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Dec 20: After having a short afternoon nap we met up with everyone at the rooftop bar at 4:30. On the first night we each got a free bottle of beer with the happy hour special. These bottles were never opened so we ook them back to our room. We decided to pop these bottles and stroll into the bar with them like we owned the place. We were never questioned about these beers and enjoyed them thoroughly. (we should mention that beer bottles are 650ml in India.) The reception started at 6pm. All of the Westerners were there by 6pm and the Indians strolled in anytime before 7:30. Showing up late is the norm here. With how busy the city is, it makes sense to do away with the concept of punctuality. Kevin and Anj sat on a fancy couch set up on a stage adorned with flowers. For an hour we watched several Indian dance performances. We then had dinner and by 9pm everyone was pooped and ready for bed! All the buttery rich food has certainly taken its toll.
Dec 21: This morning we woke up and called a taxi to take us to the airport. Our hotel had a taxi that was over 1300Rupees. Our taxi cost us under 400. In Canadian terms this move saved us almost $20.... But in Indian terms this would get us about 4 dinners. Our flight landed us in Kochi and after a 1.5hr bus ride we made it to our homestay in fort kochi. We received a very warm welcome from the owner, Saj. As we walked around we stopped and watched a group of Indian children play cricket in a park. Like the rest of India, dealing with garbage is a problem here. We walked along the beach promenade and were so happy to see a large crane cleaning up a bunch of garbage on the beach. We stopped to watch and quickly our smiles turned to frowns as we noticed that the crane was actually clearing all of the beach garbage into the water. Almost every day we discuss the things that we take for granted in Canada: clean drinking water, consistent electricity, toilet paper, basic utilities, clean air, flowing traffic, safety. With so many people in this country they are still doing pretty good and remain happy and positive. There is a greater level of understanding and compassion here.
Dec 22: Staying in a homestay allowed us to enjoy an authentic Indian breakfast this morning. Kochi is in the Kerala region of Indiaand so far it has had some of the best food we've had so far. We decided to try out an Indian ferry. First we waited in separate male and female lineups (and noticed that you coukd buy 2 tickets so I stayed in the shorter lady line.The 30 minute trip cost us 8 R's together... About 14 cents Canadian. After getting our tickets we joined a group of people in a small holding cage. The boat pulled up and elbows flew as everyone raced to find a seat. Seeing as we did not race onto the boat we stood for the journey. A tuktuk took us to Lulu mall, the biggest mall in India. It was ginormous. I've been wearing knee length shorts this entire trip but today I decided to wear shorts- my longest and most conservative pair I should add. I instantly regretted it as every set of eyes we passed became honed in on my bare legs. You would have thought I was Tina Turner with the attention my lil chicken legs were getting! I embraced my western shorts and carried on through the Western mall. I would never test boundaries in a temple or church, but a Western mega-mall seemed like a safe place to give my legs some air. We ferried back as the sun went down and enjoyed some delicious Kerala chicken curry at a waterfront restaurant.
Dec 23: This morning we toured the town with a tuk tuk driver and stopped at a few very nice temples and then the towns laundry service which consists of several stalls of people beating clothes on the rocks . To be continued.
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