Its tropical climate ensures that one thing Fort Cochin is not short of, apart from excellent eateries, are mosquitoes. Despite religiously coating what little skin I was not covering with clothing in DEET each day, I still found myself being bitten with alarming frequency. My main concern with mosquito bites is not the annoying itch but rather the chance that a bite could result in malaria (night time mosquitoes) or dengue fever (daytime mosquitoes).
As I am not taking any medication to prevent the contraction of malaria, I am particularly paranoid about mosquito bites. As an added incentive not to get bitten, my skin sometimes completely overreacts to insect bites. This overreaction leaves me with small raised scars that look suspiciously like, but according to skin specialists are not, skin cancers (attractive I know!). I still have one of these beauties on my forearm from a mosquito bite I got on my last visit to India nine years ago.
The one exposed area of skin that I was not covering with DEET each night was the sensitive skin on my face. One night last week I paid the price for this decision when I woke up after being bitten on the cheek and forehead. At first I thought it wasn't that bad. The bites felt really big - but I was sure it was just like when you have a pimple that feels like it is enormous but when you look in the mirror is actually quite small. As the itching sensation spread however, I gave up trying to fall back to sleep and decided to view the damage in the bathroom mirror.
Well, to say the bites were big is a bit like saying Greece has some debt. Not only were these the biggest mosquito bites I had ever had, but my face was bearing a stronger resemblance to that of the elephant man with each passing moment! How big were the bites? The bite in the middle of my forehead was as least as big as a 20 cent piece and the one on my cheek was larger than a 50 cent piece.
How ballsy was this mosquito?! It must have feasted on my sleeping visage for an hour to suck that much blood! I hastily looked around the bed trying to find the blood sucking spawn of Satan, convinced it would be easy to spot flying low under the burdensome weight of 10% of my blood supply. Just as I gave up the futile search, I realised that in addition to a painful itch my night time visitor may well have given me malaria. But maybe not....Maybe I would get lucky and just be left with scarring that looked like skin cancer covering half of my face. Thankfully the lasting legacy of that evening was not malaria, or disfiguring facial scars, but rather a whole new appreciation for mosquito coils!
After spending more than a week in Fort Cochin, and getting through a new book about every two days, I decided it was high time I engaged in an activity besides eating or reading. To that end I set off on a lovely day trip through the stunning backwaters of Kerala.
Sitting in a long canoe as you silently glide through the tiny canals of Kerala is one of the most peaceful experiences you can have. The lush greenery provides welcome shade and lets you focus on the natural beauty of lotus flowers, multi-hued dragonflies, iguanas, birds and river snakes all around you. The trip had a bit of a school excursion feel to it, so naturally I felt right at home, as we disembarked from time to time to learn how the locals made ropes and baskets from coconut husks as well as to see how the different spices are grown.
I actually took a half day backwater tour when I was last in Kerala and it was interesting to note how the area has changed over the last nine years. There is definitely more development along the canals now, we even passed a new guesthouse with a large banner advertising its rooms stretched across the canal, but for the most part little in this beautiful part of the world has changed since my last visit. I even had the exact same older gentleman guiding my canoe through the canals as the last time I visited! The man in question seemed pleased when I pointed out that guiding canoes full of foreigners through the water with a long bamboo pole must be good for your health, as he did not look a day older than when I last saw him.
In addition to taking in the local scenery I thought I should sample some Keralan culture while I was in the region. Last time I visited Kochi I took in a Kathakali performance so this time I opted to see some classical dance instead. The female dancers were stunningly beautiful with their shimmering costumes and dramatic eye make up. Seeing the elaborate hand gestures and facial expressions that occur while the dancer is also moving vigorously around the stage gave me a whole new appreciation for this lovely art form. With every hand gesture and eye movement having a different meaning, the physical control required by the dancers is truly astounding. No wonder they have to study for up to ten years to perfect their art!
Given that Fort Cochin is blessed with one of the best bookstores in India, in the form of the wonderful Idiom Bookshop, I thought that I should take the opportunity to read up on Hindu mythology and Indian history. With more than 300 million deities making up the Hindu pantheon, it was important that I found reading material of a depth and gravitas befitting a scholar of my intellect. Fortunately, Idiom was able to cater to my needs perfectly with its extensive range of Indian comic books! Never have the adventures of Krishna or the tales of Ganesh been so colourfully portrayed, or easy to digest. I even found a comic detailing the British massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, with appropriately gory artwork.
One of the religious comics emphasised the true power of friendship by detailing the story of Sudama, a childhood friend of Krishna. Overall the story had a lovely message, but I was slightly concerned about the depiction of Sudama's lovely wife. The story outlines how she "patiently bore" their life of poverty because she "looked upon Saduma as her god". This part of the story is illustrated with a picture of Sudama staring thoughtfully into the distance while his wife bows at his feet.
