Blogs from Kochi, Kerala, India, Asia - page 6

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Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi January 23rd 2014

On our last day of our stay in India, we are stranded in the very small Cochin International Airport for 11 hours. There are few amenities and we may not go through until 3 hours before our flight to Singapore - ahhhh India! India has been fascinating, rich in colour and culture and you get the impression of a country stretching and emerging into the 21st century. The people have been friendly and often more interested in us than we in them. There have been highs and lows on this tour. Accommodation has sometimes been less than expected- fluctuating power often resulted in cold showers, sheets and towels were occasionally missing, the level of cleanliness in some places was low and the food questionable. We all got pretty sick except for the queen of clean, Lois. ... read more
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Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi January 11th 2014

We are staying in Fort Kochi, a town with heritage from Portuguese, Dutch and British colonisation. We visited the two most significant landmarks ( according to the tourist information guide), the churches of St Francis and Santa Cruz Basilica as well as the Chinese fishing nets and fish market that Fort Kochi is famous for. We also went to see the ancient traditional Kathakali dancers but this was not an experience to be recommended.However the highlight of the day was going to a cooking class held in a local home. It was a great experience ( the boys found a bar while we learned the art of Indian cooking). We have the recipes and will try them when we get home. Cooking class in Kochi Spices we used are; Mustard seeds, Peppercorns, Ground pepper, Ginger, Cloves, ... read more
Fish market
Santa Cruz Basilica
Cooking class

Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi » Maradu January 8th 2014

8-10 January 2014 8 January Other than enjoying the facilities of a major hotel, we started to head out and around. Tuk Tuks are easily picked up right outside, and one can ignore the sideways glances of the uniformed security guards of the hotel. We were told we could access the Kochi ferry network by getting to “bowjerry”, said with a head wobble. Bowjerry? Boajelly? Ahh, boat jetty! One has to tune one’s ears into the local dialect and intonations. A quick ride through the back streets to the ferry terminal, and onto the diesel-scented waterways. Kochi is obviously a seaport and I can’t recall one that is not a bit dirty. Certainly Kochi is cleaner than Alexandria – not a high bar. We got off at Mattancherry and walked into the shopping district there. This ... read more
Diesel-scented ferry to Mattacherry
Snake boat
Traders street, beside the water front

Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi January 5th 2014

Our way to India was very indian - to put it shortly. ;-) Let's start from the beginning. As always, we had booked the cheapest flight available on the internet. It looked fine: with Air India via Delhi to Kochi. A week before our departure, the flight was slightly changed with a short stop in Mumbai. Well, we did not care about this. As we arrived in Delhi, we found out that we had another change of flights - surprise, surprise! Finally it turned out that we had 4 flights till we reached Kochi. From Frankfurt to Delhi, from Delhi to Jaipur, from Jaipur to Mumbai and from Mumbai to Kochi. It was already dark when we reached Kochi on New Year's Eve. And it was hot with 31 degrees centigrade! We were quite tired, but ... read more
walking promenade at Lake Vambanad, Fort Kochi
Happy New Year!
street scene in Fort Kochi

Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi January 5th 2014

5-9 January 2014 It's great to be back in India; this time for a mix of work and private travel. I arrived ahead of Catherine so that I could do a bit of work. Given my work with CSIRO in the Animal, Food and Health Division, it was a great opportunity to exchange ideas with some rapidly growing companies. Home base was the Crowne Plaza hotel in Maradu for a few days. Well above our normal standard but... I travelled by taxi or private car to see the facilities of several natural product and biotech companies: Synthite; Camson; Arjuna; and Stirling. Each has their own story to tell, and I'll let them tell it through their websites, but I was very impressed by the scientific sophistication and sense of bigger purpose of these science-based companies. My ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi October 6th 2013

Namaste! We're finally in Kerala and out of Goa! After a long but better than imagined 15 hour train ride from Margao in Goa, we've been based in Fort Kochi since Friday. Went to explore Ernakulam yesterday, the bigger town on the other side of the port, and managed to find a new camera for myself! Yay finally have photo taking capabilities again!!! Went to watch some Kathakali dancing last night, strange but funny at tines, very expressive! And have booked our train back up north for the 21st, trains get booked up so quick! But all is well, currently sat on the balcony of a lovely restaurant in central Fort Kochi overlooking the Santa Cruz Basilica, there has been a festival and parade celebrating mother Mary, as the town has a large Catholic community. Brilliant ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi April 29th 2013

We cruised past the famous Chinese fishing nets and arrived in Kochi in Kerala, India. We like this southwestern area of India as it is laced with waterways and mangroves and very multi-cultural. For centuries, Kochi has been a vital stop along the international shipping routes. Also known as the Malabar Coast, the locals say that Kerala is "God's own country" because of its natural beauty and resources. We took a boat trip on the backwaters which is right up our alley…any time we can get on a boat is good by us. The small canals and rivers are lined with residents who have lived this traditional lifestyle for eons. The water is the lifeblood of this delta region. People wash clothes, bathe, irrigate their rice paddies, fish, worship and socialize along the backwaters. Watching the ... read more
KEEP ON TRUCKIN'!
RICE BOAT
LAUNDRY

Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi April 25th 2013

Today, I wandered around the market stalls, treating myself to a bag, yet another pair of Aladdin pants and some snacks for my forth-coming long-arse bus journey. Kochi is a very chilled-out place, aside from the market sellers touting their wares and the three women in the restaurant I'm currently sitting in, who are blatantly staring at me. C'est la vie. Being the animal-lover I am, I always tend to take interest in the local wildlife. I've noticed that here, rather than cows wandering the streets (as was the case in Bangalore), goats do so. Loads of them, just going about their business. Obviously, the locals take no notice, but I find it quite amusing! Can you imagine a goat or a cow strolling through the streets of London? Me neither. So, since going it alone ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi March 23rd 2013

March 8… I headed to the ashram today, catching the train from Ernakalum Town (the station nearest to Kochi). It was an eventful ride to the station. Kochi is on an island connected to the mainland via another island – with only one set of bridges at the south end connecting both islands to the mainland. Traffic, even relatively early (before 8 am) was horrendous (I’m not sure why this still surprises me after nearly two months!) and it took the better part of an hour just to get off the islands. Once on the mainland, the driver nearly came to blows with a motorcyclist. I missed the infraction so I’m not sure who was at fault but there were a couple of angry drivers yelling and gesturing to each other as we drove up MG ... read more
Ashram 4
Ashram 5
Kanyakumari 4 - Sunset

Asia » India » Kerala » Kochi March 22nd 2013

Lusíadas Canto Sétimo "Deus por certo vos traz, porque pretende Algum serviço seu por vós obrado; Por isso só vos guia, e vos defende Dos inimigos, do mar, do vento irado. Sabei que estais na Índia, onde se estende Diverso povo, rico e prosperado De ouro luzente e fina pedraria, Cheiro suave, ardente especiaria." Deslizando num barco sem motor, a brisa faz fru fru nos coqueirais, noz moscada e mangueiras. No teatro, admiro uma cultura colorida, rica e ancestral.... read more
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Da fibra de coco se fazem cordas!




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