The heat is on in Kochi

I couldn't think of a better title, but as I sit here sweating over this keyboard it seems appropriate. My huge jump South has certainly brought more warmth. It is hot here right now, it was 81 degrees in my room this morning and it must be well into the 90's during the day. Not too hot though, it is kind of nice. Anyways, Kochi is the biggest town in the state of Kerala with well over a million people. It is a major shipping and trading port that is spread across the mainland and several big islands. The harbor is full of huge container, navy, and oil ships, along with numerous fishing vessels of various (and odd) varieties. Kochi itself is on an island and is the old part of this metropolis. The streets are calm and leisurely to walk around in. The history of this place goes way back and has always been a major port for trading among the Chinese, Dutch, and Portuguese. The architecture reflects this and the feel here is very colonial with countless churches. I am still to find a Hindu temple, not to mention a cow. My couple of days here have been spent riding the local ferries around to the other islands. The ferries have been fun to move around on, they cost next to nothing and it is nice to just drift around in the harbor and take in the sights. In the mornings and evenings the fish market comes alive and strolling around watching the fisherman sell there catch is quite entertaining. They bring in a wide variety of seafood, from kingfish, snapper, prawns, and squid. Eating the fish is almost just as entertaining. In an effort to get away from the tourist restaurants I went on a local food mission today to find real Keralan dishes. After a ferry ride to the mainland I found a dirty little restaurant that had seafood on the "menu". I tried the fish curry which was nothing more than a spicy curry sauce with a whole fried fish plopped inside. Despite having to pick bones out of my curry it wasn't too bad. So that is the extent of my Kochi experience. Tomorrow I am off again to a place known for it's boat trips into what is known as the "backwaters". I will fill you in later with that new adventure. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying 2009 thus far.

Fish for sale in the market, maybe later in my tummy


The huge Chinese fishing nets scattered along the shore


One of the varied fishing vessels