Our stay in Fort Kochin

...is so long ago I need to consult my diary to remember the things we did there...to begin with I should propably mention that Kochin was planned as a stop made out of neccessity. Our loundry needed to be done, some christmas cards needed to be written and some christmas gifts purchased. So thats what we did...we went shopping on M.G. Road in Ernakulam and had terrible arguments with the rikshaw drivers (they charged way too much and were not to be convinced to use their meter.) We also strolled past the Chinese fishing nets and through the small, goat-dominated streets of Fort Kochin while we were looking for the post office. It was on this stroll that we found that the true beauty of Kochin lies with its plentyful artists. So we also went to several exibitions of contemporary Indian art, had a really good ice tea at the Art Cafe. And saw a really professional dance performance which introduced us, very much in the „Lord of Dance“ style, to several traditional dance styles of south India. I liked the Mohiniyattam best, the dance of the seductress. The dancer performed so beautifully. Up to then I have never seen a lullaby danced. It as so graceful and her every movement so expressive. Just by looking at her dance you could almost hear her words. „Body lyrics“ at its best.
Another traditional artform we decided to experience in Kochin was that of the Ayuvedic massage. I loved it! The soothing strokes along every part of your body. every bit of you covered in an exess amount of oil. I finished it off in an ayuvedic steambath...(which reminded me of a picturebook i had as a small girl which showed immages of ancient baths...i am sure the closet like steambath was pictured there...). A., who had strained a muscle in his back carrying his backpack, was not as satisfied as I was because the massage did not really reduce his pain.
After all these artistic delights and after we had successfully turned a sari into some artful cushion covers, we decided it was about time we headed to our next destination.