no_going_back

Cochin via Goa

I got back to Mumbai and chilled at Neesha’s for the rest of the day, her husband Brian and got talking and discovered we were both hockey Goal keepers! We spent the evening watching snatch and Brian stayed up for the premiership as he loves his football! The next morning I met up with Shailja and went to see her new flat in Bandra. This time we just had the one glass of wine with lunch. I had a relaxing day with her and she has promised to help me with getting a cocktail dress made here. After leaving her I went back to Neesha’s, where we grabbed some food and met up with Aparna and Earl who were joining me Neesha and Brian on the bus to Goa. On the bus we had to do some musical chairs as I had a bed sharing with a guy, which I wasn’t prepared to do so Brian took my bed, Neesha had his seat and I slept in the berth with Aparna. Eventually we got to Mapusa and from there got a cab to candolim, where Brian’s aunt has an apartment near the beach. We dumped our bags and headed to the beach for breakfast.

It was the same beach and shack I had been to with mum and laura, so it was funny to be back with these guys. Also as I was with Indians I got a lot less hassle from people selling things along the beach which was great! The others sat under umbrellas while I lay in the sun with brian on ‘cooking watch’ to check when I was done! We spent the morning on the beach, where Neesha’s cousin joined us for a bit, he is doing his dive master quilifaication, so I talked diving with him. For lunch he recommended a fish place, as we all wanted fish. SO we went off there before heading back to the beach, this time to a different shack. Here Brian and I hired boogie boards and had lots of fun playing in the sea. Aparna and Neesha also decided the boards were not as childish as they seemed and enjoyed them too! Neesha and Aparna both to Capera- the brazilian dance based on combat moves. SO they played on the beach which was great to see.

Once we left the beach we went back to the apartment to wash and change before heading to Margo to get the train down to Cochin. We checked it was on time only to find it an hour late when we got there! While we waited the girls got out the tambourine and practised the songs that go along with the dance moves. It got a lot of attention! This was my first train journey so I was very excited, we were going 2^nd sleeper, no luxury. My ticket was separate from the others but the train was empty so I could share the berth with them. The train has berths with 6 beds on 3 levels and then opposite on the side of the train is 2 beds. We drew a fair bit of attention on the train with a lot of people moving around to stare at us. However we were tired so slept most of the 16 hour journey. I like train journeys and despite the basicness of it I would do that class again, most tourists go 2^nd AC.

We got to Cochin and eventually got an auto to where we were meeting the others. I was going for a couch surfing get together for women, as it was International womens day. There were another 2 in other places in the world. We were staying in an apartment. There were 9 of us in total, 7 of us in the apartment. So On Friday after we arrived we headed out for lunch to chat and chill. After that we had a formal CS meeting to discuss issues with the site and how it can be made safer. After this we decided to do our own thing until dinner. I decided as it was Friday nite to go to the synagogue, the oldest in India. It is in an area called Jew town (original!) and it is the main tourist area, accessed cheaply by ferry. I arrived just in time. The walk to the synagogue takes you back in time, the area has obviously always been Jewish by the decoration on the houses (photos on facebook). The synagogue itself is beautiful. The community is believed to date back to 1^st centaury, the synagogue is form the 16^th century. The service was mainly travellers, and mainly Israeli’s. The women didn’t sit upstairs but in the porch area so we couldn’t hear a thing. After the service we got a talk about the synagogue and a look at the scrolls inside one with a golden crown. The floor is covered with hand painted Chinese tiles, the largest collection in one place in the world. After Kiddush I got chatting to one of the locals (there are about 40 people left in this community and 60 at another community) the community is very religious, he koshers the meat for the community and invited me for lunch the next day (chicken), unfortunately I had to decline! But he also invited me for Pesach, which was quite tempting! An interesting fact I have discovered is that a lot of the strong Christians in Cochin (of which there are a lot) also only have kosher meat, apparently I could have the meat, but its not supervised and dosent have a stamp so I didnt risk it. After I left Jew town I met the others for dinner, and no dancing as we were all too tired. I found it very funny when Viki who had been in India for a month got excited over pasta! I remember the feeling!

The next morning we were up at 8, we had arranged a backwaters trip on a house boat for us all. It was very civilised. We saw ropes being made (Aparna and Neesha did some caprea for the kids) and we saw toddy (coconut juice that ferments to about 8% alcohol) being collected and of course tried some! After this we went for lunch (there was a lot of eating) before going back for another ‘formal’ CS meeting. This time it was done over skype with some senior members of the team. Saturday nite we went for Kathakali which is traditional south Indian dance. The dance tells the traditional Hindu stories, and is done by a kind of sign language. The music follows the dancer who through face expressions and hand movements gives the dialogue. It takes some experience to translate what is being said, but its fascinating. After that we had some traditional food, which I had no problems with, but Viki the other English girl, found much spicier! I also guided her on how to be non English and eat with her hands! After we got back me Neesha and Aparna somehow found the energy to go out dancing. We were standing on the street corner deperatly trying to get an auto at 11pm when a car stopped and a guy got out. We were a bit concerned but it turned out to be a class mate of Aparna’s who she hadn’t seen in 6 years, so he gave us a ride! The dancing was ok, but the DJ sucked. Neesha couldn’t believe how I knew all the words to the hindi songs, I reminded her my entertainment at home was the radio!

We had a slow Sunday. We got up at 10ish and left at 12.30. (I have never seen so many mosquitoes here, one bugger bit me on the eye lid, not a pleasant experience!) We went over to Fort cochin, the historical part of town, where Monolita does a lot of restoration (she is an architect) and had an amazing lunch. After that we went to the synagogue as the others wanted to see it. After that it was too late to do much else so after Aparna and Jennifer left to go their respective ways we went to watch sunset at the Chinese fishing nets, a massive tourist attraction as it is so picturesque. After this we were tired so we decided to get some fruit, with our leftovers and have a quiet nite in. There were just 4 of us left, so we relaxed over dinner. I felt completely drained so crashed out and slept till late.

13.3.08 06:45