Taken on July 4, 2014 in Kerala
This is the equivalent of a city bus in the Keralan Backwaters. These boats are loaded with people and cruise from pier to pier, picking up and dropping off local passengers. The houseboats give them a wide berth as they tool about much more quickly. However, because they make frequent stops, we were in a leapfrog match up with them in which we would pass them at the dock and then they’d pass us in motion, and so on.
Taken in the summer of 2011
This bridge is one of Budapest’s iconic sites.
Taken on July 7, 2014 in Kochi (Cochin.)
Centuries before the Nazis hijacked the swastik “twisted cross” emblem, it was part of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist iconography. Throughout South Asia, the symbol generally expresses a wish for well-being (the word “swastik” literally means “well-being” in Sanskrit.) Of course, there are specific religious meanings that vary with the belief system that is utilizing the symbol.
One has to remember this when one is in a Jewish neighborhood in South Asia–such as this one in Kochi–because, otherwise, the prominent swastikas can be disconcerting given the Nazi’s inexplicable expropriation of this symbol.
Taken on July 6, 2014 in Munnar.
Taken on July 6, 2014 in Munnar.
Taken on July 12, 2014 in South Karnataka.
This is a popular riverine hot-spot in South Karnataka.
Taken July 12, 2014 in Chamarajanagara District of Karnataka State in India.
The falls were thin, but flowing, in South Karnataka yesterday. Here are a couple of photos of the Bharachukki Falls in Chamarajanagara District.
Taken on July 4, 2014 in Kerala.
Snakeboats are long, wooden canoes commonly seen in the Keralan backwaters. They race with crews of around 100–two wide and scrunched into tight rows.
Taken on July 7, 2014 in Kochi
At the harbor at Fort Kochi, where ships enter the Arabian Sea, there are old Chinese Fishing Nets lining the coast. The nets don’t yield many fish in this area, but exist more as a tourist attraction. The fixed, lever-lowered nets were actually introduced by the Portuguese–albeit Portuguese who had spent time in southern China (i.e. Macau.)
The port at Kochi (Cochin) is one of India’s major transportation hubs (11th largest by tonnage and 8th largest by number of containers.) In addition to modern products, the port still handles a lot of the spice that made Kochi an important center of trade since ancient times.
The channel has to be dredged to keep a clear path for the large number of ships transiting in and out of port.
Taken July 6, 2014 near Munnar.
Munnar is a hill station in Kerala, not too far from its border with Tamil Nadu and an easy drive from Kochi (Cochin.) This is tea country. The land is mostly government owned but the tea plants–like most of India–are owned by the Tata Corporation.
Taken on July 4, 2014 in Kerala.
My apologies for not posting in several days, I’ve been out getting some new photos from new places. Specifically, I’ve been in Kerala. Here is the first of several DAILY PHOTOs from Kerala. This one was taken from a houseboat on the Backwaters.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 