It was a sad morning today when we had to disembark the houseboat, that had to be one of my highlights on this trip. The backwaters was just indescribable. Our driver took us today to Kochi, or Cochin as it's otherwise known. It's a port town with a tremendous amount of history and this is the first place that we've seen a bunch of other non-Indian people. It's a tourist destination to say the least. And a beautiful Island. We're all staying on Wellington Island. Everyone is staying at the Trident Hotel and I'm a block away at the Casino Hotel (there is no casino). The Trident is a posh hotel, very nice and very easy on the eyes. The door man salutes us each individually rather than as a group. The restaurant is quite expensive and the food very good. When I was checking in at the Casino Hotel I asked if I could look at a suite and after seeing one I decided that paying $32 extra per night was well worth it for the upgrade, and I needed to just treat myself. The room is very spacious, even more so than many one bedroom apartments I've rented in the past. The living and dining rooms are huge and the bedroom even more so. The furniture is a bit dated but everything is clean and in good condition. It's nice to be pampered once in a while. The bathroom even has bubble bath for the tub. The Casino Hotel is known for it's outstanding seafood restaurant which we'll try out tomorrow night.
After checking into the hotels we headed back to the mainland and went to a really nice history museum, saw a Hindu temple and then a 500 year old Jewish synagog, which really was fascinating. Then we did a bit of shopping in the spice markets, bought some post cards and walked for a while. Our next stop was at a local theater where we saw one of the most spectacular and very old/traditional Hindu performances. Again, indescribable. Then off to a great seafood restaurant where most everyone had jumbo tiger prawns and blue prawns, the later being so large that they almost looked like lobsters. I had the whole fried fish which was quite large, and quite tasty. It was so much fish that I just couldn't finish it, and those that know me know that that has never happened before. Vanilla ice cream topped with Hershy's chocolate syrup rounded out the night and then it was back to the hotel.
My high lights today was driving through Kochin and seeing so many beautiful faces among the Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities, the seafood dinner and spending time with my mom. We only have a few more days together before she takes off back to the states. The downside today was leaving the houseboat and not finishing my delicious fried fish.
There really is more to write about especially in regards to the synagog and the Hindu performance. But last night I stayed up until 2am uploading my last post with all those photos that tonight I decided to just take a break. So no photos today, I'll save that for the next post, maybe tomorrow. And if I have the time, and the energy, I'll write more about today's events.
After checking into the hotels we headed back to the mainland and went to a really nice history museum, saw a Hindu temple and then a 500 year old Jewish synagog, which really was fascinating. Then we did a bit of shopping in the spice markets, bought some post cards and walked for a while. Our next stop was at a local theater where we saw one of the most spectacular and very old/traditional Hindu performances. Again, indescribable. Then off to a great seafood restaurant where most everyone had jumbo tiger prawns and blue prawns, the later being so large that they almost looked like lobsters. I had the whole fried fish which was quite large, and quite tasty. It was so much fish that I just couldn't finish it, and those that know me know that that has never happened before. Vanilla ice cream topped with Hershy's chocolate syrup rounded out the night and then it was back to the hotel.
My high lights today was driving through Kochin and seeing so many beautiful faces among the Hindu, Muslim and Christian communities, the seafood dinner and spending time with my mom. We only have a few more days together before she takes off back to the states. The downside today was leaving the houseboat and not finishing my delicious fried fish.
There really is more to write about especially in regards to the synagog and the Hindu performance. But last night I stayed up until 2am uploading my last post with all those photos that tonight I decided to just take a break. So no photos today, I'll save that for the next post, maybe tomorrow. And if I have the time, and the energy, I'll write more about today's events.
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