Ferry Ride to Cochin

We loved taking the ferry across the water at Cochin. The fare is 2 rupees, about 5 cents.

This is our hotel on the right. We had a nice view of the water.

Goats of Cochin

I didn't see any cows on the island. Maybe the streets are too narrow. I did see lots of goats! I like goats!

African Seaweed

The water is very muddy looking but obviously this seaweed is thriving. I wondered if those bulbs bloomed. A search of the web shows blooming seaweed. I guess we were there at the wrong time of the year.

Vembanad Lake - Cochin

I took these out of the window of our hotel in Cochin. These boats are on Vembanad Laken near the Arabian Sea.

On the Way to the Pardesi Synagogue

We walked and walked trying to find the Pardesi Synagogue. It was built in 1568, destroyed by the Portuguese in 1662, The Dutch rebuilt it 2 years later. Jew Town became one of the main points of the spice trade. There are about 20 Jews left here today.

Pardesi Synagogue

After searching for quite some time on a hot day, we finally found the synagogue. Unfortunately, it was closed in preparation for Rosh Hashanah. We came all this way to find out we would not get to see the building. You can see Sarah is pretty disappointed. I told her to hold up some money and call out "500 Rupees to the first person to open the door!" It worked and we got a private tour. No photos were allowed.


The floor has 1100 individually hand painted Chinese tiles, blue on white. No two are alike. There are at least 7 chandeliers from Belgium hanging in a circle around the bima located in the middle of the sanctuary. It is set up in an Orthodox style: women upstairs behind lattice and men on the first floor. There were 5 Torahs and while we were there, they brought out 2 jewel-encrusted, gold crowns for the Torahs. They were a gift from the Maharajah.

Infinity pool at the Taj Malabar

We stayed at the Taj Malabar in Cochin. The hotel has this wonderful infinity pool overlooking the water near the Arabian Sea. They open the pool for non-guests but when we were there we were the only people using the pool. Our own private paradise.

Kerala Spices and Herbs

We spent some time in Kochi recently. Kochi or Cochin is in the state of Kerala. Kerala is where the spice trade started. The garden at our hotel featured examples of Kerala spices and herbs.

Have a seat!

Many walls around businesses and large homes have glass embedded on top of the security walls.

People's homes

One thing that continues to amaze me is how people manage to survive here. I have included different housing options from living right on the street to a luxury apartment. The woman in orange is living in a house right above a store. Look closely at the Wood Industries opening, there is a woman and her baby living in a little hut. Finally, we see too many of these little tent cities.

Alert Commandos

All malls have extensive security, though they are all unarmed. There are guards at every escalator entrance. There are a number of people who need help getting on the escalator. I guess these are first-time users. These "Alert Commandos" are indeed alert. They do pay attention unlike their counterparts in the US. by the way, how many Alert Commandos can you find in this picture?