali dance show. Well we sat and watched two men put on a load of makeup and they chatted to each other but said not a word to us, then in this make shift theatre they demonstrated the various movements and what they mean, and then performed a dance which was first explained via a pre recorded disc. The write up says Kathakali represents a synthesis of all that is best in dance, drama, and music and has been recognised by connoisseurs of dance! Well they obviously haven't seen west side story or grease or I won't go on. It was interesting and couldn't help but think they were taking the p---.Back to the hotel and I have a headache and Steve is watching football think we might skip going out for a meal and have an early night.

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Photos

Washing cooperative
This might help with weight control

This is a coconut fuelled iron
It is so Eco friendly and so heavy

St Francis Church
Our guide Agita with Steve

Chinese fishing nets
Similar to the Vietnamese ones but these have counter weights

Steve at the fish market
Nah he didn't catch this one