April 2 to April 4, 2012 at sea Bay of Bengal and eastern Indian Ocean: Lazy Sea Days
After departing Penang Island, we cruised northwest up the Straits of Malacca and around the northern tip of Sumatra, then turned west southwest across the Bay of Bengal around the southern tip of Ceylon and into the western Indian Ocean. Taking a northern course, we passed west of the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula (Cape Coromin) and reached Kochi, formerly known as Cochin after three days at sea.
During these longer at-sea passages, cruise passengers mainly focused on various on-board activities -- bridge, lectures, entertainment, and, of course, eating. But, any type of unusual sighting at sea creates a great deal of interest. These sighting events usually involve fauna (air- or seaborne) or other ships. Both fauna and ships engender a great deal of speculation by the passengers. Regretfully, on this cruise, we seemed to sight more unusual purpose-built ships than we did fauna. So, there are no pictures of whales or albatrosses!
Oil Exploration Support Ship -- Bay of Bengal
On the evening of April 4, as we rounded Cape Coromin, Captain Corsaro, held an all-passenger security meeting to discuss precautions to minimize the threat of piracy while we were cruising in the Indian Ocean. The major impact on passengers was the need to darken ship, thereby keeping the stateroom drapes closed from sunset to sunup. Of course, the ship took other actions, but these were not discussed with the passengers. However, the passengers spent a good deal of time and effort speculating on what they might or might not be.
April 5, 2012 in port Kochi (Cochin), Kerala, India: Welcome to the New India -- Watch Out for the Goat!
Silver Whisper docked at the cruise ship terminal on Willingdon Island about 9:00am. Since this was our third visit to Kochi in the last six years, we did not really want to return to the same tourist spots. Instead, we hired a private car to take us to the Le Meridian Hotel in the Kundannoor District of Kochi to make other Starwood hotel reservations. We did not leave the ship immediately, but waited for the ship's tours to set off before disembarking. J & E are not fond of queues, especially consisting of cruise passengers in a hurry to get to the front seat on the tour bus.
Tour Buses at the Ready, Kochi Port
Our driver/guide met us on the pier with a new white Toyota, and we were off through the port area, over the causeway and into the streets of Kochi to the hotel. Kochi's metropolitan population is approximately 2 million, and the city seems to be built around innumerable water features. This is a nice way of saying that the city is situated in a very large coastal swamp. However, the traffic wasn't impossible, so we accomplished our mission at the Le Meridian very quickly and had a tea in the hotel's lounge, while the hotel manager confirmed reservations.
The minimum car hire was for four hours, so our driver/guide suggested that we see some sites that we had not visited earlier. Since he was a Roman Catholic, our tour was an introduction to the history of Christianity in southern India. Our first stop was St. Francis C.S.I. church in Fort Kochi.
St. Francis C.S.I. Church, Fort Kochi, Kochi, Kerala, India
St. Francis (originally St. Bartholome) is the oldest European church in India, and
Fort Kochi is the oldest European settlement, established by the Portuguese in 1503.
St. Francis has served the denomination of the imperial power of the moment. It has been Roman Catholic, Dutch Reform, Anglican, and is currently Church of Southern India (C.S.I.). The building dates to 1779, but it has been rebuilt and renovated many times.
Interior, St. Francis C.S. I.
Altar, St. Francis C.S.I.
Baptismal Font, St. Francis C.S.I.
There are numerous tombs inside the church and on the church grounds. The church grounds include the Dutch Cemetery that records Dutch possession of Kochi for 200 years until it ended in 1795 when Kochi became a British possession. Probably the most famous person originally buried in the church was the Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, European discoverer of the sea route to India. He died at Kochi in 1524, on Christmas eve, of malaria and was buried in the church until his remains were repatriated to Portugal in 1539. His gravestone is part of the interior floor of the church.
Vasco da Gama's Gravestone, St. Francis C.S.I
To preserve the early gravestones of other Portuguese and Dutch imperial functionaries, they now line the interior walls of the church, with the Portuguese notables' gravestones along the north wall of the church, and the Dutch on the south wall. We guessed that the more recent occupants of the church did not want the Catholic and Protestant spirits to have an opportunity to squabble over theology, so they separated them.
