Kochi (Fort Cochin) and the Backwaters

Kerala is lush, literate and simply different. No great temples but green everywhere, colonial history back to the 1500's, and friendly people.

The walls of this Catholic School are covered in wise sayings Strolling with his sunshade I dropped in and visited the kids in this day care center The courtyard of the Spencer House, our hotel; great staff and good value Jew Town in Mattancherry has a synagogue founded in 1554, rebuilt in 1664 Susan Muscovitch joined us for a few days Inside the Pardesi Synagogue Handpainted Chinese tiles cover the floor Real Leather Handcrafted - and he looks like it too Great old buildings range from the Portuguese, Dutch and British eras Putting on the makeup for a Kathakali dance show The dancers grind and apply their own makeup A demonstration of the intricate eye movements used in the performances Story telling through dance; a highlight of a trip to Fort Cochin We were in a 30 seat theatre. Very intimate atmosphere and a good host "She" was the victim in this piece He is the villain The musician in back was our narrator; the drummer is fabulous Here's the hero Dispatching the baddie. Each night you can see a different vignette We took a taxi down to Alappuzha (Alleppey) for a backwater cruise The tourist boats are based on rice haulers Lounging on our 24 hour tour; the most expensive part of our trip but pleasant Local ferries are very cheap The canals are the main streets here Washing up the lunch dishes Heavy loads seemed common A couple of work boats A quiet paddle in a well shaded small canal Some areas are open enough to use sail power Susan joined us for this cruise. We've pulled up to shore for the night She is doing her wash near our docked boat Life on the canal getting going early Women work crew going to weed, thin and transplant in the rice fields Bringing new plants to a flooded patch Only the foremen were men but they did help move the plants A family bathing together Laundry time on the canal It was the off-season so most tourist boats were parked. India has a lot of very colourful trucks Old Chinese style dip nets are still in use in this region I love the lush plant life; especially the fern covered trees The Kashi Art Cafe; our favourite restaurant; the Elite Bakery was also good Just strolling Well face it, not everything about India is nice and pretty Typical fruit stand Souvenir shops abound in Jew Town, some great stuff and some dreck Offering oil lamps and bells; no takers School girls and auto-rickshaws Another colourful fruit and veggie shop It is India, so there has to be at least one cricket shot We saw an exciting martial arts display that followed a Kathakali dance