Almost tried to catch a shot of the big blue & yellow angel fish shaped guy I was watching cruise barnacles, but the angles and distance weren’t quite there. He was cool, though. But – so was this view.

I think the weather here has turned a corner – it was only 79f, but man did that couple degrees of heat zap my energy today. Booo, summer coming. Let’s see if we can make it to Ramadan before the outside gets miserable to be in.

It’s finally the end of my Croatia vacation spam! If you’ve been tuning in all along, thanks for indulging me! It was great to get back out in the world, with DH and a camera in my hands. Three, if you count his camera + my phone. That’s a lot of snapping away.

After our day island hopping around the Adriatic, we had originally planned on heading to Dubrovnik – but were warned in multiple towns and the entire Internet that it would be crowded and may not be the most fun ever time to visit.

Loving the relaxed time we were having, we decided to scrap that leg of the trip – come back and cover it during shoulder season – and opt for a leisurely stroll back up the coast to Zagreb and home.

Lucky us, I had a backup plan – Zadar.

Zadar isn’t large by any means, and we felt like we did it justice in the day and a half we spent. You’d think that all the little seaside towns would look generally the same – and you’d be a quarter right; they have similar architecture – but the sea is really what got me as looking different. The color here was deeper, the boats were bigger, and the vistas were wider.

Super cool stuff.

The drive wasn’t shabby, either (an understatement).

Bye, Croatia!

Somewhere between Zadar and Zagreb

Roast pig at one of the roadside grill houses that dot the countryside

One last pass of Zagreb

Stumbled upon this

And some sort of tunnels connecting old town and the central business district

Ummm … Lenin?

Layers and layers

Awww .. matryoshka

… and that was our trip to Croatia. We absolutely loved it here – the food was fantastic, the sights were breathtaking, the people were friendly, and we can’t wait to go back (next trip: Pula, Omis & Dubrovnik).

Zagreb

Plitvice

Split

Island Hopping

Did we miss your favorite spot? Let me know in the comments below!

This day was one of the highlights of the trip. If you are planning on island hopping while in Croatia, and I highly suggest you do – you are missing out otherwise, I suggest going with one of the package tours.

The one we chose (Mayer Tours) was an 11-hour 5-island tour and came recommended on Pinterest somewhere. These guys were good – we did not get to visit the main attraction of the area – the Blue Cave – due to large swells closing the cave off for a few days, but that was okay. From what we’ve heard, all the boats that want to visit wait in line for up to 2 hours for a time slot, then offload passengers into an even smaller boat 10 at a time for a 15-minute tour of the cave.

I’m cool with not having waited for 2 hours to get in.

Our original plan scrapped, the days’ plans shifted continually, and I’m not 100% sure where all we went. I know we saw Korcula, Brac, Vis, a couple sandy beaches, Hvar, submarine tunnels, and military lookout points. Not sure what all else – but, as with any tour you pick or way you choose to see the islands, it was all freaking stunning. The water is crystal clear, oddly less salty than the Atlantic (at least to an East Coast of the US girl), and all the little towns and beaches are beautiful for some reason or another.

Super cool day, despite being on the back of a fast rib boat in the wind and noise and sea spray for most of it. (I hate wind and being wet and cold – so that’s saying something if I was still happy for an 11-hour day).

Pics!

Pulling away from the pier in Split

Stop 1 – a small fishing village for coffee

Sea green ❤

Have I mentioned ad nauseam how much I like seawater blue in all its hues?

Back on the water

Bye, village

And here is where the images get hazy – not sure which stop this was

Alleyways like this – and the 999 other alleyway shots you’ll see/have seen were pretty much everywhere this vacation

So many interesting varieties of boats

Definitely back on the water

Traffic

Lines

Yeah, more alleyways

Unfolding drama

Believe me when I say I even narrowed the pic selection down

Definitely another village – I think this was the one we opted to go ashore and pee (and grab a beer) instead of swim a second time for

And more – because restraint is not my middle name.

A little France v Croatia while stopped to swim

Caves

Lookouts

Submarine tunnels

This. Water.

Our ride for the day

One of the beaches we hit

Docking point

Sea urchins in the wild

Boat conference

How studly is this guy?

Lunch in Hvar – which was our least favorite stop

Hvar was beautiful, but felt like stage dressing

Unsurprising, given the banners proudly advertising 150 years of organized tourism

Different boats

A popular swimming spot

And that’s it for our island hopping day.

Can’t recommend highly enough.

