Nov 27, 2005 - Cooking Lessons and Detox

I arrived in Cochin, and immediately felt in love with it. The people are friendly and laid-back. Cochin is a former Portugese colony so there is an equal number of Christians, Muslims, and Hindus. Its really hot, and humid. It is in south west India on the Arabian Sea. I have two goals for this area. Learn to cook Indian food, and have an Ayvendic body detox. Cochin looks like the perfect place to do both. After 2 afternoons of cooking lessons with Maria, my Indian repart includes: dahl, vegetable korma, 3 types of chapati, masala fish...

Nov 27, 2005 - Fort Cochi, Kerela

Further North again, we headed for Cochi and more specifically, the city's island of Fort Cochi. This island was a very strategic and important asset in the far east with respect to the spice trade. As a result, this city has throughout the decades been occupied by a multitude of Europeans (Portuguese, British, Dutch, etc), the Chinese, and Middle Eastern traders. As one of the largest cities of Kerela, Cochi gave us a great opportunity to take advantage of the regions well known Ayuverdic Therapy (mostly done through massage) and...

Nov 6, 2005 - Off to Southern India

Sorry guys that it has been so long since our last update. Craziness and lack of fast internet connections!! So we managed to leave the throngs of aggressive fans behind in Mumbai and have headed south to the Kerala area. We decided to spend a couple of days in a place called Kochi. These few days turned into almost a week because we liked the area so much. Although when we first got there we found that we were both harboring colds that we picked up on the 33 hour train ride down. We stayed in a Portuguese home that was over 100 years old...

Nov 4, 2005 - India-Kerala in the South

Holy Cow! What an incredible and diverse country, and Fort Cochin is a great way to spend our first week in the fabulous world of extremes, contradictions and contrasts known as India. Having been here four years ago, we feel this country is the greatest culture shock of any place we have ever been, but Ft. Cochin in the medium size city of Cochin is small potatoes (curried, of course). It is a charming spot with a great deal of character in the southern state of Kerala, which is the state with the lowest population, highest literacy rate...

Oct 29, 2005 - Kochi - Kerala - India

Dom - The trip down to Kochi involves (in chronological order) a rickshaw, a local bus, another local bus, an overnight coach, a 10hr train, a ferry, and a rickshaw. By the time we were on the train I was at the beginnings of a fever. Stupidly we had embarked without a seat number. I stood for the first hour feeling weak and dizzy. I knew I wouldn't be able to stand for 10 hrs. I found Stally a seat somewhere by telling someone that my wife was very sick and could she share their seats but it was me that turned out to be ill. My hands and...

Sep 23, 2005 - Kochi (Cochin)

(click 'show all 10' to display all photos and double click photo to see a bigger version) My introduction to India (after a brisk 'airport only ' stop in Delhi) was Kochi (Cochin), the capital of Kerala state. This was the joining point for the Intrepid tour I had booked on. Kochi is a fascinating city - an international mix full of Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and English influences. Portuguese architecture, traditional Chinese fishing nets and a strong Jewish community resident in the historic Jewtown. Kochi is spread over several...

Sep 20, 2005 - Cochin - things are looking up

After the delights of Gokarna we bundled ourselves onto the first train going, and at 3am found ourselves in a rough and ready sleeper car heading south to Kerala. 17 hours later we got off the train at Cochin, not really knowing what to expect. What we found was a relaxed, attractive and relatively peaceful city. We stayed in Fort Cochin, the site of the old Portuguese settlement, which had subsequently fallen to the Dutch and then the English. Given this mixed history you might expect a pretty diverse community. Cochin is pretty evenly...

Jun 17, 2005 - Alleppey - Fort Cochin

It rained all last night and we lost power about 3 or 4 times. We woke up this morning to the sound of heavy rain. Nigel went out to talk to the hotel manager and while they were talking, a chicken ran into the house for cover! It was the saddest looking chicken, completely drenched. The lady of the house put a plastic bag over its body as a makeshift raincoat and shooed it back outside. The houseboat operators had asked if we still wanted to go, considering the rain had been coming down pretty hard and didn't show signs of letting up. We...

Jun 10, 2005 - Kochi Ernakulum

Cochin, or Fort Kochi, where we stayed, was the city in India that we enjoyed the most. Perhaps because where we stayed it was quiet. There is a residential feeling to it. You can wander the streets in the evening and watch all the local kids playing cricket on the green (ok, so cows are grazing there too.) There is a nice walk along the sea wall, very popular with the local population, with no shortage of kids playing and ice cream carts. One evening we watched as a monsoon shower swept in and everyone fled. We were under the awning of a...

Apr 7, 2005 - Kalming Kochi

It takes leaving Goa and getting to Kerela to realize both how amazing Kerela is, and how irritating Goa can be. I'm not saying that I don't like Goa, I wouldn't have gone there for the third time if I hated it—but the stark difference between the flora, the other tourists, the condition of the infrastructure, and most importantly, the people themselves is startling, and amazing. Kerela is a long, thin state which almost resembles Chile in its shape and location on its respective (sub)continent. It is a different place from most of India,...

Mar 24, 2005 - Cochin

Cochin 3/24 Took the water shuttle from our hotel in Kumarakom this morning. It was interesting to see the families who live along the canal busy at their daily activities - washing clothes and dishes, fishing with a simple pole and string, and bathing children. We set out on a 2-hour drive to Cochin, though we were delayed somewhat by a flat tire. Two young boys - off of school for Easter break - came over to watch and supervise and, eventually, pitch in. We were on the road again in about 15 minutes. The area around Cochin was one of the...

Mar 22, 2005 - Munnar, first hill station!

Considering I had to be in Chennai/Madras by 24 March for my flight, my days in Kerala were numbered. I had to make a decision between an animal sanctuary, an old fort harbour and a hill station, which promised cooler temperatures and scenic tea plantations. I knew where I was meant to be... Because of a late departure from Kottayam and a general, inexplicable fear of bus rides on mountainous terrain, I took a taxi up to Munnar, which proved lovely because we had several stops en route and watched the sunset from a lookout point, cardamom...