March 27th, 2024

We arrived in Cochin, India at 6am and everyone had to go through face-to-face immigration. We had signed up for the included tour which was 4 hours long and started around 10am. This would be our only port in India because of the itinerary changes. Originally we were supposed to go to Goa then Cochin and then on to Mumbai for an overnight. Viking still offered a trip to Taj Mahal and the people who signed up would be getting off in Cochin and then catching back up to us in Mauritius, East Africa.

We have been to Cochin before but it has been years and India was not our favorite. This time did not seem as bad as the first time and maybe it was because we knew what to expect. There were definitely fewer beggars than last time but it will be interesting to hear about the Mumbai experience.

Our first stop on the tour was the St Francis church which was the first European church to be built in India. It was originally built in 1500 AD by the Portuguese. This was also where the Portuguese explorer Vasco De Gama was laid to rest but his body was moved to Portugal in 1538 AD.

This church is now and Anglican Church

They have wonderful trees in Cochin that the Portuguese brought over and they are called umbrella trees and they are huge and offer tons of shade. The ones below are 250 years old.

All the shade the umbrella trees offer Kathy standing by one

We walked a short distance to the water so we could look at the fishing nets which originated In China. They are no longer used anymore and now it is just a place to bring tourists and they have lots of shops lining the beach. They say the nets date back to 1350 and 1450 AD.

The fishing nets

Fishing boats near the fishing nets

The shops along the beach shaded by an umbrella tree.

There used to be a large Jewish community in Cochin but now there is none. The area where the Jews lived is now a tourist attraction.

This house dates back to 1785 and was home to the leader of the Jewish community. It is now an Inn

The guide took us into Jew Town to see the oldest synagogue which is the oldest in India and the British Commonwealth.

Walking down the street to the synagogue. Inside the synagogue where the torah was housed.

Inside the synagogue You had to take you shoes off to go into the synagogue. Guess which pair is mine?

We also went to what was a palace centuries ago and is now a museum.

The Mattancherry Palace

A colorful truck moving produce All the garbage piled up on the road

They have lots of Tuk-Tuks and motor bikes. The green tub-tuks are run by natural gas and the black ones are gas

It was very hot and we were happy to get back to the ship around 2pm.

Our cruise ship

We had a large group getting off late afternoon to go on a Viking overland tour to see the Taj Mahal. There were 6 buses going on the multiple overnights. We hear there are about 350 on board for the cross over to Africa. The boat already feels empty.

On our way out of Cochin we passed by some of the fishing nets

We now start 5 days at sea crossing over to East Africa. as I said before the boat is very quiet with so few of us on board. You would think they would close a side of the buffet or the restaurant since so few but they are leaving everything open and I guess that makes sense since we have staff on board for a full boat.