Brunton Boat Yard Kochi

Earlier this month I made a trip down 2 kochi , which one of India's prime tourist destinations and was fascinated by the beauty and allure of the region. I do hope everyone of you get a chance to visit this extremely fascinating and inviting destination. I always had something to do, whether it was sightseeing, going boating or spending hours at some of Kochi ...

... and peninsulas but the main drawcard is historical Fort Cochin that somehow just didn't appeal to me even though it's a blend of medievil Portugal, Holland and an English country village, all on the coast. It was very different to the real India and in parts it smelled like sour fish milkshakes, rotten eels and random parts from an octopus. There seemed to be lots of European designer packaged tourism going on and not too much atmosphere. It did have some ...

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... freshwater mussel shells......sadly I didn't take notes, so I cannot share the wisdom with you, and my plans for a cottage industry back in Blighty are thwarted, but I will pay attention next time! What was pretty cool though, was one of the fishermans wives knocked up a delightfully fragrant dry curry with the freshwater mussels, some coconut and tomato, which was wrapped up in banana leaves and sent back with us to the boat. We'd missed ...

Kochin is made up of numerous islands and the main land. We stayed at Fort Kochi which has a lovely quaint old time feel to it. Along the beach there are huge cantilevered chinese fishing nets operated by 5 men at a time. They were all so friendly and invited me to be one of their crew for a while. They thought that I would bring them good luck but when all we managed to pull up were a few small blow fish and a jelly fish ...

... at me with blank faces. He sent me down the street to various chemists/pharmacies to get a box....not a place you might intuitively think would have boxes for the postal service??? Anyway, after some friendly requests which at the last place turned into pathetic begging, the third place I went to brought me a box, stained with some spilled medicine (can't really be picky at this point eh?) which I took ...

... And in your face straight away, just the way we like it. Rows of street stalls, people everywhere and a little piece of sanity - our first real coffees at Cafe Coffee Day (like Dome). I was so excited when I spotted the shop. We then walked the length of MG Road (there is an MG Road in every state in India ... Mohatma Ghandi lah in case you are wondering what it stands for.) SRK movie posters were everywhere. It ...

... these rude, arrogant men thought that they could keep berrating and putting me down. Maybe because I am foreign, but I think moreso because I am female. So I replied: "Just because you speak English doesn't mean you need to communicate with me." And at that they shut up, and left me alone. Me and the local women who sadly spoke not much English, and I spoke no Malayalam (language of Kerala) agreed afterwards under our breath 'bad boys, bad boys'. Kerala has the highest ...

... were still dressed in the chain's standard uniform of maharaja-style starched white, full button coat and big plumey turban, which didn't quite sit with the surroundings! We paid a visit to the small zoo and got depressed by the penned in animals, though I never fail to be amused by a few porcupines and pelicans. Worse were the eagles who had a way too small cage with no space at all to flap about in. Aah... So from there it was onto Madurai, but I've rambled way enough for now! Until next time.. x

... this you say? As they say in the Princess Bride (You must read this book if you have only seen the movie), "Let me explain. No, that will take too long. Let me summarize." Ayurveda is 5,000 years old and based on hundreds of years of observation and experimentation by the sages of ancient India. It was developed at the same time yoga was, as the companion art to yogic practice. If yoga was the path to develop the mind and spirit, Ayurveda was the way to keep the body healthy ...