Ling and I had exhausted the standard tourist zone of Kochi and I hankered for some new photography haunts, so yesterday for 2$USD we rented two bikes for 24hrs.
They were brilliant! Ling had a BSA 'ladybird' bicycle and I had the Hercules brand 'Hero Jet.' Both were single-speed bikes made of iron. The front wheel of mine was oversized and the headset angle was odd too. It made me feel like I was riding one of those ancient bicycles you see on tacky wallpaper at Subway -- the thing with the 6' high front wheel and a 6" rear wheel. It also boasted strange cableless caliper brakes that used some metal rods and springs to give the counter-force. The absolute best thing about the bike was the handle-bars -- proud Enlglish style that allowed me to sit ramrod straight and pedal in a very dignified way, with my hands nearly at my knees, as if I was the village veterenarian in some obscure shire of Wales.
Anyway, these bikes were perfect, and allowed us to cruise through the back alleys of Kochi in comfort. These were the non-tourist areas of Kochi. Spent a lot of time taking more photos -- road works, a giant K-12 school that unleashed a million kids at 4pm, and lots of busy market-place action. The big 100-400mm lens I bought was well worth the money -- I am optimistic that I got some excellent photographs.
Yesterday we moved into the next hotel in our queue -- the Malabar Residency Inn -- regarded as the nicest hotel in Kochi. The Brunton Boat Yard was also excellent, and in a Dutch Colonial Style -- the Malabar Residency is an old Dutch Residency, but decorated with an eye for more contemporary look. Most amusing to us is that the walls are painted with sponges in bright primary colours in the same way our home in California was done. It's all quite tasteful. The hotel is smaller and quite close company. Our suite is on the first floor, with a porch that spills out onto the courtyard. Last night was one of the most pleasant nights I've had here -- sitting under the ceiling fan, outside, reading a book, drinking a pot of coffee, while some musicians sat in the courtyard playing Sitar and Tabla.
Ling continues to be confused for a Japanese by everyone -- she is continually being greeted with 'Konishiwa!' by both locals and Japanese tourists alike. Not really sure why -- perhaps Chinese women are enormously rare in India.
Someone is setting off blasts very near by. India sounds like Chinese New Year with all the fireworks going off. And they're not the delicate blue 4th of July ones, either -- they're the big, no-light sonic blasts. I'm not sure if there is some sort of religious signifance to it or what. It drives Ling mad. After serving seven years in the Naval Special Warfare Community, it takes a lot more than that to alarm me, however.
Speaking of things Naval -- tomorrow we go off for a day-long cruise through the back-country canals of Kerala in a renovated rice barge. These canals should be something like a cross between the everlglades and Venice, so should be some interesting photography to shoot.
Regards