Andiamo: 4/9–Cochin (Kochi) India

Our first port in India, and we are pretty excited. Sailing in, the buildings look so very colonial along the waterfront.

We’ve booked a tour in each of the first three ports with Muziris Heritage Day tours – so we’ll be with the same company each day. We don’t know exactly how this will work, but we’ll figure it out as we go along! We are the first one’s off the ship, just by a fluke. We were waiting at the gangway area before the announcements and they just came and opened up the exit. Great for an Amazing Race start! But as it goes in Amazing Race –we hit our first roadblock.

There is a long line of vendor stalls and behind them the Celebrity buses, along with a few smaller vans. We look for the Muziris sign, but can’t find anything. Others come out looking for them too, but we don’t see anyone – which is odd because Lijo, the tour operator, said he’d be there by 6am and it’s already 8:30. I walk way down to the other end of the vendor stalls and lo and behold – a ton of other tour operators are there – including Lijo. Bummer! I try to text Ed, but it doesn’t go through – so I end up walking most of the way back before I grab his attention and he heads our way. As it is, we end up being one of the last on the bus. Poop. Oh well, we are still the first van to leave, so at least there is that.

Out tour today is a to the Alappuzha area to cruise the Kerala backwaters on a traditional houseboat. It’s about an hour and a half drive to the boat, and because we are early, the boat won’t be ready for us if we go straight. So our guide says he has heard of a festival going on for Palm Sunday with elephants – and he is going to try to take us to see it. Cool.

Off we go – through rickety streets and crowded little villages, but all with lush vegetation sprouting everywhere. It’s all very reminiscent of rural Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam really. The same type buildings, storefronts, street life. Except for the dress of course – virtually every girl is in a sari – some guys in their version of sari (the name of which I’ve forgotten). And then there is also the palm fronds. This part of India is mostly Christian, and being Palm Sunday, everyone is either at church or has been to church, carrying their palm fronds. We pass literally dozens of churches packed to the brim, with people outside praying as well. And at least 4 or 5 (during the course of the day) pilgrimages pass us on their way to a mountain area about 25K (or 50K for the longest walkers we saw) away.

We can’t find the temple, unfortunately, and turn the van around heading back toward Alappuzha. But then our guide gets a call from the other van with us, who has found the temple. So, we turn around again and head in that direction. It’s a crazy mass of humanity as we around this place, and as we hop out of the van we notice that it is only men in the streets and in the courtyard of the temple. The only woman I saw was the one walking through the temple in the first shot.

We all stand around with them watching the elephants get ready to pray. There are five elephants, with the leader in the middle and the less experienced elephants that are being trained on the outside.

This is awesome. We’re hopping all over taking pictures, jumping up on this wall to get a better view. The elephants are getting restless (or the mahout is giving them commands – who knows?) as they blow their trunks and sort of stomp around at the back.

Then the band starts, beating the drums, and everyone moves at once. Uh oh! A man beside me says “the big one! big one!” I smile at him and agree, and oh, yeah, well, here comes the big one! Right up front turning to face the temple, then bowing like he’s praying. Wow. All the other elephants follow suit, some better than others, since they are in training.