Cochin

I have been told for years that I needed to visit Southern India, that the weather was better, the people were nicer and that I would have an all around better time. Well, Cochin was most certainly India, with the aroma of rickshaw exhaust mingled with blossoming tropical trees, the birds darting here and there and small lizards on walls and fences. The people were more polite. Even negotiating for taxi rates was done in a quiet tone, and without a tough sell.

Some of the locations we visited were surprisingly interesting, such as the laundry. While mundane, it is functionally unchanged from colonial times. Clothing is cleaned by beating it against rocks and hung out to line dry. Clothing is ironed by irons that are wood (or coconut husk) fired.

We also visited some churches, dating back hundreds of years. It is said that the apostle Saint Thomas established the church in India in the dawn of Christianity, and that his bones rest in India to this day.

In “Jew town” an aptly named district with a Jewish center and cemeteries, we stopped at a lovely spice market. I was able to pick up some star anise, a spice I learned about form one of the boat chefs, and some other spices as well.

We wanted to have some Southern Indian food for dinner. After checking several restaurants, we ended up at the local Taj Hotel in Cochin. While the food was more expensive than we could have had, we were able to get the food we were after and be assured that it would not poison us.
We met friends at the hotel and proceeded back to the safety of the ship.