Our last day in Fort Cochin - it's been a relaxing time with all the excitement of the many markets and eateries.
Today we are back to Jew Town ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochin_Jews )for some market shopping & a visit to the Synagogue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradesi_Synagogue). It's abso;utely packed with people & photography & video is not permitted. It does however have an excellent display of hand-painted pictures showing the immigrations of the Jewish traders to Cochin and the trials & tribulation they went through to settle in India.
Right next door is the Dutch Palace ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattancherry_Palace ) Again photography & video is prohibited, but many of the murals depicted on the walls are highly detailed, but fading with time. Despite being built by the Dutch most of the interior is based on the lives of the local Kerala rulers.
We spend a bit of time around the market stalls & craft shops, however the value of the $US out weighs the $A.
The afternoon is spent at the Taj Mahal Cooking School with Usha where we learn about the basics of the different Kerala spices & cooking.
Dinner is what we cook and it is marvellous with Dosa, Curried Vegetables and Rice. Michael's bleary eyes are because of the camera flash not the beer.
Tomorrow we travel to Alleppy for the start of our 5 night houseboat trip throught the backwaters of Kerala.
All up it's been a tremendous new adventure in Fort Cochin, somewhat of a different scene from our past experiences in Central India
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