Ellen's book will strengthen and guide you in your role as caregiver to an elder parent or relative, and help you understand your own physical, emotional, mental & spiritual needs.Now available at
November 9th – Kochi in northern Kerala state
We’ve been in the Kochi area since Monday. It’s a tourist town on the sea & is divided into 3 sections: Ernakulam, a very busy city area, then Ft. Cochin & Mandencherry both on an island reachable by ferry or car or bus over a bridge. The ferry ride is about 20 minutes & since it’s subsidized by the government, costs only 2-1/2 rupees return (about 7 cents). We went there to order new glasses for both of us (one arm snapped off mine after the 1st week in India). (glasses are much cheaper here). We also managed to find a travel agency on the main street, MG Rd., after asking many, many people, & bought new tickets to fly back to Delhi directly from Kochi instead of returning to Trivandrum.
Ft. Cochin, where our hotel is, is fairly relaxed. We go out in the mornings to look around & shop, then return in the heat of the day to rest, & go out again in the late afternoon & evening. This is one of the few places I’ve been able to shop; people aren’t too aggressive about selling here. Some of the architecture is very old & interesting. There are goats all over the place, but almost no cows, so no you know what!
But the real ‘living’ seems to go on in Mandencherry. We went out with an autorickshaw driver, Mohin for a couple of hours & he drove us slowly (an oxymoron here) around the residential lanes & the markets. We saw a 16th C synagogue & the Jain temple & did some shopping. We also visited a fabric shop, then a tailor here in Ft. Cochin the same morning & Don bought lovely hand-woven fabric for a custom made shirt. It was a late birthday present for him from me. We picked it up today & it is beautiful.
It is very rare to see a beggar here. On the way back from a morning outing today, for the 1st time there was a woman with 2 small children outside the mosque across from our hotel.
Sunday morning we take an early morning 60 km drive to the elephant training facility nearby. We’ll arrive early & see the elephants being washed in the river, then watch as the young elephants are trained for religious ceremonies.
Monday we fly to Delhi where we stay for 2 nights & 1 day before beginning our long journey back to Canada.
All for now.
