COCHIN, INDIA

March 29, 2023

Weather:  90+ degrees, humid, smoggy

Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese explorer, was the first to discover a maritime route from Europe to India around the southern tip of Africa and then land in what is now known as Cochin (or Kochi).   This was important as it gave European countries an alternative to the Silk Road for access to the tea and spices unique to south Asia.   The Ottoman Empire disrupted the trade that had flourished along the Silk Road for centuries, so the maritime route became critically important, and over the centuries the maritime route flourished leading to the colonization of India, Sri Lanka and most of of SE Asia.   

We will be in India for several days, which is very hot and humid with air pollution.   One of our lecturers said we should be prepared for sensory overload.   India is a country about 43% the size of the U.S. with a population of 1.4 billion people ( about 4 times that of the U.S.).   In a couple of days we will be in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) with a population of some 22 million!

Cochin is one of the smaller major cities of India with a population of “only” 3.5 million folks.  We visited a former palace, now a museum called Mattancherry, “Jew Town”, a Jewish synagogue, an Anglican Church built during the British reign, a fish market where the Chinese Fish nets were doing their best to remove all the fish in the channel--all in the older settled areas.   (We didn't visit the newer parts of the city.)     There was a lot of garbage along the roads, which was ironic because they didn't allow us to bring plastic water bottles on the tour.  Traffic was hectic with Tuk-Tuks, motor bikes, buses and cars trying to navigate very narrow streets.   Helter skelter! 

                   Skyline of Cochin.   The city is situated on several islands and peninsulas

From the window of our bus.   A mound of uncollected garbage.

Mattancherry Palace/Museum.   Built by the Portuguese in the 16th century.  Inside there was a large mural that depicted a Hindu legend/fantasy originally conceived more than 2000 years BC.   The guide told us the story while pointing to the images on the mural.   Photos were not allowed

                               Jew Town.   Shops selling everything one can imagine. 

                               The crowd is mostly fellow cruise passengers along with some hawkers.   

Inside the Jewish Synagogue.   Guide said there were only 2 remaining Jewish residents in Jew Town,  but people come here from Israel to worship on certain religious days.   All offerings are returned to Israel.

Inside the Anglican Church built by the British in the 1800s.   Its a little hard to see but there are cloth rectangles on either side that served as fans.   A rope ran from the fan through a hole in the wall where a slave outside pulled on it to move the fans.   

The tile floor in the Anglican church.   We had to take off our shoes outside because of the fragility of the tile. (We wondered if sweaty feet was any better?)

The tomb inside the Anglican Church where Vasco da Gama was originally buried.   One of his descendants later had his remains removed and shipped to Portugal where he was re-interred. 

Most interesting Chinese Fishing Nets.  They lower these large nets into the water and after several minutes raise them by a combination of cantilevered weights and a small motor,  capturing whatever was swimming by.   Their catch is usually sardines and small fish, but every now and then they capture a school of red snapper.   Pay day!

                                             Some of their daily catch that they sell on the street.

                      More catch.

                   The Chinese Fishing Nets viewed from our ship as we passed on our way out to sea.