Well at least now, with my new found understanding of Indian culture, I'll have a good answer the next time some well meaning local asks me on a train trip why I am not married. I'll just smile and say, "Unfortunately I have not yet met a man I can look upon as my god" :-)
As I am not taking any medication to prevent the contraction of malaria, I am particularly paranoid about mosquito bites. As an added incentive not to get bitten, my skin sometimes completely overreacts to insect bites. This overreaction leaves me with small raised scars that look suspiciously like, but according to skin specialists are not, skin cancers (attractive I know!). I still have one of these beauties on my forearm from a mosquito bite I got on my last visit to India nine years ago.
The one exposed area of skin that I was not covering with DEET each night was the sensitive skin on my face. One night last week I paid the price for this decision when I woke up after being bitten on the cheek and forehead. At first I thought it wasn't that bad. The bites felt really big - but I was sure it was just like when you have a pimple that feels like it is enormous but when you look in the mirror is actually quite small. As the itching sensation spread however, I gave up trying to fall back to sleep and decided to view the damage in the bathroom mirror.
Well, to say the bites were big is a bit like saying Greece has some debt. Not only were these the biggest mosquito bites I had ever had, but my face was bearing a stronger resemblance to that of the elephant man with each passing moment! How big were the bites? The bite in the middle of my forehead was as least as big as a 20 cent piece and the one on my cheek was larger than a 50 cent piece.
How ballsy was this mosquito?! It must have feasted on my sleeping visage for an hour to suck that much blood! I hastily looked around the bed trying to find the blood sucking spawn of Satan, convinced it would be easy to spot flying low under the burdensome weight of 10% of my blood supply. Just as I gave up the futile search, I realised that in addition to a painful itch my night time visitor may well have given me malaria. But maybe not....Maybe I would get lucky and just be left with scarring that looked like skin cancer covering half of my face. Thankfully the lasting legacy of that evening was not malaria, or disfiguring facial scars, but rather a whole new appreciation for mosquito coils!
After spending more than a week in Fort Cochin, and getting through a new book about every two days, I decided it was high time I engaged in an activity besides eating or reading. To that end I set off on a lovely day trip through the stunning backwaters of Kerala.
Sitting in a long canoe as you silently glide through the tiny canals of Kerala is one of the most peaceful experiences you can have. The lush greenery provides welcome shade and lets you focus on the natural beauty of lotus flowers, multi-hued dragonflies, iguanas, birds and river snakes all around you. The trip had a bit of a school excursion feel to it, so naturally I felt right at home, as we disembarked from time to time to learn how the locals made ropes and baskets from coconut husks as well as to see how the different spices are grown.
I actually took a half day backwater tour when I was last in Kerala and it was interesting to note how the area has changed over the last nine years. There is definitely more development along the canals now, we even passed a new guesthouse with a large banner advertising its rooms stretched across the canal, but for the most part little in this beautiful part of the world has changed since my last visit. I even had the exact same older gentleman guiding my canoe through the canals as the last time I visited! The man in question seemed pleased when I pointed out that guiding canoes full of foreigners through the water with a long bamboo pole must be good for your health, as he did not look a day older than when I last saw him.
In addition to taking in the local scenery I thought I should sample some Keralan culture while I was in the region. Last time I visited Kochi I took in a Kathakali performance so this time I opted to see some classical dance instead. The female dancers were stunningly beautiful with their shimmering costumes and dramatic eye make up. Seeing the elaborate hand gestures and facial expressions that occur while the dancer is also moving vigorously around the stage gave me a whole new appreciation for this lovely art form. With every hand gesture and eye movement having a different meaning, the physical control required by the dancers is truly astounding. No wonder they have to study for up to ten years to perfect their art!
Given that Fort Cochin is blessed with one of the best bookstores in India, in the form of the wonderful Idiom Bookshop, I thought that I should take the opportunity to read up on Hindu mythology and Indian history. With more than 300 million deities making up the Hindu pantheon, it was important that I found reading material of a depth and gravitas befitting a scholar of my intellect. Fortunately, Idiom was able to cater to my needs perfectly with its extensive range of Indian comic books! Never have the adventures of Krishna or the tales of Ganesh been so colourfully portrayed, or easy to digest. I even found a comic detailing the British massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, with appropriately gory artwork.
One of the religious comics emphasised the true power of friendship by detailing the story of Sudama, a childhood friend of Krishna. Overall the story had a lovely message, but I was slightly concerned about the depiction of Sudama's lovely wife. The story outlines how she "patiently bore" their life of poverty because she "looked upon Saduma as her god". This part of the story is illustrated with a picture of Sudama staring thoughtfully into the distance while his wife bows at his feet.
Well at least now, with my new found understanding of Indian culture, I'll have a good answer the next time some well meaning local asks me on a train trip why I am not married. I'll just smile and say, "Unfortunately I have not yet met a man I can look upon as my god" :-)
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