Which way up

Sunday 15th June
Today is Sunday. In a Syrianic Christian area. Thus much is closed.

Went to Fort Cochin to look at...

• Mattancherry Palace - built by the Portuguese, renovated by the Dutch. Under reorganisation, so the portrait gallery was just empty walls. Interesting palanquins. Interesting because of how small they are (particularly the completely enclosed ones), and interesting because of how long the poley bits are.


• Ten minute drive to special tourist shop, you look for ten minutes, you don't buy, nice view from roof.


• Ten minute drive to Pardesi Synagogue. Parking area seems strangely familiar... almost exactly like the back entrance to Mattancherry Palace. Walk to synagogue through Jew Town. It's the off-season, so not only are there very few tourists, I'm the only foreign one. Massively outnumbered by shopkeepers. Fend them all off, go to synagogue, then dread the return shop obstacle course. Think longingly of Bat-vendor-repellent. Every single person had been waiting for so long for me to come back, they all missed me terribly.


• Had a look at the famous Chinese fishing nets - they have big piles of rocks tied to them as counterweights.


• Dropped by St Francis Church, where Vasco da Gama was buried for the first time. He was buried for the second time in Lisbon.


• Had a look at the beach. Hmmm... monsoon waves... Not boding well for the Goa-bound.


• Went to the Dutch cemetary - locked shut, so no chance of discovering long-lost relatives.

Stopped to look at idly moulds. Sadly, the whole package is too big for cartage and my-small-kitchen-storage. So I bought a tiffin container instead. The old dude at the till looked at me suspiciously and accused me of being Swiss. The young guy who'd helped serve me corrected him and said I was American. I suggested that I was not. "Australian! Cricket! Shane Warne!" "Aaaahhh! I like Ricky Ponting." Finally, Shane Warne has made himself useful to me. I wish he could be more useful, frankly.

Now formally hot and bothered, humidity having accompanied me all the way. Thought I might stop for lunch at a place the LP says the death by chocolate is to die for, but sadly, my driver said he needed to go to the hospital to have a tooth looked at. I'm sure that the sore tooth had nothing to do with a phone call he received where he was taking down flight details - because, of course, he's working for me until tomorrow morning...

Which way up

In any case, returned to air-conditioned hotel for multi-dessert buffet lunch, with the intention of attempting death by chocolate for dinner. Driver called to confirm that his tooth operation was successful and he would be able to drive me.

Spray'N'Wipe Cleaning Product Name Of The Day: Colin