Today was one tiring long old day. We had our first experience on an authentic Indian night train. All expecting typical delays we left early but had over an hour to kill at the station. Que the coffee!
Each compartment of the train had two sets of triple bunks and a double bunk opposite the aisle. Safe to say it was pretty cosy. We got snuggled in and after a few games of uno we were fast asleep until a 4am wake up 555km south west of Bangalore. The first thing that hit us was the heat and humidity. The second, our need for a coffee.
Once sufficiently caffeinated up, we all lined up and jumped onto a coach (travelling in style) to Cochin.
On our way we stopped at Periyar river for sunrise and to witness the festival for sheiva. Hundreds of people bathing in the river to the Hindu goddess.
On arrival in Cochin, we were greeted by the ex mayor of the city. He gave us a whistle stop walking tour of fort Cochin, letting us know in depth history of the area and how Cochin became the city it is today including the invasion of the Portuguese, Dutch, we were showed the famous fishing nets and markets, and the first European building to be built in Asia. Next, we visited an old traditional spice factory. By this time the fatigue was setting in, back to the hotel for a siesta.
The evening saw an extension of the festival for Sheiva. We visited a temple where multiple elephants were dressed in traditional gear with gold and silver headdresses and intricate paintings on their skin. The elephants paraded along the street with a procession of followers and traditional music.
Next for time to explore the markets at night!
No comments:
Post a Comment