Kochi

September 19, 2017 Tuesday

We had an uneventful flight from Mumbai to Kochi. It was dark and raining when we arrived on Monday night.

A water feature in our hotel.

Mark drew a face on our lone banana, we called it a minion

On Tuesday morning, the view from our hotel room. All these great pools and we do not have time to use them

We checked out of the hotel

Decorated trucks.

The streets of Kochi

The electrical system still makes me nervous.

One of our stops on Tuesday's tour of Kochi was the Synagogue.  The streets were too narrow for the bus, so we walked.  We passed the Jewish cemetery.  It looks foggy because my camera fogged up with all the humidity.

The narrow streets were lined with shopping opportunities

We went into this shop.  Upstairs they had some clothes. I was looking for a new shirt.  They had a nice purple embroidered shirt, but they wanted 38,000 rupees for it. That is about 48 dollars. I thought it was too much. I went to leave the store and the door I came in, was locked.  I tried to find another door to leave and got a lot of pressure to buy something.  I was finally able to find a side door behind a curtain and leave the store.    I went  across the street, the shop had two open entry ways, and the same shirt at 1300 rupees. Still, I was thinking maybe a little high. The shop next door had the same shirt too!  I asked how much he said 700 rupees, I took the shirt to the cash register and asked 600 rupees? He said yes, of course.  SCORE!  I like my purple shirt

Cats are so rare in India. I try to take photos of all the ones I see!

The area leading to the Synagogue was called JewTown. 

The Synagogue clock

The entrance, we are not allowed to take photos of the inside.  It was beautiful.

Informational Bit:
The Paradesi Synagogue is the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations located in Kochi, Kerala, in South India. Constructed in 1567, it is one of seven synagogues of the Malabar Yehudan or Yehudan Mappila people or Cochin Jewish community in the Kingdom of Cochin. Paradesi is a word used in several Indian languages, and the literal meaning of the term is "foreigners", applied to the synagogue because it was built by Sephardic or Spanish-speaking Jews, some of them from families exiled in Aleppo, Safed and other West Asian localities. It is also referred to as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue.
The synagogue is located in the quarter of Old Cochin known as Jew Town

The streets of JewTown

Back on the bus to explore more of Kochi.

In some of the informational bits you will see the name of the town as Cochin.   Kochi is the older name they went back to recently.

Fruit market!

Painted statues outside a church

Men's wear Kochi style.  I teased Mark that this skirt could be something he would be comfortable wearing to work. You can wear it long, or as this gentleman is modeling, the rolled up style for greater ease of movement. 

Kitty!

Markets on our way to the boat.