Zagreb

Plitvice

Split

Onwards to the last destination!

Our next main destination on this vacation was Split – a large coastal town known for its Roman ruins, beautiful waterfront, and proximity to a bunch of smaller islands. Split did not disappoint. The town itself is sprawling – encompassing not only the waterfront, but a large inland area as well – complete with multiple suburbs.

We stayed outside the city center, in an area that I’m sure was gut renovated post-war (there was an old gun turret at the end of our block that for some reason I completely forgot to take a picture of).

The place we stayed was good – on a nice quiet stretch of waterfront walkway (quiet enough that we didn’t hear the revelers when Croatia won the semi-finals of the World Cup).

Our main destination in Split was Diocletian’s Palace – right at the City Center waterfront. For my history nerds, this palace was built around the beginning of the 4th century BC as a Roman emperor retirement home. For my Game of Thrones nerds, the basement was used as the underground passages in Mereen.

The palace itself is interesting – not much remains of it but some outer walls and continuing excavation into its basement – which was laid out to mirror the upper floors. Some interesting rooms to explore down there, and good signage on history (thankfully history signage instead of television signage).

Diocletian’s Palace basement

Diocletian’s Palace basement

Diocletian’s Palace basement

Nowadays, the upper street is a twisting warren of alleyways packed to the brim with shops, restaurants, religious houses, guest houses and apartments – good luck finding an address quickly.

Shops and restaurants in a square

❤

Found the mosque – kinda

Can’t help but imagine what it would be like to live here throughout the ages

Alleyways ❤

Doors!

This is someone’s washing – right there above the basement of the palace

Old graffiti

After climbing out of the basement

Layers

Same street, different eye

DH was as interested in the washing as I was

Another – arguably more interesting – view of that dome

Same tower too

Note: this is the first place we ran into where you have to pay to use the public restrooms – at a cost of 5 kuna.

After spending half the day wandering the alleyways of the palace, we hadn’t gotten our full Roman ruin fix, so we jetted out 5km or so to the suburbs and the ruins of Salona. This was a couple-hour jaunt in the direct sun, with of course not enough sunblock or water or hats or anything that would make the trip more comfortable. That would be silly – and waaaay too responsible. So we explored. And me in flip flops. Also had a mini version of one of our infamous death hikes through an olive grove looking for a more direct route back through the neighborhood we passed through (how weird would that be?!).

This was a sprawling site and we didn’t cover it all – zero shade

Old bridge

Ruins of the Roman city of Salona

Ruins of the Roman city of Salona

Ruins of the Roman city of Salona

Ruins of the Roman city of Salona

Ruins of the Roman city of Salona

Ruins of the Roman city of Salona

It’s as hot and sunny as it looks

Ruins of the Roman city of Salona

After our trek, we burger & beered and passed out early to prep for a day of island hopping.

Part 1 – Zagreb

Part 2 – Plitvice

Today’s adventure took us from Zagreb to Split, with a few-hour detour in Plitvice Lakes for some light hiking and waterfall viewing.

The drive was really cool and I’m glad we rented a car instead of trying to take public transportation (which would have also been easy) or going with an organized tour bus (which sounds like hell).

The Croatian countryside is nuts – you’ve got everything from rolling hills and corn fields that reminds me of Ohio, to craggy mountains that look almost like the moon if not for the crazy little scrub trees (maybe cedar?) clinging on for dear life, to the clearest bluest water you’ve ever seen, to lush vineyards and olive orchards(?). The scenery truly runs the gamut.

If you ever have the chance to come to this part of the world, rent a car and take the old highways. You’ll see more in the next travel day post, but daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn it’s pretty. All of it.

Today’s travel was mostly on the luxurious new highway – but it’s not always clear when you’re on that (the old highway is freaking nice as well), and it’s pretty too – just with more overtly convenient to an American potty options.

Corn fields like Central Ohio

Fields and distant mountains like NC

Roads + townships

scrubby grass

Does this not look like Cupcake Mountain?

Could be West Virginia

Could totally be West Virginia

Looking weird – but kind of like Nevada

Whoo hoo, water!

Weird but pretty

Holy poop

Plitvice 

This is one of those must-see spots in Croatia, and there’s hot debate as to which National Park is better – Plitivce or Krka. Krka you can swim in, but I’d heard the waterfall viewing was even better in Plitvice – and we were driving right past it (turns out we drove past both).

So, Plitvice it was.

