Whistle, Whistle, Beep, Beep
Kochi
From Mysuru, we took a train and car to get to the Kempegowda International Airport. After arriving in Cochin International Airport, we took a car to our home for the week, a waterfront condo that provided splendid views of sunset. We also enjoyed walking on the waterfront and the nearby large playground. Funny thing about playgrounds and parks in India is that they have operating hours, outside of which they are not accessible. This particular park and playground was large, lovely, and on the water. At times our youngest two had difficulty playing because they would be swarmed kids overwhelmed with their cuteness.
On our first day in Kochi, we took a ferry to the fort to explore. We were pleasantly surprised by an art exhibit where we were able to get our hands dirty creating our own art. We also enjoyed walking to sites in the town, seeing the Chinese fishing nets, browsing the market, eating lunch by the water, and playing at the playground.
We were a little nervous about our houseboat experience on the Kerela backwaters. Would the kids get bored? Would we get bored? But our expectations were exceeded. We enjoyed lounging during our day aboard, taking in the views and eating a lovely lunch onboard. The experience even stuck in our three year old’s head, who would pretend he was a houseboat afterwards.
Another fun outing to Fort Kochin included a visit to the oldest synagogue in India, Paradesi Synagogue built in 1568, and a Kathakali performance. We also dropped into Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica.
Another worthwhile day trip we made was to Athirappilly Falls. We had a great guide who stopped when we desperately needed coffee. We were on our own for the short hike for the falls where we enjoyed a packed lunch and the mist from the falls. On our way home, we also stopped at Thumboormuzhi Hanging Bridge for a walk across the bridge and play on a large and empty playground.
One especially memorable experience from our stay in Kochi was our visit to the Bombay Circus. It was like no other circus experience of ours. Notable was that we went to a less attended performance so the tent was largely empty but the performance was not lacking. Our three older kids were all able to go up on stage at one point to participate in a jump roping activity that led to a tent wide prank on our oldest child.
Delhi and Agra
From Kochi, we flew to Delhi to stay two nights, spending our full day in Agra to see the Taj Mahal. We originally intended on more time in Delhi but the pollution felt too high for comfort so we cut the time down to that needed for a visit to Agra. We did have an amazing day. Despite staying very near the train station, we barely made the train to Agra. Once there, we were picked up for our private tour of the Taj Mahal. On arrival, we discovered the electric shuttle to be a bit short for how long we waited for the ride so we instead walked when leaving. During our visit, we learned about the history of Taj Mahal and heard our names echoed in the inner chamber. After, we were pulled into a visit to a rug shop that was an overall good experience despite the purpose being an attempt on a commission. The kids experienced making and trimmed rugs and we learned much. The only concerning part of our experience is that our guide wouldn’t let us out of the car until after we wrote a review for their company. We completed the survey and continued on our way. We took the train to hear to Agra Fort. We grabbed lunch across from the fort. The place was empty on entering but quickly filled. We then managed to meet up with our guide and start our tour early. Our tour guide was amazing, especially with the kids. he made the tour interesting and interactive, including a coin toss activity with one of the entryways. Since we started early, we had time to let the kids run around before heading to the station for our train back to Delhi. Funny story: during our train ride we were contacted by our hotel. They wanted to do a photo shoot of the family for social media marketing of our hotel. The experience was a bit tempting but turned it down.
After Delhi, we boarded a plane to Singapore. We left feeling we better understood India and better understood how much we do not know. We hope to return one day to learn and experience more.
Leave a Reply