Fort Cochin

Fort Cochin is a small, quiet town along the coast of the Arabian Sea. This morning we went for a walk along the water front and took a look at some of the sights. They have Chinese style fishing nets - a design that has been in use since the 1300's. It was interesting to see how they were used. They work on a cantilever system with the net and poles on one side and ropes tied around huge rocks on the other.

It was very hot and humid so after a late lunch we came back to our hotel room. I'm so glad we opted for the AC room! We took in a Kathakali performance. It's hard to explain it, but it has religious elements, acting, miming, music, and elaborate painted faces and costumes. Many of the actions are through exaggerated eye and facial movements.

The performance was good, but we enjoyed the demonstration on the art of Kathakali just as well. The costumes were pretty fun too.

CM