Fort Cochin, Kerala

We have taken a vacation from being at the beach, and have spent the last several days in Cochin, a large port town on the Arabian Sea. This place is vaguely familiar to us due to the large "western" influence it has experienced over the centuries. Beginning with the Portugese, this part of India has absorbed a European flavor. The Dutch came next, then the Brits. The amalgam of architetural styles is very interesting to see. Our hotel is a beautiful old Dutch home, with wide teak floor boards and high ceilings. The people occasionally appear somewhat Spanish looking, and we see various names such as Santa Cruz, Vasco da Gama, of course Maria. Tonight there is a Maundy Thursday service at the St.Francis Church nearby. There is also an area called "Jew Town" and we went into the old Synagogue.
So far we, have loved Cochin, and have made plans to visit Munnar, which is about 5 hours drive inland, up the Western Ghats mountain range, where we will stay on a Cardamom plantation, and hike in the cool hills. We just have to survive the drive there!
Highlights:
-Kathakali, a traditional dance form of Kerala
-Seeing the big Dutch style buildings, homes
-We tried our hand at barganing today, and ended up with some textiles, and also a carpet...hope we werent bamboozled! "just looking"
-Went a 6 hour lazy boat trip through the brakish "backwaters" where we saw how Coir rope is made from coconut, also saw cashew fruit trees from which cashew nuts are harvested, along with pepper plants, nutmeg trees.
As always, the local people have been extremely gracious and kind.
Love,
Teri and Matt

pics

Varkala, Kerala

In our quest for the perfect beach spot, we have been enjoying the ease of Varkala. The red rocky cliffs set against the easy blue sea gave us reason to stay put here for a few days and catch up on our reading. Although persistent rain has put a damper (literally) on our beach plans, here are some highlights of this cool place:
- Sea View hotel for $12 a night
- Warm ocean you can swim in for as long as you want... you can swim your guts out... yesterday it appeared as if someone had-- we were swimming on the main beach and spotted a bundle of entrails floating by us... ahhh, the Lakshadweep Sea!
- This beach is an interesting mix of tourists, people practicing yoga, and groups of Indian men surveying the bikini clad women on the beach
- LOTS of time to read on our porch and on the beach.
- Great seafood and various masala dishes ($2-$3 for good seafood dish)
- OUR NEW FAVORITE THING EVER: CARDEMOM TEA
- Learning to live on "Indian Time" (John, and you thought Matt time was slow!). Last night we waiting about two hours for our dinner to come, but at least it gave us time to enjoy our gin and tonic before dinner while we watched the sparkling fishing boats go out to sea.
- Varkala has two Ayurvedic schools of massage and we haven't taken advantage of them yet. ... Still debating on whether or not they are local find or tourist gimick.
- Discovered that we are suckers for eight year olds who are running their parents' shops.
- Our SteriPen really works! Matt has been changing shower water into potable water with the push of a button and no Delhi belly yet!
- We are happy to be stationary for a while, and off the main roadways. It seems that the drivers apply the Hindu philosophy of "non dualism" even to two lane highways! As we rode up from Kovalam to Varkala, the two lane roads had a center passing lane. Now all of a sudden NYC cabs seem a lot safer.


While we listen to the rain pour onto the corrogated tin roof here at the internet "cafe," we realize that our plans will take us north tomorrow. We plan on traveling by train to Kochi and exploring the famous "Back Waters" of this part of India. We will say goodbye to the beach for a while and look forward to a new kind of experience.
Love to you all and we'll be in touch soon,
Teri and Matt

Kovalam, Kerala

Athens-Bahrain, Bahrain-Delhi, Delhi-Bangalore, Bangalore-Trivandrum, Trivandrum-Kovalam Beach.... a multi-legged, beast of a trip BUT WE MADE IT! The beach and the relaxed and cheerful demeanor of the locals made the difficulty worth it.
Highlights:
1. Lovely airline food! We had five meals in two days. Had veg and "non vegetarian" options
2. Hard to stay awake for six hours at foggy, muggy Delhi airport. The music and the mock karate on the Bollywood film kept us entertained
3. Fly over so many lighted fishing boats on the dark Lakshadweep Sea, arriving at night it looked like the stars in the sky
4. Reintroduction to the "squatty potty"
4.5 We tried to block it out, but need to add that it was probably divine intervention that we survived our roller-coaster-off-the-tracks/taxi ride from the airport.
5. Staying at a hotel that looks more like Escher towers than condos, but staff is great and fellow travelers are very nice
6. "Hello Pineapple!" "Hello Pineapple!"
7. Waking to sqwaking exotic birds
8. Using the SteriPen! Whoo hoo! To sterilize water with UV light
9. Beach with soft sand and bathtub water (but sometimes uncomfortable stares from Beach trolling men, all covered up today :)
10. DELICIOUS PRAWN SPRING ROLL and beer (in a mug) at sunset on Lighthouse Beach. Beer inconspicuously served in this "dry state"--the only one that democratically elected a communist government

