Cochin: our first taste of India

We had a half-day stop in Cochin (or Kochi on more modern maps, similar to the use of Mumbai or Bombay). 

The top map will give you an idea of where Cochin is located in India. The middle one shows Cochin in relation to the rest of Kerala state. Kerala is one of the 29 Indian states. Finally, the bottom map shows the places we visited: the Chinese fishing nest at the top red circle; right under the nets is the St. Francis Church; the Dutch Palace is the top circle on the right; the bottom circle is the general location of Jew Town. The yellow star in the red circle to the far right is where the ship

is docked.

It was just enough time to “dip our beaks” as the saying goes. Cochin appears to be a little less frenetic than we had thought about most places in India – based on movies, books, and other travelers’ tales. It is definitely a busy, bustling, crowded place, but we did not feel overwhelmed.

This was one of our first glimpses of Cochin. These fancifully decorated trucks are indicative of both the ethnicity and religion of the owners/drivers.

We had booked a short tour of Cochin landmarks. It was a good thing that it was a short tour – the temperature was in the high 90s again and it was quite humid. Cochin is in the south of India and they get over 12’ of rain annually (that is not a typo: not 12”, but 12’). Fortunately, the monsoon season is not until June, so we didn’t get wet – well, we did sweat like horses from all our walking…

The tour began with a visit to St. Francis Church. St. Francis was built by the Portuguese when they first brought Christianity to India in the 17th Century. It is rather plain from the outside, but has beautiful woodwork and the old cloth fans inside.

The interior of the St. Francis Church: note the longitudinal wood strips with white cloth hanging down. These are the "fans" that are moved back and forth to cool the worshippers.

A short walk from the church brought us to the Chinese fishing nets. These nets were placed by the Chinese who migrated to southern India almost 200 years ago. They are used today as they were back then. However, today, the catch is mostly tourists rather than fish. The nets are huge and it takes four or five men to move them up and down. See below:

I really wanted to go out to the platform and see them up close, but Bonnie was concerned about my not being too steady on my feet…I went anyway after promising to hold on to something (there was nothing but a piece of bamboo along one side of the platform to hang on to, so I did…). At the platform where the fisherman stand to dip the net and then retrieve it, I got a few pictures, but all I saw in the net was trash and some plants that had been snagged. Apparently, the real fishing is done offshore.

 These are the "real" fishing boats waiting for the tide to change.

I did go all the way out and took this shot of what the actual platform looks like. Not a nail or screw in site!

We left the fishing nets and drove to the “Dutch” Palace. Technically, it is called the “Mattancherry Palace” and was home to the Kings of Kerala before India became part of the British Raj. Without going into a lot of history, the palace is now a museum and is yet another place where no photography is permitted inside.Once inside, we found out why: they still have some of the original wall frescos from the 16th and 17th Centuries that decorate the walls of several of the rooms. Flash photography has a deleterious effect on the pigment, so no photos. The ceilings are hand-carved intricate wood designs and the wall paintings depict stories from the Ramayan, the Hindu book of legends.

From the palace, we walked about 1000 yards to Jew Town. I not being pejorative (after all, I am one…). The area got its name from the time when it was populated by one of the largest Jewish communities outside of Europe. After WWII, most of the inhabitants left for Israel or returned to their homeland. Today there are five Jewish people left, but the synagogue is still active and is a major tourist site. Unfortunately, since it is a Saturday, we cannot visit the synagogue as it is closed for the Sabbath.

We were able to do some shopping in the spice market. Frankly, that was a bit of a letdown. After a few shops, everything started to look the same and did I mention that it was hot? We went through several bottle of water as we headed back to the bus. It was HOT!

As we sailed away, I was able to get this great shot of the nets at sunset. Hope you enjoy.

Next is a jet-set jaunt to the Taj Mahal. Stay tuned…