Kerala Pt. 2, Kochi

    On Saturday we explored Kochi.  We visited the palace of the royal family (they were around until a little after WWII) in the morning.  It has an amazing road/ stairs leading up to the building.  It really makes you feel like you are approaching somewhere important.  Sadly, once inside there are no photographs.  The building was set up like a museum.

 At the palace there is a deer park.  They like to eat leaves and are not afraid of people.

 Jack fruit trees are not uncommon.

      In India commercial vehicles are awesome.  Apart from belonging to a long forgotten decade, they have awesome paint jobs going for them.  Each one will have wonderfully bright paintings on the cab and often extending around the entire vehicle.  Depictions of deer and birds are common.  Another great part is the messages painted above the bumpers.  I have seen "We two, us one" "One mother" "Life is not a race, drive with grace" "one is best, avoid aides" "keep at least 1 meter" and my personal favorite (pictured above) "OH MY GOD."  I found it fitting considered that the bumper is the height of a regular Indian car's windshield.

 Later on we got Ayurvedic massages.  This picture is all I want to say about that.

 We went to Jew Town. Yes, that is the official neighborhood's name.  It used to have many jews and a famous synagogue.  Now it has two old Jews and tons of Kashmiri business men.  I didn't have my camera, but imagine a quaint little street with shops.  I bought an Indian Doti there (man-skirt).  I wore it for the rest of the day and had a great response.  The only problem was that every single person on the street stopped me to show me the way they grew up tying it.  It was a fun time.  After Jew Town we went to the fish market.

 We would watch the Chinese fish nets grab the fish and then we could pick the one we wanted to eat.

 Prawns

 Chef right next to the market.

 Indian Bob Marley.

Kerala Pt. 1, Houseboat

 Last Friday, we went to Alappuzha, Kerala to relax on a houseboat.  The area of the country is called the backwaters.   It is an extensive network of canals and lakes near the coast, but separated entirely from the sea.  It is one of the most peaceful and beautiful places I have ever been.

A picture of the inside of the boat.  We had three full bedrooms with bathrooms.  At the back there was a kitchen (it stayed very busy cooking fresh fish).

 typical scenes

 lots of space to hang out

 houses right against the water

 A woman waits for the water taxi

    Life in the backwaters is definitely at a slower pace. Plenty of people rely on canoes to get to roads, and definitely everyone washes their clothes by hand.

 The churches are very colorful.

 Guys catching ducks.  We ate one.

 The whole day was overcast and tranquil.

 The backwaters are pretty busy with boats.  Some are double deckers.

 We swam.  Still waiting on the tapeworm verdict.

Night time on the water as we ate dinner.

busy busy

I have been pretty busy lately.  Lots of railroad and weekend trips.  I visited the most beautiful place in the world, Kerala.  I will be uploading pictures from the houseboat, tea plantation, and fort Cochin in the coming week.  But for now I'm off to Bangalore!