Although we really enjoy it here in Kovalam, we are anxious to see what else awaits us as we make our way north to Goa for a friend's wedding at the end of March. Tomorrow we plan to catch a train to Varkala which is supposed to be cheaper and less touristy than here.
We are happy to have made it this far and are so thankful that we get to see these wonderful spots together.
We're glad to share these memories with our friends and family and we'll try our best to keep this updated.
Until then, Cheers!
Matt & Teri

From Athens to India

Well, much has happened since our last post. We hope we won't have to learn anymore lessons the hard way. The big upset came when we boarded a crowded bus and the unassuming guy behind Matt took his wallet and passed it to his friend. We caught them moments after they handed it off (I saw his hand over Matt's back pocket) and they made a big scene on the bus as we tried to get them to give it back. Needless to say, we rushed off the bus and saved our funds by cancelling our cards before they attempted to use them an hour later. This threw a wrench in our plans, and gave us much to think about, but it did not spoil our time together. Matt was particulary cool under pressure and kept me sane as we reorganized ourselves and headed to a familiar hotel as home base. Thanks to our family, we are alright and are just traveling a little more cautiously. Perhaps this was a good preparation for what we may not have otherwise been prepared for in future travels.
Here are some pics that can reassure you that we're alright and this event did not spoil our fun! Love you all and hope to write future posts in a more timely manner.
Off to the sunny shores of southern India!
Love,
M&T

NEWS

Matt was offered the opportunity to work with a client for the next year. This will involve travel between the US and Europe. The job begins at the end of April. It looks like we'll be back in NYC then for a short while, so maybe we can see some of you then!

Pics

Souvlaki, Amstel & chips

Apostle Paul (Road)

View from the Acropolis

Teri and the Caryatids

The Parthenon at the Acropolis

Whats worse-stage fright or fear of heights?

Cheeeese!

Cheeeeese!

Temple of Olympian Zeus, project that took 700 years to build

Teri at our little apartment

Through a gate on the street

Athens

Dear Family and Friends,
Yasos! We made it to Athens! We've been walking around (looking for internet cafes) and enjoying the hustle and bustle of this city. Here's a quick catch-me-up on what we've been up to:
- Matt found a good deal on an apartment that we are renting in Ambelokipi
- We discovered that one of our cell phones doesn't work in Greece!
- We bought the coolest leather goods ever from one of the coolest guys in Greece (check out www.melissinos-poet.gr)
- Today was bright and sunny so we walked up to the Acropolis and took in the sights
- We started off the day at a Greek church where we listened through English translation headphones (maybe this is how you speak in tongues?)
- We stood on Aeropagus hill where Paul presented Chrisitianity to 1st C Athenians
- We walked down Apostolou Pavlou (Apostle Paul) Road to Monastiraki and resisited the urge to buy knock off designer bags
- We made it safely across the street (an accomlishment) to have souvlaki kebabs and a well deserved Amstel

Interesting things to note:
- Dogs lying about, soaking up the sun... everywhere! (Even at the highest point of the Acropolis)
- All the children dressed up for Halloween every night (Isn't Greek Carnivale over?)
- Persistent children peddling goods in the streets
- Mid-meal cigarettes appears to be a national pastime
- Popularity of Nescafe
- "OK" means "no," and "Ne" means "yes"
- Given only a couple of seconds to cross the street
- Orange and olive trees everywhere--sidewalks flow with orange juice and olive oil
- They've got ruins just lyin' about the place (Though current Athens doesn't appear in better shape)
- Lovely pre-dinner Ouzo also helps Matt's cough
- Everyone comes up to blonde-haired Matt to sell their goods, while leaving Teri to just look Greek :)


Well, hope this helps you to get a glimpse into our life here in Athens. We're still transitioning from being New Yorkers, but find that it helps to say we're "from New York."
We love and miss you all. We will try to keep this updated as much as we can during our travels. We are planning to spend some time in the Greek Isles, but might take some detours to Corinth and Thessaloniki before we head to India.
Lots of love,
Teri & Matt