Portuguese (North Wall) and Dutch (South Wall) Gravestones, St. Francis C.S.I.
From the church, we were driven to the park at the tip of Fort Kochi. Our guide wanted to show us the Chinese Fishing Nets. The local story is that when the Portuguese saw the Chinese in Macao using these nets, they brought the design to Kochi and built the nets along the coast near the fort. Will the theft of intellectual property never cease!
The fish nets work using the balanced fulcrum principle, like a teeter totter, with the seaward nets balanced by landward stones. There were probably many more in the past, but now there are about 6 in the immediate Fort Kochi Park area, which seem to provide some fresh fish, but more entertainment for visitors to the park.
Chinese Fishing Nets
Catching Fish -- It Really Works!
Fish in bottom of center net.
Catching Fish -- It Really Works!
Fish in bottom of center net.
Fresh Fish Anyone?
Fort Kochi, and the surrounding area, is also a free range zoo, typical of Indian settlements from village to mega cities. The Fort Kochi peninsula seemed to specialize in goats, who spent most of their time caging food from tourists. But there was no shortage of other beasts ranging about.
"Got a Hershey Bar? I'm Tired of Coconuts."
The Fort Kochi area has many 17th, 18th and 19th Century Residences built by the Portuguese, Dutch and the Raj, during their 450 year sojourn in southern India. Many of those buildings are architecturally interesting, and a number of them have been preserved by converting them to boutique hotels or guest houses for tourist.
Dutch Trader's Residence Converted to Boutique Hotel
(Note the restored Ambassador parked in front. Who would of thought! )
The Splendor of the Raj. It is Good to be the Raj.
As we were leaving Fort Kochi, we saw the return to port of an Indian Navy patrol ship. Kochi is a major Indian naval base, and headquarters for the Indian navy's Indian Ocean Fleet. It was reported while we were in India that an Indian naval unit had engaged a pirate vessel and sunk it. Seems that the Indian navy learned law of the sea from the old Royal Navy, not the U.S. Navy and NATO, who are too busy filling out forms and consulting lawyers to deal directly with treats to freedom of the sea. Maybe the USN could engage the pirates with paperwork and lawyers and bore them to death!
Indian Navy INS Sharada (P55) Returning to Port
Our tour's next stop was the Santa Cruz Basilica, the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Alleppey, part of the city of Kochi. Regretfully, there was a diocese conference underway, and the Basilica was closed to tourists.
Santa Cruz Basilica
Our next stop was the residence of the Bishop of Alleppey, which dates in part to the 1500s. Although the residence is off limits to the general public, the grounds are not. The grounds of the residence where used as a botanical garden by the Portuguese, so many interesting and economically important species can be found among the plantings.
Bishop of Alleppey's Residence
(If you can't be the Raj, maybe try Bishop)
Pepper Tree
(This may or may not be pepper. J didn't make notes.)
After visiting the Bishop's garden, it was back to the Silver Whisper and lunch on the pool deck, then a nap and a lazy afternoon of reading and playing "Spite and Malice." Eloise won, as usual.
Before dinner, the Cruise Director, Fernando, arranged for a dance troop from the local Katakali school to perform. Katakali, or "story play," is a form of folk dance that evolved from earlier Sanskrit dances originally associated with Hindu temples. These dances are now known only in Southern India, which did not suffer the tender mercies of Islamic (Mogul) invasion.
Katakali dance takes the form of a drama, think opera, with the content delivered in face and hand expression, masks and colorful costumes which define the characters. The dramas seem to concentrate on four universal themes -- love, death, truth, and power. Many of the plays have their origins in the Ramayana. From the western audience's perspective, the makeup, masks and costumes, are truly spectacular. If you are interested in the Katakali dances go to this web site www.kathakalischool.com.
Katakali Dancer in Costume
Elaborate Dance Costume
Kathakali Dancers Presenting Play
(Regretfully, No English Captions)
Curtain Call, Everyone Namastes
After a much edited and shortened one-hour performance (Westerners' attention span is not up to four and five-hour dance performances, no matter how colorful the costumes or loud the music), we left the theater and returned to our suite to watch a movie. At 10:30pm, we sailed for Mormugao, India, the port for Goa.
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