INDIA #1 [Kochi]



So here it is: I have finally got round to uploading some of my India photos! I shall try and keep it as concise as possible - but there is just so much I want to share with you all from this amazing trip I was lucky enough to go on!

The first place we visited was a colonial port town called Kochi (formerly Cochin), in the state of Kerala. It had been colonised by the Portuguese first, then the Dutch and the British and is the most densely populated city in the state. After leaving the UK in the snow the wall of heat that hit us as we disembarked from the plane was most welcome! Our first port of call was a lovely home stay just out of town right next to the back waters (as you can see from the photos below). All tired and slightly bewildered from jet lag we thought we had found paradise (we pretty much had) and all raced to be the first to try out the hammock overlooking the view in the back yard of the spacious, colonial style outhouse. I probably would not have been able to drag myself from said spot if it wasn't for our hosts delicious home cooked feast which us tired travellers devoured. After that meal even my brother was a chickpea convert!

1. Where we stayed! 2. The hammock. 3. Loving the no-roof shower - hear the birds and palm trees as you wash! 4. Colonial style interior. 5. Location making the A level Geography revision just a tad sweeter...

A perfect place to watch a perfect sunset.

On a trip round the main town we visited a women's cooperative - such a lovely place full of smiling and grateful ladies, all very helpful and eager to kit me and my brother out in traditional saris and turbans!

Last ice cream stop in the world?!

We wandered blissfully around the slightly calmer old town on the sea front and visited the Dutch Palace - a gift from the Portuguese to the Keralans, most likely to sweeten trade agreements and controversially named following its Dutch renovation.

One of my personal highlights of our brief stay in Kochi was our private sunset boat ride along the backwaters that were right on our doorstep! I am full of gratitude for our wonderful host Jos who organised this for us, saving us the terrors of a midday scramble to share a boat trip with hoards of other tourists - no thanks! I don't think I really need to attempt how magnificent the sights and sunset were, I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Traditional Chinese fishing nets are still a very popular method of fishing for the Keralans.

Our fisherman friend Nikson - everyone is just so friendly and happy to talk!

Cows, cows everywhere...

As we arrived on Easter Sunday in a primarily Christian settlement, the whole town was adorned in festive decorations and music, singing and partying could be heard at all hours! A chaotic and colourful celebration, yet somehow undoubtedly peaceful. It's amazing how so many religions live happily side by side in one area.

One of the favoured ways to get around!

We ended our stay at Kochi by seeing some traditional dancing and Kathakali. An intriguing performance with wonderfully intricate and ornate costumes!

So that's the first few days of the trip! Sorry that turned into quite a lengthy post, more to come shortly...

All comments welcome - would love to hear your thoughts!

GIF Wednesday

Hello there,

This weeks GIF entailed a lot of precarious globe turning and camera balancing, but here it is; my spinning globe GIF...

My globe is one of my favourite things in my cluttered and colourful room (I confess, I am perhaps what you would call a hoarder...) and I could spend hours studying and spinning, making wild and worldly plans that I one day hope to carry out. This particular globe is really almost a 'vintage' item and I love trying to find all the countries which have been renamed.

Happy January!

Hello all you lot in the blogosphere!
It's been a while eh?! I hope you all had a superb festive season and are entering the new year with renewed energy and vigour!...Who am I kidding, January is a tough, long and work-crammed month for the best of us. So to cheer you all up on this soggy Tuesday, I shall be taking a photographic overview of jolly holiday memories past in a series of posts!
Today, a whistle stop tour of my Christmas and Boxing day:

Happy Christmas! Me and my lovely brother!

Cards: A compulsory Chrimbo day activity - a much preferred charades alternative... 

The Cake! 

Here are a few shots of the moon I caught on a little late-night stomp. The last one was done by super-imposing three shots of the moon using the same settings but from different angles. 

On the walk around a very dark and deserted, sleepy, turkey-stuffed Oxford neighbourhood.

Some twinkly lights through a hedge.

Will being pulled along on his spangly-new penny board by Licky-Mickey the crazy dog...

Me having a little mess around with my new camera (woo!!!) and dad's iphone to create a picture of a picture of picture...go figure!

 A quizzical look... 

Musical gifts were enjoyed in the car...though not perhaps by all simultaneously...a wide range from Of Monsters and Men to Wu Lyf to Kylie!

And then all that was left was the rainy journey down to Cornwall for the new year! (Look out for more on that in a post sometime soon...)

So that's it; a little trip down memory lane to shake off the January blues. Feel free to comment below, I'd love to know how you are coping with this cold and dreary month!