We sailed past Entrance 1 and my pre-planned route, and ended up at Entrance 2. Which turned out really cool because we got to take a short boat ride + a longer tram/bus thing ride at the end that looped us almost right back to the parking lot.

Pro tip: when you enter the park, there will more than likely be a hella long line of people waiting to get in. Don’t be one of those people – either hop out of that line and find the money changing/ticket counter, or – better yet – pay at the trailheads further on down. Much shorter line. Like an hour shorter.

Screw this mess

Our trailhead for path E – a 2-3 hour easy loop involving a boat + tram/bus thing

On to the pretty:

Baby falls

Bob Ross, eat your heart out

So. Many. Falls.

They were everywhere

Obligatory selfie

Look how clear this water is!!

Our ride back to the trailhead.

Pretty. Just: pretty.

From our little boat trip

You could see each tiny fish and every leaf that has fallen in the water

Just some falls – hanging out

This was of course a popular Insta selfie spot

More of this water. Love.

❤

A second perspective: the landscape photographer in his element, but tortured by people and a lack of tripod.

Next time, we’re renting kayaks

And that was Plitvice. We could have spent hours more there happily (especially in a lower season that wasn’t so crowded), but this trip gave us a feel for what we would like to come back to see – definitely low season, and a longer hike. This was a great starting point trek and there were spots when the crowds thinned a bit, so we could take more time in (moderate) silence to shoot what we wanted to shoot without getting jostled on the wooden walkways or crowded around if it was a particularly Insta-friendly vista.

Split took another hour or two to get to, and then we were rewarded with this seafront:

Croatia Part 1 – Zagreb

Stay tuned for our exploration of Split + then some!

At the airport

Goodbye, Desert!

Hello, Europe!

Part One – Zagreb

This trip was different. DH and I both needed an escape from the “sandpit” (if you don’t know, we live in Doha, Qatar), and it’s oppressive over 100 degree (F) temperatures with random days of high humidity and/or sandy crunchy air thrown in for good measure, hectic work schedule (for him), and the overwhelming beige-ness that living in a desert brings. We wanted to visit somewhere that had a bit of city, a bit of (some form of) democracy, some pretty water, and some hiking amongst greenery.

Europe it was – despite July being peak season.

So, we packed off to Croatia for a week knowing absolutely zero about it. For me, I knew nothing other than Pinterest said it was pretty, the Dalmatian Coast is known for seafood, and it’s close to Greece. DH has been really busy with work lately and flew in blind. We both *thought* it was part of former Yugoslavia but didn’t *quite* know if our world history was correct – spoiler: it is, go public school.

I also purposely failed in planning this vacation aside from picking towns and procuring most of our accommodation, hence the different-ness of this vacation from all others where I’ve got the fun scheduled in.

I read a crap-ton of blogs, came up with bullet points for each town + a couple restaurant and cafe options for each + an alternate plan for each area, and let the winds take us where they may (in a structured guidepath).

And you know what?

I didn’t die.

I didn’t hyperventilate about not being able to see everything X city could possibly have to offer while DH throws a hissy about being pressured to see too much once. This has happened – most notably, when my A list plan for Scotland got changed and we didn’t get to see Skye (which I’m still unhappy about, even though we had a great time poking around Loch Ness).

I was fine.

And we did most things on the list, I think. Could have dealt with a bit more history and culture lesson, but that’s what the internet is for.

We stayed busy while shuttling off to bed at 8 or 9 each night. And we ate fantastic food, drank some killer local beer – and found some really neat spots along the way, with enough time spent in traffic one afternoon that we got to learn a little about the history of the place whose sheer abundance of beauty we’d been goggling at all week. Go, us! We weren’t rushed, we I didn’t over-plan, we weren’t stuffing food in our faces to eatitall, and although DH still needed a vacation from his vacation, we had a relaxed but still physically demanding (from walking) time.

Success!

On to the pics!

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital of Croatia, and one of those really cool old European cities. You can see in spots it’s former communist past, but more than that – the buildings are beautiful, the streets are bustling, and the arts scene is vibrant. The food is also delicious, as it was absolutely everywhere we went while in Croatia – even the touristy areas.

Wandering Zagreb

A rather nice use of this Hipstamatic combo

Street art, how I missed thee ❤

This type of cool alleyway was the norm

Just a small selection of the great stuff we ate:

Traditional Croatian textile design

Hunter stew, pig and breads ❤

Beers and pink gin

This was our favorite beer brand

Most was definitely not paleo ;x.

The plan for exploring Zagreb was loose. Walk around, see some shit, hit a market or two, make sure to make it to old town. Eat food. Drink beer.

