Kerala

We are now in the midst of the 'if it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium' portion of the trip.
Traveled yesterday from Mumbai to Cochin without incidence and with an exceptionally tasty samosa. Cochin is a port town in a tropical clime. Pretty bustling. But pretty clean.
Went to the Cochin Cultural Center to see a performance of Kathkali. Kind of like Kabuki with less screaming and more intricate facial expressions. Then dinner. Then bed.
Today was Cochin City Tour. Church. Synagogue. Huge cantilevered Chinese fishing nets. And the Dutch Palace with beautiful wall murals hundreds of years old but still vibrant colors (from natural dyes) and amazing detail - very reminiscent of Angkor wat.
And shopping. Of course some shopping. Picked up some of the candied fennel seeds. And Michael bought a small rug.
Now with lunch out of the way we are in the bus driving north towards Thrissur. Our printed itinerary says it's a 2 hour drive. Our guide said 3 hours and our driver says maybe 4!!! Hopefully not since tomorrow is the Pooram, Elephant Festival and that will be a REALLY long day what with fireworks at 2:30AM.
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