After breakfast we proceeded toward Alleppey to board a houseboat. The wonderful thing about a houseboat is that you are able to take a backwater cruise through paddy fields and channels. One may also see the art of coir making (for finer brushes, string, rope ), villages, temples, and churches along the river waterfront.
On the way we passed through a town called Peermade where we observed...
The air was deliciously fragrant here and the Cardamom plant, like the one above, was why.
We boarded our boat and started our river tour
The small heron above, common in India’s wetlands, is known as an Indian Pond Heron or Paddybird and was the first wading bird we saw in Alleppey.
I have to say that cell phone reception is pretty good in India. My husband is having no problem sending What’s app photos and messages to his daughter in the USA.
Kerala is known for snake boat races in the summer. This river boat has the streamlined style of the snake boat
After dinner we went for a walk.
Indian cuisine uses a lot of rice. Here is a Rice paddy, where some of that rice comes from.
Shortly after we docked, we took a ride to the temple below where we saw a man wearing a Lungi exiting the building.
Like all places of worship in India, we removed our shoes before entering and were greeted by....
Thankfully, it was warmer than it had been in previous days or my feet would not have been happy on the cool tile floors.
Everyone walks barefoot in any temple pavilion, even the temple elephant.
Every temple we went to had at least one elephant. In some cases they were carved. In others, like this one, were very much alive .
The elephant is very important in Hinduism, Lord Ganesh is often depicted as an elephant. He is the God Hindus pray to for protection.
After completing our tour of the temple, we headed on the road towards Cochin where we saw...
We had an afternoon flight to Delhi from Cochi, which allowed us to spend a few wonderful hours in the city.
Our first stop in Cochin was the beautiful Our Lady Of Mount Carmel Cathedral.
Cochin’s Jewish population was established during the time of King Solomon (over 900 years before Christ) and is the oldest Jewish community in India. In 1947, with the establishment of Israel, most of the Cochin Jews emigrated to Israel. Today their population is small. The temple pictured below was built in 1568.
This is a replica of the boats used in the traditional longboat races (Vallam Kalli). Anywhere from sixty-four to one hundred twenty paddlers propel these 120 foot war canoes. The races take place during the harvest festival Onam.
The Biennale Street art festival started in 2012 as an initiative to create street art in public spaces in the neighborhoods of Fort Kochi and Mattancherry. Professional artists painted the walls of Cochin from December 12, 2018 until March 29, 2019. Anita Dube curated the mural installation.
Goat posing in front of the colorful geometric patterned street art by Luanna Senna and Tito Senna on the walls of the Mohammed Ali Warehouse.
The mural “Hands” by Nepal based artist Kiran can be seen on the walls of a warehouse in Mattancherry, Cochin as part of the Graffiti Project.
Built in 1510, Saint Francis Church is one of the oldest European churches in Kerala, India.
Kochi, Co-chin (like China) has long had cantilevered fishing nets. The fishing nets above,
locally known as 'Cheena Vala', are thought to have arrived in the area around 1400. They may have been brought to Kochi by traders from the court of Kublai Khan, or possibly introduced by Chinese explorer Zhang.
With our time in South India slowly ending we headed towards the airport for a flight to Delhi.
We overnighted with my friend Manisha’s parents in New Delhi, and spent a few hours the next day at the Kingdom of Dreams in Gurgaon Haryana before we had to head back to the USA
Join us for our next and final segment of our India Blog as we tour the Kingdom of Dreams
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