Cochin
Greetings from one of the last outposts of Indian Judaism. It's true!
We arrived here last night after spending a day cruising the backwaters of Kerala. The way that works is that you get on a houseboat and sail around the larger areas, dining on absolutely delicious Keralan seafood. After lunch, you get on a canoe and explore the small canals and see small village life up close. It's a tourist attraction, so there are other white people around, but it's still very neat to go right by, say, women washing the clothes in the canals.
Some people also decided to try toddy, a local liquor made from fermented coconut milk. I opted to steer clear, but I'm told it tastes and smells like fish. Yum!
Cochin is a bit of a letdown so far. The pollution is the worst I've seen since Bangalore (which is why I'm inside in the middle of the day) and the synagogue is closed for renovations, and they're not sure when it'll be open again. We did walk around Jew Town, and get hassled by approximately one billion shopkeepers eager for us to just look around, no obligation, you don't have to buy, it doesn't cost anything, blah blah blah. Just walking around any Indian city takes the patience of a saint.
Speaking of patience, one thing that's starting to drive me mad about this country is that just about everyone is trying to rip us off. We have to go into any store or rickshaw transaction with the assumption that the price we're quoted is going to be outrageous, but a lot of the time we don't know what the reasonable price is. I hate haggling, and I especially hate haggling when the amount I'm being ripped off by is equivalent to about one dollar. I'll work up a full head of steam, realize how little 20 rupees is worth, and then just decide to get in the rickshaw and get it over with. It's possibly my least favorite thing about the country.
Anyway, we're here until Wednesday afternoon, when we fly back to Bangalore, and I'll actually have to begin work on these papers. Hooray!
We arrived here last night after spending a day cruising the backwaters of Kerala. The way that works is that you get on a houseboat and sail around the larger areas, dining on absolutely delicious Keralan seafood. After lunch, you get on a canoe and explore the small canals and see small village life up close. It's a tourist attraction, so there are other white people around, but it's still very neat to go right by, say, women washing the clothes in the canals.
Some people also decided to try toddy, a local liquor made from fermented coconut milk. I opted to steer clear, but I'm told it tastes and smells like fish. Yum!
Cochin is a bit of a letdown so far. The pollution is the worst I've seen since Bangalore (which is why I'm inside in the middle of the day) and the synagogue is closed for renovations, and they're not sure when it'll be open again. We did walk around Jew Town, and get hassled by approximately one billion shopkeepers eager for us to just look around, no obligation, you don't have to buy, it doesn't cost anything, blah blah blah. Just walking around any Indian city takes the patience of a saint.
Speaking of patience, one thing that's starting to drive me mad about this country is that just about everyone is trying to rip us off. We have to go into any store or rickshaw transaction with the assumption that the price we're quoted is going to be outrageous, but a lot of the time we don't know what the reasonable price is. I hate haggling, and I especially hate haggling when the amount I'm being ripped off by is equivalent to about one dollar. I'll work up a full head of steam, realize how little 20 rupees is worth, and then just decide to get in the rickshaw and get it over with. It's possibly my least favorite thing about the country.
Anyway, we're here until Wednesday afternoon, when we fly back to Bangalore, and I'll actually have to begin work on these papers. Hooray!
posted by Jake at 1:19 AM
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