Luckily, that’s easy to accomplish here – the streets are all pretty, the city is safe, and Google Maps works great everywhere.

This roadworks sux0red and necessitated a long detour around a hillside neighborhood featuring hairpin turns just to get to our B&B – was kind of cool, though 🙂

Streetscape

If you’ve been with me for awhile, you will remember my love of doors in NYC. This continues.

From atop the funicular

Moar doors

Moar doors

This is what happens when you have two photographers in the family:

The funicular railway connecting old town to the city center

In old town

I think this was inside St. Mark’s Church

I think this one was the Zagreb Cathedral – Edit: Nope. St. Mark’s

DH’s take on the underbridge shrine

From atop the Lotrscak Tower, where we heard the cannon bang at Noon

Climbing the tower

Zagreb Cathedral

These two were definitely that cathedral

Definitely the cathedral

They capture different and sometimes better angles on the things you see. Which is perhaps the best part about having a dual-camera family.

Our home away from home in Zagreb, Lobagola B&B:

Climbing ropes with Buddhist prayer-style thanks

Our comfy room – could easily fit 4

Lobagola logo – bonus: this is an art piece hidden in the midst of a busy bookcase

The vinyl listening lounge

You had me at homemade

Lobagola was our favorite place we stayed during this trip. It’s clear that travel is important to the owners and they really know what amenities are appreciated while on the road. That, comboed with really cool art taste + a killer local guide/art history lesson, really comfy beds, and a focus on local and fresh foods for breakfast and you’ve got a great base from which to explore.

And that was Zagreb Pass 1 – we briefly visited Zagreb at the tail end of our trip, and stayed in a (slightly) different part of town – you’ll see a few more shots at the end of this trip.

Stay tuned for the next leg of our Croatia journey!

I was recently lucky enough to share a visa hop date with a girlfriend of mine here in Doha – who was ready for an adventure – and who also wanted to explore India. This was the first trip either of us had taken to the subcontinent, and the first trip we’d taken together – so we decided to opt for a 5-day “India light” trip by visiting Kochi/Cochin (spelling depends on who you ask) in the Southwestern state of Kerala.

Kerala is on the Malabar Coast, and is tropical with tons of shoreline on the Arabian Sea. This state is known for palm trees, backwaters, tea and coffee plantations, and lush wildlife. According to Wiki, the official language is Malayalam, the population is 34.8 million, and the average life expectancy is the highest in India at 74.9. Which is super interesting – while there, she and I marveled at just how many old people were wandering around in such great shape.

This area is also really culturally diverse, with Hinduism, Islam and Christianity as the largest religions and a blend of Aryan (South Asian), Dravidian (South Indian), Arab and European cultures. We saw quite a few religions represented during a whirlwind town tour – most notably Jewish, Catholic, Hindu, Jain, Krishna and Islam.

Cochin is a large port city, with a metropolitan population of 2.1 million. Called Queen of the Arabian Sea, this town was an important spice trading center from the 14th century on and has maintained close trade ties with the Arab world. It was the first Portuguese colony in India, and was ruled by the Dutch, British and Kingdom of Cochin. Nowadays, Cochin is the financial, commercial and industrial capital of Kerala, as well as home to the Indian Navy’s Southern Naval Command and state HQ of the Indian Coast Guard. Cochin/Kochi is a top tourist destination, and at least according to Wiki’s sources, by 2025 will be one of the global cities contributing 50% of the world GDP. Wiki How cool is that?!

Ok, enough nerding out and on to the pictures!

I’ve also posted four vlogs on the trip – 1, 2, 3, 4 – if you’re curious to see a bunch of video of tuk-tuk rides, backwater cruises, and amazing traditional dancers.

Before I even jump into the trip, let me just say that it started out with quite the bang. My girlfriend, Amanda, and I were given an unexpected upgrade to business on our Qatar Airways flight and we were giddy with excitement.

Thanks, Qatar Airways – what a way to start an adventure!

On to Kochi.

Around Fort Cochin

We stayed in a guest house in the Fort Cochin area of Kochi called Greenwoods-Bethlehem run by a really sweet couple – Sheeba and Ashley. We chose this location because of the tours and amenities available (daily yoga, ayurvedic massage and cooking classes specifically), the fact that it had Wifi and air conditioning, and the reviews on Trip Advisor and Booking.com. We were led to believe that the couple really takes care of their guests – and the reviews were not wrong in the slightest. Both were really sweet, and Sheeba knew exactly what a couple of girlfriends wanted out of a vacation – her suggestions were always spot on! Plus: the breakfasts each morning were fantastic, and the tea in the evening was just the thing to help relax after a day of sightseeing. I would definitely recommend and would stay there again.

