After a few sea days we docked in Kochi (Cochin), India. Ian and I took a Tuk Tuk tour to the city and had a blast. It was exciting to ride in a Tuk Tuk again – these ones were a little different then the ones we have taken in Vietnam but equally exciting as they maneuver through the roads and weave in and out of traffic and pedestrians. We are absolutely amazed that we didn’t see any accidents. It was about a three hour tour – cost us $20 – we saw lots. We visited a Hindu Temple at opening and it was wonderful. There were many men playing very interesting instruments. We went to a market and a group of men demonstrated a traditional fishing method where they use counter weights to lower and lift the nets. We went to a laundry where they still wash everything by hand and iron it with hot coals made from coconut shells. The woman demonstrating was in her late 80s. She offered me the opportunity to try to iron – the iron was very hot and it weighed way too much for me to try to lift it – instead I let Ian iron and I took a photo. That 80ish woman is obviously very strong. We went to a beach and another market and watched the locals as they cooled their feet in the sand down by the waters edge – signs around indicated no swimming. After that we went to an old section of the city – I was surprised to see it was a Jewish District – at least at one time. There were signs towards the synagogue and the cemetery. There were two stores of interest – the first was Sarah Cohen’s this woman used to teach embroidery – she had run the store for many years and passed on a few years back. The person working there explained that she had no family so her students continued to operate the store. Sarah’s store had many things of interest – lots of challah covers, embroidery, needlepoint and also menorah, mezuzah, kippahs and such. The other store was called Shalom – it was extremely hot out and we did not go in this store. I googled ‘Cochin Jewish Community’ and it indicated that most of the Jews have moved to Israel. The synagogue is still active but very few people. The Jews of Kodungallore were given shelter by the King of Kochi in 1524. I wish I had known this before we had visited I might have spent a bit more time exploring. The synagogue was apparently built in the 16th century.
