Due to arriving a day early when joining the Queen Victoria cruise ship, I spent two days in Cochin, India. It was my first time in India, and I really wanted to tick of two bucket-list type achievements: 1 – experience Indian traffic from the back of a tuctuc, 2 – ride an elephant.
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The podcast runs a bit long this time, but I had a lot of fun over my two days in Cochin, so I think it is worth going into more details. Be sure to scroll down for the elephant photos and video.
Tick! I hired a tuctuc and driver for four hours, and had a tour around the oldest part of Cochin, called Fort Kochi.
The Jain temple, complete with swastikas. I guess the symbol I found in Papua New Guinea was something to do with Jainism, and not the German building close by.
A view from the top floor of the everything shop.
A local sweet shop from above.
One man and his goats.
Dinner. Paneer in a sauce and rice.
Fort Kochi’s chinese nets.
A boat, a crow, and in the background men are building a new jetty.
More chinese nets.
Christian cathedral.
Playing cricket in the park.
Wing mirror self portrait.
Bizarre red sky during the evening.
Morning sun through barbed wire. I’m on my way to the Kodanadu Elephant Training Center
Many men walking and carrying crosses. I guess this was something to do with going to church.
Scrubbing elephants in the river.
The training center accepts baby elephants from a wide region and trains them to work on building sites, to drag timber, or to carry tourists.
Every morning at 8am the elephants are taken to a river, and are scrubbed with segments of coconuts.
The elephants seemed to love the daily wash and play in the river.
Other tourists photo opportunity.
Me and a baby elephant.
I’m a bit close here!
Waiting to return to the training center.
Elephant walking past pictures of elephants.
They used to capture wild elephants and hold them in this pen.
Chained elephant.
Tick! Me on an elephant, juggling.
Me on an elephant, taking a photo of myself.
Video of me juggling on an elephant, and also by the Chinese nets in Fort Kochi.
Very cool. Your elephant experience was better than mine I think – fewer people. When I went there were loads of us. Still amazing though.