Shooting Flora and Fauna

During the course of my vacation I shot a little over 500 frames and am still sorting thru most of it. Here are some of my favorites. Click on the pictures to see them in larger size.

Scenes from a moving train

Random scenes from a train traveling from Trivandrum to Cochin. By the time I reached Kottayam I was caught by the Police who wanted to confiscate my film roll and were confused when I told them that I didnt have any film in the camera. Apparently photography on a train is prohibited ! WTF ??? Since when ?

We like to do it 'Indian Style' :P

Pai Brothers Fast Food

After a night out in the city or after a late movie ,Pai Brothers Fast Food is the place to go to if you're looking for a bite to eat in the wee hours in Cochin. When we got there it was jam packed even though it was close to midnight! They serve 36 different kinds of Dosa, kind of like Baskin Robbins but with Dosa!

I had the Spicy Humman Egg Dosa (I didnt get a chance to find out what 'Humman' means) which is the basic 'Paper' Roast layered with onions, tomatoes, green chilies, chutney powder, chili powder and a couple of chicken eggs. It was served with coconut chutney and sambar but with so many flavors in the dosa I really didnt need it.

The place is neat and the food looks hygenic so I'm sure most travellers can safely eat there. Just be sure to order bottled water since Monsoon season can bring with it a lot of water borne illnesses.

Sights and sounds of cochin

This being the monsoon season, the skies were overcast and grey most of the time but I managed to visit a few places when it wasnt raining. The face of the city is changing because of all the construction going on. Pretty soon its gonna turn into a concrete jungle like Bombay or Dubai which is sad.

click on the pictures to view in larger size

View from my wife's apartment

Mattanchery and Fort Cochin
You can read about my previous visit to Fort Cochin here link

Santa Cruze Bascilica
This is and old town with a lot of history and some really old churches. First stop was Santa Cruze Bascilica. The Bascilica has a lot of art work on the ceiling much like the Sistine Chapel. There are lots of textures and colors which makes this a good opportunity to take an HDR shot.. so I did !

St. Francis Church
This church was made by the Portugese in 1516 and was the original resting place of explorer Vasco da Gama. His remains were later moved to Lisbon in his home country.

Jew town and Jew street
This was one of the oldest Jewsish settlements in India and is place to the oldest existing Synagoge in the Commonwealth. It was built in 1568 and is maintained by the few remaining Jews in Cochin. There was an older Synagoge in Kochangadi, built in 1344 but it no longer exists. Photography is strictly prohibited. All along Jew street there are many antique shops and handicraft workshops.


Lagoons and backwaters
I took a couple of shots of a fishing boat leaving the shores of the lagoon. This was a single RAW file then made into an HDR image.

Syrian Orthodox wedding
I was lucky enough to attend a cousins wedding while I was in Cochin. Had a good time catching up with relatives.

Kerala Breakfast
Puttu and Kadala (steamed rice cakes with brown chickpeas)

Idiyappam and Motta curry (rice hoppers and egg curry)