Front gates

The lush jungle on the other side

Official greeter

The neighborhood Greenwoods is located in is also prime, and most things we wanted to do or see were within walking distance (of course, it was hot and tuk-tuks are cheap (around 20 or 30 rupees or under 50 cents) and really persistent – so we ended up hitching a ride to most locations).

Forgot to include this little house diety(?) above

Strangely, I have no actual pictures of tuk-tuks …

The lush jungle on the other side

Front gates

Official greeter

Strangely, I have no actual pictures of tuk-tuks …

Forgot to include this little house diety(?) above

Neighborhood streets

Magnificence

Most evenings, we found ourselves at one of the local + tourist hangouts – the area near Fort Cochin beach and Princess Street shopping district. This area was great – you’ve got the ferry terminal nearby, scenic Chinese fishing nets, a bunch of restaurants and cafes, a really cool kids park, and beachfront hawkers selling their wares.

Chicken 65 at a little beachside cafe ❤ and only $2.50!

Bringing in today’s catch

Look at those cool stone counterweights!

A scenic angle on the Chinese fishing nets

Too cute

This is more of a wandering beach than swimming beach, as it’s in a busy shipping lane

Beachside camel rides seemed popular

Another angle on the nets

We ate dinner in this area every evening but the last, and most of what we had was fantastic. My first meal in India was Chicken 65, a dish I’d just heard about on Ugly Delicious a food nerd show I was loving on Netflix (if you’re at all into food and culture – give it a watch – the episode examining fried chicken on a global scale was at once frustrating and fascinating and this show’s examination of the concept of authenticity is something that really got my brain going). But I digress (obvs. have we met?).

Backwaters Tour

Passing another (former) houseboat

Our captain and 1/2 of our engine for the afternoon

Wash day

Out for a drive

Not sure why there’s a razorblade

Prepping goat skins under the bridge

…”Sometimes I feel like – I don’t have a partner …”

Making coconut husk rope

Fishing

One of the boats

1/2 of our ride to the backwaters

The boat

Open water

Going down a canal

We did a day drip excursion (set up by our lovely hosts at Greenwoods) to the Kerala Backwaters.

The Backwaters is a popular day trip from Cochin – they’re a chain of lagoons and lakes linked by natural and man-made canals that is fed by 38 rivers and encompasses about half the length of the state of Kerala. According to Wiki, a comparison can be made with the American Bayou – which I can kind of see. The parts we saw at least were less “pointy teeth monster infested swampland” and more “serene to the point of coma because you probably won’t be eaten”, but I can see the resemblance in the lushness of the surroundings and the mixture of salty and fresh waters. We saw part of the Valapattanam river (the Northernmost), a canal, then I believe Vembanad Lake – which is the largest in the area.

Our ride was one of the 2,000 kettuvallams (houseboats), which is a human-powered thatched roof wooden hull boat with a really shallow draft, and was traditionally used as a grain barge.

Tours exist that can take you out on a more extensive ride (overnight), but the trip we took was a day excursion – and, to be honest, was a couple hours too long for either of our tastes. It was definitely a relaxing journey, and with a different mix of fellow travelers (we had a raucous group of post-grads on holiday from other parts of India or abroad who stuck to themselves – only so loudly one couldn’t really talk over them), and a more engaging tour guide – we would have been sad to see the boat go. As it was, we were excited to get back on the road (and our pimp ride!) to start the couple-hour journey back home.

Around Town

Most of the rest of our visit was taken up by shopping, morning yoga, ayurvedic massages, and tuk-tuk rides around town.

Street vendor roasting peanuts

So pretty

Veggie thali for lunch

Cool street art

Loose lawn goats

I don’t think this is the Rolex Rolex shop

The trucks and buses were so cool

More bus goodness

Look at these pretty trucks

I think they were parked waiting on the port to open

So cool

Going to the larger city to explore a large local mall

Jew Town and Spice Market 

Jew town? Yep, that’s what it’s called – this area still boasts a Synagogue and lots of beautiful lace shops. The Spice Market was also pretty cool – it was Portuguese, then Dutch, then English, then Indian. Super cool, and has been turned into a womens’ collective / popular Tuk Tuk driver stop.

