One of the hardest things to do while travelling in India is the travelling. Taking a train from one city to another, involves going to the station, finding out where the “Computerized Reservation Counter” is, and then sacrificing your day to Parkhyor Bhoudi, the god of killing time.
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Fifty Hours of Fun (20060128-30)
Munchies for the Masses (20060128)
The food the FMA and I’ve eaten in Fort Cochin has been the overall best we’ve had so far, and each night has delivered something special.
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Kathakali and Kalari Pattayu (20060126)
While Cochin’s Jewish community is slowly if stubbornly slipping into history, the traditional Keralan arts are thriving.
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Keralan Culture in Fort Cochin (20060125)
Every time I think I’ve developed a strong resistance to orientationitis – that common disease of confusion that strikes when I put in practical use one of my guidebooks’ maps for the first time – another bout whacks me upside the head.
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Cruising the backwaters (20060123)
My Financial and Menu Adviser and I couldn’t afford the luxurious houseboat cruise in Kollam, but we managed to eke out one more boatride. The ferry from Kollam to Alappuzha zips through the 75 km or so between the two towns in eight hours.
Eight hours. But it was still worth it.
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Backwater Bounty (20060122)
Though it may come as a shock to long-time readers, I can’t say I’m impressed with the Indian cities I’ve seen so far. In general, they’re noisy, dirty with pollution and trash dropped everywhere, and filled with unfriendly touts who love nothing more than to separate your rupees from your wallet by any means necessary.
Kollam, my first stop in Kerala, was no different. But then, the whole point of coming here is to check out the lush green foliage of the backwaters.
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The Landlocked Keralan Palace (20060120)
There is a small part of the state of Tamil Nadu that is not Tamil Nadu. Upon first hearing this, I remembered an old short story I once read where an aging baseball player, desperate to maintain the only career he’s ever known, has an arm transplant. The arm, of course, belonged to an executed murderer who was much younger and stronger, and so the arm begins to control the pitcher’s actions.
Despite being around a decade old and the current “ripped-from-the-headlines” feel, I couldn’t help but think of this tiny plot of land, owned by the neighboring state of Kerala and big enough only for a smallish palace, as somehow subtley taking over the government of Tamil Nadu and bending it to the Keralan way of life.
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