A note on that: In this part of the world (and I’m suspecting all of Southeast Asia), it is common for tuk tuk drivers to make extra stops when ferrying around tourists. You don’t have to buy anything at the markets/museums/shops they bring you to – and as long as you at least go in and have a look, the driver will get something in return (usually something like a kilo of rice, a beer, a snack, etc.). It’s not hurting you any – it takes 5 minutes to as long as you want it to (in Sri Lanka, our driver took us to cool workshops where we spent quite some time chatting with artisans and actually had to be collected by said driver or we’d be there happily all afternoon), and it helps the local economy. Plus: you’re spending next to nothing in your own currency for a ride; in my view, yes dude – make some extra cash. /end rant but really I could go on and on about the gig economy, tourism, and the like but will spare you – suffice it to say, I’m super happy to go along with the flow while on vacation, and if it’s a good driver (and not a pushy jerk), I will help them out as much as time allows. It makes my experience richer, and it’s a barely any effort way to directly impact someone’s family. Our Barbie Girl driver you’ll read about in a bit? He’s 1 month older than me, looked about a decade older, and has 3 kids. /end rant for real.

❤

Loved this shop

Jew Town

On a delivery

More from Jew Town

Down a shopping alley

From this really cool art gallery/restaurant we stopped at

Salvage

Color

Hanuman

Lucky cow

Beautiful

Checking traps

More cool buses

Townie goats

Pretty

Street art

Spice market

The colors!

So many layers

❤ the color

Tuk Tuk Tour

Our last day, we took a massive tour around the area to see all the highlight touristy sights – we hired a tuk-tuk driver who took us on a 2-hour tour around town for about $2 while loudly and enthusiastically singing “Barbie Girl” and “Who Let The Dogs Out?” and ended up adding an additional trip across the bridge to the Kerala Folklore museum for another $2 or so. I loved the whirlwind tour and was completely happy to see what people commonly visit while in town. Tuk Tuk drives around town were probably my favorite part of the whole trip – watching the world and normal life stream past from a bouncy, loud ride with the breeze in my hair was a great way to experience the area.

Museums

Kerala Folklore Museum

The Indian Navy – right near our guest house

From the Maritime Museum

Indian Navy Motto

Unfortunately, the cemetery was not open

Cool school

Ummm ….

The Folklore Museum was really cool

One way to have deer heads on the wall

The whole collection was gathered by one man

And it encompasses not only Kerala & India artifacts, but things from the wider world

Kathakai dancers – the demon character

The hero character

Not sure what character this is, but maybe a female?

Pretty

From another little Kerala museum in town

Churches and Temples

Vasco Da Gama was buried here for a time

Jain temple

More Jain temple

Catholic church

More in the church

A hindu temple we unfortunately could not go in

Dutch Palace grounds

Dunno, but it’s Catholic

Can’t remember if this is a church or the Dutch Palace Museum

Basilica

The grounds of something

Hindu temple grounds

Definitely a church

At the Jain temple

Catholic somethin

Some random pics I swiped from my girlfriend

Fab in the back of a tuk tuk

Tuk tuk on the move

After 1, maybe 2 temple blessings

Vegan fare from the Hare Krishna temple

One of the fantastic breakfasts provided by our guest house

One of the tuk tuk stop shops – saris and pashminas from floor to ceiling

Our “Barbie Girl” driver

Kathakali Dancers

The last thing we had time for on our journey was a Kathakali Dance. Man, I’m glad we made time for this – it was certainly one of the highlights of the trip.

Kathakali (Wiki) is one of the major forms of traditional Indian dance and is indigenous to Kerala. Not unlike Japanese Kabuki theater, this style of storytelling includes beautiful costuming, face painting, no spoken dialogue, and an all-male cast. Dancers spend 6 years(!) learning their craft, and it really shows. What they can do with their eyes and convey with their faces and subtle body language is stunning. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me, and I’d go back for another viewing in a heartbeat. If you want to see more, check out the fourth and final Cochin Vlog on my YouTube channel. Super cool.

Rice paste + mineral pigments + a little paper

Prepping the theater

Opening the dance

Laying the groundwork?

Ganesh looks on

This guy was seriously amazing – demonstrating gestures and eye movements

The hero (green) and the demon disguised as a beautiful woman

The hero spurns the demons’ advances

The demon in her true form

And that was our 5-day girlfriend visa hop trip. Simply put, Kerala was fantastic and somewhere I’d visit repeatedly. I can’t wait to see more of this vibrant and diverse land!